LONDON, ENGLAND.- The compelling story of the Rothschild dynasty will be brought into sharp focus this winter when, on Friday, December 12, 2003, Sotheby’s will hold a sale of "Treasures from the Rothschild Collection", Comprising over 100 precious objects - cameos, gold boxes, limoges enamels and silver gilt - a sale that fully reflects the love of exquisite materials and fine workmanship that has defined Rothschild taste throughout the generations. At the same time, December’s sale represents a rare moment in the history of one of Britain’s greatest collections, for while property from the European branches of the family has come to the market, works of art belonging to the English side of the family have only rarely come to auction in recent times. *
Estimated to make in excess of £1 million, the sale will provide a vivid illustration of the taste and enormous discernment of this family of famous collectors. All the objects in the sale are from the collection of the late Nathaniel Mayer Victor, 3rd Lord Rothschild (1910-1990), having been inherited by him from his grandfather Nathaniel, 1st Lord Rothschild (1840-1915), who lived at the great Rothschild mansion at 148 Piccadilly and at Tring Park in Hertfordshire. He was the great-grandson of Mayer Rothschild of Frankfurt (1743-1812), the founder of the Rothschild dynasty, and it was Nathaniel’s grandfather, Nathan, who established the English branch of the family. His father, Lionel, continued to run the Rothschild bank in London and was, at the same time, an eminent collector from whom many of the objects in the sale were inherited.
Among the objects beautiful ’Renaissance’ jewels and pieces of limoges enamel as well as what is undoubtedly the highlight of the sale - an extremely rare and finely modeled parcel-gilt figure of King David by Christoph Lencker of Augsburg, made around 1600 (est: £250,000-£350,000). In 1867 Nathaniel married his cousin Emma. Emma’s father, Baron Mayer Carl von Rothschild (1820-1886) ran the family business in Frankfurt from the 1860s, simultaneously forming one of the greatest of all Rothschild collections of works of art and objects of vertu. From him, Emma inherited silver gilt and works of art that complemented and augmented her husband’s collection, and many of the gold boxes in December’s sale were originally part of her father’s collection.
During the life-times of Lord and Lady Rothschild, their collection was housed at their homes at 148 Piccadilly and at Tring in Hertfordshire. After Emma’s death in 1935, the two properties were given up and a major part of the contents of 148 Piccadilly were offered for sale in a spectacular house sale held on site by Sotheby’s two years later. The works in this sale, however, were retained in various family properties and, as such, they provide a fascinating link with both the early Rothschild collections in this country and in Germany.
The Rothschilds
The Rothschild story is undoubtedly one of the most extraordinary in the history of family empires. Success came quickly. From their modest beginnings in Frankfurt in the 18th century, within just two generations, the family had cast its net to London, Paris, Vienna and Naples to become, by the 1830s, the most successful international bankers of the age.
Mayer Amschel Rothschild, "founder" of the Rothschild dynasty, established his business in Frankfurt in the 1760s. By 1769, he was agent to William of Hanau, and by the 1790s he had become one of the richest men in the city. Mayer had five sons, all of whom were quick to learn their father’s skills. At an early age, the boys flew the Frankfurt nest to augment the family fortunes at stations around the world: Nathan in England, Salomon in Vienna, Carl in Naples and Jacob in Paris, while Amschel, the eldest, continued to run the Frankfurt business after his father’s death. There they used their enormous business acumen, coupled with the advantage of their family contacts abroad, to establish a banking empire of unrivalled magnitude. At the same time, they began to collect works of art, often in friendly rivalry with each other. The tradition of collecting continued and expanded in the next generation - in England most notably through Lionel and, most famously perhaps, through his brother Mayer at Mentmore.
The English Branch
Nathan Rothschild arrived in England in 1796, at the age of 21. After a decade of trading successfully as a textile merchant in Manchester he moved to London, establishing a merchant bank at St. Swithin’s Lane in the city. His brilliance as a financier, coupled with the discretion he showed in his dealings led to a pre-eminent position in the city. By 1828 the Rothschild’s capital reserve was almost £4.4 million: a staggering achievement especially when compared to their nearest rivals Barings, who held a tenth of that sum. In his domestic life, Nathan was able to purchase a fine house in Piccadilly and in 1835 an attractive estate in the then rural setting of Gunnersbury, Middlesex.
When Nathan died in 1836, he left behind him three sons, Lionel, Anthony and Mayer, all of whom were equally keen businessmen and connoisseurs. Together, they developed the family business even further, while at the same time establishing themselves on landed estates at Tring Park, Aston Clinton and Mentmore respectively. Lionel (left), the eldest of the sons, also inherited 148 Piccadilly and Gunnersbury Park, and it was at these houses that he displayed many of the objects that were to pass to his son Nathaniel.
The sale
Among a small group of silver items in the sale is what is undoubtedly the highlight of the sale: the exquisite parcel-gilt figure of King David, made circa 1600 by the Augsburg silversmith Christoph Lencker. One of only 13 known pieces by the greatest of all Augsburg silversmiths, the figure of King David is the only work by Lencker still in private hands. Estimated at £250,000-£350,000, Lencker’s David is full of the technical virtuosity and creative brilliance define his small but important oeuvre.
Gold Boxes
In many ways, it was the Rothschilds’ passion for gold boxes that saved these small but precious objects from destruction when they fell from fashion in the mid-19th century. Before the French revolution, gold boxes were purchased for use as snuff or powder boxes; for displaying the goldsmith’s art in miniature; or as adornment for demonstrating personal wealth. In the mid-19th century, however, when snuff boxes no longer served these purposes, many were broken up and destroyed for their intrinsic value. Had it not been for a handful of far-sighted collectors such as the Rothschilds and Lord Hertford, fewer still of an already diminished number of examples would survive today.
The sale will include 15 gold boxes, with estimates ranging from £2,500-£3,500 for a gold enamel snuff box (Geneva, 1815) to £80,000-£120,000 for an intriguing gold, mother of pearl and ivory snuff box made by Delobelin Paris between 1749 and 50. Decorated with Teniers subjects on a basketwork ground, this extremely fine example was, like all the boxes in the sale, originally in the collection of Emma’s father, Baron Mayer Carl von Rothschild of Frankfurt. Also from Baron Mayer’s collection is a gold and enamel snuff box by Louis-Philippe Demay, made in Paris in 1765. The lid of this delicate oval box is painted with fisherwomen, while the main body is composed of green baisse-taille enamel panels within chased gold (est: £60,000-£80,000).
While the majority of the boxes are Parisian, a number of other European centres of excellence are also represented, including Geneva (a gold and enamel box painted with battle subjects, dated 1770, est: £6,000-£8,000) and Dresden (a gold and hardstone Zellenmosaik snuff box by J.C. Neuber, 1775, illustrated left, est: £30,000-£40,000).
’Renaissance’ jewellery
Renaissance jewellery was so sought-after during the second quarter of the 19th century: a demand fuelled by the fashion for glittering costume balls at which the elite of Europe would wear historical revival jewels and embellished originals. This led to a strong market in jewels that had survived from the 16th century as well as jewellery made in that style.
Until very recently, little was know about this new fashion for revivalist jewels, and the Rothschild collection therefore throws invaluable light on an obscure moment in the history of jewellery design. One piece in particular tells a fascinating story. A charming knight with an adjustable visor has proved to be the same jewel that was sold at Stowe in 1848 at what was perhaps the most spectacular house sale ever to have taken place, when the 2nd Duke of Buckingham and Chandos was forced to sell the contents of his celebrated home. Reproduced in the Illustrated London News on 8th September 1848, the knight was subsequently lost. When researching the Rothschild jewels, however, Sotheby’s expert Liz Mitchell came across a knight that looked somehow familiar. Leafing through her reference books, she came across an image of the lost Buckingham knight, whose form and decoration matched exactly that of the pendant she had in her hand, and so, the Rothschild knight was re-christened the "Buckingham knight" as a tribute to its original owner. Further research has revealed that this same knight was originally bought by the 1st Duke of Buckingham and Chandos (1776-1839) in 1829, and the details of the purchase provide an important record of the dates around which 19th-century demand for early jewellery must have been prevalent. This lively piece is estimated at £6,000-£8,000.
Cameos and Intaglios
The cameos and intaglios form a highly appealing group that ranges in subject matter and date from antique and renaissance examples through to a range of stunning neo-classical ones often mounted as rings or brooches. A good number of them are by well-known gem engravers and cameo carvers. Antonio Pichler, gem engraver to the Emperor Joseph II is represented in the collection by what has been described as his masterpiece: a rectangular banded agate intaglio of the goddess Iris, estimated at £1,000-£1,500. He is joined by other masters such as Nicolo Morelli, one of the foremost Roman gem engravers - who worked for both Napoleon and the Pope. His onyx cameo of Saint George transfixing the dragon is estimated at £2,000-£3,000.
Limoges
This small but significant group includes works by noted 16th-century enamellers Jean de Court, Pierre Courteys and Pierre Raymond. Their Renaissance designs and jewel-like colours complement other pieces in the collection. Highly decorated, they include an important set of strongly coloured enamel plates by Jean de Court (active 1555-85, painter to Queen Mary Stuart and later to Charles IX) estimated at £100-£150,000, as well as a fine polychrome enamel tazza attributed to Pierre Courteys (c.1520-1591), estimated at £30,000-£50,000.
