A Deeper Dive - Special Collections - 11-19-2020

THE ESTATE OF MYLES LOWELL & THE ESTATES OF WR APPLEBY & ELINOR APPLYBY | AUCTION NOV 19

The Estates of

W.R. Appleby & Elinor Appleby Doyle's popular new auction category of Special Collections continues on November 19, 2020 with property form the Estates of WR and Elinor Appleby, longtime donors to the Asian Department at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

This collection of early English and Continental furniture and objects art is the culmination of my parents' many years of collecting while living in London. Decorating their home with their favorite objects gave them great pleasure. My mother admired the workmanship and simple elegance of the shapes and beauty that the creator crafted into functional objects for everyday use. Each item spoke to them of its history from centuries earlier. I especially admired the carving of the statue of a saint and the elegance of the Welsh dresser that my family and I later enjoyed in our home.

I have fond memories of accompanying my mother to the Victoria and Albert Museum, comparing the quality and beauty of the objects in the museum with those we saw in the auction galleries.

I especially enjoyed the thrill and excitement of the live auctions, which was the source of most of her acquisitions. – P eter A ppleby

Lot 133, Scandinavian Carved Walnut Tray, 18th/19th Century, Property from the

Estates of WR Appleby and Elinor Appleby.

Estimate $1,500-2,500

Lot 145 English Oak Joined Settle 17th Century and later Dated 1640, the seven-panel inset rectangular backrest with a scrolling carved toprail centering an inscription 16 JOHN BREACHE 40, continuing to straight arms above a plank seat, raised on turned legs joined by a block stretcher. Height 40 inches (101.6 cm), length 101 inches (256.5 cm), depth 11 1/2 inches (29.2 cm).

C Estates of WR Appleby and Elinor Appleby Estimate: $1,500 - $2,500

164

145

Lot 164 English Oak Joined Trestle Table 17th Century and later The three-board rectangular top with cleated ends, raised on trestle supports joined by a medial stretcher. Height 30 inches (76.3 cm), length 100 inches (254 cm), width 31 inches (78.7 cm).

C Estates of WR Appleby and Elinor Appleby Estimate: $2,500 - $3,500

192

257

Lot 192 George II Inlaid Figured Walnut Chest-on-Chest Second quarter 18th century In two parts, the upper section with molded cornice above three short and three long drawers, the lower section with three long drawers, raised on bracket feet. Height 69 inches (175.3 cm), width 40 inches (101.6 cm), depth 22 inches (55.9 cm).

C Estates of WR Appleby and Elinor Appleby Estimate: $1,500 - $2,500

Lot 257 George II Oak Dresser Base Mid-18th century The crossbanded rectangular top above three drawers, raised on cabriole legs. Height 30 inches (76.2 cm), length 72 inches (182.8 cm), depth 20 inches (50.8 cm).

Provenance: Christie's, The Contents of Broadhollow, Property from the Estate of Mrs. Percy Uris, November 17-18, 1985, lot 77.

C Property from a New York Private Collection Estimate: $3,000 - $5,000

Lot 110 Brussels Miniature Tapestry Panel Early 17th century Depicting the Triumph of Bacchus. Height 28 inches (71.1 cm), width 26 3/4 inches (67.9 cm).

Provenance: Collection of King Sigismund III (1566-1632) of Poland, Wawel Castle, Krakรณw, Poland.

Daniel Katz Gallery, London.

Mayorcas Ltd., London.

Purchased from the above, October 9, 1989.

Wawel Castle was the first UNESCO World Heritage Site in the world.

C Estates of WR Appleby and Elinor Appleby Estimate $2,500-3,500

279

280

281

283

282

285

Make guacamole the Doyle way Ingredients: 1 Bronze Mortar (lots 279-284) 1 tomato, finely chopped 2 Tbs. diced onion 2 serrano chilies, finely chopped 1 Tbs. lime juice 1/2 tsp. minced garlic 1/2 tsp. sea salt 2 large avocados 2 Tbs. finely minced cilantro

284

Lot 279 French Bronze Mortar 17th Century, Height 4 1/2 inches Together with an associated pestle Estimate: $400-600

Lot 283 Continental Bronze Mortar 16th Century, probably Italian Height of 6 1/2 inches Together with an associated pestle Estimate: $400-600

Lot 280 French Bronze Mortar 16th/17th Century Height 4 1/8 inches Together with an associated pestle Estimate: $200-300

Lot. 284 English Bronze Mortar 17th Century Height 5 1/8 inches Together with an associated pestle Estimate: $1,500-2,500

Lot 281 Flemish Bronze Mortar 17th Century Height of 5 3/8 inches Together with an associated pestle Estimate: $400-600 Lot 282 Continental Bronze Mortar 16th/17th Century Height 4 1/2 inches Together with an associated pestle Estimate: $500-700

Lot 285 English Bronze Mortar Dated 1646 Height of 4 1/2 inches Together with an associated pestle Estimate: $200-300

Garnish: 1 Tbs. small fresh cilantro leaves 1 Tbs. finely chopped onion 1 Tbs. finely chopped tomato

Directions: Put the tomato, onion, chilies, lime juice, garlic and the 1/2 tsp. salt in a morter and smash with a pestle into a coarse paste. Halve the avocados, remove the pits and scoop into the tomato mixture. Add the minced cilantro and mix and mash. Salt to taste. Sprinkle with garnishes and serve immediately

The Estate of Myles Lowell Born into a prosperous family in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, Myles Lowell was educated at Amherst College and followed his father into real estate.

A successful businessman, Mr. Lowell had two lifelong passions: friendships and travel, both of which gave him great joy all of his life. Over many years, he owned an apartment in Paris on the exclusive Avenue Montaigne, a house on the beach in Malibu, a penthouse in a building he owned in Beverly Hills, and a duplex penthouse in a building he owned on Manhattan's Madison Avenue, each home designed for gracious entertaining.

Guests at his annual Christmas party in Beverly Hills included his close friends Jimmy Stewart, Ray Milland, Ricardo Montalban and Ronald and Nancy Reagan. He would then ring in the New Year with Ambassador Walter and Leonore Annenberg at Sunnylands, their winter home in Palm Springs.

leonor fini

Leonor Fini’s Portrait of

Myles Sherman Lowell Leonor Fini was born in Buenos Aires in 1907 and spent her formative years with her mother in Trieste, Italy. Highly intelligent and astute from a young age, the self-trained artist arrived in Paris in the early 1930s, where she mingled with the Surrealists including Man Ray, Max Ernst, Victor Brauner and Paul Eluard (she had already become acquainted with de Chirico, who was an important and early influence for the young artist, during a brief period in Milan). Although she frequently exhibited alongside her peers and became a popular figure in the Parisian art world, she never considered herself a part of the Surrealist movement. Ultimately, she carved her own path as an autonomous woman in a maledominated art world.

Interest and recognition have exploded over the last decade for Fini and other notable surrealist women artists, among them Dorothea Tanning, Leonora Carrington and Gertrude Abercrombie. Many of their paintings share themes exploring gender and sexuality, with Fini perhaps best known for subverting normative gender roles and embracing female empowerment. This subject was explored in the critically acclaimed survey of her work, Leonor Fini: Theatre of Desire, 1930-1990, at the Museum of Sex in 2018-2019. While most discernible in her dream-like compositions, where the artist depicts herself and other women as ethereal sphinx, warriors, or goddesses, these themes are also evident in works of a less surrealist quality, as in Portrait of Myles Sherman Lowell.

The handsome sitter is depicted with a passive gaze and assumes the role of muse, with Fini firmly rejecting this preconceived role for herself and all women. Power and agency belong to the artist, who asserts her independence while presenting the viewer with an honest portrait of a friend, Myles Lowell.

In addition to being a groundbreaking feminist artist, Leonor Fini is remembered for her penchant for socializing and the meaning she assigned to friendships and her close circle, including her cats. This sentiment is something she would have shared with Myles Lowell, a sociable person with a love for animals, above all his many Schnauzers.

Lot 17 Leonor (Eleonora) Fini French/Argentine, 1907-1996 Portrait of Myles Sherman Lowell Signed Leonor Fini (lr) Oil on canvas 16 1/4 x 13 1/8 inches Accompanied by a certificate from Richard Overstreet.

The work will be included in the supplement to the forthcoming catalogue raisonnĂŠ.

C Estate of Myles Sherman Lowell Estimate $4,000-6,000

Hailed as ‘white gold’, porcelain’s allure was unmatched in Europe during the 18th and 19th centuries. For centuries, wealthy patrons and nobility alike collected porcelain from Asia.

Capitalizing on the desire for domestic production, Johann Friedrich Böttger invented the first European product in Meissen, Germany in 1708. Under the patronage of Augustus II, elector of Saxony and King of Poland, the alchemist created “hard-paste” porcelain, which differed from its “soft-paste” cousin of the 16th and 17th centuries with the inclusion of kaolin in the ceramic body, giving the product its strength and desired translucency.

MYLES

MEISSEN From the Estate of Myles Sherman Lowell Lot 59. Meissen Porcelain Black and Gilt Decorated Teabowl and Saucer, Circa 1725, Height of cup 1 7/8 inches.

Estimate: $800-1,200 Lot 27. Meissen Porcelain Lime Green Ground Octagonal Cup and Saucer, Circa 1740, Height of cup 3 inches).

Estimate: $1,000-2,000

Making the most of the opportunity, the first hardpaste factory in the West was set up at the Albrechtsburg Castle in Meissen in 1710 to supply the region with colorful and delicate porcelain wares. Thus, the Meissen porcelain manufactory was established, from which sprang impressively large figures of animals for the court, as well as immense superbly decorated dinner services, figures and delicate tea wares. Lavish diplomatic gifts of porcelain were given to dignitaries at the German court, often skillfully and colorfully decorated with flowers.

Another development that influenced the demand for porcelain wares was the new fashion for beverages such as tea, coffee and chocolate. The popularity of these imports in turn necessitated the purchase of new drinking vessels. Decorated with ornate hand-painted scenes and gilding, Lot 59 and Lot 94, each a single cup and saucer decorated with ornate hand-painted scenes and gilding, demonstrate the detail put into even the smallest piece.

The translucency of the thin-bodied porcelain of Lot 59 exhibits the goal achieved by Meissen, to create their own “true” porcelain.

The makers at Meissen were influenced by both the quality of material and the decorative elements of objects exported from Asia. Lot 50 is decorated with the Japanese legend of “Shiba Onko” in a traditional Kakiemon style. Kakiemon includes delicate multi-colored designs in iron-red, blue, green, and yellow that highlight the white porcelain without obscuring it. This lot features the “Hob in the Well” pattern, popularized by Parisian merchant Rudolphe Lemaire. As the market for Meissen imports grew in France it became dominated by marchands-merciers like Lemaire. His contract was abruptly terminated when it was revealed that he was attempting to pass off Meissen imports as original Japanese Kakiemon porcelain. A portion of the production, including Lot 50, was seized by Augustus II and ended up in the Japanese Palace in Dresden as part of his collection. The Japanese Palace was founded in 1715 to house Augustus’ collection. It is now known as the Dresden Porcelain Collection.

Lot 50. Meissen Kakiemon Porcelain Octagonal Dish, Circa 1730, Diameter 9 3/4 inches. Estimate: $800-1,200 Lot 94. Meissen Porcelain Magenta Ground Saucer, 19th Century, Diameter 5 5/8 inches. Estimate: $300-500.

This plate includes the incised Japanese Palace inventory number N=37 W. This number, sometimes referred to as the “Johanneum Number”, confirms that the plate was once housed in the Saxon Royal Collection at the Japanese Palace and is found on other wares with the same provenance. The “W” refers to “White Saxon Porcelains”. A similarly decorated dish with the same inventory number can be found at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.

Another important figure at Meissen, Johann Joachim Kändler, arrived at the factory in 1731. A gifted sculptor, Kändler created molds for figural groups and animal sculptures. The realism and elegance with which he sculpted further elevated the status of Meissen. Lot 2 depicts Kändler’s model of a recumbent bull on a flower-strewn base. This form is recorded in Taxa notes for 1740-48; ‘1 Ochse, von zieml. Grosse, wie er liegt und ruhet, natürlich vorgestellert. 6 Thlr’.

Johann Gregorius Höroldt arrived in Meissen as a porcelain painter in 1720. He, too, imitated Chinese and Japanese porcelain designs. During his time at Meissen, he also established a workshop system through which other painters could access his own drawings. Even so, Höroldt’s ultimate legacy at the factory was developing sixteen new overglaze enamel colors. Some of these bright colors can be seen in the green and fuchsia grounds of Lot 27 and Lot 94.

Featured in Special Collections: The Estate of Myles Lowell, these and other objects recall the glamour of the storied brand as well as Lowell’s exquisite taste. He and other collectors valued the beauty and sophistication that Meissen porcelain provide. Lowell’s Meissen and other porcelain pieces, interspersed with signed French furniture and modern touches, continued the legacy of the early European men of taste. Meissen’s cross-cultural influences, historic importance and elegance carries on for today’s collectors.

From the Estate of Myles Sherman Lowell Lot 2. Meissen Porcelain Figure of a Recumbent Bull, 18th Century, Height 4 1/2 inches.

Estimate: $500-800

Doyle New York’s Lot 72 from the Estate of Myles Lowell is a large and robustly potted porcelain jar from the latter half of the Ming Dynasty. It incorporates many basic decorative elements synonymous with the period: the attractive underglaze cobalt blue painting, the bright white tone of the glazed porcelain, and the balanced decoration here incorporating stylized lotus blossoms and foliage. Ming blue and white wares were admired and collected worldwide throughout the 16th and 17th centuries. In Holland, the potters of Delft tried and failed to recreate the uniquely strong and elegant porcelain wares imported from China. Ming blue and white wares were so common in the lavish homes of wealthy art patrons, they can be seen depicted in many still life paintings rendered in the period by Dutch master painters.

Throughout the Islamic world, meanwhile, Ming blue and white porcelains were beloved and traded -from North Africa, Turkey, the Middle East and in Persia from where the fine cobalt used in Chinese blue and white originated.

Lot 72 Chinese Blue and White Porcelain Lotus Jar Late Ming Dynasty Height 13 3/4 inches Estimate: $6,000-8,000 Estate of Myles Sherman Lowell

Meet the Specialists Our team of Specialists welcome the opportunity to share their vast expertise and experience with you.

They are available by telephone, email and even videochat to provide free auction estimates in all categories. Discover the value of your collection!

Peter Lang, SVP Director, English & Continental Furniture & Decorative Arts 212-427-4141, ext 274 Furniture@Doyle.com

Cynthia L. Klein, SVP Director, Prints & Multiples 212-427-4141, ext 246 Prints@Doyle.com

Leigh Kendrick Cataloguer, American Furniture & Decorative Arts 212-427-4141, ext 243 Leigh.Kendrick@Doyle.com

Milan Tessler Cataloguer, Paintings Department 212-427-4141, ext 266 Paintings@Doyle.com

Mark M. Topalian Consultant Appraiser, Rugs, Carpets & Tapestries 212-427-4141, ext 244 Rugs@Doyle.com

Lot 160 Attributed to Hieronymus Janssens Charles II Dancing at a Ball. Property from the Estates of WR Appleby and Elinor Appleby Estimate $1,500-3,500

DOYLENEWYORK