The top lot of all sessions was this Russian silver-gilt and champlevé enamel tea and coffee service made in Moscow by Khlebnikov in 1884. With Chinese decoration, including foo dogs finials, the set realized $108,450 ($80/120,000).

NEW YORK CITY — Spanning two days, October 15-16, Doyle presented around 560 lots across several collecting categories. The first day, headlined by Old Master and Nineteenth Century paintings, drawings and prints, also included special selections of Russian works of art and English & Continental silver. The 334 lots sold on the second day focused on English & Continental furniture and decorative arts.

Old Master & Nineteenth Century Paintings, Drawings & Prints

The Old Master and Nineteenth Century Paintings, Drawings & Prints auction, featuring works by European artists from the Renaissance through the Nineteenth Century, closed with several surprise results, including world auction records. One such result was the sale-high price achieved by “A Young Courtesan.” Painted by French allegorical and literary artist Stéphane Baron, this oil on canvas may have depicted a modern interpretation of the biblical story of Susanna and the Elders; however, as its title suggests, the primary subject may have been a sex worker, engaging with the two men in exchange for luxury goods, like the jewelry and gold they appear to be handing her. Curiosity and intrigue surrounding the risqué image and its rare artist drove bidding of the painting past its $2/4,000 estimate to earn $41,600, which is a new auction record for Baron.

Setting a new world record for artist Stéphane Baron (French, 1830-1921), this oil on canvas titled “A Young Courtesan,” 49¾ by 38¼ inches framed, was taken more than ten times its high estimate, finishing at $41,600 ($2/4,000).

Another record was set for a work by Camille Wauters. The Belgian artist’s Orientalist painting of “View of Aswan, Egypt, 1890” was described by the auction house: “A monumental architectural work enlivened with vivid color, this painting also attracted considerable interest, which carried it to a result well above its pre-sale estimate.” The world auction record for Wauters was set when this signed oil on canvas, previously in the collection of Joanne B. Breyer, was bid to $28,800.

Elaine Banks Stainton, senior specialist of paintings and drawings, detailed the recent discovery of a drawing by Dutch Golden Age artist Jacob Isaackszoon van Ruisdael. “A group of drawings from an estate was consigned to us, including a drawing attributed to Jacob van Ruisdael, the pre-eminent landscape artist in the Netherlands during the Seventeenth Century. […] But we had to be careful: Jacob van Ruisdael’s work was highly valued during his lifetime, and he had many very able imitators. A review of the literature on the artist quickly revealed that the drawing was unpublished, at least as a work by him.” After teaming up with Van Ruisdael authority Dr Jeroen Giltaij, the attribution was confirmed, and the work was dated circa 1655-60. This “River Landscape with Figures beside a House with a Tower,” done in black chalk with gray wash on laid paper, had recorded provenance to the Eighteenth Century and was bid to $32,000. 

Russian Works Of Art

Mark Moehrke, Doyle’s director of Russian works of art, reported, “I am very pleased with the performance of the Russian section of the sale. There was strong international interest throughout the sale; consequently, most lots well exceeded their pre-sale estimates. The strength of the section was enamels.” The top-earning lot in the selection was also the leading lot overall, was the one Moehrke indicated as the most important. “The most important of these lots is 65, a rare tea and coffee service by Khlebnikov, an important silversmith and supplier to the court.” This four-piece lot included a coffee pot, teapot and cream jug, all of the Chinese hu form, and a star-shaped basket with a swing handle. Each of the pieces was silver-gilt with Chinese-style decoration in green, black and red champlevé enamel and the lids of the pots each had foo lion finials. In the catalog note, Moehrke wrote, “The firm of Khlebnikov, a distinguished supplier to the Russian Imperial Court and among the foremost silversmiths active in Russia, began producing objects influenced by Chinese design as early as the 1870s. […] By the 1880s, Khlebnikov was producing tea and coffee services that more closely emulated Chinese prototypes, though often adapted in a distinctly Russian style.” This example was made in 1884 and sold, within its estimate range, for $108,450.

Made by Orest Kurliukov in Moscow, this 1899-1908 silver-gilt and cloisonné enamel two-handled bowl, 9⅞ inches tall by 13½ inches wide (overall), rose well beyond its estimates to achieve $54,400 ($8/12,000).

The next two highest prices in the auction were also achieved by Russian items. Earning $54,400 — more than four times its high estimate — was a silver-gilt and cloisonné enamel two-handled bowl by Orest Kurliukov. Made in Moscow between 1899 and 1908, the bowl’s lobed lower section was chased with foliate designs and on either side of the upper section were colorful enamel panels depicting a pair of swans on the water. Complementing the swan scenes, the two handles were additionally adorned with varicolored flowers and foliage.

As to be expected among selections of Russian works, there were several kovshi in the sale, and one example brought the third-highest price overall. In addition to the floral cloisonné decoration, the silver-gilt kovsh was bejeweled with semi-precious cabochons. Made by Moscow silversmith Feodor Rückert, this 1899-1908 example had a circular bowl with an upright flared handle and was bid to $41,600.

English & Continental Silver

Determined competition on examples of English, Irish, German, Dutch, French and Italian silver by prominent makers of the Eighteenth through Twentieth Centuries drove the selection total beyond expectations. Silver specialist Todd Sell shared, “Silver keeps selling and with it always in the news with gold going up, I think it’s more on people’s minds right now!”

Leading the silver lots was this set of 11 George IV sterling silver gilt dinner plates made by Benjamin Smith, London, 1824. Each measured 10¼ inches in diameter and they brought $12,800 ($8/12,000).

A set of 11 George IV sterling silver gilt dinner plates by Benjamin Smith, London, marked the apex of the silver session, at $12,800. Each of the round plates, made in 1824, had a shell and gadrooned rim, engraved with a coat of arms, and measured 10¼ inches in diameter. Sell added, “I think quality and names will always help to find buyers – the dinner plates by Benjamin Smith were top quality and I can only imagine what the price would have been for the complete set of twelve without one missing!”

A group of silver trophies from the collection of Gerolamo Etro, founder of the Italian luxury fashion house Etro were featured in the selection. Leading this group and achieving the second-highest price of the silver session was a Victorian sterling silver two handled cup by Elkington & Company, London. Dated to 1871, the cup was chased with a calvary battle scene and engraved “Seventh Dragoon Guards Regimental Challenge Cup,” listing the names of the winners from 1870 to 1879. The cup’s finial, also marked “Elkington,” depicted a horse and rider. The latest winner of the trophy took it home for $9,600.

Earning the same price was a set of sterling silver flatware by Buccellati in the Tiber pattern. Sell commented, “Buccellati is a great name known for quality and the Tiber pattern has been very popular in recent years, I think because it is so modern and simple and not too fussy for modern living.”

English & Continental Furniture & Decorative Arts

The October 16 session, English & Continental Furniture & Decorative Arts, presented furniture, porcelain, mirrors, clocks, chandeliers and rugs from prominent estates and collections. A set of four Louis XV giltwood armchairs, or fauteuils à la reine, from the mid Eighteenth Century brought the highest price of the day. Each stamped “Tilliard” on the back seat rail for Jean-Baptiste Tilliard (maître in 1717), the chairs had padded backs, arms and seats within a carved and molded frame. From the estate of Allan Goldman and with provenance to the collection of Sara Jane Pansa and the estate of Wendell Cherry, the set rose to $39,680. According to the specialist, “A comparable pair of fauteuils à la reine by Tilliard, featuring similar decoration, is in the Wrightsman Collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.”

The top lot of the October 16 session, at $39,680, was this set of four Louis XV giltwood fauteuils a la reine stamped for Jean-Baptiste Tilliard, mid Eighteenth Century ($20/30,000).

Two Regency period furniture pieces followed the armchairs in price. Earning $20,480, the second-highest price of the day, was an octagonal library table attributed to Marsh and Tatham circa 1815. This mahogany table had brass inlay in Greek key and scroll patterns along its frieze and on the front of its four drawers; additionally, it had a green leather inset top and was on a pedestal base with brass lion paw casters.

Made in the early Nineteenth Century, a Regency rosewood cabinet with brass inlay and ormolu details came from the Boston and Newport, R.I., collection of a distinguished British family, with provenance to Christie’s 2001 London auction of Works of Art From Country Houses. The two panel doors were mounted with chartreuse pleated silk, each centered by a sunburst and grotesque ornament. Having a later pierced three-quarter galleried white marble top, the cabinet was labeled for “George Hilton & Sons Furniture Depositories, Hayward’s Heath, L.P. Bevan” and was bid more than three times its high estimate, finishing for $16,640.

Also performing well was an Empire ormolu and patinated bronze portico clock by Jean-Antoine Lépine. Lépine served as Horloger du Roi (clockmaker of the king) to Louis XV and Louis XVI and later supplied Napoleon Bonaparte. This circa 1800 clock was “Designed in the form of a portico adorned with Egyptian motifs — a style popularized by Napoleon’s campaigns,” according to Doyle representatives. Spirited trans-Atlantic bidding drove the price beyond its estimate to realize $11,520.

Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For further information, www.doyle.com or 212-427-2730.