Skinner to auction Euro. furniture, decorative arts July 9
Royal Doulton with Stuart – Stuart Slavid, director of Skinner’s European Furniture and Decorative Arts department stands next to a circa-1893 Doulton Lambeth faience floor vase, 75 1/2 inches tall. Estimate $20,000-$30,000. Image courtesy of Skinner Inc.
BOSTON – Skinner, Inc. will auction 1,100 lots at their European Furniture and Decorative Arts event on Saturday, July 9th, 2011 at 10:00 a.m. Eastern in their Boston gallery. Internet live bidding will be provided by LiveAuctioneers.com. The sale will feature fine ceramics including the Phyllis Ritvo collection of Gouda pottery, along with a diverse range of British, Italian and French furniture and decorations.
Wedgwood Wares
The Fine Ceramics offerings include Wedgwood wares spanning the company’s 250 years of production, such as a large assortment of black basalt and jasper wares. A first-rate grouping of Doulton ceramics will also be for sale, highlighted by an important monumental Doulton Lambeth faience floral-decorated vase, lot 68. This vase, estimated at $20,000 to $30,000, stands six-feet-four inches high; its mate was exhibited at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair.
Lot 80 is another exceptionally large vase made by Minton. Designed by Victor Etienne Simyan, it features figures of Prometheus bound in ropes, and stands well over four feet in height. It is estimated at $5,000 to $7,000. Additionally, there is an exceptional selection of Royal Copenhagen porcelain “Flora Danica” pattern dinnerware included in the sale.
Gouda Pottery – The Phyllis Ritvo Collection
The Phyllis Ritvo collection of Gouda pottery is a particularly interesting part of this sale. An alumna of Wellesley College with a graduate degree from Northeastern University, Ritvo began collecting the Dutch pottery of Gouda in 1962, when she bought her first piece in an antiques shop for $27. Since that time, Ritvo and her husband, Gene, amassed a diverse collection encompassing a wide variety of Gouda wares. Ritvo documented her love of Gouda pottery with the publication of her book The World of Gouda Pottery in 1998.
Lot 786 of this auction, a circa-1920 Gouda semi-matte glaze pottery vase decorated with a magpie, is sure to draw attention. This 16¾-inch vase is charmingly enamel-decorated with the bird set within a floral landscape, and is estimated at $800 to $1,200. Lot 880 is a Gouda high glaze pottery plaque produced circa 1905, decorated with a country landscape and signed “M.V. Barselen.” At 14 x 20 inches, this piece is estimated at $1,000 to $1,500.
Frans Leidelmeijer Lecture on Gouda Pottery – July 8 at 7:00 p.m.
In conjunction with the preview on Friday, July 8, 2011, Skinner will host a reception at 6:30 p.m., followed by a lecture at 7:00 p.m. titled “Gouda Pottery and Dutch Decorative Arts” and presented by Frans Leidelmeijer. Leidelmeijer is an internationally recognized expert in Dutch decorative arts from 1880 to the early 1900s.
British, Italian, and French Furniture and Decorative Arts
The July 9th auction will also feature a selection of fantastic furniture and decorative arts. Lots of particular note include lot 305, a Georgian-style japanned bureau cabinet from the mid-19th century. The cabinet is decorated with chinoiserie motifs on a persimmon ground gilt. The two mirrored doors and slant lid open to reveal an elaborate fitted interior of valanced compartments, drawers, and locked doors, with sliding files formed by the bindings of four volumes of Pinkerton’s Travels. It is estimated at $3,000 to $5,000.
Lot 367 is a whimsical pair of Venetian parcel-gilt and carved wood stands formed as Blackamoor acrobats. Made in the 19th century, each stand depicts a figure wearing an Egyptian kilt and headdress, balancing on his lower back and hands with legs overhead and head between his thighs. The pair is estimated at $5,000 to $7,000.
Lot 476 is comprised of a pair of Russian neoclassical painted and parcel-gilt X-form stools from the 19th century. With upholstered seats, fan-carved friezes, and serpent-form legs, the stools are 18 inches tall and estimated at $3,000-$5,000.
This sale also features a wide selection of bronzes, Russian icons, paintings and prints, German porcelain plaques, and German stoneware and tin-glazed steins.
For additional information on any lot in the sale, call 508-970-3000.
View the fully illustrated catalog and sign up to bid absentee or live via the Internet at www.LiveAuctioneers.com.
ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE
Georgian-style japanned bureau cabinet, mid-19th century, with persimmon ground gilt and enamel decorated with chinoiserie motifs. Estimate $3,000-$5,000. Image courtesy of Skinner Inc.
Pair of Russian Neoclassical painted and parcel-gilt X-form stools, 19th century, each with serpent-form legs, fan-carved frieze and upholstered seat. Estimate $3,000-$5,000. Image courtesy of Skinner Inc.
Gouda high-glaze plaque, Dutch, circa 1905, signed
