In great demand: jewellery, porcelain and silver
From German noble property, a collection of Meissen animals stood out not only for the quality of the objects, but for their excellent condition.
The highlight was a rare, large pair of parrots, modelled by Johann Joachim Kaendler in 1740 which sold to the English trade for 49,600 (lot 987, 40/50,000). With 17,400, a French collector became the new owner of a rare, early snowball vase (lot 986, 10/15.000).
Amongst the extensive range of Berlin porcelain were two ice buckets for chilling caviar, as well as pieces of a dinner service which King Friedrich Wilhelm II of Prussia once presented to his daughter Charlotte on the occasion of her wedding to the Grand Duke Nicholas from the house of Romanow-Holstein-Gottorp. A Swiss collection took over the rare pieces for 37,200 (lot 1076, 30/40,000).
The usual broad range of silver once again offered a diverse selection of high quality, some museum-quality, objects. A large Hamburg lidded tankard depicting the rape of the Sabines, a master work from Hanß Lambrecht II from around 1662 - 1967, was won for 31.000 by a Parisian dealer (lot 605, 25/28,000). A rare tankard from Lübeck, Lorenz Detberg from around 1690 depicting the Old Testament story of David and Goliath went to a Rhenish collection for 33,500 (lot 630, 27/30,000). The Rhineland was represented by a wonderful Renaissance cup with the house mark, made in Cologne around 1600 (lot 619, 8/10,000). A French museum-quality lidded box from 1789 by the famous Strasburg master Jean-Jacques Kirstein was sold for 23,600 (lot 738, 19/20,000).
The jewellery was once again presented in its own catalogue and sold at an evening auction. Diamond jewellery of the Belle Époque and Art Déco were richly represented, including a high carat solitaire ring with an old-cut diamond of 5.71 ct which eventually sold amid intense competition to the German trade for 36,000 (lot 143, 20/25,000).
Jewellery of the Cologne workshops was eagerly sought after, and was again given its own chapter in the catalogue. Works by Elisabeth Teskow, Fritz Deutsch, Peter Heyden and Falko Marx rose to 21,000. The broad selection of modern jewellery was dominated by works from the 1950s - 1970s including high carat rings, such as the finely engraved white gold ring from the jeweller Friedrich, with a diamond solitaire of ca. 4.49 ct, which sold for 33,500 (lot 246, 20/25,000). A Moretto pendant was also fought over and went from an estimate of 4/6,000 to 17,400 (lot 208).
A tapestry, probably Grammont/Gerardsbergen from the 2nd half of the 18th century sold to the Italian trade for 20,000 (lot 1095, 18/20.000). A New York collector had to pay 25,000 for a 28.6 x 23.4 cm portrait of August II of Sachsen in purple cameo on a slightly convex enamel plate. Attributed to Georg Friedrich Dinglinger, the ornate vermeil frame is set with strings of river pearls and emeralds (lot 1134, 20/25,000).