Prices Rise So Far For Sofas...
26th July 2020
Lawrences’ three day Summer Fine Art auctions concluded with an exceptionally successful sale of clocks, works of art, furniture and carpets.
A walnut longcase clock by London clockmaker Christopher Gould made £5000; a fine George III ebonised bracket clock by Robert Holland doubled hopes to make £6870 and a superb satinwood regulator by James Muirhead of Glasgow made £8120.
A large bronze figure of Hermes or Mercury, 183cm high, made £5000 and a South German bronze elephant after the Antique, looking somehow mightier than its mere 11cm length, made £4500. Amongst the varied items of furniture, seven `Gothic` ash and elm Windsor chairs in Thames Valley style made £2370; a pair of George I walnut dining chairs drew bids of £1750, somewhat above the estimate; and, for the enterprising upholsterer, the frame of a George III armchair with lion mask knees made £4750. A George III mahogany wine table with a galleried octagonal top made £2000 and a Regency rosewood sofa table demonstrated a return to popularity for such items by making £3000. A Ziegler Mahal carpet from West Iran, c.1880, formerly at Wraxall Court near Bristol, made £4250.
The sofas of Howard and Sons have been renowned for the quality of their construction and the superb comfort of all that they have made since the firm was founded in the reign of King George III. A Chesterfield sofa by Howard and Sons made £6000 and another, in its original striped floral fabric, made a remarkable £10,600.
