Silver & Porcelain
Monday 15 September 2014, 02.00 PM
IMPORTANT, LARGE 'MAJOLICA' PORCELAIN 'ISTORIATO' ALBARELLO , 'A QUARTIERI', Faenza, ca. 1540-1550. Cylindrical, slightly conical vessel with circumferential profiled rings on the top and on the bottom. The front with a scene from the Stations of the Cross, depicting Christ on his way to Golgotha. at the moment he stumbles and Saint Veronica hands him the sudarium (sweat-cloth) which already shows the features of Christ. The scene takes place in a crowd of Roman soldiers, with an antique cityscape in the background. Framed by a green laurel wreath with yellow fruit, on a background of tendril borders with grotesque figures in blue, yellow and green in the 'Quartieri' style. The top of the scene is adorned by an inscription accentuated in blue: 'ZUCCARUM BUGULOSATUM'. Remains of old provenance labels 'Collection Scalea'. H 48.5 cm, D 32 cm. Small repairs and some chipping of the glaze. Provenance: - Collezione dei Principi Lanza di Scalea, Palermo. - Private collection, Rome. 'Zuccarum buglosatum' means 'candied ox tongue' (Rudolf E.A. Drey, Apothecary Jars, 1978, page 238). This scene goes back to a series of woodcuts with depictions of the 'Passion of Christ' by Girolamo de Grandi from 1538, a copy of which must have been available to the artist in the majolica workshop, such as the one from the British Museum (see image). (Our special thanks goes to Dr. Stefanie Meier-Kreiskott for pointing out this example to us.) Both of these Albarelli are exceptional pieces of art and are part of a group of important large Albarelli 'istoriati' in the Faenza 'a quartieri' style. This type of decoration is typical for the Faenza workshops, and can be substantiated by two apothecary jars in the Louvre in Paris, signed 'FATE IN FAENZA' . (C. Ravanelli Guidotti, Thesaurus di opere della tradizione di Faenza, Faenza 1998, page 391). A comparable Albarello from this series, from Faenza, by Baldassare Manara, with a depiction of the Holy Family, formerly from the collection of M.P. Botkin in Petrograd, is presently in the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg (Inv.No. F 2133). (Ivanova E., Il secolo d'oro della maiolica. Ceramica italiana dei secoli XV-XVI dalla raccolta del Museo Statale dell' Ermitage, 2003, page 42 No.10). For further majolica porcelain attributed to Baldassare Manara, see Ravanelli Guidotti, Baldassare Manara faentino, pittore di maioliche nel Cinquecento, Ferrara, 1996, page 194. In 1999, Giuliana Gardelli attributed a group of majolica porcelain with a similar decoration to the workshops of Guido da Merlino and Guido Durantino from Urbino. (Italika, Maiolica Italiana del Rinascimento, 1999, pages 258-260, No. 111). CHF 90 000.- / 120 000.- € 75 000.- / 100 000.-
Sold for CHF 75 000
IMPORTANT, LARGE 'MAJOLICA' PORCELAIN 'ISTORIATO' ALBARELLO 'A QUARTIERI', Faenza, ca. 1540-1550. Cylindrical, slightly conical vessel with circumferential profiled rings on the top and bottom. The front with a scene depicting the Biblical Deluge, framed by a green laurel wreath with yellow fruit, on a background of tendril borders with grotesque figures in blue, yellow and green in the 'Quartieri' style. The top of the scene is adorned by an inscription accentuated in white and blue: 'ZUCCARUM MOLATUM'. Remains of old provenance labels 'Collection Scalea'. H 49 cm, D 33 cm. Small repairs and some chipping of the glaze. Provenance: - Collezione dei Principi Lanza di Scalea, Palermo. - Private collection, Rome. This highly dramatic scene depicts the climax of the Biblical Deluge. The left of the foreground features Noah's Ark with some desperate rejected people attempting to scale the side of the boat in the heart of the flood swallowing those remaining. For this scene, the painter obviously used a copper engraving attributed to Francesco Rosselli (Florence, 1448 -1513) from ca. 1470/90, presently in the British Museum. The main motif of this scene, i.e. the male figure dressed in a loincloth and scaling the Ark is probably the King of the Giants, Org, who apparently saved himself in this manner and was provided with food for months by Noah who took pity on him. For the most part, the painter of the 'albarello' adhered to the details of the copper engraving, and transferred them to the 'albarello'. (Martin Schawe, Sündflut, in: Aviso, Zeitschrift für Wissenschaft und Kultur in Bayern, 4/2013, pages 12-19). CHF 90 000.- / 120 000.- € 75 000.- / 100 000.-
Sold for CHF 75 000
SILVER-GILT KOVSH,Moscow 1794. Inspector's mark Alexej Iwanow Wichljajew. With maker's mark. The inside with chased double-eagle and the depiction of a horseman. Cyrillic inscription which can be translated as "For Faith and Loyalty". Handle with the crowned monogram of Tsarina Catherine II. The opposite side of the handle, with a cast double-eagle. The walls engraved with six cartouches depicting the tsarina and referring to the recipient in 18th century Cyrillic script. Freely translated as: "For Ivan the Small/Boy as a thank you for his long service, 20 May 1794". Gilding, rubbed in some areas. L ca. 26.5 cm, 420g. Provenance: German private collection.
Sold for CHF 60 000
RARE MODEL OF AN 'AUGUSTUS REX' GREAT CRESTED GREBE,Meissen, model by Johann Joachim Kändler, ca. 1734. Naturalistically modelled. Blue AR monogram on the unglazed base. H 48 cm. Restoration on both feet, beak and reed leaves, small chip on head feathers. Provenance: - From the Royal Collections, Friedrich August II. Elector of Saxony, King August III. (1696-1763), Dresden. - Gut Aabach, Risch am Zuger See.
Sold for CHF 144 000