European Royal and Noble Families at Sotheby's

Wednesday, 24 August 2005 11:13

AMSTERDAM.-Only four weeks after Sotheby's sale of Works of Art from the Royal House of Hanover, another auction to captivate the imagination of art collectors world-wide is to be held in Amsterdam. Entitled Crowns and Coronets, the sale comprises paintings, furniture, tapestries, works of art, ceramics, carpets, glass, silver, clocks, objects of vertu and photographs, all of which were originally made for, or owned by European Royal and Noble families. The consignors include a Russian Princess, a German Fürst and an Austrian Archduke resulting in a variety of objects with very different historical backgrounds. From a tiny gold and enamel box given by King Ludwig II of Bavaria to his mother (€4,000-6,000), to a rare pair of German Rococo Roentgen commodes from the Estate of the late Wolter Reichsgraf von Hoensbroech (€150,000-220,000), the sale offers a broad selection of wonderful objects. Other highlights include a very fine ivory model of King Ludwig's famous sleigh, drawn by swans and elaborately carved with tritons and putti, which was made by Philipp Perron (1840-1907) after the design by Franz Seitz, 1870/80 (€100,000-150,000). A highly important musical 'elephant' mantel clock by Charles Baltazar, Paris, circa 1745/9, from a Princely family is estimated €100.000-150.000. Illustrious is the provenance of many personal items in the sale: a Fabergé fan which belonged to Duchess Charlotte zu Mecklenburg-Schwerin (€10,000-15,000); an opaline glass and gilt-bronze toilet service from Prince Carl of Bavaria, a Back Gammon game table of King Willem III of the Netherlands (€3,000-5,000) and a steam ship model of Archduke Maximilian of Austria, who later became the ill-fated Emperor of Mexico (estimate €5,000-8,000). There are glass and table linen from the princely house of Saxe-Meiningen and rare and fine KPM Berlin porcelain plates with mythological scenes from the collection of a member of the Bavarian Royal Family. Prominent in the sale is the estate of the late Wolter Reichsgraf von und zu Hoensbroech. The paintings, furniture and works of art furnished Schloss Haag, the lower Rhine family castle, since 1631. Highlighting the furniture from Schloss Haag is a rare pair of German Rococo commodes by Abraham Roentgen, Neuwied, from circa 1760 (€150,000-220,000) and a bureau cabinet possibly by Johann Friedrich and Heinrich Wilhelm Spindler, Potsdam/Berlin, circa 1765 (€ 90,000-120,000). The paintings include fine landscapes, portraits and biblical subjects by masters from the 17th and 18th century. The selection of fine silver comprises a set of six German silver candelabra by Johann Christian Neuss and Friedrich Jakob Biller from 1802/3 (€ 20,000-30,000). Important early furniture include a rare Westphalian late Gothic/early Renaissance polychrome and gilt buffet cupboard (Stollenschrank) with reliefs of Judith and Holofernes, the lower part made and dated 1531, the upper part added and dated 1583, formerly in Schloss Herringhausen in Westphalia (€ 30.000-50.000) and a German Romanesque, early Gothic chest (Stollentruhe) from the 13th/14th century, consigned by Friedrich Count von der Asseburg from Schloss Hinnenburg near Paderborn (€15.000-20.000). A rare pair of early 19th century Italian micromosaic panels depicting the Death of Cleopatra and Joseph and Potifar's Wife consigned by Freiherr Gotz von Donner is estimated €15.000-20.000. The sale offers memorabilia of Queen Olga von Wurttemberg and works of art of Hoffman von Fallersleben (the poet who wrote the German National hymn) and many, many others. The sale offers collectors a rare opportunity to acquire interesting works of art from distinguished families many of whom have owned them for generations.

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