How to Bid at our Auctions
Catalogues and Viewing
Auction catalogues can be viewed on the Artvisory website www.artvisory.com.au approximately three weeks prior to the published date of an Auction.
Printed catalogues will be available complimentary at the auction viewing and can be express posted (within Australia) prior to the viewing for $18AUD.
The Auction viewing is open to the public and generally takes place during the three days prior to the Auction date, from 11am–5pm at the advertised location/s in the Auction catalogue.
Lot Descriptions
The Lot/ Catalogue descriptions provide the overall information of an item including size, date or age, medium, attribution, quantity and if known, provenance.
Estimates
The estimate accompanies each lot in the printed and online catalogue. This estimate takes into consideration the quality, condition, rarity, condition and provenance of the item. Each estimate also has a reserve, and the reserve is the undisclosed and confidential amount set at or below the low estimate. Please note the reserve will never exceed the low estimate at Artvisory, however many lots are sold without a reserve.
Condition Reports
Condition reports supplement the lot/catalogue description and focus on the condition of the item. We strongly advise obtaining a condition report if you are unable to view the lot in person. Condition reports and additional images are available to view as part of the auction item listing at Invaluable.com or can be requested from Artvisory directly.
Symbols
Occasionally a symbol is printed next to a lot number in the catalogue, this indicates a special clause that is associated with the sale of that item.
Please refer to the Terms and Conditions for specific symbol meanings and information.
Buyers Premium
Artvisory charges a Buyers Premium of 26% plus GST on the hammer price of all Auction items unless otherwise stipulated.
Bidding
Artvisory offers four options for bidding at our Auctions:
Live Bidding
If this is your first-time bidding with Artvisory you will be required to register with us, which requires you to fill out a buyer registration form to receive your bidders number.
To facilitate this, please bring along your Government issued photo identification, such as a driver’s licence or passport as this is the only form of identification that will be accepted.
Please make sure you register in the name you want your final invoice to be made out to, as invoices once issued cannot be changed, and in certain cases a deposit may be required before you can bid.
Online Bidding
Online bidding via Invaluable.com allows you to bid via the internet in real time, whilst also allowing you to view the live feed of the Auction. You have two options to register for this service:
• Register via the Artvisory website and an Invaluable.com online bidding fee of 2% of the hammer price is added
• Register direct with Invaluable.com and an online bidding fee of 5% of the hammer price is added
Please make sure you register for online bidding at least 24 hours prior to the Auction to ensure you do not miss your lot.
Please note if you have not bid with Artvisory previously, then Government issued photo identification verifying your name and address will be also be required before you can be approved to bid with Artvisory via the Invaluable.com site, and in certain cases a deposit may be required before you can bid.
Please note Artvisory cannot be held responsible for any errors that occur with internet connectivity during an auction or buyer bidding errors.
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Telephone Bidding
Complimentary telephone bidding is available at all of our live Auctions and involves an Artvisory representative calling you approximately 3–5 lots in advance of your nominated lot and you then instruct them to bid on your behalf.
Telephone Bids must be requested at least 24 hours prior to the commencement of the Auction and are provided on a first come, first served basis, as the number of phone lines available are limited.
See our website to download and complete a telephone bidding form and please note that if this is your first time bidding with Artvisory, we will require a clear, scanned copy of Government issued photo identification such as a drivers licence or current passport verifying your name and address and in certain cases a deposit may be required before you can bid.
Absentee Bidding
Absentee bidding offers convenience if you are unable to attend an Auction in person, bid over the telephone, or if you wish to stick to your budget.
An absentee bid should be set at the maximum amount you wish to bid on the lot/s you are interested in purchasing. Should the lot/s be knocked down at an amount lower than the bid recorded on your form, the lot will be sold to you for the lesser hammer price plus Buyers Premium. If identical bids are received for the same lot, then the first bid received by Artvisory will take precedence.
Absentee bids must be received by Artvisory at least 24 hours prior to the Auction commencing and the Company cannot be held responsible for activating any late bids that are received.
See our website to download and complete an absentee bidding form and please note if this is your first time bidding with Artvisory, we will require a clear, scanned copy of Government issued photo identification such as a drivers licence or current passport verifying your name and address and in certain cases a deposit may be required before you can bid.
Payment and Collection
If you are successful with your bid/s, your invoice will be emailed to you immediately after the Auction finishes.
You will pay the hammer price, plus the Buyers Premium of 26% plus GST on each lot, together with any additional charges such as the Invaluable.com online bidding fee, GST on hammer, or the Artist Resale Royalty if applicable.
As per our terms and conditions, payments must be made in full by three (3) days after the Auction has been completed as printed in the catalogue.
We accept Direct Deposit into the Company Trust Account, Eftpos (up to your daily limit) or credit card in person with the following merchant fee applicable (1.43% inc GST for Visa, Mastercard and American Express)
Cash payments must be deposited direct to the Company Trust account via any Commonwealth Bank Branch, and goods can be released upon supplying the deposit receipt.
Personal, Company and Bank cheques are not accepted unless prior approval has been sought.
All payment options and Company Trust Account details are included on the invoice that is emailed to you after the Auction if you are a successful bidder.
All items must be paid for in full and collected within the collection times advertised for each individual Auction. If items are not collected within this time frame then Artvisory reserves the right to charge removal, storage and release fees.
Packing and Delivery
Artvisory has a list of recommended carriers specific to each auction that will be sent to you if you are a successful buyer.
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ANDY WARHOL (American, 1928-1987)
Mick Jagger (F. & S. II.140)
silk screen-print on Arches Aquarelle paper signed in pencil by the artist and in felt pen by Mick Jagger, numbered 164/250
Seabird Editions, London. Printed by Alexander Heinrici, New York, framed
Catalogue Raisonné: Feldman & Schellmann II.140 paper size 111cm high, 73cm wide
PROVENANCE
The Private Collection of a celebrated Australian actor, New South Wales
EXHIBITED
Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney. Andy Warhol: Portraits
November 1993 – March 1994 and then toured.
Most recent auction sale of this work:
Bonhams London: Prints and Multiples, Tuesday, June 27, 2023, Lot 61
Estimate £60,000-80,000 GBP (76,511-102,014 USD) Sold for £108,350 GBP inc Premium, approx AUD$216,281
There have been multiple previous sales of this work in recent years between US$130,000-160,000 $150,000–200,000
Andy Warhol created a portfolio of images of Mick Jagger in 1975, which is one of Warhol’s most iconic series, and which depicts the Rolling Stones lead singer from a variety of angles.
Warhol’s fascination with fame and celebrity shone through not only in his art, but through his lifestyle as well. Warhol’s “Superstar” set was the most glamorous clique in New York; the artist constantly had 20th century icons in his orbit. In the 1970's, Warhol spent most of his time focusing on commissioned celebrity portraits. With his famous polaroid camera, he captured images of everyone from Arnold Schwarzenegger to Muhammad Ali. Warhol was a celebrity’s celebrity, rubbing elbows with stars from every walk of life, not just the arts. But Warhol’s friendship with Jagger stands out as one of the most super-powered celebrity relationships. The Mick Jagger series documented the cultural force of Jagger and Warhol with brash honesty. Even among Warhol’s other iconic celebrity silkscreens, the Mick Jagger series stands out as a unique look at a musical legend through Warhol’s eccentric, yet intimate eyes. Warhol spent a considerable amount of time with Jagger and his then wife, Bianca. Their relationship, discussed in Warhol biographies and cultural histories alike, stands as a noteworthy point of 70's culture. Their artistic collaboration sparked headlines long before the completion of the Mick Jagger series, when Warhol contributed the artwork for the Rolling Stones’ album Sticky Fingers in 1969. It was the Rolling Stones that approached Warhol and asked him to design the sleeve for their ninth studio album. Warhol agreed and subsequently he received a letter from Mick Jagger that included a polite request not to make the cover too complex, to avoid problems during production. However, Warhol ignored this and went on to produce the legendary cover, featuring a functional zipper. Warhol’s design, a close-up of Joe Dallesandro’s crotch in jeans, instantly attracted attention. This album cover became a defining image of the Rolling Stones.
Warhol perfectly captured the band’s unapologetic sexuality and willingness to push the envelope. This episode made it clear that Warhol and Jagger held similar artistic ethos; both were iconoclasts, willing to turn social conventions upside down for the sake of art.
The Mick Jagger series, the artistic peak of Warhol and Jagger’s friendship, was released four years later and comprised ten screen-prints based on photographs that Warhol captured. Printed on Arches Aquarelle paper, most of the prints were also signed in black, green, or red felt pen by Mick Jagger.
The series is notable not only for its display of Warhol’s famous bright colours and stencilled lines, but also as an early “collage” example (also seen in the series Reigning Queens). This style uses overlaid images, ripped borders, and a postmodern aesthetic as an approach to colour and eventually became one of Warhol’s greatest contributions to Pop Art.
The Mick Jagger series remains of Warhol’s most famous celebrity silkscreen productions, for good reason — the images of Mick Jagger are arguably as iconic as the man himself.
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© Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. ARS/Copyright Agency, 2023
A very beautiful and intricately painted Tuscan two-section four-door cupboard, Italian, 18th century 186cm wide, 216cm high, 67cm deep
PROVENANCE
John Dunn Antiques, Melbourne
A distinguished private collection, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
$15,000–20,000
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An exceptional pair of polychrome painted, carved and gilt walnut throne chairs, Tuscan, 18th/19th century
140cm high, 68cm wide, 64cm deep
PROVENANCE
John Dunn Antiques, Melbourne
A distinguished private collection, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
$7,000–10,000
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AKIO MAKIGAWA
(Japanese/Australian, 1948-1999)
Spirit of Fire 1991
galvanized steel, fibreglass, epoxy resin and pigments
279cm high, 241cm wide, 100cm deep
PROVENANCE
The Private Collection of John and Pauline Gandel, Melbourne
LITERATURE
Haig Beck and Jacquie Cooper, Akio Makigawa, no. 86, illustrated
REFERENCE
Bromfield, D., Akio Makigawa, Craftsman House, Sydney, 1995, Akio Makigawa, interview with David Bromfield, Perth October 1994
$80,000–120,000
Akio Makigawa arrived in Perth from Japan in 1974 with the intention of working as a sail maker. Since boy-hood, sailing had been his first love and he dreamt of one day owning a boat to sail around the world. Makigawa had always enjoyed making paintings and working creatively, however he had not thought of making art a career. His first encounter with sculpture was through the Perth sculptor Tony Jones (born 1944) whom he met through a common interest in sailing. He enrolled in the Claremont School of Art which had a focus on the study of sculpture – here he was introduced to the enormous possibilities within the realm of sculpture.
He continued his study of sculpture at the Western Australian Institute of Technology (now Curtin University) and was influenced by the radical attitudes of Terry New and other expatriate British lecturers. Makigawa was drawn to British sculpture more than any other as it ‘was engaged in an attempt to free sculptural form from its dependence on the spatial and emotional logic of the human body.’
Makigawa found inspiration from many Australian and international sculptors, however he began to form his own unique feeling towards sculpture which involved the more profound Japanese attitude to material.
‘In Japan, the religious thing is tricky: if you find a stone or the air or a tree that is ‘right’ then it can be close to God. I have an approach that is different to the English ‘honesty to materials’. For them material is just material. They are not interested in the spiritual side of material. Even Henry Moore’s interest in material goes no further.’
In this work, Makigawa shows the influence of modernist sculptors Jean Arp (1887-1966) and Constantin Brancusi (1876-1957) which is often evident, as it is here with this work, particularly the latter’s notion of incorporating the idea of different materials into one artwork. Here the red marble effect of the upper section contrasts yet seamlessly blends with the cool metal quadripartite base.
Makigawa is most well-known for his monumental public commissions. The artist’s deteriorating health later in life restricted the amount of work he was able to produce outside of his public commissions, so works of this scale are very rare to the market.
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A unique pair of unpublished 35mm slides of the Beatles when they visited Melbourne in 1964, outside the Southern Cross Hotel where they appeared as a band of five, with the stand-in drummer Jimmy Nichol sold with reproduction copyrights
PROVENANCE
The collection of the photographer's son who has kindly provided the following history to these unique images:
"My father was a photographer and only happened to have his camera with him when the Beatles arrived because my sister’s 21st birthday was held in the Southern Cross Hotel the previous night and the family had stayed over.
Kenn Brodziac, the tour promoter, had his office at the Southern Cross and enjoyed good relations with my father, often providing free tickets to his shows – this was the case with my sister and I – we were comped for the Beatles. By the time the Beatles arrived, my sisters and I were in one of the rooms opening onto the Ist floor canopy facing Exhibition Street. A huge crowd, mainly girls, was surging in front of the hotel when a motorcade arrived, escorted by police cars and mounted police, who struggled to keep the crowd back. It turned out to be a diversion. Meanwhile, the Beatles went down the ramp into the hotel’s underground carpark. The crowd set up a chant of "We Want The Beatles" and they duly appeared a few minutes later. My father was standing on the canopy near the rail where they waved to the crowd. At some point later in the day, the Beatles were hosted at the General Manager's flat in the hotel, where my father took their picture. This was the last time Jimmy Nichol, the stand-in drummer, (shown in these images) was seen with them"
$5,000–10,000
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An outstanding set of eight George III Hepplewhite mahogany dining chairs, English, circa 1780
The armchairs 97cm high, 63cm wide, 55cm deep at legs
PROVENANCE
Partridge, New Bond Street, London, circa 1986
$20,000–40,000
These wonderful chairs would rank as perhaps the finest examples of their kind to have been offered for auction in Australia. Their design closely follows a design in Hepplewhite, The Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterer's Guide of 1794 (Plate 5, fig.4)
Everything about the design of these chairs is harmonious, from the way the back-splats interlace and entwine like ribbons, to the proud feathers on their backs and then the way the husk-trails run around the cresting rail and then fall downwards through the back uprights and down again through the tapered square legs to the blocked feet. Even the leather covered dished seats echo the movement and flow of the backs.
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A pair of exceptional carved and gilt-wood armchairs, English, circa 1820
106cm high, 70cm wide, 73cm deep
PROVENANCE
From the collection of the trustees of the 10th Duke of Argyll, Inveraray Castle, Scotland
Partridge, New Bond Street, London, circa 1986
The Estate of Judith and Bruce Terry, Teychel, 16 Moule Avenue, Brighton, Victoria, Australia
$25,000–35,000
Partridge noted in 1986, that these chairs formed part of a suite recorded as being re-upholstered in 1871, when the 9th Duke married H.R.H. Princess Louise Caroline Alberta, 4th daughter of Her Majesty Queen Victoria.
The 9th Duke of Argyll
John Douglas Sutherland Campbell, Marquess of Lorne became the 9th Duke of Argyll on the death of his father in 1900. His home was Inveraray Castle.
In 1870 Princess Louise, the most beautiful of Queen Victoria’s daughters, was 22. Although not since 1515 had an English princess married outside a European, continental dynasty, she and the Queen now devised a private list of five British candidates. In September 1870, each was invited to spend a few days at Balmoral Castle. The last young man on the list and probably the most important in the eyes of the Queen and possibly Louise, was the Marquess of Lorne.
Lord Lorne and Princess Louise were married in March 1871 at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle. They soon moved into Kensington Palace, where the Queen had been brought up.
In 1878 the Marquess was appointed Governor General of Canada by British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli.
The 10th Duke of Argyll
Niall Diarmid Campbell (1872-1949) succeeded his uncle John Campbell, 9th Duke of Argyll as 10th Duke of Argyll in May 1914.
The 10th Duke hated telephones and motor cars and would indulge in eccentric behaviour, including greeting tourists at Inveraray Castle with recitals from Italian operas. The Duke always wore the Campbell Tartan kilt when in the Highlands. Throughout his life, he was an antiquarian of note and had a very keen interest in history.
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A pair of carved gilt-wood side-chairs, ensuite to the previous lot, English, circa 1820
98cm high, 62cm wide, 60cm deep
PROVENANCE
The 10th Duke of Argyll, Inveraray Castle, Scotland
Partridge, New Bond Street, London, circa 1986
The Estate of Judith and Bruce Terry, Teychel, 16 Moule Avenue, Brighton, Victoria, Australia
$8,000–12,000
Partridge noted in 1986, that these chairs formed part of a suite recorded as being re-upholstered in 1871, when the 9th Duke married H.R.H. Princess Louise Caroline Alberta, 4th daughter of Her Majesty Queen Victoria.
The 9th Duke of Argyll
John Douglas Sutherland Campbell, Marquess of Lorne became the 9th Duke of Argyll on the death of his father in 1900. His home was Inveraray Castle.
In 1870 Princess Louise, the most beautiful of Queen Victoria’s daughters, was 22. Although not since 1515 had an English princess married outside a European, continental dynasty, she and the Queen now devised a private list of five British candidates. In September 1870, each was invited to spend a few days at Balmoral Castle. The last young man on the list and probably the most important in the eyes of the Queen and possibly Louise, was the Marquess of Lorne.
Lord Lorne and Princess Louise were married in March 1871 at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle. They soon moved into Kensington Palace, where the Queen had been brought up.
In 1878 the Marquess was appointed Governor General of Canada by British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli.
The 10th Duke of Argyll
Niall Diarmid Campbell (1872-1949) succeeded his uncle John Campbell, 9th Duke of Argyll as 10th Duke of Argyll in May 1914.
The 10th Duke hated telephones and motor cars and would indulge in eccentric behaviour, including greeting tourists at Inveraray Castle with recitals from Italian operas. The Duke always wore the Campbell Tartan kilt when in the Highlands. Throughout his life, he was an antiquarian of note and had a very keen interest in history.
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A very rare and superb solid malachite and gilt-bronze embellished centre table, Russian, mid 19th century 80cm diameter, 83cm high
PROVENANCE
Acquired from Alexander and Berendt, 1A Davies Street, Berkeley Square, London W1 in 1981. The Estate of Judith and Bruce Terry, 16 Moule Avenue Brighton, Victoria, Australia.
$40,000–60,000
Following Russia''s victory over Napoleon in 1812, there was a new mood in Russia, one of celebration and self-confidence. It was this mood which eventually found its way into the world of decorative arts, as innovative architects and makers were invited to design the palaces of Tsar Nicholas I. Malachite was one of the new materials which found favour among Russian designers, for its intense green colour and its preciousness. Indeed, in the later 1830's, the wife of Tsar Nicholas I, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, commissioned an entire room in St Petersburg''s Winter Palace to be made entirely out of malachite. Consequently, many new lapidary workshops started to emerge in the early 19th Century, a majority of which worked to make beautiful, extravagant pieces in malachite using the new ''Russian mosaic'' technique, which allowed malachite veneers to be applied to extremely large and exquisite pieces.
In 1835, large deposits of malachite, a stalagmitic form of green carbonate of copper, were found on one of the estates of the Demidov family. This discovery enabled Russian artisans to use malachite in lavish ways never before imagined. Always used strictly as veneer except in very small objects, malachite was applied either in a random arrangement, or in a pattern recreating the veins of malachite, as seen on this table top. Malachite was usually cemented to a slate or a metal base by employing a technique known as Russian Mosaic. Ground malachite was then added to cement to form a breccia, a glue that hardened quickly. The malachite breccia ensured that the seams between small pieces would be less noticeable.
As the technique for cutting malachite plaque to form a pattern was not developed until about 1845, this table probably dates to circa 1855, the same date as the Louis XV style malachite fireplaces in the Winter Palace and in the Lusupov Palace, St Petersburg.
The mine from where this supply came from is the Mednovudyansk mine, Ninny Tagil, Middle Urals .
There was a very important discovery of two huge boulders in around 1834 and another a little smaller below it in 1843. The British Geologist Sir Roderick Imey recorded them in his diary .
The actual venerating is of the best work, because of the crossed rivers and flower shapes which has been created by a master of the technique.
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A rare and opulent solid malachite and gilt-bronze mounted armchair, Russian, 19th century
103cm high, 68cm wide, 58cm deep
PROVENANCE
Acquired in 1981 from Alexander and Berendt, 1A Davies Street, Berkeley Square, London W1
The Estate of Judith and Bruce Terry, Teychel, 16 Moule Avenue, Brighton, Victoria, Australia
$8,000–12,000
Following Russia's victory over Napoleon in 1812, there was a new mood in Russia, one of celebration and self-confidence. It was this mood which eventually found its way into the world of decorative arts, as innovative architects and makers were invited to design the palaces of Tsar Nicholas I. Malachite was one of the new materials which found favour among Russian designers, for its intense green colour and its preciousness. Indeed, in the later 1830s, the wife of Tsar Nicholas I, Empress Alexandra
Feodorovna, commissioned an entire room in St Petersburg''s Winter Palace to be made entirely out of malachite. Consequently, many new lapidary workshops started to emerge in the early 19th Century, a majority of which worked to make beautiful, extravagant pieces in malachite using the new ''Russian mosaic'' technique, which allowed malachite veneers to be applied to extremely large and exquisite pieces.
In 1835, large deposits of malachite, a stalagmitic form of green carbonate of copper, were found on one of the estates of the Demidov family. This discovery enabled Russian artisans to use malachite in lavish ways never before imagined. Always used strictly as veneer except in very small objects, malachite was applied either in a random arrangement, or in a pattern recreating the veins of malachite, as seen on this table top. Malachite was usually cemented to a slate or a metal base by employing a technique known as Russian Mosaic. Ground malachite was then added to cement to form a breccia, a glue that hardened quickly. The malachite breccia ensured that the seams between small pieces would be less noticeable.
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An exceptional marquetry and parquetry inlaid mahogany breakfront library bookcase, English, circa 1785 220cm wide, 54cm deep, 260cm high
PROVENANCE
Apter Fredericks, London, presumably acquired in the mid 1980s or earlier as this bookcase is recorded in a Leonard Joel insurance valuation from 1988, (Recorded as K Fredericks but presumably A. (Albert) Fredericks, later called Apter-Fredericks) but unfortunately no purchase invoice now exists.
The Estate of Judith and Bruce Terry, Teychel, 16 Moule Avenue, Brighton, Victoria, Australia.
$30,000–50,000
This tripartite bookcase, of appealing small proportions, is surely one of the finest examples ever offered for sale in Australia. Its simplicity and restraint in design is defined by its quality of workmanship.
Authenticity features abound, such as the matched backboards to the top and bottom, sun-fading evidence where the drop handles have blocked the sun for generations, identical stringing and cross-banding to the cornice on the upper part and to the frieze of the lower part.
Indicators of its outstanding quality include the fact that the drawer linings are made of Padouk, which in itself sets the piece above the rest, but then you look at other features, such as the central secretaire-drawer and the superb quality cast-bronze handles, with their oval palm leaf central bosses. The parquetry work on the fascia of the lower frieze is, in itself, a tour de force. The oval veneers to the doors have been selected from the very finest available flame-mahogany and would have been very expensive as an imported and highly-prized timber of the day.
All in all, these features point to the likelihood that this bookcase was both designed and made by one of the leading cabinet-makers of the day.
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A pair of very fine quality gilt-bronze and bronze candelabra, attributed to Pierre-Philippe Thomire (1751-1843), French, early 19th century 88cm high, 26cm wide
PROVENANCE
Partridge, New Bond Street, London, circa 1986 The Estate of Judith and Bruce Terry, Teychel, 16 Moule Avenue, Brighton, Victoria, Australia
$20,000–30,000
These extraordinary candelabra display a myriad of Classical symbols, so popular in France during the Empire period. The central figures, with arms up-stretched, possibly represent Aphrodite, the ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty and passion. Sacred to Aphrodite was the swan which was a traditional symbol of beauty and grace in ancient Greece. The swan was also sacred to Apollo, the god of music in Greek mythology and hence the finely matt gilded swans that surmount these candelabra.
Cherub trumpeters and rearing horses further embellish these impressive candelabra, creating a sense of victorious heroism that inspired design around the time of Napoleon Bonaparte between 1800-1815.
Pierre-Philippe Thomire (1751–1843) a French sculptor, was the most prominent bronzier, or producer of ornamental patinated and gilt-bronze objects and furniture mounts of the First French Empire in the neoclassical and Empire style. The young artisan first appeared in records
with a set of gilt-bronze wall-lights delivered for Marie-Antoinette's cardroom, which were chased by Thomire.
Thomire established his own shop in 1776 and in 1783–84 he received his first notable commission, casting and finishing the gilt-bronze handles modelled by Louis-Simon Boizot for a pair of Sèvres porcelain vases, which today divide their time between the Musée du Louvre and the Palazzo Pitti.
Under the Empire period in France, Thomire purchased fashionable premises in Rue Taitbout, Paris and exhibited at the 1806 Exposition Publique des Produits de l'Industrie, where he won a gold medal. His most prestigious commission was the execution of the cradle for the King of Rome, which was designed by Pierre Paul Prud'hon and in which Thomire collaborated with the Imperial silversmith Odiot. In a second cradle that was commissioned, Thomire alone was responsible. At the height of his business it was estimated that Thomire employed six or seven hundred workers.
Under the Restauration, Thomire Duterme et Cie retained the finest clientele, among them Monsieur, the King's brother, the duc de Berry, and as furnishers to the Garde Meuble de la Couronne. Thomire cast and finished a martial allegory sculpted by Louis-Simon Boizot and applied it to the upper corners of a secretary desk by Guillaume Beneman, delivered for the King's cabinet intérieure at Compiègne, 1787.
In a notable commission for Count Nicolay Demidoff in 1819, Thomire produced finely-made figures of Fame with doubled trumpets to serve as handles for the massive malachite-veneered vase now at the Metropolitan Museum. Thomire retired from his firm in 1823.
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A very rare Louis XV period table-de-nuit in kingwood, rouge marble and gilt-bronze, French circa 1750
81cm high, 49cm wide, 36cm deep
PROVENANCE
The collection of Baroness and Lord Burton
Partridge, New Bond Street, London, circa 1986
The Estate of Judith and Bruce Terry, Teychel, 16 Moule Avenue, Brighton, Victoria, Australia
EXHIBITED
Birmingham City Art Gallery for 35 years until circa 1980
$5,000–8,000
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A pair of finely gilded and painted Paris porcelain vases, painted with landscapes, fowl, a fox and gun-dogs, French Empire period, circa 1820 with a combination of high-burnished and matt gilding 43cm high
PROVENANCE
Partridge, New Bond Street, London circa 1986
The Estate of Judith and Bruce Terry, Teychel, 16 Moule Avenue, Brighton, Victoria, Australia
$3,000–5,000
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PETER HUGH BLIZZARD OAM (Australian, 1940-2010)
Reflected Moon 2009 steel, painted aluminium, brass 700cm high, 450cm wide
PROVENANCE
The Private Collection of John and Pauline Gandel Melbourne
$30,000–50,000
This work is currently on view at Point Leo Estate Sculpture Park, 3649 Frankston-Flinders Road, Merricks VIC 3916 (Open daily seven days a week from 11am) Collection arrangements by the buyer needs to be discussed and arranged with us well in advance.
Peter Blizzard by Ken Scarlett OAM
Peter Blizzard, OAM, played a significant role in the development of contemporary Australian sculpture and his work reflected a profound reverence for the Australian landscape and for nature in general.
He was the subject of a major retrospective at the Art Gallery of Ballarat in November 2010 until January 26, 2011, which traced the development of his work.
Blizzard came to sculpture after early years as an engineering draftsman and graphic designer. He left school at 15 and later gained a diploma in graphic design, mainly by attending night classes. For many years he worked as a designer of large-scale exhibition stands for international trade conventions, as well as designing posters, stamps, tapestries, medallions and banners. Having always wanted to be an artist, however, he was, by the late 1960s, also exhibiting paintings and sculpture. Religious commissions for Stations of the Cross and a Crucifixion in 1971 further stimulated his interest in sculpture; major commissions for the Gold Museum in Ballarat and Deakin University at Geelong followed.
In 1972, he was appointed lecturer in sculpture at Ballarat University –where he was admired as an inspiring and dedicated teacher – a post he held until he retired in 1995.
Between 1973 and 1983 Blizzard and his wife, Liz, designed and built a home, basically from reclaimed materials, at Greendale. The city boy, born in working-class Brunswick, had found his place in the bush, a move that was to have a profound effect on his sculpture.
It was a hectic time: full-time lecturing, building the house, raising a young family, playing drums in a jazz band in Melbourne, volunteering in the local community, producing sculptures.
In retirement, however, he had more time to ponder and draw, and his career as a sculptor reached new heights. The landscape that he loved was the source of his inspiration and he evolved a series of personal symbols – a semi-circle hinting at a rainbow, a full circle the moon, an undulating line a river, while a series of peaks suggested mountain ranges. These works became visible expressions of his philosophy: "Venerate the earth and walk lightly upon it."
By good fortune Blizzard acquired discarded offcuts of steel and he immediately saw the possibilities of using these to suggest the movement of the sea and the patterns of the waves. Works such as the profoundly beautiful Seascape Whale Song followed.
Placed within a rectangle, a large square, or the confines of a circle, the lines of his curving steel took on a musicality, reading almost as the notation for musical performances.
If lecturing had placed limitations upon Blizzard's time to produce sculpture there was an unexpected side benefit: among his students was a Japanese woman who returned to Japan intent on promoting her lecturer's work. Thus followed a series of highly successful exhibitions, several commissions and in 2006, a solo exhibition at the prestigious Hakone Open-Air Museum.
Blizzard is the only Australian to be so honoured.
The Japanese public responded instinctively to his respect for, and use of, natural materials, his craftsmanship, and the symbolism informing his work such as stone altar-like pieces.
The boy who had left school at 15 had come a long way. Besides exhibitions and commissions in Japan, he had commissions for a series of major works such as Bay Totem at St Kilda, Shrine to the Ancient River, Little Collins Street in Melbourne, and Moorabool Earth Totem in the main street of Ballan, as well as the monumental Australian Ex-prisoners of War Memorial in Ballarat.
Edited with permission from the obituary by Ken Scarlett, SMH 21 January 2010
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ARTHUR BOYD (Australian, 1920-1999)
Rockface Shoalhaven oil on canvas signed lower right
106 x 182cm
PROVENANCE
Australian Galleries, Derby Street, Collingwood, Melbourne
$250,000–350,000
Arthur Boyd returned to Australia in 1971, eager to rediscover his antipodean roots, having spent over a decade in the lush English countryside. A short time after his homecoming, art dealer Frank McDonald invited Arthur and his wife Yvonne to visit his property by the banks of the Shoalhaven River, on the south coast of New South Wales. On this sweltering hot day Boyd commenced a sketch of the Shoalhaven River, thus beginning a love affair with the region and its many moods.
Boyd and his wife Yvonne purchased two properties in the Shoalhaven region, Riversdale and Bundanon. Each provided access to stretches of the meandering Shoalhaven River and magnificent Pulpit Rock. From their living room, the Boyd's experienced the constantly changing light which turned the sky from the darkest blacks to the brightest blues, with mauves and indigos in between. As Barry Pearce writes, ‘They experienced Australia’s seasons and catastrophes; in high summer the air so clear and hot that light carved out the shapes of rocks like a burning scalpel. When the floods came after endless days of rain, the river heaving its great brown mass towards the sea, carrying it all before it.’
Earlier in his career, Brueghel and Rembrandt had offered inspiration; now Roberts, von Guérard and Buvelot came to be Boyd’s artistic forebears. This period saw Boyd re-establish his roots in the country of his birth and embark upon a powerful series of paintings which are not simply landscapes but a fusion of his rich European and Australian heritage, infused with social, mythological and personal significance. As Boyd
observes: "The variation of this area with its great deep tones and high keys has an analogy with music. In the desert there is only one note, just one long singing note. In this landscape the tonal range – not tonal in the obvious sense of colour, but the actual fact of the horizon, which vary from very high to low to infinite, depending on your line of vision – makes it a greater challenge. It has a knife-edge clarity. Impressionism could never have been born here, but Wagner could have composed here. He could not have composed at Port Phillip Bay"
In many of Boyd’s Shoalhaven works, the artist divides the picture plane into two halves thus paying direct homage to the compositions of the Heidelberg School and most notably, Tom Roberts, whose horizons punctuated with eucalypts have become iconic images within Australian art.
The majesty of the soaring cliffs which border the Shoalhaven remained a perennial image of the Shoalhaven series, with the sunbathed Nowra sandstone standing timelessly above the tranquil river. As Janet McKenzie has observed; 'The natural beauty of the Shoalhaven area caused Boyd to marvel constantly. His paintings are a celebration of the grandeur and wonder of Nature. It is to Boyd's credit that a single landscape can inspire such diversity of work. He gives us the impression that in life there are infinite possibilities, as long as we train ourselves to see. Devoid of the boats, figures and swans, often featured in the series, Shoalhaven is a pure landscape, celebrating the unspoiled bush, completely removed from urban life. The piercing blue of the sky above the still waters of the river, creates a scene that ‘glows with well-being, joy and a sense of youth’ Shoalhaven is removed from the religious and lyrical connotations imbued in a number of paintings of this subject, instead portraying a truly enchanting summer day, with ‘air so clear and hot that light carved out the shapes of rocks like a burning scalpel.’
Sandra McGrath describes Boyd's influences: "While Boyd in general chooses to portray the Shoalhaven landscape more identified with Von Guerard and Buvelot, at other times he cannot resist the temptation to paint the landscape in the manner of the early Box Hill painters ... Despite their reliance on a realistic approach to the subject, the Boyd Shoalhaven landscapes are more varied in technique and style than one might suppose. With his prodigious ability the artist is able to take the nature of the subject and render it in a manner which captures the essence of its particular properties at that time, or imbue it with a sense of character and meaning which is the result of his own immediate emotional or psychological response.
Having always delighted in his painting trips along the river, Boyd believed his magical Bundanon property should belong to the Australian people. Soon after Shoalhaven was painted, the property was gifted to the Australian Government, to be preserved forever, in the hope that future generations may also be inspired by the beauty and brilliance of the Shoalhaven River.
McKenzie, J., Arthur Boyd at Bundanon, Academy Press, London, 1994, p. 42
McGrath, S., The Artist and the River: Arthur Boyd and the Shoalhaven, Bay Books, Sydney, 1982, p. 62/63
Pearce, B., Arthur Boyd Retrospective, The Beagle Press, Sydney, 1999, p.27
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© Arthur Boyd/Copyright Agency, 2023
KEITH HARING (American, 1958-1990)
Pop Shop IV Series
set of four coloured screen prints, dated 1989, with the estate stamp on the verso, signed K Haring in pencil and numbered 66/200, dated 89 paper size 34cm high, 42cm wide
PROVENANCE
Martin Lawrence Galleries, San Francisco. USA Private Collection Sydney, Australia
REFERENCE
Littmann, illustrated p. 142
$150,000–200,000
The Pop Shop opened its doors in 1986 at 292 Lafayette Street in the Soho neighbour-hood of Manhattan, NYC. Haring saw the Pop Shop as an extension of his work, a fun boutique where his art could be accessible to everyone. The Shop sold T-shirts and novelty items with Keith’s imagery as well as some of his contemporaries, like Kenny Scharf and Jean Michel Basquiat. Haring later opened a Pop Shop in Tokyo in 1987 where the artist painted the inside walls of both shops, creating an immersive experience into his aesthetic. The Pop Shop Tokyo closed in 1988 and the NYC Pop Shop location closed in September of 2005. In 2006 the exhibition Keith Haring: Art and Commerce examined the context and history of the Pop Shop, and in 2009, as part of the group exhibition Pop Life, the Tate Modern reconstructed aspects of the New York Pop Shop to recreate the feeling of the original. The original Pop Shop ceiling was donated to the New York Historical Society and is installed in its entry. In Haring's own words: “Here’s the philosophy behind the Pop Shop: I wanted to continue this same sort of communication as with the subway drawings. I wanted to attract the same wide range of people, and I wanted it to be a place where, yes, not only collectors could come, but also kids from the Bronx. The main point was that we didn’t want to produce things that would cheapen the art. In other words, this was still an art statement.”
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A superb George III inlaid mahogany serpentine-sided partners-desk, attributable to Thomas Shearer, English, circa 1780 184cm long, 108cm deep, 80cm high
PROVENANCE
Sand Hutton Hall, near York.UK
The Estate of the late Major Sir Robert James Milo Walker, Bart. Middlethorpe Lodge, previously of Sand Hutton, Yorkshire.
The collection of Sir Keith Murdoch Melbourne.
See online image of Sir Keith seated at this desk.
Acquired by Dr.E Graeme Robertson Melbourne at the auction of the Estate of Sir Keith and Lady Murdoch, March 1953, lot 70 for the not inconsiderable sum then of 520 pounds where it was referred to in the catalogue as the finest desk of its kind to offered in Australia.
Yoshua McClelland, who acted for the Murdoch family with the auction of the estate, provided a letter of provenance on September 27th, 1954 which is illustrated online.
ILLUSTRATED
John Rogan, Antiques in Australia. Jacaranda Press, Brisbane, 1975, page 143
In this publication Rogan refers to a similar kneehole writing-table in the Judge Untermeyer collection, New York.
REFERENCES
See Shearer's furniture designs, from: The Cabinet Makers London Book of Prices 1788/1793, Plate 2, which illustrates the design for a serpentinefronted and sided partner's desk.
Also refer to: Connoisseur Magazine, June 1961, page 30, A Library Writing Table Made From a Design by Thomas Shearer. This article illustrates another serpentine-fronted and sided desk designed by Thomas Shearer. The article talks about Shearer's importance as a furniture designer and his penchant for serpentine outlined desks. Photocopy's of these articles will be available at the public viewings.
$15,000–25,000
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A pair of fine George III satinwood and marquetry inlaid bergère chairs, English circa 1785
83cm high, 56cm wide, 52.5cm deep
PROVENANCE
Martyn Cook Antiques, Sydney (acquired for AUD$16,000) Private Collection, Sydney
$6,000–8,000
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A pair of fabulous English specimen-marble and gilt-wood Neo-Classical console tables, English, 19th century
125.5cm wide, 52.5cm deep, 87cm high
PROVENANCE
Martyn Cook Antiques, Sydney Private Collection, Melbourne
$15,000–20,000
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PIETRO CALVI
(Italian, 1833-1884)
The Moor of Venice
bronze and marble
74cm high, 47cm wide, 32cm deep
For examples sold see:
Property from the Estate of Rochelle Sepenuka, Sotheby's, New York, 21 October 2008, lot 89, sold for US$43,750 19th century European Art, Christie's, New York, 28 October 2013, lot 84, sold for US$57,500
Sotheby's London. April 30, 2019
Pietro Calvi – The Moor of Venice
Estimate: £18,000 GBP–£25,000 GBP, Sold: £26,000 GBP
$30,000–40,000
Pietro Calvi was born in Milan and studied at the Milan Academy, training under the renowned sculptor Giovanni Seleroni. It was under Seleroni’s guidance that Calvi developed the outstanding sensitivity and refinement that became the hallmark of his modelling. Calvi relished working in bronze and marble, often combining the two materials to create the
most striking and effective results. This style is reminiscent of another 19th century ethnographic sculptor, Charles Cordier. However, unlike the latter’s scientific outlook on his subjects, Calvi brought out the dramatic, emotional side of his sitters. Many of his works were exhibited throughout Europe and America, most notably at London’s Royal Academy from 1872 until the year before his death in 1883.
Pietro Calvi's 1868 marble and bronze sculpture of Shakespeare's The Moor of Venice, is displayed at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland and shows Othello as portrayed by American actor Ira Aldridge. Aldridge was the first black actor to play Othello, doing so in 1825 at a time when the end of slavery was still decades away, though he spent most of his life in Europe and died in 1867 before he could return to the United States.
Ira Aldridge is believed to have been born in New York City around 1807 (though some early biographies say he was born in Bel Air, Maryland), the son of a free Black preacher named Daniel and his wife Luranah. Although there were some theatre opportunities for African-Americans in New York, including The African Company, which is considered this country’s first black troupe, acting was not a financially feasible career choice for a young Black man in America, so Ira Aldridge moved to England.
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AFTER JOHANN HEINRICH VON DANNECKER (Stuttgart, 1758-1841)
a Carrara marble figure of Ariadne on the Panther, Italian, 19th century
61cm high, 54cm wide, 20cm deep
$8,000–10,000
Ariadne, the daughter of the King Minos of Crete, having helped Theseus, whom she loved, to escape from the labyrinth, was in turn abandoned by him on the island of Naxos. Bacchus rescued her, consoled her and soon they were married. The vine wreath in Ariadne's hair alludes to her union with Bacchus, the God of Wine, as does the panther which is often depicted drawing Bacchus's triumphal chariot. Ariadne's heavenward gaze may also relate to the constellation created when Bacchus flung her jewelled crown to the heavens.
Dannecker's sculpture was a popular attraction at Bethmann's museum in Frankfurt, and became an essential stop on the tourist trail, Due to this it frequently appeared in English guidebooks, novels and travel narratives, such as Anna Jameson's 'Sketches of Germany' (1832).
Johann Heinrich von Dannecker received his initial training as a sculptor in his native town of Stuttgart. In 1776 he committed himself to ducal service for life and was appointed court sculptor to the Duke of
Württemberg in 1780, he continued his studies by travelling first to Paris and then to Rome. The works of classical antiquity and those of Antonio Canova (1775–1822) made a deep impression on him. Back in Stuttgart, he executed a large number of portrait busts, among them the famous one of his boyhood friend Friedrich von Schiller, as well as sculptures of classical and Christian themes.
In 1803 Dannecker began work on his “Ariadne on the Panther”, which was not a commission from the Duke. It depicts the Cretan princess Ariadne, wife of the god of wine Dionysus, seated on the big cat in a relaxed pose. When Dannecker asked his employer if he might sell the work on his own account, the request was granted; but he was denied all further official commissions until the death of his fellow sculptor Philipp Johann Scheffauer (1756–1808).
By 1805 the “Ariadne” – at that time still standing in his studio – was already regarded as one of his masterpieces. The sculpture expresses the idea of 'wildness tamed by beauty', according to the motto Dannecker is said to have devised, together with his brother-in-law Heinrich Rapp. In 1810 the statue was sold to the Frankfurt banker Simon Moritz von Bethmann (1768–1826), and in 1816 it was put on display in the so-called Odeon, the first museum in Frankfurt to be open to the public. From 1856 onwards it stood in the specially built “Ariadneum”. Every day, according to Bethmann, there was a “positive pilgrimage” to see the sculptor’s most famous work.
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A pair of extraordinary ormolu candelabra, French, 19th century
90cm high, 28cm wide
PROVENANCE
The private collection of Violet Duleau, South Yarra Galleries, Melbourne. Gifted to Private Collection, Melbourne. Then gifted to our current vendor, Melbourne. These extraordinary candelabra are a fantasy of design with their mythical dragon like sea-creatures which writhe in battle with sea serpents and which are surrounded by superbly cast giant clam shells. The columns are formed of a mass of flowers that pop-out everywhere, from twisted branches and in this part, their design echoes the style that was popular during the reign of Louis XV. The quality of the chased ormolu is excellent and their sheer weight has to be experienced to be believed as no expense was spared in the scale of their creation.
$8,000–12,000
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An outstanding pair of crystal and bronzed metal twelve branch flower-head and foliate design chandeliers, attributed to the house of Bagues, Paris, circa 1950 approximately 100cm wide, 95cm high
PROVENANCE
Private Collection, Monaco
Private Collection, Melbourne
$15,000–25,000
Founded in Auvergne, France, in 1840 by Nicolas Baguès, the company originally specialized in the creation of liturgical bronzes. Thanks to Baguès’ expansion into bronze lighting and the popularization of electricity, the business quickly found success. At the turn of the century, their chandeliers captured international interest, and soon Baguès began exporting to London, New York, Rome, Brussels, and Cairo. Along with a major expansion in 1920, the company introduced to the world their now signature collections of finely crafted iron, gilt and crystal chandeliers and wall sconces Parrots & Foliage.
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These spectacular chandeliers are based on a cascading massflowerhead design, topped with decorative coronets of crystal flowers. The bronze frames are decorated with gently curved and slender leaves, and the faceted crystal balls of each are of the highest quality, and to find a pair is extremely rare.
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A fine William Morris Hammersmith carpet, after a design by William Morris and John Dearle, Merton Abbey Works, English, circa 1889 cotton, warp, cotton weft, hand-knotted wool pile 530cm long, 353cm wide
$70,000–100,000
The abrashed madder-red field is filled with scrolling vines and floral forms surrounding a small quatrefoil medallion with four large palmettes enclosing stylised tulips extending into the field. A stylised vine and flower meander fills the the main sea-green border.
This striking carpet, designed by William Morris and his chief assistant, John Henry Dearle, was one of three new designs for “Bullers Wood House” in Chislehurst, Kent. The interior decoration of “Bullers Wood” in 1889 was one of Morris & Co.’s most important commissions and probably the last decorative scheme that Morris supervised himself. The four large palmettes radiating from the central medallion derive from the 16th and 17th-century Mughal Indian and Safavid Persian carpets that Morris collected for himself and for the newly-formed South Kensington Museum, the forerunner of the Victoria & Albert Museum. These motifs combined with floral devices unmistakably of his own design, produce a carpet of great beauty, harmony and balance. Testimony to the success of this design was the fact that it was used again for another very important commission, the decoration of Stanmore Hall, Middlesex, between 1890 and 1896. One of the other carpets commissioned for “Bullers Wood” is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum (exhibit T.31 – 1923) and is regarded as the most accomplished and famous of Morris’s carpet designs.
Bullers Wood House was purchased by (Sir) John Sanderson in 1879, on his return to England after some successful years trading in the wool industry in Australia. It was a typically mid-Victorian house ideally situated for commuting to London and Sanderson decided to modernise and rebuild it to house his large family. The young architect Ernest Newton was employed for the exterior together with Morris & Co. for the interior. Newton had previously worked for Norman Shaw, a co-designer with Phillip Webb of Morris’s “The Red House” in Bexeley. The carpet remained in the house until 1921, when the house was sold. Some of the house contents were auctioned. This carpet with selected contents were kept by the family and installed in their West Australian residence, Lesmurdie House. It has passed by descent to the present owner.
PROVENANCE
Mr John Sanderson, commissioned in 1889, Bullerswood House, Chislehurst, Kent Mr Archibald Sanderson, Lesmurdie House, Western Australia, by descent from the above Private Collection, Perth, by descent from the above
LITERATURE
Pamela Todd, William Morris and The Arts and Crafts Home, San Francisco, 2005, p. 50
Pat Kirkham, 'The Firm: Morris & Company', in Diane Waggoner (ed.), The Beauty of Life, William Morris & the Art of Design, (ex. cat.), New York, 2003, p. 54.
Linda Parry, William Morris, Phillip Wilson Publishers in association with the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, 1996, p. 283 Ian Zaczek, William Morris, Paragon Books, London, 2001, p. 112 'Bullerswood Brought Home – A Dream Come True', Cloudband Magazine, September 2001, pp. 2-4
John Henry Dearle and Morris & Co:
In 1889 William Morris (1834 - 1896), reputedly, created his final carpet design for his firm Morris & Co. The following year John Henry Dearle (1860 - 1932) succeeded as principal designer for all carpets manufactured in Hammersmith and Merton Abbey. Dearle was designer of embroideries with May Morris from 1885 and had also been William’s design assistant, however by his appointment in 1890 he had clearly developed his own style. He recognised the importance of maintaining the link between the company’s founder and its future success, the same had been true in the previous years when May had undertaken the management and design of the embroideries. Yet Dearle was progressive and prepared the company for the shift in the market at the turn of the century; in which the Morris-led Arts and Crafts approach was being overshadowed by the desire for the exotic.
In keeping with Morris’s ideals Dearle’s designs incorporated many of the original, quintessentially British, flora and fauna motifs. He combined the importance of finesse in textile draftsmanship and an understanding, no doubt under Morris’s influence, of the Persian designs of the 16th and 17th centuries, in particular the ‘vase’ design from the Safavid era. These two disciplines allowed more extravagant and complicated patterns which prepared the company for the oncoming 20th century market. This can certainly be seen in the present lot when compared to the William Morris designed carpet made for the Wyndham family in circa 1887. However a certain stylistic symmetry is maintained, perhaps due to his training with embroideries and working with the talented May.
Morris’s impact on Dearle is clearly visible when considering the Wyndham’s ‘Clouds’ carpet with the present lot. Although smaller in size the ‘Hammersmith’ adopts the Morris school of design which can be seen through the use of the chequered tulips, scrolling acanthus, stylised roses, open palmette bulbs and scrolling vine motifs and the use of colour. It is the extravagance in the overall design which makes the present lot stand out as a work of Dearle’s and marks an important change in the trajectory for designs produced by the company.
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COMPARABLE EXAMPLES
A Hammersmith carpet commissioned by Australian Robert Barr Smith from Morris & Co, circa 1895, which was a variant of the similar design and colouring of an indigo ground and russet border, with a vine leaf scroll without the fruit, see The Eclectic Eye: Five Centuries of Art from the Galerie Yves Mikaeloff, Christie’s, New York, 21st May 1997, lot 428 (previously sold at Sotheby’s, Melbourne, 21st May 1996, lot 122).
The Best of British: Design from the 19th and 20th centuries (A Sotheby’s event in collaboration with the specialist dealer Paul Reeves), Auction, Sotheby’s, London, 20 March 2008, lot 96, for a Hammersmith Carpet, William Morris (1834 – 1896) and John Dearle (1860 – 1932), late 1880’s, (approximately 390 by 282cm; 12ft. 9in., 9ft. 3in.). The chequered flowers and barbed floral motifs, present in this cited comparable and the present example were motifs identified by Linda Parry as being typical of Dearle and hence indicating his likely collaboration in the design.
Sotheby’s, New York, 1 June 2006, lot 191, in which the example is to the design of John Henry Dearle and of very similar dimensions; approximately 630 by 381cm; 20ft. 8in, 12ft. 6in. This carpet also adopts the classic Dearle repeat ascending design and has a very similar border with stylised oak and birch leaves.
For further discussion of John Henry Dearle and William Morris carpets, see the following publications:
Haslam, Malcolm, Arts and Crafts Carpets, David Black, London, 1991, Chp.2. The Master, pp.38-85, for discussion of Morris and Hammersmith, and pp.80-84., for reference to John Henry Dearle (1860-1932), and his involvement and influence on designs, also Dearle’s designs for Auchendarroch.
Parry, Linda, William Morris Textiles, London, 1983, for discussion on May Morris, John Henry Dearle as assistant and earl transactions from the patrons pp. 29 – 35. For comprehensive discussion and attributions of Morris Carpets and for details regarding the patrons, pp.96, 97 &145.
Great Carpets of the World, Ed. Alcouffe, Daniel, Chp. IX, The Carpet in Great Britain, Clothilde Galea-Blanc, pp.277-311, for discussion of William Morris, his associates and the English Arts and Crafts movement, pp.299303.
Sherrill, Sarah, Carpets and Rugs of Europe and America, New York, 1996, Chp.8. Progressive Design, Mid-19th Century to Present, pp. 291-395, for discussion on William Morris, John Henry Dearle, the Morris & Co firm and the legacy. pp. 293-297 and pp. 304, 315, 317, 341 & 350.
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A finely carved and beautiful pale pink sandstone figure of Jina Mahavira, Madhya Pradesh, Indian, 12th century CE
76cm high, 53cm wide
PROVENANCE
Private collection, South Australia
REFERENCE
Pratapaditya Pal Jain art from India "The Peaceful Liberators”, p.140 for a similar example
$6,000–8,000
At the age of 30, Mahavira renounced worldly life and became an ascetic. For the next 12 years, he led a life of penance and meditation. He was credited to have conquered his desires and thus came to be known as 'Jina' or the conqueror. His followers thus came to be known as Jinas or the Jains.
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A rare and bold large flat-woven blue ground rug or hanging, Daghestan, Caucasus, second half of the 19th century wool warp and weft
505 x 134cm
PROVENANCE
Exhibited Adam Galleries, Melbourne, 1992; thereafter in the collection of Elizabeth Cross and the late Dr Jack Wodak, Melbourne.
REFERENCE
Richard E. Wright and John Wertime, Caucasian Carpets and Covers: The Weaving Culture. London: HALI Publications Ltd., in association with Laurence King, 1995, pp. 52–53.
$8,000–12,000
This type of weaving is characteristic of nineteenth-century village production in mountainous northern Daghestan. Produced by Kumik, Avar and Dargin peoples, the weavings were intended covers for a long bench or floor and could also be used hung horizontally as a decorative wall hanging, sometimes covering more than one wall of a room in a small village house.
This outstanding example is woven in dovetailed tapestry weave, with some supplementary wefts and areas of slit tapestry weave with ‘lazy lines’ in areas of solid colour. There is abrash apparent in the indigo-dyed field and a soft madder red used for the archaic motifs and in the main border. Additional colours of light blue, green and yellow are characteristic of the type. The field contains no in-fill ornaments, giving a two-dimensional effect and a strong graphic quality comparable to appliquéd textiles and the felt carpets produced in the Caucasus and also in Central Asia.
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A beautiful and sensual carved pink sandstone figure of a Yakshi, Northern India, Kushan Period, 2/3rd century CE 76.5cm high, 34cm wide
PROVENANCE Private collection, South Australia
$6,000–8,000
In Hindu and Buddhist art, auspicious female nature spirits, symbolic of fertility and abundance. Yakshis are typically depicted as beautiful and voluptuous, with wide hips, narrow waists, and exaggerated, spherical breasts.
Yaksha and Yakshi have a special place in Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism. In Hindu mythology, these nature-spirits are semi gods living under the earth in the Himalayas, where they guard the wealth of the earth. In the vedic period, Yaksha worship co-existed with priest-conducted sacrifices.
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An imposing polychrome painted and carved wood figure of a saint, French, 17th/18th century approximately 136cm high
PROVENANCE
Private collection, South Australia
$8,000–12,000
This fine and highly expressive figure has a commanding presence and would have been created by a skilled artist, who understood the challenges of creating such sculptures in wood, which were then decorated with surface paint and in this case gilding, which sets this example ahead of many, as the technique of gilding was always more complex and expensive than polychromy alone.
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A very fine and beautiful silk-velvet Ikat robe, Central Asian, last quarter 19th century mounted on linen and stretched on a frame 135cm wide, 120cm high
PROVENANCE
Mehmet Çetinkaya Gallery Istanbul; Private Collection, Melbourne
REFERENCE
Lot 1114, The Ann and Gordon Getty Collection, Christie’s, New York, October 2022. Sold for US$23,940.
Kate Fitzgibbon and Andrew Hale, Ikat, Silks of Central Asia, The Guido Goldman Collection, London, 1997, pp. 276–289.
Sumru Belger Krody, ed., Colours of the Oasis: Central Asian Ikats, Washington, D.C., 2011, pp. 226–228.
$18,000–22,000
Central Asia is renowned for its textiles ranging from appliqués in wool, silk and cotton, embroidered hats and accessories, suzani wall hangings and covers, and vibrant ikat cloth fashioned into distinctive clothing. Of all the luxurious fabric produced in nineteenth-century Central Asia, it is the silk-velvet ikat produced in the Silk Road trading centres of modernday Uzbekistan that commands the highest prices and prestige. The process of producing ikat (from the Malay word, mengikat, meaning ‘to tie’ or ‘to bind’) involves both the warp and weft threads being skilfully dyed before weaving. The labour-intensive technique is not confined to Central Asia, but is found widely throughout south-east Asia, India and Japan. However, Uzbekistan’s historic production is unmatched in its diversity of colour and boldness of design.
This exquisitely crafted woman’s robe, tailored in the munisak style, was likely part of a dowry. Its design of almond shaped motifs (bodom in Central Asia, boteh in Iran and India) projecting from stylised plant forms has antecedents in the region and prototypes in Sassanian-era Iran (224–651 CE). Its colours, including a saturated blue-green ground, with vibrant yellow, deep mulberry, red and prestigious ivory, are harmonious and well preserved. The tightly woven silk-velvet pile is close-cropped and even throughout.
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A finely carved tall sandstone figure of Surya (The Sun God), Northern India, 12th century CE 83cm high, 45cm wide
PROVENANCE
Private collection, South Australia
$6,000–8,000
Surya is the sun as well as the solar deity in Hinduism. He is traditionally one of the major five deities in the Smarta tradition, all of whom are considered as equivalent deities in the Panchayatana puja and a means to realise Brahman.
The iconography of Surya is often depicted riding a chariot harnessed by horses, often seven in number, which represent the seven colours of visible light, and the seven days of the week.
During the medieval period, Surya was worshipped in tandem with Brahma during the day, Shiva at noon, and Vishnu in the evening. In some ancient texts and art, Surya is presented syncretically with Indra, Ganesha, and others. Surya as a deity is also found in the arts and literature of Buddhism and Jainism.
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A fine and large Tekke-Turkoman carpet, Central Asia, mid to late 19th century wool warp and weft, wool knotted pile 290 x 202cm
PROVENANCE
Purchased by current owner from The Jacques Cadry Collection sale, Mossgreen, Sydney 2017, lot 108.
REFERENCE
Louise Mackie and Jon Thompson, eds., Turkmen: Tribal Carpets and Traditions, Washington, D.C., 1980, pp. 96 –118. Werner Loges, Turkoman Tribal Rugs, trans. Raoul Tscheboull, New Jersey, USA: 1980, pp. 13–35.
$10,000–12,000
Of all the Central Asian carpets exported to the West, those of the powerful Tekke tribe of Turkoman nomads are perhaps the best known and most widely sought after by collectors. Their designs have been copied on numerous modern reproductions of Turkoman carpets at the same time as the genuinely old and beautiful examples such as this example have become increasingly rare.
The field area of the carpet shows the tribe’s characteristic primary ornamentation of the Tekke gül, set in four vertical rows, and signalling the identity of the tribe. The secondary güls fill the field throughout, in a format for main carpets that remained unchanged from the oldest remaining examples of the early-nineteenth century right up to the earlytwentieth century when traditional production petered out. The carpet’s wool is particularly fine and shows to advantage the various shades of red, expertly derived from madder. The design has additional interest as a result of the different design motifs used in the top and bottom panels; the lower one showing a design often seen on Tekke Turkoman door rugs.
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An exceptionally fine quality ormolu mounted onyx centrepiece, French, circa 1800
121cm high, 38cm wide
This urn shaped centrepiece displays exceptionally fine quality ormolu and gilt bronze mounts and would have been made by one of the finest makers in Paris of the time. Its form and decoration are Neo-Classical, with satyr masks to the three uprights and bold acanthus scrolls to the base terminals.
For an identical example from the same Paris workshop see Sotheby's New York 15 April 2008 Lot 496. Estimated at US$15,000-20,000, sold for US$37,000
$15,000–20,000
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An intricately carved and turned folding threepart screen (mashrabiya) with mother-of-pearl inlay, late 19th century, Cairo or Damascus
160cm high, 177cm wide
PROVENANCE
Purchased in London 1990s; thereafter in a private collection Melbourne.
REFERENCE
Jehan S. Rehab, ‘Arab Furniture of the Nineteenth Century,’ Arts of Asia, vol. 15, number 1, 1985, pp. 43–54.
Jennifer-Navva Milliken, Museum for Art in Wood, ed.
The Mashrabiya Project: Ancient Architectures and Contemporary Ideas
Across the Islamic World, Stuttgart: Arnoldsche Art Publishers, 2023.
$6,000–8,000
The term mashrabiya has traditionally been used to describe latticed screens made of finely turned wood used to cover windows in Egypt and elsewhere in North Africa, the Levant, Iran, Iraq and in Malta. Usually made of pine, walnut or beech wood, the decorative structures covered the windows or were used as an architectural element that projected from the upper floor of a building, providing privacy and controlling the light levels and cooling air flow in warm weather. Mashrabiya can also refer, as it does in this case, to a screen used to partition a section of a room. The present example is in fine condition, expertly carved and inlaid with mother-of-pearl. Additional interest comes in the form of the small decorative shelf where a porous jug of water can be placed to assist in the cooling process.
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A wonderful quality George II mahogany birdcage and pillar table, English, circa 1740
71cm diameter, 70cm high
PROVENANCE
Partridge London
Private Collection, Regional Victoria
$4,000–6,000
This tea table is an English design classic with wonderful restraint of decoration having a column form pedestal and acanthus capped cabriole legs and a birdcage action for the release of the tilting top. This table is made from mahogany of the finest quality that would have been available at the time.
For two fine pie-crust tables also with provenance to Partridge London, see: Artvisory, The Collection of the late Judith and Bruce Terry, Teychel, 16 Moule Avenue, Brighton. Lot 32 estimated at $4,000-6,000 but sold for $28,000 hammer and lot 316 also estimated at $4,000-6,000 and sold for $13,500 hammer.
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A fabulous George I walnut and 18th century tapestry wing-back armchair, English, circa 1725
112cm high, 89cm wide, 64cm deep
PROVENANCE
Private Collection, Regional Victoria
$8,000–12,000
This wonderful wing armchair which the current private vendor acquired from the prestigious antiques dealership of John Dunn Antiques of Melbourne, dates from the end of the 'Age of walnut' furniture in England, around the first quarter of the 18th century. It is covered in exquisite 18th century Flemish tapestry, which is an extremely expensive and luxurious choice of upholstery. As is often the case with the best English furniture design, the restraint of ornament defines this chair.
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An intricately carved x pattern chair, with Arabic script and mother-of-pearl inlay, Cairo or Damascus, circa early 20th century 92cm high, 57cm wide
This handsome chair is in excellent condition and is extensively carved in the orientalist style with calligraphic inscriptions and inlaid in some sections with mother-of-pearl. There is a small mashrabiya panel of finely turned hardwood in the centre of the back and the armrests curve smoothly at the front.
PROVENANCE
Purchased in London 1990s; thereafter in a private collection, Melbourne. $2,000–2,500
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A stunning Kaitag embroidery, Daghestan, Caucasus, 18th century 104 x 66cm silk on cotton, mounted on a stretch frame
PROVENANCE
Collection of Robert Chenciner, London; from mid-1990s private collection, Melbourne
REFERENCE
Published, Robert Chenciner, Kaitag: Textile Art from Daghestan, London: Textile Art Publications, 1993, catalogue number 123, page 186.
$10,000–14,000
Kaitag embroideries made in the mountainous villages of Daghestan in the Caucasian Mountain region show designs that are varied and reflect the area’s long history of invasion by and eventual intermarriage with outside groups. Paganism, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam have all been practised in Daghestan over the centuries and the designs seen in the artworks of the region have sometimes also incorporated motifs from the Ottoman, Safavid and Imperial Russian empires. This example with its design of inverted ram’s horns and stylised vegetal forms owes much to ancient hunting mythology in the region. Centuries before the advent of Islam in the Caucasus in the midseventh century, hunting had been a significant activity both in the mountainous north and in the low plains that adjoin modern-day Iran and inspired a plethora of hunting divinities and associated beliefs and practices. Thus, stylised antlers and horns appear in a number of guises in Kaitag embroideries such as this example. The design motifs are carefully worked in laid-and-couched technique, with details crisply outlined in reverse stem stitch and areas of a diagonal brick filling stitch. The ground cloth is undyed, handspun cotton.
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A stunning Kaitag embroidery, Daghestan, Caucasus, 18th century silk on cotton, mounted on a stretch frame 97 x 55cm
PROVENANCE
Exhibited Adam Galleries, Melbourne, 1995; thereafter in the collection of Elizabeth Cross and the late Dr Jack Wodak.
PUBLISHED
Exhibition brochure, Kaitag: an exhibition of eighteenth and nineteenth century embroideries from the Caucasian Mountain region, Melbourne, 1995, plate 3. $16,000–18,000
Kaitag embroideries were made in the mountainous and sometimes inaccessible villages of Daghestan in the Caucasian Mountain region where the modern-day borders of Russia, Turkey and Iran now provide artificial barriers between a wide range of ethnic and language groups. The Kaitag people were active producers of these traditionally designed and dramatically coloured textiles during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. When Daghestan became part of the Soviet Union in the early twentieth century, Kaitag language and cultural traditions gradually died out. Up to that time, the embroideries had both domestic and ritual uses connected with birth, marriage and death and were handed down within families, becoming increasingly sought after by collectors in the last twenty years or so. Their abstract designs have been compared to twentieth-century masters such as Klée, Miro and Matisse. This example has a design of very stylised tree forms above and below a whirling sun sign, an archaic motif that dates to the time when paganism and Zoroastrianism prevailed in the Caucasus, before the arrival of the monotheistic religions. The indigo-dyed cotton ground cloth adds impact to the effect of the four main colours of the laid-and-couched embroidery.
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A wonderful and large carved and beautifully aged figure of Kubera (God of Wealth), Southern India, 14th-17th century CE 136cm high, 64cm wide
PROVENANCE
Private collection, South Australia
$6,000–8,000
Kubera also known as Kuvera, Kuber and Kuberan, is the god of wealth, and the god-king of the semi-divine yakshas in Hinduism. He is regarded as the regent of the north (Dikpala), and a protector of the world (Lokapala). His many epithets extol him as the overlord of numerous semi-divine species, and the owner of the treasures of the world. Kubera is often depicted with a plump body, adorned with jewels, and carrying a money-pot and a club. The scriptures describe that Kubera once ruled Lanka, but was overthrown by his half-brother Ravana, later settling in the city of Alaka in the Himalayas. Descriptions of the "glory" and "splendour" of Kubera's city are found in many scriptures.
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A superb set of four Belle Époque cast stucco figures of Cupid and Psyche, French, late 19th century signed A. Lavoisier the larger pair 137cm high, 44cm wide, the others 122cm high, 28cm wide
PROVENANCE
Private collection South Australia. Acquired from large house in Antwerp, Belgium
A pair of almost identical examples were sold: Christie's, New York, April 20, 2010, Lot 83, estimated at US$10,000-20,000 and sold for US$105,500
$6,000–10,000
The incredible figures were most likely created as architectural features for a grand French interior, where they would have formed part of the interior design, either at the top sides of an archway, or as supports to a surround or at the head of columns.
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A very rare pair of ‘battlement’ border tiles with reciprocal trefoil design, Ottoman-era Damascus, circa 1575 each 23 x 24cm
PROVENANCE
purchased in Istanbul in the early 1980s, thereafter in a private collection, Melbourne
REFERENCE
Arthur Millner, Damascus Tiles: Mamluk and Ottoman Architectural Ceramics from Syria, London: Prestel, 2015, pp. 132, 284–85, Fig.s 4.16, 6.95, 6.96.
$18,000–22,000
A wide variety of tiles are used in the decoration of Islamic architecture in all its forms. Traditions of tile-making throughout the Islamic world range from glazed brick decoration to cut-tile mosaics and brilliantly coloured glazed ceramic tiles that protected the exterior of some buildings and lavishly decorated the interiors of palaces, mosques and tombs. During Ottoman rule (1517–1918) of modern-day Syria, Damascus was situated a
long distance from the imperial capital of Istanbul. As a regional centre of lively trade and artistic production, the ancient city developed its own style and taste in decoration. Typically tiles made in Ottoman Damascus were square or rectangular in shape, 2-3 centimetres thick, and made of a mixture of clay, quartz, and other materials, known as stonepaste. The moulded forms were painted with oxide pigments on a white base and then glazed and fired.
The trefoil design seen in this pair is bold and skill-fully executed. It was most likely stencilled and uses the characteristic colour palette of sixteenth century Damascus tile production, i.e., cobalt blue, green (sometimes referred to as ‘meadow green’) and a dark, almost black, manganese as an outline colour. Trefoil motifs were used extensively throughout the Islamic world in a variety of media, appearing in clay or stone along the top of fortified walls, woven in the major and minor borders of oriental carpets through the centuries, painted and printed on tent screens and hangings in Mughal India, and rendered in ceramic form as seen here. Comparable tiles are seen in parts of the Sulaymaniyye Takkiya, a religious complex built in Damascus by the Ottoman sultan, Süleyman the Magnificent in 1566.
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An illuminated Qur’an with painted and varnished covers, dated 1851, Qajar-era (1789–1925) Iran
24cm x 15cm and 6cm thick
A complete copy of the Qur’an, written in Arabic in Naskh script on handmade paper, 302 leaves. The manuscript is dated 1851 and signed by the calligrapher, Mahmod Ebn Akhond Mola Hossaine Kermanshahi. It is extensively illuminated in natural pigments and gold. There is extensive marginal annotation in refined script.
The covers are the outstanding feature of the manuscript. They are in excellent condition, and beautifully painted in natural pigments in Qajar era style and finished with varnish. The outer covers are decorated with naturally-drawn flowers and birds and the inside is decorated with a spray of yellow narcissus.
PROVENANCE
Family collection, Kermanshah, Iran
$20,000–25,000
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A unique and important silver-gilt prize-fighters belt presented to the champion boxer James (Jem) Mace, Australian, late 19th century
the central section cast in relief with the figure of a pugilist, flanked by ribbon bound columns within further hinged panels with the Royal and the Australian Arms, with ribbon inscribed: Presented to (James Mace) Champion of the World, by his Australian Friends and Admirers, with bullion thread embroidered velvet extensions, further embellished within bossed gilt-metal leaves, the back of the buckle with marks '18' within a shield device. in a leather-bound presentation case with brass handle. the central part of the ribbon cresting inscribed James Mace, now missing, sold together with photographic evidence showing the ribbon cresting previously attached.
The belt 105cm wide overall, the central plaque 14cm high, the case 112cm long, 19.5cm wide
PROVENANCE
Christie's, London, March 2006, lot 873
Private collection, South Australia
$7,000–10,000
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This boxing belt was presented to the bare-knuckle price fighter Les Mace on a tour of Australia circa 1880. Unfortunately, the central section of the upper cartouche which bore his name and a crown is now missing.
Jem Mace (1831-1910) began his career as a fighter and earned his nick name The Swaffan Gypsy' as he roamed the Norfolk countryside with his fiddle and dog, giving boxing exhibitions at fairs and markets He first claimed the title ‘Champion of England' when he defeated Sam Hurst in 1861 and claimed a prize fund of 200 pounds. He defended his title against Tom King in a marathon fight that lasted 43 rounds in 1862, but ten months later lost a re-match. In 1866 Mace regained the title against another fighter called Joe Goss. During his celebrated career, as well as travelling to Australia, Mace also fought in South Africa, New Zealand and the United States of America, where he beat the American champion Tom Allen and drew another fight with a boxer called Joe Coburn. The latter fight was stopped due to crowd intervention whilst Mace was ahead.
During his tour of Australia, Mace introduced the Queensberry rules (drawn up in 1867) and the use of gloves. He also opened a boxing academy in Sydney in 1877, after which gloved bouts were seen more often in public. On a visit to Melbourne during Mace's tour of Australia, it is reputed that the infamous bushranger Ned Kelly challenged him to a bout , but the fight never look place. Ned Kelly once boasted in a letter that while he had pair of arms and a bunch of fives at the end of them, they never failed to peg out anything they came in contact with.
Dick Turpin purchased this belt in the knowledge that his Great Uncle Wolf Bendorf who was a boxer and contemporary of Mace, pursued him on his tours of South Africa and Australia, but there was no record of them ever competing.
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An exceptionally rare and early Meissen white porcelain and gilt figure from the Italian Commedia dell’arte, El Capitan, German, circa 1720 and Augsburg-gilded soon thereafter
modelled as a standing man in contrapposto pose, wearing elaborate costume with feathered hat, a staff in one hand, a tree-trunk at the rear, set on a square concave sided low plinth, with one foot protruding off the edge; decorated with gilt details including hat, belt, stripes to the pantaloons, staff, garters, and base plinth.
17.5cm high, base 6.6 x 4.4cm
PROVENANCE
The Antique Porcelain Company, London / New York / Zurich
Thence: Private Australian collection
$50,000–70,000
The identity of the figure, which has variously been given as Harlequin, Scaramouche or Beltrame, is suggested by Meredith Chilton, Harlequin Unmasked, p. 292, to be "most likely the Captain". Chilton illustrates an Augsburg-decorated example and references approximately eleven other known models, which include examples in the white, with Augsburg-type gilt decoration and with later enamel decoration.
Very few comparable have been sold:
Sotheby's London 2006 French and Continental Furniture, lot 189, but note the missing arm, missing staff – meaning it was most likely a factory reject, and with later decoration.
Another was sold at Christie's in 1986, as part of the Nyffeler Collection. It was complete with the staff, but not gilded.
As Meredith Chilton notes, there are only eleven known figures, plus the one she illustrates.
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ARTIST UNKNOWN
(French School, 18th/19th century)
Prisoner in chains oil on canvas 81 x 101cm
PROVENANCE
The Private Collection of Mr Pierre Berge sold Sotheby's, Paris, December 2018, lot 970 (Sold for 12,500 euro, approx. AUD$21,000) Private Collection. Melbourne.
$10,000–15,000
This compelling image is beautifully painted and extremely arresting, with the prisoner depicted naked and in the foetal position. It is a classical study of the male-physique, reminiscent of the old masters, whilst at the same time a powerful narrative on the plight of this wretched young man. Though currently without an author, it clearly captured the attention of one of the world's most famous collectors- Pierre Berge, most famous as the lifetime partner of Yves Saint Laurent. It was included in the 2018 auction of his extraordinary collection, held at Sotheby's in Paris and it fetched multiple times its estimate at the time, where it was secured by our current private vendor, who is both a collector and an artist herself.
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An exceptional gilt-gesso wall mirror celebrating the 16th century victory over the Turks/Ottoman Empire, Venetian, first half of the 19th century or earlier 190cm high, 150cm wide
PROVENANCE
Private Collection Tasmania
$5,000–10,000
Dr Susan Scollay – on the Venetian/Ottoman rivalry.
The Republic of Venice enjoyed robust trade in luxury goods with the Ottoman Empire at the same time as they were engaged in military conflict with their eastern Muslim rivals. Both economic and political powers were seeking domination of ocean trade in the Mediterranean Sea. Their skirmishes persisted from the late fourteenth century until the early eighteenth century when the final Venetian-Ottoman war of 1714–18 resulted in a victory for the Ottomans who reclaimed territory previously lost to their still active trading partners.
Previously the Venetians had led a combined fleet of the Holy League in 1571 that decisively defeated more than 200 Ottoman galleys, near the Gulf of Lepanto in modern-day Greece. The Venetian victory ended Ottoman maritime supremacy in the Mediterranean and ensured the security of continental Europe. Many Ottomans were killed or taken captive in the battle that has inspired writers and artists up to the present day. Painters such as Tintoretto and Titian in the sixteenth century and even Cy Twombly as recently as 2001 have depicted and glorified the Venetian victory.
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An superb set of twelve cast silver-gilt Harlequin spoons and scissor-nips, London 1812 makers mark of William Barrett II modelled as Harlequin figures in quilted comedian dell’arte costumes, each grasping a snake forming a hoop above their heads, their feet mounted on the spoon bowl with scallop shell reverse. housed in a leather box, with Royal Warrant & retailers label 'Chap Williams & Co / Late / Catchpole & Williams / Jeweler's / Diamond Dealers / Silversmiths / 223 Oxford Street’
This address & partnership dates the box to c.1865-72. nips 12.7cm long, spoons 11.5cm long $5,000–8,000
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A very rare gilt-copper repousse panel of St John preaching in the wilderness’, German or Netherlands, late 16th-early 17th century
11cm high, 32cm wide
The panoramic landscape with St John, lamb and the cross to the centre, surrounded by a crowd of spectators all dressed in 16th-17th century clothes including distinct hats and boots, a small child with a dog on a leash to one side pulling back a curtain to see, the background with varied trees including a palm, a rugged rocky outcrop to the left with many small distant figures including a soldier, with the scene of the baptism of Christ taking place beneath a rock arch, a double-arched bridge in the foreground.
PROVENANCE
The Antique Porcelain Company, London / New York / Zurich
Thence: Private Australian collection
$6,000–8,000
There is a German example in the Victoria and Albert Museum London with the same tool marks and general workmanship, 17th century German.
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O103128/plaque-unknown/
The scene is St John preaching in the wilderness, but in particular, ‘bearing witness’. Close examination of the background shows the story of Christ: the left portion above the 2-arch bridge is depicting the baptism of Christ by John with the appearance of the dove above; among the several other
small scale scenes is one with two people entering an open, empty tomb, with a soldier standing guard to one side; representing the resurrection. The kneeling figures on the left are perhaps contemporary inserts into the scene by the artist; while the kneeling figures are anonymous, the standing gent (in the waistcoat with a hat behind his head) is the typical depiction of a patron in painted pieces, and may be the case here.
To the right side is another crowd, including three well-dressed figures with distinct faces, two men and a woman. These may have had a significance for the patron also.
At the far right is the most charming detail of this scene, where a small child draws back a curtain draped on a tree, to see the scene –note the unusual depiction of a small dog on a lead.
Stylistically this piece is close to the later 16th - early 17th depictions in prints and paintings. It lacks any classical prompts, and is close to the painted depictions of the Low Countries. The clothing of the people is not intended to be from the time of the story, but is the clothing that the contemporary audience would have been wearing – tunics, waistcoat, dresses with broad collars, and the high boots all indicate a 16th- 17th century date.
An interesting comparison can be made to the work of German artist, Pieter Schlubroeck (1570-1607), who has amongst his paintings a ‘St John preaching in the wilderness’, which has similar clusters of people in 16th-17th century dress, and in the foreground, a young child playing with a very similar small dog.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pieter_Schoubroeck
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A very rare James II or William and Mary period olive-wood and holly lace-box, English, late 17th century 27.9cm long, 21.2cm wide, 7cm high
PROVENANCE
Alexander George Antiques London Jason E. Sprague collection; London / Melbourne.
NOTES
‘Lace boxes’ were popular amongst the middle and higher classes of English society from circa 1660-1740 - through the reigns of Charles II; James II; William and Mary, Queen Anne; George I; and George II. The finest early examples of such boxes were decorated with ‘oyster’ veneer, and with various marquetry designs, using woods such as walnut, holly, olive, and kingwood. Although many lace boxes of later fabrication are extant, early examples of outstanding craftsmanship, in an exceptional state of preservation, are rare, with rarity being increased in boxes of smaller dimensions.
$3,000–5,000
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A rare and fine gold moon phase and quarter-striking chronograph pocket-watch, French/Swiss, circa 1880 one minute stop-watch, with Breguet coiled spring, 22 jewels 14ct gold full hunter, inscribed to backplate: Chronographie, Phases Luniares, Prepetitions Quarts, Triple Quantieme, Ancre Ligne driote 22 rubis, Levees visibles spiral Breguet, Balanciers Compense Double Plateau. Chatons dial 4.7cm diameter, case 6cm diameter
Gold chronograph pocket watches are quite a rarity and this fine example has no less than four subsidiary dials and a fine quality 22 jewel Breguet spring movement.
$4,000–6,000
END OF SALE
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