Highlights from an East Anglian Private Collection | Four Curious Treasures

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We’re delighted to present a selection of lots from An East Anglian Private Collection in our next Open House timed auction, running from 4-10 November. From finely worked silver to story-rich porcelain and virtuoso miniature cabinetry, these pieces distil craft, history, and charm. Here’s a closer look at four highlights from the collection.

A Silver Moon Vase by Elkington & Co. (Birmingham, 1910)

This sculptural moon flask bears the maker’s stamp “ELKINGTON & CO” to the base and features scrolling twin handles terminating in masks. The body is embossed with a steam locomotive labelled “CPR” (Canadian Pacific Railway)—a potent symbol of nation-building and industrial ambition.

Created in 1910, the vase may have been produced to commemorate the tragic loss of 58 railway workers in the Rogers Pass avalanche earlier that year. Whether memorial or a celebration of modern engineering, the piece fuses Edwardian silverwork finesse with the romance—and risks—of the steam age.

^{A Silver Moon Vase by Elkington & Co. (Birmingham, 1910) (£600-800)}

Helena Wolfsohn Porcelain Vases (Late 19th Century)

A whimsical pair of double-gourd vases on a sunny yellow ground, each painted with four vivid panels of anthropomorphic animals and birds. Attributed to Helena Wolfsohn, the celebrated Dresden decorator whose workshop flourished in the late 19th/early 20th century, these vases channel the aesthetic language of earlier European porcelain while retaining a distinctly playful, late-Victorian spirit. The famed AR mark underscores their connection to Dresden’s tradition of refined decoration.

^{Helena Wolfsohn Porcelain Vases (Late 19th Century) (£100-200)}

Italian Cameo Conch Shell Depicting Aurora (19th Century)

A finely relief-carved conch shell depicting Guido Reni’s Aurora—the dawn goddess ushering in day. The medium is steeped in history: while cameo carving reaches back to Roman and Greek antiquity, conch became especially prized from the Renaissance onward for its natural colour contrast and softer texture, enabling crisp, lyrical modelling. This example marries classical subject matter with 19th-century Italian virtuosity.

^{Italian Cameo Conch Shell Depicting Aurora (19th Century) (£100-200)}

Miniature Apprentice’s Tambour-Front Cabinet on Stand (19th Century)

A captivating apprentice piece with veneered top and front and a working tambour—that elusive sliding shutter beloved by cabinetmakers. In the 18th and 19th centuries, such miniatures served as skill samplers, created to demonstrate mastery across joinery, proportion, veneering, and mechanism before the approving eye of a master craftsman. This petite cabinet distils the ambition of a workshop into an object that fits in the palm of your hand.

^{Miniature Apprentice’s Tambour-Front Cabinet on Stand (19th Century) (£100-200)}

Auction Details

These lots, alongside many others from the same private collection, will feature in our Open House timed auction (Tuesday 4 - Monday 10 November).

Viewing

Viewing is available at our Stansted Mountfitchet Auction Rooms at the following times:

Wednesday 5 November | 10am-3pm

Thursday 6 November | 10am-3pm

Friday 7 November | 10am-3pm

Monday 10 November | 10am-3pm

^{A selection of lots from An East Anglian Private Collection}

The Collection

Additional works from the collection are included in our forthcoming Fine Interiors sale, taking place on Tuesday 9 & Wednesday 10 December. View the auction preview now, ahead of the full catalogue launching soon.

Open House

Weekly Timed Sales | Opening 6pm every Tuesday

openhouse@sworder.co.uk | 01279 817778

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