Faberge elephant table lighter leads silver section in auction, selling for £21,000

It was the rare, pear cut greyish-blue diamond, set in the head of one snake, that excited bidders. After attracting much interest from across the world, the ring was finally knocked down at more than 50 times the mid-estimate.

Jewellery continued to sell confidently, with notable results achieved for a Platinum Diamond Solitaire Ring (sold for £17,000), a Platinum Diamond ‘Raindance 20th Anniversary’ Ring by Boodles (sold for £19,000), and a Diamond Floral Spray Brooch (sold for £13,000).

Also performing well above estimate, were an Emerald and Diamond Crossover Ring (sold for £7,500), a Fancy Link Necklace by Cartier (sold for £4,800), and an Opal and Diamond Bangle (sold for £2,300).

The silver section was led by a covetable Fabergé silver table lighter in the form of an Indian elephant, which sold for £21,000. Fabergé produced a menagerie of zoomorphic table-lighters, often made by his workmaster Julius Alexander Rappoport. The lighter was once in the collection of Stanley Elliott (1892-1956), a Wakefield businessman with interest in Russian works of art.

A rare George III Silver Wine Jug, the separated pair to one sold at Tennants in 2021, went for £15,000. Made by Thomas Heming of London in 1765, the pear-shaped jug is adorned with wave decoration, spiral-fluting and fruiting grapevines. It is thought the pair were once owned by Major General Henry Aylmer (1813-1904), who gave a jug each to two of his sons.

The present jug, according to an inscription, was given to John and Peggy Pemberton as a wedding gift in 1936 by Henry Adolphus Paget Aylmer and his wife Anne Munro Williams.

Further notable results in the silver section included a James I Parcel-Gilt Silver Apostle Spoon, made by Daniel Cary of London in 1622 (sold for £4,000), and a Chinese Silver Rice-Wine Ewer, probably of the Qianlong Period and with marks for importer Cornelis Knuystingh, Rotterdam, 1793 (sold for £8,000).

A George V Silver Basket of 1911 by Goldsmiths and Silversmiths Co. Ltd. sold well at £6,000, and a Pair of Elizabeth II Silver Pheasant Ornaments by Garrard and Co. Ltd. sold for £4,000.

A rare 18 carat gold Audemars Piguet Royal Oak watch, known to collectors as ‘The Owl’ due to the placement of the sub calendar dials, sold for £22,000 against an estimate of £8,000-12,000.

Among the pocket watches in the sale, a fine and rare Patek Philippe & Cie silver open-faced keyless lever deck watch sold for £10,000 against an estimate of £2,000-3,000

Patek Philippe introduced this reference in the 1930s as navigation aids, using movements that were made earlier; the present example has a movement dating from circa 1916, and a case dating from the late 1930s/early 1940s.

The sale achieved a total hammer price of £712,190 with an 87 per cent sold rate for 290 lots.

Full sale results at: www.tennants.co.uk

(All figures exclude buyer’s premium)