Nagel’s 406th auction of art and antiques on December 5, which totaled $4 million, began with an unexpectedly lively round of bidding. An “enamel box in a case,” as it was cautiously described in the catalog at the recommendation of an external Fabergé expert, caught the eye of several clients at once. The small box casket with a silver gilt body, colorful cloisonné enamel decorations and the upper lid inset with enameling en plein (knight in front of a memorial stone) exhibited the company stamp of K. Fabergé, but no other maker’s mark. It shows a Kokoshnik mark, thus putting its date between 1908 and 1917.
The price soon skyrocketed, showing that the estimate of $1,300 was far below its actual value. The final price, including buyer’s premium, reached $573,000, selling to a Swiss client.
The painting section produced another surprise. The oil on canvas depiction of a tree-lined brook in a wintry wood by Lodewijk Fredrik Hendrik Apol, also called Louis Apol (1850‱936), was likewise able to far surpass expectations. The painting by this specialist in winter landscapes, who is held in high esteem in the Netherlands and won several prizes, was knocked down for $256,000 and went to the foreign trade. Never before had a painting by Apol been auctioned at a higher price.
The “Venetian Conversation” by Eugen von Blaas (1843‱931) went to the same address; this oil on canvas brought in $334,000. The trade also took Leo von Klenze’s oil Italian landscape, presumably depicting the region of Palestrina near Rome.
Alfred Fontville de Breanski Sr’s (1852‱928) “Evening on Loch Etive” came up to $75,450.
One of the paintings by Old Masters worthy of mention was the floral still life by Jan Brueghel the Elder, which was taken over by a private German buyer for $134,000. At $20,000, an Eighteenth Century Roman grisaille painting showing the Christ child with the cross and the signs of martyrdom appearing to him in the presence of his mother also rose to well above the estimate of $2,500.
A standout result was the $63,000 paid for a neoclassical centerpiece. The resplendent piece, approximately 3.5 meters long and worked in bronze, still exhibited the original fire-gilding and went to a private buyer from Germany. In ceramics, a pair of faience vases from Urbino, circa 1900, was knocked down for $7,200, a collection of 26 Meissen cupids from the period around 1900 and later was sold for $49,650. A large-scale Nain rug, made available in 2005 as a loan for the decoration of a room in expectation of Pope Benedict XVI, found a buyer for $23,000
Prices reported have been converted from euros to US dollars and include the buyer’s premium. For information, www.auction.de or +49 (0711) 649 690.
