ZURICH.- Koller Zurich’s Fine Furniture and Decorative Arts auction of nearly 450 lots will include a special section dedicated to the finest from the golden age of European decorative arts: the 18th and 19th centuries. Featured is a pair of Empire giltwood fauteuils made for Napoleon I’s imperial Roman residence in the Quirinale Palace, then known as the Palazzo Monte Cavallo.
Koller’s September auction of Fine Furniture & Decorative Arts in Zurich features a special section entitled: “Baroque to Belle Époque: A Selection of Works from the Golden Age of European Decorative Arts”. Koller’s specialists have assembled circa 75 lots from among the finest examples of European decorative arts and sculpture created over a two-hundred year period, from a pair of wall lights by Charles-André Boulle of circa 1715 to a silver inkwell by Fabergé from circa 1900.
Among the highlights is a sumptuous pair of Empire giltwood armchairs which were made for the salon of Empress Marie Louise in the Monte Cavallo Palace, Rome (today the Quirinale Palace). As this was one of the main Imperial palaces, Napoleon I ordered it redecorated with the finest in furniture and artworks, . These fauteuils are stamped by Pierre-Benoît Marcion, one of the most important and talented furniture makers of the Neoclassical period. After the restoration of the French monarchy, the armchairs were installed in the royal Palais des Tuileries (CHF 45 000 – 65 000).
Other top lots from the selection include a pair of elegant Louis XV wrought iron console tables with a surprisingly modern look (CHF 38 000 – 48 000), an amusing Empire/Restauration gilt bronze clock “au manège”, with figures on swans that revolve on a carrousel (CHF 35 000 – 45 000), a Restauration period bronze table which once belonged to Juliana, Queen of the Netherlands (CHF 18 000 – 28 000), and a pair of Louis XVI period richly patinated bronze busts that were formerly part of the Karl Lagerfeld collection (CHF 28 000 – 38 000).
The auction also boasts an additional 375 lots from various provenances, including furniture, sculpture, clocks, porcelain and silver. Particularly noteworthy is a private collection of important Russian silver which includes 17th-century objects given as presents by Czars Alexei I and Peter the Great.
SELECTED HIGHLIGHTS
• 1436 A PAIR OF FRENCH IMPERIAL GILTWOOD FAUTEUILS “AUX PALMETTES“ Empire, stamped P. MARCION (1769 Paris 1840), delivered in 1813 for the “Salon des grands appartements” of Empress Marie-Louise in the Palazzo Monte Cavallo in Rome. Paris circa 1810/13. CHF 45 000 - 65 000
• 1425 AN EMPIRE CIRCULAR GUERIDON “AUX PATTES DE LION“ WITH PIETRA DURA TOP Attributed to Jean François Denière, Paris circa 1815/25, the top Italian, circa 1800. CHF 45 000 - 55 000
• 1382 A PAIR OF LOUIS XV WROUGHT IRON CONSOLES “AUX CARTOUCHES“ Comtat Venaissin circa 1765/70. CHF 38 000 - 48 000
• 1434 A PAIR OF LOUIS XVI BRONZE BUSTS DEPICTING IPHIGENIA AND CHRYSES Simon Louis Boizot (1743 Paris 1809) Paris circa 1780/90. Provenance: - Karl Lagerfeld collection, France. - Private collection, France. CHF 28 000 - 38 000
• 1445 A RESTAURATION PERIOD ROYAL TABLE “AUX CYGNES“ Probably France, circa 1815/30. Provenance: - Juliana of Orange-Nassau (1909-2004), Queen of the Netherlands. - A French collection. CHF 18 000 - 28 000
• 1428 AN EMPIRE/RESTAURATION GILT BRONZE MANTEL CLOCK “AU MANEGE“ The dial signed VAILLANT A PARIS (Louis Jacques Vaillant, master in 1787), Paris circa 1815/30. Provenance: - Formerly Marjorie Helen Hay Collection, England.
CHF 35 000 - 45 000
• 1418 A PAIR OF ITALIAN NEOCLASSICAL GILTWOOD TORCHERES “AUX TETES DE BELIERS“ Probably Piedmont, circa 1780/90. CHF 16 000 - 25 000
• 1018 A NORTH ITALIAN ROCOCO POLYCHROME- DECORATED COMMODE “AU DECOR CHINOIS“ Venice circa 1730/40. Provenance: - The collection of a Venetian noble family. - An Italian collection. CHF 250 000 - 350 000
• 1147A A PAIR OF LOUIS XVI GILT AND PATINATED BRONZE CANDELABRA “FLORE ET ZEPHYR“ After designs by Etienne Falconet (1716 Paris 1791), Paris circa 1780/85.
CHF 150 000 - 250 000
