14th Jun, 2022 10:00

Fine Interiors - Two Day Sale

 
  Lot 50
 

50

A large carved and painted wooden lion

A large carved and painted wooden lion,
20th century, Indian, seated on its haunches with an open mouth,
90cm high

Provenance: From the collection of John Rendall, former owner of Christian the lion.

Take advantage of our Sworders Delivery Service. Please see 'Shipping estimate' below.

The Collection of John Rendall (1945-2022)

We are delighted to offer a private collection of decorative African art collected by John Rendall, former owner of Christian the Lion, in our summer Fine Interiors sale.

Sold for £240


Condition Report

Splits cracks and small areas of loss and repair, weathered, the paint flaking all over, wood showing through in several places, unstable and continuing to degrade.

 

IN PERSON

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ABSENTEE BIDDING

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The amount you bid should be your maximum bid. We will bid up to that limit for you, and remember you may end up paying less than your limit, depending on other bidding on the day.

You can leave an absentee bid up to half an hour before the start of any sale. Please note when we receive two or more absentee bids for the same amount, the first bid received will be the one taken.

LEAVE COMMISSION BIDS ONLINE

If you would like to leave a commission bid on our website you can do so up until 30 minutes before the sale starts. Leaving a commission bid through sworder.co.uk is free for all registered clients. Thereafter you may register bank card details under your account in order to bid live. Click here to register an account.

BID LIVE ON sworder.co.uk

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For further instructions on registering to bid live, please click here.

TELEPHONE BIDDING

If you would like to bid by telephone please contact our team prior to the auction with your details of the lots you are interested in and your full name, address, telephone number(s) and email address. Once our team have entered your bid request you will receive an email confirmation. We will contact you during the sale and one of our team will bid live with you over the phone.

Please note that we normally offer this service for lots with an estimate of £500 or higher and all telephone bid requests must be received by close of business the day before the auction.

Auction: Fine Interiors - Two Day Sale, 14th Jun, 2022

 

Sworders’ quarterly curated Fine Interiors sales offer stylish period and modern furnishings, decorative antiques, and important works of art, fusing traditional British and Continental antiques with eclectic works of art from Europe and further afield. With a focus on quality, rarity and style, they appeal to the discerning modern buyer whose taste and appreciation stretch far beyond the high street.

Highlights from our June sale will include pieces from several notable British estates, including the collection of Camden Passage antique dealer, Gordon Gridley, the residual contents of Bixley Manor, home of Sir Timothy Colman KG, and The Paolo Moschino Edit, a selection of pieces from the award-winning interior designer's Antique & Vintage collection.

Viewing

VIEWING

Highlights

A selection of highlights will be available to view at our London Gallery, Cecil Court, London, WC2N 4EZ, as follows: 

Wed 25 May, 10.30am - 4pm

Thu 26 May, 10.30am - 4pm

Fri 27 May, 10.30am - 4pm

Sat 28 May, 10am - 2pm

Mon 30 May, 10.30am - 4pm

Tue 31 May, 10.30am - 4pm

Wed 1 June, 10.30am - 4pm

For information on which lots will be on view, please contact: fineinteriors@sworder.co.uk

Auction

Auction viewing will be held at our Stansted Auction Rooms, Cambridge Road, Stansted Mountfitchet CM24 8GE, as follows:

Fri 10 June, 10am - 5pm 

Sat 11 June, 10am - 2pm 

Sun 12 June, 10am - 2pm 

Mon 13 June, 10am - 5pm 

All lots are, however, extensively illustrated and carry detailed condition reports - see 'Condition report' at the foot of each lot description. 

View all lots in this sale

Please note that this item is not suitable for a pre-sale automated shipping estimate due to the items weight/size. 

The below table shows indicative shipping costs for larger items being delivered within the UK mainland. Please note that all the below costs are purely for indicative purposes and are to be used as a guideline only. If you purchase multiple large items, we will combine deliveries to reduce the shipping costs. 

Should you be successful in buying this item, a specific shipping estimate will need to be requested after the sale using the link in your invoice email; this also includes all requests for international delivery.

If you would like further information about shipping and collection please see here.

 

Buying a pre-loved, antique, or vintage item not only provides you with unique style and value for money but it also helps to reduce landfill, and the annual emissions of an antique or vintage piece can be as little as one sixteenth of those of its new equivalent!

Sworders is proud to be supporting the work of Antiques are Green - the movement that was founded in 2009 to promote “a greener future created from the past”. Read their fascinating carbon footprint study of a Georgian chest of drawers versus a modern equivalent here

 

Antiques are Green

 

Request A Valuation

Here at Sworders, we are happy to offer a free online valuation service. Please fill out the form and press the 'Submit' button below.

To help us with your valuation please attach clear photographs of the item where possible. You can submit up to 5.

Approximate dimensions are also useful. Expect to hear from the appropriate valuer as soon as possible.

Images

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The Collection of John Rendall

Former Owner of Christian the Lion

In an almost unbelievable story of nostalgia and friendship, Rendall became known to a new generation when grainy video footage was uploaded to YouTube a decade ago. Showing John and his friend, Anthony ‘Ace’ Bourke, being greeted with huge affection by a fully grown male lion as they met in the African bush, it has been viewed over 100 million times to date. 

 

John Rendall and Anthony Bourke reunited with Christian in Kenya, 1971

 

The story began in Swinging London in 1969, when the two Australian flatmates bought Christian the cub in Harrods for £250 after seeing him kept there in a cage. Raised on a diet of steak in their two-bed flat above a furniture shop on the King’s Road in Chelsea, the lion was the talk of the town and regularly taken to society parties in the back of an open-top Mercedes. The Rolling Stones, who rehearsed nearby, would frequently drop by to visit ‘the two Aussies with a lion’.

 

“It really was the good old days without all those tiresome words and exaggerations that the passing of time permits to creep in. How seldom in life are we free enough just to sit, just to enjoy friendship.” 

 John Rendall speaking in 1971

 

© Derek Cattani 
christianthelionprints.com


An exotic animal in London was just a part of experimental Sixties London (at the time Harrods sold a variety of ‘pets’), but Christian had out-grown the flat by the time he was three months old. Following a meeting with the actors Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers, stars of the 1966 film Born Free, it was arranged that Christian would be flown to Kenya and placed in the care of the lion conservationist George Adamson. The transition to the wild at the Kora National Park was successful with Christian, weighing over 500lbs, leading a pride of lionesses and a dynasty of cubs.

 

© Derek Cattani 
christianthelionprints.com

© Derek Cattani 
christianthelionprints.com

 

The events inspired Rendall to become a devoted conservationist and created a lifelong affinity with Africa and its wildlife. It also shaped his collecting, and the selection of pieces offered in these sales include a range of decorative African objects purchased during John’s visits to the continent. 

  

 John Rendall and Anthony Bourke reunited with Christian in Kenya, 1971

 

 © Derek Cattani  christianthelionprints.com

© Derek Cattani 
christianthelionprints.com

 

A selection of twenty-eight lots will be offered in our Fine Interiors sale, on 14-15 June, including a range of decorative African objects, from drums and headrests to weaponry, with estimates ranging from £200-500.

 

VIEW FINE INTERIORS LOTS

 

The residual contents, including John's iconic fur coat, private photographs of Christian, and other items of tribal art will be sold in Sworders’ Homes & Interiors sale on 21 June.

 

VIEW HOMES & INTERIORS LOTS

 

For further information contact:

auctions@sworder.co.uk