When we
first posted about acquiring a dog portrait from
Brooke Astor’s famous collection we hinted it wasn’t the only one of her animal
treasures to find a home with us.
Among our favorite acquisitions from the Stair Galleries
sale was a charming collection of frog figures including these carved
malachite, jade, and cloisonné enamel pieces happily clustered here atop a
green marble topped table between a pair of nautilus shells, one clad in sterling silver by legendary jeweler
Verdura. The vintage green and white porcelain vase turned table lamp makes for
a nice alternative to the traditional blue and white china while lending the green
themed vignette a dose of Chinoiserie.
Birds were another animal beloved by Mrs. Astor, and we were
pleased to procure a number of her bird figures in porcelain and stone,
especially a beautiful carved pair of lapis lazuli bluebirds perched atop
pertrified wood, which are now the centerpiece of the mineral collection in our eclectic
cabinet of curiosities. On the shelf above between a collection of Asian
ceramics and carved wooden folk art figures sit two of Mrs. Astor’s Vista
Allegra porcelain bird figures flanking the laughing Buddha statue, before
which sits an antique Royal Vienna tea bowl also from the Astor estate.
Here in a shot from the Sotheby’s auction catalogue is the
same Vista Allegra owl pair seen on Mrs. Astor’s red lacquer table next to a
gilt-metal Tiffany & Co. tortoise clock.
We also acquired a large lot of small English and
Continental European porcelain articles including the lovely antique Meissen
bird dish seen keeping company with our floral Chinese famille rose vase and a
turquoise bird on a giltwood base also from Astor’s bird collection.
The main reason we purchased this lot was the four, though
the catalogue only claimed two, leaf dishes by Herend. Included among them was
the one seen here in the intricately hand painted Rothschild Bird pattern,
first created in the 1860’s for a Rothschild Baroness after she lost her pearls
in the garden only to have the gardener discover birds playing with them in a
tree.
Here the same Rothschild Bird dish can be seen in another
shot from the Sotheby’s catalogue, atop Astor’s Louis XV bureau plat, along
with a smaller Herend leaf dish we displayed among the frogs in the first image. Brooke
Astor truly was a great animal lover as evidenced not only by the things she
chose to collect but also by her Statement of Faith,
“I want the creatures, the animals,
and the birds to be a little less afraid of human beings because I have blessed
them and loved them, and far from doing them any harm, I have done them good.”
*While the Astor estate pieces are not currently for sale much of the surrounding decor and accessories are available for purchase
HERE in our online shop.
Photos 1, 2, 4, & 5 by KS&D.
