7th Oct, 2023 13:00 GMT/BST

The Harlequin Sale

 
  Lot 340
 

340

Jon Buck (b.1951)
"Dancing to Time"
Signed and numbered 2/10, enamelled bronze, 53cm high

Exhibited: Jon Buck, "Without Words", Gallery Pangolin, London, 9 June - 18 July 2014

Born in 1950, Jon Buck studied at Nottingham and Manchester Art Schools. By 1983 he had become both a Fellow in Sculpture at Cheltenham Art College and the first member of Thamesdown Borough Council as an artist. He is also a member of the Royal West of England Academy, and his work is regularly exhibited in both private and public collections including Gallery Pangolin, London. Jon Buck’s works are considered forms of visual poetry, described as “songs without words” intended to capture both the feeling of elation and the resilience of the human spirit. Buck’s works titled “Without Words” were created in response to a poem “Everyone Sang” by the anti-war poet Siegfried Sassoon:

“Everyone suddenly burst out singing;

And I was filled with such delight

As prisoned birds must find in freedom,

Winging wildly across the white

Orchards and dark-green fields; on-on and out of sight

Everyone voice suddenly lifted;

And the beauty came like a setting sun:

My heart was shaken with tear; and horror

Drifted away … O, but Everyone

Was a bird; and the song was wordless; the singing will never be done.”

Buck said that Sassoon’s words resonated with him, expressing “what it is to be free and alive.” For him, “it is the end of the poem that is most crucial: it becomes a timeless declaration of the resilience of the human spirit – feelings beyond words”, a sentiment that inspires his recent works.

Sold for £2,800
Estimated at £1,000 - £2,000


 

Auction: The Harlequin Sale, 7th Oct, 2023


From the Estate of Michael Raw

A single owner sale bursting with colour and design.

Michael Raw was an erudite, compelling, and much-loved history teacher at Sedbergh School, remembered for his charm, warmth, and wit as well as his old-fashioned eccentricities. Michael was educated at Haberdashers School and Queens College, Cambridge and went on to write for the Cambridge Footlights and Not the Nine O’Clock News as well as playing rugby for the Harlequins before dedicating his life to teaching.

The sale comprises African art, sleek Italian, German, and Dutch 20th Century Design furniture inspired by the De Stijl movement by leading names such as Cassina and Fritz Hansen, contemporary ceramics and sculpture by the likes of John Maltby and Merete Rasmussen, contemporary art, rugs, and a whole host of quirky works of art. Vivid colour ties the whole collection together, exemplified by his collection of harlequin themed works of art and textiles inspired by his years playing for the legendary rugby team.

Viewing

Wednesday 4 October 4pm-7pm, Thursday 5 October - Friday 6 October 10am-4pm, and morning of sale from 8am

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