Churchill’s false teeth sold for £15,200 at Norfolk auction
The false teeth were specially designed to preserve Churchill's natural lisp
A partial set of false teeth made for Sir Winston Churchill has been sold for £15,200 at an auction in Norfolk. The dentures, sold by Keys in Aylsham, had been expected to fetch a maximum of £5,000 at the sale on 29 July. The teeth were owned by the son of dental technician Derek Cudlipp who made them, but he decided to sell. They were specially constructed to preserve Churchill's natural lisp and were so important he carried two with him at all times. Keys' valuer Andrew Bullock said the wartime premier suffered from terrible teeth and gums and needed complicated dentistry from childhood. Churchill valued so highly the skill of his dentist, Wilfred Fish, who worked with Mr Cudlipp, that he nominated him for a knighthood. And Mr Cudlipp's son, Nigel, said his father's work was so important to Churchill the World War II prime minister would not let him join up to fight. "When my father's call up papers came, Churchill personally tore them up," he said. "Churchill said that he would be more important to the war effort if he stayed in London to repair his dentures." The delicacy and special design of the teeth were widely credited with helping Churchill speak clearly and effectively, said Mr Bullock. The false teeth were bought by a private collector from Gloucestershire. The collector is believed to own a number of items of Churchill memorabilia, including the microphone he used when announcing the end of the war. Source: BBC news
Rare Blue John Antiques return to Derbyshire
Blue John stone urns, a William & Mary marquetry box and a Dutch marquetry bombe chest all made a tidy sum at Tring Market Auctions
A pair of Blue John stone urns on plinths realised an excellent price of £11,200 at Tring Market Auctions’ Fine Art Sale held on Friday 23rd July. Blue John stone is a rare semiprecious mineral that is found near Castleton, Derbyshire – the only location in the world! Blue John stone antiques are highly sought after by collectors as proved by the pre-sale interest which came from prospective buyers throughout Europe. The sale day was well attended with international bids coming from European locations. It was heart-warming and satisfying to learn, however, that the winning bid of the Blue John urns came from a Derbyshire based buyer. The vases were going home. Stephen Hearn, Managing Director, Tring Market Auctions, said, ‘The pre-sale interest and spirited bidding is a true reflection of the response quality items receive at Tring Market Auctions.’ Other items of interest in the sale sold well with a William & Mary marquetry lace box selling at £1,250 and a small early 18th century Dutch marquetry bombe chest which reached £900.
Oscar Wilde Salomé first edition sells for a staggering £34,000
The 'previously unknown' 1893 First Edition of Oscar Wilde's Salomé
A previously unknown First Edition of one of the most important plays ever written starred in Dominic Winter's UK auction of Printed Books & Maps, last thursday (July 22). The Irish poet Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) began writing Salomé in 1861. This 1893 signed and inscribed London/Paris First Edition is all the more remarkable for being in French, which Wilde spoke and wrote fluently. Controversy dogged Wilde throughout his life, and Salomé was no exception. A year before this edition was published in 1892, Lord Chamberlain's licensor banned the play in London for its illegal depiction of biblical characters. Nevertheless, the play eventually had its debut performance at Paris's Theatre de l'Oeuvre, on February 11, 1896 - the same city in which Wilde would die four years later, penniless and destitute, aged just 46. Released a year prior to its English language version, this First Edition of Salomé sold in its original purple wrapper printed in silver, and is somewhat faded with marginal browning (including on the spine). Also adding to the book's historical significance is a signature and inscription by Wilde himself. Alongside Wilde's autograph, with trademark paraph to the last letter of his name, the fascinating inscription reads: '… Gustave Moreau, Hommage respectueux, Oscar Wilde'. This inscription is especially significant as it suggests that the book was a personal gift from Wilde to Moreau (1826-1898), whose paintings of Salome the author had praised and which may have inspired the play. The book - sold with a contemporary photograph of French Symbolist painter Moreau's 1886 watercolour of Salome dancing pasted into its opening pages - appeared in Dominic Winter's Gloucestershire sale with a pre-sale estimate of £20,000-30,000. Unsurprisingly, this singular and historical artefact of one of Ireland's most important playwrights exceeded all expectations, realising a final price of £34,000. Elsewhere on the market, collectors have an opportunity to acquire another example of Oscar Wilde's famous signature - on a rare photograph autographed by Wilde during his famous American tour of 1882. It was during this trip that he famously stated, while at New York City's custom house, "I have nothing to declare but my genius..." Source: Paul Fraser Collectibles
The ashes of Corrie’s ‘Frisky’ the cat made £700 at auction
Bill Roache (Ken Barlow) with the infamous Frisky
It would have had Ena Sharples spluttering into her milk stout. The ashes of the cat that appeared in the title sequence of Coronation Street sold at auction today for £700 – five times the estimate. Frisky the cat appeared in the opening of more than 1,000 episodes of the soap, crouching on the roof of Jack Duckworth's pigeon loft. His remains had been expected to fetch £150 at Dominic Winter Book Auctions in South Cerney, Gloucestershire. But soap fans from around the world packed the auction room and made telephone and internet bids to push the final hammer price to £700, or £844 after fees. The money will be given by the owner, John Rimington, from Leeds, to the charity Cats Protection. He said: "Frisky was not only a much-loved family pet but also captured the heart of the nation. We were very proud to be his owners and we are keen to keep his memory alive." Frisky shot to fame in 1990 when he was chosen from 5,000 hopefuls to star in the opening titles of Coronation Street. At the height of his stardom, Frisky's fan club had 1,500 members and he would receive bags of fan mail. But he was diagnosed with cancer in 2000 and his owners had to have him put to sleep. Frisky continued to feature in the opening credits of the soap until 2001. His ashes were sold in a sealed wooden casket with a small brass plaque, together with a certificate from a pet crematorium confirming Frisky's cremation on 17 November 2000. The auctioneer, Chris Albury, said: "It is one of the quirkiest lots we've ever sold – up there with one of Napoleon's teeth and a lock of Jane Austen's hair. We've had a lot of interest worldwide from as far away as New Zealand." The buyer of Frisky's remains – as yet unidentified – is a soap fan from Essex. Source: The Guardian
Munch’s Madonna sets a record at UK auction
A hand-coloured image of Edvard Munch's Madonna sold for £1.25million today - doubling its estimate and making it the most expensive print ever to be sold in the UK.
The controversial artwork, in Munch's famous swirling style, had been estimated to fetch £500,000 to £700,000 at Bonhams Prints sale in London.
Bonhams said that as well as setting a UK record, the image was also the second most expensive print to be sold in the world.
Another Munch work, Vampire II, sold in Oslo in 2007 for around £1,256,000.
The Madonna artwork was snapped up at Bonhams by a private buyer from the U.S. for £1,252,000 including buyer's premium.
The work, which has not been shown in public before coming to auction, is signed and dated 1895, the year of its creation.
The artist re-worked his original idea several times between 1895 and 1902.
The print is from the very first state and is, according to Bonhams, arguably the earliest hand-coloured impression.
It shows the Madonna in yellow and white set against a halo of blue, green and red. The central figure is surrounded by a blood red border containing forms resembling sperm and a foetus.
The model for the Madonna was Munch's mistress, Dagny Juel, described as a 'femme fatale' who after numerous ill-fated affairs was shot dead by a young lover in a Tblisi hotel aged 33.
The work, described as being in 'excellent condition' had been in the same family for more than 100 years.
Bonhams head of prints, Robert Kennan, said: 'It has been a real privilege selling such a wonderful image and it fully deserves to have achieved such a fantastic price.'
The work was sold on behalf of the estate of abstract expressionist artist Frank (Albert) Avray Wilson.
It was previously in the collection of his wife Ivy Eckbo, the adopted daughter of Eivind Eckbo, a Norwegian businessman and philanthropist who owned several Munch lithographs.
Source: Daily Mail
Minton Majolica
by Jamie Breese One of my favourite ceramics is also one of the most consistent in terms of performance. Minton Majolica is a hugely colourful area of the antiques world – full of rarities, curious subjects and genuine treasures. A display of Majolica always surprises. It’s such an evocative name that collecting societies, dealers and auctions have been celebrating its splendour since the late 1980s when the market started to boom.
The word Majolica is actually a corruption of the word ‘Maiolica’, an Italian word used for Spanish lustre pottery sourced from Majorca. Majolica in essence, is a form of earthenware that was first developed and introduced by Minton to the wider world via the Great Exhibition at the Crystal Palace in London in 1851. It was richly modelled and the biscuit body was dipped in tin enamel glaze, then decorated with clear glaze, coloured with metallic oxide. Though there were later names associated with the style, Minton was the company behind Majolica’s key development. The pottery was founded in 1793 by Thomas Minton in Stoke-on-Trent. Ever since, the company has been associated with finest of earthenware and bone china tablewares and, in particular, they popularized the legendary so-called Willow pattern. Minton Majolica was originally designed for the English garden. It was Thomas’s son, Herbert, who in 1849, together with the top French ceramic chemist, Leon Arnaux, spearheaded this revolution at the company. They realised the benefits that their new lead glaze would have in weather proofing the ever-popular garden ornaments of the day: from garden seats and umbrella stands, to urns and fountains. The richness and shimmer of the technique didn’t go unnoticed and the company adopted Majolica for the dining room table of Victorian Britain. Arnoux’s involvement at the firm lured in other top French artists including the sculptor Carrier de Belleuse, Antoine Boullemier and Marc-Louis Solon. Their work went down a storm and the often rustic shapes and colours proved a constant surprise.
A Minton Majolica jardinière. Year cipher for 1864. IMAGE COURTESY OF CHRISTIE'S IMAGES LTD
If we jump forward to the modern day one finds Majolica a popular and precious ceramic. It is an enduring ‘heavyweight’ of the antique market, though prices have fluctuated: most recently because of world events. The auction houses of England are a good place to get a feel for the current climate. Sotheby’s hold the world record for Majolica. In July 2002 the hammer came down on an exceptional pair of ‘blackamoor’ figures complete with stands, at their Olympia saleroom. The original design for these exotic characters was believed to have been a 17th century engraving by Jean le Pautre. Continuing the strong French connection, the pieces were modeled by Albert Carrier de Belleuse. These have been described as some of his most fascinating and bold works in pottery. I recently sought an authoritative market overview from Phil Howell, one of the leading ceramics experts and a specialist at Sotheby’s auctioneers in London. 'On the optimistic side, it is a good time to collect. The market has seen its ups and downs – it was strong in the late 80s and dipped in the early 90s with the recession. Prices paid came down as a result and then they have gradually increased. Now is a good time to buy'. Some superb examples have been sold through Sotheby’s in the past. In October 2001, an extremely rare mirror came up for grabs in New York as part of The Harriman Judd Collection of British Art Pottery (Part II). Dated to around 1870, the estimate was $20-30,000 (£10-15,306). It ended up raking in a whopping $49,625 (£25,319). For an another expert view on the current state of the market, I spoke to Rod Woolley, Director and Head of the Department at Christies, as he completed the sale of British and Continental ceramics which took place on November 14 last year. (ED – 2006). The sale was a success and featured a superb array of Majolica. There were several highlights for me. These included a Teapot and Cover (PICTURED) bearing the year cypher for 1878. The spout was modelled as a cockerel and each side was moulded with a circular foliate medallion on a dark-blue ground. The estimate was £3,000-5,000 but it made £6,240 on the day. Another gem was a pair of garden seats from around 1880 with an estimate of £2,000-3,000. They made £2640.
Two Minton Majolica oyster plates. Year Cyphers for 1888 and 1889. Sold for £1,800 at Christie's, 2006. IMAGE COURTESY OF CHRISTIE'S IMAGES LTD
For those looking to spend less, but enjoy the timeless elegance of Majolica, there were two Oyster Plates which carried the year ciphers for 1888 and 1889. With an estimate of £400-600, they cleared a most respectable £1920 on the day. Rob feels that the smaller pieces are definitely worth a look in today too. 'The last 15 years has been pretty consistent. Generally speaking Minton Majolica has been a good performer at auction. Nowadays, people are more after the smaller cabinet pieces - little teapots, dressing table items and the like. The oyster sets we had for sale today were an unusual design – and did well. Minton churned out lots of garden seats and jardinières and as a result they are not as quite sought-after as before. 'There were also some pieces which were quite affordable - a lovely pin tray which cost just £320 pounds. People get this impression that all Majolica is worth an absolute fortune – actually you can still pick pieces up reasonably affordably at auction'. Rob does seem to agree with his contemporary at Sotheby’s regarding the current downturn in prices but has some interesting additional thoughts on how this may’ve come to pass.
A Minton Majolica Teapot and Cover. Year Cypher for 1878, impressed Minton’s Mark and 624. Sold for £6,240 at Christie's, 2006. IMAGE COURTESY OF CHRISTIE'S IMAGES LTD
'We have the record for a majolica teapot which we sold about five years ago for just over £50,000. Nowadays it makes £20,000-30,000. These things sit around in people’s attics and when people start realising they are expensive, they all start to appear in auction and prices can fall. Also there are only a handful of top end collectors – they eventually get the item and therefore don’t need it next time it appears at a sale'. The Majolica market has seen a few fakes and buyers should be cautious as always. A few years ago, I set up and hosted a gameshow within ITV1’s This Morning. With a no-nonsense name, ‘Cash or Trash’ was my chance to test the presenters, Philip and Fern's, ability to spot the fakes. On one occasion I displayed two examples of Minton Majolica. One was a Game Pie Dish - which had a distinctive plain turquoise glaze inside and underneath and a moulded rabbit and a duck in a recumbent position on the cover. It carried the year cipher for 1869 and a three digit shape number. Next to this sat a cheese dish, specifically made for Stilton featuring a Minton backstamp and a year cypher. I caught them both out. The cheese dish was a superb but ultimately flawed fake. The Minton mark was cruder and the year cipher, too big. It had a thin colour. The modelling was less crisp, less involved. It also had an underplate which was less elaborate. The faker just wasn’t capable of producing such fine modelling, in particular, the Twigwork. The pie dish on the other hand I valued there and then at a conservative £8000!
A pair of Cockerel and Hen spill vases/ Sold for £5,760 at Sotheby's, 2006 IMAGE COURTESY OF SOTHEBY'S
Marks and Identification • Minton were fortunately pretty good at marking their wares – you will invariably find an impressed mark on the Majolica pieces. The name Minton or Mintons (used after 1873) all appear. Little symbols were also used as the year cypher – thereby allowing the collector to easily pinpoint a year. You also will find a shape number: a number of publications today do print the marks. They list all the shape and pattern numbers. • Remarkably, many of the original factory design books survived which makes the task of identifying pieces, even if unmarked, a touch easier today. • Most wares don’t carry artist’s signatures but the larger pieces may bear the signature or monogram especially if a well-known name such as Paul Comolera and John Henk was involved. Where To Find Out More • The Majolica International Society (www.majolicasociety.com). Founded in 1989, this group now boasts over 1000 members including authors, collectors and dealers. They also produce the ‘Majolica Matters’ newsletter. The Majolica Holy Grail? Perhaps the most extraordinary marvel was the grand Majolica fountain by John Thomas. Known as the St George fountain, it stood over 30ft high, and over 40 ft in diameter and was made up of over 350 separate parts! It was produced for the 1862 exhibition. The skill and effort which would have had to have gone into producing a work of this scale is unimaginable by today’s standards. Almost as unimaginable was its disappearance in Bethnal Green in 1929 Priceless if ever found. www.jamiebreese.co.uk Find Majolica on www.UKauctioneers.com now New Live bidding available on www.UKauctioneers.com