A Fossil Stingray dating from the Eocene period (56-33.9 million years ago) is to go under the hammer in Tennants Auctioneers’ Country House Sale on 13th September. Embedded in a matrix of sedimentary stone, the 25-inch stingray (Heliobatis radians) sits alongside a smaller Diplomystus, an extinct freshwater and marine fish distantly related to the modern anchovy and herring. The fossil was found in Green River, Wyoming.
The Country House Sale also offers a good range of interesting and eclectic antiques and furnishing pieces, such as two modern Orkney Chairs, handmade in the Orkneys by craftsman Fraser Anderson, a large and varied selection of over 150 pictures from contemporary sporting art by the likes of John Trickett and Malcolm Coward to Dutch landscapes and 18th century portraits. There are several private collections of pictures on offer, too, including a selection of works by Brian Irving (1931-2013) and the second tranche of a private collection of works by Staithes School artist Florence Adelina Hess (1891-1974).
Further highlights include 17th century glass, 18th century plumbago portrait miniatures, a selection of bronzes including 'Le Bucheron' after Louis Leopold Chambard, longcase, table and wall clocks and a broad range of rugs and carpets.