Magnificent Jewels at Sotheby’s Auction, New York

A sneak peek from Sotheby’s upcoming auction Magnificent Jewels…  Lot number 263. Cultured Pearl and Diamond Bracelet Clip-Brooch combination and a pair of Earclips

Hello dearest, so I will be going away for two weeks to our lovely South Africa, and since the weight of my laptop is about half the checked-in luggage allowance, I must leave the laptop behind and the blog will be back again the week starting 4th of May!  But before I bid you farewell, I have a few wonderful jewellery events to share with you:

Magnificent Jewels by Sotheby’s on 21 April at 3pm

Sotheby’s Magnificent Jewels auction is coming up on 21 April and here on the blog we are just beyond ourselves with excitement:  many of the pieces are spring-themed and all these beautiful colours and designs just make us want to dress up in pastels, sun hats and light summer dresses.  We have also learnt that Sotheby’s will be partnering with eBay on this occasion, so it will be the first time the jewellery sale is available on eBay’s live auctions platform.  It means that even if we are not in New York, and even if we can’t afford these amazing pieces, we can still watch the bidding live – a bit like some high-end auction-window-shopping really!  And I have of course picked out a few pieces that I thought you might love:

153. PLATINUM, PADPARADSCHA SAPPHIRE AND DIAMOND RING, CARTIER
Estimate $125,000 – $150,000  Centering a square-cut padparadscha sapphire weighing approximately 13.10 carats, accented by single-cut diamonds weighing approximately .25 carat, size 5¾, signed Cartier, numbered 3998311.

What an extraordinary stone!  We haven’t yet learnt about Padparadscha Sapphires here on the blog, but will do in an upcoming post.  The definition of Padparadscha Sapphires is debated within the jewellery community, but many agree that it captures sapphires that hold a colour between pink and orange.  Unusual and just beyond beautiful!

78. 18 KARAT GOLD, FANCY VIVID YELLOW DIAMOND AND DIAMOND RING, BULGARI
Estimate $30,000 – $40,000 Of stylized floral design, centering a round Fancy Vivid Yellow diamond weighing 2.04 carats, accented by round diamonds weighing approximately 4.50 carats, gross weight approximately 12 dwts, size 6¼, with expandable shank, signed Bulgari, inscribed CM 2.04.

Oh I just love the spring-colour combination in the ring above!  Yellow diamonds are glorious in their own right and fetch very high prices – often higher than colourless diamonds – and paired up with white diamonds and yellow gold in the Bulgari design above encapsulates a sunny spring day for me!

81. WHITE GOLD, STAR SAPPHIRE AND DIAMOND RING
Estimate $15,000 – $20,000 Centering a cabochon star sapphire measuring approximately 18.1 by 14.7 by 12.6 mm, framed by round and baguette diamonds weighing approximately 2.60 carats, size 6.

Given my obsession with star sapphires I just had to include the ring above.  It is like looking at a starry sky in a clear night – magnificent!  We already know that in 100 sapphires found, only three will be star sapphires – and only one of these three will have a beautiful star as well as a beautiful colour, in case you remember the blog post A Star Ruby Romance.

114. PLATINUM, DIAMOND AND EMERALD BRACELET
Estimate $15,000 – $20,000  Set with square, baguette, old European and single-cut diamonds weighing approximately 14.20 carats, accented by pear-shaped and calibré-cut emeralds, length 7¼ inches, one small diamond missing; circa 1930.

I was delighted to find this circa 1930s bracelet in such a distinct Art Deco design.  The emeralds have such a vivid green colour and there is nothing better than old cut diamonds – you know the kind that outshines and out-sparkles any modern cut diamonds when worn in a candle light-setting?

169. HIGHLY IMPORTANT PLATINUM AND DIAMOND PENDANT NECKLACE
Estimate $3,800,000 – $4,200,000  The pear-shaped diamond weighing 52.26 carats, suspended from a chain set with eight round diamonds weighing .87 carat, length adjusts from 16 to 17 inches.

I just had to include this diamond pendant with an exquisite pear-shaped diamond.  A girl can always dream, right?  So let’s keep an eye on the auction to see how much these stunning pieces end up going for – and if you click onto the event page you will be able to dive into the rest of the collection…

21 April 2015 – Magnificent Jewels at Sotheby’s 

Frock Me! Vintage Fashion Fair at Chelsea Old Town Hall

And before I go I also have to tell you about another exciting event, which takes place a little closer to home: The Frock Me! Vintage Fashion Fair at Old Chelsea Town Hall.  Very pleased to be presenting the flyer above, which you must print and bring along to the fair on 26 April at Chelsea Old Town Hall, for your half-price entry!

Afternoon tea at Blackbird Tea Rooms at the Frock Me! Vintage Fair

We are already familiar with this fabulous fair, but for any readers, it is London’s leading vintage fashion and textiles fair and they have the most amazing vintage and designer pieces on display!  Our favourite cafe, Blackbird Tea Rooms, will of course also be there, and thinking about it, I haven’t yet posted from my last visit:

It is 7:45am as I am writing this, and I am now having massive cravings for Afternoon Tea!!

And if you haven’t been yet I would so recommend that you go!  The best thing is when the most unexpected things just jump out at you and you find yourself coming home with a beautiful collection of vintage clothes and accessories!

Frock Me! Vintage Fashion Fair / Sunday 26 April / 11am- 5.30pm

I now wish you a wonderful day in the sunshine and I will see you again on Wednesday 6th May!

Welcome 2015!

 

Hello my dearest, I hope you had a wonderful holiday season!  I sure did, with a proper winter and -11 degrees in Sweden, a fabulous New Year celebration, and such a lovely 2015 to look forward to.  So many people seem to have had a bit of a questionable 2014, so the spirits for this new year are raised!

FrockMe! Vintage Fashion Fair, Chelsea Old Town Hall

Just to get us started – there is a Frock Me! Vintage Fashion Fair coming up at Chelsea Old Town Hall on 1 February.  The advance tickets are a mere £4 so definitely something to take a closer look at.

From the Catherine Southon Auction on 19th November 2014

The next Catherine Southon Auction (you might remember her from the previous post Catherine Southon – Auction coming up on 19th November 2014) will be 25th March – and it will be attended by BBC Bargain Hunt!

The Third Imperial Fabergé Easter Egg at Wartski in Mayfair

Wartski (we visited them in the blog post Found! The Third Imperial Fabergé Easter Egg) will be celebrating their 150th anniversary and Geoffrey Munn’s book on the history of Wartski will be published in May.

And as for Decades of Elegance – I will keep bringing you the most beautiful pieces of antique jewellery that London, Sweden and South Africa have to offer!  I will also keep inspiring you with lovely vintage finds – everything from handbags to dresses!  And if there is anything that you would like to share with us here on the blog, please feel free to send a photo to me on:

info@decadesofelegance.com

… and I will share it with all the other lovely readers here!

The Classic Sale at Bukowskis Auction, Dec 2-5 Stockholm

 

Bukowskis – a pair of natural pearl earrings with diamonds, estimate 1.5-2million Swedish crowns (ca. £129,000)

The other day I was working away in the antique shop, when two ladies from the auction house Bukowskis came by.  Now, I can spot a Swedish accent from miles away and we were soon chatting away about the antique worlds in Sweden and London, which was such an unexpected treat!  The reason for their visit however, was an upcoming Bukowskis’ auction i December where – among many other glorious treasures – an extraordinary pair of pearl earrings will go on sale.  I of course took the chance to find out more about the sale and auction house:

A painting by our beloved Carl Larsson “I Montcourt” (in Montcourt).  You might remember the blog post A Nordic Style dream in London – chapter 1 where we learnt about the wonderful painter Carl Larsson?

Who are Bukowskis?

Bukowskis is the biggest auction house in the Nordics with a focus on fine art, design, crafts, oriental antiques and last but not least jewellery, where we are the market leading auction house by a wide margin.  Bukowskis was founded in 1870 and we have since conducted well guarded auctions with the involvement of royalty, as well as scandalous artists.  In 2014 Andy Warhols’ last work The Last Supper was sold at Bukowskis for 50 million Swedish crowns (ca. £4.3 million).

So lovely to see the works of some famous Swedish painters – here Alfred Wahlberg, ‘Fog over Huskvarna Stream’ 1884

What do your jewellery auctions look like?

At Bukowskis you can buy jewellery in three different ways.  On www.bukowskis.com you can place your online bids for diamonds and exciting jewellery around the clock.  At Fashion & Diamonds that takes place twice a year (autumn and spring) we combine designer clothing and designer costume jewellery with cool accessories – and real diamonds.  It is an unbelievably popular auction!  (The catalogue publication starts on 19th September).  Twice a year the most expensive jewellery is sold at Klassiska, in June and December.  The stunning pearl earrings will for example be on sale in December.

A pair of natural drop-shaped saltwater pearl and diamond girandole earrings. Bukowskis Auction

Oh yes, do tell us more about these sensational pearl earrings!

These are earrings for a real princess!  The design brings our thoughts to daughters of Renaissance rulers and you can almost hear the rustle of silk and elaborate lace collars.  The earrings feature some beautiful diamonds as well as six drop formed natural saltwater pearls in girandole style.  They are 6.5cm long and made out of 18 carat white gold.

Circa 3.50 ct cushion cut diamond ring. Possibly by Cartier. Quality circa ca E-F/VS2. Circa 1910 – 1920. Bukowskis Auction

Any other pieces of jewellery that have recently stood out  at your auctions?

We are experiencing a strong revival for pearls.  They must be real pearls and big in size!  In June this year we sold a remarkable brooch; the pearl was almost two centimeters wide and shaped like a banana (see photo below).  The setting was inventive and tasteful and it became the most expensive pearl that has ever been sold at an auction in Sweden: 3 million SEK (ca. £258,000)

Bukowskis Pearl brooch sold for 3 million kronor in June 2014

So do I need to add that we will be on pins and needles to see how much the earrings sell for at the December sale?!  I do of course promise to keep you guys updated, and I would love to hear how you would style them, if you had the chance to wear them one whole evening!  I think that I would go for hair up in a soft, loose bun and a floor length dress with a high neck, so that a necklace wouldn’t be required, to really highlight these beautiful earrings!  Ahh, a girl can always dream, right?  

Bukowskis ‘The Classic Sale’

Viewing: Nov 25 – Dec 1 2014, 11am – 6pm

Berzelii Park 1, Stockholm.

Auction: Dec 2 – 5 2014

Wahrendorffsgatan 8, Stockholm

Catherine Southon – Auction coming up on 19th November 2014

You lovely readers often ask me about auctions and my response is always that you really must visit one (or a hundred) immediately, if not sooner!  It is such a fun experience and you can make the most amazing bargains!  The other day I had the pleasure of meeting auctioneer Catherine Southon – who has an auction coming up on Wed 19th November in Surrey – and I was able to get us some behind-the-scenes knowledge:

Just a few of the tempting pieces coming up in Catherine Southon’s auction sale on 19th November 2014

You might recognise Catherine from the BBC Antiques programmes Bargain Hunt, Flog it!, Antiques Road Trip, Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is and Trade Secrets, and before she got involved in all of these exciting TV shows, she spent nine years with Sotheby’s Auctions.  Initially Catherine thought that she would love to work with paintings, but she soon realised that she really liked the experience of being able to hold and examine objects – as opposed to just looking at a beautiful painting – and so she found her way to the collectors department, where we find non-traditional items like toys, dolls and rock&roll memorabilia!

Catherine brought along a few of the beautiful pieces that will be up for sale at the 19th November auction, for example this Edwardian gold triple flower head bar brooch, set with seed pearls and diamonds. Estimate £200-£300!

After nine years at Sotheby’s, Catherine’s path lead to the TV-program Bargain Hunt.  In connection with the program she would give talks, and people would often came up and ask her where they could sell their pieces of jewellery.  At first she would refer them to various auction houses, but eventually she decided to set up on her own, and in November 2012 the doors to Catherine Southon Auctioneers and Valuers opened up!

Catherine’s auction house brings us jewellery, paintings, sculptures and furniture – and she describes auctions as being such fun, as “you can go to buy a diamond ring yet come home with a painting!”

Diamond and Sapphire Bracelet from the sale on 19th Nov 2014 – Catherine Southon Auctioneers

I asked Catherine to talk us through an auction experience, and she started out by telling me about the catalogue, where you get a good idea of what items are up for sale.  Here you can also read the auction house’s opinions on the items (their estimation of colour and clarity of diamonds, what period various objects date from, what gemstones can be found in the pieces of jewellery etc.).  You can then visit the auction house a few days ahead of the actual auction date, take a closer look at all the pieces and ask the staff any questions that you might have.  The beauty of viewing the items like this is that there is no one there to hurry you, so you can take your time to investigate the pieces – touch and hold them, and really get a feel for the things that you are interested in.

The prices are also very reasonable compared to the high street, because you are buying more or less straight from the source, without any fees added on by various middle hands.  This week’s auction has something for everyone: vintage, Art Deco, Victorian brooches and costume jewellery, Georg Jensen… Now you all know that I love seeing the younger generation getting more involved in antique and vintage jewellery, and I can’t think of a better place for you to get started!

I can never help but try on every piece of jewellery that comes in my way!  Here is quite a blurry photo of a beautiful diamond and sapphire ring from the Catherine Southon auction on 19th November 2014

Art Deco White Gold Diamond and Sapphire Ring £400-£600 in the Catherine Southon auction sale on 19th November 2014

If you are unable to attend the auction on the day, you will be able to place your bids online and follow the auction live there – and you can also revert to the classic way of phone bidding.  As for selling your own pieces, everyone is welcome to bring them in for valuation and I know that some of us worry about having to pay a great deal of money to the auction house if the piece doesn’t sell, but Catherine told me that they only charge an administrative fee of £5-10 for unsold items, which is great news indeed!  For items that do sell their commission is 16.5%.

Catherine Southon Auction 19th November 2014

So have a good think about what you might need or want – for yourself or for your home – and instead of popping down to the high street, visit this auction house during their viewing hours (tomorrow Tuesday 18th November 9:30am-5pm and Wednesday 19th November 9am-11am).  The auction then starts on Wed 19 November at 11:30am and you can place bids for your favourite things and maybe come home with the most wonderful bargain!

And if you want to prepare some more before your visit, you can read the blog post Your guide to attending an auction, where we went through all the different things that happen during the day of the auction, and learn useful auction-related expressions!

 

Catherine Southon Auctioneers & Valuers

Farleigh Court

Old Farleigh Road

Selsdon

Surrey CR6 9PE

The Hearing Dogs Charity at Chelsea Antiques Fair

So on Friday I visited the Chelsea Antiques Fair at Old Chelsea Town Hall, as you might remember from Friday’s post: Heading off to the Chelsea Antiques Fair!

The Chelsea Antiques Fair at the beautiful Old Chelsea Town Hall

I just love visiting Old Chelsea Town Hall, as it is such a beautiful venue.  It also creates the perfect backdrop to an antiques fair – let’s take a closer look at the decor:

Such beautiful chandeliers and I love the soft turquoise walls with the golden details…

Chelsea Old Town Hall

I absolutely love dogs, so first of all I have to take you to the Hearing Dogs stand: the charity supported by the fair.

Hearing Dogs Charity, supported by The Chelsea Antiques Fair

As I was wandering around the fair I noticed that some of the objects were marked with a little red dot, and I found out that these were the selected objects where a percentage of the sales would go directly to the charity.  Here is one of my favourites:

“Puppy Toothache” at the Hearing Dogs charity, Chelsea Antiques Fair 

Puppy Toothache – gilt bronze study from early 20th century 

And these handsome guys kept an eye on the fair for us:

At the Hearing Dogs Charity at The Chelsea Antiques Fair

We will visit a number of other stands later on this week but I also wanted to give you guys a quick heads up that there is a fabulous antique auction at Catherine Southon Auctioneers and Valuers in Surrey on Wednesday 26th March at 11:30 (you might recognise Catherine Southon from various BBC Antiques programmes!)  It seems that the bidding will start at very reasonable levels for quite a few objects, so it could be a really interesting one to visit – especially if it is one of your first auctions experiences!

Catherine Southon Auctioneers and Valuers, next sale at The Chateau in Shirley Hills, Surrey on Wed 26th March 2014 at 11:30am

The sale can be viewed on 25th & 26th March at The Chateau, Coombe Lane, Shirley, Surrey CR0 5RE.  For more details, you can visit her website: www.catherinesouthon.co.uk.

Your guide to attending an Auction

Viewing day at Lawrences Auctioneers

If people knew what amazing finds can be done at auctions, I am sure many more of us would be attending them.  I know that it can seem a bit intimidating – you might not know exactly what you are looking at, or looking for.  Not to mention the upbeat bidding part!  How are you supposed to keep up, and what if you accidentally buy a super expensive piece of furniture, when all you wanted to do was move some hair away from your face!?  Well fear not, let’s go through the different steps  and see if we can make some sense of it all:

I loved looking through all these vintage movie posters at Lawrences Auctioneers viewing

Viewing the Items

I love this part of the auction, as you get to spend time at the auction house browsing through tons of beautiful pieces and imagining what they would look like in your house!  The auction houses that I have been to usually have viewings two days ahead of the auction and also a couple of hours on the morning on the day of the auction.  Use the viewing time wisely and inspect the pieces that you are interested in, so that you are aware of any faults before the bidding starts.

Who wouldn’t want to take this little sweetie home?  At Ashbeys Gallery, Cape Town

To give you an example: I once saw a pair of amazing Chanel earrings in an online auction catalogue for a really low price, so I did a lot of online research the night before to understand the difference between real and fake Chanel, even though I planned to ask for advise at the auction house the next day.

However, when I arrived at the auction and asked the Porter for her advise – the Porter is the person helping you view the items so you that don’t drop the delicate ones on the floor or make dents into pretty vases – it turned out that she had no idea whether they were real or fake; neither did anyone else who worked there!  In didn’t end up buying the earrings, as it seemed to be a deal too good to be true, and that turned out to be the right decision in the end, as they were indeed mere replicas.  So do make sure that you do your research before heading to the auction – and don’t count on being able to rely on anyone else’s advice!

A treasure trove of costume jewellery at P.F. Windibank Auction

Also, keep an eye on the lot numbers so that you know when your piece is coming up, as there will be hundreds of lots up for sale on the day.  Bring a notebook and write down the lot numbers that you are interested in, together with any faults that you may have found on them.  You can even bring a camera to take some photos for your own reference (I always ask first whether it is alright for me to take photos though), that way you will ready for the bidding when it starts and hopefully you will get to buy the pieces that you like!

Golden Art Nouveau necklace with pearls

Bidding

Always decide in advance how much you are prepared to bid for a piece and stick to that limit, because during the exciting bidding process it can be very tempting to go higher, especially if you are a competitive person!

There are different ways to bid and the most common one is still in person.  You need to register your name, contact details and often also a credit card when you arrive at the auction house, and you will then be given a paddle number.  You enter the bidding by raising a hand or your paddle when you see the lot that you would like to buy, and the auctioneer will make a note of your number.

Antique poster of the English countryside and two hounds

Alternatively you can bid over the phone, if you don’t have time to attend in person.  You will be speaking to one of the staff members on the phone and they will relay your bids to the auctioneer during the bidding process.

These days you can of course also bid over the internet in real time during the auction.  The items are displayed on a screen with a photo and the level of the bidding next to it, and you can just use click your bids – super simple!  You do however miss out on the atmosphere in the auction room when bidding over the internet, so make sure you attend at least one auction before you start internet bidding, to get the ‘real’ experience.

If you want to do a commission bid you simply inform the auctioneer of the lot you want to bid on, and leave your highest price with them.  They will then use this information to bid against the others.

Browsing an auction catalogue at Winidbanks

Clever words to keep in mind:

The estimate is the price at which the auction house thinks that the item might be sold.  I did however learn the hard way that this is really only an estimate, when a beautiful cameo brooch went for at least three times the estimate – and I didn’t even get the chance to place my bid as internet and commission bids went flew past me like racing cars!  Utterly disappointing, but a good experience.

You use the paddle to bid for things, so waving it around to get rid of mosquitoes is not recommended – or you might find yourself having to find a suitable place in your house for that expensive Oak Arch Topped Swing Toilet Mirror on turned supports with splayed feet.  No, that is not entirely true, as the auctioneers are very good at assessing who is actually placing a real bid in the room.

The reserve price is the lowest price at which the lot will be sold, so if you want the item you must bid above it, or it will remain unsold.

Unreserved means that there is no reserve price and the item will sell at whatever price is offered.

Ashbeys Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa

So do go out and attend an auction, as it is such an interesting experience!  A couple of great auction houses are:

• P.F. Windibank in Dorking, Surrey
• Crows Auction Gallery in Dorking, Surrey
• Lots Road Auctions in Chelsea, London
• Ashbeys Gallery, Cape Town

Other auctions will be listed for example in the Antiques Trade Gazette Magazine, which is an antiques bible for me!

All the curious things… Lawrences Auctioneers – Chapter III

So in this last post from the auction viewing at Lawrences in Blethingley I have collected a number of beautiful yet curious things that were up for sale in the auction.  I have also managed to find out the hammer price for quite a few of these pieces:

Georgian Birmingham silver two piece opium pipe – Hammer Price
£150

The most odd piece at the auction would be this silver opium pipe, which I found out sold for £150.  Opium was used widely as a medicine back in the days and we can read the following on Wikipedia:

“Opium is mentioned in the most important medical texts of the ancient world, including the Ebers Papyrus and the writings of Dioscorides, Galen and Avicenna.  Widespread medical use of unprocessed opium continued through the American Civial War before giving way to morphine and its successors, which could be injected at a precisely controlled dosage.” – Wikipedia

Victorian silver inkstand with two cut glass bottles and taper stick on low shapred supports date 1854 makers mark E.B. and J.B. – hammer price £390

Oh I loved this Victorian silver inkstand with glass bottles – how very Alice in Wonderland!  Drink me?

Enamel decorated clips and a 19th Century miniature watercolour portrait

Enamel decorated clips 

Above you can see a set of twelve unusual enamel decorated clips in the form of various flowers.  The case was marked Zarger and sold for £45.  In the top photo on the right you have a 19th Century miniature watercolour on ivory portrait of a seated lady in purple dress.  Gilt framed unsigned inscribed verso Thomas Hargreaves, and the hammer price was £720!

Silver wine etiquette at Lawrences Auctioneers

Heavy brass figures of horses 

A collection of composition dolls that sold for £5

This collection of Lalique perfumes sold for £110

Four Lalique perfumes

This copper water urn, copper teapot brass and wrought iron trivit and two post horns sold for £30

Set of five reproduction oak dining chairs with padded backs and overstuffed seats on baluster turned front supports with stretchers – sold for £60

So check this out: the five oak dining chairs above sold for a mere £60 – how incredibly reasonable!  I say head to your nearest auction and start discovering awesome stuff!!

Early 20th Century Art Nouveau style figure of a seated lady with silver gilt and painted decoration 

Judge by my surprise when I found out that this lovely lady wasn’t sold at the auction.  I think the design is so beautiful and a great example of Art Nouveau, which often portrayed women as well as nature scenes and images.

You can find Lawrences Auctioneers in the beautiful English country village of Bletchingley

Were you surprised by any of the hammer prices for these pieces?  Anything you liked the look of and would have put a bid on?  I would love to read your thoughts below in the comments section!

Mirror mirror on the wall… Lawrences Auctioneers – Chapter II

Let’s dive right back into our adventure – the auction viewing at Lawrences Auctioneers:

Antique ship painting

In this post I wanted to focus on paintings, posters and mirrors – everything that helps us make a home more interesting.   Decorating a house is a great opportunity to express your individual taste and I for one try to go for things that make me happy and that I love looking at, so when I came to the auction viewing I was so excited to see all the gorgeous, unique pieces that would make the most wonderful additions to a house!

I like mixing contemporary art with antique paintings as it gives such a lovely personal touch to the house

A room with antique paintings filling the walls from floor to ceiling – heaven for the decorator!

I love the painting of these two hounds.  Old paintings are such treasures as they give us snapshots of times gone by and a glimpse into a world which would otherwise be lost for us

Of course it might seem intimidating to attend an auction, if your knowledge of antiques is limited, but when it comes to paintings I don’t think we need to worry.  The first and most important thing is that you like the piece of art.  Once you have found your favourite you can easily check that the painting is in good shape (so no tears, cuts, or otherwise broken).

Now, whether your painting will increase in value and be a great investment you might need to wait a while to find out, but art in general is all about person taste – and you don’t want to hang anything on your wall that you don’t like the look of anyway, so just buy what you love and enjoy it!

Mirror, mirror on the wall… an auction is the place to go if you are looking to add unique pieces to your house.

This wall offered such a wide range of mirrors – in all sizes, shapes and colours

A whole room had its walls filled with the most beautiful antique paintings…

Judge by my surprise when I walked into this room:

I suddenly stumbled into a room with the most fascinating old movie posters – I sure didn’t see that coming among all the antiques!

Great old posters of Jack Nicholson in the Shining – I was getting the chills from just looking at this one..! 

Atom Man vs. Superman-poster (1950)

Old posters at Lawrences Auctioneers

So that is a small preview of what Lawrences offered us in terms of wall art.  We still have many more rooms left to explore at this auction viewing – and one of the things coming up in the next post is an antique opium pipe… hmm…!!!

Lawrences Auctioneers in Bletchingley – Chapter I

The other week I went to an auction viewing at Lawrences Auctioneers in Bletchingley, Surrey.

Lawrences Auctioneers in Bletchingley

I spent an hour or two wandering through the maze of rooms with all the wonderful lots for sale; everything from paintings to jewellery, silver, furniture and movie posters!  Since there was so much to see I would like to split it up into a few posts, and we will of course start with the jewellery section:

Golden Art Nouveau necklace with pearls

All the lots are numbered so usually you would pick up a catalogue with descriptions of the pieces and you can look closer at the ones that you are interested in.  Below you can see how the lots are usually numbered:

An example of how the lots are numbered at an auction 

You will find the most extraordinary designs, like this antique piece in the shape of a snake… 

… which has been kept in its original jewellery box that is so cleverly tailored to accommodate the unique shape of the piece 

I absolutely adore this golden Art Nouveau necklace with rubies.  You can see the whiplash-design which was so typical for Art Nouveau 

Antique reading glasses with what I seem to remember is a jade handle

So this was the first view into the fascinating world of auctions, and we still have a bunch of rooms left to discover in the next few posts.

I would love to find out if you have ever been to an auction or an auction viewing?  Did you buy anything and what did you think of the experience?

The History of 10 Downing Street and Christie’s Silver Exhibition

The 10 Downing Street Silver Ware Collection at Christie’s King Street

Oh some days are just magical!  On Friday I popped over to Christie’s on King Street to see their Silver Trust Collection exhibition and Contemporary Silver: a selling exhibition.  It can be good to know that downstairs at Christie’s you can see the 10 Downing Street Silver Collection and upstairs is the selling exhibition.  Now, even though I expected to see beautiful things I wasn’t at all prepared for how it would blow me away.  Yes, I now have great aspirations for my future collection of tableware…

A unicorn is adorning the silver flower vase – absolutely magical!

The yellow flowers complemented the silver so beautifully and this gilded lion was one of my favourites in the collection

The collection is on permanent loan to 10 Downing Street, which you might know has been the home to British Prime Ministers since 1735.  It is usually used to entertain the world leaders when they visit the Prime Minister, and since we are interested in everything antique and vintage here on the blog, I thought it would be a wonderful opportunity to look into almost 300 years of 10 Downing Street history.

The famous story of St George slaying the Dragon. In the Middle Ages dragons often represented the Devil

10 Downing Street St George and the Dragon 

10 Downing Street is in the UK also known as “Number 10”.  It is the official residence of the British Prime Minister, his office and the place where he entertains guests; a guest list which includes Her Majesty The Queen and all kinds of world leaders.  Downing Street Number 11 in turn is the residence of the Chancellor of the Exchequer.  It was built in the 1680s by Sir George Downing (1632-1689), a property investor who realised the potential of developing the land around Whitehall and built a cul-de-sac of two-storey town homes with beautiful stables and a views of St James’s Park.  The addresses changed around many times during the years – so Number 10 was Number 5 for some time, only to become “10” in 1787.

The first PM to live at Number 10 was Sir Robert Walpole in 1735.  His official title was ‘First Lord of the Treasury’ but he is considered to have been the first Prime Minister.  The King actually offered him the property as a gift, but Walpole insisted that it be used on an official basis.  The second and third PM’s preferred to live at home so only in 1763 did the next one move in.  When Lord North moved in some major improvements were made; the rather handsome lion head knocker on the black door, the chequerboard floor in the entrance hall and the lamp above the front door.

Coffee set by Brian Asquith,1992

After Lord North the country’s youngest-ever leader moved in: William Pitt at the age of 24.  He stayed for a very long time; 1783-1801, and then again from 1804-06 before he passed away.

Prime Minister Winston Churchill noted that the houses had been quickly and cheaply built, and wrote about Number 10: “shaky and lightly built by the profiteering contractor whose name they bear”.

A lovely little design of the black door at 10 Downing Street

For some time the surrounding areas were quite rough neighbourhoods and two PMs were the victims of assassination attempts (one survived but lost his secretary, while the other one lost his life) and for many years Number 10 was not used for its purpose.  Then Benjamin Disraeli came along in 1877 and turned the place around by installing telephones, electric lightning as well as having some further major renovations done.

There is no access to the house of street for the general public but there are millions of photos to explore of the famous black door out there in cyber space.  We are also getting a preview on some of the silver featured in the photos here today.

In the picture above you can see the black door of 10 Downing Street

The exhibition will be on view to the public at Christie’s King Street until 5 September 2013.

From the upstairs selling exhibition: Jenny Edge, Twisted Candlesticks £3,310

From the upstairs selling exhibition: Rauni Higson, Fold Formed Napkin Rings £1,140

Sources:

History of 10 Downing Street at gov.uk and Wikipedia