Thje Ogden Mills armoires at Christie’s. UPDATE: SOLD FOR £935,475
The Exceptional Sale which offers collectors a chance to acquire masterpieces of European furniture and decorative arts takes places at Christie’s in London on July 4. The sale offers fine examples of English, French and German furniture, ormolu mounted Chinese porcelain, silver, European porcelain, clocks, sculpture, portrait miniatures and objects of vert. The auction of 48 lots is expected to realize more than £18 million.
Robert Copley. head of furniture and decorative arts at Christie’s said: …” once again this year we offer the collector the very best European decorative arts and furniture; from a magnificent coffee-pot made by England’s finest silversmith to furniture made by France’s greatest cabinet maker; from a Maharaja’s dinner-service to a porcelain vase-clock from the Palace of Versailles. The rich and varied works in the ‘The Exceptional Sale’ are united by the common themes of rarity, provenance, craftsmanship and beauty.”
The Ogden Mills “Armoires a Sept Medailles” is estimated at £1-1.5 million. It was acquired around 1910 by the philanthropist and collector Ogden Mills for his Parisian residence. The Louis XIV armoire in contra-partie marquetry is attributed to Andre Charles Boulle while the late Louis XV in première partie is by Delorme. They are decorated to the doors with medals celebrating the life of Louis XIV as well as the figures of Aspasia and Socrates. Conceived initially with shelves to house collections of precious medals this series of armoires proved so successful it remained in production in Boulle’s workshop throughout the first half of the 18th century and was continued by Boulle’s followers.
(See post on antiquesandartireland.com for May 22, 2013