1. Art Deco figure
Lenci 1930s earthenware figure titled Nudino Disteso, estimated at £5000-7000 at Bonhams on August 11.
The Bonhams sale of Decorative Arts and Design on August 11 includes a number of 1930s Lenci earthenware figures. This 12in (30cm) example modelled as a young nude in heeled shoes laying on a checked ground holding an apple is titled Nudino Disteso. It is signed in the mould for designer Elena König Scavini (1886-1974).
Estimate £5000-7000.
View and bid for this Art Deco Lenci figure via thesaleroom.com
2. Novelty timepieces
The furniture sale at Woolley & Wallis on August 11 includes these two late 19th or early century ‘industrial’ timepieces, the torpedo clock estimated at £8000-12,000 and the diver’s helmet clock at £1500-2000.
The furniture sale at Woolley & Wallis in Salisbury on August 11 includes these two late 19th or early century ‘industrial’ timepieces. Similar examples of both are pictured in Derek Roberts’ Mystery, Novelty & Fantasy Clocks.
The 18in (46cm) torpedo clock, with an automaton propeller, is probably based on the Whitehead torpedo, the world’s first self-propelled torpedo. The centre is inset with a compass that is signed Radiguet Paris. It is estimated at £8000-12,000.
The 8in (21cm) high chrome and brass diver’s helmet clock includes extra dials flanked by a thermometer and aneroid barometer. With the presentation inscription Morton Eden 25th June 1880 from HE Surtees, it is pitched at £1500-2000.
View and bid for these industrial timepieces via thesaleroom.com
3. Toy soldier
This 70mm scale mounted British Boer War-era officer by Noris, probably depicting General Sir Redvers Buller, is estimated £250-350 at Special Auction Services on August 11.
Toy soldiers from most of the major German makers – Noris, Heyde, Krause, Haffner and Heinrichsen – are represented in the Peter Cowan collection which features at Special Auction Services of Newbury on August 11.
Some of the largest-size figures produced in Germany are available, such as the 70mm scale mounted British Boer War-era officer shown here. Probably depicting General Sir Redvers Buller, the estimate is £250-350.
Noris was the brand name for the Gebruder Heinrich company which was a big rival to the more famous Heyde factory.
View and bid for this toy soldier set via thesaleroom.com.
4. Mod Brit watercolour
Mother and child signed Laura Johnson, painted by Dame Laura Knight before she was married in 1903, estimate £800-1200 at Roseberys on August 11.
This watercolour on buff coloured paper is signed Laura Johnson. It was painted by Dame Laura Knight (1877-1970) before she was married in 1903.
Mother and child, 7½ x 6in (19 x15cm) is typical of her style during her early 20s. It is likely to have been completed when she was based in St Quentin, France, in the late 1890s.
It is estimated at £800-1200 at Roseberys London in the Modern & Contemporary British Art auction on August 11.
View and bid for this watercolour via thesaleroom.com.
5. 17th century silver medal
This William and Mary ‘Pacification of Ireland’ silver medal is estimated at £1000-1500 at Dreweatts on August 12.
A William and Mary ‘Pacification of Ireland’ silver medal by D Drappentier is estimated at £1000- 1500 at Dreweatts in Donnington Priory, Berkshire, on August 12.
Busts of William and Mary feature on one side of the 2in (5.5cm) coin, with the reverse showing a lion trampling on a hydra while a spaniel fawns submissively at the feet of a lioness. The Latin inscription translates as 'To spare the humble and to subdue the proud' with the date in Roman numerals of 1691.
View and bid for this William and Mary silver medal via thesaleroom.com.
6. Wemyss cat
Wemyss cat estimated at £3000-5000 in Lyon & Turnbull’s August 12 Scottish Works of Art & Whisky auction.
Typical Wemyss cats are on offer at Lyon & Turnbull’s August 12 Scottish Works of Art & Whisky auction in Edinburgh. This one is estimated at £3000-5000.
Another at the same guide features sponged black on white decoration and typical marks for the factory and Thomas Goode, the London retailer that had exclusive rights to sell Wemyss Ware in England.
The marmalade-coloured example pictured here was decorated by Joe Nekola – the son of Karel who had moved from Bohemia in the 1880s to head the decoration shop at Robert Heron’s Fife Pottery.
View and bid for this Wemyss cat via thesaleroom.com.
7. Rare cocktail book
A 1937 first ‘Coronation’ edition of the Café Royal Cocktail Book, estimate £500-600 in Keys’ August 13-14 Books & Ephemera sale.
A 1937 first ‘Coronation’ edition of the Café Royal Cocktail Book, featuring a rare variant dust jacket with a classic design by Alex Jardine, carries an estimate of £500-600 in Keys’ August 13-14 Books & Ephemera sale.
The book contains a huge collection of cocktail recipes compiled by William J Tarling, who was head bartender at the Café Royal, and president of the then recently formed United Kingdom Bartenders’ Guild. The book contains some of the earliest recipes using tequila and vodka. It was illustrated by Frederic Carter.
The Café Royal, in London’s Regent Street, was founded in 1865 by French wine merchant Daniel Nicholas Thévenon (who anglicised his name to Daniel Nichols). Closed for renovation in 2008, it reopened as a five-star hotel in 2012.
View and bid for this cocktail book at Keys’ August 13-14 Books & Ephemera sale via thesaleroom.com.
8. Whisky advertising sign
Presse’s Nunns Island Galway Whisky advertising mirror estimated at €6000-12,000 at Victor Mee Auctions on August 12.
Victor Mee Auctions holds its first Irish Pub Memorabilia & Collectibles sale of the year on August 12. A stand-out lot is this Persse’s Nunns Island Galway Whisky advertising mirror – one of the rarest the firm has offered – that is estimated to sell for €6000-12,000.
View and bid for this Whisky advertising mirror via thesaleroom.com.
