General Sale Releases

Bidders Eye up Jewellery

An early 19th century brooch painted with an eye is one of the more unusual lots going under the Charterhouse hammer in their two day 15th & 16th November auction.

“It is such a delicate little painting and whilst I have no idea who the eye relates to I would be very pleased to own it.” Commented Richard Bromell. “Brooches are often overlooked at auction and whilst there is nothing of value in the brooch such as diamonds, it is nonetheless a totally captivating little piece of jewellery and art.”

Eye miniatures are believed to have originated when the Prince of Wales (later George IV) felt the need to send Maria Fitzherbert, a widow, as a token of his love. This gesture and the romance that went with it was frowned upon by the court, so a miniaturist was employed to paint only the eye and thereby preserve anonymity and decorum. The couple went through a form of marriage on 15 December 1785, though all present knew the marriage was invalid by the Royal Marriage Act since George III had not approved. Reportedly Maria’s eye miniature was worn by George IV, hidden under his lapel. This is regarded as the event which led to lovers’ eyes becoming fashionable, appearing between 1790 and the 1820s in the courts and affluent families of England, Russia, France and more rarely, America.Read More »Bidders Eye up Jewellery

Howzat for a Book Collection!

A collection of Wisden’s Cricketers Almanacks, valued at £7,000-10,000, will be going under the Charterhouse hammer in their two day 18th & 19th October auction of books, sporting items, pictures and specialist selection of Beswick and Royal Doulton.

“Although a fan of cricket it was not my best sport at school.” Commented Charterhouse Sporting Specialist George Holtby. “We regularly see and sell post war Wisden’s but it is rare to see such a fantastic run of them dating from the early 1870’s through to just a couple of years ago.”

Wisden’s Cricketers Almanacks, more commonly known just as Wisden’s, is the longest running sport annual in history with the first copy coming out in 1864. It has detailed coverage including scorecards of every First class game played the previous English summer, summaries of minor counties, second eleven, university, school and premier club cricket as well as the Village Cup.Read More »Howzat for a Book Collection!

Modern Art Under the Hammer

A large painting by Dorset based Fernando Velazquez is going under Charterhouse hammer in their 18th & 19th October two day auction.

“As auctioneers, we sell a broad range of items from ancient Greek coins through to modern art such as this beautiful painting.” Commented Richard Bromell. “We have had the pleasure of selling several works by Fernando over the past few years and they always generate interest from private collectors.”

Fernando Velazquez was brought up in a small village outside Seville. He moved to London in 1996 and spent several years working from a studio in Hackney. Over the decades he has exhibited at numerous galleries and exhibitions in Venice, Berlin, Madrid, Barcelona, New York, Los Angeles, Jersey, London, Bath and Bristol.

Secret Diaries

A diary, kept by Bertie Kennedy Blount who served with the SOE (Special Operations Executive) during the Second World War, along with other Bertie Blount ephemera is going under the Charterhouse hammer in their auction of militaria and other collector’s items on Friday 21st September.

“Whilst we often come across diaries, you do not see many from war time in case they fell in to enemy hands!” Commented Richard Bromell. “Especially when the keeper concerned worked in the very secretive and very dangerous SOE.”

Designer Jewellery Fit For a Queen

A small collection of jewellery by Andrew Grima is included in the Charterhouse two day auction of jewellery, silver, watches and antiques on 23rd and 24th August.

“Andrew Grima was an Anglo-Italian jewellery designer who became known as the doyen of modern jewellery design in Britain.” Commented Charterhouse jewellery specialist Naomi Grabham. “He became the foremost jewellery designer in the West End in the 1960’s and 1970’s selling designs from his exclusive Mayfair gallery.”

Andrew Grima designed jewellery has had many admirers and collectors over the decades. Notable patrons have include The Queen, Princess Margaret, Barbara Hepworth, Jackie Onassis with fashion icons Miuccia Prada and Marc Jacobs.

Shiny Silver and Sparkly Diamonds

The Charterhouse two day auction in August includes a large collection of silver and a large collection of diamond jewellery including a whopping solitaire ring.

“The silver was collected over a number of years by the owner’s father.” Commented Richard Bromell. “Sadly he has been ill and recently moved into a home. Whilst the client mentioned it was a large collection of silver, I did not expect to see such a huge variety of items and the collection is expected to sell for five figures.”

In the collection,

Church fete buy worth thousands

A small watercolour drawing by modern British artist Mary Fedden, which was bought for peanuts in a church fete in Somerset, is estimated to sell for thousands of pounds when it goes under the Charterhouse hammer on Friday 27th July.

“I have always admired Mary Fedden as an artist. I recognised the picture being her work as soon as it was taken out of the plastic carrier bag when the owner brought it to our salerooms to be valued.” Commented Richard Bromell. “The owner bought the little picture of fruit at a church fete just because she liked the look of it rather than because she thought it was worth a great deal. Her curiosity then led her to look the artist up on-line which was when she thought it should be looked at by an expert and brought the picture to Charterhouse.”

Picture Perfect

A collection of maritime pictures by modern day Cornish artist Terry Bailey are going under the Charterhouse hammer on Friday 27th July.

“The pictures, which come from a Somerset deceased estate, were collected over a number of years by a retired Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm officer who had a huge love of the sea and sailing ships.” Commented Richard Bromell. “The pictures will no doubt tempt buyers to bid who enjoy the sea, Cornwall, sailing ships and wonderful draughtsmanship.”

Terry Bailey is best known for his paintings of yachting scenes, both historical and contemporary. Born in Manchester in 1941 he moved to the West Country in 1970.

Mantiques under the Hammer

June is a busy month for Charterhouse Auctioneers as they have two auctions with a slant toward mantiques.

First up there is the Charterhouse auction of classic car and motorcycles on Sunday 17th June at The Royal Bath & West Showground, Shepton Mallet. Included in the auction are nearly 30 classic motorcycles which have been dragged out of a rural Somerset barn.

“All the bikes from the barn are covered in layers of dust which has accumulated on them over the past 30 years or so.” Commented Matthew Whitney. “The owner, a serial motorcycle owner, has decided he will never get around to restoring these bikes and to let someone else dust them off and enjoy them.”

There is a broad range of classic motorcycles from the barn including a 1977 Yamaha FS1E, a 1965 Matchless, a 1960’s Cougar Cotton, a circa 1964 Triumph Tiger Cub Trials Special and a late 1970’s Honda 400 Four. Estimates on the motorcycles range from £200 up to £1,500.

This auction is then closely followed by the Charterhouse two day auction on 21st & 22nd June.

Diamond Rocks and Silver Service at Charterhouse

The huge Charterhouse May two day auction on Thursday 24th and Friday 25th has a vast array of lots estimated to sell from £50 up to £10,000.

On Thursday 24th May there are 600 lots of silver, jewellery and watches. In the jewellery there is a diamond necklace with about 10ct of diamonds estimated at £8,500-10,000*, a large three stone diamond ring £6,500-7,500*, a large pair of diamond stud earrings £5,000-6,000* and an early 20th century diamond pendant brooch £2,500-3,500*.

In the silver section there is a Regency silver claret jug £700-1,000*, a large early 19th century silver ewer £1,000-1,500* and a Victorian silver gilt and glass Cellini pattern claret jug at £4,000-5,000*.

In the watch department there are both ladies and gentlemen’s Rolex, Longines, Omega, Jaeger-Le Coultre and International Watch Company with estimates up to £1,500*.

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