We found 9689 price guide item(s) matching your search

Refine your search

Year

Filter by Price Range
  • List
  • Grid
  • 9689 item(s)
    /page

Lot 384

J Prendergast, engraved by E Duncan'View of the City of Victoria, Capital of Hong Kong'Coloured engraving, dedicated to Queen Victoria, 33 x 39cm CONDITION REPORT: Lot 384 - in good condition, no issues, looks like a modern re-print

Lot 15

An Arts and Crafts style silver plated three branch candelabra in the manner of James Dixon, possibly after a design by Jan Eisenloeffel circa 1902, with tapering square cruciform capital, each branch mounted with a circular drip pan, all above square base with riveted collar and border detail, stamped Mappin and Webb.

Lot 85

A pair of Edwardian hallmarked silver candlesticks with plain columnar capital and circular spread foot, filled, Birmingham 1906, Levi and Salaman S/D (2)

Lot 377

Prof. Antonio Frilli (Italian/Florentine, d. 1902),"Bust of a Nubian Maiden", marble, inscribed "A. Frilli / Firenze" on reverse of truncation, h. 30 1/2 in., w. 21 in., d. 13 1/2, contemporary marble socle, overall h. 37 in. Note: Antonio Frilli was a Florentine sculptor who worked primarily with Carrara marble and alabaster. His delicately executed original works and replicas garnered national acclaim, and he was highly sought-after in his lifetime, notably commissioned by Leland Stanford to create several of the impressive statues that decorate the Stanford University Campus. Frilli founded the Frilli Gallery in 1860, as a studio and art atelier in Florence, the capital art city of the Belle Epoque. An astute businessman, Frilli ensured that his gallery participated in many World Fairs, garnering international attention and taking home awards and prizes throughout the year. In 1904, he posthumously won the Grand Prix at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis for his exquisite marble sculpture entitled “Woman Lying on a Hammock,” which showcased his exceptional talent and ability to manipulate a notoriously difficult medium.In this lot, Frilli’s tremendous skills are on display particularly in the various textures that create the composition. His execution of the coarse fringed textile compared to that of the ringlets of hair and the details of the cabbage leaf crown is remarkable given the challenge inherent in accurately rendering each component. The maiden’s shawl falls open, revealing her left breast, a striking visual reminiscent of Amazonian warriors which lends gravitas to the figure who is being presented in such high esteem.Ref.:“About Us.” Frilli Gallery. www.frilligallery.com. Accessed Oct. 22, 2016.

Lot 248

Canada General Service, 1866-70, single clasp, Fenian Raid 1870 (Pte J. F. McLeod 58th Bn.), about extremely fine. The original roll held by the Canadian National Archives confirms that John F. McLeod was present and serving in Canada in 1870 at Sherbrooke, the place intended for a possible stronghold or Fenian capital, and that he was from Springhill.

Lot 240

*An I.G.S. Pegu & Long Service Pair awarded to Private John Lloyd, 51st (K.O.Y.L.I.) Regiment, comprising: India General Service, 1854-1895, single clasp, Pegu (John Lloyd. 51st Regiment.), late issue or regimental impressed naming in small capital letters; Army Long Service and Good Conduct Medal, V.R. (1804. John Lloyd, 51st Foot); pair loose, a few light marks in places, very fine / good very fine (2)

Lot 1245

An alabaster column table lamp, 20th century, with bronze Corinthian capital, on a broad bronze foliate base, 17½in. (44.5cm.) high plus fittings, with shade.

Lot 201

A Commonwealth/Charles II Irish silver two-handled porringer, known as the 'IS' Porringer,maker's mark unidentified, Dublin c.1659/63*,of plain form with scroll handles, engraved 'IS' within a wreath,16cm long from handle to handle, 6.75cm high, 9oz 3dwts *See 'Four selected assay records of the Dublin Goldsmith's Company' by Thomas Sinsteden, The Silver Society Journal, Autumn 1999, pp143/156, with regard to the date letter 'b' for 1659/60: 'In the 'quarterages ledger' of 1659 one finds a notation'Order that the letter b a small roman capital letter be struck by the assay master upon all the silver plate which shall be brought to his office and approved of by him after the day of the date here until the first of November next'.This is the only record telling us the date of change over." *In addition, see 'A reappraisal of date letters used 1638-1759' by Ida Delamer and Conor O'Brien, The Silver Society Journal, Autumn 1999, pp158/167, the date letter 'b' for Dublin 1659/60 being interpreted as possibly for 1659/63 as no evidence of use of the date letters c, d and e for the following years has been found. The porringer is recorded in 'Irish Stuart Silver' by Tony Sweeney, Dublin 1995, p43, no.205 under 1659/60 Commonwealth Domestic Plate as "The 'I.S' Porringer". Dublin Maker - Joseph Stoaker or John Slicer. Provenance: Sold for £3000 by How of Edinburgh at the 1967 Grosvenor House Antique Dealers' Fair. [The Dr Kurt Ticher Archive].' Sworders would like to thank the following for their assistance: Dave Merry, the Trading Standards Officer of Goldsmiths' Hall for help with photographing the hallmarks, Emer Ni Cheallaigh and Dr. Audrey Whitty from the National Museum of Ireland, Charlie Truman and Dr. Thomas Sinsteden. Please note that the paragraph on the Provenance above is part of the quotation from 'Irish Stuart Silver' by Tony Sweeney, Dublin, 1995, p.43, no.205.

Lot 585

A PAIR OF ELECTRIC TABLE LAMPS, modern, the slightly tapering cylindrical ruby glass columns with cast brass Corinthian capitals and stepped square bases, 19 1/2" high to capital, with red shades

Lot 961

Two reconstituted stone armorial plaques, each of square section, one centred with a shield bearing a family crest, the other with a capital 'W', 52cm x 52cm (2).

Lot 89

William Crozier HRHA (1930-2011) GARDEN AT NIGHT oil on canvas signed lower left; signed on reverse 64 x 66in. (162.56 x 167.64cm) Claremorris Gallery, Co. Mayo; Private collection Crozier was born in Glasgow to Irish parents and educated at the Glasgow School of Art between 1949 and 1953. On graduating he spent time in Paris and Dublin before settling in London, where he gained a reputation as an important young British artist through the early success and notoriety of his exhibitions of assemblages and paintings at the ICA, Drian and the Arthur Tooth galleries, with whom he had a long association. Profoundly affected by post-war existential philosophy, Crozier allied himself and his work consciously with contemporary European art throughout the 1950s and 1960s, rather than with the New York abstractionists, who were more fashionable in the UK at the time. He was also part of the artistic and literary world of 1950s Soho, a close associate of 'the Roberts', Colquhoun and MacBryde, John Minton and William Scott, and part of the expatriate middle-European and Irish intellectual circles in London of the time. Crozier spent 1963 in southern Spain with the Irish poet Anthony Cronin; this proved pivotal to Crozier's development as an artist. On his return to the UK, he began a series of skeletal paintings which anticipated the 'New Expressionist' German painters of the 1980s, and which were influenced by Crozier's visit in 1969 to Auschwitz and Belsen. Based in London throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Crozier exhibited his works in London, Glasgow, Dublin and all over Europe. Crozier spent much of 1960s and 1970s teaching. He became a citizen of Ireland in 1973 and started spending more time in Ireland. From the 1980s, Crozier's painting blossomed with a new freedom and confidence, the result of his giving up teaching and the stimulus provided by his studios in West Cork in Ireland, and in Hampshire in England. His abstract landscapes and still life painting used sumptuous colour to convey an emotional intensity. To the end of his life, he was endlessly concerned with the challenge of creating a new language in figurative painting. William Crozier represented Britain and Ireland at overseas exhibitions, and was awarded the Premio Lissone in Milan in 1958 and the Oireachtas Gold medal for Painting in Dublin in 1994. In 1991 the Crawford Art Gallery Cork and the Royal Hibernian Academy curated a retrospective of his work. He was elected to Aosdána in 1992 and was elected an honorary member of the Royal Hibernian Academy. In 2005 Crozier celebrated his 75th birthday with a major exhibition in Cork to celebrate the European Capital of Culture. He celebrated his 80th year with a large exhibition of his current work at the Flowers Galleries. A concurrent exhibition of his painting of the 1950s and 60s was shown at the Pyms Gallery, London, which triggered a reappraisal of his early painting. Acquisitions of his work by the Tate Gallery and the National Gallery of Ireland quickly followed.

Lot 75

A Late 17th Century Carved Oak Figural Support. The square section post carved with a Mother and Child and having a scrolled capital, 16 ins (41 cms) high, 6 ins (15 cms) wide, 5 ins (13 cms) deep.

Lot 85

AN IRISH SHAPED CIRCULAR SILVER PRESENTATION SIDEBOARD DISH, Dublin 1962, mark of William Egan of Cork, with cast rim decorated with raised rams' heads and gambolling lambs, the dished reserve with raised centre and embellished with a capital 'D', inscribed, (c.780g). 33cm diameter

Lot 25

AN EXTENSIVE FLIGHT, BARR & BARR, WORCESTER, 'JAPAN' PATTERN DINNER SERVICE, CIRCA 1813-15 richly enamelled in iron-red, green, turquoise, yellow, puce, pink and gilding with exotic birds in flowering branches, a pagoda in the distance inside gilt line rims, comprising: a soup tureen, cover and stand, 33cm wide four sauce tureens, covers and stands, tureens 19cm wide three oval vegetable tureens and one cover, 28cm wide two rectangular vegetable tureens and one cover, 24cm wide sixteen serving dishes in sizes, 25 to 49cm wide thirty-one soup plates, 24cm diameter forty-eight dessert plates, 23cm diameter and twenty-two side plates, 18cm diameter impressed BFB marks, printed Flight, Barr & Barr marks together with eleven matching dinner plates, modern, painted in twice fired enamels to match by Rachel Greenwood, 1952, numbered and intialled J.R.G., 26cm diameter Provenance: The Lady Denman, G.B.E. of Balcombe Place, Sussex; thence by family descent. The Lady Denman (1884-1954), was born Gertrude Mary Pearson, the second child and only daughter of Weetman and Annie Pearson, later Viscount and Viscountess Cowdray. Her engineer father had amassed a fortune, principally from Mexican oilfields. She attended the 1902 London season and married the Liberal peer Thomas Denman (3rd Baron Denman) in 1903. For many years she devoted much time to numerous causes, her positions including: 1917 - first President of the National Federation of Women's Institutes, - until 1946; First Chairman of the Family Planning Association; President of the Ladies Golf Union; Director of the Westminster Press; Trustee of the Carnegie United Kingdom Trust. On the outbreak of World War II, she was invited to become the Director of the Women's Land Army, for which she was awarded the Grand Cross of the British Empire. Her father had bought her the Balcombe Estate in Sussex in 1907, a few miles from his then home at Paddockhurst. Apart from Lord Denman's posting as Governor General of Australia (1911-1914, during which time she officially named the new capital Canberra), Lady Denman lived at the estate's mansion, Balcombe Place, in some style for the rest of her life.

Lot 396

A SET OF FOUR GEORGE III SILVER CANDLESTICKS, George Ashforth & Co., Sheffield, 1781 the square bases stamped with tassel-hung drapery swags rising to columnar stems with a band of ribs below further drapery and capital sconces, complete with detachable nozzles, beaded borders throughout 29cm high, loaded

Lot 3541

Boxer Rebellion - an important Chinese nine-fold map of Peking (now Beijing), drawn and illuminated in colour on paper-laid canvas with street/road networks, named sites in Mandarin, including the Forbidden City, Temple of Confucius, other temples and their park surroundings, lakes and further landmarks of the capital, later annotated in German during the Boxer Rebellion by Oberleutnant Engeluia**y showing European embassies and legations in the shadow of the Forbidden City's walls and further European positions of interests, the upper-right margin singed in ink MS by the German officer, 93.5cm x 62.5cm, c.1899-1901

Lot 472

7" Single Records, approx seventy five on the Capital label mainly in original sleeves including Peggy Lee, The Lettermen, Dr Hook and Wayne Newton various years and conditions

Lot 568

Patrick Leonard HRHA (Irish 1918-2005), The Capital Theatre Dublin Dancers, Pencil & ink. 37 x 27cm, together with Leslie MacWeeney (b.1936), Study of a Boy, Ink, s.l.l., 28 x 37.5cm (2).

Lot 152

20 EFE Buses/Coaches. Pointer Dart City of Chester 20629. Leyland National Mk1 Isle of Man 17302. Bristol RELH DP Coach Badgerline 29403. Plaxton Pointer First Capital 20630. Leyland Olympian Sovereign Buses 29625. Daimler DMS Metrobus 29101. RM Routemaster Open Top East Yorkshire 38501. Leyland Olympian Northern Scottish 29609. Bristol VRT United 38105. Alexander Fleetline flush body 16801. Leyland ECW Olympian 29604. Bristol Rell Cumberland 25107. Mercedes Minibus Northumbria 24813. Harrington Grenadier North Western 12307. AEC Regal 10T10 Bus Neath & Cardiff 30003. Guy Arab 11 Utility Bus Ashton Under Lyne 26321. Bristol Utility Bus Provincial 26503. Daimler utility Bus Lytham St. Annes. Guy Arab 1 Utility Bus Bristol Tramways 26207. Plus a Guy Arab 11 Utility Bus Bamber bridge Motor Services 26318. All boxed, contents ex shop stock Mint.

Lot 139

Two 19th century Railway Incorporation documents for the Berwickshire Railway, each dated 1862, bearing the names and signatures of share subscribers and their subscriptions. Note: The Berwickshire Railway obtained its authorising Act of Parliament in July 1862 and the North British Railway subscribed £50,000 towards its construction capital of £100,000. Initially it was provided that the Berwickshire Railway should have five directors, two appointed by the North British the remaining three to be Sir Hugh Hume Campbell, Bart. of Marchmont, George Cranstoun Trotter and James Dalrymple of Langlea (see the subject lot for details). The railway opened from Dunse to Earlston on 16th November 1863

Lot 315

MID-CENTURY JAPANESE WOODBLOCK PRINTS OF MT. FUJI AND NARA BY UCHIDAExcellent group of five Japanese woodblock prints, each 11" x 16", printed by the Uchida company of Kyoto, circa 1950, and produced by two of the premier printmakers of the era: KOTOZUKA EIICHI (1906-1979) and TOKURIKI TOMIKICHIRO (1902-2000). Each print is matted, although two are loose from their backings, and one is missing its mat cover. The scenes depicted include three views of Mt. Fuji by Tokuriki, and two scenes from the old capital city of Nara by Kotozuka. Each print bears the artist's printed signature and seal with the publisher's mark of Uchida. All bear a black ink "SAMPLE" stamp on the verso, as well as inscriptions in pencil identifying each scene. These prints were salesman's samples acquired by a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, Thomas Hood, who sold these prints in the eastern United States on behalf of Uchida. These are excellent examples of "Sosaku hanga" prints, which were produced based on a Western model of printmaking, in which the artists retained creative control over their works, and which utilized a unique synthesis of Japanese and Western aesthetic techniques. Besides the condition issues listed above, one print is chipped at the upper corners, else very good. Also present is an original Uchida price list, showing the original prices for these prints.

Lot 111

A 19th century unmarked gold combined slide-action pen and pencil, engraved with floral decoration and having a screw-off capital set with a quartz martix, together with an unusual unmarked gold pencil with perpetual calendar, the matrix set with an initialled bloodstone matrix. (2)

Lot 648

A pair of Arts and Crafts spiral embossed copper and brass candlesticks, each with circular drip pan above fish scale decorated capital, central knop and circular domed foot, filled, height 26cm (2)

Lot 1006

*WWII – Germany Border Crossing Sign. An original painted wooden sign, probably from the Dutch or Belgian border with Germany, circa 1945, painted in red and white on a black background, with English, French and Dutch text in stencilled capital letters, reading (in translation), ‘German Border. Persons who enter Germany without Military Government Authority will be Imprisoned’, a total of eleven lines and apparently lacking the heading and first line of the top English version, 147 x 120.5cmProvenance: Acquired by a Dutch collector, the sign dates from circa 1945. The grammatical use of the Dutch language version of the text suggests a Flemish translation and the sign was therefore planted somewhere along the Dutch or Belgian border with Germany.  NB: This description has been re-written.(1)

Lot 414

Grand Prix Suisse, by A. Cimarosti. An excellent hardback copy in heavy-duty slipcase of the 1st ed of the mammoth work by Cimarosti, edited by Albert Obrist, with a dual German and French text, published by Hallwag Verlag, Bern & Stuttgart, 1992. A small folio-sized volume (34 x 25cm) with embossed black cloth covers and 'Grand Prix Suisse' in block capital silver lettering to the spine. 624 pages, profusely illustrated with black-and-white and colour photographs. (1)

Lot 859

A German tin plate Capital N7402 aeroplane together with various tin plated toys battery operated robot, etc

Lot 184

Edwardian mahogany open bookcase shelving, rosette and capital decoration, with adjustable shelves. 120 x 118cm

Lot 290

A RARE SET OF BASSETT LOWKE WATERLINE MODELS FOR THE WWI GERMAN HIGH SEAS FLEET, comprising 20 models representing capital ships, destroyers, cruisers and submarines, several with named labels, secured to card base and contained in original retail box with label to lid, -- box 17¼in. (44cm.) wide

Lot 1181

A Blackburn Rovers signed Howard Hotel, London, luncheon menu 30th August 1950,the team in the capital for a fixture at Brentford, signed mostly in pencil to the reverse by 14 members of the Rovers party including Eckersley, Priday, Gray, Todd, McCaig, Holt, Stuart, Patterson, Campbell, Graham etc.

Lot 1064

Fernando Torres blue Chelsea No.9 jersey season 2011-12,short-sleeved with Help a Capital Child inscription, Premier League badges to sleeves, the reverse lettered TORRES

Lot 1846

CAPITAL; a 18ct gold quartz lady's wristwatch with rounded rectangular dial set with gold baton markers and brick link bracelet, total approx 48.3g, unboxed and without paperwork.

Lot 292

A pair of silver dwarf candlesticks with filled bases, Birmingham, 1990, 7 cm. high; a plain silver napkin ring of good gauge, engraved with the arms of Preston, Lancashire above initials “J.H”; also a Victorian plated napkin ring and a small plated ladle, weighable silver 60 gm. (5)One candlestick has a crease and split at top of base where it meets capital whilst the other has a bruise to foot rim

Lot 224

London Tram & Trolleybus METROPOLITAN STAGE CARRIAGE BADGES T13330 (driver) and T17810 (conductor). Equivalent to PSV licence badges, these were issued from 1935-1962 for electric traction in the capital. Horseshoe clip fittings on reverses. In well-used condition with faded lettering and a very small edge-chip on the second example. [2]

Lot 288

London Tram & Trolleybus Conductor's METROPOLITAN STAGE CARRIAGE BADGE T21755. Equivalent to PSV licence badges, these were issued from 1935-1962 for electric traction in the capital. Horseshoe clip fitting on reverse and in very good condition. [1]

Lot 119

A modern Lalique frosted glass Sculpture of a female nude, signed to underside, 18.5cm height CONDITION REPORT: This is a modern piece and condition very good, no problems, in as made condition. Height is actually 18.5cm. Signature etched and says Lalique, then a circle with capital R in the central presumably for (registered designe), France.

Lot 884

An 18th century French provincial silver candlestick, maker's mark MT, possibly for Michel Letailleur, Rennes 1764-5, on a raised hexagonal foot with a shaped border, the tapering knopped hexagonal stem, hexagonal shaped capital, engraved with an armorial, height 24.3cm, approx. weight 19oz.

Lot 883

An 18th century French provincial silver candlestick, by Guillaume Hardy, Angers 1768 on a raised hexagonal foot with a shaped border, the triangular knopped stem with shell motifs and a hexagonal shaped capital, engraved with a cipher, height 24cm, approx. weight 13.5oz.

Lot 1016

Lysons, Rev. Daniel "The environs of London being an historical account of the towns, villages and hamlets within 12 miles of that capital..." in 2 volumes, the second edition printed for T. Cadell and W. Davies 1811, folding map to Volume 1, plates, offsetting and some foxing, rebacked, full leather blind stamp to front boards, gilt rules and dentils, corners bumped and rubbed, library number to back strip, library book plateHunter, the Late Rev. Henry "The History of London and its environs..." in 2 volumes, printed for John Stockdale, 1811 folding view of London and folding view of the cities of London and Westminster with the suburbs and "circum jacent country", plates, folding map to Vol 2, and plates, some library blind stamps to plates, rebacked, full leather gilt rules, paste downs, gilt titles, raised bands, all marbled edges (4)

Lot 1028

Wheler, George "A Journey into Greece in the Company of Dr Spon of Lyons in six books", printed for William Cademan, Robert Kettlewell and Awnsham Churchill, London 1682, large folding map but creased and repaired, numerous woodcut ills throughout inc small maps, some foxing throughout, some plates appear to be cut and inserted, library blindstamps, front board and backstrip separating, ep, frontis, tp and pages to 22 loose, rebound, marbled bds, half-leather but chipped and lossAllom, Thomas (ills), Walsh, the Rev Robert"Constantinople and the Scenery of the Seven Churches of Asia Minor" first series Fisher & Son, map frontis but in rebinding replaced upside down, plates with tissue guards, foxing, contemporary blindstamped and gilt decorated clothAllom, Thomas (ills)"Constantinople and the Scenery of the Seven Churches of Asia Minor" 2nd series, Fisher Son & Co, engraved frontis, engraved tp foxed all plates foxed, contemporary blindstamp cloth, gilt decorations and titles but wornMacFarlane, Charles"Constantinople in 1828 a residence of 16 months in the Turkish Capital and Provenances... and of the Ottoman Empire", Saunders & Otley 1729, coloured frontis, library blindstamp, double-plate view of Constantinople, marbled bds, half-leather but rubbed and worn Jacobi, Sponii [Dr Spon]"Miscellanea Eruditae Antiquitatis..." 1685, tp printed red and black, engraved vignette, engraved ills throughout, text clean, some library blindstamps, rebound black library cloth (5)

Lot 678

A George II silver harlequin taper stick, by John Cafe, London 1751, the harlequin holding the fluted drip pan and spool-shaped capital, height 13.8cm, approx. weight 5.5oz.

Lot 757

A George I silver chamber stick, marks worn, circa 1720, circular form, flat baluster handle with scroll supports, spool-shaped capital, diameter 12.5cm, approx. weight 7.4oz. Purchased in these rooms, Early Spoons, Fine Jewellery and Silver, 30th April 2003, lot 783.

Lot 639

A Victorian silver Garibaldi rowing prize arms badge, by P. Firmin and Son, London 1864, oval form, foliate ribbon and reed border, applied with a portrait bust of Giuseppe Garibaldi and dated '1864' also applied 'GIUSEPPE GARIBALDI GUERRA D'ITALIA 1859, TO COMMEMORATE HIS ENTRY INTO LONDON, APRIL 11TH.', on a matted background, with a cartouche inscribed 'Won by RATCLIFFE-PICK, Oct.er 18th. 1864', the reverse with three ring attachments, length 18.4 cm, approx. weight 6.9oz. Provenance: The James Walker Collection, Christie's South Kensington, 13th July 2006, lot 233. This badge was originally one part of a 4-part prize (coat, badge, cash and Freedom of the Thames), in the sculling race at the City, Southwark and Lambeth Apprentices Regatta held on 18/10/1864. There were five entries for the event; Ratcliffe-Pick of Thames Bank beat C. Parker of Westminster by 3½ lengths in the final with two of the other entrants not completing the race. This was an annual meeting to commemorate Garibaldi's arrival in London where, on the 11th November 1864, the Illustrated London News records he was greeted by a crowd of 500,000 people. The next day he was given the honorary Freedom of the City. Giuseppe Garibaldi (1807-1882) was one of the heroes of the struggle for the unification of Italy. Active in the 1848 uprising and an elected deputy in the Roman Assembly, he proclaimed Victor Emanuel king of a united Italy in 1860, at that time holding the rank of general in the Piedmontese army, but it would not be until 1870 that he would see his old adversary, Pope Pius IX, defeated and Rome liberated to become capital of a unified country. London apparently shut down for three days when he visited the city in 1864, already feted for his exploits four years earlier when with his 1,000 volunteers, he had landed in Sicily, intent on marching on Rome to liberate it from the reactionary Papacy.

Lot 679

A George III silver wax jack, marks worn and lost in piercing, London circa 1770, on a hexagonal base, with pierced scroll decoration, gadroon border, with a leaf capped scroll handle, with a scissor action capital/cutter, on three paw feet, height 14.5cm, approx. weight 6.7oz. Provenance: Christie's South Kensington, 10 May 2005, lot 167.

Lot 675

An unmarked silver harlequin taper stick, possibly 18th century, the harlequin holding the fluted drip pan and spool-shaped capital, height 13.8cm.

Lot 676

A George III silver wax jack, maker's mark T.L, unidentified, London 1770, on a circular base with a leaf capped scroll handle, and gadroon border, with a scissor action capital/cutter, on three claw and ball feet, height 14.5cm, approx. weight 8.6oz.

Lot 685

A Victorian silver figural taper stick, by Charles and George Fox, London 1842, modelled as a gentleman holding a basket of flowers and a large flower bud capital, on a raised shaped circular base with scroll and rocaille decoration, height 15cm, approx. weight 8oz. Provenance: Phillips, New Bond Street, The Fox Collection, 23 September 1988, lot 13.

Lot 17

Umayyad, dinar, Ma‘din Amir al-Mu’minin 92h, obv., in field: la ilaha illa | Allah wahdahu | la sharik lahu | Ma‘din Amir | al-Mu’minin; rev., standard Umayyad type with date legend in margin, point below b of duriba, 4.25g (SICA 10, 487, same obverse die; Bernardi 47), minor marks in reverse field but generally good very fine, historically important and extremely rare. Enigmatic, historically intriguing, and of the highest rarity, Umayyad dinars from the ‘Mine of the Commander of the Faithful’ have fascinated numismatists for more than a century. The circumstances under which they were issued are still the subject of scholarly debate, although recent research and newly published coins have advanced our knowledge considerably in recent years. Examples dated 89h, 92h and 105h have been sold in these rooms previously (the unique coin of 89h on 23 April 2012 and the other two dates on 4 April 2011). The phrase ‘Ma‘din Amir al-Mu’minin’ is found on two groups of gold coins. The earlier group, known for the years 89h, 91h and 92h and to which this coin belongs, carries these words in the obverse field below the normal inscriptions. On the later coins, known only for the year 105h, the phrase is expanded to read ‘Ma‘din Amir al-Mu’minin bi’l-Hijaz,’ ‘Mine of the Commander of the Faithful in the Hejaz,’ and is placed in the lower part of the reverse field. The significance of the Ma‘din inscription is still debated but, as has previously been argued, there is much to be said for the simplest explanation: that it refers to a mine belonging to the caliph. While the word ‘mine’ can be used metaphorically in Arabic, all other legends found on post-Reform Umayyad gold and silver coins are either religious (verses from the Qur’an) or factual (stating where and when the coin was struck). That being said, it seems difficult to treat it as a normal mint-name, which one would expect to find in the margin with the date, and for which there would certainly have been space to include there. It has also been observed that the mints on the Umayyad silver coinage were set up in cities, or perhaps at places where the army halted on campaign, but are not otherwise known to have been set up at a mine itself. There are several with the title Madinat, city,’ but none with Ma‘din, ‘mine.’ It seems more plausible that this inscription denotes to the source of the gold, indicating that it had been extracted from a mine owned by the caliph himself. It has been plausibly suggested that ‘Mine of the Commander of the Faithful’ dinars may have been struck at a travelling mint which accompanied the caliph. If this was staffed by workers from the Damascus mint using their usual tools and equipment, one would expect the coins they produced to look identical, whether struck in the capital or on the road. But coins of all three dates known for this issue – 89h, 91h and 92h, and indeed of the related coins dated 105h, all share dated reverse dies with standard mintless Umayyad dinars which are generally accepted as having been struck in or near Damascus. These reverse dies also bear the date, which means that they can only (or should only) have been used for the one year engraved on them. It therefore follows that if these reverse dies did indeed leave Damascus with a travelling mint they can only have been away from the capital for more than a few months at most. On the other hand we know that an obverse die with the Ma‘din Amir al-Mu’minin legend was shared between coins struck over a period of at least four years. Clearly this special die was not considered redundant at the year’s end but was kept for future use. For a single die to survive for four years also suggests that these ‘Mine of the Commander of the Faithful’ dinars can only have been produced in very small numbers, which is consistent with their great rarity today. Where might the caliph’s mines have been located? The legend Ma‘din Amir al-Mu’minin bi’l-Hijaz found on dinars of 105h, together with the fact that the Umayyad caliph ‘Umar is recorded as having purchased a plot of land containing a gold mine in the Hejaz area (Miles, op. cit., p. 266), has led scholars to propose that the gold used to strike these earlier dinars also came from the Hejaz. It has also been suggested that the caliph might have visited mines in this area while travelling to the Holy Places. In his catalogue of the Turath Collection, Ilisch hypothesized that ‘a travelling “court mint”, dependent on the main mint and Damascus and working for the caliphal private treasury...was in operation on several occasions: in connection with the construction work for the great mosque in Medina (built...in 88-91 A.H.) [and] during the visit of the caliph al-Walid to Medina in 91/92 A.H., when he led the Hajj.’ This in turn raises several interesting questions: Did gold from the caliph’s personal mines have a different status from gold obtained from other sources? Was this gold somehow treated differently from gold brought to the mint through tax revenues or by private individuals? Might it reflect an early distinction between state funds and the privy purse? Or might they even have been personal gifts from the caliph himself? For further discussion of this coinage and a specialist bibliography, please see Morton and Eden auction 48, 4 April 2011 where two other ‘Mine of the Commander of the Faithful’ dinars were sold, dated 92h (sold for £648,000) and 105h (sold for £3,720,000).

Lot 18

Umayyad, temp. ‘Abd al-Malik b. Marwan (65-86h), dirham, Arminiya 78h, obv., with Muhammad rasul Allah…in margin, rev., with mint/date formula in margin, wa at beginning of third line in field, 2.77g (Klat 45 = Naqshabandi and Bakri 3), toned, good very fine and excessively rare. All Umayyad post-Reform silver from the year 78h is of the highest rarity, to the extent that Walker, writing in 1956, was unaware that any even existed. Since then, barely a dozen examples of this date have come to light, but these few coins have transformed our understanding of how the reform of the silver coinage came about. Unaware that dirhams dated 78h existed, Walker believed that the earliest post-Reform silver coin was a mintless dirham dated 79h (Walker p.104, Kh.4; an example of this issue was sold in these rooms, 22 April 2013, lot 10), which he attributed – almost certainly correctly – to the mint of Damascus.  He considered that this was an experimental piece, issued without mint-name to conform to the pattern set by the gold dinar coinage, but that when a number of other mints began striking the new dirhams in 79h it was decided to add the mint-name to Damascus dirhams also.  But the existence of dirhams dated 78h from five different mints – Adharbayjan, Arminiya (as here), Jayy, Shaqq al-Taymara and al-Kufa, all of which were active in the year before production began at Damascus, demonstrates that the reformed dirham coinage was not something begun in the capital and gradually adopted elsewhere, as Walker’s explanation implied.  Instead, it seems that the decision to begin issuing the new dirhams began in the year 78h, with dozens of mints involved, but for practical reasons not all were able to begin production immediately.  Those which were already striking silver coins might be expected to have begun issuing the new coins sooner, while others, including those which were geographically more remote, or where a mint had been reopened or a new facility established, would surely have taken longer. The calligraphy on this piece has clear similarities with that found on Armenian drachms issued circa 75-78h under Muhammad b. Marwan, the caliph’s brother and governor of the province, and the presence of local workers who were able to produce new dies on site may have been another reason why Armenia was able to begin striking post-Reform dirhams more quickly than other locations.  This might also explain why the legends are placed differently on this specimen – as an exceptionally early issue it was struck before the precise format of the design had evolved. It may be noted that the placing of the mint/date formula on the reverse, as on this piece, rather than on the obverse where later Umayyad dirhams carry it, is exactly the same arrangement as adopted on the post-Reform gold coinage.  So Armenia, which was producing its own distinctive regional coinage at the time of the reforms, may well have been in a position to strike dirhams before Damascus, whose own silver coinage during the 70s is restricted to a few experimental types which never seem to have been struck in quantity.

Lot 48

‡Fatimid, al-Qa’im (322-334h), dinar, al-Qayrawan 335h (sic), 4.21g (Nicol 148), fine to good fine, rare. During the reign of al-Qa’im a rebellion against the Fatimids broke out in North Africa, led by Abu Yazid al-Nukkari. Al-Nukkari took control of Qayrawan in 333h and struck coins in this and the following year. Al-Qa’im died during 334h and it was his successor, al-Mansur, who led the campaign which defeated al-Nukkari. The present coin shows that pro-Fatimid forces had regained control of Qayrawan by 335h, but al-Mansur himself appears to have struck no coins there in his own name, possibly because he had already begun work on the foundation of a new Fatimid capital named after him: al-Mansuriya.

Lot 135

9ct gold mourning ring with embossed capital E, & 9ct gold & stone ring, size U & O 7g

Lot 547

A substantial brass desk lamp in the form of a fluted column with Corinthian capital, raised on a stepped squared base, 68 cm tall approx

Lot 395

A Victorian onyx clock garniture, the clock case of architectural form with ionic capital columns flanked by a pair of urn shaped vases with applied brass fittings

Lot 736

OVERMANTEL, Victorian giltwood and gilt composition, of Classical form with fluted ionic capital columns and original bevelled mirror plate, 159cm W x 172cm H.

Lot 41

A 19th century mahogany tripod torchere or statuary pedestal, dished circular top above a lotus capital, turned, reeded and fluted slender baluster column, cabriole legs carved with acanthus, ball and claw feet, 132cm high, 31cm diam

Lot 311

BRITISH ROYALTY: A good printed 8vo menu card for a luncheon taken on board a train in South Africa on 3rd March 1947, the text in Afrikaans, individually signed to the verso by King George VI (1895-1952, King of the United Kingdom 1936-52), Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother (1900-2002, Queen Consort of King George VI), Queen Elizabeth II (1926- , Queen of the United Kingdom 1952- ) and Princess Margaret (1930-2002, Countess of Snowdon, younger sister of Queen Elizabeth II). All have signed with their names alone in dark fountain pen inks. Some very light, minor printing marks only very slightly affecting two of the signatures. Together with a page removed from an autograph album individually signed by Jan C. Smuts (1870-1950, South African Prime Minister 1919-24, 1939-48) and one other, both of the signatures annotated with dates in 1949 in another hand. Vertical central crease to the album page. VG, 2 King George VI and his family toured South Africa in 1947 at which time the Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa, Jan Smuts, was facing an election and hoped to make political capital out of the visit. However, the King was appalled when instructed by the South African government to shake hands only with whites, and referred to his South African bodyguards as 'the Gestapo'. Despite the tour, Smuts lost the election in the following year. On 3rd March 1947, the date of the present menu, Princess Elizabeth opened the new graving dock East London on behalf of the South African Railways.

Lot 415

A Victorian ceramic toilet chain pull handlewith notation on for M W Stevens, Stanton Drew and the word Pull in bold capital letters.

Lot 499

The Beatles - A good collection of long play vinyl LP records all pertaining to The Beatles to include Introducing The Beatles on Vee Jay records, Meet The Beatles on Capital, Please Please me on both Mom#no and Stereo, the mono copy having the gold on black label, Yellow Submarine, Let It Be, Revolver, Rubber Soul, Beatles For Sale, With The Beatles and Sgt Peppers.

Lot 25

Artist: Jincheng Liu Artwork Title: Untitled Size: 66 x 86 cm Media: Oil on canvas Artist Info: Jincheng Liu graduated from the Fine Art Department of the Capital Normal University, Beijing in 1982. He studied at the Slade School of Art in London, 1989. His style is unique, combining elements of both the East and West in his painting. His work can be found in numerous public and private collections all over the world. Exhibitions: Bruton Street Gallery, London; Gagliardi Gallery, London; Aosta Exhibition Centre, Italy; B.P. Award, The National Portrait Gallery, London; Figures From Realism To Abstraction, The Victoria & Albert Museum, London; Royal Academy Summer Show, London; Millennium exhibition London, Albermarle Gallery; British Landscape Society; One man show and art talk, Westminster; Royal Institute of Oil Painters, Mall Galleries, prize winner; Chianciano Art Museum Exhibition, Italy; Diamond Art Museum, China; Chinese Contemporary Art Show, Formans Smokehouse Gallery, England.

Lot 26

Artist: Jincheng Liu Artwork Title: Untitled Size: 118 x 98 cm Media: Oil on canvas Artist Info: Jincheng Liu graduated from the Fine Art Department of the Capital Normal University, Beijing in 1982. He studied at the Slade School of Art in London, 1989. His style is unique, combining elements of both the East and West in his painting. His work can be found in numerous public and private collections all over the world. Exhibitions: Bruton Street Gallery, London; Gagliardi Gallery, London; Aosta Exhibition Centre, Italy; B.P. Award, The National Portrait Gallery, London; Figures From Realism To Abstraction, The Victoria & Albert Museum, London; Royal Academy Summer Show, London; Millennium exhibition London, Albermarle Gallery; British Landscape Society; One man show and art talk, Westminster; Royal Institute of Oil Painters, Mall Galleries, prize winner; Chianciano Art Museum Exhibition, Italy; Diamond Art Museum, China; Chinese Contemporary Art Show, Formans Smokehouse Gallery, England.

Lot 1

BURNSTEIN ISAACS, Famous Prize-Fighters, missing No. 11, titles in capital letters (No. 1), some corner knocks, G to VG, 49

Loading...Loading...
  • 9689 item(s)
    /page

Recently Viewed Lots