Oil Painting Group 6 Persian Kittens Tea Party By Agnes Augusta Tallboys WRA

Agnes Augusta Talboys Six Persian Cats Around a Tea Service
Signed British Early 20th Century Oil Painting in Decorative Gilt Frame
Highlights
• British circa 1910–1920
• Oil on canvas
• Six Persian cats
• Agnes Augusta Talboys RWA
• Signed lower left and further inscribed verso
• Strong horizontal decorative composition
• Rich green, silver-grey and white palette
• Wicker basket and floral tea service
• Winsor & Newton prepared canvas
• Documented provenance
Description
An unusually engaging feline composition by British painter Agnes Augusta Talboys RWA.
Six long-haired Persian cats are arranged across a green-covered table amongst a wicker basket and decorated porcelain tea service.
The left side is animated by two kittens playing within the basket, while the centre is dominated by luminous white cats. At right, another grey Persian appears from behind the substantial floral teapot.
The objects give the composition a gentle narrative quality: the displaced cup and saucer suggest the inevitable consequences of allowing six curious cats access to the tea table.
Colour & Interior Presence
Talboys uses the deep green cloth as a foil for silver-grey and creamy-white fur.
The floral porcelain contributes restrained blue, pink and warm accents, while the dark background increases the visual impact of the animals.
Presented in a recently fitted gilt frame, the painting offers excellent decorative scale and works particularly well within a collected interior.
Artist & Research
Talboys specialised in cats and kittens and repeatedly incorporated decorative domestic objects into her feline compositions.
Christie’s has documented comparable Talboys paintings of closely related horizontal dimensions bearing both a front signature and additional artist inscription verso.
Date
Circa 1910–1920.
The work is undated and this represents a considered catalogue range based upon comparative research.
Provenance
Private collection.
Clevedon Salerooms, Bristol, Interiors Sale, 9 January 2025, Lot 556.
Acquired from the above sale by Cheshire Antiques Consultant LTD®.
Curated by Cheshire Antiques Consultant LTD®.
Dimensions
Framed: 64 cm high x 89.5 cm wide x 4 cm deep.
Canvas: 46.5 cm high x 73 cm wide.
Condition
Fine used condition consistent with age.
Apparently unlined canvas with age-related staining and foxing verso. Craquelure is visible to the painted surface, together with apparent areas of historic intervention within the darker background.
Presented in a recently fitted Larson Juhl LJS Prague decorative gilt wood frame.
Shipping
Worldwide shipping is available.
Owing to the historic framed presentation of the artwork, it will be professionally packaged using appropriate protective materials and dispatched fully insured.
International buyers are welcome. Please contact us for a destination-specific delivery quotation or to discuss any particular shipping requirements.
Certificate of Sale & Dealer Attribution
The artwork will be supplied with a Certificate of Sale & Dealer Attribution issued by Cheshire Antiques Consultant LTD®, recording the artwork’s catalogue details, attribution, provenance as stated, exhibition history and details of the sale. This document accompanies the work as part of its ongoing ownership and provenance record.
Attribution and Research
The historical observations, provenance research, attribution analysis, dating and contextual commentary presented within this catalogue entry represent the professional opinion of Cheshire Antiques Consultant LTD®. They are offered in good faith as informed scholarly assessments based upon the available physical evidence, historic inscriptions, comparative research, published reference material and our experience within the international fine art market.
These observations should be understood as professional opinions rather than definitive statements of fact or guarantees of authorship, attribution, date, origin, provenance or historical interpretation. As with all historic works of art, future documentary discoveries, technical examination, conservation analysis or advances in academic research may refine, expand or revise current interpretations.
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Specialising in carefully curated British and European fine art, antiques and historic works of art.
Every artwork is professionally researched and catalogued using comparative scholarship, published reference material and more than two decades of experience within the international fine art market. We are committed to offering collectors works of artistic and historical merit accompanied by transparent provenance research, detailed catalogue descriptions and professional, client-focused service.
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