Busby Auctioneers & Valuers

Past Auctions 108 Auctions

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A Victorian silver brooch in the form of a bee set with a cats eye chrysoberyl thorax and paste set wings and abdomen, 2.8cmL, 9g
Thu 8th May 2025 from 10am
Bridport
An 18ct white gold, emerald and diamond ring, the large octagonal cut emerald measuring 11.7x10.4x7.7mm and stated 6.42ct inside shank, flanked by trillion cut diamonds, each 6.5x6.5mm, stated 0.73ct inside shank, gross weight 5.7g, size Q
Thu 24th April 2025 from 10am
Bridport
A Gucci GG Marmont red velvet shoulder bag with quilted zig-zag pattern, red leather and electric blue silk interior, brass hardware, 32cm wide
Fri 11th April 2025 from 10am
Bridport
A small Edwardian silver bonbon dish, London 1905, 8.4cmD, 93g
Thu 3rd April 2025 from 10am
Bridport
Fri 7th March 2025 from 10am
Bridport
A 9ct gold gate bracelet with heart shaped padlock clasp, 20cmL unclasped, 18.2g
Thu 6th March 2025 from 10am
Bridport
An oak coffee table, with living edge, on fabricated metal base, the top approx 95cm by 85cm, 55cm high
Thu 6th February 2025 from 10am
Bridport
Thu 16th January 2025 from 10am
Bridport
A pair of Vietnamese carved wood armchairs, c.1900, each with cane seat 97cm high
Fri 13th December 2024 from 10am
Bridport
An early 20th century white metal scorpion brooch set with moonstones and ruby eyes, 7cmL, 8.6g
Thu 12th December 2024 from 10am
Bridport
An 18th century side table in the manner of Matthias Lock, serpentine marble top, over a giltwood frieze carved with central mask, the tapering cabriole legs with lion mask knees and paw feet, 175cm wide Provenance: from the estate of the late Antonia Cole, formerly of Wyld Court, Hawkchurch; once held at Cam House, Campden Hill, W8, the property of Evelyn St George, Antonia's grandmother The console table is catalogued as lot 33 in the 1939 Sotheby & Co auction of 'The Important Contents of Cam House, Campden Hill, W8, the property of Evelyn St George'
Thu 21st November 2024 from 10am
Bridport
A late Victorian mahogany hall stand, with mirror surrounded by eight coat hooks, two tiles inset below, the stick stand with two circular drip trays, 83cm wide, 28cm deep, 143cm high
Fri 8th November 2024 from 10am
Bridport
An 18ct gold and diamond navette form cluster ring, gross weight, size M 1/2, 6.4g
Thu 7th November 2024 from 10am
Bridport
An 18ct white gold mounted sapphire and diamond triple cluster ring, the diamonds totalling approx. 1ct, the sapphires approx. 2cts total, gross weight 6g
Fri 4th October 2024 from 10am
Bridport
Taxidermy: a collection of 10 taxidermy songbirds, within a glazed case and naturalist setting, to include the western meadowlark; baltimore oriole; red bellied woodpecker; eastern bluebird, etc, the case 69cm wide
Thu 3rd October 2024 from 10am
Bridport
Ends Thu 17th October 2024 from 12pm
Bridport
A pair of George III mahogany splatback side chairs
Fri 6th September 2024 from 10am
Bridport
An 18ct white gold mounted sapphire and diamond triple cluster ring, the diamonds totalling approx. 1ct, the sapphires approx. 2cts total, gross weight 6g
Thu 5th September 2024 from 10am
Bridport
A 9ct gold emerald and diamond trilogy ring, the three Zambian emeralds 2.19cts, the tapered baguette cut diamonds 0.04cts, size Q, gross weight 2.4g
Thu 1st August 2024 from 10am
Bridport
An important 18th century suite of mahogany seat furniture, c.1760, comprising a sofa, ten upholstered side chairs, and three window seats of graduating size, all raised on gadrooned and cabochon carved cabriole legs, terminating in scroll feet and leather casters, the property of Mr Combe of Earnshill House, Somerset. Earnshill House was completed in 1731, built by the merchant Henry Combe ‘after the Italian manner’. Henry Combe is described variously as a shipowner and linen-draper, and was clearly a prominent figure in Bristol, where he was Mayor of the city in 1740-41, and stood for parliament from 1740 until his death. The estate was inherited by his son, Richard Combe (1728-80). The personal accounts of Richard Combe remain elusive, but detailed cash books exist for the estate, which show Richard drawing increased personal funds from around 1760, perhaps for the furnishing of his Somerset seat. The suite, built for the house c.1760, is an incredibly rare example in that there is documentary evidence of its existence in the property from just a few years after its creation. Currently held in the Somerset archives, “An Inventory of the Furniture at Earnshill taken the 15th of September 1780” reads: The Green Drawing Room ... 8 Chairs & 1 Sopha covered with Do. 1 Mahogany Card Table The India Drawing Room ... 2 Chairs 3 half Sophas The suite currently comprising of exactly this number, with the corresponding card table, there can be little doubt that this inventory refers to the same. The suite gets a mention in a Country Life article of October 20th 1960; ‘The saloon, not at present in use, retains its important mahogany suite of seat furniture comprising a settee, 12 chairs, to stools and a window stool. A Mark of the unusually high quality of the set is that the finely scrolled legs with cabochon enrichment are repeated at the back of all the pieces. But since the design is typical of the 1750s the set must be a little later than the room, to which lustre is given by the graceful late-18th-century cut glass chandelier’ The suite is very much in the manner of Cobb and Vile, and indeed William Vile does have Somerset connections, with relatives in nearby South Petherton being mentioned in his will; to 'James Humphrey and Sarah Humphrey late of South Petherton … Somerset, but now of London, my cousins’, to ‘William Humphrey of Middle Lambrook … Somerset, farmer, my Kinsman. Vile was also working extensively in Dorset at this time, both at Came House, and at Longford Castle, supplying furniture to the former from c.1756-1764. A provincial maker has, however, been suggested for this suite, potentially a Bristol firm, but certainly West Country based. A second, and rather opinionated, Country Life article of 1960 comments: ‘The architect seemed to be well read in Palladian theory and acquainted with the latest developments of country villa design…but to show his second-rateness in the clumsiness of certain parts and their relationships, resulting in a curious inordinateness’. The family portraits, too, are in the latest styles, but display a slight naivety in execution. Accordingly, although the suite displays the highest quality in workmanship, an excellent knowledge of the latest fashions, and has no expense spared in timber use and selection, the decorative carving of the cabochons sits a little oddly with the gadrooned border, itself, at points, somewhat unusually conceived. This would point to the suite not being the work of a London firm. Polly Legge in her study of the Bastard Brothers of Blandford (The Bastards of Blandford: an Inventory of their Losses in the Fire of 1732, Furniture History, 1994) has shown the potential for a provincial firm to be producing work in the latest fashions, and to the highest quality. She writes: ‘the many furniture entries in the inventory demonstrate that the manufacture and sale of furniture formed a considerable part of the family business…the large stock of walnut veneers indicates that many of the articles were expensively veneered. Gilded and japanned items are also recorded. It would appear that John Bastard's occasional use of the term 'cabinet maker' was justified’. High quality examples attributed to the Bastard Brothers can be found at Lulworth Castle, in part decorated and furnished by the Bastards. This being the case, it seems very likely that this is a rare and historically interesting example of an extensive and expensive suite of 18th century furniture, made provincially, but by a workshop thoroughly 'acquainted with the latest developments' in furniture design.
Thu 18th July 2024 from 10am
Bridport
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