Buyers enthused by Australian "An Eye for Beauty" auction

Auction goers did not need much persuasion to snap up many of the items at Melbourne-based Leski Auctions “An Eye for Beauty” private collection sale on July 22 and 23 with an antique 19^th/20^th century Chinese reticulated segmented porcelain vase housed in its original fitted box (lot 390) bringing the top hammer price of $9500 – more than nine times the catalogue estimate.

An impressive 19^th century Indian Kutch silver lidded bowl with elephant adornments and original gilt finish, believed to be the work of Oomersi Mawji & Sons, (lot 78) and a pair of Chinee silver elephant vases adorned with jade rings and semi-precious stones (lot 366) shared second spot in the top 10 items, each with a $6000 result.

A mid-20^th century Georg Jensen “Acanthus” pattern Danish sterling silver cutlery set for six places (lot 139) – with its original brochure and cloth bags – doubled its catalogue estimate in bringing $5000.

At $4000, a mid-20^th century an Italian silver and gilt finish horse and carriage procession ornament weighing more than three kilograms on a wooden base (lot 144) finished well within its $3000-$5000 catalogue estimate range.

Furniture within the collection performed strongly with an exceptional pair of 19^th century English figured and burr walnut veneer bedside tables (lot 769) well above estimate at $3800.

Likewise, a late 19^th century English French-style rosewood bijouterie table (lot 772)  more than doubled its lower estimate at $3500 and a circa 1870 French boulle fold-over card table, inlaid with scroll brass floral marquetry on red tortoiseshell (lot 767) brought a similar result at $3400.

The catalogue cover piece, a rare 19^th century pate-sur-pate Phanolith Neoclassical charger of the Argo by Jean Baptist Stahl (lot 507), finished well within its estimate range at $3200.

Born in 1869 into a family of potters, Stahl invented and designed the phanolith – and his detailed, translucent, finely worked porcelain won him the Grand Prix at the 1900 World Fair in Paris.

The same price was reached for a 19^th/20^th century New Zealand Maori carved wood and paua shell box (lot 280), while a 19^th century English marquetry sewing companion cabinet (lot 184) sold for $3100 on an $800-$1200 estimate and a pair of Japanese silver stem vases (lot 90) for five times its upper estimate at $3000.