A group of 42 lots in the Sotheby’s sale, many of them multiples, featured the work of Elias Ridinger (1698-1767). A German artist, his speciality was the animal world and hunting scenes were a frequent theme.
Shown left is a rare example of Ridinger working in bold and bright watercolours rather than his more familiar ink and wash style. Depicting an elephant fighting with foxes or dogs, it sold at £6500.
Sold for a much higher than expected £17,000 was a rare copy of Ridinger’s last published work, a collection of 50 hand-coloured engraved illustrations of horses with text and titles in German and French that was printed in Augsburg in 1770.