Dear blog reader
The blog posts on this website started a few months ago with a report on one of the days’ sale of the Shandon collection and, at long last, here is a second part in this series. Enjoy.
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THE SCOTSMAN TUESDAY 15 MAY 1877
THE SHANDON SALE
LONDON, MONDAY NIGHT
The sale of the second portion of the Shandon collection commenced in the rooms of Messrs Christie, Manson & Woods, at one o’clock today.
The objects of art offered were miniatures, bijouterie, watches, snuff-boxes, carvings in ivory and Italian carvings in wood. There was but a scanty attendance in the room, most of those present being dealers, and the bidding was exceedingly slow, owing to the long time taken in the examination of each object when it was put up, those attending the sale having evidently not looked at the various articles befroehand as much as is generally the case. Of the various objects offered today, the snuff-boxes, many of which were very handsome, fetched the best prices.
The sale commenced with lot 1501, a miniature on enamel by H P Bone of Inigo Jones, after Van Dyck, which went for £3; and the next, a fine head of the Magdalen, by the same painter, after Guido, brought £3 15s. Another of the Earl of Westmoreland fetched £4 12s 6d and one of the Duchess of Hamilton, after Lely, £5 10s. An effective oval enamel of Mirevelt by Bone went for £5 15s. A small portrait of the Duc de MOntpensier fetched 3 gs, and a miniature of the poet Thomson by Bone, after Aikman, 6 gs, while a fine portrait of Rembrandt, which came next, was cheap at £7. A large square enamel by Bone of Lavinia Countess of Spencer, after Reynolds, ran up to £21. Then came Louis XIV, a remarkably fine small oval enamel, on gold, went to Mr Boore for 26 1/2 gs. A tiny oval enamel by Zincke (1517) fetched 5 gs, and another of a lady in a blue dress £9 5s. A large enamel of Dr Johnson, after Sir J Reynolds, by W Essex, ran up to £26. The next lot, Frances Marchioness of Camden, a very fine enamel by Bone after Reynolds, fetched £37. The last miniature, one of the Duke of Wellington, by Bone, realised 10gs.
The bijouterre came next, commencing with a gold ring with landscape and cows in wax, which went for £1 18s. A badge of the Pitt Club, with cameo portrait of Pitt set in silver gilt fetched £3 15s. The next lot, a gold medal with the arms of the City of Glasgow, formerly worn by the Lord Provost, realised 7 guineas, and a large gold brooch which followed, £9. A pendant jewel, a jacinth in the shape of a vase, and three pearls sold for the same price, and a gold ring with the Lord’s Prayer written on the space of 3-16ths of an inch in diameter, for £17. A Cinque Cento jewel for a lady, hanging round the neck, with pearls, stones and enamel, ran up to £35. A Dresden porcelain etui went to £8, and one of Battersea enamel, mounted in gold, for 10 gs. A needlecase formed as a bambino, of Dresden, mounted in silver, which was exhibited at Leeds, realised £22.
The watches came next, the first offered being one in an oval case of silver gilt and rock crystal, by Marc Gerard, Paris, form the Soltikoff Collection, which ran up to 10 1/2 gs. A small watch by Lagisse, in silver gilt case, went at £3 10s, on by Dollent, Paris (1554), for £4 10s, and the next, an oval silver clock watch by Johann Satler, for £6. A silver watch by Fromantin, with Time drawing the chariot of Sun, sold for £7. An oval watch by Dudunt of Blois, from the Soltikoff collection (1559), a very fine old specimen, was soon run up to £28, and another, from the same collection, bought 7 1/2 gs. A small gold watch by Gretton (1561) fetched £3 5s, and a small silver clock-watch by Marckwick (1564) £3 10s. The next lot, a silver gilt repeating watch by Hallier, London, set in brilliants, exhibited at Leeds, went at £14 10s. A gold watch by Brillon, Paris, enchased gold case, with plaques of Dresden porcelain, exceedingly fine, ran up to £3 10s. A small watch by Hubert Ronen, with rock-crystal back and front, went for 10 1/2 gs. A silver gilt repeating watch (1573) fetched £4; and one by Kange, in gold case, 7 gs. A gold watch by Coulin & Bry, Geneva, went at 10 gs; and the next lot, one by Le Blanc, Paris, in gold case, dial and hands set with brilliants, for 12 gs. A watch by Berthon, in gold case, enamelled (1578), realised £4; and the final lot of the watches today was a small one by Marchand et Fils, Paris, in oval gold snuffbox, the dial set with diamonds, which was run up to £26, and was sold, like many others, to Mr Grindley.
The first of the snuff-boxes was an octagonal bloodstone box, gold-mounted, a beautiful specimen, which was knocked down for £36. A circular box, with a pastoral subject, went for 7 1/2 gs. A horn box, on gold pique work (1585), fetched £3 5s; the next, of tortoise-shell, in the form of a ship, £5 10s; and the following one, of polished jasper, £3 15s. An oval box, of beautiful moss agates, mounted in gold (1592) soon ran up to £21 10s. The next lot, a one of black japan lacquer, fetched 6 gs. An oval tortoise box, with pique work (1597), brought £5; and the next lot, a similar one, exhibited at Manchester, the same price. An oval gold and silver gilt box, with a moss agate on the top, went to 10 gs. An oval box, made of the wood of Shakespeare’s mulberry tree, with a gold medal on the lid, formerly in the possession of David Garrick, realised £10; and the next lot, an oblong enamelled box, 7 1/2 gs. A round tortoise-shell box, with an oval portrait on the lid, mounted in gold, fetched £14; and the next, with an oval enamel, £5 10s. A box with oval enamel of the Nativity brought 5 1/2 gs; a circular iron box (1612), and the next lot, one of white enamel, were sold together for 11 gs. An oval-shaped Mocoa stone patch box, mounted with chased gold (1617), was sold with the preceding lot, a wooden box, for £20 10s. Then came an important lot, an oval gold box, time of Louis XV, with dark purple panels and an oval enamel miniature of a lady, which was bought by Mr Josephs at £85. A shaped oval silver box, which came next, went for 27 gs. The last of the snuff boxes, a round shell box lined with gold, with a miniature of Anne of Russia, was not dear at 12 1/2 gs.
The ivory carvings came next in order. A small bust of a man (1622) sold for £9, and an oval medallion, with a portrait of a lady, temp. Queen Anne, for £8. ‘Morning’ and ‘Night’, two reliefs after Thorwaldsen, were sold together for 52 gs to Mr Lawrie, of Glasgow. ‘Mercury and Pandora’ after Flaxman, followed for 12 gs, and a statuette of the Madonna and child for £3. a box carved with masks brought 4gs; a large upright plaque carved with the Crucifixion (1632 ) went for 5 1/2 gs, and a small statuette of the infant Christ, the next lot, for £15 to Mr Whitehead. A pair of Indian figures, partly gilt, fetched £5 10s. A small statuette of Mars, with lance and shield, 17th century, went to Mr Lawrie for £7, being £1 for every inch of its height. A pair of statuettes (1637) were sold for 33 gs. Then came a set of four small statuettes, French work of the 17th or 18th century, from Alton Towers, which were knocked down for 21 gs. A statuette of a man, set with small rubies and diamonds (1639), went at 30 gs, to Mr Whitehead. A small pounce bottle. carved with Bacchanals. Dutch work (1700) went for £2 15s. A statuette of a mendicant with a wooden leg, and an old women, the companion, seventeenth century work, and about eight inches high, were sold for 27 gs, to Mr Lawrie. A statuette of an infant Bacchanal, the last ivory, fetched £4.
Italian carvings in wood followed. An small box, and a boxwood spindle, carved with figures, went for £3 5s; and the lower portion of a distaff, which followed, for 2 gs. A curious desk knife, with long boxwood handle, seventeenth century, went for 6 1/2 gs; and another, also beautifully carved, on a thin stem, for 10gs, to Mr Lawrie. A Venetian candlestick, of sandlewood (1655), fetched £9 10s, and two more followed for 7 1/2 gs. A pair of Venetian walnut wood bellows, with carved wood of the 16th century, very handsome, ran up to 17 gs. The next lot, ‘The Conversion of Saul, a composition of numerous figures, fetched 18 1/2 gs. A Venetian oblong casket of sandalwood, carved (1660), went to 10 gs. A pair of walnut wood brackets fetched 6 gs. Then came another pair of Venetian bellows of walnut wood, with figures, partly gilt, which brought 15 gs, while a pair which followed, with handsome nozzle, sold for 13 gs. A cedarwood carving of Jezebel, eleven inches high, with many figures, realised 9 gs. a pair of Neapolitan statuettes followed, of ivory wood, of a mendicant and his wife, which brought £5 10s. The last lot today was a Neapolitan group in ivory, with drapery of carved wood, and an aged person carrying a Cupid on his back, very curious, and about 19 inches high, which was knocked down for 17 gs to Mr Lowenstein.
The total realised by today’s sale was £1410, making the grand total up to the present time £35,755.
Shandon People and History 