The Exceptional Sale

The Exceptional Sale 2023 includes an unprecedented number of rare masterpieces with important provenances, many Royal and aristocratic, and ranging from Madame du Barry, Louis XVI and Augustus III to Thomas Hope and Alfred Morrison. All areas of Classic Arts are represented: silver, porcelain, gold boxes, French and English furniture, clocks, antiquities and sculpture, alongside a rare manuscript and scientific and musical instruments. Though entirely different and mostly unique, all of these pieces are united by their superlative quality, fine craftsmanship and exalted history. Mesmerising highlights are the Roman figure of Mercury, 1^st Century AD, in elegant contrapost position and true to life; a touching letter by Mozart and a group of extraordinary clocks including precious examples from China. 

The tripod tables from the Hope Collection; the ‘Burghley’ toilet service; the George III commode from the Portsmouth Collection – a masterpiece by Ince & Mayhew – and the precious casket by Zuluoga, are some of the extraordinary lots from the greatest English collections, which descended in families for centuries.

Royal furniture and works of art are represented by a vase from the fabled collections of the duc d’Aumont, acquired by Louis XVI in 1782; the Meissen yellow-ground vases from Schloss Hubertusburg; the ‘Hanover’ gold travelling couverts; the Gobelins tapestry given to Prince Heinrich of Prussia and the dressing-table from Windsor Castle.