TRENDSPOTTER - The 5 Elizabethan antiques it would be a crime to overlook

The Elizabethan era was the Golden Age of English history. The English renaissance was flourishing, William Shakespeare wrote his first play between 1591-92 , Francis Drake was off on epic adventures and England defeated the Spanish Armada. It is now the furniture and decorative effects which perfectly capture the zeitgeist of that period.

While Elizabethan antiques carry an ubiquitous value simply because of their age, there is something incredible about these early English specimens which are not as rare to the auction room as some might think.

Here, we look at the Elizabethan antiques which can crop up at auction and the importance of them for any English history-centred collection or interior.

Needlework or passementerie

Needlework or passementerie which is decorative ornaments with tassels, fringes and braids was part and parcel of the Elizabethan period.

Traditionally this was always a very academic collecting field, bought by the most astute collectors and dealers, with prices really hitting their peak in the nineties. Whilst values took a dip in recent years, the market seems to have found a new appreciation for these incredibly intricate works. Values have always been high for the best in class of these pieces, particularly as they are prone to sun damage and decay, and the number of really fabulous examples still in existence is on the decline. As the availability falls away, and interior tastes turn to the more traditional, prices are rising and have certainly remained more robust than many other antiques.

There’s been an uptick in the framing of textiles and using these in interiors, and stumpwork or passementerie items could be seen as the best in class of these examples. A far cry from the standard samplers still common in children’s bedrooms, these works have the charming naivety which attracts both academic collectors and also fans of folk art.

An example of this is an Elizabethan passementerie draw-string purse or sweet bag, circa 1590, which is being sold at The Fine Sale later this month. It has come from a Norfolk country house collection and has been hand stitched with gold thread panels depicting angels holding flaming hearts. This charming piece is a rarity to the market and could make up to £1,800, however there are more affordable versions of Elizabethan needlework which often crop up at auction.  

View it in the catalogue here

Early English portraits

Early portraits have seen consistent price rises at auction in recent years and continue to be some of the most sought-after works at our regular Fine Sales. With a number of specialist dealers and collectors solely in the portraiture market there is also a healthy number of private buyers in search of portraits either to be in keeping with traditional country house interior design schemes or to offset modern homes with something truly traditional. Prices for Elizabethan portraits tend to vary from the low thousands to a hundreds of thousands for a portrait miniature by Hilliard. Values are affected by provenance and condition, and also the sitter can really help to add value. One of the most exciting things about Elizabethan and early English portraits is trying to identify a sitter – something which our specialist paintings department spend much time doing. At the time, portraits were used to project power and authority, they were gifted between nations to secure allegiances and communicate ambitions.

For would-be collectors of Elizabethan portraiture, it is important to keep an eye out for sales among regional auction houses. A good example of early portraiture would be the portrait of Sir Thomas Evelyn of Long Ditton by Robert Peake the Elder, which dates from the Elizabethan era and has an estimate of £5,000 - £8,000. Similarly, we have a portrait of a lady by Dutch artist Cornelius Johnson which shows typical Elizabethan fashion. You can view the portraits available at the sale here.

Tableware

The most common of Elizabethan tableware to be found at auction is tankards. These drinking vessels are most famously recognised as being silver-gilt mounted ‘tigerware’ jugs with stoneware bodies with embossed silver lids or straps. These were symbols of high status and wealth during the period. Naturally, due to their breakable nature, there aren’t a huge amount of these left in existence, however, when they do come up they never fail to capture imaginations of epic Tudor banquets where people would be judged by the quality of their tankard.

A good example of this is a salt-glazed tigerware jug from 1575 by Christopher Tannor, a well-known Elizabethan silversmith who lived in Norwich. This lovely version, despite only being 19cm high, is wonderfully detailed and could make up to £5,000. It is listed in the catalogue here.

Four poster beds

While four poster beds were around in the Tudor period, it was during the Elizabethan times that they really became an art form in themselves. This period saw a growth in the carvings and ornamentation of furniture, and a move away from heavy work and more use of walnut. Beds were intricately varved and created not only for their looks but also to accommodate the new down filled mattresses which replaced the scratchy straw ones from the previous period. True original Elizabethan examples are very hard to come by, however the 17^th century Jacobean carved oak tester beds can be more common and easily used to recreate an Elizabethan feel.

There is a four poster bed available at The Fine Sale, view it here. While this is not an Elizabethan example, it is of good quality and could offer a similar look.

To view the full catalogue for The Fine Sale, visit: https://fineart.cheffins.co.uk/auction/details/f170926-the-fine-sale/?au=2081