Two impressive golden bowls presented by the king of Siam to an enterprising Danish admiral, businessman and politician star in Bruun Rasmussen’s May 28 auction in Copenhagen.
Andreas du Plessis de Richelieu (1852-1932) became one of King Chulalongkorn’s (King Rama V of Siam) closest advisers and had a great influence on the development of modern Thailand.
The splendid golden bowls were given by the monarch to Richelieu in 1893 and 1902. One, an 8in (20.5cm) diameter golden lotus bowl, is estimated at Dkr150,000-200,000. The other 9½in (24cm) diameter bowl is guided at Dkr400,000-500,000.
