MUNNINGS, MONTGOMERY, LOWESTOFT PORCELAIN AND RARE WHISKY – ALL GOING UNDER THE HAMMER IN NORFOLK AUCTION ROOM

A previously unseen Munnings sketch painting, a pair of extremely rare white glazed Lowestoft porcelain figures, a rare bottle of whisky valued at nearly £1,000, and a ‘Desert Rats’ troop order signed by Montgomery are among the lots going under the hammer at a special three day sale at Keys Fine Art Auctioneers in Aylsham next week.

Over 1,800 lots comprising ceramics, pictures, books, jewellery, furniture, militaria, and wines and spirits will be auctioned during Keys’ Three Day Fine Sale from Tuesday 18^th to Thursday 20^th June.

Highlights include:

• A sketch painting by Alfred Munnings which has never before been seen publicly.  The sketch is of Yvonne Adams, daughter of the London art dealer Alfred Gates, who knew Munnings personally.  Believed to have been painted in the late 1940s, the work gives a fascinating insight into the way that Munnings would sketch prior to painting a full work.  It is worked in oil on a panel, and includes sketches of Yvonne Adams from several different perspectives.  The work has been authenticated by experts at the Munnings Museum, and has a pre-sale estimate of £15,000-£20,000.
• A printed message to troops of the ‘Desert Rats’ from Field Marshall Viscount Montgomery – and signed by him – dating from the Tripoli offensive of 1943.  Including the words ‘On To Tripoli’, the message dates from 12^th January 1943, just 11 days before the British Eighth Army entered the city.  The paper has a pre-sale estimate of £600-£800.
• Two extremely rare Lowestoft porcelain figures, believed to date from around 1770 – the first such figures to come onto the market for more than 30 years.  The lot has a pre-sale estimate of £4,000-£6,000.  Also up for auction is an extensive collection of nearly 100 lots of polychrome Lowestoft porcelain.
• A rare bottle of MacAllan Anniversary 25 year old malt, one of the most sought-after Scotch whiskies amongst collectors.  The bottle has a pre-sale estimate of £700-£900.

“This is an important and wide-ranging sale which will once again see the eyes of the fine art and antiques world focussed on Norfolk,” said Kevin Lines, general manager at Keys Fine Art Auctioneers.

“With Keys’ growing reputation, and the increasing role of online bidding in the auction room, we are seeing more and more items being consigned here in Norfolk which might once upon a time have only been seen in London salerooms.  Collectors, dealers and experts now recognise that here in Norfolk we have one of the country’s leading regional auction houses.”

Keys’ Three Day Fine Sale runs from Tuesday 18^th to Thursday 20^th July at its Aylsham salerooms.  Viewing is on Saturday 15^th July from 9am-1pm, Monday 17^th July from 9am-7.30pm, and on each day of the sale from 9am.  Full details of every lot, and a downloadable catalogue, can be found at www.keysauctions.co.uk.