LONDON.- A nearly 400-strong collection of Decorative Arts, including Gothic revival and Art Nouveau furnishings and a fabulous assortment of 19th century, 20th century and Contemporary bronzes, is to go under the hammer in the Roy Davids Collection of Decorative Arts and Bronzes, Wednesday 4th March at
Bonhams Knightsbridge.
Head of the Manuscript and Book departments at Sothebys for many years and later a noted manuscript dealer, Roy Davids has also been a tireless collector in his own right. The sales at Bonhams in 2011 and 2013 of his collection of historical and poetic manuscripts and portraits, which included such rarities as the last John Keats letter in private hands (sold for a world record sum of £96,000), were major events and testimony to his shrewd eye. He assembled his collection of bronzes and the Decorative Arts with the same passion and care.
Sculpture highlights include pieces by celebrated British artists Dame Elisabeth Frink and Henry Moore. Frinks Baboon was a work commissioned by the Zoological Society of London in 1976, and is estimated at £20,000-30,000.
Henry Moores Reclining figure: Fragment was conceived in 1982 and is estimated at £20,000-30,000, while an older work, 1959s Rearing Horse, is £10,000-12,000.
Top lots amongst the furniture include an important Victorian Aesthetic rosewood whatnot, designed by Philip Webb for William Morris & Co, £4,000-6,000.
And attributed to renowned Arts and Crafts designer C.F.A. Voysey is a carved oak bookcase, £5,000-7,000. The top shelf is decorated with grotesque self-portrait masks of Voysey, a feature he was fond of adding which can be seen in various other examples of his work.
Other highlights from the sale include:
Antoine-Louis Barye, Percheron, circa 1874, £12,000-18,000
A set of Twenty Minton & Hollins border tiles, designed by Christopher Dresser, £4,500-5,000
William Burges, A Unique Silver and Enamel Pendant Necklace, 1880, £8,000-12,000
Lynn Chadwick, Maquette I High Wind, £12,000-18,000
John Hardman & Co, A Fine Yellow Gold Chalice and Cover, £6,000-8,000
A pair of George IV Gothic revival carved oak armchairs, 1826, £3,000-5,000