New York- Christie’s is pleased to present the Fall sale of 500 Years: Decorative Arts Europe, including Oriental Carpets on October 19-20.  With over 550 lots, the sale will feature stunning works of English, French and Continental furniture, ceramics, works of art, tapestries and carpets, all examples of exquisite design and craftsmanship. The sale features works from the Collection of Jean M. Riddell, property from the late Bernard Castro, the Estate of George McFadden and McFadden Brothers Partnership and from many other private collections.  The sale is expected to realize in excess of $6 million.

One of the highlights of the sale includes property from the Collection of Jean M. Riddell, which comprises 46 lots.  Ms. Riddell was a known patron of the arts and scholar whose collections of Russian enamels, one of the largest colelctions in private hands, was bequeathed to the Walters Art Gallery in Baltimore upon her death last  year at age 100.  In the 1970s, with the help of the highly regarded Georgetown furniture dealer, Macy Darling, known for her love of 17th and 18th century English furniture, Ms. Riddell refurbished her home (now the Embassy of the Bahamas). The careful selection of objects they chose together demonstrates a true appreciation for the unusual and the exceptional.

Property from the Collection of the Late Bernard Castro, sold by his daughter Bernadette, represents 24 lots in the sale.  The entrepreneur and philanthropist was Sicilian-born, arriving penniless at Ellis Island at age 15.  By 24, he had enrolled in interior design courses, which sparked his interest in European furniture, sculpture, and decorative art.  In 1931, Castro opened his first interior design shop in New York, at which the revolutionary Castro Convertible sofa was conceived.  The success of his new design provided him and his family the opportunity to amass an impressive collection of furniture and sculpture, which graced the rooms of their ocean-front Florida home.  The magnitude of Bernard Castro’s collection is sure to impress the more discerning connoisseur.