Thank you to all our visitors that joined us over the four days of the Fair at our new home at The Great Hall. We hope it was as fabulous for you as it was to us and we can’t wait to welcome you back next year. Join our mailing list for updates.
Evening Lights From Farm Cove
c. 1995
Incredible oil painting from renowned artist Joseph Frost, featuring Sydney Harbour Bridge at sunset with tall ships on the harbour. Comes in a thick gold frame.
$8,000
Pair of Japanese Bronze Shakudo Fan Earrings with Sea Life Motif
c. 1880
Japanese art became a major inspiration to artists and makers in the West following the forced re-opening of foreign trade with Japan in 1858. The origins of Art Nouveau in the decades to come can in many instances be traced back to this surge of artwork from the East. This pair of Shakudo fan earrings, circa 1880, is an exquisite example of the art form with a whimsical motif of life under the sea.
$5,750
17th century Ivory Buddha
Loas/Cambodia
With traces of original gilding , and small cavity for sacred texts.
H 6cm
$2,350
Harold Septimus Power
The Timber Team
oil on canvas
101 x 113.5 cm
signed lower left: H.S. POWER
This large scale painting dated 1906 by Australian female artist Helen Peters relates to the 1871 poem
reproduced below.
Helen Peters was born in Geelong Victoria in 1866 and studied art under Edmund Sasse, Bernard Hall,
Tudor St George Tucker and Emanuel Phillips Fox. She exhibited with the Victorian Artists Society and the Yarra Sculptors’ Society and was a member of the Melbourne Society of Women Painters and Sculptors. She was a respected art teacher and continued to exhibit her work including at the Royal Academy, London in 1911 and a retrospective at Geelong in 1903 where Frederick McCubbin congratulated her on her industry and standing. (McCubbin painted similar grand narrative subjects, including On The Wallaby Track in 1896). Helen Peters’ paintings tended to portraits and sentimental figure groups. This painting, The End of the Way, was included in the 9th Federal Art Exhibition and singled out for praise in the The Advertiser newspaper (8 Nov 1906, p.5) “The End of the Way,” by Helen Peters; also a Victorian artist, shows a swagman descending the hill of life and nearing the waters which, indicate the end of the journey. The conception is good, and the execution is not without merit. The follow- ing lines are attached to the frame: “Why don’t
I grow rich as I know I grow old? Because with. Billy in hand and my swag on my back, I wander away on the Wallaby Track.”
The “Sundownder.”
My old cowhide boots are all patchy and worn, My trousers are ragged, my jumper is torn,
My billycock hat is an object forlorn,
My hair is unkempt, and my beard is unshorn. And why is it so? In this fair land of gold,
Whose green-swelling bosom holds riches untold, Why should I ever suffer from hunger or cold? And why don’t I grow rich as I know I grow old? I’ll tell you! Because, with my swag on my back,
I keep roaming about on the Wallaby track.
When first I arrived here, fifteen years ago,
My feelings were manly, my heart all aglow;
But now Hope’s bright flame in my heart has burnt low, For I’ve no one to care for, and nowhere to go.
As I sit by my fire, in the cold morning air,
And break my night’s fast with a swagman’s rude fare,
I think of the riches of which I’ve no share —
I think of Life’s joys that to me are so rare;
Then, with “billy” in hand, and my swag on my back,
I wander away on the Wallaby track.
Like the white yeasty froth on the ocean-wave comb, On the waters of life I am merely the foam,
As useless as it through the country I roam,
Without one single spot I can think of as home.
I know that by some folks this land is called free,
But in all of Australia, broad though it be,
There’s not one ingleside where a seat’s kept for me, Not one face that grows brighter my presence to see, When weary and sad, with my swag on my back,
I come trudging along on the Wallaby track.
They call me “Sundowner;” but what’s in a name? Unless there’s attached to it some honest fame; ’Tis little I care now, for Life’s weary game
Has crushed my ambition and weakened my frame. What matters it now, that in youth I could gaze
On the future made joyous by Hope’s golden rays? Since nought’s left but regret for my past erring ways, No prospect ahead but to finish my days,
With the sky overhead and the earth at my back,
In some out-of-way spot on the Wallaby track.
O young men who come out to this fair southern clime, Draw a moral from this and be warned in time —
If you’re fast in your youth you’ll be old in your prime — If you cling to the worldly you’ll lose the sublime —
If your evenings are passed in some flash Music Hall — If you go to the demi-monde fancy dress ball —
If you drink, and play billiards, and gamble, you’ll fall Into debt — into crime — you’ll be shoved to the wall — And “last scene of all,” with your swag at your back, Die a mendicant’s death on the Wallaby track.
A collection of rare Scottish Hard Stone mounted jewellery
A rare 15 carat gold Eagle Claw Vinaigrette, the lid set with a half pearl and Scottish Hard Stones, circa 1860-1870
A fine 15carat gold mounted Moss Agate Brooch in its original fitted box, circa 1870
A rare gold mounted Scottish Hard Stone Circular Brooch in its original fitted box, James Robertson & Son, Edinburgh circa 1875
A fine and complete set of 18 carat gold mounted Scottish Banded Agate accoutrements including buttons, Cufflinks and cravats pin, J & W Marshall, Edinburgh, circa 1865
A superb and substantial gold mounted Kilt Brooch, set with Cairngorms and Scottish Hard Stones in its original fitted box, Hamilton Chrichton & Co., Edinburgh, circa 1875.
Also a fine and rare Scottish Sterling Silver Inkwell set with various Scottish Hardstones, amethysts and Cairngorms, Edinburgh 1907, probably by James Aicheson.
We offer a lovely selection of antique jewellery including many examples of Victorian necklaces and bracelets and a wide variety of 19th and early 20th century rings. We also carry a large range of antique brooches, pendants and watches including many vintage men’s wristwatches.
We offer a lovely selection of antique jewellery including many examples of Victorian necklaces and bracelets and a wide variety of 19th and early 20th century rings. We also carry a large range of antique brooches, pendants and watches including many vintage men’s wristwatches.
We offer a lovely selection of antique jewellery including many examples of Victorian necklaces and bracelets and a wide variety of 19th and early 20th century rings. We also carry a large range of antique brooches, pendants and watches including many vintage men’s wristwatches.
We offer a lovely selection of antique jewellery including many examples of Victorian necklaces and bracelets and a wide variety of 19th and early 20th century rings. We also carry a large range of antique brooches, pendants and watches including many vintage men’s wristwatches.
We offer a lovely selection of antique jewellery including many examples of Victorian necklaces and bracelets and a wide variety of 19th and early 20th century rings. We also carry a large range of antique brooches, pendants and watches including many vintage men’s wristwatches.
We offer a lovely selection of antique jewellery including many examples of Victorian necklaces and bracelets and a wide variety of 19th and early 20th century rings. We also carry a large range of antique brooches, pendants and watches including many vintage men’s wristwatches.
A matching seo tof necklace and earrings from Christian Dior by Mitchell Maer An American based in England, Mitchel Maer made costume jewellery for Dior from 1952 – 1956. His pieces were informed by a Victorian aesthetic, often featuring a floral motif, although perhaps his most sought-after piece is a unicorn brooch which is as rare as its namesake. His output was cut short in 1956 when his company went bankrupt.
$5,500
Art deco ruby & diamond ring
Utterly fabulous. One of the best of the Art Deco items we have recently acquired. Comprised of high quality Rubies surrounding an Old European Cut Diamond – colour F, and set in solid 18ct Rosy/Yellow Gold. Unusually a large finger size as well. Origins are French – shown by the hallmark of French Assay Marks indicating what is a very fine example of truly beautiful authentic Antique Jewellery. A wonderful addition to a special Jewels collection.
$7,950
Galle’ Ceramic Vases.
A French pair of ceramic vases shaped as a flower decorated with the cross of Lorraine and thistle. The thistle is the national flower of Lorraine and has the same meaning as the cross. Signed E.Galle Nancy, c. 1877. Old Restoration is visible inside one of the vases.
$4,400 the pair
An unusually large encaustic painted vase in black basalt.
Wedgwood c. 1790
H 34 cm
$8,000
Fine quality Edwardian ruby and diamond, platinum and 15ct gold brooch/pendantbrooch/pendant with inscription ‘From Joe Xmas 1905’. The three pear shaped diamonds of approximately 0.80ct each, plus 41 small old cut diamonds with a total weight of approximately 0.50ct and 42 calibré cut rubies with a total weight of 1.30ct.
$33,000
Viscount Nelson Duke of Bronte Mourning Ring, 1806
The 58 mourning rings were decorated with Nelson’s initials, heraldic achievements and motto PALMAN QUI MERUIT FERAT, and inscribed Lost to his Country 21 Oct 1805. John Salter managed to complete this large order ahead of Nelson’s State Funeral on 9 January 1806 at a total cost of £139 10s.
Fifty-eight of the rings were made for Nelson’s friends, relatives and pallbearers after his death aboard HMS Victory at the Battle of Trafalgar in October 1805.
‘However, the most available precious commemorative is certainly a ring. Nelson rings fall into two broad categories: mourning and commemorative. The best made and best recorded mourning rings were family rings issued by Nelson’s executors after his death. Fifty-eight of these rings were the family rings issued by Nelson’s executors after his death. Fifty-eight of these were made by John Salter, a silversmith in the Strand much patronised by Nelson and from whom he bought a number of personal items, including Horatia’s silver gilt christening cap now displayed in the Royal Naval Museum.
From the ‘Nelson Companion’ by Colin White, Former Director of the Royal Naval Museum.
Dr Goulby, in a most interesting contribution to the Genealogists’ Magazine in June 1990, lists eleven now in museum collections, and thirteen in private hands:
Strictly speaking, these rings are not commemorative at all, since they were not made for general sale and were available only to a selected band of owners. They fall, perhaps, into category of personal memorabilia …’
Rarely do you see one of these rings in such fine untouched condition.
$55,000
Regency period painted and parcel gilt cabinet
c. 1820
British
A rare parcel gilt and painted mahogany incurving cabinet with original marble top.
H 87.5 cm x W 106 cm x D 52 cm
$17,985
NORMAN LINDSAY 1879 – 1969
Study for Blue Curtain
pencil on paper
32.5 x 38 cm
signed lower right
Blue Curtain 1949
oil on canvas
36 x 40.6 cm
signed lower left
Having both the pencil and the oil of the same subject provides a unique opportunity to examine the skill of Lindsay both as a draughtsman and a painter and demonstrates the subtle differences between the drawing and completed painting. These works are being sold as a pair having been united by an enthusiastic collector.
$66,000 for the pair
Heriz
Late 19th Century
North-West Persia
Woollen pile, cotton warp and weft
Palmettes, blossoms and leaves connected by angular vines on a raspberry red field; enclosed within a deep indigo border of a meandering serrated-leaf and blossom design.
L 380 cm x W 317 cm
$36,000
Antique Diamond Cluster Ring
18ct yellow and white gold ring bezel set to the centre with a GIA certified 2.08ct old mine cut diamond graded as colour I clarity VS1 with three old cut diamonds to each end of the surround the remainder rose cut diamonds on a cheniered gallery to yellow gold Y-shaped shoulders and a plain polished band, c. 1900.
Total Estimated Diamond Weight: 2.64ct. Weight: 4.59grams.
$44,000
Fine Regency Sterling Silver Teapot
A very fine Sterling Silver & Ivory Teapot, London 1821 by Michael Starkey in the Chinese Taste featuring superbly embossed Chinoiserie Decoration. The bird head spout is finely worked with shell and floral decoration, while the cast Chinaman Finial sits atop a scrolling grape and leaf designed lid. A very fine example.
H 15 cm x W 28 cm x D 16.5 cm
$2,950
A rare early colonial Australian cedar & Kauri “X” frame Stool covered with platypus skins, 19th century patina, NSW origin
c. 1850 (40 x 58 x 56)
$5,500
Louis XVI Mahogany, Kingwood, and Ebony Commode
A Louis XVI mahogany, parquetry kingwood and ebony stringing commode with ormolu mounts and drawer pulls. French c. 1780 with an unidentified makers mark to the rear. Recently restored. Original bronze.
80 cm H x 91 cm W x 48 cm
$4,900
Exceptional Regency Drawing Room Cabinet
1825
England
Rosewood
Drawing room cabinet with shelf back, brass gallery and gilt brass baluster supports, original mirrored back above breakfront base with four brass grill doors. Centre fitted with ten drawers and outer cupboards with adjustable shelves all with original baize lining. The cabinet is supported on turned and carved squat feet. Attributed to Gillows of Lancaster.
Good original mellow patination.
H 140 cm, W 183 cm, D 50 cm
$8,700
These two brooches presented by Trinity Antiques show the dramatic style change in just a ten year period.
The French diamond and sapphire, en cabochon, one is in the Art Deco style c. 1920. The very delicate diamond brooch is Edwardian, English and just ten years younger being crafted in c. 1910.
The Art Deco brooch is $14,500 and the Edwardian brooch is $15,500
Émile Gallé – Vase ‘Ombelles’
A fine & rare cameo glass vase, the white & rose coloured ground overlaid with green & ochre then acid etched with a design of Umbel flowers.
The entire surface textured & fire polished.
Signed with the rare Calligraphic Gallé signature in cameo. France, c. 1902.
H 38 cm
$8,745
Grand pair of Antique Cobalt Lidded Sevres Vases.
Introducing our Grand 19th century antique cobalt blue lidded Sevres vases. At 56cm tall, they are a statement to behold. This incredible pair of vases feature an intricately hand-painted romantic courting scene at the front and a European landscape on the rear. The vases are adorned with swag hoop handles, ornate ormolu mounts, and intricate gilt highlights, c. 1890.
H 56 cm x W 25 cm
$12,500
A fine Scottish Regency cylinder bureau – bookcase, c. 1810.
With original handles, felt, glass & key. Lovely old colour. Epitomizing the quality,orginality & style of cabinet making produced for the neo-classical New Town of Edinburgh.
H 257 cm x W 122 cm x D 67 cm
$27,500
Photos from our Antiques & Art Fair Melbourne. June 2023.
