Reeman Dansie are excited to announce a new saleroom record, with a bronze sculpture of Mercury selling for just shy of £700,000 in our Fine Art & Antiques sale on Tuesday.
The figure came with good provenance, having previously belonged to Harold Morman Strickland Taylor, Headmaster of Cheam School, Berkshire, the prep school of the Royal Family.
Although tentatively described as a Grand Tour piece, the elegant composition - Mercury shown in full flight, balancing only on the toes of one foot - was evidently redolent to more than one bidder of Italian Mannerist sculpture of the 16th and 17th centuries, leading to a 15-minute battle between bidders in the room and on the telephone.
The extraordinary price achieved reflects the continued growth of Reeman Dansie over its 140-year history: from a small regional auction house with a local audience to one with a global outlook and international reputation.
Reeman Dansie is delighted to include a beautiful collection of clothing in relation to the Gillman/Rube family in our forthcoming Specialist Collectors' Sale (11-13 August).
Lot 2507 in our Specialist Collectors' Sale (11-13 August) includes a rare Edwardian lady's motoring veil and petticoat, complete with the delightfully practical handwritten note.
