£2500 For Antique Collection

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31159, 8 September 1966, Page 18

£2500 For Antique Collection

A collection of antique furniture, old silver, chinaware, ceramics, and other objets d’art, from the estate of Canon W. A. Orange realised almost £2500 at auction at the Durham Street Art Gallery yesterday.

Canoi Orange died in June this year. During his lifetime he acquired more than 15,000 books on theology and related subjects. Some years ago he transferred his books to an Anglican foundation, and at the same time gave the contents of his home to the same body. Yesterday’s sale will provide funds for building a library to house the book collection. The treasurer of the Latimer Foundation (Mr A. J. Scott) said yesterday it was hoped that the library would be built in the vicinity of Christchurch College so that the collection would be readily available to students. The sale, which was conducted by N. H. McCrostie and Company, of Christchurch, attracted brisk bidding throughout the day. The best price of the sale was £62 10s, which was paid for an antique walnut couch. Other items of furniture were also in demand. Two Victorian rocking chairs brought £l6 and £l7, and an antique Sheraton-style inlaid mahogany chair with a sprung seat upholstered in tapestry realised £37. A chest of drawers with brass embellishments was sold for £35 and a figured

walnut veneer dining table brought the same price. A mahogany occasional table was sold for £l6 and another of similar size with a marble top brought £lB.

A carved walnut occasional table with a carved fourcolumn base was knocked down at £26 and two oriental carved wood folding screens were sold for £l6 and £l7. Several clocks were offered. An antique striking grandfather clock by James Black of Kirkaldy brought £45. A Koma mantel clock was sold for £l4 and an antique wall cuckoo clock realised £6 10s. An oil painting signed by Haworth of a New Zealand bush and river scene was sold for £42 10s and an unsigned oil of early Christchurch went for £ll. The best price for Royal Worcester porcelain was reached for a hand-painted plate by H. Ayrton with a 22ct gold decoration on a royal blue ground. It sold for £55.

A similar plate by the same artist with a red ground fetched £lB. Other handpainted plates in the same ware brought £2O, a tea service £25, a bowl £24, vases £l7, £lB and £l4, and a small dish £7, and an eagle ornament £4l. A cup and saucer sold for £l6. A vase and lid by N. Stinton sold for £4O. Among the Royal Doulton ware offered, a Tower of London jug sold for £23, a blue and gold exhibition cup and saucer in a case brought £l4, a hand-painted jug vase reached £l7, a hand-painted vase sold for £l4, and two rouge flambe vases brought £ll and £l5.

Earlier in the sale a brass desk pen and ink stand ornamented with winged horses realised £l6. An elaborate metal bowl on a base sold for £29, and a brass lantern case wept for £l4. Pairs of candlesticks sold from £8 to £9. Two Italian jewel caskets were offered. One was knocked down at £3l and the

other at £22. A five-diamond 18ct gold ring brought £27 10s and a gold double locket dated 1810 sold for £l4. Among the oddities which were sold there was a brass bugle (£7 10s), an eastern shepherd’s crook (£3 10s), an antique Irish harp (£B, and an antique gramophone with an inlaid case which was knocked down at £l3.