Chinese folding screen leads Somerset sale
A broad selection of Decorative Arts and Ceramics was in demand in a recent sale at Somerset auction house Lawrences.
The sale began with some modern furniture, with eight dining chairs by Hans Wegner for Carl Hansen & Sons Made the top seller, hammering at £3,500.
Elsewhere, a sideboard made by P Hensman (a pupil of Edward Barnsley at The Cotswold School) made £1,875, nearly ten times expectations
A stool by Robert `Mouseman` Thompson of Kilburn, complete with the sought-after maker’s ubiquitous carved mouse in one leg, made £1,000.
A group of four stained glass panels made £550, and a `Winchcombe` jug by celebrated modern potter Michael Cardew took £1,625.
In the antique ceramics, a Dresden breakfast set of five pieces on a tray made £1,125; a pretty porcelain plaque of fruit, probably from the Derby factories, was bid to £935 ; a pair of Meissen vases and covers, decorated with Venus and Psyche in the manner of Francois Boucher, made £2,375; and a rare Spode pot pourri cover and liner in the `Groups` pattern made £1,875.
Oriental pieces dominated the higher prices in the sale, with a Chinese Canton famille rose armorial part service was eagerly contested to £5,250; a Chinese famille rose `Bajixiang` bowl, sold with a tankard, made £7,500; a large Chinese Chia Ch’Ing blue and white jar and cover, circa 1800, made £8,125; and a rare Chinese export tureen in an unusual Rococo design for the French market made £8,125.
A late highlight in a highly successful auction was a Chinese hand-painted folding screen. Standing 208cm high and over 270cm wide, the brightly decorated panels appealed sufficiently to take £17,500.
