Homes & Antiques May 2022

Although it could be said that every issue of H&A is dedicated to the joy of collecting, this month’s issue fully embraces the impulse, shared by many of you, to amass antiques. Luke Honey suggests some rules for would-be collectors, while Willa Latham considers her route to becoming both a dealer and a collector of British porcelain, and Alice Roberton speaks to five collectors about their various passions, from tartanware to walking canes. Our houses, from page 43, clearly belong to magpies rather than minimalists, and all four are wonderfully personal expressions of their owners’ many and varied interests. As ever, our news pages at the front of the magazine and our listings at the back will direct you to the best art and antiques events in May, from exhibitions…

The Wallace Collection and Long & Ryle, the return of Battersea Spring Fair and Glyndebourne, an art and design sale at Cheffins, plus bonbonniéres THE ANTIQUE Enamel Bonbonniéres People have always loved novelty, and enamel bonbonniéres are no exception. These small boxes were designed to hold sweetmeats or candies to sweeten the breath, and were often presented as little gifts. Made of copper and beautifully hand-decorated with enamel paints, they came in forms inspired by domestic life, including apples, lemons, gherkins, birds and dogs (spaniels and pugs, especially). A cottage industry grew up around their production in the Midlands – particularly Birmingham, Bilston and south Staffordshire, where a skilled workforce of local craftsmen and Huguenot metal workers thrived. The golden era for hand-painted enamel bonbonniéres was between 1750 and 1830, after which they…

“I am the V&A’s curator of Fashion before 1800, and have worked at the museum for over 26 years. Previously I worked for the National Archives of Canada. My route to the V&A was a long and circuitous one, from failed scientist to art historian and then to dress historian, but all this disparate experience has proved remarkably useful as a fashion curator. Typical activities of my role include cataloguing my collection, selecting and researching objects for new displays or publications, such as 18th-Century Fashion in Detail (2018), writing book and label texts, styling objects for photography and answering enquiries about historical fashion for researchers and students. Acquisitions is a very important activity involving research, proposals to senior colleagues, and negotiating the funding for purchases. In the case of T.26-2018 – the…

Pretty Pairings Renowned for its handcrafted products, historic British manufacturer David Hunt Lighting has released a new metal Scallop collection that’s the perfect mix of traditional and modern, designed to work in both colourful contemporary spaces and eclectic, layered interiors. Featuring a decorative bell top and a modern straight edge, the pendant is hand-painted with a two-tone scallop design. Select from 10 heritage paint colours or choose bespoke shades from any leading paint brand to create a unique piece. £390. davidhuntlighting.co.uk CLASSIC LINES The new slimline Chesterfield design from Sofas & Stuff is a refresh of a classic. Influenced by an antique sofa from a house in Norfolk, the new Holt range has a squared, buttoned back, and gently curved arms to cocoon the sitter. From £2,673. sofasandstuff.com THE ART OF NATURE House of Hackney’s…

Condition is key when buying anything at auction, especially when it comes to pieces of antique jewellery. Recently, we have had the pleasure of seeing some beautiful examples of late Victorian diamond brooches come in for valuation and subsequent sale. This style of brooch has a timeless appeal, and might have sparkled on a jacket lapel, at the neck of a blouse or on a woman’s evening dress. As jewellery tends to be, they are often passed down through families who are unaware of their worth today and the impressive prices they can fetch at auction. Last September, at our Fine Jewellery sale, a late Victorian silver and gold, old- and rose-cut diamond crescent brooch made £2,680, and a late Victorian silver and gold, old-cut diamond star brooch sold for…

From around 1750 onwards, young women of good families were bought miniature china tea and coffee sets, to practise the art of hosting; an important ritual in the social life of the times. Pottery factories made ‘toy’ versions of their full-sized services, so that the ‘little Miss’ of the household could make and pour beverages from pots made of porcelain, creamware, pearlware and, later, bone china. As tea-drinking took off in the mid 19th century, the manufacture of these sets proliferated and many Staffordshire potteries added them to their order books. At auction, you can find pieces of toy teaware for £20 upwards, with even rare pieces in the low hundreds of pounds. At Halls, we recently sold the Enid and Bruce Moulder collection of children’s antique teawares, which included…