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Discover an American Collection that Epitomizes Gilded Age Elegance

2 February | New York
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Sotheby's Masters Week features a single-owner sale reflecting the keen eye and passion of an important American collector. Titled The Gilded Age Revisited, this auction presents everything from 18th-century Dutch still lifes to Italian furniture and Chinoiserie objets d'art. Ahead, preview a small selection of remarkable pieces from this diverse and grand collection.

19th Century European Paintings
How To Bid in The Gilded Age Revisited

Discover an American Collection that Epitomizes Gilded Age Elegance

  • William Bouguereau, Pâquerettes. Estimate $400,000–600,000.
    Pâquerettes is an exceptional example of William Bouguereau’s Academic style. This highly life-like composition celebrates the endearing qualities and idyllic nature of a child’s life in the countryside, and the daisies serve as a universal symbol of youthful innocence.

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  • An Italian Baroque commesso di pietre dure panel, attributed to the Grand Ducal Workshops, Florence, early 17th century. Estimate $60,000–100,000.
    The art of inlaid marble and hardstone panels, called pietre dure, dates back to Antiquity and was revived in Renaissance Italy. This type of work has always been highly prized by aristocratic patrons and proudly displayed in their interiors, from Medici palazzi in Florence to Robber Baron mansions on Fifth Avenue. This example is a rare survival from the early days of the Grand Ducal pietre dure workshops in Florence, which still exist today.

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  • Hendrik Reekers, Dahlias, Nasturtiums, Roses and Other Flowers in a Copper Ewer with Plums, Grapes and Peaches on a Marble Ledge. Estimate $200,000–300,000.
    Hendrik Reekers is one of the most celebrated Dutch still life painters of the 19th century. An artist with a passion for the still life genre and a keen awareness of various flora and fauna, Reekers emulated the work of 17th-century Dutch Golden Age still life painters, such as Pieter Claesz and Willem Claesz. Heda.

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  • A set of four Louis XV carved giltwood fauteuils à la reine by Jean Boucault, 1735. Estimate $30,000–50,000.
    The chairs created by French craftsmen in the 18th century still serve as the fundamental basis for chair design today. This particularly refined carved and gilded set demonstrates the perfect combination of comfort, functionally and ornament that characterized chairs produced during the Louis XV period. One of the greatest makers of the age, Boucault’s work is represented in leading collections and museums worldwide.

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  • Jakob Bogdány, A Still Life of Melons, Apples, Peaches, Plums, Figs, Grapes, and Vines on a Stone Ledge with a Jay and Parrot. Estimate $150,000–200,000.
    Bogdány, a Hungarian artist who painted in London, is known for his exquisite still lifes and accurate portrayal of animals. Queen Anne was amongst his clientele and introduced Bogdány to Admiral George Churchill, who had created an aviary full of unusual birds at Windsor. It is perhaps here where the artist’s fascination with depicting birds started. What makes this signed still life so remarkable is the elegant balance created between colorful fruits and lively birds.

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  • A gilt bronze-mounted Boulle marquetry and ebony meuble d'appui stamped E. Levasseur, late 18th/early 19th century. Estimate $25,000–35,000.
    The elegance and grandeur of Louis XIV’s court at Versailles is epitomized by the furniture of Boulle, using tortoiseshell and brass inlay with masterfully sculpted gilt bronze mounts. Boulle furniture never went out of fashion and continued to be produced after the maker’s death, even 60 years later by Etienne Levasseur, who actually trained in the workshop of Boulle’s son, and consistently produced works in the Boulle style which ensured the aesthetic of the Sun King remained a permanent element in French art throughout the 18th and 19th centuries.

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  • Alfred De Dreux, Portraits du duc de Chartres et du comte de Paris en Écossais. Esimtate $120,000–180,000.
    Alfred De Dreux’s name is synonymous with the depiction of the horse in the 19th century. After studying in the atelier of Théodore Géricault, a close friend of the artist’s family, De Dreux went on to have a successful career as an equestrian painter and also a portraitist. The present lot depicts Prince Philippe d’Orléans, Count of Paris, at left, and Prince Robert Philippe Louis Eugène Ferdinand d’Orléans, Duke of Chartres, at right. At the time this work was completed, the two young princes were in exile in England after their grandfather, King Louis Philippe I of France, abdicated the French throne in 1848.

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  • Cornelis van Spaendonck, A Still Life of a Parrot Tulip, Roses and Other Flowers in a Basket, on a Marble Ledge. Estimate $80,000–120,000.
    Cornelis van Spaendonck established his career in Paris as both a flower painter and Director of Design at the porcelain factory of Sèvres. This signed and dated work was realized in Van Spaendonck’s final years and is exemplary of his lavish representations of flowers, which are placed in a basket that rests on an elaborately designed marble ledge. The romantic paintings Van Spaendonck created are currently exhibited in many prominent museums like the Musée du Louvre, Paris.

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  • A Louis XV gilt-bronze mounted Chinese crackle-glazed celadon vase, the porcelain Qing dynasty, 18th century, the mounts circa 1760, in the manner of Duplessis. Estimate $50,000–80,000.
    This beautiful object demonstrates French design flair and love of all materials both native and foreign. Chinese celadon porcelain was avidly collected in 18th-century France and often further embellished with exquisitely fashioned gilt bronze mounts, creating a work of art treasured by connoisseurs including Kings and their favorites, as Louis XV and Madame de Pompadour had comparable items in their collections. A very similar mounted vase, possibly made as a pair to this one, has been in Versailles since at least the early 19th century.

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  • Eugen von Blaas, Flirtation. Estimate $250,000–350,000.
    Eugen von Blaas is best known for his scenes of everyday life in 19th-century Venice and the playful joie de vivre of its inhabitants, who are often depicted wearing vibrant hues and sumptuous draperies.

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  • A pair of Louis XVI gilt and patinated bronze four-light figural candelabra attributed to Francois Remond, circa 1785. Estimate $60,000–100,000.
    These monumental candelabra serve as both furniture and sculpture and were made with the highest quality materials of bronze, gilt bronze and marble. They epitomize the high degree of perfection achieved in the decorative arts in 18th-century French society in the last days of the Ancien Regime before the upheavals of the Revolution. This model has always been highly prestigious as well as functional: for example, a set of four is in regular use today by the Queen of England at Buckingham Palace.

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  • Attributed to Jan Wijnants, A Dog in a Landscape. Estimate $30,000–50,000.
    This panel is an exquisite rendering of dog in a high horizon, with an elaborate deep sited landscape developing in the background. The curious color scheme, especially with the bold, deep black shadows create a sense of depth, complemented by the finely painted plants and trees.

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  • Jan Frans van Dael, A Still Life of Roses, Peonies, and Other Flowers on a Ledge. Estimate $40,000–60,000.
    Flemish artist Jan Frans van Dael was one of the most highly regarded still life painters of flowers and fruits in Paris during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Although Van Dael must have carefully studied flowers to depict them with such accuracy, the large scale of his panel and the jewel-like colors he used indicate a movement away from the scientific and even moralizing concerns of earlier generations. The inclusion of a landscape in the background adds a convincing impression of depth and substance to his luxurious motifs.

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