NEW YORK.- Christie’s New York will present an exceptional sale of Important European Furniture, Ceramics, and Carpets on May 20, which will include approximately 390 lots from the 15th through the 19th centuries. Works from private collections offer important reflections of collectors’ exquisite taste and connoisseurship, such as a magnificent lacquer bureau plat from the Viennese Rothschilds, a Louis XV cream-painted paneled room, and a porcelain mantel clock- a gift from Louis XVIII to the Duc d' Angoulême, and rare ivories from the Baden Kunstkammer.

A Lacquer Bureau Plat from the Viennese Rothschilds - Leading the Furniture section of the sale is a Louis XV ormolu-mounted black and gilt-japanned bureau plat, circa 1750 by Jacques Dubois (estimate: $700,000-1,000,000). Once in the fabled collection of the Viennese Rothschilds, this sumptuous bureau plat is decorated with mountainous landscapes, temples and pagodas in the European imitation of oriental lacquer. The sinuous lines and beautiful harmony of the Chinoiserie decoration and flowing rocaille bronzes, marks this superb bureau plat as one of the finest examples of the mature style of Jacques Dubois of the 1740's and 1750's.

The Edulji Dinshaw Louis XV Boiserie - This splendid boiserie once graced the legendary Fifth Avenue townhouse decorated in the 1940’s by the fabulously wealthy Indian collector Edulji Dinshaw. Edulji Dinshaw (1916-1970), a parsi from Mumbai, settled in New York shortly after World War II. He filled his townhouse with eighteenth century furniture, porcelains and other works of art. Some of the pieces chosen by Dinshaw for his Fifth Avenue residence were of the highest museum quality and of the utmost historical importance. The Louis XV cream painted paneled room being offered is richly covered in C-scroll with vine-carvings and were used for a fireplace, a doorway and mirrors (estimate: $100,000-200,000).

Property from a Distinguished Private Collection - From a distinguished collection come two rare survivals from the celebrated Kunstkammer of the Dukes of Baden. Traditionally the Kunstkammer contained a family’s private and precious treasures such as objects of semi-precious stone, amber, ivory and other rare materials. The Baden pieces comprise of two 17th century ivory carvings- a beautiful pair of German ebony, ivory and fruitwood vases with flowers (estimate: $50,000-100,000) and a German ivory relief of Christ before Annas (estimate: $30,000-50,000). Also of note from the American Private Collection is a rare porphyry profile relief bust of the Virgin of the Annunciation by Mattias Ferrucci after 1653 (estimate $100,000-200,000).

Other Highlights - Highlights among the various owner objects include a magnificent pair of Louis XVI ormolu three-branch wall-lights by Louis-Gabriel Feloix, circa 1787. Each wall light is intricately designed with a satyr’s mask, panther’s mask, and eagle’s mask entwined with grapevines, tassels, cymbals, Pan’s pipes, classical urns filled with grapevines and flowers (estimate: $150,000-250,000). Also on offer will be an impressive Louis XV giltwood mirror and en suite console table – an extremely rare discovery to find a console surviving with its matching pier glass (estimate: $120,000-180,000), a Russian commode attributed to Christian Meyer, circa 1795 (estimate: $100,000-150,000), and a rare 17th century Italian marble-inlaid commode made of walnut and ebony (estimate: $50,000-80,000).

A Sèvres porcelain mantel clock gifted by Louis XVIII to the Duc d'Angoulême, 1820, depicts the goddess Leto and her children Apollo and Diana with putti over a floral festoon (image right- estimate: $100,000-150,000). Designed by Jean- Charles-François, the clock’s design is precisely recorded in the Sèvres archive, and was exhibited at the Louvre in 1821, and thereafter bought by Louis XVIII.

European Ceramics - The sale features a varied offering of over 170 lots of English, French and Continental porcelain and ceramics from major factories such as Meissen, Ludwigsburg, Nymphenburg, Berlin, Saint-Cloud, Vincennes, Sèvres, Derby, and Worcester, coming primarily from four private collections. Leading the selection and also property from a distinguished Private Collection are Sèvres biscuit busts of Louis XV and Madame la comtesse du Barry (each estimate: $40,000-60,000), a pair of Sèvres maroon ground scroll-handled vases purchased directly from the Sèvres factory in 1844- 1845 by Louis-Philippe of France (estimate: $80,000-120,000) and a Böttger chinoiserie waste-bowl (estimate: $20,000-30,000).

Over 40 lots from the renowned collection of Leo and Doris Hodroff are offered in the sale. The Hodroffs are dedicated collectors who have made significant gifts to the Minneapolis Institute of Art, The Norton Museum of Art, the Peabody-Essex Museum, the Mayo Clinic Art Collection, and Winterthur. Star lots from their collection consist of a Ludwisgberg Chinoiserie group modeled by J. Weinmüller, circa 1770 (estimate: $15,000-20,000), a colorful Meissen figure group of a shepherd and a shepherdess seated below a tree on a mound base applied with flowers (estimate $20,000-30,000), and a Meissen Kakiemon tureen and cover with the bust of a turbaned Turk as the finial (estimate: $10,000-15,000).

Small scale objects with Chinoiserie and floral decorations comprise the property of Canadian Collectors, as exemplified with a Meissen Hasumalerei Chinoiserie pot and cover, circa 1730 (estimate: $10,000-15,000), and a Vienna oval tray finely painted with a floral still life, dated 1816 (estimate: $15,000-25,000). Various owner highlights include a fine Sèvres plaque painted with a still-life of exotic fruits and flowers (estimate: $40,000-60,000).

Auction: Important European Furniture, Ceramics, and Carpets May 20. Viewing: Christie’s Rockefeller Galleries May 16-19.