Dreweatts Auctioneers UK - May 11th
https://www.liveauctioneers.com/dreweatts-donnington-priory
An eight-keyed rosewood flute by Monzani and Co., London , circa 1810, silver mounts, silver keys with square covers, stamped Monzani & Co., Dover Street London , 146, the silver hallmark 1806, sounding length 59.5cm.
An eight-keyed boxwood flute by Rudall and Rose, London, circa 1830 , ivory mounts, silver keys with circular covers, the E flat, C and C sharp keys with pewter plugs, graduated tuning slides and stopper, stamped Rudall & Rose, No 15 Piazza, Covent Garden, London, 1795 , with original mahogany case, sounding length 60cm.
This item does not ship to the USA
Thought it might help to put some direct links in.
https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/44635186_an-eight-keyed-rosewood-flute-by-monzani-and-co
https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/44635187_an-eight-keyed-boxwood-flute-by-rudall-and-rose
That Rudall & Rose looks absolutely fabulous. You don’t see too many boxwood ones coming up on the market these days.
The Monzani is excellent too, it is similar to the earlier one we have with two heads. It also has the double touch Bb key.
I think the auctioneers may have ommitted one of the digits in the Monzani’s serial number. 146 would make this an incredibly early instrument, but I would expect it to carry the Old Bond Street address, and not the Dover Street address.
Still, an excellent flute by perhaps the most underrated maker of all, it should easily reach the higher end of its estimate.
Only four days to go. Jem also has a quality Rudall, Carte & Co. ready to play straight out of the box:
https://forums.chiffandfipple.com/t/for-sale-rudall-carte-co-8-key-flute-in-full-fettle/94504/1
Here’s some info from Barnaby’s regarding the boxwood Rudall:
An eight-keyed boxwood flute by Rudall and Rose, London, circa 1830 , ivory mounts, silver keys with circular covers, the E flat, C and C sharp keys with pewter plugs, graduated tuning slides and stopper, stamped Rudall & Rose, No 15 Piazza, Covent Garden, London, 1795 , with original mahogany case, sounding length 60cm.
excellent
The parts disassemble easily,
The head tuning slide is stiff but free
There are no cracks in the tubing
The lower mount of the barrel joint has one old hairline crack, also new crack in upper mount of barrel joint
There is an associated mahogany case with this flute
Buyers will need to make themselves aware of domestic CITES regulations with regard to the import and export of endangered species, eg. ivory, tortoiseshell, coral, etc. For advice on CITES export licences please contact info@taxidermylaw.co.uk
http://www.instrumentspast.co.uk/instruments/PF/P446F.html
Excellent price but it’s about the same price as one that sold on ebay lately.
There’s a very nice one for sale here too, albeit for a lot more…
http://www.vintage-instruments.com/navigate/catidx4.htm
And there’s one for sale on this forum too. Looks like a fine specimen too. Although there is a few available now they don’t usually come up that often. I played the one in Philadelphia and it really is a great flute. They all are, I’m sure. Not the kind of flute you’d bring to a local session. They’re a little quiet by modern standards and they play at about 420 to 425Htz. But really fine instruments.
Tommy
Thank heaven they won’t ship the boxwood Rudall to the USA!
ahahahaa
unrestored flutes sold for real money.
Great auction.
LOT 68: An eight-keyed rosewood flute by Monzani and Co
Estimate: £300 - 500
Sold For: £1,900
Lot 69: An eight-keyed boxwood flute by Rudall and Rose, London, circa 1830 LOT 69: An eight-keyed boxwood flute by Rudall and Rose, London, circa 1830
Estimate: £1000 - 1500
Sold For: £3,500
Cool, Sold to a collector perchance?
At that estimate I was thinking about that Monzani, but it ended well out of my budget! Beautiful flute, maybe another will pop up…
A couple of interesting sales. Has the market returned for antique flutes?
With commission (plus VAT) the Rudall and Rose has cost someone £4508. If it is to be played the C key will need a new spring, the two ivory rings secured and the boxwood will need a period of rehydrating.
If a “chiffer” has bought please let us know how you get on.
I would not count on it. I took the trouble to check the prices and estimates this particular auctioneers were asking/valuing, and absolutely everything was VERY EXPENSIVE. Being situated in Berkshire, one of, if not the THE most affluent county in the U.K. I had anticipated them being beyond my pocket. I had just underestimated by literally how far that margin would be. For the likes of us mere mortals " Up North " it is simply another reminder of “The Lay Of The Land.”
In this day and age you can not presume that because an auction is based in Berkshire that the wealthy southerners have bagged the goods. There were significant numbers of bids coming through phones and the internet. I did not notice whether the bidders on the flutes were in house or not.
Perhaps the fact that the auction had attracted a range of international buyers, many of whom would have been particularly interested in the keyboard instruments, it may have encouraged more museum and institution bidders rather than individuals. If the instruments have gone to museums you can guarantee they will not ever be played again.
Lets hope that the buyer is an individual who intends putting the instrument in working condition and then play it. I hate to see so may instruments sitting in glass cases.
No, but you can safely assume that it is going to attract a significant number of wealthy people ( from wherever ) who I presume will bid to their capacity, along with wealthy local folk - hence the predictable outcome. I may be wrong, but museums and institutions aren’t alone when it comes to putting precious items in display cabinets. At least some of them allow us access, and give us the opportunity to look at ( in some cases measure, photograph and inspect ) and appreciate them free of charge.
I hope that this is the case ( and not in the case ). It will be interesting to see if the lucky individual(s) is (are) forum members.
The buyer’s premium of 24% gives some idea of the customer type that this particular auction house is trying to target. The highest premium you normally come across for an auction house is 20% i.e. Gardiner Houlgate. An idea to take from this is to keep an eye out for swanky sales at Dreweatts auctions if you fancy selling some flutes 