MATTHEW BARTON is delighted to announce that he will be holding his first independent auction of Silver, Works of Art and Objects of Vertu on Wednesday, November 25, 2009 in West Kensington at 25 Blythe Road, W14. The sale will start at 12noon.
More than 150 items dating from 1670 onwards, including works by some of the most famous names of the 20th century will be offered.
Among the highlights of the sale will be a jewelled silver cigarette case by the Iconic Russian maker Karl Fabergé. The oblong case decorated with diamond and ruby set roundels, and in its original holly wood box is estimated at £4,000 – 6,000 (see illustration left).
The sale is also a perfect opportunity to buy Christmas gifts, with prices ranging from £60 to £15,000. Interesting items include an 18th century Dutch silver toy of the Three kings following the star which measures 9cm high and is estimated at £500-700. A rare set of four German silver-gilt apostle spoons, produced in Hildesheim in 1705, are estimated to fetch £1,200-1,800. A good selection of boxes ranging from snuff boxes to Vizagapatam games boxes will also be offered along with silver smallworks and a number of works of art.
A private collection by highly desirable makers Omar Ramsden and Leslie Durbin comprises almost 20 lots. Omar Ramsden (1873-1939) was born in Sheffield to a silver and electroplate manufacturer. As an apprentice silversmith, he attended evening classes at the Sheffield School of Art, where he met Alwyn Carr and together they went on to study at the Royal College of Art in London. In 1898, they set up a London workshop to produce fine ‘Art Silver’. After the war the partnership broke up in 1919, but Ramsden continued, producing objects in the same vein, running a very successful business until his death in 1939.
At the age of 13 years, Leslie Durbin (1913-2005) won a scholarship to study silversmithing. Durbin subsequently became an apprentice at Ramsden’s Fulham workshop and after the war, Ramsden’s widow sold Durbin some of her husband’s casting patterns.
The vendor’s father was a great admirer of Ramsden and collected his works through the 1930s. After the war, his tastes naturally led him to Leslie Durbin for further pieces in the same style.
Two of the most interesting pieces by Ramsden are a silver Café-au-Lait pot, dating from 1936, is estimated at £1,000-1,500, while a Silver Sugar Caster, from 1930 carry a similar estimate.
Also included is a Victorian parcel-gilt-silver conductor’s baton, by Richards & Brown of London dating from 1862. It was almost certainly used for the opening ceremonies of the London 1862 International Exhibition, to conduct a huge choir and orchestra. Queen Victoria had expressed the wish that the opening of the exhibition be a national ceremony. The Duke of Cambridge represented the Queen (she had gone into deepest mourning since the recent death of the Prince Consort) before a huge crowd of international heads of state, European royalty, exhibition directors etc. A choir of almost 2,500 people together with a 408-piece orchestra performed choral music and both Verdi and Meyerbeer wrote music especially for the occasion. The baton is decorated with a gilded terminal of a lion surmounting a gem-set crown and is estimated at £500-800.
A delightful George V silver cigarette cutter realistically modelled as a naval gun, which was used at the Relief of Ladysmith during the Boer War, is expected to fetch £800-1,200. Dating from 1910, this may have been commissioned to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the siege and used at celebratory banquets as it could be easily “wheeled” along the dining table.
A rare and impressive Louis XVI marble obelisk clock in the form on a classical column, with a figure on top, made by Jean-Gabriel Imbert of Paris is estimated at £10,000-15,000.
VIEWING TIMES
Sunday 22nd November – 12pm – 4pm
Monday 23rd November – 10am – 7pm
Tuesday 24th November – 10am – 5pm
Wednesday 25th November – 10am – 12 pm (limited view only)
For further information on the auction, please call
020 7806 5545 or visit www.matthewbartonltd.com
For Press Information only
Please contact Rachel Aked
Email: [email protected]
Tel: 07790 732448
