LARGE AUTOMATON DEPARTMENT STORE SANTA

Automaton Santa from a department store in Auckland, stands 6 foot 6 inches high, papier mache body and head with rolling glass eyes, head nods backwards and forwards, powered by an electric motor which runs silently. He is in full working condition. German made 1930's
for more information
portobello@woosh.co.nz

NEW ZEALAND POSTERS, FROM CABOT COLLECTION

Numerous circus, magic and variety posters 1930 - 1950
from the collection of Burns Scandrett "DELARNO", previously in the collection of Charles Cabot Wellington
follw the link to my poster blog
http://nzposters.blogspot.com/
Charles Cabot was a theatrical agent and publicist for circuses, pantomimes and variety shows, and later stage doorkeeper at Wellington Opera House. He collected hundreds of posters of circuses, magicians, popular music, dance and variety shows, from the 1920s to the 1970s

for more information
portobello@woosh.co.nz

UNUSUAL BOIS DURCI TEA CADDY

This unusual tea caddy is covered with Bois Durci plaques Ca 1870


Bois Durci is a plastic moulding material based on cellulose. It was patented, in Paris in 1855, by Lepage. It is made from finely ground wood 'flour' mixed with a binder, either egg or blood albumen or gelatine. The wood is probably either ebony or rose wood, giving a black or brown result. The mixture is dried and ground to a fine powder. The powder is placed in a steel mould and compressed in a powerful hydraulic press whilst being heated by steam. The final product has a highly polished finish imparted by the surface of the steel mold.
for more information
portobello@woosh.co.nz
sold

VICTOR VENNER LITHOGRAPHS

2 original lithographs by Victor Venner, "A Good Send Off" and "The Wedding Breakfast"both in their original frames.
Published by The Art Reproduction Company 1903
21 x 33 in image sizesold thanks Christchurch

NAIVE PORTRAIT AMERICAN ca 1850

Naive portrait of young girl with basket of flowers, signed "N.W." and titled "Whiteley". Oil on board 20 inches by 16 inches
for more information
portobello@woosh.co.nz

RARE WHIMSEY BOTTLE, DATED 1796

Very rare signed and dated whimsey bottle with an intricate crucifixion scene, inscribed "OTTENSEN BEI ALTONA 1796 12 OCKTOBER" 10 inches high by 4 inches wide

for more information
portobello@woosh.co.nz

JAPANESE MEJI EXPORT SILVER, SAMURAI SHOKAI

A large Japanese export silver tea pot and sugar, decorated in deep repousse with iris in water. Signed: "SAMURAI SHOKAI" and '1000' (pure silver) on the base. Date: 1868-1912
for more information
portobello@woosh.co.nz

SOLD THANKS HONG KONG

KANGXI 1662 - 1722, MUG

Kangxi export mug clobbered decoration and marked on base, small repair to lip
sold thanks Wellington
for more information
portobello@woosh.co.nz

LARGE INLAID NEW ZEALAND TABLE

inlaid with burr totara, rewa rewa, burr silver pine, mottled kauri 1430mm long by 880mm wide by 770mm high.
Great reception table
sold thanks chch

for more information
portobello@woosh.co.nz

TONY FOMISON, CA 1968

Painted in oils on glass 1/2 gallon jar in the late 1960's while Tony Fomison was living in a house in Riccarton Road with Philip Clairmont and other bohemian artists.
Financial necessity led Fomison to use found objects to support or frame his paintings, such as window sashes, chair backs or cupboard doors.
His fascination with the works of European master painters such as Domenico Ghirlandaio (1449 –1494) is clearly evident in this work.
Signed on the shoulder and on the base.
for more information
portobello@woosh.co.nz

SCRIMSHAW BULLOCK HORN, GUSTAV VON TEMPSKY

Scrimshaw bullock horn by Gustav von Tempsky, Prussian born artist, adventurer and soldier - Gustavus Von Tempsky. Von Tempsky is an iconic figure from the New Zealand Wars of the 1860s and was the leader of a company of Forest Rangers - an elite unit of bush fighters. He was killed during a battle in Taranaki against the Maori leader Titokowaru.
Similar examples are held in the Te Awamutu Museum, Waikato Museum and the Dargaville Museum
for more information
portobello@woosh.co.nz

PALESTINE SAMPLER 1850

Unusual map sampler from 1850 showing Palestine in the time of our Saviour 16 inches by 18 inches
for more information
portobello@woosh.co.nz

SARAH MCGREGOR SAMPLER 1845

17 inches by 17 inches, by Sarah McGregor, of Campsie, Stirlingshire, Scotland. Daughter of Gregor McGregor and Margaret Colquhoun.
This is quite the best sampler I have ever had. Bright colors, silk and wool, with a school, church, houses, a hunter on horseback, a woman and a soldier, a peacock, animals and birds, bordered with flowers.
for more information
portobello@woosh.co.nz

FERN ALBUM BY MRS C C ARMSTRONG DUNEDIN

Victorian fern album by Mrs C  C Armstrong, Dunedin, New Zealand Ca1890

PEWTER BARBERS BOWL

18th century pewter barbers or surgeons bleeding bowl 14 inches by 10 inches
sold, thanks christchurch

BACCHUS JUG 1820

BACCHUS JUG 1820, PORCELAIN, 4 INCHES TALL

BENTWOOD ROCKER BY KOHN

Bentwood rocking chair by Josef Kohn, ca 1890, original patina and cane, museum condition

LARGE SHIP DIORAMA CA 1870

LARGE SHIP DIORAMA, VICTORY 1199 TONS, MAIDEN VOYAGE TO PORT CHALMERS IN 1863, 72 DAYS, MADE 3 VOYAGES TO NEW ZEALAND CARRYING IMMIGRANTS '1863, '64, AND '65. 1270mm x 670mm

LARGE ART AND CRAFTS ARMCHAIR

Large oak and leather arts and crafts armchair attributed to Hugh Baillie Scott 1400mm high x 620 wide.

ANTIQUE PACIFIC TAPA CLOTH

I have just started a new blog devoted entirely to vintage tapa cloths of the Pacific.
see VINTAGE TAPA CLOTH
All tapas are available for sale. Over the past years I have sold unique tapa to various museums and collectors. Please have look and let me know if anything is of interest.
Deric

WEDGWOOD MAJOLICA HARE STIRRUP CUP

RARE WEDGWOOD MAJOLICA HARE STIRRUP CUP CA 1870, IMPRESSED MARK, 3 CHIPS TO LIP AS SHOWN, 5 INCHES LONG X 3 INCHES HIGH, NO CRACKS OR RESTORATIONSsold thanks USA


-->

RARE JAPANESE UKIYO-E ALBUM , TAIHEIKI EIYUDEN, 1867

A complete album consisting of 20 original woodblocks by Yoshitsuya (1822 - 1866) and Yoshiiuku (1833-1904) published in 1867 by Hiroyuki,chuban format Chuban, 7.5 x 10in or 19 x 25.5mm printed on mid nineteenth century Japanese mulberry paper and with full margins as published This is a rare opportunity to aquire a set of prints uncut as published .
The completed set consisted of 100 original woodcuts, each depicting a famous warrior. The "Chronicles of the Taiheiki" was a fourteenth century epic covering one of the most troubled and violent epochs of Japanese history
Many of Japan's greatest woodcut artists of the latter half of the nineteenth century studied in the workshop of the master artist and designer, Kuniyoshi (1798-1861). In the decade following the death of Kuniyoshi, Yoshitsuya and Yoshiiku rose to prominence with their masterful warrior prints and scenes from Japanese folklore.
Yoshitsuya began designing his own woodcuts around 1845. Almost all his art was dedicated to portrayals of warriors. During his short life he completed many memorable designs of Samurai, Ronin and the heroes of the Taiheiki.
Yoshiiuku was a popular ukiyo-e print maker and newspaper illustrator during the Meiji period. He was known for his fierce portrayal of famous historical warriors. He signed his name Utagawa Yoshiiku and Ikkeisai Yoshiiku and Chokaro Yoshiiku.

PAIR SHIP PORTRAITS BY REGINALD MATTHEWS. CONVICTED MURDERER

A pair of unusual ship portraits by Reg Mathews who shot an killed a man in Timaru in 1920 and also shot a policeman in Lyttleton while trying to make good his escape. Both are extensively inscribed on the reverse.He was found guilty but his death sentence was commuted on the grounds of insanity.He spent the rest of his life in various mental institutions.They are painted in lampblack, laundry blue and milk of magnesia. He notes one one painting,"painted under difficult conditions by an ex member of the vessels crew" A news paper clipping on the reverse states that" he spent 60 years behind locked doors, 45 of those in solitary confinement".

SS THEODORE, LAKE WANAKA, by CHRISTOPHER AUBREY 1885

“SS Theodore”, a rare ship portrait by Christopher Aubrey ,1885 500mm x 330mm
inscribed verso

S.S.Theodore
built by Asher Smith
for Theo Russell & Capt Hedditch
who was skipper
Tom Creig was engineer
He gave this painting to Sam McSkimming
when Sam McSkimming and his familly
left Pembroke to go to Arrowtown in 1900

Notes
Christopher Aubrey
The only reliable biographical information concerning Christopher Aubrey is provided by his signed and dated works.He came from Stewart Island to Riverton in 1879, and in that year painted around Riverton and the Orepuki area. In 1881 he painted his way up the Aparima River.He was one of the guests at the Fairfax Hotel in January 1891, on the night when it burned down.
He was known to have been in Otago and Southland in the 1870s and to have stayed on back country stations in the 1880s. When he was in country houses near Riverton he often left sketches there in return for hospitality received. He seems to have moved from Dunedin (1876), south to the Taieri Plains and Milton (1877), the lower Clutha valley (1877-78) and Southland (1878-84), before travelling into more spectacular regions (Fiordland, Lake Wakatipu, Lake Wanaka) and moving north to Canterbury (1885) and North Otago (1886). The last South Island subjects known before he crossed to the North Island are views of Dunedin (1887) and the Fox Glacier (1888).
Subsequently he worked in Wellington and the Hutt Valley (1889-90), the Wairarapa (1891), Palmerston North (1893), Wanganui (1894), the Waikato and the Coromandel (1897) and Auckland (1898-1900). The latest dated work to which any reference has been found is a 1902 view of Dunedin.
The only contemporary documentary record appears in the catalogues and report of the Melbourne International Exhibition of 1880-81 where he is listed as living in Invercargill.
The measure of control which he displays in architectural subjects and details as early as 1878 - particularly in contrast to figures and animals - suggests some training and experience in engineering or another technical field, but the numerous views of hotels and farmhouses suggest also an itinerant life, perhaps earning a living by his brush. This supposition finds slight confirmation in the absence of his name in electoral rolls and street directories of the period.
Christopher Aubrey is represented in major collections throughout the country including the Auckland City Art Gallery and the Turnbull and Hocken Libraries.


S.S Theodore
The first steam driven vessel on Lake Wanaka, built in 1881 by Asher Smith, an American sea captain , the THEODORE, was named for Theodore Russell, co-founder of Pembroke, who died in 1877, and who had dreamed of a steamer service on the lake.
Built from local timber, she weighed 35 tons nett, was 67 ft long and had a beam of 16.4 ft. The hull was flat bottomed and she had almost no sheer. The engine room occupied a large amount of deck space, with the top used as a promenade deck measuring 24 ft by 16 ft. Her owner and skipper Elijah Charlton Hedditch made a 2-day trip round the lake each week with shorter trips for tourists. She sank alongside the Pembroke jetty in 1891. After being raised, repaired, and under the new ownership of Robert McDougall from 1892, Laid up in 1896 for complete overhaul and virtual rebuilding. Re-launched 7 January 1897 with name changed to WANAKA. Continued to offer a passenger service on the lake till laid up about 1910.

1960 CADILLAC FLEETWOOD by YONEZAWA JAPAN

Rare boxed 1960 Cadillac Fleetwood by Yonezawa, Japan, 18inches long very good condition
sold thanks Auckland

RARE TAPA CLOTH WITH HALLEY'S COMET MOTIF CA 1911

tapa Tonga, Sun moon and Halley's Comet,2.3m X 2m,ca 1911

GEO II STERLING BEER JUG LONDON 1736

STERLING BEER JUG, 1736, 5 1/2 INCHES HIGH 14OZ , CREST AND INITIALS ENGRAVED ON FRONT, NICE HEAVY DOUBLE SCROLL ACANTHUS HANDLE, NICE PATINA, MAKER J.L LONDON sold

---