By Richard Brewster, on 24-Oct-2018

The silver Faberge letter opener will be offered at Philips Auctions forthcoming Fine & Decorative Arts on Sunday October 28 at their Malvern rooms with  a modest estimate of $20,000-$30,000.

The Russian .875 silver and rock crystal letter opener (Lot 21 ) was made in 1894 in Moscow and bears the K. Faberge mark in Cyrillic.

It is shaped like a dagger with a finely cast horse’s head in profile above a reeded collar with gold horseshoe embellishments to both sides. 

It might sound extremely indulgent to the average auction goer, but perhaps some among those who attend these events harbour a secret desire to open their mail with a silver Faberge letter opener.

It might sound extremely indulgent to the average auction goer, but perhaps some among those who attend these events harbour a secret desire to open their mail with a silver Faberge letter opener.

Clock collectors will not miss out, either, with several unusual timepieces from which to choose.

The most valuable of these is an early 19th century fine Empire style annular bronze clock with serpents (lot 38, catalogue estimate $25,000-$40,000), while from the same era is a gilt bronze cartel clock (Lot 39 ) in the Louis XVI style bearing the mark of Gerbe D’or H Chapus Fils, Rue de Rivoli, Paris.

Another unusual timepiece is a 19th century French Renaissance revival bronze clock garniture (Lot 41 ) with the maker’s cartouche of Raingo Freres Paris.

Among the porcelain on offer are several Chinese blue and white early 17th century (late Ming Dynasty) items from the Bin Thuan shipwreck off Vietnam in 1644, including a basin bowl (Lot 76 ). 

From the same period is an antique pierced and carved jade three-part censer (Lot 95 ), while Chinese paintings feature such artists as Yao Zhihua (born 1932) with his watercolour work Red trees (Lot 93 ).

Other attractions include a late 20th century fine articulated sterling silver elephant (Lot 212 ) and a fine continental gold mounted pictorial enamel snuff box (Lot 17 ).

Among the furniture highlights is a circa 1900 signed Louis Marjorelle palisander display armoire.

Louis Marjorelle (1859-1926) was an outstanding art nouveau style French decorator and furniture designer who manufactured his own designs in the French tradition of the ebeniste.

Following in his father’s footsteps, Louis took over the family business once the senior Marjorelle died in 1879 and continued to run the enterprise until it was destroyed by fire on November 20, 1916.

Philips jewellery auction will be held from 6pm the following day. 

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About The Author

Richard Brewster has been writing about the antiques and art auction industry for almost 20 years, first in a regular weekly column for Fairfax's The Age newspaper and also in more recent times for his own website Australian Auction Review. With 45 years experience as a journalist and public relations consultant, in 1990 Richard established his own business Brewster & Associates in Melbourne, handling a wide range of clients in the building, financial, antiques and art auction industries.