Neave Antiquities
Set out below are just some of the antiquities that have been associated with the Neave family and Dagnams. Many had been purchased over time by family members, given as gift's or in the case of some of the portraits had been commissioned by known artist's. "
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East window, Nowton
Roundels at St Peter's church, Nowton, Suffolk.
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Nowton is a small Suffolk hamlet with a church full of stained glass treasures. There are 84 roundels in all, mostly from the 16th and 17th centuries , which were collected by a Colonel Rushbrooke in the early 19th century and sold to local landowner Orbell Ray Oakes who installed them in St Peter's in 1820. In the 1970s three further roundels were added to the East window by glassmaker Dennis King of Norwich. These have a different history, for they came from Dagnam Park after the mansion was demolished. They appear to be part of a series which shows the progression of the Easter story from Gethsemane to Golgotha and are remarkably similar in style and colouring to the lights covering different episodes of the same story in the glass at St Thomas's, Noak Hill. The Nowton roundels were described by William Cole in, 'A description of the Netherlandish glass in the church of St Peter, Nowton', published in 'Crown & Glory' ( Editor Peter Moore). Norwich. 1982. Cole identified all three of the roundels pictured as 17th century Flemish work. The first roundel shows the disrobing of Christ below a courtyard arch, while the Virgin and Child can be glimsped through a second arch on the left. The second roundel ( placed out of sequence in the Nowton window) is a dramatic depiction of the Betrayal of Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane, with Judas delivering the traitor's kiss and Peter striking Malchus with his sword in the right foreground. Cole mentions that there is a very similar illustration in the Bijloke Museum ( now the Archeological Museum) in an old Cistercian abbey in Ghent. The third roundel shows the Nailing of Christ to the Cross, again set in a courtyard and again there is a scene within a scene, as St Sebastian and his martyrdom by arrows is shown beneath an arch on the left.
Beech Wood stool, the stool is one of a pair from the Neave Collection at Dagenham Park [sic] Essex. The pair to it is at Temple Newsam House, Leeds.
The design of the stool closely follows that of a marble seat in an unspecified location in Rome. Here the stool is made from beech wood, painted in white and grey to simulate the appearance of marble. Beech wood would have been much easier and less costly to carve than marble, and resulted in a more flexible seat which weighed less and could be moved around without difficulty.
Photograph and Text from the Tate Gallery Website
''Portrait of a Young Gentlemen''
by Rembrandt ?
Peter Adam's researches have discovered these paintings from a Christie's auction sold on an Old Masters Day Sale in London| on the 9th December 2016. He also located The Times cutting with a distressing tale of woe for the seller and one of pure joy for the buyer.
This small painting may have once hung in Dagnams.
LOT 122 Circle of Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn (Leiden 1606-1669 Amsterdam) Portrait of a gentleman, half-length, in a black velvet cloak and white lace collar and cuffs Price realised GBP 137,000 Estimate GBP 15,000 - GBP 20,000. Oil on canvas 39 ¾ x 29 ¼ in. (101 x 74.3 cm.) Provenance (Probably) Acquired by Sir Richard Neave, 1st Bt. (1731-1814), or his son, Sir Thomas Neave, 2nd Bt. (1761-1848), Dagnam Park, Essex, and by decent to the present owner.
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Following the sale The Times of May 16, 2018 reported that.
"Christie’s sold £10m Rembrandt for £137,000. The painting sold as “portrait of a gentleman” was consistent with known works by the Old Master The painting sold as “portrait of a gentleman” was consistent with known works by the Old Master A painting sold by Christie’s 18 months ago as an unremarkable “portrait of a gentleman” by an unknown follower of Rembrandt has been authenticated as the work of the master. The auction house estimated that the portrait was worth £20,000, but the attribution means that it is now likely to be worth about £10 million. It is the first newly identified Rembrandt in almost 50 years. Dealers’ suspicions that it could be a Rembrandt resulted in a sale price of £137,000, but the attribution was uncertain until it was authenticated this week by the scholar Ernst van de Wetering. The former head of the Rembrandt Research Project and author of the definitive catalogue of the artist’s works described it as “one of Rembrandt’s most masterly"
The eleven roundels below were declared to be part of the stained glass collection maintained at Dagnams. They have been in the possession of the Neave family up until the present day (2016) They are currently being reviewed by Sam Fogg Ltd the London art specialists prior to going to auction. Thanks to Mathew Reeves of Sam Fogg for passing them on and to Sam Fogg Ltd for allowing us to reproduce them. Download the comprehensive auction catalogue Here
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Silver-stained roundels and stained-glass panels from the collection of Sir Thomas Neave, Dagnam Park, Noak Hill (Essex) by C.J. Berserik and J.M.A. Caen (The Hague-Schoten, April 2016)
