Rupert Toovey’s Articles – Page 90

The Scottish Highlands & Royal Worcester

A detail from a potpourri vase painted with highland cattle by John Stinton

From the early 20th century the Royal Worcester porcelain factory produced hand painted porcelain of the finest quality.

The factory brought together many of the country’s leading painters on porcelain. Flowers, fruit, birds and landscapes were painted in exquisite detail. The work that was produced is gifted with a luminosity by the coloured enamels and porcelain. The three dimensional quality of the objects informs and contributes to the richness and life of this art. They were, and remain, highly prized by collectors.

The Scottish Highland scenes are amongst the most sought after of all the Royal Worcester subjects.

A fine pair of Royal Worcester porcelain two handled vases and covers, circa 1903, painted and signed by John Stinton

Royal Worcester acquired the Grainger factory in 1902 and with it the remarkable Stinton family of porcelain painters. John Stinton junior and son Harry painted highland cattle studies, whilst John’s brother, James, concentrated on game birds. They worked alongside Harry Davis and numerous other painters. The Stintons mixed oil of cloves with their paints to stop them drying too quickly. The smell was often remarked upon by colleagues working at the factory!

John Sinton junior did not begin painting on porcelain until he was thirty-five. He followed in the footsteps of his grandfather, Henry, and his father, John. He painted scenes with English and highland cattle, as well as castles and historic buildings. The bodies of the magnificent pair of Royal Worcester vases and covers depict cattle at a water’s edge. It is characteristic of his work that the lower legs of the cattle are hidden from view by water and grass. Dating from 1903 the landscapes are as finely painted as the cattle. They sold in a Toovey’s specialist auction for £5000.

A Royal Worcester porcelain two handled vase, circa 1913, painted and signed by Harry Stinton

The detail of the two highland cattle shown here was also painted by John Stinton. It is taken from a potpourri vase which sold at Toovey’s for £3200. It displays the luminosity of these pieces. The scene is alive, the cows’ eyes glint and the grass appears to move in a highland breeze.

Harry Davis painted a wide variety of subjects including highland landscapes with sheep. He has been described as perhaps the finest ceramic painter of the 20th century. His exceptional natural ability and remarkable individuality can be seen in the small jewel-like potpourri jar and cover which he painted in 1912. The sheep are brought into focus by the marvellous depiction of mist and light on the hills beyond. It realised £1100 at Toovey’s

Harry Stinton was great friends with Harry Davis. Harry Stinton produced highland cattle scenes. His work can be differentiated from his father’s by the purples and autumnal tints in his palette. These can be seen in the study of two highland cattle in a landscape which he painted on the two handled vase in 1913. His work is also highly valued by collectors and it sold at Toovey’s for £1200.

A Royal Worcester porcelain potpourri jar and cover, circa 1912, painted and signed by Harry Davis

Neither John nor Harry Stinton ever visited Scotland. They worked from their imaginations and postcards. For many of us, like John and Harry, our understanding of Scotland is to a large degree informed by the paintings and writings based around the landscape and culture of the Highlands. It was Queen Victoria who placed the royal seal of approval on Scotland. Inspired by the writing of Walter Scott she built her castle at Balmoral which delighted her and Prince Albert. Balmoral and the Scottish Highlands continue to delight our Royal family to this day.

The Act of Union of 1707 brought Scotland and England together to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain. There was a desire amongst Scots to uphold their cultural distinctiveness and preserve what was unique and separate about Scotland. During Victoria’s reign our understanding of Scottish identity became romantically bound up with the Highlands. Indeed, this highland myth came to express the very spirit of the Scottish nation.

Our romantic attachment to Scotland endures to the present day which in part explains the delight we take in this porcelain. But in an age of mass production these individual and unique paintings on porcelain unite us not just with their subjects but also with these exceptionally gifted artists. Toovey’s porcelain specialist, Tom Rowsell, is passionate about these pieces and can be contacted at auctions@tooveys.com if you would like his advice.

By Revd. Rupert Toovey. Originally published on 2nd September 2015 in the West Sussex Gazette.

Chinese Jade Prized more Highly than Gold

An 18th century Chinese carved jade table screen, auctioned by Toovey’s for £120,000

The Chinese have always prized jade more highly than gold. This hard translucent stone has, over the centuries, been worked into decorative and ritual objects, as well as ceremonial weapons.

Jade was worn by kings and nobles in life and was buried with them, affording the material a high status and associations with immortality. Later it was the exquisite objects fashioned from this remarkable stone which continued to be highly prized, connecting the Ming and the Qing periods with earlier times.

A Chinese Imperial quality jade archer’s ring, Qing dynasty, sold at Toovey’s for £40,000

The English translated the Chinese word ju as jade. Our interpretation of jade is narrower than that of the Chinese including only nephrite and jadeite. Nephrite is typically white in colour. However, the presence of copper, chromium and iron can gift it with colours ranging from subtle grey-greens to brilliant yellows and reds. Jadeite has an even broader spectrum of colours and was notably employed from the 18th century.

It was an extraordinary moment when I discovered the exquisite small jade table screen in a modest flat in Richmond. It realized £120,000 in a Toovey’s specialist Chinese and Asian Art Sale, selling to a Chinese connoisseur. The 18th century panel is delicately carved with a shoreside scene. It portrays a meeting of scholars. In the corner you see nine beautiful lines of calligraphic text. On the reverse is a scene depicting a figure in a garden hut; six further figures sit beside a stream flowing from a waterfall. Jade workshops created pictures on jade, often following the themes and conventions of Chinese painting. Chinese depictions of nature are seldom just representations of the landscape. Rather, they reflect the artist’s spiritual, emotional and intellectual reaction to the natural world. It is a tradition which connects the artist with their ancient civilisation.

An 18th century Chinese pale celadon jade lotus bowl and a cover, sold at Toovey’s for £52,000

The 18th century Chinese pale celadon jade lotus bowl’s decoration reflects the influence of Buddhism. The lotus flower, upon which the form of this bowl is modelled, represents purity and enlightenment. Repeated lotus flowers also decorate the lid. The body has a frieze of petals each containing one of Buddhism’s eight emblems, including the Dharma Wheel. The wheel symbolises the auspicious qualities of the turning of the Buddha’s teachings, in all realms and at all times, enabling beings to experience the joy of servanthood and liberation. The bowl and cover was auctioned at Toovey’s for £52,000.

An 18th century Chinese archaistic jade libation vessel and cover, sold at Toovey’s for £70,000

The term libation refers to the ritual pouring of a liquid as an offering to a god or a spirit. The Chinese traditionally poured rice wine or tea left to right in front of an altar as an offering to their gods in honour of the deceased. The Chinese archaistic jade libation vessel once again dates from the 18th century. The sides are finely carved with stylized birds against clouds whilst the handle is entwined by a dragon. This ritual object was sold at Toovey’s for £70,000.

The ceremonial Chinese Imperial quality jade archer’s ring dates from the Qing dynasty. It is carved in the form of a horse’s hoof and finely incised with an eight line text. The characters are heightened with gilding. It realised £40,000 at Toovey’s.

The Chinese and Asian Art Department at Toovey’s has been established for twenty years. Over all these years the Antiques Roadshow specialist, Lars Tharp, has worked closely with Toovey’s resident specialist, Tom Rowsell. Toovey’s particular success has been to connect its selling clients directly with wealthy Chinese mainland collectors who, like their forebears, value jade more highly than gold. Tom and Lars are always pleased to discuss the acquisition or sale of Chinese and Asian Art. They can be contacted by telephoning 01903 891955.

By Revd. Rupert Toovey. Originally published on 26th August 2015 in the West Sussex Gazette.

Battle of Britain Concert in Steyning

Tickets have just gone on sale for a world class concert which is to be held on Battle of Britain Sunday, 20th September 2015, at Steyning Parish Church. The Steyning Battle of Britain Memorial Concert brings together an extraordinary group of international musicians.

Amongst these is the soprano Sophie Bevan. She is at the forefront of a remarkable new generation of British singers. Sophie is no stranger to followers of the English National Opera and Glyndebourne festival with numerous leading roles. Together with her sister Mary Bevan we are delighted to be welcoming them at Steyning.

Andrew Bernardi and the late Jon Lord of Deep Purple

Seventy-five years ago during the summer and autumn of 1940 the Battle of Britain was fought over the skies of Sussex and the South East of England. Civilisation and righteousness hung in the balance as our courageous young airmen took to the skies to defend our principles and freedoms. Winston Churchill famously remarked that “The gratitude of every home in our Island…goes out to the British airmen who, undaunted by odds, unwearied in their constant challenge and mortal danger, are turning the tide of the World War by their prowess and by their devotion. Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.” I too have shared that great sense of gratitude.

Through my childhood and professional life, both as auctioneer and priest, it has been my privilege to accompany the war time generation who largely remained open hearted and hopeful about the world, with a generosity inspired by their common experience.

Following on from the great successes of this year’s Shipley Arts Festival, Andrew Bernardi and myself decided to organise a Battle of Britain Memorial Concert at Steyning Parish Church, where I serve, to honour the men and women of the RAF. Soloists including: Sophie Bevan (soprano), Mary Bevan (soprano), Andrew Bernardi (violin), Graham Salter (oboe), Bruce Martin (flute), together with the Bernardi Music Group and the Choir of Our Most Holy Redeemer, Chelsea, will be conducted by David Bevan. The concert builds on Steyning Parish Church’s strong musical tradition.

The program begins with J.S. Bach’s Orchestral Suite no.2 in B minor BWV 1067 and Concerto for Violin and Oboe in D minor BWV 1060. An interval with Pimm’s will be followed by extracts from Mozart’s Mass in C minor.

Mozart’s Mass in C minor K427 is generally regarded as one of his greatest choral works. He began it in celebration of his marriage but the piece was never completed. The Mass took Mozart’s unpredictable genius to new heights and is one of the most extraordinary pieces of sacred music ever written. It seems fitting that these pieces should be played in memory of and to honour all those who fought to save our island nation.

The concert will conclude with a world premiere performance of ‘To Notice Such Things’ by the late Jon Lord, formerly of Deep Purple.

Sponsored by Toovey’s and Spofforths, The Steyning Battle of Britain Concert will be held at 5.00pm on Battle of Britain Sunday, 20th September 2015, at Steyning Parish Church. Tickets priced at just £18.00 are on sale now through the Capitol Theatre Box Office. Go to www.thecapitolhorsham.com/whats-on/allshows/the-steyning-battle-of-britain-memorial-concert or telephone 01403 750220.

By Revd. Rupert Toovey. Originally published on 19th August 2015 in the West Sussex Gazette.

The Vintage and Steam Fair

“You can really imagine that you’ve stepped back in time at the Vintage and Steam Fair”

Stepping back into an earlier age at The Weald & Downland Open Air Museum

This weekend I shall be heading to the Weald & Downland Open Air Museum’s annual Vintage and Steam fair. The museum’s collection of traditional buildings, set in the rural landscape of the South Downs National Park, will be brought to life by traction engines, vintage vehicles, a fairground and stalls. You can really imagine that you’ve stepped back in time with sights reminiscent of the 1930s and even earlier!

I love the scene depicted here with the gallopers roundabout powered by a Fowler Showman’s steam engine in the centre of a small traditional vintage fairground. It is a combination which always delights the senses; the sound and smell of steam and pistons, the colour and movement of the horses.

“Steer a steam engine” in the Events Field Arena

At the heart of the museum’s work are some fifty buildings of national and international importance. They have been saved from demolition and neglect from across the South of England and reconstructed in this beautiful landscape at the heart of the South Downs National Park. Amongst my favourites is the medieval shop saved from Middle Street in Horsham which is thought to date from the 15th century. It was dismantled in 1967 to make way for redevelopment and the timbers given to the museum. After much research it was reconstructed in its current form copying a surviving shop front of similar date at Lingfield. Shops became increasingly common from the 14th century onwards. Goods were sold across the open counters like market stalls. Most of the buildings are open for visitors to go in and discover what it was like to live and work in them.

As you walk through the square and around the museum’s rural landscape you will discover traction engines working, local crafts, vintage music, a narrow gauge steam engine to ride on and very importantly a themed tea tent – something for all the family to enjoy!

In the Events Field Arena there will be displays to enjoy including the St Giles horse drawn steam fire engine and the popular “steer a steam engine” shown here.

On Sunday the Jaguar Enthusiasts’ Club from Portsmouth will add their regional annual meeting to the show, displaying marvellous cars from this fine British marque alongside other vintage cars, commercial and military vehicles.

It occurs to me that we are all at least seventy years older than our years because the memories that an older generation shares with us seem real to us. Having lived in Sussex all my life I have listened to tales of traction engines at work in the fields, with teams of people and horses at harvest time, and of steam driven fairs. The stories have been told to me in the warm Sussex accent of an older generation which is sadly now fading. Their memories seem real to me in my imagination. It is as though they are my own. The wonderful work of the Weald & Downland Museum allows us all to inhabit and experience bygone ages. You cannot fail to be excited and learn about our social history, the common story which unites us, here in Sussex.

Visitors to the Vintage & Steam show will enjoy all the bustle and excitement of this traditional Steam Festival. It is being held at the Weald & Downland Open Air Museum, Singleton, near Chichester, West Sussex, PO18 0E, on Saturday 15th and Sunday 16th August, between 10.30am and 5.00pm. For more information go to www.wealddown.co.uk or telephone 01243 811348. Tickets are available on the gate – I hope to see you there!

By Revd. Rupert Toovey. Originally published on 12th August 2015 in the West Sussex Gazette.

Sickert Unites Sussex with Dieppe

Walter Sickert, ‘L’Hôtel Royal, Dieppe’, 1894, oil on canvas, Museums Sheffield

This week I am once again at the Pallant House Gallery in Chichester for ‘Sickert in Dieppe’ which runs until 4th October 2015. This exemplary exhibition explores the formational relationship that Walter Sickert (1860-1942) had with the French seaside resort of Dieppe.

Walter Sickert was a leading and influential figure in the Modern British Art Movement. The exhibition is the inspiration of Pallant House Gallery Curator, Katy Norris. In her introduction to ‘Sickert in Dieppe’ she writes ‘Walter Sickert’s enduring fascination with the popular Normandy resort of Dieppe represents a remarkable aspect of his career.’

Pallant House exhibition curator, Katy Norris, at the opening of ‘Sickert in Dieppe’

For me this is a relevant and contemporary exhibition. Although Sickert’s paintings show us the life and scenes of Dieppe some hundred years ago, the vibrant seaside town he depicts is still recognizable to us today. We can feel the heat and shade of his pictures and pick out many of the same landmarks. The ambient sounds and life of the town that he captures speak to us across the years.

From his childhood, and for more than forty years, Sickert would return to Dieppe. The exhibition highlights the formative influence this vibrant seaside town had on the artist, and the extraordinary breadth of subjects he engaged with. He would produce a comprehensive topographical account of the town, its people and its environs.

Walter Sickert, ‘L’ Walter Sickert, L'Armoire à Glace’, 1921-4; dated 1924, oil on canvas, Tate: Purchased 1941, Image courtesy Tate, London 2015

The work chosen for this show illustrates how Sickert’s work was influenced by his acquaintance with the French artist Edgar Degas and his closeness to Impressionist painters such as Claude Monet and Camille Pissarro.

Encouraged by Degas Sickert started to emphasise what Katy Norris characterizes as ‘the everyday realism of his subjects…his paintings became more representational, based upon rigorously planned squared-up drawings and featuring strongly delineated architectural patterns.’ Influenced by Degas’ work Sickert broadened his range of subject matter to include the race course and circus scenes. The latter provided the forerunners to paintings like ‘Brighton Pierrots’ and his London music hall scenes.

Painted in 1894, ‘L’Hotel Royal, Dieppe’ depicts what appears to be a public festival. The tricolour flags flutter in the coastal breeze. The figures and sea front hotel are depicted beneath the dramatic sky, turned purple by the light of the setting sun.

Walter Sickert, ‘The Façade of St Jacques, Dieppe’, 1902, oil on canvas, Private collection, image courtesy of The Fine Art Society

Sickert left his first wife Ellen Cobden and settled with the local fisherwoman, Augustine Villain, in the suburb of Neuville. From here the narrow roads of the fishing community linked the Arcades de la Poissonnerie with the harbour and prosperous parts of Dieppe. These adjacent and contrasting architectural spaces fascinated Sickert. Take for example ‘The Façade of St Jacques’ painted in 1902. The bright palette and thickly worked paint shows some of the characteristic of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist painting but, unlike them, he did not work ‘en plein air’.

In 1912 Sickert married Christine Angus Drummond. They made their home at the Villa d’Aumale in the valley of Eaulne, just ten miles from Dieppe. Katy points out that it was during this period that the artist developed his particular method of ‘applying the pigment in a patchwork of flattened layers of colour’.

Sickert was cut off from Dieppe by the advent of the First World War.

In the October of 1920 Christine lost her battle with tuberculosis and died. Sickert was overwhelmed by grief. In 1921 he took a flat on the seafront at Dieppe. There he painted a series of pictures that he described as ‘figure subjects’. He posed different models in a poorly lit bedroom in his flat. There is a voyeuristic quality to ‘L’Armoire à Glace’ afforded by the composition. Separated by the doorway there is a lack of compassion and empathy between the artist and sitter. It has been suggested that a sexual under-current is implied by the empty bed reflected in the mirrored door of the wardrobe as though from a scene in a brothel.

Sickert visited Brighton in 1913 where he made a speech at the opening of the important ‘English Post-Impressionists, Cubists and Others’ exhibition. Arranged by the Camden Town Group, it included work by him and many of the nation’s leading artists. He visited Brighton in 1914 with his wife and painted ‘Brighton Pierrots’ in 1915. It seems appropriate, therefore, that ‘Sickert in Dieppe’ should be in Sussex at the Pallant House Gallery, 9 North Pallant, Chichester, PO19 1TJ, until 4th October 2015. For more information on ‘Sickert in Dieppe’ and the gallery’s current exhibition program go to www.pallant.org.uk or telephone 01243 774557.

It is wonderful to see Katy Norris’ insight and assured vision expressed throughout this beautiful exhibition. I am proud that Toovey’s is among the headline sponsors of this insightful, relevant and contemporary exhibition. It should certainly be on your must see list this summer!

By Revd. Rupert Toovey. Originally published on 5th August 2015 in the West Sussex Gazette.