European Decor & Design

European Décor & Design online 3600T | April 12–22, 2021 | skinnerinc.com

European Décor & Design online featuring Fine Silver Explore our April timed online auction of over 400 lots highlighted by a wide assortment of fine silver, Royal Copenhagen Flora Danica wares, and Wedgwood. We will also offer an array of English and European furniture, paintings, and decorative arts.

April 12–22, 2021 | www.skinnerinc.com please contact the department for condition reports & preview information, visit our website to register & bid

Stuart Slavid Stephanie Opolski european@skinnerinc.com 508.970.3203

MA LIC. 2304

front cover: Selection from an Extensive Collection of Royal Copenhagen “Flora Danica” Dinner Wares

opposite: Modern Wedgwood Blue and White Jasper Britannia Triumphant George III Mahogany Library Breakfront

this page: Classical Decorated Sewing Table Selection of Russian Enameled Silver Mexican Otaduy Silver Tea and Coffee Service

Flora Danica Royal Copenhagen’s Flora Danica has a long history as one of the world’s most prestigious dinner services, dating back to the 1790s.

For well over 200 years, the same craftsmanship and high standards have been maintained through a company philosophy that inspires excellence. In the 18th century, the Swedish botanist Carl von Linné published his system for naming flora; today acknowledged as the foundation of modern botanical classification. In the Kingdom of Denmark, an encyclopedia of the national flora was produced, and a set of copperplate prints depicting every wild plant in the nation was published. Eventually, it included more than 3,000 hand-colored prints, issued from 1761-1883. Over 700 of the most beautiful plants from these prints were selected for artisans to skillfully hand-paint and reproduce. Each plate took more than 12,000 brushstrokes; each specimen’s Latin name is inscribed to the underside. Connoisseurs cherish each piece’s meticulous modeling, the extraordinary impact of the painting, and the interplay between lustrous colors and glowing gilding.

“Flora Danica” China Regency Mahogany Hunt Table Samuel Minott Coin Silver Tankard, Boston Hester Bateman Sterling Silver Covered Cup

Wedgwood & Bentley Black Basalt Library Busts

Gorham Sterling Silver Tableware Service

Early Wedgwood Jasper Chess Set

William Allison of Southampton (British, active 1800-1830), A Squire and His Family

Extensive Meissen Porcelain “Rothschild Bird” Partial Dinner Service

Cesare Lapini (Italian, 1848-1893), Pair of Marble Sculptures of Children

Gorham Versailles Gold-washed Sterling Silver Flatware Service

Pair of Tiffany & Co. Sterling Silver-gilt Perfume Bottles

Onyx-top Carved Giltwood Table

Wedgwood Jasper Full-size Portland Vases Georgian-style Mahogany Oval Center Table Two-part Baroque Walnut Secretary

Josiah Wedgwood and the Abolition of the Slave Trade Josiah Wedgwood, the English potter, was an original member of the Lunar Society, a group of prominent figures in the Midlands, including industrialists, natural philosophers, and intellectuals. Matthew Boulton, Erasmus Darwin, Joseph Priestley, and the author and abolitionist Thomas Day were members of the social club formed to discuss issues with other like-minded individuals.

In 1773 Thomas Day wrote the epic poem The Dying Negro, which may have been partly responsible for arousing Josiah’s practical opposition to the slave trade.

Wedgwood joined the Committee for the Abolition of the Slave Trade on or around 1787. Later that same year, using an adaptation from the design from the seal of the Society for the Abolition of the Slave Trade in England and using the phrase “Am I not a Man and a Brother?” from the poem, Wedgwood enlisted William Hackwood, a modeler at the factory, to design a cameo.

Principally designed in black and white jasper, Wedgwood distributed the cameo free to all those concerned with the movement of abolition. Some were mounted as jewelry and worn by notables promoting the cause of justice, humanity, and freedom. Worn by both men and women, the abolitionist cameo was very fashionable in the late 18th century.

Additionally, in 1788, Josiah Wedgwood sent 400 of the medallions to Benjamin Franklin in Philadelphia; Franklin was to have distributed them among his many friends.

At that time, Franklin was president of the Pennsylvania Society for the Abolition of Slavery. Wedgwood’s interests went much further than the production of the cameo. As a member of the Committee, he was also very involved in “promoting publications, meetings and petitions, and in canvassing the support of anyone whose voice might command respect.”

Wedgwood White Jasper Slave Medallion Tiffany English Sterling Presentation Pitcher Staffordshire White Salt-glazed Stoneware King of Prussia Teapot Edwardian Polychrome Painted Satinwood Drop-leaf Table

English Carved and Inlaid Oak Court Cupboard

School of Severin Roesen (American, 1815-1872), Elaborate Still Life with Fruits

Five-piece Dutch Delft Garniture

Toby Jugs

This set of eleven toby jugs was issued in a limited edition between 1915 and 1919, manufactured by Wilkinson Ltd. of Burslem, England. Each depicts an allied commander of the first World War, after designs by Sir Francis Carruthers Gould. Sir Francis became the first political cartoonist employed by a daily newspaper, the Pall Mall Budget, and later by the Westminster Gazette. He pioneered what became known as “picture politics.” The set is comprised of Lord Kitchener, Admiral Beatty, Field Marshall Haig, Admiral Jellicoe, Marshall Joffre, Lord French, Rt. Honorable D. Lloyd George, Marshall Foch, General Botha, Woodrow Wilson, and King George V. It was originally retailed by the London high-end ceramics and glass dealers Soane & Smith Ltd.

Regency Mahogany Cellarette

Delphin Massier Majolica Rooster

Set of Eleven Wilkinson Toby Jugs of the Allied Commanders of World War I

back cover: Detail from Five Framed French Papier Peint Wallpaper Murals

63 Park Plaza | Boston, MA 02116

PRESORTED FIRST CLASS MAIL U.S. POSTAGE PAID PERMIT 8 N READING, MA