Behind the amiable Farrah, set out in the spacious gallery normally used only for the fine art sales held by Menzies Art Brands (Lawson's parent company), was an array of presentable walnut and mahogany, a smattering of porcelain and ceramics including Meissen, Staffordshire and oriental wares, a large Parthenon-style marble head of a horse (Lot 119 ), affordable pictures and collectables, and a massive mounted bison head.
As well as preparing the offering in Kensington on Sunday, in Sydney's well heeled eastern suburbs, the auctioneer's staff had been busy at the group's Annandale warehouse premises cataloguing a mammoth version of its normal monthly sale. This parallel sale, scheduled for today, ran to almost 1500 lots, including historically interesting material relating to Queensland craftsman the late Elvin Harvey - material which has attracted attention from the Queensland Art Gallery.
Farrah has secured regular access to the Kensington venue for selected material that would normally be somewhat lost in the downmarket Annandale premises under a tin roof. Given Kensington is used only three times a year for Menzies' elite paintings auctions and viewings, Farrah was anxious to utilise the airconditioned venue in its park-like grounds, saying: "This place is empty seven-eighths of the year".
Despite the upmarket buzz, and the fancy bubbly and finger food on offer at the viewing, Farrah is aiming to keep individual prices at his "fine interiors" sales in the region of $5000 to $10,000 per lot. The Parthenon head, (Lot 119 ) a museum replica of the Horse of Selene estimated at $9000, was at the upper level of that, but there was much at more modest prices. A Victorian silver four-piece boxed tea and coffee set (Lot 189 ) that belonged to Sydney suffragette figure Rose Scott carried a lower estimate of $1600 - it would have commanded $5000-plus 30 years ago, as one observer pointed out. Among the furniture was an imposing inlaid oak court cabinet (Lot 308 ) dated 1727 at $3200, and a nice Victorian inlaid burr walnut etagere (Lot 291 ) with brass gallery at $2000. Two framed panels of sketches, photos and autographed material by Australian artist George Washington Lambert (Lot 226 ) carried an estimate of $4,500 and there were a number of other Lambert works on offer.
