Browse Sotheby’s selection of decorative arts and objects, each with a unique historical provenance and character. Find a small treasure, a piece of history or an object from a notable collection.

Decorative Arts & Objects

A two-dimensional model of Watt and Boulton's steam engine, 19th century

A Dutch silver-gilt-mounted nautilus shell, Cornelis Bellekin, Amsterdam, late 17th century

Mohandas K. Gandhi | Silver tray, cup, and bowl, said to have been used by Gandhi when visiting his friend Dr Pranjivan Mehta

A pair of painted ceramic Winnie-the-Pooh bookends, 20th century

René Boivin

An octagonal carved onyx face surmounted by carved jade and silver gilt and decorated with sapphire cabochons, on an onyx and amazonite base.<ul><li>Dimensions 6¾ x 2¼ x 4½ inches</li><li>Signed René Boivin-Paris</li><li>French assay and workshop marks</li><li>Silver gilt</li><li>Mechanical movement</li><li>Gross weight approximately 454 dwts</li><li>Circa 1920s</li><li>Accompanied by a letter from Françoise Cailles dated May 8, 2012 stating that the timepiece is a work by René Boivin</li></ul> Condition ReportIn good condition, with minor wear and abrasions to the surfaces and minor to moderate patination to the metal. French assay mark for mixed silver and gold. The onyx is intact and in good condition. The jade is opaque light slightly bluish green with a mottled appearance, in overall good condition. The amazonite is medium light bluish green with lighter colored mottling and is intact and in good condition. The sapphires are medium

Onyx, Jade, Amazonite and Sapphire Desk Timepiece, France

Lacloche Frères

Composed of carved agate accented by lapis lazuli plaques, with applied numbers and dials decorated with blue enamel.<ul><li>Dimensions approximately 5¼ x 2½ x 3½ inches</li><li>Signed La Cloche Frères Paris</li><li>French assay and workshop marks</li><li>Silver gilt</li><li>Mechanical movement</li><li>Circa 1930</li><li>Gross weight approximately 750 dwts</li></ul> Condition ReportIn overall good condition, with minor wear and abrasions to the surfaces and moderate tarnishing to the silver gilt. The top lapis lazuli panel is loose. One screw missing from the back plate. French assay mark for mixed silver and gold. Workshop mark for Jean-René Lutz. The agate is medium light slightly brownish gray with lighter striations. The lapis lazuli is medium blue with white calcite streaks and small pyrite specks. The enamel is intact and in good condition. The clock is in running condition at the time of cataloguing but has not been tested for accuracy of timekeeping.

Agate, Lapis Lazuli, Silver-Gilt and Enamel Desk Clock, France

<a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/digital-catalogues/st-genevieves-chapel-inisfada" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Learn more about the St. Genevieve’s Chapel: INISFADA Selling Exhibition</a> Attributed to Gorham and Company under the direction of Frank Moffitt, circa 1920 Approximate height 16 ft. 1 in. by width 35 ft. 9 3/4 in. by depth 19 ft. 2 1/2 in.

St. Genevieve’s Chapel: INISFADA

Winston Branch

Winston Branchb. 1947Untitled signed Winton BRANCH and dated 1982 (lower left); also signed WINSTON BRANCH, dated 1982 and inscribed (on the canvas overlap)acrylic on canvasunframed: 183 by 122cm.; 72 by 48in.framed: 186.7 by 125cm.; 73 1⁄4&nbsp;by 49 1⁄4&nbsp;in.Executed in 1982.

Untitled

A suite of eighteenth century conversation piece engravings in the rococo style, showing the nobility at leisure, dining and dancing outdoors in a bucolic setting.<ul><li>Sold as a set of 4.</li><li>Each image is set within delicately colored scrolled borders featuring flowers, foliage, leafy tendrils and fruit.</li><li>These prints capture the privilege and lifestyle of the aristocracy and are typical of French decorative art in the early to mid eighteenth century.</li><li>Each is presented in a modern gilt frame.</li></ul>

La Manna Le Matin / El Mediodia Le Midi / Eldespues de Comer L'Apres Diner / Le Soir La Tarde

Alexander Pope Jr.

A group of&nbsp;chromolithographs of water fowl, laid on contemporary card, as published.<ul><li>Sold as a set of 6.</li><li>Alexander Pope Jr. (American, 1849-1924).</li><li>New York: Charles Scribner's Sons,&nbsp;1878.</li><li>Alexander Pope Jr. was an American sculptor and painter. He is known primarily for this series on game birds and a similar one on dogs.</li><li>Each is presented framed.</li></ul>

Water Fowl

Mather Brown

The engravings depict a key event following the defeat of Tipu Sultan in 1792. Tipu stands outside his fortress of Seringapatum and sends his two young sons to become British hostages, while the British set out the terms of a punitive peace treaty.<ul><li>Sold as a set of 2.</li><li>After Mather Brown (American, 1761-1831).</li><li>Engraved by Francesco Bartolozzi and Daniel Orme.</li><li>The delivery of the definitive treaty by the hostage princes into the hands of Lord Cornwallis [with] The Key to Mr. Brown’s Prints from the India Subjects.</li><li>London: Walker and Brachenbury, 1793.</li><li>Accompanied by the key plate.</li><li>Presented in handmade gilt frames.</li></ul>&nbsp;Mather Brown (1761-1831), born and raised in Massachusetts, was one of the American artists who made their way to Europe during and immediately after the American Revolution to study painting. In London he formed a partnership with Daniel Orme to publish his work as engravings.

The Delivery of the Definitive Treaty by the Hostage Princes into the Hands of Lord Cornwallis

Johann Zoffany, R.A.

A mezzotint depicting a contest between the game-cocks of Colonel Mordaunt and the Nawab Wazir of Oudh, Asafud-dauba, who are seen facing each other with outstretched arms.<ul><li>Johann Zoffany (German, 1733-1810).</li><li>Engraved by Richard Earlom.</li><li>Colonel Mordaunt's Cock Match. At Lucknow in the Province of Oude in the Year 1786, at which were present several High and Distinguished Personages.</li><li>London: R. Sayer, No. 53, Fleet Street, 1st May, 1792.</li><li>With the rare index plate.</li><li>This work is presented framed.</li></ul> The court of Lucknow, renowned for many extravagances, was especially celebrated for the sports of hunting and cockfighting, in which the Nawab delighted. Mordaunt was a keen cockfighter and had brought out from England gamecocks which he was confidant would defeat the native-bred cocks (Mary Webster, Johan Zoffany 1733-1810, Exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery, 1976, cat. no. 104). Notable spectators include General Martin, Mr. Wheeler, John Wombwell, Ozias Humphry and Zoffany himself.

Colonel Mordaunt's Cock Match

Maria Sibylla Merian

Engravings depicting the metamorphoses of South American insects and the exotic plants on which they feed, from Dissertatio de Generatione et Metamorphasibus Insectorum Surinamensium.<ul><li>Sold as a set of 4.</li><li>After Maria Sybylla Merian (German, 1647-1717).</li><li>Engravings by J. Mulder, P. Sluyter and D. Stoopendaal.</li><li>The Hague: Gosse, 1719.</li><li>Hand-colored later.</li><li>Each is presented framed.</li></ul> Maria Sybilla, daughter of the German engraver and publisher Matthias Merian, devoted herself to the study of European insects and their metamorphoses. As a result of the wealth of tropical varieties being brought back by the Dutch West Indies Company, she decided to visit the Dutch colony of Surinam herself to study and paint the insect life there. She sailed with her daughter Dorothea on June 1699 from Amsterdam, and remained in Surinam until 1701. Her work, first published in 1705, "gave an unprecedented glimpse of the teeming insect life of tropical South America, with gorgeous butterflies flying around luxuriant flowering or fruiting plants and with large many-colored caterpillars crawling over the leaves. [The plates] have earned Maria Merian an honored place in the history of tropical entomology as also in botanical illustration" (W.T. Stearn, introduction to The Wondrous Transformation of Caterpillars, 1978).

Flowers, Insects and Fruits

Pieter van Loo

A group of watercolors of hyacinths by Pieter van Loo.<ul><li>Sold as a set of three prints, framed as one piece.</li><li>Pieter van Loo (Dutch).</li><li>Three bodycolor paintings of double hyacinths, with the names of the varieties lettered at the top, each signed below.</li><li>This work is presented framed.</li></ul> Pieter Van Loo (or Loon), Haarlem 1731-1784, was a noted flower painter who spent the whole of his life in Haarlem. His paintings are sought after and are found in leading institutions such as the Albertina in Vienna, the Fitzwilliam, Cambridge and Oak Spring, Virginia.

Hyacinths

Pierre-Joseph Buc'hoz

A group of hand-colored engraved plates of hyacinths.<ul><li>Sold as a set of 6.</li><li>Pierre Joseph Buchoz (French).</li><li>Collection coloriée des plus belles variétés de Jacinthes, qu'on monte aux Curieux dans les Jardins des Fleuristes d'Harlem.</li><li>Paris, Pierre Joseph Buchoz, 1781.</li><li>Each is presented framed.</li></ul> The second half of the eighteenth century saw a boom in natural history publications in France fueled by such works as Buffon's Histoire Naturelle. The accession of Louis XVI in 1774 was followed by a relaxation in the regulation of the book trade, making it easier for authors to publish their own works. No other writer was to take such copious advantage of these two developments as Pierre-Joseph Buchoz (1731-1807), a French physician, lawyer and naturalist. His works are characterized by the beauty of the illustrations, and their rarity owing to the small size of the print runs.

Louis Vuitton

Louis Vuitton Clock, 2020<ul><li>Designed by Virgil Abloh as invitations for his AW20 Louis Vuitton fashion show</li><li>Edition 207/1200</li><li>Includes box </li><li>This item is final sale and not eligible for return</li></ul>

Louis Vuitton Clock, 2020

Hermès

Hermès Potiron Wool &amp; Cashmere Small Avalon III Pillows<ul><li>These pillows are 90% merino wool, 10% cashmere</li><li>Includes two pillow covers with zip closures, two pillow inserts and two dustbags</li><li>This item is final sale and not eligible for return</li></ul>

Potiron Wool & Cashmere Small Avalon III Pillows

Chinese School

Large-scale watercolors on paper from the Chinese School.<ul><li>Sold as a set of 2.</li><li>Chinese scenes, possibly Canton or Shanghai, presumably executed for the Western market by an anonymous master and depicting internal and external views of a house.</li><li>Framed and glazed.</li><li>This type of export watercolor is usually found in a much smaller format, due to their delicate nature; it is uncommon to find examples of such size with fresh coloring.</li></ul>

Chinese House Scene Watercolors

Cornelius Nozeman | Jan Christian Sepp

Hand-colored engraved plates by Sepp and Sepp the Younger, of birds nests with eggs from Nederlandsche Vogelen.<ul><li>Sold as a set of 4.</li><li>Nidus Ardeae, Nycticoracis; Nidus Platalea, Leucorodia; Nidus Ardeae, Stellaris; and Nidus Pelecani, Carbonis.</li><li>Framed and glazed.</li><li>Published by Jan Christian Sepp, Amsterdam.</li><li>Nozeman's work, which he couldn't finish, became the first comprehensive account of the avifauna of Holland and was the most expensive book for sale in Holland at the time.</li><li>The plates of the book depict all species known in the Netherlands through the time of publication and frequently feature eggs and nests, they were boldly colored by the publisher and still belong to the most famous ornithological representations.</li></ul>

Dutch Bird Nest Engravings

Basilius Besler

Hand-finished copper engravings from Hortus Eystettensis, one of the earliest and most famous works in the field.<ul><li>Sold as a set of 4.</li><li>Copper engraved plates enhanced by hand with color.</li><li>Basilius Besler&nbsp;(German, 1561–1629) was a respected Nuremberg apothecary and botanist, best known for his monumental Hortus Eystettensis.</li><li>Framed and glazed.&nbsp;</li><li>Published by Nuremberg and Eichstatt.</li></ul> The Hortus Eystettensis is a pictorial record of the flowers grown in the greatest German garden of its time, that of Prince Bishop of Eichstatt, Johann Conrad von Gemmingen. The garden was begun by Joachim Camerarius in 1596 and, after his death in 1598, completed by Basilius Besler. A visitor, Philipp Hainhofer, in 1611 marveled at the eight gardens, each containing "flowers from a different country; they varied in the beds and flowers, especially in the beautiful roses, lilies, tulips." The Hortus records this variety and beauty. The book is exceptional in every sense; in its variety and range of flowers, in its size, in its fine quality of engraving. It is also one of the earliest records of flowers from a specific, documented&nbsp;garden. Besler was asked to complete the work by Gemmingen in 1606; the huge nature of the task was clear to Besler and he enlisted the help of his younger brother Hieronymus and Ludwig Jungermann, a nephew of Camerarius. Printing the Hortus may have begun as early as 1607. Drawings were made in situ and from specimens sent by the Bishop to Nuremberg; the Bishop reported to Hainhofer that he had boxes of fresh flowers sent every week to Besler at Nuremberg for sketching. A team of at least 10 engravers were employed to translate the drawings to copper plates. The gardens, along with most of the town of Eichstatt, were destroyed by the invading Swedish troops under Herzog Bernhard von Weimar in 1633–4, although they were partially restored by later bishops. Many of the original drawings survive in the University Library, Erlangen.

German Hand-Colored Peony Engravings

Huang Shen

Ink on paper attributed to Huang Shen (Chinese, 1687-1772).<ul><li>Seeing Plum Blossoms, signed, with two seals of the artist and one collector’s seal.</li><li>This work is offered framed.</li><li>黃慎（款） 踏雪尋梅 水墨紙本 鏡框 作者簽署，鈐印二方，鑒藏印一方</li></ul>

Seeking Plum Blossoms

Hermès Tigre Royal Change Tray<ul><li>Designed by&nbsp;Christiane Vauzelles</li><li>Includes box </li></ul>

Tigre Royal Change Tray

Li Xubai

Li Xubai (Chinese, b. 1940).The dark color is gradually changing to the top, and the forest flowers are few and far away.&nbsp;The gentleman loves the beauty of my house, lying down and listening to the mountain spring flying a hundred feet away.On the evening of Wuyin, I wrote down a picture of the mountain spring in the old home of Xiangjiang in the Tingyun Mountain Pavilion in Ottawa.&nbsp;The theme of the virtual white room in Fujian.Offered in a plain wood frame. 李虛白 1940年生 臥聽山泉 設色紙本 鏡框&nbsp;款識：暝色蒼茫漸上衣，林花寥落燕來稀。先生自愛吾廬美，臥聽山泉百丈飛。戊寅歲晚，記寫香江故家山泉圖於渥京聽雲山館。閩中虛白室主題&nbsp;鈐印：虛白室主人（朱）、閩中李齋（白）、 聽雲山館（白）

Waterfall in the Mountains

Bavarian Art Nouveau luster-glazed porcelain baluster vase.<ul><li>Highly reflective surface decoration with vegetal forms.</li><li>Flared lip and foot.</li><li>Indecipherable maker's mark to bottom.</li></ul>

Bavarian Art Nouveau Luster-Glazed Porcelain Vase

Giorgio Gallesio

Giorgio Gallesio (Italian, 1772-1839) was a botanist and researcher of the 18th and 19th centuries.<ul><li>Sold as a set of 6.</li><li>Hand-colored plates of grapes, printed in color and finished by hand.</li><li>Finest Italian work on fruits, remarkable for the delicate and intense coloring.</li><li>The plates appeared in 41 parts, and Domenico del Pino, Antonio Serantoni and Isabella</li></ul>Bozzolini were among as many as 20 artists responsible for the designs.<ul><li>An almost equal number of engravers were involved; Giuseppe Pera, Giuseppe Carocci, Tommaso Nasi and Francesco Corsi were also well-represented.</li><li>Gallesio conducted experiments in his fruit garden in Savona, later quoted by Charles Darwin to illustrate the development of varieties.</li><li>Although he died before completion of this work, he had left pre-eminent contributions to the study of Italian fruit.</li><li>Framed and glazed.</li></ul>

Pomona Italiana Ossia Trattato Degli Alberi Fruttiferi: Six Grapes

Johann Elias Ridinger

Johann Elias Ridinger (German, 1698-1767) painter, engraver, draughtsman and publisher.<ul><li>Sold as a set of 4.</li><li>Mezzotint engraving plates, margins on all sides.</li><li>A fine group showing two male and two female hunters along with the spoils of the chase. </li><li>Each plate titled beneath image with lines of appropriate verse in German and Latin.</li><li>Ridinger studied at Ulm before establishing himself in Augsburg where he soon made a great reputation for animal paintings. </li><li>He became the official painter for several great nobles, aficionados of the hunt, as here he represented animals accurately in the midst of well-worked landscapes.</li><li>Framed and glazed.</li></ul>

Hunting Plates

Chinese export watercolors.<ul><li>Sold as a set of 12.</li><li>Watercolor and gouache studies on pith paper, framed in giltwood and blue silk ribbon.</li><li>Pith came into use for painting to satisfy the increasing demand for small, inexpensive and easily transported souvenirs, following the massive growth in the China Trade in the first quarter of the 19th century.</li><li>Paintings in oils, on board and canvas were costly and difficult to carry home.</li><li>Earlier and more prestigious export watercolors had often been on a larger scale and painted on fine Chinese paper or on paper imported from Europe.</li><li>The albums of pith paintings (and later, the little glass fronted boxes) were inexpensive, light, easy to pack and gave the pictures some protection on the long voyage home.</li><li>Pith comes from the central column of spongy cellular tissue in the stem of a small tree called Tetrapanax Papyrifera, native to southwest China.</li><li>It has had a variety of uses, some going back many centuries.</li><li>Framed and glazed.</li></ul>

Twelve Processions

John & William Cary, London 

A pair of Regency 21-inch terrestrial and celestial library globes by John &amp; William Cary, London the celestial globe dated 1800, the terrestrial globe dated 1815 the terrestrial&nbsp;globe&nbsp;with cartouche reading&nbsp;'CARY'S NEW TERRESTRIAL GLOBE EXHIBITING The Tracks and Discoveries made by CAPTAIN COOK; Also those of CAPTAIN VANCOUVER on the NORTH WEST COAST OF AMERICA; and M DE LAPEROUSE on the&nbsp;COAST of TARTARY, TOGETHER with every other improvement collected from Various Navigators to the present time. LONDON: Made &amp; Sold by J &amp; W Cary, Strand, March 1st 1815', the Celestial globe with cartouche reading 'CARY'S New and Improved CELESTIAL GLOBE ON WHICH is carefully laid down the whole of the STARS AND NEBULAE Contained in the ASTRONOMICAL CATALOGUE of the REVD. MR WOLLASTON F.R.S. Compiled from the Authorities of FLAMSTEED, DE LA CAILLE, HEVELIUS, MAYER, BRADLEY, HERSCHEL, MASKELYNE &amp;c. With an extensive number form the&nbsp;Works of Miss Herschel, The whole adapted to the Year 1800, and the Limits of each&nbsp;Constellation determined by a Boundary line. LONDON: Made &amp; Sold by J &amp; W Cary, No.181 Strand, Mar 1 1799',&nbsp;on brass mounted mahogany stands with reeded legs joined by turned stretchers with printed paper compasses overall height 120cm.; 3ft. 11 1/4 in. Located in London. Please enquire to arrange a viewing.

A pair of Regency 21-inch terrestrial and celestial library globes by John & William Cary, London

WILLER | Claudy Jongstra

Claudy Jongstra (Dutch, b. 1963)&nbsp;for WILLER

Plain Throw

WILLER

Classic Centerpiece by WILLER<ul><li>Rectilinear form.</li></ul>

Classic Centrepiece

Classic Centerpiece by WILLER.<ul><li>Rectilinear form.</li><li>Breccia-violeta marble.</li></ul>

Claudy Jongstra (Dutch, b. 1963)&nbsp;for WILLER

Plain throw

Claudy Jongstra (Dutch, b. 1963)&nbsp;for WILLER

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René Boivin

Lacloche Frères

Winston Branch

Alexander Pope Jr.

After Mather Brown

Johann Zoffany, R.A.

After Maria Sibylla Merian

Pieter van Loo

Pierre-Joseph Buc'hoz

Louis Vuitton

Hermès

Chinese School

Cornelius Nozeman, Jan Christian Sepp

Basilius Besler

Attributed to Huang Shen

Hermès

Li Xubai

Giorgio Gallesio

Johann Elias Ridinger

John & William Cary, London

WILLER, Claudy Jongstra

WILLER

WILLER

WILLER, Claudy Jongstra

WILLER

WILLER, Claudy Jongstra

WILLER, Claudy Jongstra

WILLER, Claudy Jongstra