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Desmet Fine Arts
Pietra dura table top Coloured marble, alabaster and onyx Roman workshop, circa 1565-1600 H 6 x W 104.5 x D 83 cm Accompanied by Art Loss Register certificate: S00253658 Provenance: private collection, Lombardy (Italy) The pietra dura tabletop represents a symbiosis that evokes the rediscovery of the ancient world. The colored marbles used all originate from ancient Roman marble, brought to Rome from across the Roman Empire as early as the 3rd century BCE. In late 16th-century Rome, artists repurposed columns and all manner of these ancient Roman artifacts, reshaping them into sumptuous tabletops to decorate the grand palazzi. This work visualizes how 16th-century Rome sought to reclaim the identity and power of the great Roman Empire, and it must be fully understood within the context of the decoration of St. Peter’s Basilica, when Rome was once again regarded as the center of the world. The patterns are architecturally and geometrically designed to showcase the rarest marbles to their fullest effect. In this specific example, around 1800, the edge underwent restoration, during which the finest artists of the time added a black decorative band. Their aim was to frame what was already spectacular with a dignified restoration. Although created in the late 16th century, this piece radiates two millennia of superiority—politically, socially, artistically, and art historically.
Objects With Narratives
ben storms
Ben Storms (Ghent, 1983) Crushed room divider, 2024 H 195 x W 160 x D 45 cm Stainless steel, gold leaf Provenance: the artist's studio The purpose of this volume is deliberately ambiguous. The object is primarily sculptural, a monumental entity that redefines a space. Yet in doing so, it also reveals its potential function. In the way that the work structures a space, it turns out to be a divider that demarcates and defines compartments or areas. The starting point for this room divider and sculpture is essentially a provisional form. A composition of several sheets of metal welded together with air in between - think of Ben’s In Hale series, but in a different sense. The actual form is then created by subjecting this makeshift composition to external forces, crushing the surfaces until the volume finds its current state.
Galerie Nicolas Bourriaud
jacq orlande sinapi
Jacq Orlande Sinapi (Marseille, 1911-1989) Bison, circa 1940 Bronze with nuanced brown patina Cast by Leblanc-Barbedienne and bearing the foundry's stamp H 50 x W 57 x D 21 cm Signed ‘Jacq Orlande Sinapi’ Only two pieces known to date Provenance: private collection, France
Virginie Devillez Fine Art
gustave de smet
Gustave De Smet (Ghent 1877-1943 Sint-Martens-Latem) Nu couché, 1928 Pencil, pastel and oil on paper 35 x 43 cm Signed lower right 'Gust. De Smet' Provenance: Walter Schwarzenberg, Brussels (Georges Giroux sale, Brussels, 1-2 February 1932, lot 43); Tony Herbert, Kortrijk; private collection, Belgium (by descent to the present owner) Literature: Piet Boyens, Gust. De Smet. Chronicle et Analysis of the Work, Antwerp, Fonds Mercator, 1989, CR 744 (p. 386); The Tony Herbert Collection, Deurle, Museum Dhondt-Dhaenens, 2011, p. 39 (ill.) Exhibitions: Brussels, Galerie Le Centaure, Gust. De Smet, 1928, cat. n° 69; Brussels, Galerie George Giroux, Gust. De Smet, 1929, cat. n° 160; Luxembourg, Musée d’Art et d’Histoire; Tony Herbert Collection, 1963-1964, cat. n° 38
Galerie Raf Van Severen
théo van rysselberghe
Théo Van Rysselberghe (Belgium, Ghent 1862-1926 Le Lavandou, France) Ile du Levant, circa 1904 Oil on panel 30 x 41.4 cm Signed with monogram bottom left Provenance: Foundation Catherine Gide; private collection, Brussels Literature: Feltkamp, 2003, réf. 1924-034, p. 441; Catalogue de l'exposition, Bruxelles, La Haye, 2006, p. 258; Théo Van Rysselberghe, l'instant sublimé, Museé de Lodève, 2012, p. 99; Théo Van Rysselberghe, Intime, 2005, p.65; Théo Van Rysselberghe, Bozar Books by Fonds Mercator & Palais Des Beaux-Arts, Belgian Art Research Institute, 2005, p. 229 Exhibitions: 2005, TVR, Intime, Espace Culturel, Le Lavandou, n° 37; 2006, Brussels, La Haye, without number, p. 229
Galeria Bessa Pereira
Abraham Palatnik (Brasil, Natal 1928-2020 Rio de Janeiro) Cupboard, 1950s Iron, wood and painted glass H 90 x W 150 x D 49 cm Origin: Brasil Provenance: private collection, Rio de Janeiro; Galeria Bessa Pereira collection Literature: Vicente, A., & Vasconcellos, M. (Comps.), Móvel moderno brasileiro (1st edition), São Paulo: Olhares, 2017, pp. 244-245; Vasconcellos, M., Móvel brasileiro moderno (1st edition), Rio de Janeiro: Aeroplano, 2012, p. 193
Florian Kolhammer
hans bolek
Hans Bolek (Vienna, 1890-1978) Jugendstil ensemble, Gentleman's study, 1913 Solid spruce wood, solid oak (armchair), swamp oak veneer Provenance: bought on 06.11.1913 by the minister of public works, Freiherr Ottokar Trnka von Laberon; private collection, Austria Literature: Interior from the winter exhibition 1913/14 at MAK; photograph of a room design by Hans Bolek, executed by August Ungethüm, Möbelfabrik August Ungethüm, MAK Inv.nr. KI 7905-13; 'Innendekoration: mein Heim mein Stolz', Heft 25, 1914, S. 110; 'Kunst & Handwerk', Vol. 12, 1913, p. 629; 'Deutsches Volksblatt' 11. November 1913, S. 6; 'Neues Wiener Tagblatt', 22. November 1913, p. 33 / yearly report 1913 Austrian Museum of Art and Industry (ÖMKI), p. 4 Designed in 1913 by Hans Bolek, a student of Josef Hoffmann, and executed by August Ungethüm, this study was presented at the 1913/1914 Winter Exhibition of the Austrian Museum of Art and Industry and acquired on November 6th, 1913, by Baron Ottokar Trnka von Laberon. This rare Jugenstil ensemble combines elegant geometry, floral elements, and exceptional craftsmanship. The study consists of a representative desk with elegant fittings and a matching armchair made of solid oak, an impressive cabinet display case, and a stylish table display case or humidor. All the pieces of furniture, except for the chair, are made of solid spruce wood and covered with high-quality swamp oak veneer.
Gallery de Potter d’Indoye
Mantel clock depicting the fall of Phaeton Ormoulu bronze France, Consulat period, circa 1800 H 80 x W 53 x D 19 cm Provenance: collection of Robert de Balkany, Paris Literature: Hans Ottomeyer and Peter Pröschel, Vergoldete Bronzen, Munich, 1986, pp. 354-355, n° 5.9.4.; Marie-France Dupuis-Baylet, L’Heure, le Feu, la Lumière, les Bronzes du Mobilier National 1800-1870, 2010, Ed. Faton, p. 26 n° 1; Marie-France Dupuy-Baylet, Napoléon 1er et les Arts décoratifs. Trésors des palais impériaux, exh. cat. 2013, Macao, Museum of Art, n° 1, pp. 34-35; Thierry Sarmant, Palais disparus de Napoléon : Tuileries, Saint-Cloud, Meudon [exhibition, Paris, Galerie des Gobelins, 15 September 2021 to 15 January 2022], Paris : In fine, 2021; Adrien Goetz, Ambroise Tézenas, Résidences présidentielles, Paris : Flammarion, 2021, p.173 The subject of this clock illustrates the episode in which Jupiter strikes Phaeton with a thunderbolt. Phaeton wanted proof that he was the son of the Sun, (Helios). Phaeton then asked his father to let him drive his chariot. Terrified by the height and the sky, Phaeton veered off course and descended so low that he scorched the Earth. The maddened stars complained to Jupiter, who struck the chariot and Phaeton. 'The terrified horses leap in a large circular movement with pin-wheel escapement mounted on the backplate, the pendulum crutch with fine-screw beat adjustment, and outside countwheel strike on a bell, the canthmechanism showing seconds with original hands'. The bronzier Pierre-Etienne Romain (1765- after 1821) deposited the drawing of a Clock representing the same subject in the cabinet of drawings of the National Library in March 1800. Related works: The Mobilier National keeps three clocks representing this subject: one found at the Tuileries Palace in 1809, another at Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the third at the Palace of Saint Cloud in 1818, then at the Elysée Palace.
Stone Gallery
Quartz crystal cluster Weight: 350 kg 87 x 135 x 75 cm Origin: quarries of Mount Ida, Arkansas, USA, discovered in 1993 Provenance: Paul Membrini collection until 2023 Rock crystal is the crystallised, colourless variety of quartz, also known as clear quartz. All the crystals with their countless facets are 100% natural. With its transparent and colourless appearance, it is revered for its purity and clarity. This giant group of quartz crystals weighs approximately 350kg and is 87 x 135 x 75 cm. It displays remarkably perfect and water-clear crystals on all sides. Discovered in one of the famous crystal quarries of Mount Ida, Arkansas, USA, in 1993. The piece was once part of the Membrini Collection from Switzerland, a phenomenal museum-quality crystal collection, meticulously assembled over the years by Membrini Kristall, a firm based in Chur, Switzerland. Founder Paul Membrini was a renowned “strahler,” a professional crystal hunter who explored the Alps. Stone Gallery acquired the Membrini Collection in early 2023. Martin Garrix Stone Gallery proudly announces that the larger sibling of this piece, a great cluster weighing an impressive 4500 lbs, is now on display at the Naturalis Biodiversity Center in Leiden, in part thanks to Dutch DJ Martin Garrix.
Romigioli Antichità
portrait of bona di savoia
Giovanni Cristoforo Ganti Detto Gian Cristoforo Romano (cerchia di) Roma ? 1460/5 – Loreto 1512 Portrait of a Lady (Bona di Savoia, Duchess of Milan?) 1490-5 White marble relief, diameter 50 cm Scientific profile by Alfredo Bellandi and Giancarlo Gentilini 2012 Published in A. Rinetti "The Duke's City, Ducal Portraits"
Thomas Deprez Fine Arts
george minne
George Minne (Ghent 1866-1941 Sint-Martens-Latem) Baigneuse I, 1899 Boxwood (composite) H 40 cm Signed on the base: ‘G. MINNE’ Provenance: private collection by family descent, Belgium Exhibitions: La Libre Esthétique, Brussels, 1902, cat. 139, as: ‘Figure de femme. boxwood.' Related literature: Arthur Roesler, George Minne, in: Deutsche Kunst und Dekoration, 1910, 14th year, IV, 2, ill. article frontispiece, p. 240 (cf. Waerndorfer marble); Léo Van Puyvelde, George Minne, Brussels : Edition 'Cahiers de Belgique', 1930, cat. n° 31, p. 78, ill. pl. 31 (bronze); Robert Hoozee et al., George Minne en de kunst rond 1900, Gent: Museum voor Schone Kunsten, 1982, cf. cat. 95 & 96 (bronze and alabaster). Related exhibitions: Berliner Secession V, Berlin, 1902, cat. 319, as: ‘Badende’ (plaster); Wiener Secession XIV, Vienna, 1902, as: ‘Badendes Mädchen’ (plaster); Tento. Jozef Israëls & George Minne, Rotterdam, 1903, as: ‘Badende vrouw’ (marble); Berliner Secession XI, Berlin, 1906, cat. 332, as: ‘Junge Frau’ (plaster); Mücsarnok, Teli, Nemzetkozi Kiallitas, Budapest, 1908-09, cat. 285 (marble); Esposizione Internazionale d’Arte, Venice, 1909, cat. 3, as: ‘Bagnante’ (marble); Sonderbund westdeutscher K., Dusseldorf, 1910, cat. 237, as: ‘Die Badende’ (marble); Leipziger Jahresaustellung, Leipzig, 1912, cat. 895c, as: ’Baigneuse’ (bronze); Sonderbund internationale Kunstaustellung Köln, 1912, cat. 611, as: ‘Badende’ (marble). Related works: It has been said that George Minne, with the present sculpture, directly influenced Gustav KLIMT (1862-1918) for the painting 'Wasserschlangen I' (1904/07), cf. Hoozee. Its appeal, however, has never faded, as can be seen in several variations on the pose which have been an integral part of the famous Belgian contemporary choreographer Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker’s so-called 'Attitudes'. Note on versions: Van Puyvelde mentions editions in marble, wood and bronze. In addition, several fine plaster casts with family provenances can be identified, amongst others at the MSK Gent and at the Museum Gevaert-Minne. Among the early collectors of bronze versions we find Hélène Kröller-Müller and Karl Ernst Osthaus, partly due to the fact that Minne’s ‘Baigneuse I’ has been a favourite for the inclusion in decorative settings designed by Henry Van de Velde (1863-1959). Versions in marble are held at the Royal Museums of Art & History and at the Belvedere in Vienna. We have been unable to find records of any other versions of Minne’s ‘Baigneuse I’ in wood. Executed in a fine composite of boxwood, it is likely a unique piece in the material and can therefore be identified as entry n° 139 at La Libre Esthétique in 1902; where both a bronze version and a version in boxwood of Minne's 'Baigneuse' were exhibited under the title 'Figure de femme'. Interestingly, the 1902 exhibition of La Libre Esthétique in Brussels also marked the model's public debut, ranking the present version as one of the earliest in existance and one of the first two shown publicly.
Kunsthaus Kende
Pair of George I Britannia silver tea caddies John Farnell, London, 1720 Engraved sterling silver H 12.5 cm 240.3 g and 237.4 g Provenance: private collection, North America The smooth, octagonal body merging into the correspondingly smooth shoulder. The lid finished with a twisted baluster. The base, which can be pulled out for filling, is only marked with a maker’s mark, the lid is unmarked. The bodies are hallmarked on the underside of the back. The contemporary coat of arms engraved on the front commemorates the marriage of a gentleman of the Dove family (who were based in East Burgholt in the county of Suffolk) and a lady of the Pierse family (whose family was based in Alston in the county of Warwickshire). An attractively preserved, early Britannia silver pair of tea caddies with a beautifully preserved, original surface.
Herwig Simons Fine Arts
Wooden chef-d'oeuvre of the Compagnonnage France, 19th century Walnut, maple and mohogany wood H 185 cm Provenance: former private collection, France A fine, rare and large nineteenth-century wooden exhibition model, the chef-d'oeuvre of a master carpenter of the Compagnonnage. These models were made to show the technical expertise and skill of the master carpenter. The Compagnonnage is an old French guild with roots in the 12th century. In the eighteenth century, they incorporated symbols and rituals, many of which were borrowed from Freemasonry to create an initiatory progression for its members.
Galerie von Vertes
jean dubuffet
Jean Dubuffet (Le Havre 1901-1985 Paris) Site avec deux personnages, 10 September 1982 Acrylic and collage on paper, mounted on canvas 67 x 100 cm Monogrammed and dated lower right 'J.D. 82' Verso numbered on the stretcher 'F146' Provenance: Waddington Galleries, London (verso with label); James Corcoran Gallery, Santa Monica (verso with label); Karsten Greve Galerie, Cologne (verso with label); private collection, Switzerland (acquired from the above) Literature: Max Loreau, Catalogue des travaux de Jean Dubuffet, vol. XXXV: Sites aléatoires, Paris 1986, p. 73, n° 142 (ill.) Exhibition: London, Waddington Galleries, Jean Dubuffet. A retrospective, October 1983, n° 46 (ill.)
Herwig Simons Fine Arts
Large Siena marble models from the Roman Forum Rome, circa 1800 H 87 cm Provenance: former noble collection, The Netherlands Fine and unusual large grand tour Siena marble models of the Temple of Castor and Pollux, and the Temple of Vespasian, from the Roman forum. Made as souvenirs for visitors on the Grand Tour in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
Galerie Capazza
éric antoine
Éric Antoine (France, 1974) Tidy V, 2024 Ambrotype 40 x 40 cm Provenance: the artist's studio Exhibition: La Fabrique des Éléments, 4 October-7 December 2025, Galerie Capazza, France In the Cerveaux (Brains) series, from which Tidy V originates, layers of leaves and stacked documents tell stories of real or imaginary lives. The ambrotype, one of the earliest photographic processes using a camera obscura, is created using wet collodion applied to a glass plate, resulting in a unique piece. With a contemporary approach, Eric Antoine uses wet collodion for its precision, deep blacks and silvery density. His work is closely linked to his place of residence and his memories. In the landscapes of the Alsatian Vosges, he developed a fascination for trees, which he studies in anthropomorphic portraits. Through a stationary journey, Eric Antoine often returns to the same places to capture their slow evolution. His work is organised into series in which destinies are recounted using layered still lifes, drowned flowers and accumulations of objects/symbols. These photographs without subjects challengethe very essence of this medium: light, optics, chemistry. The question of the materiality of the image remains at the heart of the artist's research. Far from any nostalgia, the wet collodion process here is an emancipatory discipline. In an almost sculptural approach, Eric Antoine delivers true photograph-objects, shimmering and silvery.
Florian Kolhammer
joseph maria olbrich
Joseph Maria Olbrich (Czech Republic 1867-1908 Germany) & Josef Hoffmann (Czech Republic 1870-1956 Austria) Secessionist side table, circa 1900 Solid maple, inlaid ebony and white metal H 70 x W 56 x D 56 cm Provenance: private collection, Austria Literature: Josef Maria Olbrich, Ideen von Olbrich, 2nd edition, Leipzig 1904, p. 67; Association of Austrian Visual Artists (ed.), Ver Sacrum.Vereinigung Bildender Künstler Österreichs (Hrsg.), Ver Sacrum. Mittheilungen der Vereinigung Bildender Künstler Österreichs, 1900, 1st issue, pp. 4, 9 & 15 Exhibition: displayed at the fifth exhibition of the Vienna Secession 1899 This elegant Secessionist side table was created around 1900 through the collaboration of two influential artists of Viennese Modernism: Joseph Maria Olbrich and Josef Hoffmann. The design of the table's body by Olbrich was first published in 1899 in 'Ideen von Olbrich'. The characteristic ornament was originally designed by Hoffmann as a decorative frieze for the fifth Secession Exhibition and documented in the magazine 'Ver Sacrum' (1900). It is highly probable that this furniture piece was specially created for this exhibition. Particularly noteworthy are the original design drawing by Olbrich and the ornament by Hoffmann. The exceptional quality and characteristic fittings strongly suggest production by the renowned Viennese art furniture workshop Portois & Fix, famous for numerous designs associated with the Vienna Secession, predominantly by Hoffmann.
Douwes Fine Art b.v.
henri fantin-latour
Henri Fantin-Latour (Grenoble 1836-1904 Buré) Vase de Pivoines, 1902 Oil on canvas 41 x 37 cm Signed lower left 'Fantin' The authenticity of this work has been confirmed by Sylvie Brame Provenance: Tempelaere, Paris; Tavernier, Paris; Colnaghi, London; Galerie Brame, Paris, 1978; Sotheby's London, 1978, lot 205; private collection, Europe; Sotheby’s London, 1989, lot 2; private collection, Europe; Sotheby’s London, 1996, lot 24; Noortman Master Paintings, Maastricht, bought at TEFAF 2004; private collection, Belgium; Douwes Fine Art, Amsterdam Literature: Mme Fantin-Latour, Catalogue de l'oeuvre complet de Fantin-Latour, Paris, 1911, n° 1937, p. 206