A Connoisseur’s Choice: The Private Collection of a Suffolk Gentleman
A Connoisseur’s Choice: The Private Collection of a Suffolk Gentleman
By Elizabeth Talbot
Once upon a time, back in the day, the opportunity to disperse a significant private collection of much-loved antiques and fine art by public auction would not have been unusual. Auctioneers to the gentry regularly provided their services as an extension of the care the owner had lavished on the artefacts and as a reflection of the importance the pieces undoubtedly bore. It would be an honour to receive the instruction, which would be fulfilled with a great deal of professional pride.
Such occasions were always exciting events, full of anticipation, with butterflies and adrenalin present in equal measure; the auction represented the culmination and climax of weeks, if not months, of preparation and hard work. When I began my career, country house sales still constituted regular red-letter days in the calendar and many cherished memories are set firmly in cool, shaded grandeur and warm grass-scented marquees.
The world has moved on significantly since that bygone pre-digital era, not least in how it engages with auctions: what and how people buy from auction has changed enormously and, certainly for East Anglian antiques aficionados, there are generally fewer focussed occasions for them to indulge their passion in the way they perhaps used to.
It is therefore a great delight for me to be able to alert you to a bespoke auction to be held at TW Gaze Diss Auction rooms on Thursday 17 June. A Connoisseur’s Choice: The Private Collection of a Suffolk Gentleman, is a single owner sale of fine furniture, antiques and decorative objects, the culmination of several decades of collecting by a true enthusiast with a discerning eye. The owner is still very much alive but has requested anonymity. The event will take place, not under canvas, but in the spacious, well-lit Waveney Room on Roydon Road in Diss. If your preference is to bid from afar, it will also be hosted live on the bidding platform saleroom.com. Fully illustrated catalogues and further information regarding viewing arrangements and start times, commission bids and Café 1857 will be found at twgaze.co.uk.
The 355 lots represent a wide range of beautiful, intriguing, rare and important pieces, mainly Georgian and Victorian, incorporating glass, porcelain and pottery, including a selection of Mocha ware; silver including sub-collections of caddy spoons and decanter labels; beautiful boxes, metal wares and period ornamentals.
For further information, please contact sale organiser Harry Plowman h.plowman@twgaze.co.uk
