AN EMBROIDERED VELVET TUNIC OF A SHERWOOD FORESTER 17TH CENTURY Of green facecloth, the sleeves of red facecloth, the whole trimmed with silver braid 94cm high, 55cm wide at the shoulders Provenance: The Savile Family, Rufford Abbey, Nottinghamshire; sold Knight, Frank and Rutley and Christie's house sale, 11-21 October 1938, lot 332. Roger Warner, Esq., Burford, Oxfordshire. Christopher Gibbs, Esq., The Manor House, Clifton Hampden, Christie's, 25-26 September, lot 131, where purchased by Robert Kime This is perhaps the perfect Robert Kime object: a complex mix of rich, yet disarmingly simple, textiles from one of England's celebrated ancient families, the Saviles of Rufford Hall, Nottinghamshire. The tunic found its way into the hands of Roger Warner (1913-2008), a textiles and vernacular furniture dealer and collector in Burford, much visited by Kime when at Oxford. Warner applied the silver braid here, reflecting an officer's uniform of the Sherwood Foresters, the famous Nottinghamshire & Derbyshire county regiment whose uniform comprised Lincoln green facings and silver lace until 1831 (W Y Carman, Richard Simkin's uniforms of the British Army: the infantry regiments, Exeter, p. 72). Appropriately enough it surfaced in Christopher Gibbs's (d. collection at his family's home in Clifton Hampden. Gibbs (1938-2018) was one of the most famous dealers in great objects with famous and often romantic histories. Kime was deeply influenced by Chrissie Gibbs's historic, exotic and unstuffy approach to objects, sometimes paradoxically linked to old-fashioned English hierarchy, empire and antiquarianism. Both men were often brought under the spell of an object's historical associations as much for its visual appeal.
We found 2466194 price guide item(s) matching your search
There are 2466194 lots that match your search criteria. Subscribe now to get instant access to the full price guide service.
Click here to subscribe- List
- Grid
-
2466194 item(s)/page
ENGLISH SCHOOL (EARLY 17TH CENTURY) PORTRAIT OF A MAN WITH A PICKAXE AND A SPADE IN A LANDSCAPE Oil on panel Inscribed 'QVIA PATER CREDIDIT MVLIERI' (upper left) and 'ATATIS SVA. 36. A. DNI 1601' (upper right) 104.5 x 82cm (41 x 32¼ in.)Literature: E.S. Whittlesey, Symbols and legends in Western art; a museum guide, New York, 1972.This Elizabethan portrait of an unidentified member of the gentry by an unknown artist is replete with symbols, which depict the sitter's social standing. Dressed in aristocratic, ornate costume - a white linen under shirt with tassels and frilled cuffs; a red, billowing over shirt; silver and gold belt and black breeches with silver thread detail - the agricultural tools he carries, attributes of the hedger and ditcher, are a stark contradiction. The portrait is a morality painting about the illegitimate birth of the sitter and perhaps his exclusion from inheriting his 'paternal' social status and property. This is reinforced by the inscription on the upper left: 'QVIA PATER CREDIDIT MVLIERI' / 'Why should the father have believed his wife' suggesting that the 'father' was made a cuckold by his wife. The spade and pickaxe (mattock) represent Adam and Eve and the Expulsion from the Garden of Eden: for her disobedience, Eve was condemned to painful childbearing and to be ruled over by Adam, and Adam had to toil in the fields with a spade or hoe for his daily bread until he died (Hall's Dictionary of Subjects and Symbols in Art, p. 5). The pickaxe is also an attribute of Pluto or Hades, ruler of the underworld, and thus a further allusion to the ignominy of the sitter's birth (Whittlesey, p. 133). The painting was possibly commissioned by the sitter himself; an inscription on the upper right of the portrait records the age of the sitter and the date the painting was made: 'ATATIS SVA. 36. A. DNI 1601'. This proposal is strengthened by the inclusion of positive symbols such as the rising sun, often used as a symbol of hope, new beginnings, and the promise of a better future - although equally the sun can be read as 'the attribute of truth personified because all is revealed by its light' (Hall, p. 292). However, the pickaxe represents breaking through obstacles or barriers that stand in the way thus overall the painting's message is possibly triumph over adversity. Although no other closely related portrait has come to light, in 1644, Jan Steen painted Celebrating the Birth in which there is a subplot that the 'father' has been made a cuckold (Wallace Collection, London, Inv. P111). Condition Report: The following condition report has been provided by Hamish Dewar, Fine Art Conservation. Please contact housesales@dreweatts.com to access the full report with additional images. Structural conditionThe panel has vertical joins which have in the past been secured with canvas strips. The joins are visible in a raking light but appear to be reasonably secure, as are a number of other repaired splits and fracture lines within the panel.Paint surfaceThe paint surface has old historic discoloured varnish layers, together with numerous old retouchings which are visible in natural light and have also discoloured. They are also clearly visible under ultraviolet light. There are also areas of wear and abrasion which have not been retouched, such as those on the sitter's jacket.As the painting is stable it may well be felt that rather than fully cleaning the painting, and removing the old retouchings, it may be preferable to merely very lightly surface clean and revarnish the paint surface and not remove the old retouchings. If one was to remove all the old retouchings, and then retouch where found to be necessary, this would involve a considerable amount of work.SummaryThe painting has therefore undergone a considerable amount of restoration in the past but is now reasonably stable.Condition Report Disclaimer
A PAIR OF GEORGE III SILVER PLATED TWO LIGHT CANDELABRA MATTHEW BOULTON COMPANY, LATE 18TH CENTURY Stamped Boulton double star mark 77cm high, bases 15.5cm diameter Provenance; Sotheby's New York, 6 April 2006, lot 112, where purchased by Robert Kime Condition Report: Overall with marks, knocks, scratches, abrasions consistent with age and use, the silvered surface rubbed to the base metal at the high points and extremities, it appears to be copper or similar beneathThe shades are possibly associated but this probably always had similar. They are slightly loose to the sconcesThe central spike is solid and the 'cap' does not come off, these appears to be by design. and they are not designed to 'break-down'Polish deposits to the recesses and surface, overall may benefit from a light clean with a soft cloth to remove Please see additional images for visual reference to conditionCondition Report Disclaimer
THE MOST NOBLE ORDER OF THE GARTER: A RARE SILVER GILT EMBROIDERED SILK GARTER 18TH/19TH CENTURY From the set of the regalia of The Most Noble Order of The Garter, woven text "HONI SOIT QUI MAL Y PENSE", gilt buckle 51.5cm long Provenance: Cheffins, 30 Nov 2016, part lot 509 when purchased by Robert Kime
Coins & Tokens - George II silver florin, 1745, Victorian crowns, 1889, 1893, Florins, Gothic head, 1849, 1887, 1900, others Shillings, Six pence's, three pence's 138g gross others later, florins, half crowns, pennies, international coins etc in Mexico, America, Canada, etc qty
Jewellery & Coins - an Indian silver coloured metal ball and floral loop link necklace, unmarked; Amethyst and fresh water pearl necklace, brooches; Coins - 2016 Gibraltar 'The Battle of the Atlantic 1939-45' 99.9 silver coin collection, containing four silver half crown, one £20 pound, etc
Watches - Seiko 5 automatic, 6309-8500, stainless steel case and bracelet, lady's Ky 4206-0510 A4, two tone gold and stainless steel, chronograph 7T32-7C60, 1950s/60s Sindaco Jump hour wristwatch, brush silver dial, gilt case, Wenger Swiss Army watch and knife set etc (8)
Silver & silver plate - 19th century silver caddy spoon, marks worn, possibly Birmingham 1825; silver tea spoons etc, 1.98ozt; set of silver silver plated place card holders, as Apples, another set as Game Birds, assorted epns flatware, pair of Trooping the Colour coasters, Newark 1987, Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment, etc, part cased qty
-
2466194 item(s)/page