THE Auction Room markets itself as Twickenham’s first 21st-century boutique auction business, offering the lowest commission rates in London. It was launched in 2021, perhaps not the most auspicious time, and was an offshoot of The Swan auctions and antiques centre at Tetsworth, close to the M40 in Oxfordshire. Its first sale of the year was on January 31 and it produced by far and away the highest price of the firm’s short career.
This was £227,864 for a console table (Fig 5), which had carried an upper estimate of £2,000. It had come from a house in nearby Sheen and had been owned by the portrait painter Norman Hepple (1908–94). At some point, the vigorously carved marble-topped table had been well, but a little unsympathetically, gilded and painted. It was similar to a table produced by William Kent for Lord Burlington’s Chiswick House in 1729 and certainly it had all Kent’s muscularity. The piece attracted considerable attention, with five serious bidders in person or on the telephone battling it out, the eventual winner being a dealer from Ireland. It would be interesting to see it again after restoration.
Denne historien er fra February 22, 2023-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Denne historien er fra February 22, 2023-utgaven av Country Life UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Kitchen garden cook - Apples
'Sweet and crisp, apples are the epitome of autumn flavour'
The original Mr Rochester
Three classic houses in North Yorkshire have come to the market; the owner of one inspired Charlotte Brontë to write Jane Eyre
Get it write
Desks, once akin to instruments of torture for scribes, have become cherished repositories of memories and secrets. Matthew Dennison charts their evolution
'Sloes hath ben my food'
A possible paint for the Picts and a definite culprit in tea fraud, the cheek-suckingly sour sloe's spiritual home is indisputably in gin, says John Wright
Souvenirs of greatness
FOR many years, some large boxes have been stored and forgotten in the dark recesses of the garage. Unpacked last week, the contents turned out to be pots: some, perhaps, nearing a century old—dense terracotta, of interesting provenance.
Plants for plants' sake
The garden at Hergest Croft, Herefordshire The home of Edward Banks The Banks family is synonymous with an extraordinary collection of trees and shrubs, many of which are presents from distinguished friends, garnered over two centuries. Be prepared to be amazed, says Charles Quest-Ritson
Capturing the castle
Seventy years after Christian Dior’s last fashion show in Scotland, the brand returned under creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri for a celebratory event honouring local craftsmanship, the beauty of the land and the Auld Alliance, explains Kim Parker
Nature's own cathedral
Our tallest native tree 'most lovely of all', the stately beech creates a shaded environment that few plants can survive. John Lewis-Stempel ventures into the enchanted woods
All that money could buy
A new book explores the lost riches of London's grand houses. Its author, Steven Brindle, looks at the residences of plutocrats built by the nouveaux riches of the late-Victorian and Edwardian ages
In with the old
Diamonds are meant to sparkle in candlelight, but many now gather dust in jewellery boxes. To wear them today, we may need to reimagine them, as Hetty Lintell discovers with her grandmother's jewellery
