Mossgreen

An ornate mother-of-pearl, hand painted visiting card case commissioned by the second man to ever captain an English cricket team, the Honourable George Harris, was undoubtedly a unique way to pay homage to the sport he loved – given that most would have settled for a stump, bail, bat, ball or item of clothing.

He even had the case painted with a cricket scene on one side and a self-portrait on the other.

Sir Henry Somerset was synonymous with economic development in Tasmania. An industrial chemist, his name was inextricably linked with Burnie and Associated Pulp and Paper Mills (APPM), Goliath Cement at Railton and Australian Titan Products (Tioxide) at Heybridge.

As APPM’s CEO, Sir Henry oversaw the company’s rise to one of Australia’s leading industrial entities and also served on CSIRO’s advisory board.

John Heard’s collection of rare and antique valve radios dating from the 1920s is the highlight of Mossgreen’s Quarterly Collectors Auction Series from 10am on Tuesday and Wednesday February 4-5 at 926-930 High Street, Armadale.

The 66-year-old former Balmoral Art Gallery owner in Geelong, who first developed an interest in vintage radios as a child, has been obliged to sell his large collection of more than 100 radios because he is downsizing from his large home to a nearby townhouse. 

In 1911, the Commonwealth Government announced the Commonwealth Stamp Design Competition to create a uniform national stamp.

Previously, stamps were designed and issued by each of the six States (or colonies until 1901) but the Federal Government then believed it was time for a national identity stamp that contained “features characteristic of Australia”.

Curiously, the winning designs never made it to print and, instead, artist Blamire Young was commissioned to prepare alternative designs.

Four highly significant bats used by Sir Donald Bradman during his Test playing career, in which he scored 6996 runs in 52 Tests at an average of 99.94, will be auctioned from 2.30pm Thursday at Mossgreen 926 High Street, Armadale. 

The most important is his first Test bat used in the 1928 series between England and Australia and signed by both teams.

Despite only scoring the princely sum of 19 runs (18 in the first innings and one in the second), the bat is estimated to sell for between $120,000 and $150,000.

Mossgreen is holding its Spring Auction Series from 10.30am Tuesday at 926 High Street, Armadale

The auction is in two parts – Chinese and Asian arts to start, and from 2.30pm Australian and European art and antiques.

Former Sotheby’s Australia founding CEO and chairman (1982-1998) Robert Bleakley has included several items from his private collection, the highlight being a rare and exceptional 15^th century early Ming Dynasty Chinese gilt bronze seated figure of Mahakala, Defender of the Faith.

Sydney collector Michele Asprey has been collecting contemporary Australian art for many years.

She has collected many artists in depth – including Patricia Piccinini and Tracey Moffat who will feature prominently in Mossgreen’s single owner auction from 4pm Sunday at 926 High Street, Armadale.

The auction includes an edition of Moffat’s well-known work Something More along with artistic attractions such as Piccinini’s Waiting for Jennifer and Blue Portrait from the series Protein Lattice 1997. 

Mossgreen will auction the maritime collection of semi-retired fisherman Desmond Adcock from 2.30pm Tuesday in its new premises at 926 High Street, Armadale.

His passion for maritime items has burned brightly for more than three decades with his interests ranging from scrimshaw artefacts to whaling memorabilia, navigation instruments and paintings of ships.

In recent years, Desmond has used the internet to search, acquire and repatriate Australian ship portraits originally sold to ship captains and crews around the globe.

Mossgreen kicks off the launch of its new state-of-the-art auction rooms at 926 High Street, Armadale with the single owner John and Marita McIntosh collection of art, antiques and collectibles from 6.30pm on Tuesday – one of the finest the auction house has ever handled.

The one-time Armadale Theatre and former home to Sotheby’s now offers a comprehensive range of auction services following the amalgamation of the Mossgreen and Leski Auctions businesses under one roof.

Mossgreen is having a “no holds barred” one-off unreserved clearing auction sale from 2pm Monday at 310 Toorak Road, South Yarra to clear all items from the building prior to the company’s move to Armadale in the first week of October.

This unprecedented sale is in readiness for Mossgreen’ s new venture with Leski Auctions – which also is closing its Hawthorn East site and will now become a division of Mossgreen Pty Ltd – making the company (according to managing director Paul Sumner) Australia’s third largest fine art auction house behind Sotheby’s and Deutscher and Hackett.