Auction Preview: Philips Auctions, Melbourne, Fine & Decorative Arts, 16 September 2024.

By Richard Brewster, on 09-Sep-2024

Melbourne interior decorator and landscaper the late Daryl Mills, who died late last year, was a popular figure among collectors.

Those who visited his business Demille Decorative Arts in High Street, Kew became used to seeing him in trademark white overalls tending to his largely art deco and 1950s and 1960s collection of fittings and furniture, and he was a great supporter of Melbourne’s auction houses.

Daryl’s artistic life began at 18 with landscaping that also incorporated an art gallery in Gardenvale.

A stint in England in the 1960s thrust him into the world of photography, furniture and fashion and, on his return to Melbourne, he worked with famous designer Helmut Newton. The first in the city to sell men’s vintage clothing – a business which also incorporated art deco, decorative arts, luggage and accessories – Daryl later worked in TV and film art direction and design garden planning and maintenance.  Now the second part of his considerable collection – the first was sold in August, comprising 143 lots, is being sold by Philips Auctions at 47 Glenferrie Road, Malvern in an online auction that closes from 9.30am Monday September 16.

All items are unreserved and more than affordable for first-time buyers.

<p>Melbourne interior decorator and landscaper the late Daryl Mills, who died late last year, was a popular figure among collectors. &nbsp;Those who visited his business Demille Decorative Arts in High Street, Kew became used to seeing him in trademark white overalls tending to his largely art deco and 1950s and 1960s collection of fittings and furniture, and he was a great supporter of Melbourne&rsquo;s auction houses. Now the second part of his considerable collection comprising 143 lots, is being sold by Philips Auctions in an online auction that closes from 9.30am Monday September 16. &nbsp;One of collection highlights is an Austrian art deco bronze dancer and onyx lamp (lot 70) with a catalogue estimate of $1,500-$2,000.</p>

Melbourne interior decorator and landscaper the late Daryl Mills, who died late last year, was a popular figure among collectors.  Those who visited his business Demille Decorative Arts in High Street, Kew became used to seeing him in trademark white overalls tending to his largely art deco and 1950s and 1960s collection of fittings and furniture, and he was a great supporter of Melbourne’s auction houses. Now the second part of his considerable collection comprising 143 lots, is being sold by Philips Auctions in an online auction that closes from 9.30am Monday September 16.  One of collection highlights is an Austrian art deco bronze dancer and onyx lamp (Lot 70 ) with a catalogue estimate of $1,500-$2,000.

One of collection highlights is an Austrian art deco bronze dancer and onyx lamp (Lot 70 ) with a catalogue estimate of $1500-$2000.
Another is a four-panel screen (Lot 419 ) in the manner of Swiss and French painter, sculptor, metal craftsman and interior designer Jean Dunand (1877-1942).

Born in Lancy, Switzerland, Jules-John Dunand later adopted the first name Jean and in 1922 became a naturalised French citizen.

He won several prizes at the Geneva School of Arts before moving to Paris and working as a sculptor and copper craftsman.

A member of the National Society of Fine Arts, Dunand worked with a wide range of materials to create vases, plates, boxes and jewellery.

In 1912, he began working with Japanese lacquer painter Seizo Sugawara, who had emigrated to France, making large decorative panels and screens.

A Chinese blue and white ‘Zhong Kui’ Rolwagen vase (Lot 115 ) is an important item in the Mills collection.

A vanquisher of demons, Zhong Kui played an important role as a mythological guardian, popular in Chinese art from the Tang dynasty (618-907). According to legend, he is a ghost who suicided after the emperor unjustly dishonoured him.

Two large pairs of porcelain and cast metal cranes (lots 50 and 51) are another attraction, along with a set of four Chinese Gongshi scholar’s rocks on stands (Lot 85 ).

A green crackle-glazed Meiping vase (Lot 86 ) and a mixed group of oriental and other ornaments (Lot 87 ) are worth closer examination, while a colourful 18th century Chinese clobbered miniature teapot (Lot 111 ) would be perfect for serving guests.

Meiping was an important development in ceramics during the Chinese Yuan, Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties, the term being used to describe a tall vase with a wide shoulder and mouth. Unusual is the Japanese bronze Ikebana vase (Lot 121 ) along with the Japanese kiseruzutsu turtle and shell tabako-ire (Lot 125 ). Ikebana is a traditional Japanese type of flower arrangement and the vase requires a scarce variety of blooms. Derived from the Cambodian word khsier, kiseru pipes were used mainly in the Meiji period (1868-1912) when cigarettes were introduced, while tabako-ire means a tobacco pouch.

 

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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.