We would like to wish all of our customers a Merry Christmas and Best Wishes for the New Year.

Our offices will be closed from Friday 22nd December 2017 from 12.30 

and will re-open Saturday 30th December 2017 10am - 1pm

Our next General Sale will be held on Wednesday 3rd January 2018 at 10am

Viewing:

Saturday 30th December 10am - 1pm

Tuesday 2nd January 2pm - 6pm

We are already putting the first Auction of 2018 together - General Sale 3rd January.

Call 0191 537 2630 to make an appointment to bring items for sale. We have Appointments Monday 18th December to Thursday 21st December.

Free Valuations are on Friday 15th December 10am-12noon and 2pm-4pm or Saturday 16th December 10am - 1pm. No appointments necessary.

The last two Auctions of the year at Boldon Auction Galleries have been quite literally a flying success.  The first in November was a surprise for auctioneer Giles Hodges when on a routine valuation a Narwhal tusk (Monodon Monoceros) was pulled out from behind a large mahogany display cabinet. Measuring 8 feet in length, it was brought to the North East in the 1930's from Greenland, carrying a pre-auction estimate of £2,000-£3,000 the Narwhal tusk realised on sale day £12,500 plus buyer's premium.

The December sale saw two Martin Brothers grotesque birds fly away at £14,000 plus buyer's premium and £6,500 plus buyer's premium (the second bird was damaged).  The birds had originally come from the client's father who worked the barges on the river Thames and found them lying in a skip.  The idiom One man's trash is one man's treasure clearly ringing true on this occasion!

Birds of a feather ....................

These two fantastical birds (Lot 1 and Lot 2) come from the British studio pottery of the Martin Brothers - Robert Wallace, Walter Fraser, Edwin Bruce and Charles Douglas – who set up a pottery at Pomona House, Fulham, London, in 1873. Robert Wallace was the chief modeller and designer, previously working as a stone carver for Pugin on the new Parliament buildings, brought experience of carving gothic gargoyles and mysterious animals to the pottery.

LOT 1

Walter Fraser provided the technical expertise needed to realise his elder brother's designs, specialising in the coloured glazes, while Edwin did most of the throwing and decorating. Charles Douglas was the business manager in charge of running the shop and was known to hide the finest pieces away (sometimes under floorboards) for the best clients.

The Martin Brothers are considered to have been pioneers in transforming decorative arts from the stale formalism of the Victorian era to a more whimsical and naturalistic style that foreshadowed the Art Nouveau movement.

LOT 2

To be offered for Auction on the 13^th December Antiques and Interiors Auction at 10am.

Lot 98

Two Prisoner of War carved bones, decorated with roses and carved Knockaloe, Isle of Man.  25cm long  

From August 1914 the British Government passed the Aliens Restrictions Act enabling the control of movement of “enemy aliens”.  Thus, on the 17th November 1914, over 23,000 internees from several nationalities including German, Austrian and Turkish began moving into Knockaloe Farm, Patrick Village on the Isle of Man which became the largest internment camp of World War I.  The prisoners were held in 23 compounds inside barbed wire with 4,000 armed National Guard soldiers and 250 civilians employed.

To be sold in the Antique and Interiors Auction 13th December 

Estimate £40 - £60

Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas !

We have spent a wonderful morning decorating our tree as part of the 

Christmas Tree Festival at East Boldon Methodist Church

The Christmas Tree Festival will be open to the public on the following days:

Thursday 7th December  11am - 4pm 

Friday 8th December 11am - 4pm

Saturday 9th December 10am - 4pm

Sunday 10th December 1pm - 5pm

The event will close on Sunday 10th December with The Big Christmas Sing 

in aid of Christian Aid at 5.15pm

The theme of this years festival is 'Christmas Carols'.  

Our tree theme is 'Away in a Manger'

All funds raised will go towards repairing the roof at East Boldon Methodist church

Hope you are able to come along and see the wonderful sight of all the 

decorated trees over the weekend