Classic Design Including Property of the Marquess of Anglesey
Classic Design Including Property of the Marquess of Anglesey
Property from Ollerton Grange: an Interior by Robert Kime (lots 92-168)
A pair of carved giltwood trophies, mid-19th century
Lot Closed
April 11, 03:04 PM GMT
Estimate
8,000 - 12,000 GBP
Lot Details
Description
each carved with musical instruments, masks, music books and weapons, with labels to the reverse reading X290 Gilt Trophy / one of a pair / 12. 5. 1915 and X289 Gilt Trophy / (one of a pair) / 12. 5. 1915
the example centred by a guitar: 204cm high, 92cm wide; 6ft. 8 ¼in., 3ft.
the example centred by a tambourine: 208cm high, 87cm wide; 6ft. 9 ¾in., 2ft. 10 ¼in.
William Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme, acquired from D.L. Isaacs (invoice 12 May 1915, MDHL 20, £60);
At Thornton Manor until being given to W. Hulme Lever (X.Inv. X289);
William Hulme Lever, in the Music Room (T.Inv. T171-2, £90)
Sotheby's, The Leverhulme Collection, 26th-28th June 2001, lot 303.
The 1st Viscount Leverhulme (1851–1925), one of Victorian England’s most important collectors of fine and decorative art, started his life as William Lever, the son of a Lancashire grocer. After competently growing the family business, he became immensely successful with his company Sunlight Soap. With Victorian Britain becoming increasingly polluted, Leverhulme harnessed the increasing demand for cleaning products by being the first to efficiently mass-produce soap using vegetable oil. As well as putting his fortune towards philanthropy, he was a major art collector, and often used paintings in the advertising for Sunlight Soap.1 Many of the gems of his collection are still on display the Lady Lever Art Gallery today, while many others were sold at Sotheby’s in June 2001 – bidding at these auctions reached over £9m, setting the record for a house sale at the time.2
1 For examples, see Sam Bytheway, ‘The art of advertising’, liverpoolmuseums.org.uk. Available at: <https://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/stories/art-of-advertising> [accessed 22nd March 2024]
2 ‘Treasure sale breaks UK auction record’, BBC News, 28th June 2001. Available at: <http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1411892.stm> [accessed 22nd March 2024]