1. French Revolutionary bonnet
An original French Revolutionary period bonnet comes for sale at Bonhams this week.
Made of blue felt, it is applied with large and small tricolour cockades and embroidered with an anchor and foliage. The embroidered initials PM in silver sequins are probably those of the original owner, a marine in the revolutionary army.
A type referred to as a ‘Bonnet de Police’, it comes with an old handwritten paper label inscribed Cap of Liberty part of the dress in which the late J MacGibbon Esq escaped France in the year 1794.
It has a guide of £3000-4000 as part of a timed online sale of arms and armour that closes on May 22.
2. Venini glass
Italian glass model of Venezia by Venini, estimate £600-900 at Olympia Auctions.
This Italian glass model by Venini was made in c.1949-50 as part of the Costumi Regionali series by Fulvio Bianconi (1915-96). The figure of Venezia (model 2999) with black hair and cape with ‘zanfirico’ and blue and red skirts, stands 10in (25cm) high.
It has an estimate of £600-900 at Olympia Auctions in London on May 23.
3. Chinese photographs
Courtyard with soldiers holding rattan shields and an official with his hand on his sword, a c.1870 albumen print photograph by William Saunders, estimate £400-600 at Dominic Winter.
A private and unusually large group of Chinese photographs is the major focus of the auction at Dominic Winter on May 22. They are included in a collection that overall comprises more than 100 China photographs and over 50 of Japan, Ceylon, Italy and Egypt.
It appears to have been amassed by Johann Carl Albert Jahreis, who was born in 1865 in Münchberg, Germany, and died in Hong Kong in 1890, where he is buried. According to family lore he went to China to open a brewery but otherwise almost nothing is known about him.
From further research it seems highly likely that he is the same person as the ‘A. Jahreis’ who is listed in several of the China and Hong Kong Directories published in the late 1880s, where his position was given as clerk for the German merchant Eduard Schellhass & Co in Shanghai.
Shown here is Courtyard with soldiers holding rattan shields and an official with his hand on his sword, a c.1870 albumen print photograph by William Saunders (1832-92) measuring 8 x 10½in (20.5 x 27cm). The estimate for this image at the sale in South Cerney, Gloucestershire, is £400-600.
4. Gold Guinea
Gold Guinea from 1790s, estimated at £600-800 at Lawrences of Crewkerne.
In January 1969 a Mr Hancock had a surprise when working as a heating engineer at Tudor House, Westmancote. Under the floorboards was a hoard of late 18th century coins, of such interest that the British Museum decided to keep an example from the group for the national collection: a guinea of 1789.
The remainder, found to be ‘treasure trove’ but not being required by a museum, were returned to the finder and owner of the Worcestershire property.
Fifty-Seven Guineas constituted a sizeable fortune at the end of the 1790s. Given the condition of the coins it seems likely they were recently acquired from a bank and had seen virtually no circulation or use.
Lawrences of Crewkerne is offering seven of the coins from this hoard, all gold Guineas of George III from 1787-94.
They were retained in the family of the owner and until now not seen in public apart from a brief outing in 1969.
The Guinea pictured here is estimated at £600-800 in the Spring Auction of Militaria, Medals and Coins on May 23-24.
5. Victorian snake bracelet
Victorian snake bracelet and locket embellished with graduated cabochon turquoise and rose cut diamonds, estimate £1000-1500 at Sworders.
Following on from the sale of the contents of the late Maurice ‘Dick’ Turpin’s London residence earlier this year, Sworders is selling jewellery from the estate in a Fine Jewellery sale on May 21.
Of particular note is this Victorian snake bracelet and locket embellished with graduated cabochon turquoise and rose cut diamonds.
Estimate £1000-1500.
