Incredibly rare medal thrills auctioneers Tayler and Fletcher

“The rarest medal I have ever had the privilege to offer up and sell” said Martin Lambert fine art auctioneer with Tayler and Fletcher based in Bourton-on-the-Water.

The comment was as regards lot 260, as it turned out an extremely rare early 19th century naval silver general service medal awarded to George Augustus Schultz Lieut. R.N.

The rarity came in the form of the clasp that the medal bore “Nassau 22 March 1808”. 

Originally commissioned in 1775, the Holsteen was a 60 gun ship of the line in the Royal Dano-Norwegan Navy and was captured by the British Royal Navy in the Battle at Copenhagen Rhodes on April 2 1801 and subsequently renamed HMS Holsteen and then HMS Nassau.

On April 12 1801, the British sent Holsteen back to Britain as she was the only one of the ships of the line that the British chose to keep and between March and September 1805, Perry and Co, Blackwell repaired her at a cost of £22,022 and she was renamed Nassau and commissioned in September under captain Robert Campbell for the North Sea.

The fascinating history that ensued with this vessel is certainly worth reading and researching and it is fair to say that she saw more than her fair share of action and was involved in the capture of a number of hostile ships, one such event being on March 22, 1808 when the Nassau and the 64 gun Stately destroyed the last Danish ship of the line ‘Prins Christian Frederik’ at Grenaa, of the East Jutland coast in the battle at Zealand Point.

The battle cost Nassau one man killed, one man missing and sixteen men wounded.

In 1847, the admiralty awarded the naval general service medal with clasps “Stately 22 March 1808” and “Nassau 22 March 1808”, to any still surviving crew members of those vessels that chose to claim them.

It is recorded as a statement of fact on the medal roll that only 31 men claimed the medal with the Nassau 22 March 1808 clasp.

Considering the extremely small number issued originally 170 years ago and the undoubted fact that some would have been melted down, traded or simply lost, by a process of deduction it can be surmised that only a handful of these medals are actually still extant with the Nassau clasp.

Bidding in the room started hesitantly as a bank of no less than five telephones awaited in the wings to compete for the prize, sadly though, all of the telephone bidders and assembled bidders were disappointed as the live global internet bidding screen flashed yet one further bid to top any bids that the auctioneer already had and this culminated in the magnificent final hammer price of no less than £17,000 tendered by a major London medal dealer, no doubt realising the extreme rarity of the item offered.

Unsurprisingly enough, the vendor was exceptionally happy with the result and the auctioneer commented that it was more than amusing to watch his face suddenly change, as he was present in the room watching it sell, as the bidding rose and continued to rise, the £17,000 hammer price tendered was the highest price for the day.

Other sections also did very well and notable examples here came from within the paintings and prints section.

Lot 327 a large and striking abstract figural study (Gouache on paper with gold leaf) was by a highly regarded and respected well know artist Dia Al-Azzawi (Iraqi. b 1939), the singular work was signed and dated lower right 1983 and framed and glazed was also annotated verso ‘No. 25’.

Several specialist interested parties expressed their intent to buy the work before the sale and one of their number (a gallery based in Dubai) was very happy to have the gavel finally fall at £8,000. The work will soon be making its way back once again towards the Middle East.

A little closer to home, a fine pair of gilt framed oil on canvas studies by noted British artist Henry Scott (1911 - 2005) were enough to cause significant pre-sale interest and together with the prized McConnell Mason and Son (London) paper gallery label verso, each was destined to find a new owner and so it proved thus when the first of these “The Night Watch” was offered and achieved a very respectable £1,800 hammer price and the next lot entitled “Crossing The Line”, a companion picture, sailing away at £2,200.

Part of the main ceramic section was a late 19th century Doulton stoneware vase collection that had come fresh to the market via a private vendor who spent no less than 30 years amassing this fine and enviable collection.

Bidders from all around the country (and from other countries also on the global live internet bidding console) were prevalent in pushing up prices accordingly and although it is true to say and has been noted that prices here have fallen in recent years, the top price of £1,300 given for a fine pair of late 19th century Doulton Lambeth stoneware vases Sgraffito incised with children in a field playing with lambs and sheep with the highly prized decorators mark of Hannah Barlow led the way here and consequently many other high prices were also achieved, including the £550 given for a beautiful vase of baluster form finely decorated with song birds perched upon branches of an olive tree, (monogrammed possible for Florence E Barlow). 

The rise of Chinese silver, ceramics and jades has been well documented and highlighted of late and it can have escaped no auctioneers attention that good pieces from China are quite literally flying off the shelf price-wise as opposed to comparable Japanese and other South East Asian wares. 

One example in question was a late 19th/early 20th century Chinese baluster shaped silver vase by noted silversmith Wang Hing. 

Very finely modelled, the waisted neck led down to a key fret band and two finely modelled lion mask and rink handles complemented this striking piece.

Despite the fact that during its 100+ year life it had sustained a small drill hole to the base (evidently as a drain hole for water), the vase was vigorously contested resulting in a final hammer price of £1,000, selling once again to the live internet bidding.

It was fair to say that jewellery was taken up fairly selectively although lot 108, an 18 carat gold marquis shaped ring set with three large diamonds (approx. 1.3 carats) in a filigree style setting certainly justified inclusion at £1,700. 

Clocks and watches sold well enough and the magic name of Omega certainly ruffled a few feathers when a small collection was offered on sale day, the best of these being a constellation wristwatch with the dial signed ‘Omega Automatic Chronometer’ and within an 18 carat yellow gold case (boxed) selling at £750, just a couple of lots later a Jaeger Le Coultre Atmos clock raised the usual levels of interest culminating in a very respectable £800 final bid. 

The £17,000 given over for the naval general service medal pretty much eclipsed other lots in the sale price-wise but from within a good privately entered collection, many other medals sold well into the hundreds. 

Mirrors and general furniture appeared good value although lot 383 a large and fine regency period gilt framed overmantle looking glass was taken all the way to £850 while figures of £500 each were realised by an 18th century walnut chest on stand requiring restoration and an early 19th century fine quality regency period library bookcase of generous proportions.

Probably the nicest dining table to be offered in these rooms for some time came in the form of lot 480, a large and fine extending mahogany dining table (probably Cuban mahogany) with three extra leaves and an original leaf cabinet.

Interest here took the piece into four figures at £1,200, still very reasonable for a table of this age and quality. 

Already the auctioneers are accepting entries for their final fine art antiques and objets d’art sale of this nature that will take place on October 27 and entry and other further information can be gained directly from the auctioneers at Bourton-on-the-Water.

For further information contact Martin Lambert on 01451 821666, email fineart@taylerandfletcher.co.uk or visit taylerandfletcher.co.uk.