Nervousness on the market... again

On 24 March, Koller‘s Spring Auctions started with an extraordinary auction for Silver, Porcelain and Faience, reaching a total of CHF 2.1 million for the day. Out of over 200 lots, 150 found a buyer. A packed auction room and approximately 200 international telephone bidders caused quite a stir, with many bidders trying to outbid one another. At CHF 444 000, the silver drinking vessel by the Augsburg master Heinrich Winterstein, designed as a ship, sold for more than 3 times the estimated price (lot 1462). The two Nuremberg drinking vessels, one by Tobias Wolff, the other by Esaias zur Linden and featuring wheels and an armed crew, each sold for CHF 264 000 (lots 1447 and 1427). Tankards from the years around 1700 were high in demand as well. Estimated in the four-digit range, the tankard bearing the maker‘s mark Johann Jakob Petrus found a buyer at CHF 22 800, and a Zurich counterpart by Hans Heinrich Müller was sold for CHF 54 700 (lots 1465 and 1407). A further highlight were the two vermeil candelabras from London, manufactured around 1718/19 and bearing the maker‘s mark Edward Feline, which sold for CHF 43 300 (lot 1481).

Drinking vessel. Augsburg, 1600-1610. Maker's mark: Heinrich Winterstein. Photo Koller

Parcel-gilt. The sails and flags in silver. H 40 cm, 460g. Estimate CHF 95,000 / 120,000 (€ 79,160 / 99,990). Sold for CHF 444,000. 

Provenance: 
- Fritz Payer TEFAF, Maastricht 2003. 
- German private collection. 

Drinking vessel designed as a ship, Nuremberg, 1609-1623. Maker's mark: Tobias Wolff. Photo Koller

Parcel-gilt. H 49.5 cm, 755g. Estimate CHF 95,000 / 120,000 (€ 79,160 / 99,990). Sold for CHF 264,000. 

Provenance: German private collection. 

Drinking vessel on wheels, Nuremberg, 1609-1629. Maker's mark: Esaias zur Linden. Photo Koller

Parcel-gilt. Four wheels carry the hull of the ship, the outside of which depicts waves and sea monsters. The fore has a straw designed as the head of an animal, the aft has a volute-shaped handle. The central mast is decorated with a silver sail and a flag. Armed figures and canons on the deck. H 31 cm, 473g. Estimate CHF 95,000 / 120,000 (€ 79,160 / 99,990). Sold for CHF 264,000. 

Provenance: German private collection. 

Silver-gilt tankard, Zurich, dated 1635. Maker's mark: Hans Heinrich Müller. Photo Koller

Reverse glass painting depicting the year 1635 and inscribed "Johannes Ziegler und Barbara Hüettelin von Constanz sein Ehgemähel". Hinged cover. Rear glass conus missing, glass vessel later. With case. 19.5 cm, 785g. Estimate CHF 50,000 / 70,000 |(€ 41,660 / 58,330). Sold for CHF 54,700. 

Provenance: Private collection, Zurich. 

Hexagonal screw cap bottle, Leipzig, end of the 17th century. Maker's mark: Johann Paul Schmidt. Photo Koller

Parcel-gilt. Hexagonal body, chased and embossed all-around. Screw cap with hinged handle. Engraved coat of arms and motto of the Kotchoubey family: "ELEVOR UBI CONSUMOR". Incised mark on the bottom "293.z" and number "XLI". H 28 cm, 1244g. Estimate CHF 12,000 / 18,000 (€ 9,990 / 14,990). Sold for CHF 27,600.

Provenance: German private collection. 

Pair of silver-gilt candelabras, London 1738-39. Maker's mark: Edward Feline. Photo Koller

Incised mark on the base "102*/8" . H 37 cm, total weight: 2600g. Estimate CHF 18,000 / 28,000 (€ 14,990 / 23,330). Sold for CHF 48,300.

Provenance: German private collection. 

Bidders in the Porcelain auction were especially enthusiastic about the objects of Meissen porcelain. The travel service bearing the coat-of-arms of the influential Venetian family Correr, which stemmed from a German private collection, exceeded all expectations with an estimate of CHF 50 000 and a price of CHF 114 000 (lot 1436). At CHF 78 000, another successful highlight was a tea and chocolate set featuring hunting scenes, which was once owned by the Bohemian aristocratic family Lobkowicz (lot 1456). The Meissen plate from the famous Christie Miller service had been estimated at CHF 25 000 and was sold for CHF 48 000 (lot 1433).

Important travel service with the coat of arms of the Venetian patricians of the Correr family, Meissen, ca. 1740. Photo Koller

In its original leather case. Each piece painted with the coat of arms of the Correr family from Venice. Comprising: one coffee pot with lid, a teapot with lid, a cream jug with lid, a bowl, a sugar bowl, a saucer, six coffee cups and saucers, six tea cups and saucers. Underglaze blue crossed-swords mark, press numbers, impressed potter's mark* on one tea cup. H coffee pot 22.5 cm. Small chip on the lid of the coffee pot, small, flat chips on the lid of the teapot, lid of the tea caddy repaired. The leather case lined with green silk. Key to the case missing (37). Estimate CHF 30,000 / 50,000 (€ 24,990 / 41,660). Sold for CHF 114,000.

Provenance: German private collection. 

Fine tea and coffee service with parforce and exotic hunting scenes, Meissen, ca. 1760-1765. Photo Koller

n its original case. Comprising: 1 case with later brass lock, 1 coffee pot and cover, 1 teapot and cover, 1 saucer, cover of a sugar bowl, 1 tea caddy and cover, 1 bowl, 6 coffee cups and saucers, 12 tea cups and saucers. The case lined with dark red leather, the lock later. Underglaze blue crossed-swords marks. Restorations. PLEASE NOTE: cover to milkjug replaced, 1 saucer a Vienna replacement, one cup and saucer with varied gilt rocaille decoration associated. Estimate CHF 50,000 / 70,000 (€ 41,660 / 58,330). Sold for CHF 78,000.

Provenance: 
- Formerly in possession of a French branch of the Princes of Lobkowicz. 
- Swiss property. 

Rare plate from the 'Christie Miller' service, Meissen, ca. 1740. Photo Koller

Fine landscape painting with castle grounds on the banks of a river. In the foreground: three horsemen taking a break in front of a tree. Underglaze blue crossed-swords mark, press number 22. D 22.5 cm. Estimate CHF 18,000 / 25,000 (€ 14,990 / 20,830). Sold for CHF 48,000.

Provenance: 
- The late S. R. Christie-Miller, Sotheby's London, 7. July 1970, Lot No. 31. 
- Acquired 1970 from the Art dealership Ars Domi, Zurich. 
- Private collection, Zurich. 

Important plinth element, Meissen, ca. 1727-1733. Photo Koller

The model by Georg Fritzsche or Johann Gottlieb Kirchner. The painting probably by Johann Gregorius Höroldt. Underglaze blue crossed-swords mark on the inside. H 29.5 cm without mount, W 30 cm. Various hairline cracks and fire cracks, acanthus leaves on the rim with old restoration. Estimate CHF 15,000 / 25,000 (€ 12,490 / 20,830). Sold for CHF 45,600.

Provenance: From an old private collection, Zurich. 

Teapot and cover with mercantile shipping scenes, Meissen, ca. 1728. Photo Koller

Probably painted by Christian Friedrich Herold. Underglaze blue crossed-swords mark, gold number 79 on both parts. Inside of the base with potter's mark. H 12 cm. Estimate CHF 10,000 / 15,000 | € 8,330 / 12,490. Sold for CHF 14,400.

Provenance: 
- Sotheby's London Auction, 5 July 1966, Lot No. 73. 
- Acquired in 1966 from the Art Dealership Ars Domi, Zurich. 
- Private collection, Zurich.