THE FIZCHEL COLLECTION LEADS BONHAMS CLASSICS SALES IN PARIS

                                        29 October | The Grand Tour | Live sale

                                         30 October | The Classics | Live Sale

                      31 October| The Merkle Collection | Live sale

Paris – Important furniture, Old Master paintings and drawings and European ceramics from the Fizchel collection lead The Classics sales at Bonhams Cornette de Saint Cyr in Paris on Wednesday 30 October 2024. Formed in France, this collection offers a rare and unique selection of furniture, bronzes and old master paintings fresh to the auction market.

Nature Morte avec coupe de raisins, une pêche et un melon by Pierre Dupuis (1610-1682), famous for his still lives, is one of the highlights of the French collection. This delicately detailed oil on canvas is offered with an estimate of €30,000 to €50,000. From the same collection, a Louis XV-Louis XVI transitional gilt-varnished-bronze-mounted amaranth, bois satine and tulipwood marquetry commode stamped by Jacques Dautriche is estimated at €30,000-50,000.

                                            Other highlights of the collection include:

• Jean-Baptiste Pillement (1728-1808), Figures sous un arc rocheux près d'une rivière, oil on canvas. Estimate : €12,000-18,000

• A rare Louis XVI rosewood, amaranth and violet wood desk stamped Nicolas Petit. Estimate : €15,000-20,000

• A bronze equestrian group representing Louis XIV after Martin van den Bogaert, known as Desjardin (1637-1694), France, second half of the 18th century Estimate: €15,000-20,000

Stefania Lumetta, Bonhams Specialist of Old Masters Paintings and 19th Century Art and Head of sale, said: “This year’s Autumn Classics sales present an exciting selection of exceptionally rare works, from a painting by the Gysbrecht Leytens, to a selection of Flemish paintings, including a still life attributed to Jan Pauwel Gillemans the Elder. The series will also feature great single owner collections, including the Fizchel collection, which brings together paintings by Dupuis, Dutillieu, Lajoue and Charpentier, reflecting the taste of a pure French 18th century collector.”

A winter landscape with fishermen and hunters near a village with children playing on a frozen river by Gysbrecht Leytens (1586-1656) (Estimate: €150,000-200,000)

FIRST SALE OF GLASS IN PARIS

A selection of glass from the Christian von Reitzenstein Collection

Another highlight of the sale is an oil on board showing A winter landscape with fishermen and hunters near a village with children playing on a frozen river by the Antwerp artist Gysbrecht Leytens (1586-1656). It is estimated at €150,000 to 200,000. Nicknamed the ‘poet of frost’, Gysbrecht Leytens devoted himself almost exclusively to snow landscapes. A member of the Saint Luke's guild who trained in Jacques Vrolyck's studio in Antwerp, he liked to use a colour palette reduced to blue-grey and yellow-brown tones, making the coldness of his compositions palpable.

Bonhams Fine Glass auctions offer British and European glass from the 15th to 19th centuries and are a regular fixture of the auction calendar, taking place twice a year in London. This year in Paris, the Classics sale will feature a section dedicated to more than 45 exceptional pieces of glassware, the majority from the collection of Christian von Reitzenstein. As the recognised market leader in early glass and the only international auction house holding dedicated specialist sales in this field, this first Glass auction at Bonhams in Paris is a real opportunity to discover rare pieces, several of which celebrate royalty, weddings and friendship. 

Among the Dutch engraved glass, a fine Dutch stipple-engraved facet stem 'Friendship' wine glass by 'Alius', circa 1780, leads the selection (estimate: €7,000-9,000). The bowl is finely decorated with two hatted men, both seated on an inverted tub-like barrel, one handing a cylindrical glass of beer to the other. Although he never signed any of his engravings, 'Alius' was one of the most important Dutch master glass engravers of the 18th century. The incredible lightness of touch which he achieved on this goblet demonstrates the remarkable degree to which this engraver mastered the stipple technique.

Jim Peake, Head of the Glass and British Ceramics department, said: “I am very excited by this first auction of glass in Paris. Several fine and rare glasses commemorating friendship will be offered in this auction. Friendship was highly valued in the 18th century and the bond between friends would have been sealed and resealed with toasts from specially engraved goblets such as those included in the sale.”

Highlights of the sale include:

•         An exceptional Potsdam engraved goblet in the manner of Gottfried Spiller, circa 1720-30. The bowl is decorated with a continuous landscape depicting the Triumphal Procession of Bacchus, which was an extremely popular subject in Baroque art. With its particularly fine and lively cutting, this goblet can probably be attributed to the workshop of Gottfried Spiller, which was active in Berlin until 1728. (estimate: €5,000-8,000).

                                                         THE GRAND TOUR SALE NOW IN PARIS

 Left: a pair of French patinated bronze and gilt bronze large groups of nubian water carriers by Louis Charles Hippolyte Buhot (estimate : €15,000-20,000). Right: An Italian Spanish Brocatella, Giallo di Siena, Rosso Antico, Alabastro fiorito, jasper and lapis lazuli specimen marble top, Rome, 19th century (estimate: €20,000-30,000).

•         A fine and rare Silesian (Hirschberger Tal) engraved goblet attributed to Christian Gottfried Schneider, Warmbrunn, circa 1740, formerly in the Dr K Rühmann Collection in Vienna. This glass belongs to an important group of Silesian goblets and footed beakers with Hochschnitt and Tiefschnitt engraving. (estimate: €3,000-5,000).

•         A fine Nuremberg engraved goblet, circa 1680. This goblet would appear to belong to a distinct group of Nuremberg goblets all with related stem formations, most attributed to the master engraver Hermann Schwinger. (estimate: €2,500-3,500).

Paris – The Grand Tour – the gap year for European royalty, aristocracy and landed gentry – enjoyed its golden age during the 18th Century. Although most Grand Tours started in Paris, and for the more adventurous might end in Greece, Italy was definitely the place to go. Its cities – especially Rome – offered plenty of opportunity both for cultural development. Satisfying the demands of the Grand Tourists for souvenirs became big business – almost every tourist would return home with something whether it was prints or sculpture or paintings. A new sale at Bonhams Cornette de Saint Cyr on Tuesday 29 October celebrates the Grand Tour and its influence on European taste. It is led by a pair of French patinated bronze and gilt bronze large groups of nubian water carriers by Louis Charles Hippolyte Buhot (1815-1865) cast by Graux Marly foundry, third quarter 19th Century from a private Italian noble collection and estimated at €15,000-20,000.

Louis Charles Hippolyte Buhot (1815-1865) was born in Paris and studied under the French sculptor and medalist David d'Angers. He entered the Ecole des Beaux Arts at the age of seventeen, and soon exhibited regularly at the Paris Salon from 1837 until his death. Orientalism was a long standing subject of fascination for Westerners, with depictions of exoticism from far away places and cultures. Opposed to the neo-classicism movement, orientalism was popularized in 19th century sculpture by interpretations of exotic figural scenes, tropical birds and animals and lavishly dressed exotic figures. There was a real interest in ethnography, in the unknown. The production of these 19th century pieces showed the latest manufacturing technical advances, resulting in the highest possible quality wares.

Highlights of the sale include:

• An Italian Spanish Brocatella, Giallo di Siena, Rosso Antico, Alabastro fiorito, jasper and lapis lazuli specimen marble top, Rome, 19th century (estimate: €20,000-30,000). This attractive specimen marble top is directly inspired from the early Roman specimen marble tops of the late 16th-early 17th century. The delicate blend of geometrical and abstract motifs noticeable on our top derives from designs dated from circa 1565 by celebrated craftsmen as the Italian Giovanni Antonio Dosio. A related specimen marble top formerly in the Villa Medici in Rome, executed most likely from designs by the architect Giovanni Antonio Dosio, and made in Rome in the third quarter of the 16th century is now conserved in the Galleria Palatina in Florence.

• Piazza San Marco, Venise and Palais des Doges, oil on canvas by Vincenzo Chilone (Venise 1768-1840) estimated each at €8,000-12,000.

• An Italian gold-mounted prophyry and micromosaic snuff box, first half 19th century of circular form, depicting the waterfalls at Tivoli with the temple of the Sibyl and figures (estimate: €6,000-9,000)

• A Grand Tour giallo antico marble model of a 'colonna rostrata', Italy, second half 19th century (estimate: €5,000-7,000)

• Giovanni Paolo Panini (1691 - 1765). Pair of capricci. Oil on canvas. 75x60cm. XVIII century (estimate: €7,000-10,000)

About The Bonhams Network

Bonhams is a global network of auction houses, with the largest number of international salerooms, offering the widest range of collecting categories and selling at all price points. Bonhams is recognised for its bespoke service, and a dedication to local market relationships, enhanced by a global platform. With 14 salerooms, Bonhams presents over 1,000 sales annually, across more than 60 specialist categories, including fine art, collectables, luxury, wine & spirits, and collector cars.

Founded in 1793, Bonhams has representatives in more than 30 countries and operates flagship salerooms in London, New York, Paris, Los Angeles, and Hong Kong. In 2022, Bonhams added four international auction houses to its network: Bukowskis, Stockholm; Bruun Rasmussen, Copenhagen; Cornette de Saint Cyr, Paris and Brussels; and Skinner, Massachusetts. The success of Bonhams’ global strategy is a result of recognising the shift in growing intercontinental buying and increased digital engagement.

In 2023, Bonhams achieved 14% growth with $1.14 billion in turnover. Recent important auctions and landmark single-owner collections, include the white glove sales of Sir Michael Caine: The Personal Collection, Alain Delon: Sixty Years of Passion; Sir Roger Moore: The Personal Collection; Personal Property of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and The Robert & Jean-Pierre Rousset Collection of Asian Art: A Century of Collecting. Other notable single-owner sales included The Estate of Barbara Walters: American Icon; The Alan and Simone Hartman Collection; The Crown Auction: Props and Costumes and The Claude de Marteau Collection.

Top lots for 2023 include 1967 Ferrari 412P Berlinetta, Sold at Quail Lodge, US for US$30,255,000. Tipu Sultan’s Bedchamber Sword (sold in London for £14m – a world record for both an Islamic and an Indian object); Paul Signac (1863-1935), Sisteron, 1902. Sold for US$8,580,000 (estimate US$4-6 million), and Claude Monet (1840-1926), La Seine près de Giverny, 1888. Sold for US$6,352,500 (estimate US$4-6m), both from the Alan and Simone Hartman Collection; A Gilt Copper Alloy figure of Virupaksha, Central Tibet, Densatil Monastery, Early 15th century. Sold for HK$37.9m (£4,060,326) in Hong Kong. Yoshitomo Nara (born 1959) Three Stars. Sold for HK$36,754,000 (£3,930,914), also in Hong Kong. 

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