On 7th and 8th December, Cheffins will offer the collection of the late architect Lionel Stirgiss as part of the Fine Sale.
One of the highlights of the collection is lot 507, a marble sculpture of a sleeping nymph by renowned sculptor, Edward Hodges Baily, from 1840. The sculpture, which is carved in marble and incised ‘E H Baily, R.A / Sculp. London / 1840’ is set to sell for between £15,000 and £25,000. This is an earlier version of the sculpture by Baily known as ‘The Sleeping Girl’ dated 1850 which is in the Bristol Museum. Edward Hodges Baily was one of the leading British sculptors of the 19th century and is best known for his sandstone carving of Lord Nelson that sits atop the fifty-metre-tall granite column designed by William Railton on Trafalgar Square, London. The sculpture on offer at Cheffins was acquired by Lionel Stirgiss at Sotheby’s circa 1960.
Lot 507, Sleeping Nymph by Edward Hodges Baily
Another item of note from the collection is lot 595, a carved marble Ionic capital, which was removed from Regal Lodge, Kentford, formerly the country house of actress and socialite, Lillie Langtry, which has an estimate of £4,000 - £6,000. Regal Lodge was first built about 1850 for a horse trainer George Alexander Baird (1861-1893). Having been closely involved with Baird, Langtry decided to acquire the house as her country residence and purchased it in October 1895 for £1550. She called her new home Regal Lodge in reference to her well-known liaison with the Prince of Wales (later Edward VII). The main drawing room was designed by Langtry as a theatre in which she could entertain her many high society guests, such as Lord Rothschild, the Sassoons and Prince Louis of Battenburg among others. She stayed at Regal Lodge for 25 years and from there she also ran her successful horse racing stables. In 1920, she sold the house to Major Grigg and went to live in Monte Carlo where she died in 1929.
Lot 595, Ionic capital from Regal Lodge, Kentford
Also available as part of the collection is a marble bust of Emperor Lucius Verus, from the 18th or 19th century; an Old Master painting by Netherlandish School, dating from circa 1680 depicting and allegory of the spoils of war, which has an estimate of £5,000 - £8,000; an Italo-Flemish landscape from circa 1700 and a watercolour of a ceiling design by German hand, circa 1892.
For further information, please contact the Cheffins Fine Art department on fine.art@cheffins.co.uk or t: 01223 213343