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Sir John Betjeman’s handwritten draft. (Click on image to enlarge).  UPDATE: THI SOLD FOR £7,500

Sir John Betjeman’s handwritten draft of one of his best known poems, ‘The Arrest of Oscar Wilde at the Cadogan Hotel’ will be sold by Bonhams in London on April 10. The only manuscript of the poem ever to at auction is estimated at £5,000-6,000. It will be offered in Part I of the collection of poet and scholar Roy Davids.
Betjeman wrote the draft in 1932 or early 1933 on the headed notepaper of The Architectural Review. He worked there as assistant editor from 1930-1935. It was published in the June 1933 edition of the Oxford and Cambridge magazine. Over the intervening years has become one of his most celebrated and quoted works. Novelist and biographer A.N. Wilson described it as giving ‘a stronger sense of Wilde than many of the weighty biographies.’
The work contrasts the languid, fatalistic resignation of the doomed artist playing out his role to the end with the semi-comic, down-to-earth practicality of the arresting policemen:

“Mr Woilde, we ‘ave come for to take yew
Where felons and criminals dwell,
We must hask yew to leave with us quoitly
For this is the Cadogan Hotel.”…

FABULOUS Meissen will come under the hammer at Sotheby’s in London on May 1. The collection of Sir Gawaine and Lady Baillie is the most important and complete group of 18th century Meissen animals and birds ever to appear at auction. It comprises more than 140 different figures, all created at Meissen during the 1730’s and 1740’s under the legendary Johann Joachim Kändler. With estimates ranging from £1,000 – £150,000, the works will be offered together with a selection of furniture and decorations from the West Sussex House designed by Sir Gawaine and Lady Baillie, their home for over 40 years. In total, the sale is expected to achieve in excess of £1.8 million.
The collection was started in the 1930s by the Anglo-American heiress Olive, Lady Baillie (grand-daughter of William Whitney), who bought many of the pieces for her home, Leeds Castle, Kent. She passed the passion for Meissen on to her son, Sir Gawaine Baillie, Bt., who with his wife Margot, built it into the most extensive collection of Meissen creatures in private hands.
Henry House, Sotheby’s Senior Director and Head of Furniture and Decorative Arts department commented: “The sale of Sir Gawaine and Lady Baillie’s collection will be an historic landmark for the Meissen market. Here we have the most comprehensive group of birds and animals, from the most sought after period in the porcelain manufacturer’s history, when the great Johann Kändler was Court Sculptor to Augustus the Strong (1694/7-1733), Elector of Saxony and King of Poland. Most of the figures are extremely rare and several are unpublished. Others, including two remarkably observed guinea fowl were important commissions for the King’s Japanese Palace in Dresden, a fantastic menagerie of porcelain beasts. The auction represents a wonderful opportunity for collectors. ”
Highlights will be on exhibition at Sotheby’s New York from January 19-31.

Two Meissen figures of Guinea Fowl circa 1735 modelled by J.J. Kändler (£150,000 – £200,000). (Click on any image to enlarge).

A pair Of Meissen figures of Bitterns c1735 modelled by J.J. Kändler (£40,000-60,000).

A pair of Meissen figures of a Lion and Lioness modelled by J.J. Kändler (£40,000-60,000).

The Qing-dynasty vase features a pierced “reticulated” body painted in a pastel-colored famille rose palette.

The £51.6 million Chinese vase saga has come to a conclusion after it was sold for less than half this price in a deal brokered by Bonhams. The 18th century Qianlong vase made more than fifty times its estimate at an auction by Bainbridges in Ruislip, London in November of 2010. The bid, from an agent in the room, was made on behalf of a Beijing collector. The money was never paid. It is understood that Bainbridges received an interim fee, though they have not made any public comment, citing a confidentiality clause.
The vase was found during a routine house clearance in the London suburb of Pinner. Retired solicitor Tony Johnson and his mother Gene, who waited two years for a resolution, have now sold it to another buyer. The price, which was undisclosed, is said to be between £20-25 million. Dealers believe the new owner is an Asian collector.
A spokesman for the auction house said: “Bonhams is pleased to confirm the sale of the vase for an undisclosed sum, in a private treaty deal.”

Jewish history from antiquity through the 20th century across Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas is illustrated in a dedicated sale at Sotheby’s, New York next April 29. A Treasured Legacy: The Michael & Judy Steinhardt Judaica Collection comprises exceptional and rare objects that touch every aspect of Jewish life.
After an initial exhibition in Sotheby’s York Avenue galleries in New York from January 25-31 highlights from the Steinhardt Collection will travel to Moscow and Jerusalem. In addition, Sotheby’s specialists will travel to Hong Kong, Singapore, Brazil and cities across the United States and Europe giving illustrated talks about the collection in advance of the sale. (Click on any image to enlarge it).

The Frankfurt Mishneh Torah, circa 1457-1465 ($4.5/6 million).

A George I Silver “Lord Mayor’s Dish”, Robert Hill, London ($400,000-600,000).

An Italian Silver Torah Crown and Pair of Torah Finials, Maker’s Mark CL, Assay Master Zuanne Premuda, Venice, circa 1730 ($500,000-700,000).

From the Spanish Armada to the Good Friday Agreement the History, Literature and Collectibles auction at Whytes in Dublin on January 26 features contains much from Ireland’s past to whet the appetites of collectors.  A 16th century Spanish silver crucifix found in Co. Donegal, possibly from an Armada ship,  a poster from the Great Irish Famine and an original copy of the Good Friday Agreement  signed by all participants to the talks are just some lots to tempt buyers. This 1998 document is estimated at 3,000-5,000. The range of collectible items covers maps, prints, photographs, postcards, posters, militaria, medals, sporting memorabilia, antiquarian books, coins and banknotes.  The catalogue, which lists 654 lots, is on-line. Here is a small selection (you can click on any image to enlarge it).

UPDATE:  The copy of the Good Friday Agreement was withdrawn from the sale by the vendor, David Andrews.  The retired Fianna Fail minister said the sale was a misjudgement on his part.

A 16th century Spanish silver crucifix, possibly from an Armada ship, found in Donegal (400-600). UPDATE: THIS MADE 2,600

This rare 1847 famine poster is estimated at 300-500.  UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,050

A c1900 Midland and Great Western Railway poster of Connemara (400-600).  UPDATE: THIS MADE 1,100