The monumental 2ft 2in (67cm) high vase pictured above, by the Berlin porcelain manufacturer Königliche Porzellan-Manufaktur, or KPM for short, dates from c.1900.
Standing on a gilded circular footed stand, it is painted with a spray of roses against a chocolate ground in the manner of Meissen’s master flower painter, Prof Julius Eduard Braunsdorf. It is thought that this vase was probably painted by one of his students, who trained under him at Meissen before moving to work at KPM.
The vase is priced at £8500 and is available at Serhat Ahmet’s gallery in Grays Antiques Centre in London’s Mayfair.
Special Auction Services’ annual Trains Galore sale in Newbury takes place this year on December 14.
A leading lot is a c.1929 Märklin clockwork, gauge one TK1021 model of the Southern Railway Stephenson 4-6-4 tank locomotive painted in green.
The Stephenson, named in honour of the English civil engineer George Stephenson (1781-1848), was built at Brighton Works in 1921 to pull Southern Railway passenger trains.
The model carries an estimate of £6000-8000.
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Although not a pair, these mandolins both originate from Naples.
The rarer of the two was made in 1764 by Giovanni Vinaccia, who is known for his richly decorated mandolins and lutes. This example has 23 fluted maple ribs to the back and is inset with tortoiseshell, mother-of-pearl, ivory and ebony.
The other mandolin, catalogued as ‘Vinaccia school’, dates to the third quarter of the 18th century. Unlabelled, it features shaped mother-of-pearl segments set in a dark hardwood, with an ebony fingerboard inlaid with mother-of-pearl plaques. Contained in a bespoke case, the mandolins are estimated at £6000-9000 in Gardiner Houlgate’s musical instruments sale in Corsham, Wilshire, on December 15.
