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Click here to subscribedating: first quarter of the 20th Century provenance: Giava, Wide, single-edged blade, in pamor, back decorated with brass inlays (one is missing). Wooden grip, embossed with a bird shape, big remains of gilding. Smooth, white metal ring-nut. Wooden scabbard, with horn belt hook and a gilded, metal mount, engraved with floral motifs and one white stone in the center. Four, gilded, metal bands. length 40 cm.
dating: circa 1900 provenance: Arabian Peninsula, Wide, curved, double-edged blade, with central raiser. Elegant grip covered with silver foil, finely engraved with floral and geometrical motifs, pommel decorated with cylinders of different diameters, the central one with a stone. Wooden scabbard, completely covered in silver, finely engraved en suite, two mirror birds among the four suspension rings. length 32 cm.
dating: circa 1900 provenance: China, Strong, single-edged blade with rear groove. Grip with horn grip scales, brass ring-nut and cap in silver foil, decorated with a rosette, with a stone in the center. Wooden scabbard with silver mounts, cap and chap decorated with a dragon in bass-relief. Suspension ring. length 30.9 cm.
dating: 19th Century provenance: Ceylon, Flat and thin blade in silvered copper. Solid silver hilt with langets among the two arms of the hilt ending in a dragon's head, quillons decorated en suite, curved guard ending in a dragon's head, big pommel shaped as dragon's head with eyes in red stone, open jaws and outgoing tongue. Faceted grip with anatomical internal side. All finely engraved with floral motifs. Silver scabbard, engraved en suite, smooth cap with four suspension rings. See a very similar specimen in the 'Hermitage Museum', illustrated in Obrtztsov (2015, page 124). length 50.5 cm.
dating: circa 1900 provenance: Bali, Straight, smooth double-edged blade, in pamor, with chiselled and grooved base. Wooden ukiran, embossed and decorated with a rose stone with gilded metal frame, metal mendak, decorated with colored stones and big selut in white plaster (parts missing), decorated with red stones. Warangka in two kinds of wood, gandar painted in red on one side. length 66 cm.
dating: Late 19th Century provenance: Ceylon, Flat, slightly curved, single-edged blade with rectangular tang. Solid silver hilt with langets among the two arms of the hilt ending in a dragon's head, quillons decorated en suite, curved guard ending in a dragon's head, big pommel with a dragon's head with eyes in red stone, open jaws and outgoing tongue. Faceted grip with anatomical moulding. All finely engraved with floral motifs. Silver scabbard, engraved en suite, smooth cap with four suspension rings, inscription on one side 'MUDALYAR B. P. AMERASINGHE'. Angled chape with a sphere. Together with its chain provided with a pierced sphere, decorated with filigree. Already in 1807 the kastane was introduced by the British as a military insignia for officers of the Ceylon army. The chain was carried detached from the saber over the shoulder.This beautiful arm belonged to Mudaliar. B. P. Amerasinghe. Mudaliar was a title of honor and has foundations that go back to the Middle Ages.B. P. Amerasinghe was the head of an important family of the 19th and 20th centuries. One of his sons, Hamilton Shirley Amerasinghe was a prominent UN diplomat, another, Terence Percival Amerasinghe was a member of the Sri Lankan Supreme Court. length 49 cm.
dating: 1921 provenance: Greece, Single-edged blade, probably in damask, finely engraved with floral motifs and dated on one side, also with letter 'A', back engraved with floral motifs. Silver hilt, engraved en suite. White bone grip scales, with yatagan-type ears, a bone button among them, embossed and with a red stone (in glass). Solid silver, beautiful scabbard, embossed and engraved with trophies and floral motifs, fish-shaped chape, cap carved as a yatagan with smooth bands alternated with braided. Silver chains, decorated with coins with Tughra. length 39.5 cm.
dating: 19th Century provenance: Madura Island, Undulated double-edged blade in fine pamor, with slightly chiselled base. Wooden ukiran, finely embossed to portray a deity. Brass mendak and selut. Wooden warangka, pendok in brass foil, with a beautiful filigree rosette adorned with a stone in the center. length 37 cm.
School of Seville, circa 1630-1660Still life with a knife resting on an earthenware jug, a copper cauldron beside a tin plate with a slice of bacon on a stone step, with three oranges, two pig's trotters, a mortar and pestle and a small paper packet, probably containing spices, on a stone table oil on canvas68.8 x 95.4cm (27 1/16 x 37 9/16in).Footnotes:ProvenanceDuque de Aveiro, Madrid, by descent to his grandsonThe Marqués de Goubea, 1976, and thence by descent to the present ownerExhibitedLondon, Royal Academy, The Golden Age of Spanish Painting, 10 January-14 March, 1976, cat. no. 77LiteratureX. de Salas, The Golden Age of Spanish Painting, exh. cat., London, 1976, cat. no. 77, p. 85Having formerly been in the great collection of the Duque de Aveiro, in his catalogue entry for the 1976 Royal Academy exhibition Xavier de Salas wrote of the present work: 'In that collection it was formerly attributed to Velásquez, and it is without doubt a Sevillian work of the highest quality, both in the composition and handling, which seems to be contemporary with the great master. It probably dates from the second third of the century.' Not having been exhibited before the Royal Academy exhibition in 1976, it is a testament to the importance of this still life that the The Golden Age of Spanish Painting comprised such masterpieces as Juan Sánchez Cotán's Still life with vegetables hanging above a cardoon and lemons on a stone ledge, lent by the Várez-Fisa Collection, Madrid; Francisco Zurbarán's Still of ceramic and metal objects on a wooden ledge lent by the Museo del Prado; and Antonio Pereda's The Knight's Dream, lent by the Real Academia de San Fernando, Madrid; not to mention a number of the Museo del Prado's best known masterpieces by El Greco, Velásquez, Zurbarán and Ribera.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
Jacopo Vignali (Prato Vecchio 1592-1664 Florence)David with the Head of Goliath oil on canvas113.5 x 87.5cm (44 11/16 x 34 7/16in).Footnotes:ProvenanceWith Pennington Museum Treasures, Los Angeles, 1976Private Collection, CaliforniaExhibitedCalifornia State University, Northridge, California, Collection without walls: problems in connoisseurship, October - November 1976, curated by Dr Jean Luc Bordeaux (as by Cristofano Allori)This striking, freshly discovered depiction of David and Goliath has been independently proclaimed by the foremost authorities in their field to be a 'masterpiece' by Jacopo Vignali, one of Florence's leading artists of the early 17th century. We are grateful to Professor Francesca Baldassari for identifying this work on the basis of colour photographs as 'a masterpiece by Jacopo Vignali datable to around 1624 on the basis of other monogrammed and dated works by him of the period, such as the Drunkenness of Noah in the National Gallery in Prague' (see fig. 1). This is an opinion that was corroborated, furthermore, in a recently unearthed letter to the late owner, dated 3 July, 2003, from Professor Mina Gregori, that refers to this 'splendid painting with 'David with the head of Goliath'' of which 'I firmly think that the painter is Jacopo Vignali, one of the best Florentine painters of the XVII century.' With reference to the painting's prior attribution to Cristofano Allori, she writes that 'this painting is one of his [Vignali's] masterpieces.' Professor Gregori continues: 'You can recognise Vignali from the light, very different from Cristofano and more naturalistic, coming from different experiences: And the boy is his usual model.' Both the dramatic composition and outstanding quality of this work represents the height of Vignali's achievement as a representative of a school of painting that valued so highly the importance of disegno.The subject of David and Goliath has inspired some of the greatest works of art of all time, including Donatello's and Michelangelo's sculptures, which Vignali will have been familiar with in his native Florence. There the subject symbolised the courage and resilience of the small city state (and subsequent Grand Duchy) in the face of the larger rising nation states that surrounded it. Florence was all too aware of the threats that encompassed her and consequently David was a perfect symbol of the liberty and freedom of the Florentine people, capturing the unwavering courage, unexpected strength, and historic perseverance that they saw in themselves. Traditionally, David had been portrayed after his victory, triumphant over the slain Goliath. Florentine artists like Verrocchio, Ghiberti and Donatello all depicted their own version of David standing over Goliath's severed head; while Michelangelo and Donatello instead, chose to represent David before the battle. The account of the battle between David and Goliath is told in Book 1 Samuel. Saul and the Israelites were facing the Philistines near the Valley of Elah. Twice a day for 40 days, Goliath, the champion of the Philistines, came out between the lines and challenged the Israelites to send out a champion of their own to decide the outcome in single combat. Only David, a young shepherd, accepted the challenge. Saul reluctantly agreed and offered his armour, which David declined since it was too large, taking only his sling and five stones from a brook. David and Goliath thus confronted each other, David hurling a stone from his sling with all his might which hit Goliath in the centre of his forehead: Goliath fell on his face to the ground, and David then cut off his head. By vanquishing sin David had made Israel safe; his unwavering faith in the face of war, and his subsequent rough path to kingship marked him as a hero; he was further admired for his Psalms, while his righteousness and repentance were extolled consistently throughout the Renaissance and Baroque period. When Saul tried to kill David, not once but several times, David never returned such an attempt, possessing virtues which Italian princes desired for themselves. As a king, David was quick to administer justice to those who deserved it and quick to welcome in outcasts, such as Jonathan's lame son. He defended his kingdom rigorously and victoriously. As a man, David was favoured by God, talented, handsome, and he rose to power at a young age. He was the pre-cursor of Christ, and a symbol of pious perfection. David's image was the perfect commission for a prince of the Church wanting a constant reminder of faithfulness and redemption, or for a secular prince, wanting a public and readily recognizable symbol of power and fidelity.Jacopo Vignali trained under Matteo Rosselli, entering his studio in Florence around 1605 at the age of only thirteen; in 1616 he joined the Accademia del Disegno becoming an academician in 1622. Although Rosselli was to have a lasting influence on his pupil's oeuvre, Vignali gradually evolved his own style distinguished by dramatic light effects, rich colour, painterly technique and a particularly poetic and emotional interpretation of his subjects. His most famous pupil was Carlo Dolci, who was profoundly affected by the intensity of his religious works. Thus Vignali has himself here put a new contemporary interpretation on this subject, employing his and his fellow early seventeenth century Florentine's celebration of rich and colourful fabrics in the use of contemporary costume in depicting a biblical scene, along with the innovative pictorial drama that Caravaggio had recently made popular throughout Italy, and subsequently Europe. Caravaggio had himself treated the subject three times, between circa 1605 and 1610 in masterpieces which are now respectively in the Prado, Vienna and the Villa Borghese. The masterful way in which Vignali handles the paint, the remarkably delicate modelling of the flesh tones and the theatrical elegance of his simple composition illustrate not only Vignali's particular style, but also the broader trends within Florentine painting at the time. Unpublished until now, this canvas is a rare and significant addition to the oeuvre of Jacopo Vignali, who has been regarded as the foremost painter of the Florentine Seicento.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: ** VAT on imported items at a preferential rate of 5% on Hammer Price and the prevailing rate on Buyer's Premium.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
Caspar Netscher (Heidelberg 1639-1684 The Hague)Portrait of a gentleman scientist, probably Constantijn Huygens, half-length, standing beside a group of miscroscopes signed and dated 'CNetscher.Fec. 1680' (lower left, CN in ligature)oil on canvas48.6 x 39.2cm (19 1/8 x 15 7/16in).Footnotes:ProvenanceSale, Leslie Hindman Auctioneers, Palm Beach (Florida), 29 September, 2016, lot 9 (as Caspar Netscher of an unknown man), whence acquired by the current ownerThe composition of this important record of the 17th century Scientific Revolution can be related closely to another portrait by Caspar Netscher in the Musée du Louvre, which includes a similar group of microscopes on a stone plinth. The Louvre portrait is believed to depict Nicolaas Hartsoeker (1656-1725), who is best known for publishing the design for a simple screw-barrel microscope in 1694. He was fascinated by microscopes and visited Antoni van Leeuwenhoek at the age of sixteen and in 1678 he travelled to Paris as an assistant to Christiaan Huygens. Between 1684 and 1698 he lived there with his wife and sold lenses and microscopes.Since it is dated 1680 when Hartsoeker would have been only 24, it is suggested the artist must have used the composition of the present painting as the model for the Louvre portrait, and the obvious candidate for the present sitter would be either Nicolaas Hartsoeker's mentor in the design of microscopes, Christiaan Huygens (1629-95), or Christiaan's elder brother and collaborator, Constantijn Huygens (1628-1697). Christiaan had been earlier portrayed by Netscher in 1671 (Haags Historisch Museum, The Hague, on loan to the Boerhaave Museum, Leiden); but a drawing believed to be a self-portrait of Constantijn Huygens the Younger, which has been dated to 1685, shows a closer resemblance to the present portrait. Caspar Netscher was known to have also painted these two brothers' father, Constantijn Huygens the Elder and it would have been likely that he would have painted a portrait of his elder son, as well as that of his younger son, Christiaan. The Huygens family were part of an artistic circle: Constantijn Senior was a friend of Rembrandt and he had also had his portrait painted by Caspar Netscher, as well as by Jan Lievens, Michiel van Mierevelt, Thomas de Keyser and Adriaen Hanneman; while the younger Constantijn Huygens was a keen draughtsman himself and as a connoisseur of the arts served William III (to whom he followed his father in the role of private secretary) in setting up the gallery in Kensington Palace. A Dutch physicist, mathematician, astronomer and inventor, Christiaan Huygens is widely regarded as the most important scientist between Galileo and Isaac Newton. In physics, Huygens made ground-breaking contributions in optics and mechanics, while as an astronomer he is chiefly known for his studies of the rings of Saturn and the discovery of its moon, Titan. While Constantijn was also a diplomat and diarist who has been compared to his English contemporary, Samuel Pepys, he was known mostly for his work on scientific instruments. From the 1650s he assisted his brother in the construction of lenses and between 1683 and 1687 the two brothers continued to make larger and longer focal length telescopes, culminating in very large tubeless aerial telescopes. Constantijn presented a 19 cm diameter, 37.5 m long focal length aerial telescope objective to the Royal Society in 1690 that still bears his signature. Although dubbed the 'Galileo Microscope', the large microscope to the left with a brass body and scrolled legs was the late 17th century instrument that replaced Zacharias Janssen's original 16th century compound microscope and other subsequent microscopes. To the right of this instrument is shown an elegant silver device which appears to be based on the simple microscope designed by Christiaan Huygens, which would have operated in a manner similar to the innovative microscope invented by Antonie Philips van Leeuwenhoek, by placing the high-powered lens next to the eye. Christiaan sketched several designs for such a simple microscope in his notebooks and in letters to his brother in the course of the year 1678. Christiaan and Constantijn were remarkably close in their collaboration, personally grinding their lenses together and, as a mark of how ahead of their time they were they were even known to have discussed the possibility of extra-terrestrial life while at the telescope. An inferior version of the present composition, 48.5 x 39.5 cm., attributed to Constantine Netscher, is in the State Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: ** VAT on imported items at a preferential rate of 5% on Hammer Price and the prevailing rate on Buyer's Premium.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
Attributed to Cornelis Ketel (Gouda 1548-1616 Amsterdam)Portrait of Sir George Gill of Wyddial Hall, Hertfordshire, three-quarter-length, in armour inscribed 'IN DESPECTO DE FORTUNO' (upper left) and dated and charged with sitter's coat-of-arms 'Ao 1578.' (upper right)oil on panel108.4 x 69.9cm (42 11/16 x 27 1/2in).Footnotes:ProvenancePrivate Collection, GermanyFrom the date and the coat-of-arms the sitter in the present portrait can be identified as George Gill (or Gyll) of Wyddial (before 1565 – 1619) who was an officer in the English army and was on the expedition which sacked Cadiz in 1596, along with Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, Lord Thomas Howard, Sir Walter Raleigh, and Sir Francis Vere, each of whom commanded a squad.The coat-of-arms on the painting has been identified by Thomas Woodcock FSA, Garter King of Arms at the College of Arms in London, as follows: the first quarter is Lozengy Argent and Sable a Lion rampant guardant Argent; the second quarter, Argent two chevronels Sable each charged with three Mullets Argent on a Canton Gules a Lion passant gardant Or; the third quarter Argent on a Fess Sable between three Crosses formy Gules three Martlets Or; and the fourth quarter Argent three Bars and in chief three Mulletts Gules. Somewhat unusually the second as well as the first quartering can be identified as those of the Gill family. The third quartering is that of the family of Canon, indicating that the sitter is the descendant of the marriage of John Gill and Margaret, daughter and heir of George Canon of Wyddial in 1508. This couple had four sons, the eldest of whom was George Gill who was recorded as dying in 1568; this George Gill's eldest son was John Gill of Buckland and Wyddial who was High Sheriff of Hertfordshire in 1575. His eldest son, another George, was the sitter in the present picture. Interestingly, the fourth quartering on the portrait seems to be a slight mis-interpretation of the arms of Washington, ancestors of the American President, which are Gules three bars and in chief three Mullets Argent (some of the tinctures have been reversed). There is no surviving evidence either to show that Gill's mother was or was not an heraldic heiress of the Washington family, but there is only one other coat (that of Kempston in Warwickshire) which is remotely similar. Wyddial Park, formerly the seat of the Gill family, consists of an estate of 1,187 acres close to the village of Wyddial (or Widiall), which is a parish in the hundred of Edwinstree in the county court district of Royston, in the north-east corner of Hertfordshire. This tiny village lies on the pre-Roman Icknield Way, deemed to be the oldest road in Britain, and probably first used in the late stone age. The ancient church of Saint Giles there contains several stained glass windows, including two in the aisle thought to be by a Dutch or Flemish artist of the 17th century, and some monuments and brasses to the Gulston, Gill and Ellis families; there are also brasses commemorating the Gill family which date from 1535-1600.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
LITERATURE, SCIENCE AND THE ARTSCollection, contained in three albums and loose, comprising a large quantity of autograph letters, cut signatures etc., the majority to physicians Sir George Buckston Browne and Sir Henry Thompson by, amongst others, Robert Louis Stephenson (postcard, signed, asking him to come earlier '...I have no bad symptoms...'), Robert Browning ('...I shall be delighted to form a 'minor seventh', not venturing to hope for the position of 'sensible note', - in your 'Octave' on the 7th of May...', mentioning a picture submitted to an exhibition, presumably by his son, and thanking him for his support, 11 April 1878), Wilkie Collins (accepting an invitation), Egyptologist Amelia B. Edwards ('...the medicine you prescribed for me was sent to the wrong room...'), Marie Louise Ramé ('Ouida'), Leslie Stephen, poet Edwin Arnold, artists John Brett, Val Princep, John Tenniel, George du Maurier, Philip Calderon, Carlo Pellegrini ('Ape'), Alma Tadema ('...Please allow this draughtsman to work from the Tarquinius...'), Marcus Stone, William Powell Frith, musicians Arthur Sullivan ('...I have had no violent pain again – but always feel uncomfortable...') and George Grove, scientists William Jenner ('...Has this gentleman any stone in his bladder?...'), James Paget, Joseph Lister (regarding an consultation), Thomas Henry Huxley (his daughter has diptheria but is recovering), Irish physicist John Tyndall, US surgeon and pharmacologist Henry J. Bigelow, explorer George Nares (sending some Arctic crockery used aboard the Alert in 1884 '...One of our sledge parties, under Markham and Parr journied [sic] North to within 400 miles of the Pole. It is now reported that Lockwood and Brainard of the U. States Expd under Greeley succeeded in getting 3 ½ miles farther North – but no ship has beaten the 'Alert'...'), Admiral Robert Patton, Charles Spurgeon, William Gull (signed autograph envelope fragment); the second album containing mainly theatre and music hall stars (Dan Leno, Charles Reade, Nellie Melba, Ellen Terry, signed photographs of Percy Grainger and Gertie Millar amongst others), also Henry Morton Stanley (autograph letter accepting an invitation), George Meredith, many cut signatures including the Grossmiths, Charles Parry, Clara Schumann, Robert Peel, George III, Earl Nelson, actors, nobility, politicians etc.; third album containing c.280 signed free fronts from politicians and the nobility, mostly 1820's and 30's; with a folder of c.20 loose autograph letters including Henry Irving (letter of thanks in the hand of his secretary Bram Stoker), Arthur Sullivan, Charles Spurgeon (6), the Princess Royal, Jan Smuts (letter of thanks, 1942), two from General Wavell, one from Pacific Command, Java, 1942 ('...I have a difficult job here and some dangerous and anxious times ahead, but we shall eventually check and then drive back the Japs...'), c.150 leaves in all, half roan, folio and oblong folio, the second with visiting card of Miss Buckston Browne affixed to inside front board, predominantly nineteenth century (4)Footnotes:This collection comes from the descendants of the daughter of Sir George Buckston Browne (1850-1945). Coming from a long line of medical men, Buckston Browne enjoyed much success in his early career and in 1874 became private assistant to Sir Henry Thompson, the leading urologist of his day, specialising in prostate problems and bladder stones. Both men were held in high esteem by their patients and colleagues (Browne is the dedicatee of George Meredith's Lord Ormont and his Aminta), and moved in the highest social circles, treating many illustrious names as demonstrated by the letters in this collection. Buckston Browne was with Thompson for fourteen years before starting his own consultancy, becoming a much respected, and wealthy, connoisseur and benefactor of the arts. In 1927 he purchased Charles Darwin's Down House, thus preserving it for posterity (see livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk website). Sir Henry Thompson (1820-1904), his mentor, was the 'archetypal Victorian polymath', and several of our letters refer to his celebrated 'Octaves', dinners comprising eight dishes, beginning at eight o'clock, for eight guests (see Robert Browning's letter above): 'Renowned for their cuisine and conversation, they were attended by royalty, colleagues, famous men (no women) from the arts, literature, the professions and politics, and foreign visitors' (Alex Paton, ODNB).This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: •• Zero rated for VAT, no VAT will be added to the Hammer Price or the Buyer's Premium.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
LAWRENCE (T.E.)Three autograph letters signed ('T E Lawrence') to Lieutenant Colonel Sir Henry McMahon, regarding the commission of a portrait for inclusion in Seven Pillars of Wisdom, comprising: (i) Autograph letter signed ('T.E. Lawrence'), mentioning he '...wrote a yarn of the Arabian effort – in no sense a history, but a personal narrative. You figured in it, just a little, at the opening...', and is '...collecting illustrations for its eventual publication (no present intention that way, though sometimes I'm tempted to publish part of it)...', asking McMahon if he would sit for a portrait and suggesting '...a powerful young artist called Roberts. He's very young, very callow: like a hollow oyster: but draws wonderfully. He was a Cubist...', and apologising for the odd request ('...It's rather like head-hunting, & a thousand times worse than autographing: but I've made the same request to several other of my victims, & have got callous over it...'), and for his handwriting ('...I'm in a boy's camp, writing on a crazy bed!...'), 2 pages, 8vo (174 x 113mm.), 14 Barton St., S.W.1, 25 August [19]22(ii)Autograph letter signed ('T.E. Lawrence'), writing after the sitting to ask McMahon's opinion of the picture ('...The first writing to one newly drawn is like going to congratulate an oriental, when you don't know if it was a boy or a girl... It's very severe & structured, wickedly like you, wickedly unlike: technically of course nearly a great piece of work. Lady McMahon, if she saw it, is no doubt furious: yourself I expect are mildly amused: & your critical self is probably pleased. He's a very uncommon youth, that little oyster-artist, & will make a name for himself...'), and comments on Roberts' portrait of Robin Buxton ('...An astonishing thing, more modelled than yours, but less individual...'), 1 page, 4to (220 x 177mm.), [no place], 17 October [19]22(iii)Autograph letter signed ('T.E. Lawrence'), arranging to meet, 1 page, on Colonial Office embossed headed paper, 8vo (188 x 115mm.), Colonial Office, 3 March [19]22Footnotes:'I WROTE A YARN OF THE ARABIAN EFFORT – IN NO SENSE A HISTORY, BUT A PERSONAL NARRATIVE': LAWRENCE COMMISSIONS THE PORTRAITS FOR SEVEN PILLARS.To illustrate his 'yarn of the Arabian effort', Lawrence commissioned the 'uncommon youth, that little oyster-artist' Slade-trained William Roberts, a self-described 'English Cubist' who had spent the war as firstly a gunner at the front and latterly as an official war artist. He was also to undertake an oil painting of Lawrence wearing his RAF uniform, the sittings taking place 'in a room I was using at Coleherne Terrace, Earl's Court' (Roberts' memoir Early Years).Roberts was a very suitable choice. The powerful personalities Lawrence depicts in his book demanded a powerful artistic style such as Roberts could offer, and Lawrence described McMahon's portrait as 'absolutely splendid: the strength of it, and the life: it feels as though at any moment there might be a crash in the paper and the thing start out' (21 October 1922) (quoted in www.englishcubist.co.uk/mcmahon). What McMahon thought of it is not known, neither seemingly is the current whereabouts of the original, but Lawrence notes with wry humour that McMahon's wife would be less than impressed with the depiction. The portrait was exhibited at the Leicester Galleries in 1927 as item 1 in a selling exhibition of illustrations from the book. In the preface to the exhibition catalogue, Bernard Shaw explains how Lawrence '...made up his mind to lose money... He set able painters to work to make portraits... and imaginative draughtsmen... He had paper specially made, and directed the printing himself in the manner of Morris or Caxton...' and urges people to purchase the pictures for 'extravagant sums' to benefit a Trust set up to firstly cover the costs of publication and thereafter benefit 'a fund for the relief of the Belisariuses of the Air Force. Not one farthing of the price of Arabia's independence and her timely aid to England will ever go into the pockets of the Prince of Damascus...' (Catalogue of an Exhibition of Paintings, Pastels, Drawings and Woodcuts illustrating Col. T.E. Lawrence's book 'Seven Pillars of Wisdom', The Leicester Galleries, 5 to 21 February 1927).Sir Henry McMahon, first high commissioner for Egypt, is perhaps best known for the McMahon-Hussein correspondence, a secret correspondence with the sharif of Mecca on behalf of the British government encouraging an Arab uprising against the sultan-caliph. He is described by Sir Ronald Storrs (his papers sold in these rooms 26 June 2019, lot 223) as ''slight, fair very young for 52, quiet, friendly, agreeable, considerate and cautious'' but quite out of his depth, lacking 'any knowledge of Arabic... forced to deal with a complex political situation... In return for an Arab rebellion McMahon loosely promised independence in certain areas of the Middle East, but he failed precisely to stipulate which parts... The extreme vagueness of the often confused and ambiguous correspondence between McMahon and Hussein... caused almost immediate controversy between the Arabs and the British empire over its differing interpretations, especially about whether it included Palestine...' (T.R. Moreman, ODNB), thus sowing the seeds of discord for years to come. In Seven Pillars, however, Lawrence praised McMahon's 'shrewd insight and tried, experienced mind' and his success in having 'achieved our foundation stone, the understanding with the Sherif of Mecca', writing that McMahon was kept in the dark about the British government's real intentions and was not to blame. Lawrence's guilt over his own part in what he saw as a British and French betrayal of the Arabs was to haunt him for the rest of his life. This correspondence is unpublished and has remained in the McMahon family until now.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
ROWLING (J.K.)Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, FIRST PAPERBACK EDITION, with the number sequence from 10 to 1 on verso of title-page, publisher's pictorial wrappers (with misspelling 'Philospher' on lower cover), fading to spine, corner tips slightly turned, 2 small adhesion marks on upper cover, 8vo, Bloomsbury, [1997]Footnotes:The first paperback edition of the first Harry Potter title, issued on the same day as the first hardback edition.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: •• Zero rated for VAT, no VAT will be added to the Hammer Price or the Buyer's Premium.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
ROWLING (J.K.)Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, FIRST PAPERBACK EDITION, with the number sequence from 10 to 1 on verso of title-page, first section with slight browning and crinkling, faint yellow staining to one leaf (pp.83/84), publisher's pictorial wrappers (with misspelling 'Philospher' on lower cover), some creasing with slight chips and edge wear, 8vo, Bloomsbury, [1997]Footnotes:The first paperback edition of the first Harry Potter title, issued on the same day as the first hardback edition.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: •• Zero rated for VAT, no VAT will be added to the Hammer Price or the Buyer's Premium.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
ROWLING (J.K.)Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, FIRST EDITION, INSCRIBED BY THE AUTHOR 'To Jonathan with best wishes J.K. Rowling' on the front free endpaper, number sequence '10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1' on imprint page, publisher's pictorial boards (slightly worn at extremities of spine and corners), dust-jacket, 8vo, Bloomsbury, 1998Footnotes:Provenance: Inscribed by the author for the vendor when he was a child. He recalls the circumstances:'It is a primary school teacher named Mrs Pope that is to be thanked for it coming into my possession. She had started reading JK Rowling's first book (Philosopher's Stone) to my class just before all the hype started. Before Chamber of Secrets was released JK Rowling held a competition where she had her fans write letters about how much they enjoyed the first book. Her favourite letters would be hand picked and be published in the 'Chamber of Secrets'. Everyone in my class entered the competition (along with thousands of other Children). I didn't win, but a girl in my class named Fiona Chadwick did. You can see her letter reproduced in the back of Chamber. As a result of our classmate winning, my entire class were invited to her book launch at Waterstones in Aberdeen. JK Rowling read us the first 2 chapters of the book. It was magical hearing her give life to her words. I particularly remember her impersonating Dobby. She signed each of my classmates books and left a personal message in the cover of each one. We were all delighted and star struck'.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: •• Zero rated for VAT, no VAT will be added to the Hammer Price or the Buyer's Premium.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
BROWNING (ELIZABETH BARRETT)Fine autograph letter signed ('EB Barrett'), the second and concluding bifolium, to John Kenyon, her intimate friend and cousin and dedicatee of Aurora Leigh, describing her illness ('...with a full knowledge of the peculiar uncertainties of my complaint, I do consider myself, & am convinced by the physician who attends me, hopefully better...'), life in Torquay including receiving a visitor ('...It has been a thing forbidden, & indeed for many weeks & months together... I did not leave my bedroom...'), discussing the fortunes of Mary Russell Mitford and confessing that she pines for her father and Wimpole Street ('...the longing for home will be helped away by nothing I am sure until I can get back again to Wimpole Street... I believe I never loved my dearest Papa & all of them, until I left them...'), 3 pages, professional repairs to margin, guard, 8vo (180 x 115mm.), Torquay, 10 June 1839Footnotes:'I DO CONSIDER MYSELF, & AM CONVINCED BY THE PHYSICIAN WHO ATTENDS ME, HOPEFULLY BETTER': Elizabeth Barrett writes from her convalescence in Torquay to her cousin and 'Guardian Angel', John Kenyon. 'In 1837–8 she was stricken with a second prolonged illness which continued over four years, in which she suffered from 'blood spitting, irregular heart action, loss of voice', elevated body temperature, fainting, and insomnia, symptoms associated today with either bronchiectasis or 'tuberculous ulceration of the lungs... On 25 August 1838 she left the polluted air of mid-Victorian London for Torquay, and despite the hopes expressed in this letter, she was not to return to Wimpole Street until 11 September 1841' (Marjorie Stone, ODNB). Only months after writing this letter she suffered two tragedies, in February the death of her brother Samuel in Jamaica and the following July that of her beloved brother Bro in a sailing accident, events which would inspire her poems De Profundis and Grief. John Kenyon was also a friend of Robert Browning's father and it was he who encouraged Robert to write to Elizabeth, as well as, with some persistence on his part, arranging their first meeting.A short extract of the letter published in a Sotheby's catalogue of 5 July 1900, lot 131, describes the letter as already incomplete (see Kelley and Hudson, The Brownings' Correspondence: A Checklist, 1978, p.19). See also Phillips sale, 15 November 1990, lot 67.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
Larimar Solitaire Statement Ring, an oval cut, 12.75ct cabochon, of the beautifully mottled blue larimar, the rare stone found only in the Dominican Republic, in the Caribbean; here in an unusually generous size, set above a halo of chevron textured green enamel, in platinum vermeil and silver; size P
Antique Period Good Quality Pair of Polished Scotch Pebble Silver Mounted Brooches, circa 1900. Size 2.5" x 2" - 6.25 cm x 5 cm largest brooch. Plus, a 1960s large and impressive Sterling Silver Starburst Pendant Brooch, cabochon cut stone set to centre of brooch. Marked 925. 37.8 grams. Size 2.75" - 6.90 cm high. Together with a Sterling Silver Spirit Label with Scottish thistle decoration for Brandy. Hallmark Birmingham 2000. 2.75" - 6.90 cm diameter. All pieces are in excellent condition in all aspects.
Natural History Interest. Stone Ball From a Set of Paleolithic Bolas, Used by Early Humans As Tools and Weapons ' Grinding Ball ' Weighs 778.5 grams. Found In South West Libya, Near The Border with Chad. Provenance - Brought Back to England by a British Soldier - Prisoner of War, Held In Bengazi. During World War II.
18ct Gold Superb Quality Pave Set Single Stone Diamond Ring of Excellent Contemporary Design. The Oval Shaped Faceted Diamond of Top Colour / Clarity. Cal Diamond Weight 0.50 pts, Weight Marked to Interior of Shank. Ring Size O. As New Condition In All Aspects. 4.9 grams. Very Low Estimate for this Quality.
Superb 18ct Gold Three Stone Diamond Set Ring, the three cushion cut diamonds, of superb colour and clarity, In an excellent pave setting; est diamond weight 2.15cts, est colour H - I, est clarity VVS1; hallmarked Birmingham 1925, maker's mark AS; ring size P-Q. The shank and setting excellent in all aspects
Ladies Attractive 18ct Gold Seven Stone Diamond Set Ring, the seven round brilliant cut diamonds, in the gallery setting, are of excellent colour and clarity, with good sparkle; est. diamond weight 0.80pts; ring size M/N, fully hallmarked 750 - 18ct; all aspects of condition excellent, including shank and setting
18ct Gold - Good Quality Single Stone Diamond Set Ring. Marked 18ct to Interior of Shank. Marked 18ct to Interior of Shank. The Brilliant Cut Round Diamond of Excellent Colour and Clarity ( Crisp ) Est G -H Colour, Est VSI Clarity. Est Diamond Weight 0.30 pts. Ring Size N. The Shank and Setting In Excellent Condition - Please Confirm with Photo.
18ct Gold - Top Quality and Attractive Seven Stone Diamond Set Ring, Marked with Full Hallmark 750 - 18ct. The Seven Round Brilliant Cut Diamonds of Top Grade Both In Colour and Clarity. Est Diamond Weight 0.60 pts. Ring Size J. As New Condition In All Aspects, Includes Shank and Setting - Please Confirm with Photo. Low Estimate For This Quality.
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