AUCTION FINDS OF THE WEEK- JULY 8TH: ELEGANT DINING PART I
by Kelly Keating on 07/07/13
This week's auction finds is the first in a series of posts that discovers items needed to create an elegant dining tablescape and experience. This first post will concentrate on the bones of the dining room- a table and chairs as well as plates. Plates for the table is the first essential piece in creating your tablescape.
The first treasure this week is a Paul Frankl mahogany and brass dining externsion table, lot 57, at Stair Galleries in Hudson, NY on July 13, 2013 with a pre-sale estimate of $2,000-3,000. The table has a divided cork top and is fitted with two additional leaves. Without the leaves the table is 6' in length. Paul Frankl (1886-1958) was an Art Deco furniture designer and maker, architect, painter and writer from Vienna, Austria. The detail of the legs with their crossed supports with the brass fittings is quite stylish on this table.
The next table find is also at the Stair Galleries in Hudson, NY and is being auctioned on July 13, 2013. It is a Mid-century walnut dining table, after Leleu, lot 51, with a pre-sale estimate of $1,200-1,800. (Auction note: When a lot states after ____ or other similar terms such as manner of, style of, bears the signature, school of, the object in the lot bears similarities to a particular author or maker, but it is not by that author). The walnut dining table has wonderfully bent pieces of wood that fashion the apron and the legs which terminate in a cross. The top seems to be tension set in the 4 pieces making up the legs and the apron.
Jules Leleu (1883-1961) was a French furniture designer. Leleu studied decorative painting and at the age of 26 succeeded his father in the family painting business. With his brother he began work in the Decorating field. After World War I, Leleu specialized in furniture making. He opened a Paris gallery, Maison Leleu, in 1924 and exhibited at the 1925 Exposition Industrielle et Arts Decoratifs, winning a grand prize at the exposition. Leleu designed the Grand Salon of the Ambassadors at the Society of Nations in Geneva and the French Embassies of several nations as well as the ocean liners SS Ile de France and SS Normandie.
The next table find for this week is more traditional in nature. Lot 115 is a late 19th/early 20th century mahogany dining table in the Georgian style to be auctioned off on July 12, 2013 at Skinner in Boston with a pre-sale estimate of $1,000-1,500. The dining table was made in England. It has two D-shaped ends and three leaves, string-inlaid frieze, all standing on reeded Marlborough legs with casters. This table is quite grand and with the leaves measures almost 10 feet in length. It is meant for the most spectacular of rooms, but since it is a copy of an earlier Georgian form it has a very good price point.
The final table found this week is a Louis Phillipe style oval mahogany dining table, lot 849, to be auctioned off on July 15, 2013 at Leslie Hindman Auctioneers in Chicago with a pre-sale estimate of $2,000-4,000. The piece probably dates to the late 19th or early 20th century. The table has inlaid banding on the top, above a conforming plain frieze and raised on tapering legs that end in brass caps and casters. At only 5' long, this lot is a good size for a small space.
Now that there are some tables to choose from, chairs are needed next. The first group of chairs is a set of 8 Art Deco mahogany chairs after Leleu. Lot 50 is up for auction at Stair Galleries in Hudson, NY on July 13, 2013 with a pre-sale estimate of $1,500-3,000. The chairs have a shaped, curved solid wood back above simple tapering legs. They are upholstered in black suede. I would certainly change the fabric on these pieces to something lighter and more neutral. These chairs would work well with the after Leleu dining table shown above.
For the Frankl table I found an assembled set of 14 Josef Hoffman for Thonet ebonized dining chairs consisting of 2 arm chairs and 12 side chairs. Lot 142 is being auctioned at Stair Galleries in Hudson, NY on July 13, 2013 with a pre-sale estimate of $2,000-4,000. The existing fabric on the chairs is awful and would look much better with a soft, textured neutral. Josef Hoffman (1870-1956) was an Austrian architect and designer of consumer goods and Michael Thonet (1796-1871) was a German-Austrian cabinet maker.
For the 2 more traditional tables, lot 192 is a good match, a set of 8 Regency (1811-1820) mahogany dining chairs being auctioned at Leslie Hindman in Chicago with a pre-sale estimate of $1,000-2,000. The set is comprised of two armchairs and six side chairs. Each chair has a straight crest rail above a pierced horizontal splat, over the trapezoidal upholstered seat. The chairs are raised on ring turned legs with cylindrical feet.
The second traditional chair lot is also being auctioned at Leslie Hindman in Chicago. Lot 195 is a set of 6 William IV (1830-1837) mahogany dining chairs with a pre-sale estimate of $600-800. The set is comprised of one armchair and 5 sidechairs, each having a straight crest rail over a pierced horizontal splat and upholstered seat. The whole chair raised on turned tapering legs ending in cylindrical feet. These chairs are a bargain in part because there is only one armchair, but they would work well in an apartment with a dining area or a small dining room in a house.
After the table and chairs, an elegant dining experience needs the perfect plates with which to adorn the table. The first plate find is lot 1111 a late 19th century set of 10 Doulton Burslem blue transfer decorated plates being auctioned at Alex Cooper Auctioneers in Towson, MD with a pre-sale estimate of $200-300. These plates are wonderfully colorful and dynamic in their design of stylized flowers and foliage. Such plates could work on the modern tables as well as the more traditional pieces.
The next dinnerware find is lot 1450 an early 20th century set of 12 Wedgwood green majolica leaf and vine plates being auctioned at Freeman's in Philadelphia on July 17, 2013 with a pre-sale estimate of $200-400. I think too these green plates would work well on both a traditional as well as a modern table depending on the colors of the room and the fabrics used. These plates are slightly smaller than dinner plates and would be wonderful to use for brunch or a luncheon.
Also being auctioned off at Freeman's in Philly on July 17, 2013 is lot 1433, an early 19th century set of 12 Derby Imari pattern porcelain dinner plates with a pre-sale estimate of $300-400. The Imari pattern of blues and oranges with gilding was copied by European manufacturers from Japanese wares made in the town of Arita. I would use these plates on both the traditional and modern tables especially with their grahic floral and foliage motif. I think the orange enameling in the plates would complement the wood tone of the after Leleu and Frankl table.
Lot 1305 is a simpler dinnerware and does not have an intricate pattern. The lot consists of 20 early 20th century Minton porcelain plates with a gilt rim and a pale pink band and is being auctioned at Alex Cooper Auctioneers in Towson, MD on July 14, 2013 with a pre-sale estimate of $400-600. The simplicity of these plates would work well with the modern tables and chairs. One can find other patterns by Minton with the same gold rim and different colored bands. If pink does not coordinate with the colors of your dining room, try to find one that does or even just a plate with a gold rim is quite elegant and would work on a modern table as well as a traditional one.
The final plate lot is my most favorite and I would be happy to have it in my own house. Lot 1508 is a 19th century set of 10 French hand-painted and gilt porcelain dessert plates by Rihouet Lerosey, Paris. These plates are being auctioned off at Freeman's in Philly on July 18, 2013 with a pre-sale estimate of $600-800. The French plates are in a shaped circular form with a striking blue border. In the center of the plates is a superb monogram "H" surmounted by a crown. What a fantastic lot of French porcelain that would look great on a traditional table and certainly would wow your guests for dessert.
This first post in the "Elegant Dining" series focused on tables, chairs and one of the essential pieces of your tablescape- the plate. I hope the selected lots inspired you in the creation of your dining space and the entertaining you do in it. Next week "Auction Find" will focus on other items needed for your sophisticated dining tablescape such as glassware, flatware and the centerpiece.
If you need help finding items for your table, contact me at [email protected]
Until next week,
Kelly T Keating
www.theantiqueflaneur.com
