Francesco Botticini (Florentine, 1446-1497)

THE VIRGIN AND CHILD WITH SAINT JAMES AND SAINT JOHN THE EVANGELIST

Tempera on panel

55 x 56 ¼ in. (140 x 143 cm.)

Provenance: Stefano Bardini; his sale, Christie's, 7th June 1899, lot 356,

as attributed to Botticini;

bought by Leo Nardus (d.1955), Suresnes, near Paris;

Arnold van Buuren, Haarlem; with him in 1925;

bought by Mr and Mrs Peter Harris, 1955;

with Peter Harris in 1963;

with Clement Jeremy Harris in 1965;

thence by descent.

Exhibited: Birmingham, 'Italian Art', 1955, no. 22, as Botticini;

Wildenstein & Co, London,'The Art of Painting in Florence

and Siena from 1250 to 1500', Feb-April 1965, no. 62, as

Botticini

Literature: S.Reinach, 'Repertoire des Peintures', 1910, III , no. 339;

Bernard Berenson, 1963, p. 146, pl.1055, as attributed to the

Master of San Miniato;

Lisa Venturini, 'Francesco Botticini', Edifir, Florence 1994, no. 26, p. 110, fig. 30;

Everett Fahy, 'L'archivio fotografico storico di Stefano

Bardini', Florence 2000

Further to the literature cited above, Everett Fahy of the Metropolitan Museum, New York, has kindly re-confirmed the autograph status of this work (written communication April 2008)

Botticini began his apprenticeship in the workshop of Neri di Bicci in Florence at the age of thirteen, but stayed for only a short period; he later established his own workshop. The more significant influences on his work were Andrea Verrocchio, under whom he studied, Andrea del Castagno and, later, both Sandro Botticelli and Filippino Lippi. Indeed, an engraving of this composition was reproduced by Reinach as by Filippino. Many of the paintings now accepted as autograph Botticini works had been previously attributed to, among others,Verrocchio, Cosimo Roselli and the Master of San Miniato, to whom our picture was given by Berenson. The Three Archangels with Tobias of 1474, for instance, now in the Uffizzi, Florence, was believed to be by Verrocchio. Much of the earlier uncertainty in positively identifying Botticini's oeuvre was due to the lack of documented works. There is only one recorded commission, in 1484, from the Compagnia di Sant' Andrea for the Tabernacle of the Holy Sacrament for the Church of Sant' Andrea in Empoli, which was finally installed in 1491. It is now displayed in the Museo della Collegiata di Sant' Andrea in that city.

Please contact John Foster on 01279 817778 or email johnfoster@sworder.co.uk for further information. A detailed PDF condition report can be opened from the window below.

Please open the PDF file to view a condition report.

Download '1777 crpt Botticini.pdf'

Christopher Wood (1901-1930)

THE RED COAT, MONTE CARLO, 1926

This portrait probably depicts Jeanne Bourgoint, famous as the inspiration for one of Jean Cocteau's 'Enfants Terribles', and one time lover of Christopher Wood

Oil on panel

24 x 19cm

Provenance: Bought circa 1955 by Richard Temple Muir

Exhibited: Redfern Gallery 1938, no. 251

Literature: Eric Newton, Christopher Wood Catalogue Raisonne, no.158

Please contact John Foster for further information on 01279 817778 or email johnfoster@sworder.co.uk

Dora Carrington (1893-1932)

NUDE WITH BIRD

Oil on canvas, painted circa 1923

25.5 x 30.5cm

Provenance: Anthony Blond Fine Art

The nude probably portrays Henrietta Bingham, daughter of the American Ambassador to the Court of St James, with whom Carrington was besotted in the mid 1920s.

Extract from Gerald Brennan 'A Personal Record', p 75

'Henrietta was the daughter of Judge Bingham, a Kentucky millionaire who was said to have murdered his wife, and who some years later was appointed ambassador in London by President Roosevelt.

Carrington was fascinated by Henrietta with her pure oval face, long-lashed blue eyes and low husky Southern voice, and some time that summer they had an affair. It was the only Lesbian affair of her life and it did not last long since Henrietta changed her lovers often. I did not feel jealous and not only offered them my room for their meetings, but said that I would give up my claim to seeing Carrington when she came up to town if that meant that she could spend her time with her friend. What I did not then know was that Carrington was basically a Lesbian too and that her affair with Henrietta would affect her physical relations with me by giving her a feeling of guilt which made her react against me afterwards. I was to pay dearly for her having met this American girl. '

Dora de Houghton Carrington was an English painter, designer and decorative artist whose life and relationships were complex. She had affairs with both men and women, but is best known for her deep attachment to the homosexual writer Lytton Strachey.

Carrington painted only for her own pleasure, did not sign her works and rarely exhibited them, hence she was not well known as a painter during her lifetime. She lacked confidence in her own work and undervalued it. She was a perfectionist whose work never met her expectations. Perhaps her most famous work is the iconic 'Portrait of Lytton Strachey', painted in 1916. Even though she was a founding member of the Omega Workshop with Roger Fry, her decorative art also remained unknown to the public until the late 1960s.

Although not a member of the Bloomsbury Group, she is closely associated with them through her affair with Lytton Strachey, her occasional lesbian affairs and her 'Bohemian' attitudes. She married Ralph Partridge in 1921, but spent most of her life with Strachey, the three living together for many years in a menage a trois.

There were no exhibitions of Carrington's work during her lifetime. The first was held at the Upper Grosvenor Galleries in London in 1970. A second exhibition was held at the Christ Church Picture Gallery, Oxford in 1978. Curated by Noel, Carrington's brother, it was more comprehensive in coverage and included Carrington's paintings, drawings and decorative works.

More recently, in 1995, there was a retrospective exhibition at the Barbican Art Gallery in London. Despite the posthumous recognition that she has gained, she remains the most neglected serious painter of her generation.

Please contact Guy Schooling for further information

on 01279 817778

The auction on the 21st May will include 50 lots of good restoration materials and furniture. These will include mahogany table leaves, counter tops, 18th century mirror frames, stick barometer, bookcase tops, carcasses, tables, brass handles, knobs etc. One of the sources is the estate of the late gerald Crozier, and antique dealer and restorer in Bishop's Stortford for many years.

Download 'Restoration 006.jpg'

An early 18th century tallboy top

The Inaugural auction at our new premises will include items from the estate of the Late Gerald Crozier (1929-2007)

Gerald was apprenticed to Gill and Reigate in their cabinet making workshops for five years until 1950, when he and his father went into partnership. They opened for business at The Windhill Antiquary in Bishop’s Stortford, where they traded for over 50 years. Gerald’s father died in 1991 but Gerald continued the business until last year. The business was a traditional old fashioned antique dealers and was well known in the area. Gerald became respected for his knowledge of and enthusiasm for the pieces he handled.

The items in our auction comprise the stock of the shop and also many interesting items from the Crozier’s house and various stores.

The house where Gerald and his father lived was furnished with choice pieces of furniture that had been acquired during their time as antique dealers. A typical example is the small North Italian Marquetry Commode, which was bought at the sale of Much Hadham Hall in 1980. In the same room was a Regency Rosewood Sofa Table of unusual design, with brass lion’s heads to the frieze and brass line inlay, very much in the manner of George Smith. (I wonder which house or auction they bought this from?) Another sofa table has a reversible chessboard panel and a backgammon well with it’s original baize lining.

In the dining room we found a Pair of Victorian Walnut Pier Cabinets. These are particularly fine and must have been made by one of the top cabinetmakers of the mid 19th century. Their condition is exceptional. There is a 18th Century Walnut Bachelor’s Chest of pleasingly small proportions and several other small chests and bureaux form the same period. A large Victorian Breakfront Bookcase from a utility room will make a useful addition to a study or library, with glazed doors on the bottom section as well and a restrained architectural style that is proving popular in today’s market. There is a good George lll Gainsborough Chair, with an upholstered back and seat and the unusual feature of a chamfered H stretcher, two further 18th century armchairs and an 18th century mahogany sofa with 'Chinese blind fret’ carving. A Gillows Mahogany Pembroke Table could add elegance to any room, as would a Carved Giltwood Window Seat, with turned legs and scroll ends. A Mahogany Breakfast Table has an apparently unusual ‘chicken wire’ cage underneath? A table of this type was, however, illustrated in Thomas Chippendale’s ‘The Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker’s Director’ 1754. (Another was sold in the Hackwood Park Sale (Christie’s1998, lot 250)

Messrs Edwards and Roberts were well known cabinet makers in the late 19th century and The Croziers had obviously admired their fine workmanship on an Oval Marble Topped Occasional Table. The gilt metal mounts are of fine quality and the drawer and undertier add to the appeal of this useful table.

I have mentioned but a few of the items, and hope that they will whet the appetite of all discerning collectors, dealers and interior designers. Please telephone (01279 817778) or email (tim@sworder.co.uk) Tim Turner at Sworders for further details.

Catalogues will be available approximately two weeks before the sale. Therew ill be items from the Crozier estate on the 13th and 14th May.

There will also be a quantity of restoration materials, mahogany leaves, timber, fittings, bookcase and chest tops and other part period furniture items on Wednesday 21st May.

A William and Mary Marquetry chest

A George lll chest on chest

A George lll satinwood work table

A Fine Regency rosewood sofa table

A North Italian commode

A Regency rosewood games/sofa table

A George lll mahogany armchair

Our inaugural auction on 13th May at the new saleroom includes two large modern bronze garden figures of girls. The one illustrated is of a girl in a hammock, the other of girl with an umbrella.

Each is estimated at £6-8,000

Please note: There is viewing on Tuesdays prior to each Wednesday Sale between 2pm and 7pm.

Viewing for the Antique sales will remain the same as for The Country House Sales. Please see the calendar for details.