ZURICH.- From a Roman torso of Dionysus to works from the Golden Age of Dutch and Flemish painting and a rare first printing of the French ‘D閏laration des droits de l’Homme et du citoyen’, Koller’s September auctions offer a wide range of important works spanning Antiquity to the 19th century.

Pieter Brueghel the Younger’s ‘The Swan Inn’ occupies an important place in the Flemish artist’s oeuvre. Unlike many of his compositions based on works by his father, this is an entirely original creation. Brueghel also departs from his usual style, filling the composition with larger figures and drawing the viewer directly into the lively scene (lot 3018, estimate CHF 600 000/900 000). Pieter’s brother, Jan Brueghel the Elder, is represented by a beautiful oil on copper depicting travellers pausing on their way to market, dated 1606 (lot 3025, estimate CHF 350 000/500 000).

Other highlights of the Old Masters auction on 18 September include a fine river landscape by Salomon van Ruysdael (lot 3030, estimate CHF 350 000/500 000), a winter scene with skaters by Christoffel van den Berghe (lot 3017, estimate CHF 120 000/180 000) and a rare portrait by Fran鏾is Boucher (lot 3065, estimate CHF 100 000/150 000).





The 19th Century Paintings auction includes landscapes by Gustave Courbet (lot 3240, estimate CHF 80 000/120 000) and Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot (lot 3245, estimate CHF 120 000/150 000), as well as a magnificent large-format view of the Lauterbrunnen Valley by Hans Thoma (lot 3212, estimate CHF 60 000/80 000).

One of the highlights of the autumn auction series promises to be the Collection of Dr Peter Ducret. The son of the esteemed porcelain collector Siegfried Ducret, Dr Ducret devoted his life to the study and collection of 18th-century fa飁nce. One of the last ‘old-school’ collectors of his generation, Peter Ducret was a leading figure in the field, and the sale of his collection promises to be a unique event. Highlights include a remarkable group of trompe-l’oeil serving pieces, many produced by the Hannong dynasty in Strasbourg, as well as several important fa飁nce plaques.

The Books & Autographs auction features an extremely rare first printing of the ‘D閏laration des droits de l’Homme et du citoyen’, together with the constitutional articles adopted by the French National Assembly in 1789 (lot 4018, estimate CHF 50 000/80 000). Very few copies of these historic documents survive, and the ‘D閏laration’ is inscribed on UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register.