Museum quality silver an auction treasure
Author: Richard Brewster | Posted: 3rd May, 2017
A museum quality George IV regency table candelabrum centrepiece, hallmarked London 1829 and by royal silversmith at the time Benjamin Smith, is the outstanding attraction among a collection of quality sterling silver for auction from 11am Sunday May 7.
The sale, at Kim’s Auctions 327-329 Warrigal Road Burwood, features a highly decorative museum quality sterling silver George II two handled cup and cover hallmarked London 1753 and a rare George II fines cast cake basket by master Huguenot silversmith Ayme Videau, dated London 1746.
The sterling silver collection offers plenty of other buyer incentives including a museum quality pedestal oval George III soup tureen by Thomas Heming, hallmarked London 1780, and an 1804 George III silver tea urn and cover by Richard Sibley.
Other sterling silver attractions include a rare pair of 1873 gilt Victorian four-light candelabra designed by Paul de Lamerie and made by the highly regarded silversmith Charles Stuart Harris and an 1833 William IV ewer by Reilly and Storer.
The auction contains a comprehensive range of other items including three Tibetan Dzi beads – two cylindrical shaped (one an agate tiger tooth) and one in the shape of an “eye” – dating from about 1000AD.
One of the more important items is a 772-481BC Chinese spring and autumn period rice wine ladle made for a high society family, formerly in Munich-based Astrid Gietz’s collection.
Similar examples were sold in 2005 by Sotheby’s New York for $US45,600 and in 2012 by Christie’s New York for $US88,900.
Another buyer attraction is a rare Chinese bronze ceremonial “Jian” double blade dagger from the Dian Kingdom 4th century BC to 1st century AD in Yunnan. The dagger’s handle features Janus naked male and female figures.
Christie’s Paris sold a similar figurative dagger in November 2002 for €3642.
Collectors will be interested in a fine pair of Tang Dynasty pottery deer, formerly from a private German collection and accompanied by a thermoluminescience test certificate from Ralf Kotalla Laboratories in Germany.
Other collectables include a 4000-year-old Chinese Neolithic Huang disc with later Han Dynasty (200BC) carvings of a tiger and bear dragon on one side and a Han Dynasty square shaped heavily calcified jade ornament.
A pair of silver coins from the Guangxu period in the Qing Dynasty (circa 1800) is another attraction.
Among the furniture is an 1890s French boulle Bonheur du jour with ormolu mounts.
