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

William Kentridge

Three Figures

Ostensoir en argent et vermeil, France, vers 1860

Ostensoir en argent, par Favier, Lyon, vers 1850

Ostensoir en vermeil, par Favier Frères, Lyon, 1824-1838

Ostensoir en vermeil, par Favier, Lyon, vers 1850

Ostensoir en argent, par Placide Poussielgue-Rusand, Paris, vers 1880

<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

A massive carved Longquan 'lantsa' charger, Early Ming dynasty | 明初 龍泉青釉蘭札體梵文大盤

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

Frederick Rathbone

A print featuring a Wedgwood design.<ul><li>Frederick Rathbone (English).</li><li>London: Bernard Quartich, 1898.</li><li>Chromolithograph by W. Griggs from&nbsp;Old Wedgwood: The Decorative or Artistic Ceramic Work, in color and relief, invented and produced by Josiah Wedgwood, at Etruria, in Staffordshire, 1760-1794.</li><li>Plate XXVII.</li><li>This work is presented matted and unframed.</li></ul>

The Water Vase

A print featuring a Wedgwood design.<ul><li>Frederick Rathbone (English).</li><li>London: Bernard Quartich, 1898.</li><li>Chromolithograph by W. Griggs from&nbsp;Old Wedgwood: The Decorative or Artistic Ceramic Work, in color and relief, invented and produced by Josiah Wedgwood, at Etruria, in Staffordshire, 1760-1794.</li><li>Plate XII.</li><li>This work is presented matted and unframed.</li></ul>

A Vase In Grey-Blue Jasper With Reliefs Of The Muses

A print featuring a Wedgwood design.<ul><li>Frederick Rathbone (English).</li><li>London: Bernard Quartich, 1898.</li><li>Chromolithograph by W. Griggs from&nbsp;Old Wedgwood: The Decorative or Artistic Ceramic Work, in color and relief, invented and produced by Josiah Wedgwood, at Etruria, in Staffordshire, 1760-1794.</li><li>Plate XXVI.</li><li>This work is presented matted and unframed.</li></ul>

The Wine Vase

A print featuring a Wedgwood design.<ul><li>Frederick Rathbone (English).</li><li>London: Bernard Quartich, 1898.</li><li>Chromolithograph by W. Griggs from&nbsp;Old Wedgwood: The Decorative or Artistic Ceramic Work, in color and relief, invented and produced by Josiah Wedgwood, at Etruria, in Staffordshire, 1760-1794.</li><li>Plate XXXIX.</li><li>This work is presented matted and unframed.</li></ul>

Crystaline Agate Vase With Four Handles

A print featuring Wedgwood designs.<ul><li>Frederick Rathbone (English).</li><li>London: Bernard Quartich, 1898.</li><li>Chromolithograph by W. Griggs from&nbsp;Old Wedgwood: The Decorative or Artistic Ceramic Work, in color and relief, invented and produced by Josiah Wedgwood, at Etruria, in Staffordshire, 1760-1794.</li><li>Plate XLIV.</li><li>This work is presented matted and unframed.</li></ul>

A Cup And Saucer, Flower Pot, And Teapot

A print featuring a Wedgwood design.<ul><li>Frederick Rathbone (English).</li><li>London: Bernard Quartich, 1898.</li><li>Chromolithograph by W. Griggs from&nbsp;Old Wedgwood: The Decorative or Artistic Ceramic Work, in color and relief, invented and produced by Josiah Wedgwood, at Etruria, in Staffordshire, 1760-1794.</li><li>Plate XXXVII.</li><li>This work is presented matted and unframed.</li></ul>

A Large Jardinière in Jasper

A print featuring Wedgewood designs.<ul><li>Frederick Rathbone (English).</li><li>London: Bernard Quartich, 1898.</li><li>Chromolithograph by W. Griggs from&nbsp;Old Wedgewood: The Decorative or Artistic Ceramic Work, in color and relief, invented and produced by Josiah Wedgewood, at Etruria, in Staffordshire, 1760-1794.</li><li>Plate XXXVIII.</li><li>This work is presented matted and unframed.</li></ul>

Three Vases In Grey-Blue Jasper

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.

Prideaux John Selby

Hand-colored engraving by Prideaux John Selby.<ul><li>Depicting the Common Bunting, Yellow Bunting, Reed Bunting, Cirl Bunting and Tawny Bunting</li><li>Giltwood frame.</li></ul>

English Colored Bunting Engraving

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

Chinese School

Pencil, watercolor and body color drawing heightened with white on paper and watermarked J. Whatman 1804 and 1805.<ul><li>Well executed and highly atmospheric watercolors capturing the importance of the river for trade in early 19th century China.</li><li>Unusual and very attractive depictions of river life with the river in the foreground with a finely executed drawing of a native boat, the backgrounds showing landscape scenes interspersed with occasional architectural details.</li><li>Framed and glazed.</li></ul> The Pearl River is so named because of the pearl-colored shells that lie at the bottom of the river in the section that flows through the city of Guangzhou. Formerly often known as the Canton River, it is an extensive river system in southern China. The name "Pearl River" is also often used as a catchall for the watersheds of the Xi ("West"), Bei ("North") and Dong ("East") rivers of Guangdong. These rivers are all considered tributaries of the Pearl River because they share a common delta, the Pearl River Delta. Measured from the farthest&nbsp;of the Xi River, the Pearl River system is China's third-longest river, 2,400 kilometers, after the Yangtze River and the Yellow River, and second largest by volume, after the Yangtze.

Chinese Craft on the Pearl River Mixed Media Drawing

Spanish School

Set of watercolor window designs from the Spanish School in the Gothic style depicting saints and persons of rank, showing the influence of the Arts &amp; Crafts movement.<ul><li>Watercolors on a black background, arched at head.</li><li>Four watercolors with six fully colored panels arranged in one frame.</li><li>Design details above and below the panels, one of these with the date MCMXI.</li><li>Framed and glazed.</li><li>Spanish provenance inferred from some of the named figures, such as Cardinal Casanas, an enthusiast of the Basilica of the Sagrada Família and supporter of Gaudi.</li></ul>

Spanish Stained Glass Window Watercolor

Gamy Montaut | Ernest Montaut

Hand-colored pochoir print from Ernest and Gamy Montaut.<ul><li>Depicts Theophile Schneider's 1912 win at Dieppe Diannt.</li><li>Framed and glazed.</li><li>Published by Mabileau and Company.</li><li>Theophile Schneider, formerly of the Rochet Schneider Company, began building his own cars in 1910; this car, a 2.8 liter four-cylinder model, had an unusual radiator placement on the dashboard.</li></ul> Gamy-Montaut prints document various historical events in the early history of transportation, including power boat racing, motorcycle and motor car racing, motor car touring, zeppelins and tennis. Having observed the rapidly growing interest in cars and racing during the early years of motor cars, Ernest Montaut produced his first motoring prints in the mid-1890s, and by 1897, his drawings were pictorial records of the many races in France. Montaut's work was extremely well received in the Paris of his day and was shown in the fashionable shops of the Rue de l'Opera and Rue de la Paix, as well as in the better galleries. Marguerite Montaut, Ernest's wife, joined him in his work producing not only racing prints but also developing a fine series of aviation prints commemorating such events as the first flights on the early European mail routes. While Marguerite Montaut's works were occasionally signed "M. Montaut," she also&nbsp;used the name "Gamy," an anagram for Maggie. The Gamy-Montaut prints were all produced by the pochoir process in which the outlines for each image were drawn onto lithographic stones and printed. Using these uncolored prints as a template, elaborate stencils were cut for each color. Watercolor was then brushed onto the image through the stencil. The coloring process was quite complex, with each print taking several days to produce. It was also quite labor intensive, and the studio of Gamy-Montaut therefore employed a group of trained artists, including Nevil and Campion, to assist in the coloring.

La Voiture Theophile Schneider gagne à Dieppe Dinant, Theophile Schneider's Car Wins at Dieppe Dinant Pochoir Print

Hand-colored pochoir print from Ernest and Gamy Montaut.<ul><li>Depicts airplane numbered Voisin 16 on September 3, 1910, high in flight above a bird's-eye view of river and townscape in the first Bordeaux raid done in six hours.</li><li>Framed and glazed.</li><li>Published by Mabileau and Company.</li></ul> Gamy-Montaut prints document various historical events in the early history of transportation, including power boat racing, motorcycle and motor car racing, motor car touring, zeppelins and tennis. Having observed the rapidly growing interest in cars and racing during the early years of motor cars, Ernest Montaut produced his first motoring prints in the mid-1890s, and by 1897, his drawings were pictorial records of the many races in France. Montaut's work was extremely well received in the Paris of his day and was shown in the fashionable shops of the Rue de l'Opera and Rue de la Paix, as well as in the better galleries. Marguerite Montaut, Ernest's wife, joined him in his work, producing not only racing prints but also developing a fine series of aviation prints commemorating such events as the first flights on the early European mail routes. While Marguerite Montaut's works were occasionally signed "M. Montaut," she also&nbsp;used the name "Gamy," an anagram for Maggie. The Gamy-Montaut prints were all produced by the pochoir process in which the outlines for each image were drawn onto lithographic stones and printed. Using these uncolored prints as a template, elaborate stencils were cut for each color. Watercolor was then brushed onto the image through the stencil. The coloring process was quite complex, with each print taking several days to produce. It was also quite labor intensive, and the studio of Gamy-Montaut therefore employed a group of trained artists, including Nevil and Campion, to assist in the coloring.

 Premier Raid Paris Bordeaux, First Paris Bordeaux Raid Pochoir Print

Hand-colored pochoir print from Ernest and Gamy Montaut.<ul><li>Depicts early 20th century French motorized bicycles manufactured by Alcyon.</li><li>Framed and glazed.</li><li>Published by Mabileau &amp; Co., Paris.</li></ul> Gamy-Montaut prints document various historical events in the early history of transportation, including power boat racing, motorcycle and motor car racing, motor car touring, zeppelins and tennis. Having observed the rapidly growing interest in cars and racing during the early years of motor cars, Ernest Montaut produced his first motoring prints in the mid-1890s, and by 1897, his drawings were pictorial records of the many races in France. Montaut's work was extremely well received in the Paris of his day and was shown in the fashionable shops of the Rue de l'Opera and Rue de la Paix, as well as in the better galleries. Marguerite Montaut, Ernest's wife, joined him in his work, producing not only racing prints but also developing a fine series of aviation prints commemorating such events as the first flights on the early European mail routes. While Marguerite Montaut's works were occasionally signed "M. Montaut," she also&nbsp;used the name "Gamy," an anagram for Maggie. The Gamy-Montaut prints were all produced by the pochoir process in which the outlines for each image were drawn onto lithographic stones and printed. Using these uncolored prints as a template, elaborate stencils were cut for each color. Watercolor was then brushed onto the image through the stencil. The coloring process was quite complex, with each print taking several days to produce. It was also quite labor intensive, and the studio of Gamy-Montaut therefore employed a group of trained artists, including Nevil and Campion, to assist in the coloring.

Cycles Motos Alcyon, Alcyon Motorbikes Pochoir Print

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

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.

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William Kentridge

Winston Branch

Frederick Rathbone

Frederick Rathbone

Frederick Rathbone

Frederick Rathbone

Frederick Rathbone

Frederick Rathbone

Frederick Rathbone

Alexander Pope Jr.

After Mather Brown

Johann Zoffany, R.A.

After Maria Sibylla Merian

Pieter van Loo

Pierre-Joseph Buc'hoz

Prideaux John Selby

Louis Vuitton

Chinese School

Chinese School

Chinese School

Spanish School

Gamy Montaut, Ernest Montaut

Gamy Montaut, Ernest Montaut

Gamy Montaut, Ernest Montaut

Hermès

Chinese School

Cornelius Nozeman, Jan Christian Sepp

Basilius Besler