Works of Art & Art Nouveau | Live bidding | 20.11.2025 | Preview: 14.11.2025 - 17.11.2025

The impressive vase with cockatoos was produced as a unique piece for the Danish pavilion at the 1900 Paris World Fair (estimate: €9,000–12,000). It was designed and executed by Effie Hegermann-Linencrone, one of the few women artists and designers of her age. In contrast to her contemporaries, who as women painters could only dabble in decorative assignments, Hegermann-Linencrone brought her imagination and creative spirit to life at the Bing & Groendahl manufactory. The appearance of the Danish women artists at the World Fair marked the beginning of the emancipation of women in the field of decorative arts – a sphere dominated by male colleagues until then. The extraordinary vase is the visual expression of the new style which evolved on the premises of the Copenhagen Bing & Groendahl manufactory under the new artistic direction of Jens Ferdinand Willumsen. What makes the vase remarkable is not merely its impressive size but also its décor, which is characterized by a harmonious unity of colourful and sculptural solutions. The cockatoos and palm leaves rendered in delicate, warm shades with dark outlines emphasize the linear elements while the relief-like surface adds volume to everything. The motif also reveals an artfully executed combination of contrasts. While the cockatoos are still rendered figuratively, the execution of the lush vegetation and the ornamental friezes show the tendency towards abstraction. The vase, which comes from a private collection in Berlin, is part of an exquisite collection of Art Nouveau vases from the Bing & Groendahl manufactory which we can present this Autumn. In addition to this unique item, it contains other vases based on designs by the artists Effie Hegermann-Lindencrone and Fanny Garde.

Beyond that, the range of works from the field of Art Nouveau glasses is also quite strong and striking this Autumn. A vase with sea lilies from the Emile Gallé manufactory, previously in a private collection in Southern Germany, deserves special mention (estimate: €9,000–12,000). The diverse combination of innovative, labour-intensive and time-consuming techniques, executed with extremely fine craftsmanship (e.g. patinage – the inclusion of air bubbles – or marquetry) generate a startling decorative visual as well as haptic effect. The glass objects produced in the marquetry-sur-verre technique are an integral part of eminent private and museum collections. A vase that is similar in terms of shape and décor is in the former collection of Jean-Baptiste Eugène Corbin in the Musée de l’École de Nancy. Highlights aside from Gallé are from glass manufactories in Lorraine, such as Daum or Amalric Walter.

The range of silver items is also of excellent quality. The focus is on an impressive and early coin lidded tankard by the Berlin-based silversmith Hans Heinrich von der Heyde (estimate: €20,000–30,000). The luxurious lidded cup dated 1686 is an outstanding and very early example of the works with encased coins for which the silver workshops in Berlin are well known. It comes from a private collection in Germany and was acquired in the 1980s from the renowned Albrecht Neuhaus art dealership.

A collection of early iron objects of museum-like quality,also from a German private collection, will be called up as well. It contains what at first sight look like everyday objects, such as beam scales or compasses. Yet considering that they are dated back to the 17th century and in view of their partly rich decorations and engravings, they are genuine works of art with their own character. A casket with a richly crafted lock mechanism and sophisticated combination tools is especially fascinating.

The design section contains selected items, including the second part of a private collection from North Rhine-Westphalia with glass objects based on designs by Emmanuel Babled and Monica Guggisberg & Philip Baldwin. Among the pieces of design furniture, a lounge chair based on a design from the studio of Dutch designer Marcel Wanders for Louis Vuitton stands out. Since 2012 Louis Vuitton has invited renowned designers from the world over to draft experimental and functional pieces of furniture and design objects for the “Objets Nomades” collection.