Rare and interesting highlights from the July Collection

Our second Decorative Arts offering for 2023 opens with two private collections. The George and Janice Rayner collection features a curated selection of René Lalique glass, comprising sought after patterns such as Bacchantes (lot 6), Ceylan (lot 6) and Davos (lot 5), as well as a rare and impressive Vendome pattern ceiling light (lot 1) that illuminated the family dining room of the Rayner residence for over 20 years.

Following on from the Rayner collection is property from a late Toorak gentleman, formed over several decades. The collection encompasses a variety of traditional paintings (lots 39-43), figurative sculptures with a particular focus on Viennese bronzes (lots 32-34), animalia figures (lot 27-29), and Australian and International Decorative Arts including a striking diorama of Australian birds in an original cedar case (lot 21), and a cabinet attributed to Gabriel Viardot (lot 50).

In addition to our single owner highlights there are several rare and interesting items from our multi-vendor categories of sterling silver, paintings, porcelain, furniture, sculpture, and items of interest, with some items rare to the market, and others with very good provenance, attractive to any connoisseur or novice collector.

Adorning our front cover are two English pieces of excellent quality: the George I William Webster repeating table clock (lot 163) with provenance tracing back to 1730, and a fine William and Mary oyster-veneered olive wood chest of drawers (lot 135).

From the 20th century are two rare furniture items crafted by Ernest Gimson (lots 91 & 92). Ernest Gimson (1864-1919) was one of the pre-eminent figures of the English Arts and Crafts movement. In the early 1890s he joined with others in moving to the Cotswolds to establish a community of like-minded designer-craftsmen and artists, thus establishing what was to become known as the Cotswold School. The furniture designed by Gimson and made in his workshop is widely regarded as being amongst the finest and now most sought after of English Arts and Crafts furniture. Both lots are amongst those acquired from Gimson in this period by his friend Harry Peach (18741936), another keen believer in William Morris' vision to revive and promote traditional English artisanship; and have remained with Peach's descendants until now.

Also crafted in the early 20th century but modelled in a sixteenth-century Venetian type ‘Sansovino’ frame is a very large fauna and floral mirror by Robert Prenzel (lot 93), beautifully adorned with fruiting foliage and a cockatoo crest.

We look forward to discussing any lots of interest with collectors at the viewing.