Oxford butcher's auction bonanza from Upper Slaughter Manor is a cut above
03 November 2021 He’s a good Feller, that Micheál Feller. In 2014, Micheál and his wife, Elizabeth, donated to the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford their extensive collection of 17th century embroideries – something which they had built up since they first married.Elizabeth I oak tester bed, c.1580 and later – estimate £8000-12,000 at Woolley & Wallis on November 9-10.
However, they retained a large number of samplers and other needlework panels, all displayed in their home at Upper Slaughter Manor. This collection, together with the contents of the house, is now being sold by Woolley & Wallis on November 9-10.
Micheál Feller has a local connection to the Ashmolean’s home city. He has been a butcher since the age of 14 and had a shop in the Covered Market in Oxford since 1979 – a business he now runs with his daughter.
The couple’s discerning and expert eye extends far beyond textiles and the sale comprises over 900 lots of early English furniture, 18th century delftware pottery, various English and Continental oil paintings and a large collection of treen.
Here are five ideas on what to buy from the Upper Slaughter Manor – the Collection of Micheál and Elizabeth Feller auction in Salisbury.
Wallow in luxury
Got a big bedroom? And a relatively big budget? This Elizabeth I oak tester bed (pictured above), c.1580 and later, is estimated at £8000-12,000.
The 2.06m high x 1.58cm wide x 2.28m deep bed was bought by the Fellers at William H Stokes Antiques, Cirencester, in February 1986.
View the catalogue entry for this Elizabeth I oak tester bed on thesaleroom.com.
Regal eyed
Depicting Charles II and Catherine of Braganza under marital canopies, this silkwork wall mirror with a central rectangular plaque measures 77.5 x 58cm overall.
It features the lion and unicorn flanking a pond with fish, birds and butterflies, the arch with a palace above a parrot in a tree, flanked by a recumbent stag and a leopard, in a green velvet cushion frame. It is estimated at £4000-6000.
View the catalogue entry for this Charles II silkwork wall mirror on thesaleroom.com.
Would you Adam and Eve it
![TSR Woolleys charger.jpg](/media/73063/tsr-woolleys-charger.jpg?width=700&height=500&rmode=max&updated=05%2f16%2f2022+14%3a18%3a17)
London Delftware pottery Adam and Eve charger attributed to Norfolk House, c.1720-30 – estimate £2000-3000 at Woolley & Wallis on November 9-10.
Guided at £2000-3000, this London Delftware pottery Adam and Eve charger is attributed to Norfolk House, c.1720-30.
The 35cm diameter is painted in blue, green and yellow with Adam and Eve standing either side of the Tree of Knowledge, with the serpent coiled in the sponged decorated branches, the blue-dash rim with a yellow line.
Woolley & Wallis notes that five related chargers, thought to have been made at Norfolk House, can be seen in Michael Archer’s Delftware in the Fitzwilliam Museum.
Bid for the London Delftware pottery Adam and Eve charger on thesaleroom.com.
Get to the point
![Needlework sampler](/media/73066/tsr-woolleys-sampler.jpg?width=700&height=500&rmode=max&updated=05%2f16%2f2022+14%3a18%3a17)
George III needlework sampler by a Sally Cozens – estimate £2000-3000 at Woolley & Wallis on November 9-10.
One of the Feller collection samplers on offer at Woolley & Wallis is this George III needlework example by a Sally Cozens.
Worked with polychrome silks on a linen ground, with various stitches, including: satin, cross, stem, seeding, split and chain, it shows the verse The Fragrant Rose, with two large baskets of flowers flanking an elegantly dressed lady holding a rose in her garden, with a dog and a hen, above two gentlemen, one holding a rifle, and a deer, a pointer dog, birds and two cottages.
It is signed and dated Sally Cozens Her Work in the 13 Year of Her Age 1794 and is housed in a later glazed ebonised and gilt frame, 39 x 33cm. The estimate is £2000-3000.
View the catalogue entry for this George III needlework sampler by Sally Cozens on thesaleroom.com
Rabbit on
A pair of Staffordshire pottery models of rabbits, c.1860, is estimated at £1000-1500. Each 26cm long model features black spotted markings and nibbles on a leaf.
Bid for the pair of Staffordshire pottery models of rabbits via thesaleroom.com.