Amazing antique finds in upcoming Country House Auction Sale

A Primitive Oak Stick-Back Armchair, late 18th/early 19th century – Estimate: £300-£500

The Country House Sale at Tennants Auctioneers, to take place on May 18, is packed with traditional antiques and has a particularly good offering of country-type pieces of furniture, ceramics, and treen.

A good collection of oak furniture from a vendor in the North East includes an Early 18th Century Oak Tridarn, a three-level sideboard (estimate: £800-1,200 all figures exclude buyer’s premium), a circa 1700 Oak Geometric Chest of Drawers (est: £400-600), and a Late 16th Century Boarded Oak Chest (est: £300-500).

Further highlights of country furniture include a Primitive Oak Stick-Back Armchair from the late 18th or early 19th century (est: £300-500), and two Ash Comb-Back Windsor Armchairs of the same date (est: £300-500 each).

An extraordinary collection of Treen and Metalware, put together over many years by David and Hilary Hide, will be sold in 49 lots. The Hides, who lived in the North of England, had a fascination for British vernacular objects and developed a deep knowledge of their subject.

A Novelty Cigar Box, early 20th century – estimate: £300-400

Not only did they appreciate these pleasingly tactile wooden and metal objects for their aesthetic qualities and craftsmanship, but the hidden histories they represented, and insights into long-forgotten aspects of everyday domestic life for which they were used.

The majority of the collection dates from the 19th century, with a few earlier examples, including a Treen Lignum Vitae Mortar, with an 18th century pestle, (est: £300-500).

Among ceramics in the sale is a remarkable collection of 12 English and Scottish Pottery Potato Flasks from the 19th century, to be sold in one lot with an estimate of £400-600.

The flasks are naturalistically modelled and coloured in shades of brown, with the exception of three, which have blue Pratt-type glazes. Potato flasks rarely come up for sale at auction.

Twelve Assorted English and Scottish Pottery Potato Flasks, 19th century – estimate: £400-600

Some suggest that potato flasks evolved from novelty stirrup cups, or were made to be filled with homemade spirits such as poteen made out of potatoes. Variations were made in America too, and were associated with bootlegged alcohol during the prohibition.

Further interesting lots include a Pair of Victorian Glass Pharmacy Shop Display Jars and Covers, labelled ‘Sodae Carb’ and ‘Acid Tart’, with provenance from Manders Pharmacy, Malvern (est: £1,000-1,500), and an early 20th century Novelty Cigar Box in the form of a railway coal truck with GNR livery (est: £300-400).

Also on offer is a Private Collection of Rugs and Weavings, put together by Nicola Pyne (1948-2023). who grew up in Strawberry Hill. She was academically able, attending Lady Eleanor Holles School before obtaining a BSc in Physics from Birmingham University, and a degree in Biology from Birkbeck.

Nicola worked for many years with IBM then pursued a teaching career in Physics, Chemistry and Biology.

She loved to travel and visited Central Asia, the Middle East and India, developing a love of different cultures and collecting artefacts from around the globe.

Her interest in ethnic items included jewellery, wood carving, tribal rugs and related weavings. Highlights of the collection include a Tekke Maine Carpet, probably made in Merv in the late 19th century (est: £800-1,200), and a Sewan Kazak Rug, made circa 1880 in South Caucasus (est: £600-900).