Furniture, Works of Art & Clocks & The Age of Oak - 2nd October 2025
Lot 864
A LARGE AND IMPRESSIVE GEORGE II BRONZE MORTAR
Estimate £800 - £1,200 | Hammer £1524
Inc. Buyers Premium
Description
A LARGE AND IMPRESSIVE GEORGE II BRONZE MORTAR
BY THE ASHTON FOUNDRY, WIGAN, LANCASHIRE, DATED '1738'
inscribed above the waist in a broad band ‘William Oddie, 1738’, the words spaced by a small heart, and the foundry mark of a bell above initials (?), with four cords above and two below
28.5cm high, 34cm diameter
Provenance
Sold Christie's, South Kensington, London, 7th November 2006, lot 216.
Christopher Bangs Private Collection.
Catalogue Note
William Oddie is almost certainly the owner, and not the maker, of this mortar.
A William Oddie apothecary, died in Clitheroe, Lancashire in 1764. This mortar has several common features, including the small heart motif, thin cords and style of the numerals, comparable to mortars made by Ralph Ashton (fl.1703-1728). See M. Finlay, English Decorated bronze Mortars & their Makers', p. 55-57.