Ilkley Summer Auction Results

14th June 2018

A major characteristic of Hartleys Ilkley Sale on June 13^th was the residual contents of West Bretton Lodge, Wakefield.  Whilst it provided 126 lots or one fifth of this relatively small sale of 624 lots it accounted for over a third of the four figure prices achieved.  As would be expected in a residual clearance this was more or less entirely centred round pictures and furniture.

One of these lots with the second best price in the sale was a classic Edwardian satinwood inlaid Carlton House desk which doubled its upper estimate at £6000.  Also from Wakefield were a Victorian mahogany and inlaid serpentine chest of four long drawers selling for £1300, a 20^th century Georgian style dining suite including sideboard, serving table and eight chairs £1200, an Adam style mahogany writing desk (c.1900) £1450, a Georgian style mahogany kneehole desk (late 19^th century) £1300, a beautifully narrow inlaid mahogany two stage bookcase £1150, and a painted and parcel gilt pier glass selling for a nearly four times top estimate of £2200.

There were other furniture items of interest including one in the “I never thought I’d see the day” category.  This was a 1970’s radiogram, but not just any radiogram.  A very “retro” rosewood case housed the main value of the lot a Leak Varislope stereogram with Thorens turntable and the whole sold well at £700.  Other items included a three piece Arts and Crafts oak bedroom suite, each piece surmounted by a stepped “roof”, which found £2200, and an 18^th century ash and elm stick back Windsor chair sold at £1200.

The clock section had three four figure prices all from Wakefield.  These comprised a French brass cased carriage clock in ornate case £1100, a mid 18^th century ebonised bracket clock by Pike, London, at £2300, and finally a very slender mahogany grandmother clock by Hampton, London, selling for £1150.

Also at this end of the sale was featured a section of garden and architectural items, the norm for this time of year comprising a wide variety of troughs, pots, seats, gates, and the like while most prices in this 75 lot section were relatively modest, they included a pair of galvanised iron greenhouse stands £950, a very stylish Arts and Crafts style stone owl £1050, and best of all a Victorian backless sandstone bench with carved and inscribed ends selling for £3400.

Within the picture sections Wakefield boasted four notable prices, three of which were old gilt framed portraits.  A 17^th century English School “Portrait of a Lady” reached £2500, a pair of Mr & Mrs Edward Lloyd by Charles Allen Duval, mid 19^th century, found £1300, and a Circle of Godfrey Kneller portrait of the 1^st Duke of Berwick, c.1700, sold for £1500.  Another item from this source was a typical offering of William Mellor “Landscape with Cattle Watering”, selling for £1550.  Three Mellors from other sources, all very much typical of his oeuvre sold for between £1250 and £1550.

Other pictures included an oil study of sheep and cattle in a Springtime orchard by William Sydney Cooper, £1600, “Snipe”, an oil by Fred Cuming £1250, and another oil “Bavarian Glass Vase”by Judith Cain £1800.  A small collection of twelve works by Leeds artist Philip Naviasky included a charming portrait of a young girl selling for £950.  The major fire power was reserved for the best price in the sale, an oil “Industrial Town in the Snow” by Harrogate painter Brian Shields “Braaq”, selling at £6600.

The morning sale was devoted to small items in their various categories, starting with the ceramics and glass.  This section came out running with Lot 3, a pair of stylish Royal Worcester vases dated 1957 selling for £1000, and Lot 4 a Royal Worcester vase and cover painted with swans by Charles Baldwyn £1950.  A Royal Worcester pot pourri painted with Highland Cattle by John Stinton found £1950, and a Lalique pale glass plaffonier or ceiling bowl in “Coquilles” pattern doubled its upper estimate at £1000.

Moving to the silver, a Chinese or Cantonese mug, dated 1861, chased and embossed with a busy river scene, sold well at 1900, and a set of twelve George III Scottish tablespoons c.1770 reached £1000.

The watch section was larger than usual with a wide variety of items, the two most notable being a gents Rolex 9ct gold wristwatch bought in 1974 which found £1050, and a lady’s Omega 18ct gold wristwatch, the dial and border set with small diamonds which went to a mid estimate £1250.

Jewellery was the usual picture of items selling well or not at all, with a higher buy-in rate overall.  The most decorative and eye catching lot was a pair of Russian silver gilt and blue enamelled cufflinks set with a Romanov crown set in diamonds which sold well at £3000.  Another pair of diamond set cufflinks reached £1500, a Signoretti quadruple link 18ct gold bracelet sold for £1300, and another formed with three strands topped it at £1650.

The section finished with a classical solitaire diamond ring of 2.02 carats on a plain platinum shank which went to a mid estimate of £3600.

Finally the works of art were split up to include stringed instruments and cameras and the latter produced the better prices.  They included a Leica R4 camera with lenses and accessories £900, two Leitz Wetzler Summilux-R lenses at £1400, and two other Leitz lenses with a Contax 137 camera selling for £1900.