Sotheby's
Sotheby's to offer Works of Art from the ROYAL HOUSE OF HANOVER
THE FAIRYTALE CASTLE OF MARIENBURG,
NEAR HANOVER, WILL BE THE SCENE OF AN EXCEPTIONAL
TEN-DAY AUCTION IN AUTUMN 2005
FROM OCTOBER 5-15, 2005(, Sotheby's will hold an unprecedented sale of heirlooms belonging to the Royal House of Hanover. This spectacular event will be an important date in the calendar for art lovers and collectors throughout the world. No comparable auction has been held in continental Europe since Sotheby's held the Thurn und Taxis and Baden Baden sales in the 1990s. The sale will include more than 20,000 items divided into some 4,000 lots, each with an incomparable royal provenance, and is estimated to bring ? 12 million.
Dr. Philipp Herzog von Württemberg, Managing Director of Sotheby's Germany and Président Directeur General of Sotheby's France, said: "The works of art from the Hanover collection provide an insight into the historically relevant past generations' ways of living and offer wonderful documents of the family history. We are very pleased that Prince Ernst-August of Hanover and Dr. Christoph Graf Douglas have commissioned us to this unprecedented auction and are glad to support a young generation in saving and preserving their cultural and family heritage."
The art advisor Dr. Christoph Graf Douglas (Frankfurt/Main), who had been asked by the prince last year to disperse the large quantity of objects, underlines that he has informed in due time the ministry of culture in Niedersachsen (Lower Saxony) and an intensive dialogue has occurred: "As a matter of course the important neo gothic inventory of Schloss Marienburg and all objects from the property of the House of Hanover which are on the list of valuable national treasure will not be offered for sale."
The autumn sale at the fairytale Schloss Marienburg will include glass and porcelain, silver, arms and armour, paintings and furnishings, all have belonged to Kings and Princes of England and Hanover and date from the 16th to the 19th centuries, including property which belonged to all five Kings of England, from King George I to King William IV. All works of art have been stored at Marienburg for a number of decades. The fairytale castle with its dramatic turrets and battlements, is as romantic as Ludwig II of Bavaria's Neuschwanstein and its history is as poignant.
In 1857, the blind King George V of Hanover gave the land and building plans as a birthday gift to his wife, Queen Marie. Before it could be finished, Queen Marie moved from Schloss Herrenhausen into her private castle (Schloss Marienburg) due to the Prussian Occupation in 1866. In the following time, Schloss Marienburg turned into a center of political agitation, and Queen Marie followed her husband King George V into exile in Austria. They never returned to Schloss Marienburg. As private property, the castle was inherited by her descendants. Since Schloss Marienburg has not been availed as a residence, the contents of many properties were stored there.
>From vault to attic, the castle was crammed with cupboards lined with glassware and dinner services in orderly ranks, trunks overflowing with uniforms and liveries, baize-lined cases filled with fabulous table silver, a complete armoury, a thicket of walking sticks, stacks of prints and drawings and all the impedimenta of an abandoned kingdom. Not only were these objects fit for a king, they had indeed belonged to electors, princes and kings.
Now Sotheby's, together with Dr. Christoph Graf Douglas Kunstberatung, Frankfurt, is to help with the dispersal of these royal possessions. This will be an unprecedented occasion in an unbelievably beautiful setting. Proceeds of the sale will flow in the existing family foundation with the mission of preserving the cultural asset of the family in Germany. Schloss Marienburg and the Royal House in Hanover-Herrenhausen will both remain open to the public.
Porcelain
The European porcelain and ceramics section of the sale mostly dates from the 19th century and illustrates the close connections between the Prussian Court of Friedrich Wilhelm III and Friedrich Wilhelm IV, and the Duke of Braunschweig (Brunswick), in particular, and King Ernst-August of Hanover. There are numerous vases, cabinet plates and cups and saucers, as well as services, made in the Berlin porcelain factory of the Prussian kings, and presented by them to the courts in Hanover and Braunschweig. The Royal Berlin porcelain factory was at the time one of the finest in Europe, and these vases, decorated with views of Berlin and Potsdam, portraits of the Prussian King, and botanical studies, are among the finest of their type.
The sale also includes two outstanding Russian vases made at the Imperial factory in St. Petersburg in the 1840s, painted with copies of Old Master paintings by Rubens and Honthorst (estimate: ? 550.000-750.000). Of exceptional interest is an English Chamberlain's Worcester armorial breakfast service, circa 1810, with the arms of Ernst-August, Duke of Cumberland, before he became King of Hanover (estimate: E 300,000-400,000).
Glass
The glass in the sale is principally 18th century in origin, and comes from Germany, particularly Braunschweig, Lauenstein and Hesse but there are also fine and rare examples of English glass.
The chief examples from the 18th century are engraved with the arms of various succeeding members of the Braunschweig-Luneberg and Hanover lines. The earliest examples date from the late 17th century and include two pieces engraved in Nuremburg. One of these is a charmingly engraved landscape scene by G. F. Killinger, one of the foremost engravers of his time (estimate: E 5,500-6,500)
Although Lauenstein, a glasshouse near Hanover, produced the majority of the examples in the sale - many with armorials - two of the best pieces are from the Potsdam glasshouse, one engraved in Berlin by Gottfried Spiller, c.1705. The large goblet and cover is engraved with the arms of William III of England (estimate: E30,000-40,000). An English lead crystal baluster goblet engraved with the royal arms of Queen Anne of England and her cipher AR, c.1710, is also impressive (estimate: E10,000-15,000).
Old Master Paintings
The collection of Old Master Paintings in the sale, about 700 in total, was formed over a period of 300 years and clearly reflects the changes of taste and fashion over this period. As with many great princely collections, it predominantly consists of portraits although other genres of paintings are well represented and range from altarpieces to still lifes, and from religious and historical scenes to landscapes and genre scenes.
The portraits chart the fortunes of the House of Hanover from their very beginnings in the Duchy of Brunswick-Luneburg with a late 15th century portrait of a gentleman by Michael Ostendorfer (1490-1559) (estimated ? 60,000-80,000) and an early 17th century portrait of Philip Sigismund, Bishop of Osnabruck (1591-1623) (estimated E 4,000-6,000) through to the Napoleonic wars.
The collection of portraits clearly illustrated the powerful alliances the Hanoverian family forged with the other leading families of Europe including the Russian, Danish, and Prussian royal families, and which were immortalised on the walls of Marienburg. But when the daughter of King James I of England, Elizabeth Stuart known as the 'Winterqueen' (1596-1662), married Frederick V of Bohemia she was to provide the circumstances for the most important alliance the House of Hanover ever made, which would lead to the crown of the British Isles being assumed by her grandson. In the meantime during her exile at the Dutch court in The Hague she and her family formed strong links with the painter Gerrit van Honthorst, and sat for him and his studio on several occasions. Included in this sale will be a portrait by Gerrit van Honthorst and Studio of Elizabeth (pictured right, estimated: ? 20.000-30.000), and a portrait of Frederick V in full armour (estimated: ? 4,000-6,000), as well as portraits of all their children, estimates ranging from ? 10.000 and 15.000. It was this relationship with Honthorst which may have provoked their sixth child 'Louise Hollandine' (1622-1709) to enter the studio of Honthorst and eventually to become a notable painter in her own right. Indeed autograph works by her hand will be sold in this sale including a self-portrait as a nun, shortly after she became the Abbess of Maubisson.
When Ernest August, Elector of Hanover (1629-1737), married Sophia (1630-1714), daughter of Elisabeth Stuart, he ensured the House of Hanover's position on the throne through the terms of the Act of Settlement (1701) and led to his son George Louis becoming the King of Great Britain and Ireland in 1714, initiating the House of Hanover as the ruling family of both states. The sale will include portraits of George I of England as well as several full length portraits and other portraits of their children, Princes Georg, Karl Phillip and Maximillian, some painted by Jaques Vaillant, known as 'Leeuwerick' (1625- 1691) (estimates range from E 6.000 to 8.000). There will also be a fine selection of portraits of the English and Hanoverian royal family, including one exceptional painting of Prince Edward Augustus, Duke of York, by Pompeo Batoni (1708-1787) (estimated E 80,000-120,000).
Other paintings in the collection include by Nicolò Bambini (1652-1736) (estimated E 15,000-20,000), Francesco Trevisani (1656-1746) (estimated ? 20,000-30,000), Constantin Netscher (1669-1723) (estimated E 3,000-5,000), Jan Wouwerman (1629-1666) (estimated E 3,000-5,000), as well as a fine collection of decorative pictures including works by a follower of Paolo Veronese (1528-1588) (estimated E 15,000-20,000), two large mythical scenes after Sir Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640) (estimated E 15,000-18,000), a late fourteenth century altarpiece from the Upper-Rhine (estimate: E 8.000-12.000) and a very interesting altarpiece from the School of Cranach (estimated; E 30,000-40,000).
Nearly all of the paintings have been stored at Marienburg for more than 100 years and few have been relined, restored and retouched. Therefore, the auction will be a true delight for both collectors and dealers, as there are many treasures to be found.
19th Century Paintings
The offering of 19th century paintings reflects the personal taste and lives of the royal family of Hanover. Among the works to be offered are family portraits, mostly copies of the work of the leading portrait artists of the day. These also include three portraits of Tsar Nikolaus I of Russia, his wife Tsarina Alexandra (estimate: E 10,000 - 15,000) as well as of their son, Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaijewitsch (estimate: E 8,000 - 12,000), who was married to a sister of Queen Marie of Hanover. Tsarina Alexandra was a daughter of Luise of Prussia and thus a niece of Queen Friederike. Two especially impressive artworks consist of paintings by the Belgian painter Petrus van Schendel, the so-called "King of Candlelight" including: The "Fish Market" (estimate: E 70,000 - 90,000) and an "Apple Saleslady" (estimate: E 30,000 - 50,000). Also included are paintings of horses owned by the royal family by Karl Volkers and Hermann Tunica, and military paintings by von Monten, Schelver, Munk, Julius von Blaas, Ludwig Koch and Thaddeus Ajdukiewicz.
At the time of King Ernst-August I and Queen Friederike, the relationship to Prussia was very close. Apart from being the sister of Queen Luise of Prussia, Friederike, in her first marriage, was wed to Prince Ludwig of Prussia, the younger brother of King Friedrich Wilhelm III and thus was a sister-in-law of the Prussian King. Friederike herself lived in Berlin for a long time and therefore was familiar with the local artists. Even after her marriage to Ernst-August I, the couple owned a palace in Berlin (Unter den Linden). The auction includes a number of pastel artworks of her sister Luise from this time and also some particularly beautiful works by Schadow and Krüger. During the reign of King George V and Queen Marie, the relationship to their Prussian relatives deteriorated such that other artists came to the forefront such as Otto Knille and Friedrich Kaulbach who worked as painters to the court of Hanover. Between 1865 and 1870, Knille created a fresco cycle at the Marienburg Castle for Queen Marie. The auction will also include four artworks by Otto Knille, including "The Dead Cid", which considered to be one of Knille's most significant works (estimate: E 6,000 - 8,000).
As was fashionable at the time, Queen Friederike and King Ernst-August as well as Queen Marie collected paintings of the Düsseldorf School of Art, including important genre paintings by Karl Hübner and Christian Kähler, as well as a magnificent window painting by August Siegert. A series of ten gouaches of German cities and landscapes created by Johann Heinrich Bleuler (including views of Kassel, Wilhelmshöhe Castle, Blankenburg, Goslar and Ilsenburg (Harz)) carries an estimate of E 30,000 - 40,000.
Furniture & Sculpture
Among the extensive selection of furniture to be offered is a round table with a stunning flower mosaic table top (estimate: E 60.000 - 80.000) given to the Hanoverian dynasty by Pope Pius IX. Also included is a small baroque table manufactured in the mid 18th century, with a beautiful glass pearl mosaic (Braunschweig), with an estimate of E 1,200 to 1,800. A group of four decorative fire screens with glass pearl decoration of the crest and the initials of Queen Marie is another highlight (estimate: E 1,200 - 1,800). A pair of round antique end tables by C. Guenther, the varnisher to the court of the house of Hanover, is an of the 19th century Asian lacquer furniture to be offered (estimate: E2,000 - 3,000).
A marble bust of Queen Luise of Prussia (1767-1810) by Christian Rauch (1777 - 1857), is a highlight of the large selection of portrait busts to be offered. The bust was created in 1823 for A. Friedrich (1774 - 1850), Duke of Cambridge and Vice King of Hanover (Estimate: E 30,000 - 50,000). The Duke of Cambridge was the cousin of Queen Luise and the brother-in-law of her sister Friederike, Princess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (1778-1841), whose third marriage was to King Ernst-August I of Hanover (1771-1841). Queen Charlotte (1744 - 1818), Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, wife of King George III, King of Great Britain, was the mother of the Dukes Adolf-Friedrich and Ernst-August. The bust is a copy of the original which is in the Mausoleum Schlosspark Charlottenburg.
Luise was born in Hanover as a Princess of Mecklenburg and grew up in Darmstadt (Hessen). At the age of 18, she married Friedrich Wilhelm III, with whom she had ten children, among them Friedrich Wilhelm IV and Wilhelm I who later became the first German Emperor. For the poets and artists of the German Romantic period, such as Heinrich von Kleist, Achim von Arnim, Friedrich Rückert, Johann Gottfried von Schadow, Luise became a nearly inexhaustible source of inspiration. She died in 1810 at the age of forty-three years and her death gave birth to a legend.
Clocks
The sale will include 80 clocks with estimates ranging from E 200 to 25,000. Of particular note is an ebony-veneered table clock by Daniel Quare, dated circa 1705 (estimate: E 20,000-25,000). Also included are a gold German table clock made of rosewood with a music box by George Wilhelm Bolte from the mid-18th century (estimate: E 15,000-20,000) and an impressive French empire-fireplace clock in the shape of an urn, attributed to Moinet Ainé, dated 1810 (estimate: E 20,000-25,000).
Silver
The sale will include a large selection of silver items representing the history and everyday life of the court of the Hanoverian dynasty. Among the highlights is from the age of King George I of Great Britain -- a standard silver-gilt communion service with the Prince of Wales' crest of George-August, Prince of Wales, later King George II of Great Britain and Ireland and Elector of Hanover (1683 - 1737). The service was crafted in 1717 and estimated at E 150,000 - 250,000.
A set of 144 silver dinner plates with the arms of Ernst-August, Duke of Brunswick and Lüneburg, Duke of York and Albany, Duke Bishop of Osnabrück (1674 - 1728), brother of King George I manufactured in Osnabrück around 1716 will also be offered. The individual plates are numbered from 1 to 144 and will be auctioned in lots of 12 plates each (estimate: E 40,000 - 60,000 per lot).
Also included is a pair of German silver kettle drums for the Life Guard Regiment of the King George III of Great Britain and Ireland, Elector and later King of Hanover (1738 - 1820) together with the original banners. Manufactured in Hanover in 1779, the drums are estimated to sell for E 100,000 - 150,000.
A beautiful three-coloured 18-carat gold field-marshal's baton was given by George IV (1762 -1830) to his brother, Ernst-August, Duke of Cumberland (1771-1851) (estimate: E 50,000 - 100,000). Ernst-August, Duke of Cumberland carried this baton during the coronation of King George IV on the 19th of July 1821.
The auction also includes items from the age of the Dukes of Brunswick and Lüneburg, among which is a German gold plated silver altar bread tin and an altar bread plate belonging to Dorothea Oldenburg, Princess of Denmark and Duchess of Brunswick and Lüneburg (1561-1617), circa 1610, estimated at E 12,000 - 18,000.
Arms and Armour
This section of the auction includes the extremely important arms from the armoury of the Dukes of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, The Dukes of Brunswick Luneberg in Calenberg, The Kings of Hanover and the weapons and armaments of the Hannoverian army from circa 1510 to 1918.
The focus is on 16th century armours including three quarter field armour circa 1510-1530 (probably Brunswick) marked by the era of Emperor Maximilian I which is expected to sell for E 45,000-75,000. From the era of Duke Julius (1528-1589), the most important ruler of the principality Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel comes a composite German etched half armour, Brunswick, circa 155-1565 (estimate: E 60,000-80,000). Under his aegis and as a result of the access to new mines in the Harz Mountains as well as the establishment of the corresponding infrastructure, Wolfenbüttel was to become a relevant arms manufacturing hub for the Northern German region.
Furthermore, several rare two-handed swords formerly in the possession of the Leibgarde (life guards) of Duke Julius of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (1528-1589), dating back to 1573/74 and estimated between E 3,700-8,000 will be among the items on offer. In addition, valuable firearms from the 16th to the 19th century will be sold at the auction, such as, an important pair of French flintlock pistols originating from Thuraine e le Hollandois (Adrien Reymier) à Paris, circa 1670, (estimate: E 30,000-45,000) and from the belongings of Duke Georg Wilhelm von Brunswick-Lüneburg in Calenberg (1624-1705). From the extensive range of hunting weapons which will be sold is a set of Northern German percussion lock hunting rifles which formerly belonged to King Ernst-August I of Hanover (1771-1851) and which were manufactured by E. A. Stoermer from circa 1845-50. They are estimated at E 30,000-45,000.
Other items up for sale include ammunition pouches, hunting horns, guns, crossbows, powder horns decorated with hunting motifs, utensils required for falconry purposes, model cannons (dating from 1510 to 1850) and many more.
Uniforms
The assortment of uniforms depicts the changing history of the Hanoveranian dynasty between 1775 and 1918. The auction will include sumptuously crafted Hanoveranian uniforms from 1815 to 1866, partly complete with helmet, belt and ammunition bag, as well as Austrian uniforms from 1866 to 1913, when King Georg V lived in exile in Austria. Also included are exceedingly rare Russian uniform from the first third of the 19th century and a selection of Prussian uniforms dating from 1913 to 1918. These uniforms include an English field marshal coat (around 1830), which Ernst-August, Duke of Cumberland (1771 - 1851) wore at the marriage of his brother, King William IV (1765 - 1837) (estimate: E 2,000 - 4,000), as well as an Austrian general staff officer's hussar uniform, worn by Ernst-August, Crown Prince of Hanover, third Duke of Cumberland (1845 - 1923) with an estimate of E 3,000 - 5,000 and a Prussian Zieten Hussar Colonel uniform of Ernst-August, Duke of Brunswick (1887 - 1953), marking the last important chapter of Hanoveranian military history subsequent to the reconciliation of the House of Hohenzollern with the Welfian House (estimate: E 3,000 - 5,000). The sale will also include an extremely rare and nearly complete Russian uniform (around 1838), which was presented to Ernst-August I, King of Hanover as honorary Colonel of the fourth Luben Hussar Regiment by Tsar Nikolaus I (1796 - 1855) (estimate: E 10,000 - 15,000). The equestrian tradition of the Hanoveranian house is represented by an extensive collection of horse paraphernalia with harnesses from the 18th and 19th century, horse blankets and a number of especially sumptuous parade harnesses from the 18th to 20th century. The auction offering is complemented by helmets, spyglasses, cuirasses, bicorns and tricorns with the corresponding band boxes, rare drums and timbales.
Textiles
The section of the sale dedicated to textiles documents the lifestyle of the 18th and 19th century. The wealthy court as well as everyday life is reflected in the more than 400 richly embroidered servant costumes, including glorious plumed hats and handbags. Other items to be offered include an embroidered foot warmer, tasselled curtains made of velvet and more than two thousand damask table linens embroidered with the emblem of the King of Ernst August (1771-1851), King Georg V of Hanover (1819-1878) and Wilhelm Duke of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel (1806-1884). Estimates range from E 300 to E 3,500.
The 19th century Court is further represented by a formal costume belonging to King Georg V of Hanover (1819-1878) with an estimate of E 700-1,000. Also included are many luxurious capes such as a mantle belonging to the Duke Ernst-August von Braunschweig (1887-1953), decorated with the Queen Victoria Order (estimate: E 3,000-5,000), and a beautiful mantle belonging to King Ernst-August I of Hanover, embroidered with the St. Patrick's Order (estimate: E 4,000-6,000). A waistcoat with an enormous 56 inch chest measurement belonging to King George IV of Great Britain is estimated to sell for E 800-1,200. Two nearly untouched rich embroidered wool works (estimate: E 10,000-15,000) allow insight the style of decoration during the 19th century.
Other Highlights
The auction offers something for everyone's budget and taste: table linens, ship models, evening robes, servants uniforms and curiosities: a wooden cannon that shoots flowers, an aletoscope (a magnifying device for photos), a heavy iron running wheel Michaux Velocipede (third quarter of the 19th century, estimate: E 3,000 - 5,000), napkins with embroidered crests (Estimate: E 500 - 800), a rare children's coach from the 19th century (estimate: E 7,000 - 9,000), sledge chairs, palanquins and a geological relief showing the ore resources of the Harz (from the 19th century).
The sale will include an impressive collection of ship models - a favourite of the the Crown Prince Ernst-August's (1845 - 1923). These include a scale model of the Thyra, which the citizens of the former kingdom presented to Crown Prince Ernst-August and his wife Thyra, Princess of Denmark during their marriage in 1878 (estimate: E 5,000 - 8,000).
The auction's smallest object is a rock crystal Fabergé seal in the shape of a mushroom (Height: 5 cm), which was crafted in the 19th century (estimate: E 3,000 - 5,000). Among the least expensive items to be offered are a number of carvings from the 19th century with an estimated price of E 50 - 100. A number of antique Magna Graecia ceramic figures from the 4th to 2nd century B.C. are among the auction's oldest objects (estimate: E 500 - 700).
Catalogue
Due to the unprecedented size and historical interest of this auction, the catalogue will comprise a three volume boxed-set, in which all the lots from the sale will be illustrated in colour. The printed catalogue will be accompanied by a DVD which will include the full catalogue descriptions together with the provenance and historical notes, all the catalogue introductions and illustrations and many extra details together with condition reports for all lots. The content of the DVD will also available to view on
www.sothebys.com from late August 2005. The catalogue, with DVD, costs ? 60 (excluding postage).
Volume I of the printed catalogue will be a luxurious publication focusing on the history of the Royal House of Hanover, illustrated with portraits and works of art from the sale. This volume will also highlight hundreds of the exciting and historically interesting lots in the sale. Volumes II and III, the "Illustrated Handbook and Index", are designed to be easily used reference volumes in which every lot is illustrated together with a short description in both English and German, and which will include essential information for buyers, such as estimates, dates and dimensions.
Notes to Editors
1. There will be a Press Preview at Schloss Marienburg on September 28, 2005 and accreditation will be necessary. Please contact the Press Office for further information on 020 7293 6000.
2. Entry to the public view at Schloss Marienburg will be by catalogue only, which will be available at the end of August by logging on to
www.sothebys.com or by calling 020 7293 6444. Catalogues can also be purchased at Sotheby's New Bond Street and Sotheby's New York, and at Schloss Marienburg from September 30 onwards.
3. Public View: Friday, September 30 - Monday, October 3, 2005. Open daily from 10am-5pm.
4. Images are available via email.
5. Estimates do not include buyer's premium.
( Excluding October 9th, 2005
For Immediate Release
Press Office Contacts:
Germany: Selei Serafin +49 69 74 07 80
New York: Diana Phillips/Matthew Weigman +1 212 606 7176
London: Helen Griffith/Mitzi Mina +44 20 7293 6000
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