Important Spring Sale 649

Bukowskis Important Spring Sale

Browse catalogue Additions Extended flippable catalogue
To the royal provenance section

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Bukowskis is pleased to present the Important Spring Sale, the most prominent quality spring auction that spans all periods and genres, featuring the best of the best and a high-class selection of art, Works of Art, furniture, carpets & textiles, jewellery, and Asian Works of Art. Unique to this auction is a significant section dedicated to items with royal provenance in honour of the double royal jubilee year of 2023. Read more

Bukowskis is pleased to present the Important Spring Sale, the most prominent quality spring auction that spans all periods and genres, featuring the best of the best and a high-class selection of art, Works of Art, furniture, carpets & textiles, jewellery, and Asian Works of Art. Unique to this auction is a significant section dedicated to items with royal provenance in honour of the double royal jubilee year of 2023.

Within the section for classic international art, we would like to highlight three paintings with imperial provenance from Tsar Alexander III’s collections. “Dawn over Yalta” and “Crimean Night, view of Oreanda and Aiu-Dagh” by the Armenian-Russian artist Ivan Constantinovich Aivazovsky, each with an estimated value of 4-5 million SEK, are two of the absolute highlights of the auction, along with “The river Don in moonlight” by Alexei Petrovich Bogoljuboff. Among the highlights of classical Swedish painting are several works by Carl Larsson, including “Vårflod/Översvämning” and “Gumman i Maj månad”. Anders Zorn is also represented with several works, including “Kuvåsängen”, “Gods-Kari,” and “The Letter.” The section also presents several significant works by Bruno Liljefors and Carl Fredrik Hill. The top piece in the classical international section is a Pre-Raphaelite work by Edmund Blair Leighton, “Faded Laurels.” There is also a private collection of 27 works by the highly relevant artist Lotte Laserstein. Contemporary international art includes a diptych from 1980 by Christo & Jeanne-Claude, “Wrapped Reichstag (Project for Berlin).” The catalogue also contains sculptures, with works by Carl Milles and Gudmar Olovson, among others.

In 2023, King Carl XVI Gustaf celebrates his Golden Jubilee with 50 years on the throne, and Sweden commemorates 500 years since Gustav Vasa was elected as the King of Sweden.

To mark the double royal jubilee year, Bukowskis, by royal warrant of appointment, has chosen to highlight some of all the fantastic Works of Art with royal provenance in a curated special section during the auction, which will reflect royal patronage and taste. Among the highlights is a salt cellar with a matching egg holder in gold from 1811, commissioned by King Charles XIII, and a presentation box made in Paris in 1776, a gift from King Gustav III in 1777 to Gerard De Visme (1725-1797). The section also includes a portrait by Per Krafft depicting Gustav III, a double-row pearl necklace with provenance from Gustav III, an imperial cigarette case by Fabergé, and an armchair attributed to Nils Christian Salton, with provenance from King Oscar I.

Among the highlights from the Works of Art sections, we can mention an imperial rectangular table by David Roentgen (Louis XVI, ca. 1785-1790), a late Gustavian bureau attributed to Fredrik August Eckstein and a pair of veneered Gustavian bureaus with brass fittings and a red limestone top by Nils Petter Stenström. The master craftsman Haupt is also represented with an elegant table veneered with birch, amaranth, jacaranda, and boxwood, as well as a veneered secretary with inlays in the form of laurel wreaths and crossed sprigs, ribbon rosettes, and pendants, both in Haupt’s characteristic style. Among the Works of Art objects, we find a pair of Empire candelabra in gilded and patinated bronze (ca. 1800), a Rococo coffee pot by Petter Eneroth, and an exquisite selection of glass, porcelain, and precious objects, including an Empire-style snuffbox by Otto Keibel (1799), decorated with gold, white and blue enamel, and diamonds.

An extensive carpet section offers an antique Keshan “Motachem” (circa 1890), a large antique Agra with provenance from Engestofte Castle in Denmark (1880s), a semi-antique Tabriz with arabesque patterns (circa 1920-1930s), an antique Kirman Laver “Mashahir” depicting world rulers, and a saddlebag, “The Annunciation,” in a very unusual colour palette (circa 1880-1825).

The jewellery section presents pieces of various types and expressions from different periods. Highlights include a gold and enamel necklace, a pair of earrings with cameos and pearls from the 19th century, and a gift from Eugène de Beauharnais to Princess Maria Theresia von Thurn und Taxis. Several pieces of jewellery from WA Bolin can also be mentioned, including a ring with a faceted sapphire and diamonds and a pair of earrings with cabochon-cut rubies and diamonds. From Fabergé, we find exquisite brooches, including one in platinum, silver, and gold with a cabochon-cut chalcedony and diamonds from 1911 by Alfred Thielemann and a beautiful stylized hexagonal snowflake brooch in platinum, silver, and gold with rose-cut diamonds, designed by Alma Pihl. Among the newer objects, there is a magnificent selection from Cartier, including a pair of Panthère earrings in white gold with diamonds and onyx and a Panthère gold ring with diamonds, onyx, and emeralds.

Finally, we proudly present our Asian section, which includes objects from several renowned private collections. With provenance from a Scandinavian nobleman and diplomat, we find no less than four imperial porcelain plates decorated with a red five-clawed dragon, with Emperor Daoguang’s mark and from his reign (1820-1850). Another object that testifies to the imperial palace life is an altar table in Zitan with cloisonné inlays from the 18th century. It is now being auctioned for the first time since it left China in the mid-20th century. Among the Tibetan objects, we find an impressive bronze sculpture of Tara that exhibits all the qualities and sophisticated craftsmanship that have made these sculptures highly sought after. The section also offers Chinese objects from various periods, such as a pair of enamelled bowls with lotus decoration previously part of the Ängsö Castle collection and high-quality paintings and porcelain.

When is the viewing and the sale?

Important Spring Sale
Viewing June 8th – 13th, Berzelii Park 1, Stockholm
Open Weekdays 11 AM – 6 PM CEST, weekend 11 AM – 4 PM CEST
Auction Live June 14th – 16th, Arsenalsgatan 2, Stockholm

See the auction’s start and slot times per category below.

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