The first Fine Art & Antiques auction 
at Nybrogatan 32 in Stockholm

Stockholms Auktionsverk is offering a wealth of variety at the Fine Art & Antiques auction this season, with objects from antiquity to the present day. This is an El Dorado for all lovers of art and antiques who find themselves in the neighbourhood of Östermalmstorg, as well as for all those international punters eager to see what is on offer. There is something for everybody here.

Swedish Painting
This season, the Art department will be presenting three splendid paintings by Anders Zorn. First, Den gamla sköljboden, an absolute masterpiece from the artist’s brewery sequence of paintings from 1890. Accompanying the painting is an interesting dialogue, between the professors Oscar Reutersvärd and Teddy Brunius, concerning the painting’s subject matter, in which no less than two possible love affairs are revealed. The boy and girl looking on each other tenderly in the foreground may well represent Zorn’s parents, the master brewer Leonhard Zorn and the farmer’s daughter from Dalarna, with whom he fell in love. No.2220, SEK 2,500,000-3,000,000. 

The second one is a fresh and spontaneous watercolour, a verdant landscape painted by Zorn while on a visit to the Aspelin family in Fagersta, in the late summer of 1885. No.2224, SEK 80,000-100,000.

Finally, in this sequence of Zorn paintings, a double portrait, a watercolour from 1881, depicting two girls, Josefina and Ida Rudbeck, on Edsberg in Dalarna. As married women, they were to be Countess Piper and Baroness Leuhusen. No.2261, SEK 300,000-350,000.

It will soon be summer, and it is the summer holidays too at Carl Larsson’s cottage, Lilla Hyttnäs. His daughter Lisbeth is at home for the holidays and sits in the lovely garden. Their boat lies securely moored by the white bridge in the background, awaiting voyages of discovery on the Sundbornså river. No.2132, SEK1,000,000-1,500,000.

Under No.2240 we find another summer landscape, this time a magical reflection in water from Stenfors, in Småland. Carl Fredrik Hill painted the picture during his visit to Sweden in July, 1875. Hill took the painting with him upon his return to France and it gradually found its way to Durand-Ruel, the art dealers, in Paris. It disappeared from view for a while, was discovered a few years ago in England, and is now here in Sweden. Estimate SEK 600,000-800,000.

A trial run for the big vernissage for Scandinavian artists at the restaurant Ledoyen in Paris, 1886, was Hugo Birger’s brilliant interior of the Ledoyen’s glass-enclosed veranda from 1885. He had been talking about his plans to his good friend, the maecenas Pontus Fürstenberg: "I’d like to paint Le Jour de Vernissage, chez Ledoyen, what d’you think of that!" No.2271, SEK 400,000-500,000.

Among the somewhat older paintings, we find two absolute pearls, two opera scenes immortalised by Pehr Hilleström: Orpheus and Euridice, and Zemire and Azor. The former opera was given its Swedish premiere in 1773, the latter one at Drottningholm, on the occasion of Queen Sofia Magdalena’s name-day, 22 July 1778. Nos. 2209 and 2210, SEK 40,000-50,000 each.


Foreign Painting
Known from the literature is the Austrian Hans Makart’s painting "Blindbock" from 1875. The scene is a garden of young people who enthusiastically play that risky old game. No.2340, estimate SEK 125,000-150,000.

Italian 1600s, The Blind Homer, attributed to Pier Francesco Mola. The artist carried out two other works which in the iconography tallies with this one. One is now in Rome, the other in Dresden. No.2389, SEK 250,000-300,000.

An excellent half-length portrait of a lady is dated 1625 and painted by the Dutchman Elias Nicolaes Pickenoy. The painting is in its idealised execution a perfect example of Romance portraiture. The face, with its soft toning, the masterly reproduced garments – there is a harmony in the whole figure and the unmistakable stamp of quality in the painting.  No.2460, SEK 300,000-400,000.

The whole section of Early Foreign Painting has been examined in Paris by Eric Turquin, France’s leading experts in the field. 


Furniture
The season’s Furniture section contains several interesting pieces from a culture-historical perspective. The pick of the crop is a Gustavian commode made in Stockholm. This item has a very unusual variety of motifs and belongs to an elegant group of pieces that as yet have not been identified. The commode, a commissioned work, was in all probability produced by an alliance of contracting parties from two noble families, as there are two coat-of-arms inlaid in the decoration. No.1026, SEK 400,000-600,000.

A mahogany-veneered commode signed ENS (Erik Nyström, a master in Stockholm, 1773-88) is dated 1780, which shows that furniture with a mahogany veneer was also made in the Late Gustavian period. No.1027, SEK 60,000-80,000. Two pieces attributed to Niclas Korp, a commode, No.1021, SEK 200,000-250,000, and a roll-front escritoire, No.1044, SEK 140,000-160,000, will come under the hammer on 29 May. Niclas Korp was both apprentice and journeyman in Karlshamn before he came to Stockholm around 1760, becoming in 1771 a hallmark master in that city.

This spring there is a great variety of writing-desks, with everything from Swedish rococo, No.1077, SEK 20,000-25,000, and Louis XV, No.1078, SEK 100,000-125,000, to a signed Parisian work by the master Gamichon, who was active around 1800, No.1080, estimate SEK 60,000-80,000, and a mahogany-veneered Stockholm work signed ENS, Erik Nyström, No.1081, estimate SEK 80,000-120,000.

In the seating furniture, there are several Parisian works from the Louis XVI period, including a suite of armchairs, No.1107 estimate SEK 200,000-250,000, a pair of armchairs signed P.E. Langlois (Pierre-Éloi L., master in Paris 1738), No.1106, estimate SEK 25,000-35,000, and a bergère signed Delanois (1731-92), a cabinet-maker whose work can be seen at both the Louvre and the Metropolitan Museum. No.1119, estimate SEK 50,000 – 60,000. 

Also included in the seating furniture is a very rare sofa, No.1176, estimate SEK 60,000-70,000. It is out of the ordinary in that it is veneered with elmwood and plum, and has two drawers in the frame. This in all probability is an occasional piece by a master craftsman, since seating furniture was generally taken care of by chair makers. A rather similar sofa can be found at Tottieska Malmgården in Skansen and is signed Tietze.

Mirrors
The Mirror department is unusually well-filled this season, with no less than four items signed CGF (Carl Gustaf Fyrwald, mirror manufacturer in Stockholm, 1750-1825), including a couple of twin mirrors, No.1207, estimate SEK 150,000-200,000, and a pair of mirror lampettes, No.1230, estimate SEK 40,000-60,000. Naturally, there are also works of Johan Åkerblad and Niclas Meunier, among others.

Chandeliers
One of the high points of the spring’s chandeliers is a magnificent, eight-armed rococo chandelier with leaf-shaped pendants, No.1279, estimate SEK 80,000-100,000, the number of arms betraying its former presence in lavish surroundings. Also impressive are a couple of similar French chandeliers from the time of Napoleon III, each with no fewer than 16 lights, No.1287, estimate SEK 250,000-300,000, and an Empire chandelier in very good, almost mint condition, made in Stockholm, this one too with 16 lights, No.1282, estimate SEK 300,000-380,000. 

A lantern with painted glass, by Johan Wilhelm Way (1792-1873), artist to the court of Sweden’s Charles XIV, will also be sold by this department. The neo-Gothic lantern was exhibited in 1834 at the Arvfursten palace, where the first handicraft exhibition took place under the title "Exhibition of Swedish handicrafts, Stockholm 1834". The exhibition was organised by a committee from the Swedish Industrial Association. In the exhibition catalogue can be read, "Lantern of coloured glass belonging to HRH the Crown Prince, by Professor Way". The lantern came to be a present from HRH the Crown Prince to Stockholm’s Catholic Parish to which his wife, Princess Josephine of Leuchtenburg, belonged. No.1295, estimate SEK 60,000- 70,000. 

Those looking for candelabras, candlesticks, or wall lamps in bronze or brass, will be spoilt for choice, and the same holds for grandfather clocks, wall clocks and mantelpiece clocks. 

Textiles
In the Textiles department this season there is a purse that was probably made in France around 1700, No.1689, estimate SEK 3,000-4,000, embroidered in silver thread with the couching technique. Embroidered coat of arms, with the fleur-de-lis under a ducal coronet.
Looking forward to those summer parties, several items include table-cloths and serviettes in damask from the first half of the 19^th century, No.1695, estimate SEK 3,000-3,500, and No.1696, estimate SEK 4,000-5,000. 
Folk textiles are particularly represented by some beautiful cushions in Flemish, röllakan and other weaving styles associated with southern Sweden. 

Carpets
Those seeking to include large lounge carpets in their furnishings may be interested in a Kirman, for instance, size 707cm x 416cm, No.1798, estimate SEK 50,000-60.000, or a Persian carpet from the region of Loristan, size 628 x 457, No.1801, estimate SEK 30,000-40,000. A delightful Heris will also be going under the club, No.1740, estimate SEK 70,000-80,000.

Miscellaneous
One of the most heterogeneous of departments must surely be the Miscellaneous department, and it is no different this season, containing as it does objects from antiquity to the present day.
A bridal crown made by Östersund’s first goldsmith, Karl Edwall, will be carrying an estimate of SEK 18,000-20,000, No.1417. Karl Edwall (b. 1753) was the son of Lars Edwall, the assistant vicar of Näs in Jämtland. He relinquished his father’s choice of career for him, came to study the goldsmith’s art in Söderhamn, and worked as a journeyman in Stockholm, Uleåborg and Wasa in Finland. Once home again in Jämtland, Karl Edwall married Beata Persdotter, a prosperous farmer’s daughter, at Bledäng in Näs. Lars, their first-born, came to revive the family tradition and studied to be a priest. The vicarage at Oviken came to be the home of Lars Edwall and his wife Sigrid Åldberg, daughter of a county sheriff. They were assisted in 1846 by a curate, Jonas Medin, who in the same year married Sofia Charlotta Cavall, daughter of a county governor, at Kungsnäs in Näs. The bridal crown was a present to the future Fru Medin from Fru Edwall, whose stepfather, the goldsmith Karl Edwall, was probably the maker.

A wonderful English manor park is depicted on a stained-glass picture from the middle of the 18^th century. Lushness and the romantic, so typical of the English park, are qualities that really come through. Here is the manor-house in the background, with people out for a stroll in the foreground; here a little bridge, an echo temple, a ship at anchor flying the Union Jack. No.1419, SEK 20,000-25,000.
For those whose thoughts turn to winter, there is a racing sled from the second half of the 18^th century. The idiom is both rococo and Gustavian. It is decorated with painted laurel festoons, medallions and burnished rocaille. The nearest thing to a racing sled today is a sports car – a convertible, but alas, a single-seater. It was mainly young men from the upper classes and well-to-do farmers’ sons who put money into such marvels of speed. No.1467, estimate SEK 25,000-30,000.

The Middle Ages is represented through a seal, which belonged to Fru Ingefrid from Höjby in Skåne, from the second half of the 13^th century. It was at that time most unusual for a woman to be the owner of a seal, but it did occur in the highest levels of society. The seal, inscribed with the legend, "DOMINA IGGEFRIDI", has the Virgin Mary and Child as its main motif. No.1353, estimate SEK 175,000-200,000.

Oriental Handicrafts
The department contains a number of objects from the engineer Ellis Narfström’s ethnographic collection. Ellis Narfström and his wife were well-known figures in Uppsala between the 1930s and 1950s. They were perhaps better known for their interests than for their professional careers. Ellis Narfström was a passionate collector of ethnographic memorabilia from all over the world. He and his wife were also two of Uppsala’s better known mushroom experts, and when autumn came around, their house in town was filled with mushroom enthusiasts offering their production for inspection. Among the objects to be sold is a Tibetan mandala, a graphic, mystic symbol used chiefly as an aid to meditation, from the 1700s or 1800s. No.1518, estimate SEK 10,000-12,000. From China is an official’s zepter or seal, a sign of rank, made of green-glazed porcelain during the 19^th century and in perfect condition. No.1519, estimate SEK 20,000-25,000.
A boat-shaped oblation bowl with its accompanying cut, semi-precious, round tiger’s eye pearl forming the “Buddha’s Eye” symbol, was an object used by the society’s upper echelons when making offering to the spirits of their ancestors on their anniversaries. No.1520, estimate SEK 6,000-8,000. The bowl and pearl came from China to Sweden and the collection of a Herr Karlberg, an engineer, in 1882.

Oriental Ceramics
The Oriental Ceramics section includes many beautiful objects to adorn the dinner table. From the Wanli period (1573-1620) is a set of 12 plates and 12 bowls in an underglazed blue decoration. No.1549, estimate SEK 35,000-40,000. The Yongzheng period was a very short one early in the 18^th century (1723-35) and from this period is a service consisting of 24 plates, 6 serving dishes and 2 small dishes, carrying an estimate of SEK 30,000-35,000. No.1611. All its constituent parts are in famille rose decoration. With a similar decoration, from the same period and service, is a pair of wine-coolers based on the European silver type. No.1612, estimate SEK 25,000-35,000. Among the porcelain and worth a mention is a plate from the Yongzheng period (1723-35) carrying Colin Campbell’s coat-of-arms. Campbell was one of the founders of the East India Company and followed the first charter, Fredericus Rex Sueciae, as supercargo, when he most likely ordered the service. No.1617, SEK 10,000-12,000.

European Ceramics
The department has a wide variety of faience in the form of potpourri pots, terrines and plates. Both Marieberg and Rörstrand are represented here. A butter terrine with cover in the form of a quail, made by Meissen during the Marcolino period (1774-1814) after a model by Kändler (active at Meissen, 1731-79) is carrying an estimate of SEK 8,000 – 10,000. No.1495.

Silver
The Silver department is offering a complete tea and coffee service made by Karl Fabergé in Moscow in 1896. It contains 10 sections, as well as tea and coffee spoons. Its total weight in silver is around 7.5 kg. Everything is wrapped in an oak canteen. This carries an estimate of SEK 300-400,000. No.1852.

A dozen set-plates by Adolf Speer, St. Petersburg 1850, weighing 6.7 kg, carry an estimate of SEK 60-80,000, No.1853. Speer received many orders from the Russian court commissary.
A rarely seen pair of candlesticks from the workshop of Pehr Zethelius, dated 1797, carries an estimate of SEK 100-120,000. Each one is 43 cm high, with a bell-shaped base on three hound’s paws. Zethelius is said to have made two similar ones for his daughter’s christening. Accompanying them are candelabra arms for 3 lights made by Jonas Lindberg in Stockholm in 1827. No.1904

Jewellery
A pair of Russian earrings from the turn of the century, each containing an old cut diamond of between 4.25 and 4.50 ct. The estimate is SEK 200-300,000. No.1925
A platinum necklace from the 1930s, with 15 brilliants of very high quality, TW VVS, weighs 5.89 ct and carries an estimate of SEK 100-120,000. No.1959
Rose-pink diamonds are extremely rare. Rarer still are the pinks that verge on purple, and they seldom weigh more than 1.50 ct. This marquis cut stone weighs 1.27 ct and is characterised, according to a certificate from the Gemological Institution of America, as ‘purplish-pink’. The estimate is SEK 500-600,000. No.1980

Total estimate, SEK 41.5 – 51.7 million 
Viewing, 17-27 May
Auction, 29-30 May

For further information, please contact Alexandra Frick on tel. +46 8 453 67 84 or via e-mail alexandra.frick@auktionsverket.se. 
To order graphics please call +46 8 453 67 82 or +46 8 453 67 83.

Elias Nicolaes Pickenoy,
lot nr 2460