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Slug: Doyle New York Auction On January 26

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NEW YORK CITY — Featuring almost 20 lots of Chinese and Japanese export porcelain formerly in the Royal Collection of Augustus the Strong, Doyle New York will hold an auction on Wednesday, January 26, of porcelain and glass from the collection of the famed Czech industrialist Jindrich Waldes, 1876–1941.

Augustus the Strong was Elector of Saxony and King of Poland from 1694 until his death in 1733. During his reign, the capital city of Dresden flourished as one of the great artistic, cultural and intellectual centers of Europe. A great connoisseur of the arts, Augustus was an avid collector of Chinese and Japanese porcelain, which he displayed in his lavish Japanese Palace, Japanisches Palais.

Porcelain was invented in China during the Tang dynasty, 618 to 907 AD, and for hundreds of years the formula for porcelain manufacture was a closely guarded secret in China and Japan.

In 1708, determined to discover the formula, Augustus employed the alchemist Johann Friedrich Bottger who successfully arrived upon the final ingredient of kaolin clay a year later. Augustus established the great Meissen porcelain factory in 1710, and its kilns produced exquisite wares based upon the Kakiemon porcelains and other examples in the royal collections. In the Nineteenth Century, Augustus’s collection of porcelain was moved from the Japanese Palace to the Johanneum where it served as the core of the Saxon State Collections.

In 1919 and 1920, two important auctions were held in Dresden of Chinese, Japanese and Meissen porcelain as well as other objects from the Saxon State Collections that were housed in the Johanneum and Grünes Gewolbe museums. The property in these landmark sales comprised the former royal collections of Augustus the Strong. An active bidder at the auctions, Waldes purchased an assortment of exquisite Chinese and Japanese export porcelain, each bearing the engraved Johanneum inventory mark.

Highlighting the auction are several examples of Japanese Kakiemon porcelain, including a diminutive Kakiemon melon-form teapot measuring 3½ inches tall ($6/8,000); a Kakiemon hexagonal teapot measuring 5 inches tall ($4/6,000); and a Kakiemon dish of the Edo period ($6/8,000).

Included in the selection of Chinese porcelain formerly from the royal collections are examples of Chinese Imari and famille verte porcelain, featuring numerous chargers, dishes, plates and teacups. Among the other precious objects from the Waldes collection are a selection of early Eighteenth Century pieces. including Zwischengoldglass, Vienna porcelain and Biedermeier glassware.

Nineteenth Century paintings from the Waldes Collection, including works by Wenceslas Brozik and Josef Navratil, will be offered in May 24 auction by Doyle New York.

Doyle is at 175 East 87 Street. For information, contact Andrea Blunck Frost in the furniture and decorations department at 212-427-4141, ext 220, or email andrea@DoyleNewYork.com. To order a catalog, contact the subscriptions department at 212-427-2730 or email subscriptions@DoyleNewYork.com.