Typical wear to gilding

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Auction: Porcelain from The Dalva Brothers Collection, Jun 6, 2024

• Auction of Porcelain from The Dalva Brothers Collection on June 6, 2024

• Over 150 Lots of Exquisite Porcelain by Sèvres, Vincennes, Meissen and Others

• First Session on June 4 Showcased Almost 400 Lots of Furniture, Decorative Arts & Old Masters

• One of the World's Foremost Dealers of 18th Century French & Continental Furniture & Decorative Arts Since 1933
  
  

NEW YORK, NY -- Doyle was honored to hold the two-day landmark auction of The Dalva Brothers Collection. For more than 90 years, Dalva Brothers was one of the world’s foremost resources for 18th century French and Continental furniture and decorative arts. Treasures from their New York showroom can be found in private collections around the world, as well as in such distinguished institutions as the J. Paul Getty Museum, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Louvre and the Palace of Versailles

Porcelain from The Dalva Brothers Collection: June 6
The porcelain offerings in The Dalva Brothers Collection reflect the depth of their enthusiasm and expertise for European Decorative Art. Showcased was a refined selection of French Rococo and Neoclassical porcelain from the manufactories of Vincennes/Sèvres, Saint Cloud and Mennecy, augmented by German examples from Meissen, including Kakiemon inspired wares, figure groups and other exquisite ornaments.

Auction highlights included a circa 1779 Sèvres porcelain café-au-lait cup and saucer that achieved $4,800, far surpassing its $2,000-3,000 estimate. It bore the painter’s mark D possibly for Descambos, and the gilder’s mark HP for Prévost. Descambos is recorded as a gilder and painter of flowers and patterns at Sèvres 1776-1778, and Henri Marin (ou Martin) Prévost l’aîné, is recorded as a gilder at Sèvres 1757-1797.

A delicate pair of Vincennes or Sèvres porcelain gilt-white basket-form double salts soared past their estimate of $600-800 to realize an astonishing $4,480. Dating to the mid to late 18th century, they bore the gilder’s mark BD for Baudoin. François Baudoin, père, is recorded as a gilder at Vincennes and Sèvres 1750-1800.

Also performing exceptionally well were two circa 1753 Vincennes porcelain miniature vases estimated at $700-900 that sold for a remarkable $4,160. Measuring only 2 ½ inches in height, vases such as these are referred to as 'vase Parseval', after Philibert de Parseval, a shareholder of the Vincennes manufactory. They were possibly used to display fresh or crystalized fruit during a dessert course.

Furniture, Decorative Arts & Old Masters from The Dalva Brothers Collection: June 4
The first session of the auction on June 4 showcased French and Continental furniture, decorative arts, clocks, mirrors, tapestries and Old Master paintings. Read More

Dalva Brothers

Dalva Brothers was established in 1933 by Leon Dalva, Sr. and his two brothers, Raphael and Maurice. Leon and his wife Jean ran the business until they were joined by their sons David II and Leon Jr., a graduate in Art History from the Sorbonne. The firm welcomed its third generation with the addition of their grandson David III, a graduate in Art and Art History from Skidmore College.

Initially opened as Les Beaux-Arts Francais at the newly built Rockefeller Center, Dalva Brothers moved to a townhouse on “Antiques Row” on East 57th Street, the center of New York’s antiques trade, where they remained for over sixty years. Ten years ago, the firm moved uptown to 53 East 77th Street, a Gilded Age townhouse once owned by textile heiress and renowned collector Esther Slater Kerrigan.

Throughout its history, Dalva Brothers has always been a go-to destination for design professionals seeking rare finds for their projects. The list of interior designers who have sourced furniture and decorative arts from Dalva Brothers includes such influential design pioneers as Billy Baldwin, Sister Parrish and McMillan Inc., who helped Marjorie Merriweather Post decorate Hillwood, her lavish Washington, DC home, now a renowned museum. Other regulars included Albert Hadley, Denning & Fourcade and Mark Hampton, who would drop in on Christmas Eve searching for small gifts to present to his clients.

Dalva Brothers was also a favorite resource for prominent collectors and society luminaries, including Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Helena Rubenstein, Greta Garbo, Ann Getty, Gayfryd Steinberg, Susan Gutfreund, Enid Haupt and Jayne Wrightsman, who donated many of the furnishings from her own collection to the celebrated Wrightsman Galleries at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Fashion designers Hubert de Givenchy, Valentino Garavani and Gianni Versace were also clients of Dalva Brothers. On one memorable visit, Versace arrived with fashion editor André Leon Talley, who admired a Russian Orthodox ecclesiastical garment from the firm’s collection of antique textiles – André departed the visit happily carrying the garment, a spontaneous gift from the designer. He later wore it to the Metropolitan Opera.

For over nine decades, Dalva Brothers was a treasure trove of rare discoveries, each item bearing the hallmark of superior craftsmanship and timeless elegance. The firm remained dedicated to preserving and celebrating the legacy of exceptional French furniture and decorative arts, offering objects of enduring beauty and historical significance. The upcoming auctions offer a final opportunity to acquire treasures from one of the world’s most widely respected and cherished resources of 18th century French furniture and decorative arts – Dalva Brothers.

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