Treasures: London's Pre-eminent Decorative Arts Sale Presents Masterpieces with Outstanding Provenance

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TREASURES

Sotheby's London, 5 July 2017

London, 21 June 2017 - On 5 July, Sotheby's will present an extraordinary selection of the finest and most celebrated works of art as part of the annual Treasures sale. London's pre-eminent decorative arts auction, the sale brings together the very best furniture, silver, vertu, and sculpture, selected for their outstanding quality, rarity, beauty and Royal and aristocratic provenance. Constituting 44 works all at the pinnacle of their categories, the sale is further distinguished by the inclusion of the property of the Prince of Prussia - a particular highlight among an illustrious list of consignors involved in the sale.

Discussing the forthcoming sale, Henry House, Head of Sotheby's Furniture and Decorative Arts Department, said: "The Treasures sale is undoubtedly one of the true highlights of our auction calendar, allowing us to bring masterpieces of museum-quality which were once the preserve of the royal and noble, to the wider market. We are particularly honoured to be offering a spectacular array of Property of the Prince of Prussia this year and hope that our clients are as excited by this opportunity as we are."

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE PROPERTY OF THE PRINCE OF PRUSSIA (LOTS 15-19)

Begun around 1111, the House of Hohenzollern is one of the most glorious European dynasties, whose ascent to power over nine centuries has no parallel in Europe. Intended to be at the forefront of taste, the Hohenzollern palaces were created by the best architects and designers of the day, and decorated with a spectacular array of decorative arts.

Estimate: £800,000 - 1,200,000

These candelabra arrived in Berlin from Augsburg just in time for the wedding of King Friedrich Wilhelm's daughter, Philippine Charlotte, to Karl I, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. Philippine Charlotte's wedding occurred on 2 July 1733, while on the 11th of the previous month, her brother Friedrich (Frederick the Great) was married to Karl's sister Elizabeth Christine, thus establishing a double alliance, between the important Protestant houses of North Germany, Prussia and Brunswick.

The Rittersaal Buffet, created at the end of the 17th century in the throne

room of the Royal palace in Berlin, was a permanent floor to ceiling display of silver and silver-gilt. It provided a reflection opposite the throne, of the wealth, majesty and confidence of the elector of Brandenburg, Friedrich III and his aspiration, fulfilled in 1701, to become king in Prussia. It is not known where the candelabra were first displayed after arrival at the Schloss in 1733, but around 1763 they had become part of the silver buffet in the throne room (Rittersaal) and remained part of it despite the successive silver melting and wars through the centuries.

Estimate: £250,000 - 350,000

Unlike many of the animal drinking cups of the 17th century, this cup is modelled on a real stag that was reportedly shot by Friedrich III, Elector of Brandenburg (1657-1713) near the village of Sauen, in the district of Briesen, in 1696. The shooting of the stag - an extraordinary beast with 66 point antlers, believed by local woodsmen to be supernatural, caught the imagination of contemporaries, so much so, that the event was marked at the time with a stone monument, with the story of the Duke's momentous kill being recounted in chronicles and illustrated in paintings, prints and works of art of the time. This extraordinary cup is struck with the mark of Daniel

Männlich, official goldsmith to the electoral court from around 1676, and is believed to be modelled on a design by the sculptor, architect and master of works to the electoral court, Andreas Schlüter.

Estimate: £300,000 - 500,000

The weight, proof marks and form of this armour indicate that this striking suit was designed for mounted combat and not parade or tournament use. Another three-quarter armour with almost identical decoration was formerly in the collections of the Dukes of Este at Konopiště Castle, Benešov, Czech Republic and is now on display in the Schwarzenburg Palace, Prague Castle.

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS OFFERED IN THE SALE

Estimate: £50,000 - 70,000

A splendid scent flask in the form of a Peacock - a majestic bird traditionally symbolic of sovereignty and power in Eastern civilizations - this shimmering blue and emerald masterpiece of enamel was created by Eugène Feuillâtre, a celebrated French artist of the Art Nouveau. By the time of its inception and its inaugural display at Paris Universal exhibition in 1900, the peacock had become a symbol of fashionable exoticism and conspicuous opulence and a popular motif of the Art Nouveau movement. Feuillâtre was already a well- established artist when he created this Peacock Flacon, venerated among the eminent artists of the age, with many pieces already in museums across the globe.

Estimate: £500,000 - 700,000

These are the only pair from the series of 'Bacchus and Ariadne' sideboard dishes created by the workshop of Paul Storr for the Royal goldsmiths Rundell, Bridge & Rundell, between 1813 and 1817. This monumental pair, made in 1813, was purchased by William Pole-Tylney-Long-Wellesley, 4th Earl of Mornington (1788-1857) in 1814, most likely for the grande fête organised to celebrate the Duke of Wellington's victory over Napoleon. Among

the honoured guests at the fête was the Prince Regent himself who would have admired the dishes and probably decided to acquire his own version the year after, which still exist in the British Royal Collection today.

Estimate: £600,000-1,000,000

Edward Hodges Baily's Three Graces (also referred to as The Graces) is one of the greatest English marbles of the 19th century. Representing the daughters of Jupiter, Thalia (youth and beauty), Euphrosyne (mirth) and Aglaia (elegance), Baily's composition marks a subtle but distinct innovation from the canonical representation of subject created by Antonio Canova almost half a century earlier. The marble was commissioned for one of the most voracious collectors of contemporary statuary in Victorian England, Joseph Neeld MP (1789-1856), who filled his mansion, Grittleton House, with 35 works of sculpture by some of the leading artists of the day.

Estimate: £45,000 - 65,000

Commissioned by Friedrich Wilhelm III, King of Prussia, as a gift to Friederike Karoline Wilhelmine of Baden, Queen Consort of Bavaria, possibly on the occasion of her 57th birthday in 1833, this spectacular vase is recorded in the King's royal account books of the time. Superbly painted, most likely by Gottfried Wilhelm Völcker, an influential oil painter of flowers and fruit still lifes, the vase is decorated with a rich continuous band of flowers, including roses, passion flowers, hibiscus, lilacs, blue poppies and auriculas with leaf and foliage scrolls. Although it is difficult to be certain which palace this vase was originally sent to in the 19th century, the likeliest is Schloss Biederstein, which had been gifted to Karoline as a summer residence by her late husband,

Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria.

Estimate: £60,000 - 100,000

Almost certainly commissioned by Friedrich III, Elector of Brandenburg (later King Friedrich I of Prussia) for the Berliner Schloss, this previously unpublished lacquer cabinet is an important addition to the oeuvre of Gérard Dagly, perhaps the greatest master of European lacquer. The cabinet is also closely comparable to the extraordinary ensemble of furniture commissioned by the King for the Antikenkabinett in the Berliner Schloss - one of the most celebrated rooms in Germany in the 17th century. Elaborately lacquered in black and gold with Oriental motifs of exotic birds, flowers, foliage and rockwork, Dagly has adopted an asymmetrical disposition of the decorative elements, masterfully recreating the styles of the much admired Japanese lacquer of the time.

Estimate: £400,000 - 600,000

Created by Johann Christian Neuber, one of the most creative artist-craftsmen patronised by the Royal Court of Dresden, this exquisite box is one of the earliest recorded examples attributed to the crown jeweller and the first of the five surviving diplomatic boxes given by the Elector. Of oval shape, the lid is inset with a miniature portrait on ivory of Frederick

Augustus III and decorated with clusters and garlands of forget-me-not flowers - a symbol traditionally of faithfulness and loyalty. It was given by the elector to the Danish envoyé extraordinaire Christian Sehestedt Juul and remained in the family since then.