L11233

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Lot 176
  • 176

Gilbert Bayes

Estimate
10,000 - 15,000 GBP
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Description

  • Gilbert Bayes
  • the aveling-barford reliefs
  • First Relief: signed and dated: GILBERT. BAYES. 1941 and entitled: THE WORLD'S FIRST STEAM ROLLER and inscribed: 1867 and ...[illegible]...AVELING
    Second Relief: signed and dated: GILBERT. BAYES. 1941. and entitled: MECHANIZATION / AVELING STEAM SAPPER. inscribed 1871
    Third Relief: signed and dated: GILBERT BAYES 1941 entitled: THE FIRST MOTOR ROLLER and inscribed: 1904 and BARFORD & PERKINS PETERBOROUGH
    Fourth Relief: signed: GILBERT. BAYES. 1942 entitled: MECHANIZATION. / AVELING BARFORD BREN GUN CARRIERS and inscribed: 1942

  • bronze, golden, red, and mid-brown patina

Condition

Overall the condition of the four bronze reliefs is very good, there is dirt and wear to the surface consistent with age includnig a few nicks and scratches, and a few flecks of paint. There are screw holes in the bottow sides of the four reliefs, four in the two smaller reliefs and five in the two larger reliefs. There are a few areas of minor greening in the first relief, on the D of the WORLD.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Catalogue Note

These hitherto unpublished bronze reliefs by Gilbert Bayes commemorate the technological innovations of Aveling-Barford, an engineering conglomerate formed in 1934 from the merger of two firms with distinguished histories, Aveling & Porter of Rochester and Barford & Perkins of Peterborough. The reliefs celebrate the invention of the first steam roller in 1867; the 'Steam Sapper' in 1871; the first motor roller in 1904; and the 'Bren Gun Carrier' in 1942; all of which were developed by the company and its predecessors. Cast during the Second World War, they bear testament to the resilience of engineering firms during wartime, and to the Britain's role as a manufacturing leader during the first half of the twentieth century.

Gilbert Bayes was one of the leading British sculptors of the early twentieth century. He trained under Sir George Frampton and Harry Bates and is perhaps best known for his monumental 1925 Queen of Time clock on the façade of Selfridge's department store in London. The present reliefs find a conceptual parallel in one of Bayes' early reliefs, The Water Cart of 1915. Bayes also produced a fine silver table centre in the form of Aveling-Barford's stallion logo, entitled Invicta; this was sold at Sotheby's London on 13th April 2011, lot 240.

RELATED LITERATURE
L. Irvine and P. Atterbury, Gilbert Bayes. Sculptor 1872-1953, London, 1998, pp. 123, 165