NEWS & CURIOSITIES

Stay Informed with Chorley’s Latest News and Articles. Subscribe to Our Newsletter for a Diverse Collection of Stories and Updates from Chorley’s Auctioneers. From exciting discoveries to specialist sale announcements, explore art and antiques from our experts' perspective.

THE LATEST FROM CHORLEY'S EXPERTS 

 

 

PORTRAIT OF AN ENGLISH FAMILY

A Political Inheritance comes to auction at Chorley's. The Contents of a Cotswold Country House

Works from the private collection of the 3rd Earl of Liverpool, Charles Cecil Cope Jenkinson, (1784-1851), once housed at the family seats of Pitchford Hall and Buxted Park to go under the hammer at Chorley’s. The sale comprises a quintessential English collection of family portraits with impeccable provenance, alongside Georgian furniture, porcelain, silver and enamel boxes. Royal gifts to the family among the works.

 
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Supporting the Country Food Trust

Chorley’s announces The Country Food Trust as Charity of the Year for 2024

Chorley’s is proud to align with The Country Food Trust, recognising the profound impact the charity has on addressing food insecurity and nutritional challenges in local communities. Throughout the year, Chorley’s will integrate The Country Food Trust’s mission into its auctions and events, actively promoting the charity and raising funds to support its initiatives. “We are thrilled to announce The Country Food Trust as our Charity of the Year for 2024"

 
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Chorley's Sets Sail into 2024

Marine Art takes centre stage in 2024's Spring Fine Art & Antiques auction

Chorley’s are delighted to announce their first Fine Art and Antiques auction of the year, which will offer strong entries across all main categories including pictures, jewellery, silver and furniture. Taking place on 6th February, the auction will feature a selection of classic marine paintings. Casting an auspiciously wide net of price points, the auction should appeal to both seasoned collectors and those entering the world of marine pictures for the first time.

 
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The Poet and the Philosopher

Chorley's discovers unknown Letters by Lord Byron and Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Lord Byron was the most fashionable poet of the 1800s, as well as the most infamous. He spearheaded the Romantic Movement, a creative philosophy with a focus on individuality and emotion, as well as a passion for nature and a reminiscence of the past. The Romantic movement accentuated strong emotion as a genuine source of the aesthetic experience, which fitted well with Lord Byron’s reputation as a Romantic hero.

 
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World Record Result for Simmonds' Black Mare

William Simmond's groundbreaking sculpture 'The Black Mare' achieves £45,000 plus fees

Chorley’s sale of a spectacular work by Royal Academician and one of the main proponents of the Arts & Crafts movement, William Simmonds (1876-1968). The Black Mare standing at 48cm x 76cm x 41cm has achieved a world record price of £45,000 plus Fees. It was created in Simmonds’ famed Gloucestershire studio and dates from 1925. Simmonds was aRoyal Academician and one of the main proponents of the Arts & Crafts movement.

 
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Chorley's Discovers Lost Letter

Lost Letter penned by literary genius Dr Samuel Johnson discovered in Gloucestershire Country House

"I spent a long afternoon between the library and drawing room, collating volumes of Tillotson, Defoe, Kipling and Scott that had been separated throughout the years, during their time in the various generations of the family. Finally, a letter from and signed by, the famous Dr Johnson appeared towards the end of the volume. We were thrilled to discover that it was a missing letter written by Dr Johnson himself."

 
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Cotswolds Country House Furniture Flies at Auction!

English, Continental and Oriental furniture lots leave their estimates far behind

A small group of just over a dozen pieces of antique furniture from a local Cotswolds country house was the highlight of Chorley’s July 25-26 Summer Fine Art sale in Prinknash, Gloucestershire. Plain Georgian brown this was not. What did unify all the pieces was that they were highly decorative, often featuring unusual or exotic materials, and were in unrestored country house condition protected from the light. 

 
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The Original Toad Hall

The Inspiration for Toad Hall in the Much-Loved Children's Novel The Wind in the Willows

On 27th June 2023, Chorley’s Auctioneers were delighted to present a series of landscapes depicting views of the Thames Valley to coincide with the Henley Royal Regatta. Fawley Court, the nearby country estate, is linked to the famous Temple Island where the world-renowned race begins each year. Fawley Court was the inspiration for Toad Hall in the much-loved 1908 children’s book The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame.

 
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Chorley's Uncovers Old Master

Misattributed painting resurfaces as work by great Italian scenic painter Antonio Joli

A painting that was miscatalogued 50 years ago has been found to be by one of the greatest Italian scenic painters in history. Research by Chorley’s auctioneers has confirmed that a stunning view of Naples in oil is by the renowned painter Antonio Joli (1700-1777). This particular painting by Joli encapsulates Naples in its heyday, where music and painting flourished and it relished in being the Royal capital of the richest Italian state.

 
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