Tuesday, May 7, 2019

Masterpieces from a Rothschild Collection

Marie-Antoinette's Writing  Desk by Riesener
From Christie's:
‘The Rothschilds have a remarkable collecting history,’ says Christie’s Deputy Chairman Charles Cator. ‘The name Rothschild means the best of the best. They are the greatest family of non-royal collectors who have ever existed.’ 
Masterpieces from a Rothschild Collection at Christie’s London on 4 July comprises more than 50 lots with exceptional provenance collected by members of the Rothschild banking family, particularly by Baron Gustave de Rothschild (1829-1911), and housed in some of the family’s magnificent residences. 
‘The Rothschild name is synonymous with collecting at the very highest level, with many of the world’s greatest works of art having a Rothschild provenance,’ Cator continues. ‘Their fabled name is added to the extraordinary roll call of illustrious owners of these masterpieces, so many of them royal, from Louis XV and Marie Antoinette to William Beckford and Prince Demidoff. This sale is a celebration of connoisseurship and passionate collecting.’ 
Among the treasures offered are cabinets by the celebrated Flemish master Hendrick van Soest. The cabinets were commissioned as a group of four for King Philip V of Spain, the second son of the Grand Dauphin and grandson of Louis XIV, to honour the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713 that finalised the War of the Spanish Succession. (Read more.)

From Barron's:
A Louis XVI ormolu-mounted mahogany table à écrire, circa 1780, commissioned by Queen Marie Antoinette of France almost certainly for her Petit Trianon, a small château located on the grounds of the Palace of Versailles. It has a high pre-sale estimate of £1 million. Made by Jean-Henri Riesener, the Queen’s favored cabinet-maker, the table is marked with Marie Antoinette’s garde-meuble brand that was applied to her personal furniture after 1784. (Read more.) 

More HERE.


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