London – This spring, Christie’s is proud to present almost 250 works of art collected and enjoyed by the scion  of Three Dealing Dynasties: London, Paris, Geneva, who have been at the centre of the international art market for almost a century, to be offered for sale on 23 May 2024. Renowned in their respective fields, they are all celebrated for seeking out treasures and presenting beautiful works of art with new research and fresh perspective. The sale includes a colourful and diverse ‘menagerie’ of Chinese and Japanese animals and birds, executed in porcelain, bronze, cloisonné enamel and exquisite lacquer, alongside furniture, decorative arts and clocks which represent a veritable rollcall of some of the most celebrated French craftsmen and factories of the late 17^th, 18^th and early 19^th centuries, including André-Charles Boulle, RVLC (Lacroix), Jean-Henri Riesener, Pierre Gouthière, Jean-Charles Saunier, Etienne Levasseur, Pierre-Philippe Thomire, and many others. With estimates from £500 to £180,000, the sale provides opportunities at different price levels. The pre-sale exhibition will be on public view, with all welcome, from 17 to 22 May.

Amelia Walker, Christie’s Specialist Head of Private and Iconic Collections, London commented:  We are thrilled to present such a broad, colourful and fascinating group of works of art for sale in London this May, from three eminent dealers based in London, Paris and Geneva. With each being the second or third generation of their family’s business, many of these works of art are items that they and their families have lived with for many years at home. The advice and seal of approval of each of these dealers and their forebears has long been sought by international institutions, collectors and decorators, with works of art that they have handled gracing many illustrious collections around the world, including the British Museum, the Getty, the Met and the Louvre. All three are united by their focus on quality, rarity and provenance, and the items offered in this sale reflect this.

CHINESE AND JAPANESE ‘EXPORT’ ART

A ‘menagerie’ of Chinese and Japanese animals and birds, executed in porcelain, bronze, cloisonné enamel and exquisite lacquer in the sale exemplify the exotic works of ‘Export’ art from China and Japan which have been treasured since the 17^th century across Europe – from passionate royal collectors such as Marie-Antoinette in France and the Prince Regent (later George IV) in England, to aristocratic and distinguished families including the Rothschilds – and remain highly desirable in the 21^st century. Collected voraciously by connoisseurs and amateurs alike, during the 19^th and 20^th centuries their appeal spread across the Atlantic where great American collectors including the Rockefeller, Astor, Vanderbilt, Wrightsman and Getty families displayed such animals on beautiful French and English furniture. The animals presented in this sale include some of the rarest examples of their types for which there are few published comparables – all are remarkable for surviving their journeys to Europe centuries ago and for their own illustrious histories in important private collections in the intervening years. 

Highlights include: a rare and magnificent famille verte model of an elephant China, Qing Dynasty, Kangxi Period (1662-1722) (estimate: £120,000-180,000); a magnificent pair of cloisonné and champleve enamel 'elephant and vase' groups China, Qing Dynasty, first half of 18^th century (estimate: £60,000-80,000); two cloisonné enamel 'twin fish' vases China, Qing Dynasty, Qianlong-Jiaqing Period (1736-1820) (estimate: £35,000-45,000); a pair of cloisonné enamel parrot-form censers and covers China, Qing Dynasty, Qianlong Period (1736-1795) (estimate: £25,000-35,000); a pair of famille rose models of ducks China, Qing Dynasty, Qianlong Period (1736-1795) (estimate: £12,000-18,000); and also the works of art depicted and detailed far above.

THE MARCHANDS-MERCIERS IN THE 18^TH CENTURY

Chinese and Japanese ‘export’ works of art were not only highly prized in themselves but were also ‘enhanced’ on arrival in Europe with mounts in silver, gold, bronze and ormolu by craftsmen and dealers during the 17^th and 18^th century, designed to elevate their precious nature and conveying the ultimate in luxury status. The new ‘creations’ which emerged from the ateliers of the greatest bronziers and marchands-merciers in Paris in particular, catering to the fashionable tastes of their discerning clientele, were highly innovative. There are several beautiful ormolu-mounted Asian objects included in this sale, from each of the dealers represented. 

Highlights include: a pair of Louis XVI ormolu-mounted Japanese Imari porcelain brûle-parfums, the ormolu mounts late 18^th century, the porcelain probably late 17^th century (estimate: £25,000-40,000); and a pair of Louis XVI ormolu-mounted Chinese export turquoise and aubergine models of parrots, circa 1785-90, probably supplied by Dominique Daguerre, the porcelain Kangxi (1662-1722) (estimate: £30,000-50,000). A further highlight which demonstrates the cultural exchange between East and West in the 18^th century is a Japanese black and gold lacquer panel depicting the Palace of Versailles, commissioned circa 1788 in Japan by a director of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) and based on an earlier Dutch engraving (estimate: £20,000-40,000).

FRENCH FURNITURE, DECORATIVE ARTS AND CLOCKS

The French furniture and decorative arts highlights are led by exciting rediscoveries among the many treasures in the sale. Paul Gallois, Head of European Furniture and Works of art, London, commented: “We were thrilled to identify two important neoclassical hardstone objects in two major 18^th century collections: a porphyry vase with finely chased ormolu-mounts attributed to Pierre Gouthière in the collection of Pierre-Jacques-Onésyme Bergeret de Grandcourt (1715-1785) and a superb Breccia Africano vase listed in the posthumous sale of the celebrated collector Augustin Blondel de Gagny (1695-1776)” (estimates: £80,000-120,000 and £50,000-80,000). Further highlights include a Louis XVI ormolu-mounted tulipwood and amaranth marquetry table ambulante attributed to Jean-Henri Riesener, circa 1775, formerly in the Hillingdon Collection (estimate: £30,000-50,000); and a pair of Louis XIV ormolu single-branch wall lights attributed to André-Charles Boulle and Boulle fils, circa 1715 (estimate: £15,000-25,000). A total of twenty-seven clocks will be offered including a Louis XIV ormolu-mounted brass and tortoiseshell-inlaid 'Boulle' marquetry and ebony table clock, the movement by Thuret, the case attributed to André-Charles Boulle and his sons, Boulle fils, which was formerly in the collection of the English collector Geoffrey Gilmour in his Paris apartment in the rue du Bac during the mid-20^th century (estimate: £30,000-50,000). There are further examples of ‘Boulle’ marquetry included in the sale, alongside decorative Savonnerie panels, Imperial porphyry vases and fine examples of the art of the Parisian maître ébénistes.