A 17th century needlework casket is among the rare lots at Tennants Auctioneer’s spring fine art sale.
Viewing is open on Friday and on Saturday before the sale.
Dating from c.1670, the rectangular box is intricately decorated in raised stumpwork embroidery.
Stumpwork is a style of embroidery in which the stitched elements are raised into a 3D design; particularly popular in England from 1650-1700, aristocratic young ladies would master the craft as part of their education.
Due to the inherently fragile nature of stumpwork, examples of this age are few and far between and greatly sought after by collectors.
On the top are two figures, thought to be Charles II and Catherine of Braganza, standing either side of a stylised vase of flowers with heraldic animals and tulips, while the couple is repeated on the front panel watched over by Cupid and the sides are populated with classical scenes.
The casket is being offered with an estimate of £6,000-8,000 plus 24 per cent buyer’s premium.
Two early longcase clocks lead the horological section of the sale. The first is a fine example from the Golden Age of English clock making – a month going clock made by Joseph Windmills of London c.1695, one of the master clockmakers of the age.
Housed in a finely made burr walnut case with a precisely engineered movement, the clock is offered with an estimate of £10,000-15,000 plus 24% buyer’s premium.
Elsewhere in the sale, items of note include a silver figure of a Putto holding a basket of flowers, made by W.A. Bolin of Stockholm in 1919 after a sculpture by Auguste Moreau.
W.A. Bolin were once jewellers to the Russian Imperial Court in St Petersburg, but relocated to their founder’s native Sweden after the Russian Revolution.
Items of fine furniture include a late 19th/early 20th century Amboyna, Mahogany and Gilt Metal Mounted Vitrine in the Louis XVI style and an impressive pair of Mahogany and Parcel Gilt Serving Tables from the late 19th century in the George II style (estimate: £3,000-5,000 plus 24% buyer’s premium).
An illustrated catalogue is at www.tennants.co.uk leading up to the sale.
Entries are now invited for the Summer Fine Art Sale, and to enquire about entering items for sale please contact the salerooms on 01969 623780.
