| Press Contact: | Stuart Slavid, Director | Catherine Riedel, Director |
| European Furniture & Decorative Arts | Marketing & Public Relations | |
| Skinner, Inc | Skinner, Inc | |
|
978-779-6241 ext. 306 |
978-779-6241 x231 |
EUROPEAN FURNITURE, FINE CERAMICS & DECORATIVE ARTS
TO BE OFFERED AT SKINNER JULY 16TH
Highlights include Two Major Collections of Wedgwood, including Fairyland Lustre;
Plus Rozenburg Plaques, Bronzes, and Fine Selection of Furniture
BOSTON, Mass. - July 27, 2005 – www.skinnerinc.com - Skinner, one of the nation's largest auctioneers of antiques and fine art, will hold an auction of European furniture and decorative arts on Saturday, July 16, 2005, beginning at 10 a.m. The sale will open with an extensive array of fine English ceramics, to be followed by a wide variety of 18th, 19th, and 20th century offerings in furniture and decorations.
Ceramics
Included in the ceramics portion of the auction will be the Frankel Collection of Wedgwood, of Long Island, New York, as well as another important east coast collection and a variety of fine pieces from as far away as Southern California and London, England. There are over twenty pieces of fairyland lustre, featuring an important and rare Temple on a Rock vase and cover (lot 372) having a pre-sale estimate of $10,000 to $15,000. In jasper, bidders will find at least twenty large plaques, Apotheosis of Homer and Virgil vases, a Michelangelo vase, and three full size Portland vases. Thomas Allen is very well represented, and includes six Shakespearean portrait chargers previously in the collection of Dean Rockwell. In addition, there is an especially large assortment of Ivanhoe pattern transfer printed wares including dinnerware, a pedestal, and garden seats.
There are also fine examples in black basalt, moonlight lustre, a variety of colors and periods of jasper, many tiles, Emile Lessore decorated items, medallions, a large collection of Skeaping animals, and much more. Delftware is well represented and includes a rare pill slab (lot 426), estimated at $7,000 to $9,000. Parian wares, Doulton and Minton art pottery are also included. Later Royal Doulton wares feature a Prestige bone china Princess Badoura (lot 462A), with a pre-sale estimate of $10,000 to $15,000.
English porcelains include early Derby and Bow figures, Dr. Wall Worcester, and Newhall teapots. Later porcelains include a number of fine examples of Mintons Pate-sur-Pate featuring the works of Marc Louis Solon. Rounding out this portion of the sale are a fine pair of Royal Worcester double-walled vases (lot 522A), estimated at $3,000 to $5,000, and jeweled Coalport.
Decorative Arts
The auction features a rich assortment of decorative arts, including an impressive collection of handpainted Rozenburg plaques and tile pictures, made in The Hague. Subjects include bucolic Dutch landscapes, village canal scenes, and genre scenes, many of them after Dutch fine art painters. Examples include a painted plaque of an interior genre scene, after Artz (lot 850) estimated at $600 to $800, a handpainted plaque of a village canal scene, after Johan Conrad Greive (lot 902) expected to realize $1,000 to $1,500, and a handpainted landscape of cows beside a windmill, after Jan Hendrik Weissenbruch (lot 942), with an estimate of $600 to $800. Also featured is a large private collection of Royal Copenhagen porcelain figures, including many large sized examples (lots 788 and 789), several exotic models (lots 924, 934, and 935), as well as whimsical satyrs (lots 808 and 809), and Scandinavian figures (lots 787 and 916). Additional highlights include several pietra dura and micromosaic items, including two fine jewelry caskets (lot 864 and 985), two scenic plaques (lots 668 and 669), and a fine micromosaic plaque of "The Doves of Pliny" (lot 600).
Bronze sculpture is well represented with several large examples, including lot 616, a pair of "Marly Horse" figures, after Guillaume Coustou (1677-1746); lot 684, a bronze figure of an Arab Mare, Jument Arabe, Nedjibe, by Pierre Jules Mene (French, 1810-1879); and lot 585, a gilt bronze figure of an egret by Jules Moigniez (French, 1835-1894). Other offerings include lot 555, a mid-19th century American mahogany stick barometer, by Eggert & Son, New York. Lot 534 is a Georgian carved fruitwood pear-form tea caddy, a style which is a perennial favorite with buyers.
Furniture
Furniture in the sale features a solid selection of English, Continental and Victorian offerings, led by an Anglo-Irish Regency mahogany three-part banquet table (lot 951) with a pre-sale estimate of $10,000 to $15,000. A pair of George III giltwood two-light convex girandole mirrors (lot 728) is estimated at $8,000 to $12,000, and a fine Louis XVI-style ormolu mounted tulipwood vitrine ((lot 290) also has a pre-sale estimate of $8,000 to $12,000. An unusually fine pair of Renaissance-style carved walnut and patinated metal mounted music cabinets (lot 320) is slated to bring $5,000 to $7,000, as is a fine Portuguese colonial hardwood slant-lid desk (lot 254). Additional highlights include a mahogany long case clock with Elliot works and Horner case (lot 282), a William and Mary inlaid walnut fall-front desk (lot 552), and a set of ten English Regency mahogany dining chairs (lot 566), all also estimated in the range of $5,000 to $7,000. A Regency gilt-metal mounted rosewood side cabinet (lot 58) carries an estimate of $3,000 to $5,000.
Previews and Catalogue Information
Previews for the auction will be 12 to 5 p.m. Thursday, July 14th, and 12 to 8 p.m. Friday, July 15th. Illustrated catalog #2280 is available by mail for $32 ($39 for foreign requests) from the subscription department at 978-779-6241 x240. It is also available at the gallery for $29. Prices realized will be available at www.skinnerinc.com during and after the sale. For more information, call 978-779-6241, or visit www.skinnerinc.com. Skinner's site also allows users to view all lots in the auctions, leave bids, and order catalogues online.
About Skinner
Skinner, Inc. is one of the nation's leading auction houses for antiques and fine art and the only major auction house headquartered in New England. 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, Paintings & Prints, English & Continental Furniture & Decorations, Fine Ceramics, Jewelry, Couture, 20th Century Furniture & Decorative Arts, Fine Musical Instruments, Asian Art, Fine Judaica, Toys, Dolls & Collectibles, Science & Technology, Oriental Rugs & Carpets, American Indian & Ethnographic Art, and Discovery. Skinner galleries are located in Boston and Bolton, Mass. For more information on upcoming auctions and events, visit Skinner's web site www.skinnerinc.com.