Pablo Bronstein's Top Picks

No. 1

Lot 127: An unusual George II fruitwood side or centre table, circa 1740 | Est. £1,000-1,500 (+ fees)

"A very unusual but surprisingly flexible item of furniture as it can be both a centre table or a side table. Precisely cut ornaments and fine legs show a lovely grain in a perfect pale fruitwood colour. Impossible to find another like it."

No. 2

Lot 126: A pair of derby griffin candlesticks, late 18th century | Est. £500-800 (+ fees)

"Better good porcelain in bad condition than bad porcelain in good condition. And even though the sconces are damaged, these candlesticks are very very good. Sensational modelling and the best gilding I've seen on Derby. They have a classical composure, but the dash of turquoise is so stylish. Also exceedingly rare - the V&A don't even have a pair."

No. 3

Lot 180: A William & Mary inlaid walnut escritoire, late 17th century and later | Est. £1,500-2,000 (+ fees)

"These 17th-century desk cabinets-on-chests can be huge lumbering blocks of timber that take up a whole room, but this one is delicately proportioned so it can fit into a 21st-century-sized room and be useful. There are enough drawers (many secret) to keep everything in, and what drawers! The gilt and engraved escutcheon on the central cupboard lock has an anti-theft mechanism worthy of Alexandre Dumas."

No. 4

Lot 196: A pair of French carved walnut single headboards in art deco taste, 20th century | Est. £800-1,200 (+ fees)

"Highly dramatic, these finely crafted art deco showpieces fit easily in modern and historic interiors, having the quality of Sitwell Baroque to them. In a guest bedroom, the lucky sleeper will awake in the morning like Venus arising from her shell before lighting her cigarette."

No. 5

Lot 111: Follower of Jacopo Robusti, called Tintoretto, A portrait of a gentleman with tears in his eyes, Oil on canvas | Est. £1,000-1,500 (+ fees)

"There are touches of brilliance in this late Renaissance portrait, and it has enormous presence in the flesh. He feels unbelievably 'alive' and is there in the room with you, which is no bad thing - how can anyone resist a pout?"

No. 6

Lot 16: A pair of French carved limestone and polychrome decorated biblical figures of 'Two souls in Purgatory', 16th/17th century | Est. £700-1,000 (+ fees)

"These small early 16th-century statues are beautifully carved and represent a pair of sinless worthies awaiting their turn in purgatory before ascending to heaven following a doubtlessly favourable final judgement. I contextualised them above a fireplace."

No. 7

Lot 241B: A pair of Georgian silver shaped oval sauce boats, marks obscured | Est. £800-1,200 (+ fees)

"Of monumental size, these are not the average sauceboats that sit on ambassadorial sideboards. Writhing serpents form handles to nautilus shell-shaped boats that sit on feet with tiny shells. Grand but fun."

No. 8

Lot 121: Dutch School (18th Century), Figures in a garden pavilion, Oil on canvas | Est. £3,000-5,000 (+ fees)

"A warming scene of a couple strolling in a garden in summertime. The garden has everything one could have wished for in Holland at the time - a tea house with a pointy roof, a statue of Cupid surrounded by a trellis of roses, bordered by a canal on one side and a group of sunflowers on the other. This is a world in harmony and balance within the confines of a frame."

No. 9

Lot 78: A pair of George III carved giltwood eagle wall brackets, circa 1760-1780 in the manner of William Bradshaw | Est. £1,000-1,500 (+ fees)

"Gorgeous gilding and sharp, crisp carving state that these lively wall shelves are the real thing. They are made with all the intent and purpose, and pride, of the 18th century craftsman."

No. 10

Lot 161: English Provincial School (18th Century), A Capriccio landscape, Oil on canvas | Est. £300-500 (+ fees)

"This dizzying Northern Mannerist concoction of waves, rocks, boats, people, turrets and clouds is unconventional, and also early in date. It is a large and dramatic coastal capriccio that plays all sorts of spatial and perspectival tricks and is so rich in detail and variation that you never get bored looking at it."

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Auction Details

Tuesday 9 January 2024, 10.30am GMT
Donnington Priory, Newbury, Berkshire RG14 2JE

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