The European Décor & Design auction offers nearly 500 lots of 18th to 20th century British and European furniture and decorative arts, British and European ceramics, and fine silver.

The auction begins with a selection of American silver hollowware and flatware, including an important Boston tankard, by Samuel Minott, circa 1760 (Lot 1001, Estimate: $4,000-6,000). Examples of Tiffany and Gorham’s offerings feature an unusual Tiffany three-piece berry set in fitted case (Lot 1016, Estimate $1,000-2,000), an extensive Gorham Versailles pattern flatware service in its original case (Lot 1021, Estimate: $7,000-9,000), to name just a few. Highlights of the English and Continental silver offerings include a Hester Bateman covered two-handled cup (Lot 1066, Estimate: $2,000-4,000), a Buccellati Versailles pattern flatware set (Lot 1080, Estimate: $5,000-7,000) and a selection of Russian enameled silver (Lots 1083-1095).

A select group of Wedgwood and related wares includes a complete early 19th century jasper chess set (Lot 1126, Estimate: $10,000-20,000) and a modern jasper Britannia Triumphant (Lot 1182, Estimate: $8,000-12,000), only a handful of which were produced. In 1793, Thomas Day wrote the epic poem The Dying Negro. It’s believed that this may have been partly responsible for arousing Josiah Wedgwood’s practical opposition to the slave trade. In 1787 Wedgwood produced a cameo depicting a kneeling slave surrounded by the phrase “Am I Not a Man and a Brother?” Worn by men and women, this abolitionist cameo (Lot 1118, Estimate: $800-1,200), became very fashionable in the late 18th century. Josiah Wedgwood sent 400 of these cameos to Benjamin Franklin, then president of the Pennsylvania Society for the Abolition of Slavery, to be distributed among his colleagues and friends in America.

Rarely seen on the market in quantity, we are pleased to offer a selection of over 300 pieces of Royal Copenhagen “Flora Danica” dinner wares (Lots 1183-1215). Flora Danica has a long history as one of the most prestigious and luxurious dinner services, with origins in the late 18th century. Over 700 of the most beautiful plants, taken from over 3000 hand-colored prints in the encyclopedia of Denmark’s national flora, have been skillfully handpainted and reproduced on various dinnerware forms.

The sale also includes an extensive early 19th century Meissen Rothschild Bird pattern dinner service (Lot 1225, Estimate: $7,000-9,000). Other pottery consists of a nice selection of English toby jugs with a set of Eleven Wilkinson jugs of particular importance depicting the Allied Commanders of World War I (Lot 1400, Estimate: $8,000-12,000). This set was issued in a limited edition between 1915 and 1919 by the high-end London retailers Soan & Smith Ltd., after designs by Sir Francis Carrithers Gould, a political cartoonist at the time.

Furniture and decorative arts features a Regency mahogany hunt table(Lot 1309, Estimate: $2,000-4,000), a George III mahogany library breakfront (Lot 1308, Estimate: $8,000-12,000), a group of four pieces of Louis Vuitton luggage (Lot 1296, Estimate: $2,000-3,000) with provenance, having been previously owned by the author John O’Hara along with a first edition book of his, The Lockwood Concern, a Louis Vuitton steamer trunk (Lot 1388, Estimate: $4,000-6,000) and a group of five framed French papier peint wallpaper murals (Lot 1262, Estimate: $1,000-1,500 ).

Numerous paintings include an oil by William Allison of Southampton depicting a squire and his family (Lot 1413, Estimate: $2,000-4,000). A selection of oriental rugs, including a 12 ft. x 18 ft. Hamadan carpet (Lot 1227, Estimate: $1,200-1,500 rounds out the sale.  

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