The first 168 lots (from a total of 666 in the sale) are all from Billie’s collection – with the auction taking place on Sunday August 22 at their Armadale rooms.
A couple of Billie’s collection pieces feature among the more interesting auction items including a set of four 1869 Victorian sterling silver candlesticks by London silversmith Frederick Brasted (Lot 112 ) and a grand circa 1790 George III mahogany library breakfront bookcase (Lot 11 ).
However, the crowning auction piece is an early 19th century Chinese Qing dynasty embroidered brown silk-ground semi-formal ‘dragon’ court robe (Lot 324 ) with a $30,000-$50,000 catalogue estimate. Called Jifu, the robe has been worked in couched gold wrapped thread with satin stitch and Peking knot with nine rampant five-clawed dragons in pursuit of flaming pearls. From a private collection, it was last sold in July 2014 by Sotheby’s Australia.
Of great interest to auction goers will be a pair of russet marble top wrought iron consoles from California’s Gregorius Pineo furniture makers (Lot 221 ) and an 18th century gilt bronze figure of deity Avalokitesvara from the Qing dynasty (Lot 302 ).
The 11-headed Avalokitesvarta is an esoteric form of the Bodhisattva believed to have overcome 11 hardships in order to obtain Buddhahood.
A probable Tang dynasty marble lion figure (Lot 312 ) is another attraction along with a late 19th century/20th century Italian pair of painted and gilded commodes – each featuring a circular panel showing the judgement of Paris (Lot 243 ).
A large cinnabar lacquer style rectangular panel featuring relief figures at a lakeside scene (lot 327) is bound to fascinate auction goers – while a Qing dynasty celadon jade water pot carved in the form of a hollow pine trunk (Lot 358 ) should prove an interesting talking point.
A Yuan/Ming dynasty Longquan celadon dish (Lot 362 ) is another item sure to intrigue collectors.
