TUGHILL HOUSE – A Private Collection from the Cotswolds
When I viewed this sale my first thought was: 
Wow! Wouldn’t I love to furnish my home like this?
The genius behind all this was Stanley Falconer, who was a director of Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler, the legendary London interior decorating company. He bought the house in 1975 and over the years adapted the interiors, including the addition of a study in 1990, to suit his family’s lifestyle. The gardens were also a striking mix of Italianate terraces, parterres inspired by 16th and 17th century designs and a beech walk.
As the lots in the sale show it is a heady, but refined mixture of French and English taste. At Colefax & Fowler, Falconer worked on many projects, including Daylesford and Sudeley Castle as well as the State Rooms at Liverpool Town Hall. The way he furnished his own home is a perfect reflection of the sense of style for which Colefax & Fowler are renowned, and to which he was a very active contributor.
A Small Selection of Lots:
Lot 23
A COLLECTION OF FIVE FRUITWOOD TEA CADDIES
PROBABLY ENGLISH, 19TH CENTURY
Comprising: a George III apple-shaped caddy with later red-painted interior, two later pear-shaped caddies with hinged covers and two further with lift-off covers
9 in. (23 cm.) and smaller (5)
Estimate: £800 – 1,200
Lot 156
A LOUIS XV WALNUT BERGERE
MID-18TH CENTURY
Of generous proportions, upholstered in ‘Toile de Riom’ printed fabric by Colefax and Fowler
Estimate: £1,200 – 1,800
Lot 114
A LOUIS XV WALNUT LIT EN BATEAU
18TH CENTURY
Upholstered in ‘toile de Vence’ printed cotton by Colefax and Fowler
35 in. (88.9 cm.) high; 75 in. (190.5 cm.) wide; 43 in. (109.2 cm.) deep
Literature: For a similarly upholstered lit en bateau, see Chester Jones, Colefax & Fowler: The Best in English Interior Decoration, London, 1998, p. 104.
Estimate: £1,500 – 2,500
Lot 54
NINE PORCELAIN AND POTTERY MODELS OF PUG DOGS
CIRCA 1755-1890, INCLUDING MILTON AND DERBY, IMPRESSED AND PAINTED MARKS
Comprising: a Derby example seated on a green and puce-edged base, a smaller example similar, an English porcelain example on a flower-encrusted long base, another recumbent on a purple cushion, a continental porcelain example, two honey-coloured examples on green mound bases and two pearlware examples seated on tasselled cushions
The pug on flower-encrusted base 9 in. (23 cm.) long overall (9)
Estimate: £2,000 – 3,000
LOT 24
A DUTCH DELFT GARNITURE OF BLUE AND WHITE VASES AND A VASE AND A COVER
LATE 18TH CENTURY
The garniture painted with reserves of a Chinese garden, with parrot finials, the single vase painted all over with flowers and birds
The single vase 18 in. (45.7 cm.) high (6)
Estimate:£1,500 – 2,500
All images courtesy of Christie’s.
© Christie’s Images Limited 2013
Tim Forrest's E & A 