Six-Figure Diamond

With around 300 lots, the auction kicks off with a Russian gold snuff box. With the marks of the St. Petersburg jeweller Keibel, the lid is embellished with a very fine Roman micromosaic with a classicist landscape in the style of Jakob Philipp Hackert (lot 1, € 20/25,000)

The earliest lot in the regular auction is a Ptolemaic sarcophagus lid (lot 792, € 40/60,000), in very good condition and with impressive painted decoration. From around the same time, a large red figure Apulian krater vase from the Baurat Schiller collection, acquired at Lepke in 1929, is estimated at € 10/15,000 (lot 793). With a jump into the Renaissance we find a relief of “Madonna con bambino” from the workshop of Andrea della Robbia from around 1500, with an estimate of € 12/15,000 (lot 693). An important large pitcher, with a provenance which can be traced back to the middle of the 19th century, has been attributed to a follower of Bernard Palissy (lot 694, € 40/60,000).

Twenty lots from a Westphalian glass collection will also be up for sale: goblets à la facon de Venise, objects from Saxony and the Czech Republic, including the top lot in the form of a large, particularly rare Silesian screw-mounted goblet carved with three allegorical scenes (lot 664, € 10/15,000). In addition, a selection of furniture from a Belgian noble collection will be auctioned, from the era of the French emperor Ludwig XIV including a bureau mazarin with the stamp of Nicolas Sageot (lot 810, € 30/40,000).

Also of interest are two pieces of furniture by David Roentgen: a characteristic cylinder bureau from the mid-1770s, just as the rich marquetry had reached a dazzling climax (lot 826, € 40/60,000), and a particularly elegant bureau plat, representative of the finest German cabinet work of around 1790 (lot 827, € 50/80,000). Also worth noting is a lot with Viennese porcelain: three pieces from an unusual Egyptian service are valued at € 6/8,000 (lot 760). A rare bust of the young general Napoléon Bonaparte was made in Sèvres in 1793 (lot 754, € 8/10,000), with two important plates from the Service des Départements depicting views of Bourges and Vaucluse (lots 761/762, € 20/30,000 each). A small collection of important figural Meissen porcelain from the second half of the 18th century enriches the offering, including an eye-catching, large depiction of the Allegory of Fortuna by Heinrich Schwabe from 1883 (lot 783, € 8/10,000).

SILVER

The usual wide-ranging silver offering covers around half of the catalogue this season, led by a high-quality collection of European spoons from the 16th–18th centuries, from a British collector focusing on Scandinavian provenances (lot 400 – 449, estimates ca. € 400 – 2,000). Shining out amongst the succeeding lots is a museums-quality Renaissance chalice from the workshop of Philipp Jakob I Drentwett, Augsburg 1612 – 16 (lot 460, 12/15,000), as well as an Augsburg writing set for the Princes of Thurn and Taxis, made between 1699 and 1703 by Samuel Frey (lot 461, € 12/15,000), both from the same Rhenisch private collection. For collectors of Norwegian silver, which is extremely rare in this country, is an important Renaissance belt from the Bergen Master Jost or Jannik Albertszen (around 1600, lot 457, € 5/6,000), as well as an 18th century Oslo wedding coffee pot (lot 470, € 5/6,000). The highlight of the modern silver selection is a rare enamelled lidded box from the Boston Arts & Crafts artist Elizabeth Copeland (lot 631, € 10/15,000).

JEWELLERY & MINIATURES

With around 300 lots, the auction kicks off with a Russian gold snuff box. With the marks of the St. Petersburg jeweller Keibel, the lid is embellished with a very fine Roman micromosaic with a classicist landscape in the style of Jakob Philipp Hackert (lot 1, € 20/25,000). The historical jewellery features a small collection of French armbands from the era of Napolean III, and Belle Epoque and Art Déco diamond jewellery, including a large brooch with pearls and diamonds (lot 92, € 8/12,000), a diamond brooch with freshwater pearls (lot 90, € 4/6,000), and a diamond and sapphire armband (€ 5/7,000).

Artist's jewellery is as usual, well represented, including works by Max Pollinger (lots 120 – 125) and Friedrich Becker, well-known for his kinetic jewellery (lots 128/130), as well as two finely-made filigran works by the veteran Cologne goldsmith Peter Bolg (lots 145/146). The modern jewellery is dominated by high-carat stone jewellery, with many diamond solitaires. Highlights include a ring with a 8.38 ct cushion-cut diamond (lot 177, € 100/120,000) and a rivière necklace encompasing 46 diamonds (lot 229, € 35/45,000), as well as a flower brooch from the 1960s featuring a natural cornflower-blue Ceylon sapphire (lot 224, € 10/15,000).

34 miniature portraits from the 18th/19th centuries come primarily from two German private collections with the focus on French masters.