Gorgeous Melbourne mansion the venue for auction delights

Auctioneer Christian McCann has a fantastic venue for his next auction – the beautifully restored mansion at 15 Grandview Grove, Prahran which was once a boarding house.

The auction, from 12pm Sunday June 5, features fine French and English antique furniture and collectables, traditional Australian and European art and garden statuary.

McCann has known the family for 15 years during which time he has helped them build a collection to complement the grandeur of each historic room.

There are plenty of stunning treasures to interest auction goers including a pair of exhibition quality 19^th century French Sevres vases with a catalogue estimate of $12,000-$18,000 (lot 11).

Several quality bronze sculptures catch the eye such as an exceptional French bronze and ivory creation by Claire Colinet (1880-1950) depicting a warrior maiden on horseback (lot 12).

Born in Belgium, Colinet was a French sculptor of the early to mid-20^th century. Her best known works were Arab female dancers and most of her sculptures were in the art deco style.

Colinet was a frequent exhibitor at the Salon des Artistes Francais and her sculptures –  most of which depicted beautiful, energised and dramatic females – were exhibited posthumously for 30 years at the Paris Salon.

Typical of the furniture on offer is a superb 19^th century French serpentine shaped boulle bureau-plat (lot 17) and exhibition quality 19^th century French kingwood vitrine (lot 42) – along with a 19^th century English amboyna shaped side credenza (lot 189).

Among the art is a recognisable work entitled The cows grazing in the long grass (lot 69) by Dutch-born and later Australian painter Jan Hendrick Scheltema (1861-1941), an oil by Frederick McCubbin (1855-1917) entitled Collins Street, Melbourne (lot 129) and David Boyd’s (1924-2011) Kids in the Bush(lot 155).

Clocks are another feature including an exceptional 19^th century French three-piece set of palatial proportions (lot 131).

Impressive is a 19^th century French Sevres ormolu comport (lot 168) and there is a variety of silver including a silver plated lidded casket (lot 238).