Here are a few of my Favourite Things

A late Victorian ruby and diamond set necklace in the garland style

As we look towards an exciting 2025 with a number of significant collections already consigned for sale I’ve been reflecting on the art, antique and collectors’ markets which remained buoyant throughout 2024.

It remains true that the art and objects most keenly sought by collectors are those which transcended the purely decorative.

Jewellery so often reflects points of love in our lives and is a celebration of that important human purpose to be creative and make beauty in the world. Rubies are over 500 million years old and amongst the world’s most valued gemstones. As the 19th century drew to a close Victorian tastes were reinterpreted in lighter more delicate styles influenced by France’s Belle Époque which spanned from the late 19th century up until the start of the Great War in 1914. It was characterised by optimism, regional peace, economic prosperity, scientific and technological advances and an era where the arts flourished influencing the tastes of other nations including our own. Amongst my favourite things sold last year was a wonderful late 19th century gold backed, silver set, ruby and diamond necklace was in the garland style made famous by Cartier which sold for £13,000 at Toovey’s. Jewellery remains one of the strongest collectors’ markets today.

A mid-20th century Australian varicoloured gold and gem sculpture, ‘Satin Bower Birds Ptilonorhynchus violaceus’

There was virtuosity in the impressive mid-20th century Australian varicoloured gold figure group, titled ‘Satin Bowerbirds Ptilonorhynchus violaceus’ by S.A. Schagen which was very finely modelled. The detail and composition was superb. The sculpture measured 52cm wide and was entered by a Sussex collector. It made £200,000 at Toovey’s. It depicted a courtship display between a male dancing with wings outspread, and a female bird standing in her nest or bower made of a bed of sticks. The scene was given life with a scattering of shells, opals and agates, and two platinum and sapphire feathers. The Satin Bowerbird is a native of the forest habitats of Australia’s East Coast and New Guinea.

I founded Toovey’s almost 30 years ago. From the beginning I wanted to model a different way of being business where people, our clients and team, came first. As a business we continue to support and serve many of the charities, arts organisations, festivals, and communities which make Sussex such an exceptional place. Objects allow us to share the stories of our lives. They are the patchwork quilt of our lives. It has always been, a great privilege accompanying people through their objects and it remains so.

Community and Aspiration Remained at the Heart of Sussex in 2024

Rowan Allan at the 2024 West Grinstead and District Ploughing Match and Agricultural Society Show

2024 saw the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings. The values of that war time generation of courage, sacrifice and resilience in defence of freedom, justice, our shared values and way of life continue to inspire our nation.

It was fitting that the Sussex Heritage Trust chose to launch this year’s awards at St Michael and All Angels, Berwick, East Sussex. I am often humbled to reflect that our artists’ response to war was to paint scenes of love often drawn from the Christian story like the Nativity painted by Vanessa Bell at Berwick. During the summer and autumn of 1940 the Battle of Britain was fought over the skies of Sussex. The Luftwaffe failed to defeat the R.A.F. but the Germans continued the Blitz into the May of 1941. Against this backdrop Bishop Bell commissioned Duncan Grant and Vanessa Bell to paint St Michael and All Angels. The parish church at Berwick is just a few miles from the artists’ home at Charleston. These well known Christian stories were retold in paint and set in the Sussex landscape and included three service men.

Some of the best examples of mixed, sustainable, regenerative agriculture are to be found here in Sussex. But this is dependent on family run farms with generations of understanding and truly long-term stewardship of land. Farming is a vocation.

Sussex Heritage Trust Chairman David Cowan and Rupert Toovey at Berwick Church

The West Grinstead and District Ploughing Match and Agricultural Society, of which Rowan Allan is a long-term Hon. Secretary, has been holding shows for over 150 years. Rowan is a great ambassador for farming and its rural communities. Like the Sussex Heritage Trust the Society seeks to encourage young people and promote best practice through its bursaries and awards. I hope the quality of stewardship you find today amongst so many family run farms in Sussex will still be possible in the face of our government’s decisions around inheritance tax and farming. It takes many generations to build up the necessary capital and resource to be able to farm in a way that balances the needs of nature and the maintenance of the land with the responsibility to feed the nation.

Despite these new challenges I find it hopeful that Toovey’s and so many local businesses continue to invest in and support charities and communities across Sussex. The work of people, charities, farmers, businesses and organisations across Sussex is hope filled and to be celebrated. I wish you all a happy and peaceful New Year.

Love and Hope are at the Heart of the Christmas Story

Gerard Dillon’s depiction of the Magi

The story of Christmas reminds us that it is important to love and remain hopeful.

Matthew’s Gospel describes how the Magi visited the infant Christ and are richly depicted in Gerard Dillon’s High Cross Panel from 1949. Shortly after the visiting Magi had departed Joseph was warned by an angel of the Lord that King Herod was planning to kill all the firstborn male children in Judea to protect himself from the threat posed by the newborn “King of the Jews”. Joseph fled with his family to Roman occupied Egypt. The painting after the Spanish artist Bartolomé Esteban Murillo is titled Rest on the Flight into Egypt and shows the Holy Family resting on their journey attended by cherubim. After Herod’s death they were again visited by the angel of the Lord who told them to return to Israel.

After Bartolomé Esteban Murillo – The Rest on the Flight into Egypt

In recent times, and not least this year, there has again been much in our daily lives and the news to remind us of the difficulties of our current time, in particular the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.

Sometimes it can seem difficult to remain hopeful about the world. And yet the solution is not to be fearful but to be confident of what is at the heart of our nation’s common narrative, the values expressed in the Christian story of Christmas.

As a Christian I draw hope from my belief that on that first Christmas day God came among us as a baby born in a stable, wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger. His parents were displaced and without their home. The world over the millennia has often talked of value in terms of the material. By these standards Mary and Joseph had little and yet they knew that they had been richly blessed. What they had been given, this remarkable child, they shared with the world. This intimate Christian story invites us to be active in the world and not spectators. By their example Jesus and his parents leave us in no doubt that acts of kindness to one another and a genuine concern for others can transform our lives and the lives of those around us restoring hope. These values are universally held by people of good heart from all faiths and none. The gift of the message of Christmas is that true value and hope are defined by love and service to others, especially those in need. I wish you all a very happy and blessed Christmas.

James Stewart and Harvey the Invisible White Rabbit

A black and white photograph signed by James Stewart holding Harvey

The Christmas edition of The Radio Times was a cause of great excitement in my youth. There was no iPlayer or streaming services so we would mark the films we most wanted to see and their times. Amongst my Dad’s favourites were the James Stewart classics It’s a Wonderful Life and Harvey.

The memory of Harvey has just been brought back to me by an autographed photograph and pen drawing signed by James Stewart of Harvey the 6’ 3” invisible white rabbit which has just sold at Toovey’s in the specialist paper collectables auction for £200. I love that Harvey always wears a bowtie!

The idea for the movie was taken from the 1944/45 Pulitzer Prize winning drama and stage play by Mary Chase. The story centres on the endlessly pleasant Elwood P. Dowd played by James Stewart, and his relationship with a large invisible white rabbit, a Celtic púca, called Harvey. Harvey is Elwood’s best friend and together they often frequent Charlie’s Bar. Elwood lives with his sister Veta and her daughter Myrtle Mae. His relationship with Harvey causes them great embarrassment in front of their friends. With the help of their friend Judge Gaffney Veta and Myrtle Mae plan to have Elwood committed at the local sanitorium. But Veta admits to seeing Harvey herself and is incarcerated whilst Elwood walks free. She is released only for Dr Chumley, the psychiatrist, to encounter and go off with Harvey. A hue and cry ensues. Eventually Elwood is taken back to the sanitorium and is about to be administered with a powerful serum Formula 977 so that he will never see Harvey again. The cab driver saves Elwood from this fate when he demands payment for the ride immediately telling Vita that the serum turns people into everyday unpleasant folk and she rushes in to stop the procedure.

A pen and ink sketch of Harvey signed by James Stewart

Myrtle Mae falls for one of the male nurses. Aided by the charm and kindness of Elwood Dr Sanderson (who has been sacked for earlier releasing Elwood) finds the courage to express his love for the nurse, Miss Kelly. Harvey decides he prefers Elwood’s company rather than Dr Chumley’s and the pair are reunited.

Speaking to Dr Chumley at the sanitorium towards the end of the film Elwood P. Dowd remarks “My Mother used to say to me, she would say, in this world Elwood you must be oh so smart or oh so pleasant. Well for years I was smart – I would recommend pleasant, and you may quote me.”

Celebrating 40 Years as an Auctioneer in Sussex

Rupert Toovey fundraising for the Sussex Heritage Trust and the Chichester Community Development Trust at Graylingwell Chapel

As the year begins to draw to a close I have been reflecting on how blessed I am to be have been called to serve people as an auctioneer for 40 years.

The stories of our lives are so often told through the art and objects that accompany us and it is the sharing of these stories, stories of both joys and sorrows, which bind us together with others. The objects are prompts to fond memory reflecting the patchwork quilt of our lives. I am invited to view and value collections across our beautiful county for probate, insurance and sale. I and my colleagues at Toovey’s often accompany people at profound moments of change, they may have lost someone dear to them or are moving, downsizing. Helping people to discern what objects are important in their lives and what should not be sold is vital before advising on what may be released to auction. Another of the great privileges of my life is being invited to support our county’s communities and charities by giving talks and supporting our extraordinary charities and organisations with fund raising events and auctions. There is so much to celebrate in Sussex.

Rupert Toovey visiting clients Amberley, Sussex

It was my homegrown hero Grandpa who first suggested that I should consider being an actor, an auctioneer or a vicar. In response to this advice I remember replying “What’s an auctioneer?” And with that we grabbed our hats and coats and walked briskly out into a cool October afternoon. Our footsteps echoed against the old brick walls as we walked down the Morph and into Horsham’s Causeway turning right towards the Old Town Hall dodging the traffic in the Carfax. Up a twitten behind the newsagent the warm glow of the lights from a small office spilled into the courtyard and beyond a huge wooden pea green door hung on runners at the very top of the building greeted us. We swung on the personnel door which had swollen in the rain. It burst open to reveal a tall room filled with people. Above the crowd Jack Ash called the bidding “Two-twenty, twenty, twenty, at two hundred and twenty – selling” followed by the crack of the gavel on the old oak Rostrum. The ritual of the auction continued at pace as the porters cried “Showing here sir!” before each lot. Wonderful people, the theatre of the sale day and a room filled with beautiful things I was captivated, and I still am.