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13
Sept
Important collection of Mouseman items to go under the hammer
One of the most important private collections of 'Mouseman' items to appear at Tennants Auctioneers will go under the hammer in the 20th Century Design Sale next month.
Mouseman is the name given to the highly collectible work of Yorkshire furniture maker Robert Thompson, who carved a mouse on every item that left his Kilburn workshop. Even though he died in 1955, his company continues, as does the tradition of the mouse carvings.
The trend for carving animals in furniture spread, and each maker has adopted a different creature.
Tennants' sale will comprise more than 40 lots of Mouseman items and 10 lots by other Yorkshire so-called 'critter carvers'.
The collection was carefully curated by Colin and Doreen Stott of West Yorkshire, and every piece has been immaculately cared for. The Stotts, farmers by trade, began collecting in 1987 during a visit to North Yorkshire, where they discovered Mouseman woodwork, and then expanded their collection to include work by other carvers.
This oak carving of fighting stallions by Stan Dodds carries an estimate of £12-14,000.
Headlining the sale is a very rare pair of English oak-panelled double wardrobes, offered with an estimate of £20,000-25,000 (all figures exclude buyer’s premium). Described by Tennants as "beautifully patinated", each wardrobe is inscribed to the top with a Yorkshire rose, a Scottish thistle, and the date 1934.
A small, 1930s English oak-panelled dressing chest and mirror is expected to sell for £6,000-8,000, and a very rare English oak carving of fighting stallions carved by Stan Dodds, one of the master craftsmen working at the workshop of Robert Thompson, carries an estimate of £12,000-14,000.
According to Tennants:
Oak is extremely difficult to carve, and the intricate and delicate work is a testament to the skill of Dodds, who later went on to carve under his own signature critter of a woodpecker.
A wide variety of rare and early pieces of Mouseman from other private vendors will be on offer, too, the earliest of which is a very rare ‘Pre-Mouse’ English Oak 7’6” Refectory Table, which was commissioned by the Clay family of worsted manufacturers in Huddersfield in the 1920s (estimate: £2,000-3,000).
In contrast to this imposing table is a possibly unique diminutive English oak octagonal table measuring just 29.5cm high, likely made for a child (estimate: £1,000-1,500).
A 1929 English oak bureau commissioned by Thomas Mallen (1901-1982), owner and manager of RC Mallen Gentleman’s Outfitters in Vine Place, Sunderland (estimate: £4,000-6,000), an English burr oak club fender dated 1951 and inscribed with the original owners’ initials (estimate: £2,000-3,000), and a circa 1980s English oak mantel clock carved to either side with elephants (estimate: £3,000-5,000) are also expected to attract high-levels of interest.
An electroplated decanter designed by Dr Christopher Dresser, offered with an estimate of £5,000-7,000.
Aside from Mouseman, other outstanding lots in the sale include the last ever pot made by master potter Monica Young. Measuring almost 1.5m high, the pot will be offered with an estimate of £2,000-3,000 (all figures exclude buyer’s premium). Monica Young (1929-2004) was a self-taught potter who created monumental sculptural pots from her studio in Reeth, in Swaledale.
An important electroplated decanter designed around 1880 by the ‘Grandfather of Modern Design’ Dr Christopher Dresser (1834-1904) will be offered with an estimate of £5,000-7,000. Made by Hukin and Heath, the decanter has an ivory handle and is sold with a CITES certificate deeming it a ‘pre-1918 item of outstanding high artistic value, cultural or historical value’, in accordance with the Ivory Act 2018.
Considered the first industrial designer, Christopher Dresser sought to produce beautiful, practical domestic ware for the machine age. Working as an independent designer for numerous manufacturers, he designed an extraordinary range of products from ceramics to metalware, which had key roles in the development of design in the 20th century.
Tennants Auctioneers' 20th Century Design Sale will be held on Saturday, October 4.
Prices quoted are an estimated hammer price, which is subject to 24% buyer’s premium plus VAT. Estimates are subject to change.
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