European Furniture and Decorative Arts, Featuring Fine Silver, to be Auctioned at Skinner
Boston, MA – September 20, 2011 – Skinner, Inc. announced it will host an auction of European Furniture and Decorative Arts on October 14th and 15th at its Boston gallery. The sale kicks off on Friday at 4 p.m. with nearly 650 lots of fine silver. Saturday’s session II commences at 10 a.m. and includes Continental and British ceramics, glass, statuary, clocks, paintings and prints, lighting, rugs, textiles and antique furniture.
Fine Silver
Fine Silver highlights include a monumental and historic George V presentation trophy, “The Alexander Channel Cup” presented to Henry F. Sullivan, a native of Lowell, MA, and a celebrated endurance swimmer in the early years of the 20th century. Sullivan was the first American to swim across the English Channel. This magnificent trophy is a masterpiece of silversmithing, and an historic relic of the golden era of adventure, exploration, and sporting first achievements. Lot 194 is estimated at $30,000 to $50,000.
Offered early in the sale and expected to induce heated bidding is lot 3, a yellow gold, cloisonné enamel, rock crystal bowl. The bowl Mughal c. 18th century, by Robert Phillips, is created in the archeological style and reflects the mid-19th century fascination with Greek and Roman antiquity. Phillips, known for his fine jeweled gold mountings on Mughal crystal bowls and archaeological-inspired jewelry exhibited at the 1867 Paris Exposition Universelle. It is likely that this bowl, with an auction value of $8,000 to $10,000, was exhibited there.
Fine silver offerings also include a diverse collection of more than 50 lots of Judaic Besamin box spice containers from European, Russian and Israeli manufacturers. Featured pieces include an Austrian filigree tower from 19th century Vienna, lot 31, estimated at $800 to $1,200; a Russian Art Nouveau tower from the first half 20th century, with an auction estimate of $600 to $800; and a modernist sterling container from the mid-20th century, lot 56A, and estimated at $1,200 to $1,500.
Finally, fine silver is highlighted by a Tiffany & Co. sterling center bowl with polar bear mask handles, lot 260, estimated at $6,000 to $8,000 and two lots by California silversmith Porter Blanchard: lot 406, a six piece Arts & Crafts tea and coffee service, estimated at $7,000 to $9,000 and lot 419A, a Modernist pitcher valued at $1,500 to $2,500.
Decorative Arts, European Furniture and Smalls
Collections of note in Session II include an extensive grouping of English tea caddies, such as lot 1123, an ivory and green tortoiseshell harlequin tea caddy, c. 1800, estimated at $5,500 to 6,500, and lot 1129, a George III pagoda-top pressed tortoiseshell double tea caddy, c. 1810, estimated at $17,000 to $19,000. The sale also features a diverse collection of meerschaum pipes and cheroot holders, including lot 617, a large example with carved baseball players, with an auction estimate of $500 to $700.
Decorative Arts are featured by lot 1004, a grand tour micromosaic plaque, Italy, estimated at $5,000 to $7,000; lot 1017, an important mid-17th century English stumpwork Box, valued at $5,000 to $7,000; and lot 1061, a Meissen porcelain plaque, with an estimated value of $10,000 to $15,000.
Furniture highlights include a 19th century Dutch polychrome painted cupboard, lot 651, estimated at $6,000 to $8,000; lot 882, a pair of Napoleon III ebonized ormolu and sevres-style porcelain-mounted twin beds, estimated at $12,000 to $18,000; and lot 1116, a late Jacobean carved walnut armchair, with an estimated auction value of $3,000 to $5,000.
Previews, Catalogue and Bidding
Previews for the auction will be held on Thursday, October 13th from 12:00 to 8:00 p.m. and Friday, October 14th from 12:00 to 8:00 p.m. Illustrated catalogue #2566B is available by mail for $35 ($42 for foreign requests) from the subscription department at 508-970-3240. It is also available at the gallery for $32. Prices realized will be available at www.skinnerinc.com during and after the sale. Skinner's site also allows users to view all lots in the auctions, leave bids, order catalogues, and bid live in real-time through SkinnerLive! To register for real-time bidding go to http://www.skinnerinc.com/buy-sell/skinner-live.php. Or, for more information call 508-970-3000.
About Skinner
Skinner, Inc. is one of the world’s leading auction houses for antiques and fine art. With expertise in over 20 specialty collecting areas, Skinner draws the interest of buyers from all over the world and its auctions regularly achieve world record prices. Skinner provides a broad range of auction and appraisal services, and it is widely regarded as one of the most trusted names in the auction business. Skinner’s appraisal experts regularly appear on the PBS-TV series, Antiques Roadshow, and its specialty departments include American Furniture & Decorative Arts, American & European Paintings & Prints, European Furniture & Decorative Arts, 20th Century Design, Fine Ceramics, Fine Silver, Fine Jewelry, Couture, Fine Musical Instruments, Asian Works of Art, Fine Wines, Rare Books & Manuscripts, Oriental Rugs & Carpets, American Indian & Ethnographic Art, Fine Judaica, Antique Motor Vehicles, Toys, Dolls & Collectibles, Discovery and Science, Technology & Clocks. Skinner galleries are located in Boston and Marlborough, Mass. For more information on upcoming auctions and events, visit Skinner’s web site www.skinnerinc.com.
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Contacts
- Stuart Slavid, Director of European Furniture & Decorative Arts, 508-970-3278, sslavid@skinnerinc.com
- Kate de Bethune, Director of Marketing, 508-970-3231, kdebethune@skinnerinc.com