LONDON.- Tonight
Sotheby’s London Evening Sale of Treasures: Princely Taste was led by the sale of a magnificent pair of Italian carved giltwood settees created for one of the most sumptuous Rococo interiors in Italy - the Gilded Gallery of Palazzo Carrega Cataldi. Setting a record at auction for Italian seating furniture when they sold, to a round of applause, for 1,721,250/$2,763,639/1,923,495, the settees sold for over three times the pre-sale high estimate of 300,000 -500,000*.
A further highlight of the sale was a recently rediscovered masterpiece - an exquisitely carved chalcedony cover which is the lost partner of a magnificent cup in the collection of the Louvre. Expertly crafted by Giovanni Ambrogio Miseroni - the greatest of all Renaissance hardstone engravers – the exquisite cover sold for 1,497,150/$2,403,985/1,673,175 (est. 800,000-1,200,000) following a bidding battle among three clients. The sale’s outstanding selection of rare and important decorative art with links to some of the greatest collectors in European history achieved a within-estimate total of 10,832,600/$17,392,823/12,105,418 (pre-sale estimate 9.4-14.6 million). The sale was 76.9% sold by value.
Sotheby’s Deputy Chairman, Europe, Mario Tavella said: “Tonight’s sale was carefully curated following the tremendous reception that last year’s inaugural Treasures sale received. Again, we were able to offer a number of works not only of museum quality, but that were fresh to the market, and the enthusiastic buying in the saleroom this evening demonstrates the hunger – across a very international market - for works of such rarity and remarkable provenance.”
Many remarkable prices were achieved in this evening’s sale. Most notably:
• A magnificent pair of gilt-bronze mounted Chinese crackle glaze, celadon pot pourri vases circa 1745-49 raised 881,250/$1,414,935/984,796, (est. 800,000-1,200,000). The vases featured in the private collections of master couturier Nicolay and most recently, that of Dimitri Mavrommatis.
• “The Empress Clock”, a spectacular automaton singing bird vase clock, possibly made for the Empress Josephine circa 1805, sold for 825,250/$1,325,021/922,216 (est.700,000-1,000,000).
• A rare purple, gilt-bronze-mounted Svres porcelain vase, circa 1768, from the bedroom of King Alfonso XII of Spain raised a strong total of 109,250/$175,412/122,087 (est. 50,000-80,000). When the vase came to be offered for sale, Sotheby's discovered a letter hidden inside, revealing the vase was taken from the Spanish King’s bedroom following his death, by his valet.
• A pair of magnificent late Baroque Venetian marquetry tables, with exuberant inlay and engravings executed by Lucio and Antonio De Lucci, fetched 713,250/$1,145,194/797,056. (est. 600,000 - 1,000,000)
• One of the most important 17th Century cabinets - a rare and impressive Roman gilt- bronze-pietre-dure-and marble-mounted ebony and ebonised cabinet, offered at auction for the first time, sold for 668,450/$1,073,263/746,992 (est. 250,000-500,000).
• The only surviving pair of Jaquet-Droz & Leschot singing bird snuff boxes still together sold for the above-estimate total of 735,650/$1,181,160/822,088 (est. 250,000-450,000). Wound by a golden key, they were priced at as much as 1,800 apiece when they were ordered by the London retail jewellers David Duval & Co in 1801 for the Chinese market.
Sale statistics:
• Sold by lot: 60.6%
• Sold by value: 76.9%
• Of the 33 lots offered, 20 sold
*Estimates do not include buyer’s premium
