Specialist auction in Cape Town

Finneran clock collection

Considered the largest single owner sale of important antiques and works of art to be offered in South Africa for many years include fine English and Continental furniture, nautical paintings by William Lionel Wyllie, Chinese and Japanese ceramics, fine silver, clocks of all descriptions, portrait miniatures, bronzes and more.

Valuable antiques on offer

Items includes a pair of rare William and Mary silver candlesticks made in London in 1686 and an eighteenth century Dutch corner cupboard, both estimated to fetch R40 000 to R60 000. A late nineteenth century Louis XVI style bowfront cabinet on a stand, by Paul Sormani, should fetch R30 000 to R50 000.

Specialist collectors will find unusual pieces, for example a New Zealand Maori Jade Patu More hand club, estimated to fetch from R10 000 to R15 000, a small selection of carved ivory erotica and a nineteenth century Meissen monkey band estimated at R60 000 to R80 000.

Given Cape Town's maritime location, the auctioneers also expects strong interest in nearly 20 water colours, oils and etchings by William Lionel Wyllie (1851-1931), who is acknowledged as one of Britain's leading marine artists bridging the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Wyllie first exhibited at the Royal Academy aged 17 and was awarded the Turner Gold Medal for landscape in 1869. Estimates vary from around R1000 for a dry point signed in pencil, to R20 000 for an oil painting.

Session offerings

The first session on Tuesday 8 February of over 300 lots is divided into several categories: silver, gold and tortoiseshell; ivory and mother of pearl; small clocks and pocket watches; icons and religious panels; portrait miniatures; maps; weapons; oriental works of art such as jade and malachite; oriental snuff bottles and metal ware; glass, collectables; brass, copper and pewter; and bronzes.

The second session on Wednesday 9 February offers another 300 lots of Chinese and Japanese ceramics; European, German and English porcelain; Royal Worcester porcelain; longcase, mantel and bracket clocks; barometers; European paintings, watercolours and prints; and exquisite signed furniture, from library writing tables and bookcases to dining furniture and display cabinets.

"The collection is of the highest quality, is in excellent condition and strong interest is expected from both South African and international collectors. It is extremely unusual to find such variety and quality of items in Southern Africa. Eclectic collections of this type are normally found only in Europe and Northern America," says Charles Rudd of Rudd's Auctioneers.

The fully illustrated colour catalogue can be viewed on www.rudds.co.za