(Image: Supplied)
A rare 34-piece ornamental table suite once owned by the family of Scottish-American industrialist Andrew Carnegie is set to go under the hammer with an estimate of up to £250,000.
The Louis Napoleon gilt-bronze surtout de table suite, crafted by renowned French metalworker Ferdinand Barbedienne, will feature in Tennants Auctioneers’ Autumn Fine Sale on November 14.
Monbro. (Image: Supplied)
The suite was once part of Skibo Castle, near Dornoch in Sutherland, which served as Carnegie’s family residence.
It comprises a jardiniere centrepiece bearing the arms of Bourbon, four candelabra, numerous comports and seven brass-bound fitted wooden cases.
The collection is notable for its craftsmanship and provenance, as well as the rare distinction of bearing the names of three people involved in its creation: designer Louis-Constant Sevin, artisan chaser Desire Attarge and Barbedienne.
The suite was sold by Carnegie’s daughter, Margaret Miller, and remained in Scotland with its subsequent owner before passing from his daughter to the present vendor.
The auction will also feature two other gilt-bronze centrepieces.
Christofle. (Image: Supplied)
A Napoleon III gilt-bronze garniture of three centrepieces by Monbro Ainé, decorated with maidens, shells and putti riding sea creatures, carries an estimate of £35,000 to £45,000.
The business was founded in 1801 by Maltese craftsman George-Marie Monbro and supplied furniture to Louis-Philippe, the Duchess d’Aumale and the Palais de Saint-Cloud.
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A Napoleon III gilt-bronze L’Abondance et la Fécondité jardinière by Christofle & Cie has an estimate of £25,000 to £35,000.
The model was designed in 1868 by French sculptor Jules Klagmann and featured in the catalogue for the 1869 Union Centrale des Arts Décoratifs exhibition in Paris. Christofle & Cie was one of France’s leading gold and silverware manufacturers.
The sale will be held by Tennants Auctioneers, a fourth-generation family business based in Leyburn, North Yorkshire, which conducts more than 80 sales a year.