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WHAT’S GOING ON IN NOVEMBER
ANTIQUE
news
While the industry focus is on Asian art there is still much to delight the
collector this month
Egg-citement One of the “missing” Fabergé eggs found by a scrap dealer in 2011 is to go on display at this month’s landmark V&A exhibition on the iconic Russian maker.
The third Imperial egg of 1887 appeared unrecognised at auction in New York in 1964 before disappearing for 57 years when it was bought for its gold weight value at a Midwest flea market. The buyer contacted the jewellery
firm Wartski who identified its true identity. In the traditional Fabergé style, the egg contains a surprise – a lady’s watch by Vacheron Constantin. The egg was first given by Emperor Alexander III to Empress Marie Feodorovna for Easter in 1887.
The exhibition Fabergé in London: Romance to Revolution opens on November 20. For a review of Fabergé animals turn to page 46.
Roaring success Dedicated vintage and classic car sales are to become a regular feature at a Surrey auction house after the success of its inaugural 12-lot sale.
Ewbank’s first venture into the category, which saw the top seller as a restored 1989 Porsche 911/964 Carrera 2 Coupe achieving £53,350, will be followed up with another
sale on December 1.
Auctioneer and partner Andrew Ewbank, said: “We were confident
our clients have a hunger for classic vehicles. Not surprising when you
remember both Brooklands and
McLaren are just up the road!”
Other highlights included a 1968 Daimler V8-250
which sold for £16,250, while an Opel Manta coupe went for £10,450. Overall, the 12 lots sold for a total of £115,060.
Right Jennifer RowleyBowen the samurai armour, image © National Trust/ Kate Groome
Left Third Imperial Egg, 1886–7. Chief workmaster August Holmström (1828– 1903), image courtesy of V&A
Below left A Lambretta GP 150cc, in orange, sold for £3,850 at Ewbank’s first car sale
Below right The Lindisfarne Gospels was adorned with a metalwork cover or case, reportedly made by the hermit Billfrith the Anchorite
FIGHTING CHANCE Following extensive repairs, a 19th-century samurai armour has rejoined 39 others all acquired by the eclectic collector Charles Paget Wade (1883-1956).
The Edo-period armour has gone back on display at the National Trust’s Snowshill Manor in Gloucestershire after 300 hours of painstaking conservation and cleaning.
The suit dates to c. 1830 and was made in the Japanese province of Kaga, an important centre of armour production. Created during a peaceful time when samurai warriors were required to spend half their time at the shogun’s court, it would have been made purely for ceremonial rather than military use. By the late 19th century, when the samurai class was abolished entirely, many of their redundant suits and weapons made their way westwards to become part of a number of important British collections.
The armour was acquired in the 1940s by artist and architect Wade, who transformed Snowshill Manor into a stage for his vast collections, which range from bicycles to historic costumes.
By the book The most spectacular surviving manuscript from Anglo-Saxon England, The Lindisfarne Gospels, has gone on display in Newcastle – for the first time in more than 20 years.
The oldest known translation of the gospels into English will be on public display at Newcastle’s Laing Art Gallery until December 3.
2021 marks 1,300 years since the death of the monk Eadfrith in 721, who became the Bishop of Lindisfarne in 698 and is believed to have created the gospels in the scriptorium of the island’s monastery.
The illuminated 518-page text, recounting the life and teachings of Jesus, was written in Latin, Celtic and Germanic with Mediterranean elements. It took between five and 10 years to create.
6 ANTIQUE COLLECTING
