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Click here to subscribeMid 17th Century lead bronze mortar. English, Whitechapel, London, circa 1630 - 1650. The deep rimmed mortar cast with a scrolling floral pattern under the lip, the body with further band of interlace centred upon scallop shells. From a presently unknown London Whitechapel foundry, with good rich dark patination, 16cm high
* Pioneer Aviation. A Grahame White Aviation School silver badge, presented to Cheridah de Neauvoir Stocks, one of two women to gain a Royal Aero Club aviator's licence in 1911, the badge with the arms of London, inscribed 'Certificated Pilot', the reverse engraved 'Mrs C de Beauvoir Stocks Licence No. 153 London Aerodrome 7th Nov 1911', hallmarks for Mappin & Webb, Birmingham 1911, 40 x 35mm, 23.5g , together with a collection of aviation memorabilia including a bronze medal commemorating George Chavez flight over the Alps on 23 September 1910, reverse showing a Bleriot monoplane, 40mm diameter, a French bronze plaquette commemorating 1909 Navigation Aerienne designed by Pierre Alexandre Morton (1878-1951), the obverse showing a bi-plane and a Zeppelin, 58mm x 80mm, a small silver medal engraved S.M.A.E., showing early aircraft, Birmingham 1913, 31mm diameter, 16.6g and other itemsQty: (12)NOTESCheridah de Beauvoir Stocks (1887-1971) was born in Evercreech Somerset, moved to London in 1909 and on 7 November 1911 she became only the second woman to gain a Royal Aero Club aviators certificate, passing her test in a Farman biplane at Hendon. Following a crash at Hendon Air Show in 1913 she was left unconscious for six weeks; she never flew again.
* Third Reich. A WWII Close Combat Clasp by Funcke & Brüninghaus, die-cast zinc bronze finish, horizontal pin and makers mark F & B L, 10cm longQty: (1)NOTESCreated as an incentive for soldiers issued in three classes, bronze, silver and gold, for completion of 15, 30 or 50 close-combat days respectively. Combat days had to involve actual hand-to-hand combat on foot, whether in attack or defence.
* Sword. A WWII period Japanese Katana, the 61.5cm curved steel blade with gilded copper habaki, the bronze tsuba with flowers , the cord bound fishskin grip inset with two gilt bronze flower menuki, blade heavily pitted, 94.5cm long overall, in its steel saya with gilt bronze mountsQty: (1)
* Brooklands Automobile Racing Club. A collection of enamelled membership badges, comprising 1923 BARC, reverse numbered 575, BARC 1932, reverse numbered 940, BARC 1935, reverse numbered 883, together with a circular dashboard badge for Napier Campbell The Blue Bird Great Britain, 58mm diameter, a British Motor Cycle Racing Club lapel badge for 1934 plus a mixed collection of bronze prize medals including Exeter College Boat Club 1862, cased, military badges and other itemsQty: (29)
Title: A brass holy water bucket and two bronze mortars and a pestle, Italy and the Low Countries, 16th/17th C.Description: H 19 - 12,5 cm (the holy water bucket with and without handle)Ê L 19 cm (the pestle)Ê H 9,8 - 7,8 cm (the mortars)Ê Ê The tallest mortar with the inscription 'LOF GODT VAN AL' and dated 'Ao 1633'.
Title: After Antoine Coysevox (1640-1720): The crouching Venus resting on a turtle, patinated bronze on an oval gilt bronze base, about 1800Description: H 23,8 cm (incl. base)Ê Ê The crouching Venus by Coysevox is part of the Louvre collection (Paris, Louvre MR 1826). The original model of Venus taking her ritual bath dates from the third century BC and was most probably made by the Greek sculptor Doidalsas of Bithynia.
Title: After Massimiliano Soldani Benzi (1656-1740): Dancing faun with cymbals, patinated bronze, 19th C.Description: H 30,6 cmÊ Ê This Italian patinated bronze figure of the 'Uffizi' dancing faun standing on a round base, holding cymbals (or crotala) in his hand and with a kroupezion, is known from different in Rome excavated copies after a Greek statue - most probabably by Praxiteles (e.g. Florence, Uffizi Gallery; Rome, National Gallery of Ancient Art of Corsini Palace, Inv. no. 710). The 'Dancing Faun' was seen as one of the finest ancient sculptures. Casts were made from the 1680s onwards. The sculpture was very popular in the 19th C. as a Grand Tour souvenir.
Title: A large Russian Stavrotek icon with depictions of the descent from the cross and the entombment of Christ, mid 19th C.Description: 44,5 x 36,8 cm (the icon)Ê 27 x 13,4 (the bronze enamel cross)Ê Ê Provenance:Ê - This icon was part of the exhibition 'Ikonen in Belgisch particulier bezit', which ran from June 10 - August 15 1978 at the Saint Peter's Abbey, Ghent (exhibition number 802).Ê Ê Ref.:Ê - Edmond Voordeckers (ed.), Ikonen in Belgisch particulier bezit, Ghent 1978, pag. 239, nr. 802.Ê
The Ex-Midge Wilby, 1939 Scottish RAC Rally1937 Atalanta 2-Litre SportsRegistration no. HMX 957Chassis no. 1011Engine no. 1009•One of only two short-chassis cars of fewer than 20 produced•One of only two with the Gough 2-litre engine•Present ownership since 2007•Le Mans Classic eligibleFootnotes:A short-lived but highly regarded manufacturer, Atalanta Motors of Staines, Middlesex was the brainchild of Alfred Gough, designer of the overhead-camshaft Frazer Nash engine. Gough was joined in his new venture by another ex-FN employee, draughtsman Peter Crosby, while financial backing came principally from undergraduates Peter Whitehead and Neil Watson, the former a future Le Mans winner and the latter heir to the Burma Oils fortune. Other luminaries of the British Motor industry that played a part in the Atalanta story include Wally Hamill (Dunlop and Morris); Eric Scott (Specialoid pistons); A C Bertelli (ex-Aston Martin); and Dennis Poore (Manganese Bronze Holdings and Norton Villiers Triumph). Founded in 1937, the firm specialised in hand built sports cars of advanced design; the exclusive and expensive Atalantas being unique among British cars of their day in featuring all-independent coil-sprung suspension. The channel-section steel chassis was a substantial, X-braced affair, while the use of Hiduminium alloy for the suspension links and Elektron magnesium alloy for the huge (16'-diameter) Lockheed hydraulically operated brake drums helped keep un-sprung weight to a minimum. Gough four-cylinder engines powered the majority of Atalantas, not that there were many; indeed, it is estimated that no more than 20 cars of all types were built. The Gough engine was available in two capacities: 1.6 (78bhp) and 2.0 litres (98bhp), while in 1938 the company added a Lincoln Zephyr V12-powered 4.3-litre model to the range. Whatever the engine, the Atlanta's performance was excellent, thanks in no small part to its lightweight construction, and many of the cars enjoyed successful competition careers. Most were bodied by Atalanta's neighbours, E D Abbott of Farnham. Sadly, the outbreak of WW2 curtailed development of these exciting designs, and the Atalanta marque was not revived after the war's end. Survivors are exceedingly rare. One of only two short-chassis models, 'HMX 957' was originally owned by Miss M V 'Midge' Wilby, one of Atalanta's directors, who competed in rallies and trials with considerable success. This car was delivered with the 2-litre Gough engine and is the second of the three Atalantas owned by Midge Wilby. Reportedly, the adventurous Miss Wilby entered an Atalanta in the 1938 Monte Carlo Rally only to have her entry rejected on the grounds that the firm had built too few cars to be eligible. She drove a Lancia Aprilia instead. Another of Atalanta's financial backers, Midge Wilby ran a quasi 'works' team of these cars for herself and her friends, of which 'HMX 957' was one. In 1939 the Atalanta team won the manufacturers' team prize in the SWAC Welsh Rally. In 1939, The Light Car road-tested another of Midge Wilby's Atalantas ('JMC 973') for an article in its 7th April edition, declaring: 'road holding is beyond criticism: rough, almost colonial sections can be treated like main roads. The Atalanta has the tenacious quality of a racing car when cornering, and it is nearly impossible to cause the tyres to squeal'. That same year, 'HMX 957' was entered in the Scottish RAC Rally as part of a three-car team driven by a Mr A E Crosby, and contemporary press cuttings and photographs of the car in action may be found in the history file. What happened to the Atalanta immediately thereafter is not known, the next ownership record on file being an old-style continuation logbook (issued 1950) which records a change of engine rating/size from 13.9 to 24.9 horsepower, and a change of colour from blue to green. The penultimate change of owner is dated 1963. The last change in the logbook, Ryan Hodges of Woodcote, Reading, is also recorded as owner in a list of 14 Atalanta cars ('HMX 957' being one of only two 2.0-litre Gough-engined examples). The car is stated as being fitted with a Bristol engine at time of purchase by Mr Hodges. It is also stated that a correct Gough engine was 'now being assembled'. Some time later 'HMX 957' went to Sweden and is mentioned as resident there in a letter on file from Midge Wilby dated 3rd February 1985. Chronologically, the next significant piece of this car's history is its appearance in a UK auction in February 1996 (catalogue entry on file), it being stated at that time that the Atalanta was offered fresh from a major restoration carried out between 1993 and 1995, which included fitting a Ford V8 'flat head' engine. Its owner at that time would appear to have been Mr Werner Oswald of Brocton, Staffordshire (recorded as previous keeper in the old-style V5C on file). Its purchaser in February 1996 was Mr Craig Davis of Pebble Beach, California, who immediately commissioned TT Workshops of Westbury, Wiltshire to undertake a full restoration, including the sourcing and installation of a correct 2.0-litre Gough engine, one being found in Switzerland (see correspondence and detailed bills on file). The Atalanta appears to have next changed hands in 2007 when it was offered for sale by Mr Patrick Ryan of California at a US auction and purchased shortly thereafter by the current owner. In the vendor's own words: 'The car was immaculate when we purchased it – reflected in its having recently won the Cartier Style et Luxe at Goodwood and being displayed and sold at Pebble Beach in 2007. It is presented in similarly immaculate condition now.' Whilst in current ownership the Atalanta has benefited from the expert attention of the renowned Le Riche Automobile Restorers, who have carried out further major refurbishment works since its acquisition (bills on file). More recently (November 2019) 'HMX 957' was inspected and mechanically refreshed by Atalanta Motor Cars Ltd, the main focus of the work being to ensure the brakes, steering, and suspension operated safely. The bodywork was re-polished and detailed, and the car then remained in covered storage for some months prior to collection.The engine was serviced (including fresh oil) and set-up to run properly, which it did, and the car was then test-driven for no more than three miles. As the Atalanta was again likely to stand for some time in the client's collection, the cooling system was drained as precaution. (At the time of cataloguing it was noted there was some emulsification in the oil, which we understand is due to porosity in the block. This will likely need rectification prior to serious road use.)The Atalanta has seen only limited use while forming part of the vendor's private collection, covering only some 100 miles since acquisition. It was displayed at the Credit Suisse motoring event in Jersey in 2008 and at the Hampton Court Concours in 2014 but has not been rallied or used on events. It was a very personal acquisition that was, due to its age, admired as a piece of automotive art and displayed in the music room of the owner's house. Exotic, advanced, and exceedingly rare, the mythical Atalanta is rightfully considered by many enthusiasts to be the 'Holy Grail' among British pre-war sports cars.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
A fine bronze bust of Sir Henry Royce by Roman Bronze Works of New York, circa 1930,hollow cast on integral cast pedestal base, 56cm high. Footnotes:Roman Bronze Works was a bronze foundry in New York City. Established in 1897 by Riccardo Bertelli, it was the first American foundry to specialise in the lost-wax casting method and was the country's pre-eminent art foundry during the American Renaissance (ca. 1876-1917). Long a sub-contractor to Louis Comfort Tiffany's Tiffany Studios, the foundry moved in 1927 to Tiffany's red brick factory in Corona, Queens, New York. The foundry's mould makers, casters, chasers & finishers, and patinaters cast sculptures from plaster and terracotta models provided by sculptors. They also scaled down monumental and other finished works for editions of collectors' bronzes, allowing works by great artists to ornament a private library or drawing room.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
A rare 'Dinosaur' mascot, post 1913,bronze, 12cm long, mounted on a wooden display base. Footnotes:This dinosaur mascot is modelled as a Styracosaurus (Spiked Lizard), based upon a herbivorous ceratopsian dinosaur that lived in the Cretaceous period about 75 million years ago. The first fossil of Styracosaurus albertensis was discovered in Alberta, Canada by C.M. Sternberg (from an area now known as Dinosaur Provincial Park) and named by Lawrence Lambe in 1913.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
Seven assorted car mascots,including 'The Bomber', British, circa 1915, nickel plated bronze, marked 'Copyright SW Bimingham', 13.5cm high; Alsatian's Head, signed Devenet, 1920s, nickel plated bronze, 11cm high on a marble display base; Squirrel, signed M. LeDucq, French 1930s, hollow cast alloy, 15cm high, on a marble display base; Angry Cat, British 1920s, nickel plated bronze, 8cm high, (repair to tail), on a wooden display base; Art Deco Angry Cat, 1930s, chromed, 9cm long on a wooden display base; 'Chouette', French, 1920s, nickel plated alloy owl, 8cm high on a wooden display base and an Alvis Eagle, chromed die-cast metal, (crack and old repair to wing), 16.7cm high on marble display base. (7)For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
A fine and rare 'Sirene' mascot by Georges Colin for Hermes of Paris, French, circa 1922,signed 'G.Colin', with '(C&L)'(Contenot & Lelievre) mark and deeply impressed foundry cartouche with further stamped marks '(21) 1549' and number '10' to rear of base, Cire Perdue hollow cast nickel-plated bronze mascot in the form of a graceful nude mermaid rising from the waves with flowing hair and beckoning arms, 13cm high, mounted on turned wooden display base. Footnotes:This mascot was awarded the prestigious Medaillee L'Auto for 1922 and was marketed by Hermes between 1922-1925.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
A fine late 19th century French engraved gorge cased enamel panelled carriage clock with original travelling case and a winding key.Drocourt no.11334 the dial signed J.Heros 10 Rue de la Paix 10, Paris The highly engraved case with moulded handle over an oval bevelled glass inspection panel and repeat button over two rectangular side panels depicting courting lovers, the signed Arabic dial with blued-steel spade hands surrounded by a wooded scene depicting a woman and a child with gilded border and bleu celeste background. The two train movement with silvered lever platform escapement with bi-metallic compensated balance, striking the hours and half hours on a coiled blued-steel gong. Ticking, striking and repeating. Sold with the original red velvet lined travelling case and a brass double ended winding key. 18.5cms (7ins) high (3)Footnotes:Purchased in November 2015 and cleaned in January 2018. Pierre and Alfred Drocourt were among the finest makers of carriage clocks in the mid to late 19th century, having a factory at Saint-Nicolas-d'Ailermont, and in Paris at Rue Debelleyme 28 and Rue de Limoges. They made superb carriage clocks that were often highly decorative and were awarded numerous medals at exhibitions, such as the Bronze Medal in Paris 1867, the Silver in Paris 1878 and the Gold in Paris 1889. The son Alfred Drocourt succeeded his father Pierre Drocourt sometime in the 1870s.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
A very rare mid 19th century English historical Presentation skeleton timepiece with deadbeat balance escapementUnsigned, but attributable to James CondliffThe open scroll frame with plates measuring 5mm (3/16ths) in thickness, united at the lower terminals with turned pillars secured by pairs of blued steel screws and brass collets to the front and back, the upper scrolls bound by turned steel posts secured by matching, smaller collets and screws; the single chain fusee movement with Harrison's maintaining power, high count pinions and wheels of five crossings throughout, the train terminating in a vertical deadbeat 'scape wheel and polished steel pallets with banking screws, impulsed via a vertical polished steel lever with trefoil-shaped endpiece concealing the twin impulse pins of the large (2inch) diameter brass four-arm balance above, (the balance set with timing screws on a flat blued steel spring), the 4.5 inch diameter silvered Roman chapter ring with outer minute band and the pair of original matching blued steel Breguet style hands, all mounted on an ebonised wooden base mounted with the presentation plaque, further set on a plinth with recessed edge to take the heavy bronze-finished cover with five heavy bevelled glass panels. Ticking. Sold with a 19th century winding key. The frame 21cms (8.25ins) high. Height to the top of the glass cover 34cms (13.5ins). Footnotes:The silvered presentation plaque reads:PRESENTED TOJOHN CONDIE ESQUIRE,BY THE WORKMEN EMPLOYED AT WILSONTOWN IRON WORKSOn hisleaving the Management of these Works As a small mark of their regard for himas a Kind and Just Master,And of their estimation of his Valuable ACQUIREMENTS IN SCIENCEand especially his IMPROVEMENTS IN IRON MAKING October 1839John Condie was born in the Gorbals, Glasgow on the south bank of the Clyde in 1799. Like many local men, his life revolved around the iron making trade, and he soon joined the Wilsontown Iron Works near Forth, south east of the city. It was here that James Beaumont Neilson (1792-1865) developed a new blast furnace, but it was Condie's invention of the Spiral Tuyere in 1836 that enabled raw coal from the adjacent mines to be used in the process, rather than the far more expensive coke. It was during this time of innovation and expansion that this clock was presented to Condie by his workmen. With the closure of the Wilsontown Works in 1842 (which at one time had employed two thousand men), Condie moved to the Govan Iron Works at Hutchesontown, not far from the Gorbals. It was here in 1846 that he patented a steam hammer with a fixed piston and a moving cylinder which carried the hammer at its base. The first example was erected in the Govan works in 1848. Condie went on to produce a number of these gargantuan steam hammers, each with up to as much as a seven ton force, for several forges around Scotland. Condie handed over the Govan works to Allan C. Wylie before his death in Wellcroft Place in his home city of Glasgow at the age of sixty-one in 1860.Reading the presentation inscription on this clock, one is left in no doubt that not only was Condie a man of huge talent and vision but was also a man of great humanity. The esteem in which he was held by his workforce exudes from every line. The clock was given relatively early on in his career and it is pleasing to consider that this timepiece was witness to such a fertile mind, one that certainly changed the fortunes of Glasgow, and improved the processes of iron manufacturing at a time when Britain was considered 'the workshop of the world.'For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
Desmond Morris (British, born 1928)Fertility Figure signed with monogram and numbered '6/6' (to underside)bronze with a green patina9.5cm (3 3/4in) longConceived in 1973Footnotes:ProvenanceThe Artist, from whom acquired directly by the present ownerPrivate Collection, U.K.ExhibitedLondon, The Mayor Gallery, Desmond Morris, Fifty years of Surrealism, 6 May-7 June 1997, no. 39Buxton, Buxton Museum and Art Gallery, Desmond Morris, A Surrealist World, 23 August-20 September 1997, no. 28Antwerp, Rossaert, Desmond Morris, 50 Years of Surrealism, Works on paper 1947-1997, 4 November 1998-10 January 1999, no. 34London, The Mayor Gallery, Surrealism in Britain, 20 April-28 May 1999, no. 9London, The Mayor Gallery, Desmond Morris, Works on Paper 1949-1999, 15 December 1999-28 January 2000, no. 37London, The Mayor Gallery, Some Summer Surrealists, 1 June-15 July 2000, no. 30LiteratureM. Remy, The Surrealist World of Desmond Morris, Jonathan Cape, London, 1991, p. 142, illustratedS. Levy, Desmond Morris: Analytical Catalogue Raisonné 1944-2000, Petraco Pandora, Antwerp, 2001, pp. 300-1, no. 1973/24, illustratedThis lot is subject to the following lot symbols: ARAR Goods subject to Artists Resale Right Additional Premium.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
Ann Christopher R.A. (British, born 1947)Found Line 2 stamped with initials, numbered and dated 'AC 2●9 13' (on side); further stamped 'M4' (on underside)bronze with a black and cream patina13.5cm (5 5/16in) highFootnotes:ProvenanceWith Pangolin London, LondonPrivate Collection, U.K.ExhibitedLondon, Pangolin London, To Know Without Remembering, 7 November-7 December 2013, illustrated on p. 27 and coverThis lot is subject to the following lot symbols: ARAR Goods subject to Artists Resale Right Additional Premium.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
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