A Collection of Exquisite Silver Masterpieces

A Collection of Exquisite Silver Masterpieces

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  A jewelled gold and enamelled Imperial presentation box, circa 1853.
  Estimate: €20,000–30,000.

  This magnificent enamelled gold box by Louis François Tronquoy has remained in the same family since it was given to an ancestor by Emperor Napoleon III. The awarded man, Jacques Heugel, was a famous music editor who published some of the most famous composers of the time, Jacques Offenbach among them.
  
  Importante Orfèvrerie Européenne, Boîtes en Or et Objets de Vitrine
  12 April 2018 | Paris
  

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• 

  A pair of Buccellati Italian silver candlesticks with marine motifs, circa 1970.
  Estimate: €25,000–35,000.

  These amazing large candelabra, made by the most famous Italian silversmith of the 20th century, give the impression of looking into an aquarium, with fish, shells and seaweeds, very realistically chased and cast.
  
  Importante Orfèvrerie Européenne, Boîtes en Or et Objets de Vitrine
  12 April 2018 | Paris
  

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• 

  An Italian almost-life-size silver wolf, Buccellati, circa 1970.
  Estimate: €10,000–15,000.

  Another impressive Buccellati piece, with realistic fur made of thousands of silver threads soldered one by one, to form an almost-life-size predator.
  
  Importante Orfèvrerie Européenne, Boîtes en Or et Objets de Vitrine
  12 April 2018 | Paris
  

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  A pair of very large Italian silver seven-light candelabra, circa 1970.
  Estimate: €70,000–100,000.

  Made for a palace, it would be hard to find a piece that could rival this huge pair of Rococo silver Italian candelabra. They are masterpieces of the silversmith’s art, and made of solid silver, they are extremely heavy (66kg).
  
  Importante Orfèvrerie Européenne, Boîtes en Or et Objets de Vitrine
  12 April 2018 | Paris
  

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  A pair of important French silver-gilt double salt-cellars from the Branicki service by Jean-Baptiste-Claude Odiot, Paris, circa 1819.
  Estimate: €25.000–35.000.

  Odiot is regarded as the most famous silversmith in Paris during the reign of Emperor Napoleon I. He received many commissions from the Imperial family and Court officials, as well as from foreign sovereigns.
  
  He made two world-famous silver and silver-gilt services for two Eastern aristocrats, the Russian Count Demidoff and the Polish Count Branicki. These impressive double salt-cellars belong to the service made for Count Branicki, parts of which are now to be found in several world museums, mainly the Rijksmuseum , Amsterdam.
  
  Importante Orfèvrerie Européenne, Boîtes en Or et Objets de Vitrine
  12 April 2018 | Paris
  

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• 

  A rare French silver teapot, probably Charles Sermensan, Bordeaux, 1726-1732.
  Estimate: €30.000–40.000.

  A very unusual teapot made in Bordeaux, it would not be out of place in a museum. It has an original faceted body engraved with a coat-of-arms and three medallions representing a lion, an eagle and a dolphin.
  
  Bordeaux was one of the French ports where tea imported from India was unloaded, and as a result many teapots were made in the region. Few can match this lot for quality.
  
  Importante Orfèvrerie Européenne, Boîtes en Or et Objets de Vitrine
  12 April 2018 | Paris
  

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  A rare German parcel-gilt silver statue representing a sitting faun, probably by Johann Mittnacht II, Augsburg circa 1710.
  Estimate: €50,000–80,000.

  A very unusual statue representing a sitting faun, a subject rarely seen. Germany is one of the only countries where silver figures were made, mainly in the second half of the 17th century, Very often, they were animal figures to be used as guild cups.
  
  Importante Orfèvrerie Européenne, Boîtes en Or et Objets de Vitrine
  12 April 2018 | Paris
  

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• 

  A large silver-gilt circular clasp set with hardstones and coloured glass, circa 1450.
  Estimate: €20,000–25,000.

  A very early and rare piece certainly used by the aristocracy as an indication of rank. Only 3 other clasps as important as this one have survived, the others can be seen in paintings or sculptures, particularly in recumbent statues of kings and queens.
  
  Importante Orfèvrerie Européenne, Boîtes en Or et Objets de Vitrine
  12 April 2018 | Paris
  

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• • 

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    Category: Contemporary Art

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    Type: slideshow

    Category: Contemporary Art

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    Type: story

    Category: African Modern & Contemporary Art

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