Decorative Art

International bidders competed online and by phone against the UK trade and collectors for a group of 18th century Meissen figures offered at Adam Partridge (20% buyer’s premium) in Macclesfield.

Pictured here are five from a near-complete set of 41 polychrome terracotta figures of the Danse Macabre offered by Lempertz (25% buyer’s premium) in Cologne. They are typical of the work of Anton Sohn (1769-1841), who settled in Zizenhausen near Stockach in 1799.

This 14in (35cm) early 19th century Liverpool creamware tureen and ladle marked for the Herculaneum factory is transfer-printed in black with portraits of Nelson.

This spiral-moulded cream jug decorated with a drummer boy is from a well-documented Caughley tea and coffee service painted with figural subjects by Fidelle Duvivier during a brief period of work at the Chamberlain factory in Worcester in October 1792.

The original Richard Redgrave (1804-88) design for this 5in (12cm) christening mug – offered for sale by H Blairman & Sons priced at £12,000 – was published in the 1847 catalogue Art Manufactures Collected by Felix Summerly.

This pair of early 19th century Neoclassical Sheffield plated wine coolers proved to be one of the more sought-after entries in the Doyle (25/20/12.5%) sale of silver furniture and decorative arts in New York.

Topping the Mid-Century Design sale held by Sworders (25% buyer’s premium) in Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex, was a trademark work by Peter Collingwood (1922-2008) – the British craftsman at the forefront of weaving for 50 years.

Among the sales series held by Koller (25/22/15% buyer’s premium) in Zurich in June that had been postponed from March was the single-owner auction of works from the Müller-Frei collection.

It has been an undeniably difficult few months for antiques dealers with shops and centres shuttered and fairs cancelled. However, online events such as the recent ‘virtual’ 'Masterpiece' fair have helped generate some business, and many shops are now open under the usual restrictions.

A selection of early Continental silver from the 16th and 17th centuries was a notable feature of the Lempertz (25% buyer’s premium) decorative arts auction in Cologne.

At the 19th century international exhibitions, the Viennese silversmith Hermann Ratzendorfer (1845-94) gained a reputation for his mixed-media works in the neo-Renaissance taste.

This set of George III silver wine coolers by Robert Garrard, London, 1803, is priced at £175,000 from Koopman Rare Art.

Catalogued as French and late 19th century, this 5in (12cm) drinking vessel offered by Lisbon saleroom Renascimento appears to be an electrotype of the famous Warren Cup.

In Koller’s mixed-owner auction of furniture and decorative arts, it was a rare example of 18th century Italian silver that took centre stage.

Silver made in both Britain and the Continent provides a wide variety for buyers via auctions and dealers across the globe. Here ATG picks out a selection of 13 recent sales and upcoming lots.

This 12½in (31cm) ruby lustre jar and cover, a textbook piece from William De Morgan’s Sands End Pottery (1888-1907), was the star at a recent sale at Bowler & Binnie (16% buyer’s premium) in Dunfermline.

Well known for an encyclopaedic knowledge of British history, Robin Simpson (who died in February) was the leading collector of commemorative ceramics.

It was a visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art sometime in the 1880s that inspired Louis Comfort Tiffany to produce his so-called Cypriote range of art glass.