Lot Essay
See Hans Dieter Flach, Ludwigsburger Porzellan, Stuttgart, 1997, p. 569, no. 545. These rare models were also copied by Champion’s factory in Bristol.
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PROPERTY FROM THE COLLECTION OF THE LATE JANE, LADY ABDY (Lots 30-38 & 447-461)The art world was Jane Abdy's domain - she was in her element at the centre of it, a much loved and respected figure, familiar in the salerooms, at exhibitions and galleries, whether in London, Paris, Stockholm or Copenhagen. With her formidable knowledge of artists, collections and the fascinating personalities from the worlds of art and literature from the 17th to the 20th centuries she was always informed, interesting and amusing with a magical mix of serious information and gentle gossip. She was a perfectionist in everything she did and the interiors she created in Gerald Road and then in her old friend Cecil Beaton's former house in Pelham Place were a reflection of her own very distinctive taste. Her rooms like her couture clothes were completely individual, a very idiosyncratic mix of Belle Epoque with Empire and Art Nouveau. Sculpture and porcelain were strong elements, especially the 19th Century French sculpture which was one of her areas of passion and expertise, particularly the sculpture of her beloved Sarah Bernhardt.Her choice of colours was inspired by the paintings she loved, the lilacs and pale blues of Tissot and Winterhalter and the soft greys of Hammershoi and the Danish 19th Century painters she introduced so effectively to the international market. 19th Century France predominated but encouraged by her husband, the celebrated connoisseur Sir Robert (Bertie) Abdy Bt., she had a remarkable understanding of French 18th Century art and culture.At the Ferrers Gallery in Piccadilly Arcade, named after Bertie Abdy’s romantic home in Cornwall, she mounted exhibitions of less remembered artists, whose popularity and significance she did so much to enhance – artists such as Jules Chéret, Jacques-Émile Blanche, Alphonse Mucha, Atkinson Grimshaw, Jean-Jacques Tissot, Giovanni Boldini and Paul César Helleu. Later exhibitions focused on literary figures – Marcel Proust, Elinor Glyn and Sarah Bernhardt, on whose biography she was working. The Ferrers Gallery was followed in the 1970s by the Bury Street Gallery with an exhibition on The Souls in 1982, and in 1984 the first London exhibition of the Danish 19th Century painters since 1907.
A PAIR OF LUDWIGSBURG WHITE AND GILT MODELS OF SPHINXES
CIRCA 1780
Details
A PAIR OF LUDWIGSBURG WHITE AND GILT MODELS OF SPHINXES
CIRCA 1780
Each modelled recumbent, facing left and right wearing a beaded necklace and headdress and a tasselled tunic
8 in. (20.3 cm.) wide
CIRCA 1780
Each modelled recumbent, facing left and right wearing a beaded necklace and headdress and a tasselled tunic
8 in. (20.3 cm.) wide
Literature
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Harriet Bingham