On April 17, 2021, Selkirk Auctioneers & Appraisers will host their Spring Gallery Auction highlighted in part by the enamel collection of Lucy and Stanley Lopata, by descent. The collection’s deepest genre is French Limoges enamels ranging in period from The Renaissance to Napoleon III. Several gilt-parcel polychrome enamel and grisaille plaques will be offered alongside period objects including a Napoleonic jewelry cabinet and rare French coach lamp attributed to Limoges’ legendary Laudin Family.

The Lopatas were St. Louis philanthropists, educators, and art collectors whose personal gifts and their Lopata Endowment Fund has placed or allowed rare enamels to be exhibited in museums including St. Louis Art Museum, Smithsonian, and The Met. Enveloped in the culture of St. Louis, their impact can still be felt today via scholarships and the beautiful Lopata Hall at Washington University in St. Louis. Stanley Lopata, who graduated Washington University Arts & Sciences program in 1935 and then started a multimillion-dollar chemistry business in his basement, was a diligent engineer and professional. He was awarded the Robert S. Brookings Award (1987), Eliot Society’s ‘Search’ Award (1991), and in 1993 received the university’s highest recognition in the form of an honorary Doctor of Laws degree. Along with his wife Lucy, who sparked the couple’s interest in art collecting, the Lopatas' influence in the region is immeasurable.

Additional offerings from the family’s collection to be sold are several lots of beautiful Chinese enamels, many from the Qianlong era, including an Imperial Canton yellow enamel bowl, a Famille Rose bowl and cover with four-character mark, and what Selkirk catalogues as a "Rare and Superb Pair of Qianlong Teal-Ground Enamel Circular Trays". The trays are painted with numerous florals surrounding the Eight Auspicious Symbols of Buddhism. A scarce pair, dating to the mid-18th century, are described by Selkirk’s Executive Director Bryan Laughlin as “supremely desirable and nothing short of breath-taking”.

The exhibition preview begins Monday, April 12, 2021 culminating in the Saturday, April 17, 2021 auction, starting 10AM central, in Selkirk's downtown St. Louis gallery at 555 Washington Ave. Inquiries may be directed to info@selkirkauctions.com or by calling 314-696-9041.