Traditional Decorative Art and Portraiture Top the August Sale

The bidding was extremely lively during our August sale, both in the room and online.  In fact it was so lively, with so many contested lots, that the auction didn't end until the sun was well and truly over the yard-arm. But apart from a rare collection of Pink Floyd memorabilia, which proved predictably popular, the highest prices were achieved by traditional big-name decorative pieces and portraits.  Amongst the pieces which sailed past their estimates were a pair of large Sevres ovoid vases, a pair of Ming pottery roof tiles in the form of dragons, a pair of 19^th century French Egyptian Revival pedestal lamps by Georges Servant, a lifesize early 19^th century portrait of the Emperor Franz Joseph I, a pair of late 17^th/early 18^th century portraits by a follower of Sir Godfrey Kneller, an exquisite early 20^th century portrait of Mrs Hone after the original by William Orpen, and two further finely-crafted and signed portraits of an Edwardian girl by I. Cooke and a 19^th century rabbi by ‘Vincent’. All of which goes to prove (if proof were necessary) that whilst disposable interior trends come and go on the high street, the appeal of traditional quality workmanship and the country house style endures regardless.