The Paris important European Silver and Objects of Vertu sale will include around 50 lots of gold boxes and objects of Vertu and 250 lots of European Silver from 16th to 20th centuries.

The Vertu section will feature a nice selection of fans such as “L’Allégorie de l’Amour”, with Princess Marie von Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen monogram by Mr Alexandre, Paris, circa 1880, as well as some Viennese enamelled and crystal silver-mounted pieces and gold boxes.

The silver section includes notable pieces from all over Europe.  From Spain there are two 17th century salt-cellars.  From France a coffee-pot by Pierre Germain, a pair of three-light candelabras by Pierre-Louis Goguelye, Paris, 1785 and a large Odiot silver-gilt soup tureen embossed with the coat of arms of Prince Borghese.  Pieces from Germany include beakers and tankards and from Belgium there is a pair of rare large candlesticks by Philippus Moermans of Antwerp, 1674-1675.  Italy is represented by a rare and large holy water-stoup made in Genoa circa 1580, but you will also find pieces from Russia, Austria, Hungary and South America.  There is also a nice selection of 19th and 20th century pieces such as tea and coffee sets, jardinière, claret jugs and a wide selection of silver table services.

Sotheby’s is honoured to present a fantastic group of masterpieces from the most famous Swiss artists of the 19th and 20th centuries in our upcoming Swiss Art auction in Zürich. The sale is to take place on November 28th, 2011.

Highlights include works by Albert Anker, Ferdinand Hodler and Giovanni Giacometti, and belong to important private Swiss collections brought together by their owners with great expertise and passion over several decades.

This sale features a pristine case of Château Pétrus 1982 from the private collection of a Continental connoisseur that also includes some top Classed Growth Claret.  There is a fabulous array of Château Cheval Blanc and its ‘baby brother’, Le Petit Cheval, in young vintages and a variety of formats.  Great Sauternes, White and Red Burgundy, Rhône, California and historic German wines direct from members of the Prüm family vie for attention.  Extra ‘glitz’ can be found in a Methuselah of Louis Roederer Cristal 2000, 1990 vintage and a bottle of Cognac Hennessy Timeless in a Baccarat crystal decanter.

Fine Art Auction November 12th

19th/20th C. American & European Art, 11 a.m.

Post-War & Contemporary Art, 1 p.m.

The forthcoming Important Russian Art sale on the evening of November 28th offers an extremely impressive group of high quality works from private collections, much of which has not appeared on the market in recent memory. At its core is an exciting group of ten works from the estate of a Latvian lawyer, Arthur Ferdinand Hamann, rediscovered after 50 years in storage.

Highlights from the 19th century include an large moonlit view of St Petersburg by Alexei Bogoliubov at £400,000-600,000, a charming view of haystacks by Shishkin from a Danish private collection at £250,000-350,000 and one of the finest boyarina portraits by Konstantin Makovsky to be sold in recent years valued at £150,000 – 250,000. The early 20th century is represented by a rare 1914 work by Nikolai Roerich at £400,000-600,000, and a 1916 still life of Tatar artefacts by Petr Konchalovsky formerly in the collection of the art historian Waldemar George estimated at £500,000-700,000. We are delighted also to be offering high-calibre paintings by Nikolai Tarkhoff, Sergei Vinogradov, Konstantin Gorbatov, Dmitry Stelletsky and Mstislav Dobuzhinsky among others.

Should you wish to receive a complimentary valuation, please do not hesitate to contact our specialist team at +44 (0)207 293 5570

Exhibition Opens Today!

The sale includes 105 lots of music, including autographs by: Schumann, Mozart, Donizetti, Britten, and Schnittke.

Schumann’s Szenen aus Goethes “Faust” (1844), was the first major musical setting of both Part I and Part II of Goethe’s Faust, one of the greatest masterpieces of German literature.

Mozart’s sketch-leaf (1788) contains working drafts for two bawdy vocal canons and an unknown fugue, and has been untraced since 1935.

We also have Benjamin Britten’s working draft of one of his most famous concert works, The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra (1945) a collection of autograph manuscripts by Alfred Schnittke, letters by CPE Bach, Verdi and Rachmaninov, manuscripts prepared for Mendelssohn’s famous performance of Bach’s St Matthew Passion in 1829, a rich collection of first editions of music by JS Bach, Vivaldi, Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Chopin, and Schumann.