On October 19, Christie’s is pleased to present the sale of Important Silver and Objects of Vertu, which will offer 240 significant lots ranging from a magnificent bejeweled zarf, to classical and modern works by Paul Storr and Georg Jensen.  Works of exceptional and royal provenance will be offered, as the sale features property from multiple private collections including Property from the Estate of Benjamin F. Edwards III and The Roger Yaseen Collection of Paul Storr Silver.  The sale is expected to realize in excess of $4 million

The Roger Yaseen Collection of Paul Storr Silver

Paul Storr is synonymous with the great age of English silver, the Regency, when George IV, known as the ‘engine of fashion’, led the taste for grand silver objects inspired by Roman antiquity.  From 1807 to 1819, Storr ran the immense workshops of the Royal goldsmiths, Rundell Bridge and Rundell, where he translated the drawings and models of artists such as John Flaxman and William Theed into top-quality works of art in silver.  Storr’s work is characterized not only by its heavy gauge, but also by its superb workmanship, including casting, hammering, chasing, and engraving.  Roger Yaseen’s collection includes over 30 lots, which ranges from a dinner service to sauce tureens with estimates starting at $2,000. 

Property from the Estate of Benjamin F. Edwards III

Christie's is once again honored to offer a further selection of silver from the Estate of Benjamin F. Edwards III, a prominent collector and former Chairman, CEO and President of A.G. Edwards & Sons in St. Louis.  Benjamin F. Edwards III (1931-2009) was the fifth direct descendant to head A. G. Edwards & Co., a firm founded by his great-grandfather, Albert Gallatin Edwards, in 1887.  Following the enormous success of four sales from 2002 to 2010, this collection of over 35 lots will feature a superb selection of silver from famed makers such as Paul de Lamerie, George Wickes, and Paul Storr.  Illustrated below is an important set of four George II silver two-light candelabra, mark of George Wickes, London, 1733 (estimate: $200,000-300,000)

An additional highlight includes a set of three George V silver-gilt garniture flasks with remarkable royal provenance, mark Of Goldsmiths & Silversmiths Co., London, 1908-17 (estimate: $80,000-120,0000).  These flasks were presented to The Duke of Windsor as Prince of Wales by the City of London on the occasion of his receiving the Freedom of the City.  Following his abdication in 1936, the Duke of Windsor spent a great deal of time in Palm Beach, Newport, and New York.  During the late 1940s and '50s, he befriended Nathan Cummings, founder of Consolidated Foods (later Sara Lee Corporation) and fellow resident of the Waldorf in New York, and these flasks were given to Cummings during those years.