British paintings exceed estimates at High Road Auctions

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Friday, 4th November 2011

High Road Auctions’ Tuesday 1^st November Antiques, Interiors and Collectables Sale was a great success with an electric atmosphere in the room.  The auction was led by two important 18^th Century paintings which had garnered much interest over the past week.  The star lot of the night was a large and impressive c1725 oil on canvas portrait of Philip Percival (1685-1748), third son of Sir John Percival, brother of the Earl of Egmont and MP for Ashketon, Ireland.  The painting was done in a ‘Kit-Cat’ style after the 18^th Century political and literary club, known for the spectacular collection of paintings of the club members by Godfrey Kneller, which can be seen in the National Portrait Gallery.  The magnificent painting sparked competition in bidders both in the showroom and on the telephone propelling the work to achieve £4200 including commission, more than three times the estimate.

 

The second painting in the collection was an early 18th century oil on canvas portrait of a British Naval captain in uniform with a ship in the background.  This also achieved a fantastic result, selling for £1440, again exceeding the low estimate by over double.

 

Additional sale highlights included several sought after Chinese items, notably a Chinese bronze incense burner with pierced lid that, after a fierce bidding war on the saleroom floor, sold for £2460 (guide price: £150-180) to resounding applause from other buyers.  Another Oriental piece was a Japanese lacquer inro divided into four sections intricately inlaid with gold, silver and mother of pearl which achieved £900 in the sale, over four times the low estimate.

 

A final surprise was an extremely stylish and smart vintage black crocodile Hermes Paris handbag which also sparked competition on the internet and in the saleroom, but was eventually sold to a lady in the room for £960.