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Precious Objects — Sotheby's Australia

$36,000
A fine silver and silver gilt mounted presentation Ostrich egg c…
$31,200
An Impressive Silver Mounted Presentation Emu Egg Inkwell By J.…
$28,800
A fine 18 carat gold enamel, and gem set South Sea pearl Easter …
$24,000
An Australian emu egg casket with gilded and silver plate mounts…








Auction House: Sotheby's Australia
Number of lots recorded: 64
Lots with images: 64
Prices available: 64
Category: Precious Objects




Lot Description Price Image
*** A fine silver and silver gilt mounted presentation Ostrich egg casket, Australian, 19th century, the oval base with applied ferns and native flora cast with two aboriginal figures confronting a large snake, wrapped around a xanthorrhoea trunk, the casket set with a lizard and flanked by two cast handles with ring tailed possums, the cover decorated with a fern motif and Sturt peas, the finial cast as a family of emus on a rocky outcrop, together with a later ebonised socle and glass dome (3) 42 cm high.… ***
*** An Impressive Silver Mounted Presentation Emu Egg Inkwell By J. M. Wendt, Adelaide, Circa 1880, the stippled green egg with an inset cameo scene surmounted by a well with grape and leaf branch cover, the stand modelled as a trunk emenating leafy branches flanked by two emus and an Aboriginal figure holding a boomerang and a club with his foot on a prone kangaroo, the presentation shield inscribed 'Presented by the Shareholders of the National Building Society to B. C. Shierlaw Esq.… ***
*** A fine 18 carat gold enamel, and gem set South Sea pearl Easter egg and Surprise, Faberge by Victor Mayer, of ovoid form, supported on a gold base with three fluted legs and laurel swags, the blue guilloché enamel body applied with two tiered laurel garlands suspended from diamond and ruby set florets, surmounted by a with an 11. 50mm cultured pearl finial, opening to reveal a 15. 00mm South Sea cultured pearl on a 18ct gold shell, signed Faberge, number 2/6, height approximately 100mm, 215 grams. ***
*** An Australian emu egg casket with gilded and silver plate mounts, the egg surmounted by two bronzed aboriginals and foliage, a decorative central gilt banding and interior gilding, supported by a fern tree shading a kangaroo and emu and a snake coiled around a plant, all raised on wooden plinth bearing scratched W. Kerr mark to underside beneath screws, 32 cm high ***
*** A polychrome and giltwood figure of a saint, 18th century, 90 cm high ***
*** A Fine Silver Mounted Emu Egg Inkstand, By J. M. Wendt, Adelaide, Circa 1870, with a cameo scene insert showing an emu and a kangaroo, surmounted by an inkwell recess with a leaf decorated cover and cockatoo finial, flanked by the figure of an Aboriginal woman to one side and a kangaroo to the other, the quill tray to the front modelled as a branch, raised on an oval base and conforming blackwood plinth, 1088gms total weight including the plinth, 24 cm wide, 19.5 cm high ***
*** Two Irish William IV Silver 'Chinoiserie' tea caddies, Richard Sawyer Jnr, Dublin 1834, both approximaely 14.2 cm high and total weight 1425gms. Provenance: Purchased Sotheby's London, 31 October, 1988 ***
*** A Franconian Polychrome Wood Figure of St. Sebastian, Second Quarter 16th Century, the semi-naked figure standing, his arms tied to the cut branches, his body covered with arrow holes, 86 cm high ***
*** A pair of silver mounted emu eggs by J. Holt, Melbourne, 1879, each domed foot decorated with applied goannas, lizards and frogs, the egg supported on a wheat sheath, one with a kangaroo finial, the other with an emu, engraved signature and date to base, each with a glass dome and ebonised circular stand 25 cm high ***
*** A Polychrome Wood Figure of St. Francis, Italian, Tyrol, 17th Century, clad in Franciscan robes, supporting a book with a figure of Christ the Child in his left arm, his right arm raised, 70 cm high ***
*** A Polychrome and Giltwood Figure of the Virgin Mary, South German, 18th Century, the seated figure clad in robes, holding a cloth in her right hand, 93 cm high ***
*** An Ivory Corpus Christi, Continental, 18TH/19th Century, the figure with head raised to his right, mounted onto an ebonised wood cross with his mounted title, the figure, 39 cm long ***
*** Spanish school, 17th century, the holy Family oil on canvas 142 x 125 cm. Provenance: Private collection, Italy Private collection, Australia, purchased at auction in Rome in 1986. Other Notes: This fine Spanish Baroque religious painting combines devotional sincerity with a sensitive, even sentimental naturalism, very much in the manner of Murillo.… ***
*** A Russian Silver Gilt Icon, 19th Century painted with a scene of christ in the tomb surrounded by the apostles, the oklad applied with a paste set crown of thorns and a turquoise and paste halo assay mark Ak, 1848 and 84 Zolotnik, town mark rubbed, maker's mark Mi in cyrillic script 45 cm by 33 cm ***
*** A Polychrome Wood Figure of St. Kassian, South German, Mid 18th Century, the half length figure wearing mitre and holding an Orthodox cross in his left hand, wearing his ceremonial robes, on an ornate inscribed plinth, 86 cm high ***
*** A silver and silver gilt mounted Ostrich egg wine jug, possibly by Henry steiner, Adelaide, circa 1871, the stepped foot and collar cast with a foliate decorated vine, flanked by an elaborate branch handle cast with an entwined snake and a lizard, the hinged cover with an emu thumb piece, the body inscribed ' the ostrich egg which forms this jug was the gift of Mr. J. S. ***

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