With Christmas just around the corner, the Philips December auction presents a great opportunity for quality gift shopping from a wide range of Decorative Arts and Jewellery. The final auction for 2018 is set for the festive season and includes a fantastic offering of exotic Anglo-Indian pieces, a range of delightful French furniture, woollen and silk rugs, a large number of fine artworks, and an impressive collection of high quality silverware.

From the estate of an Australian dentist who practiced in India during the early 1900’s comes a fascinating collection of interesting and unusual items. Several have been carved from rosewood including a striking floor elephant, an occasional table, a rectangular tray, a marquise shaped wall hanging, and a delightful elephant dinner gong. Of particular note, a vintage dentist’s cabinet comes equipped with many original tools and instruments for teeth cleaning, mould taking, and extractions.

The penultimate Philips auction for 2018 was a great success with terrific results in all categories, reflected in particularly good sales of silver, furniture and jewellery, plus a great deal of interest in a wide range of silver vinaigrettes and perfume bottles. Director, Tony Philips said “Nice quality items were available at realistic prices. Discerning buyers seek quality over quantity, and we are able to offer the cream of the crop, providing rewarding outcomes for buyers and sellers alike.”

Unusual items enjoyed popularity, including an extraordinary shoulder mounted taxidermic New Zealand red deer that shot beyond estimate, and a wonderful antique table music box with an inlaid walnut case that generated a lot of enthusiasm from buyers, and also hit a great note by selling well above expectations.

With festivity in the air and the spring racing carnival just around the corner, now is a great time to celebrate with some fine decorative arts, fantastic silver tableware for entertaining, or some amazing jewellery that adds sparkle and excitement to this time of year. Rising to the occasion, the Philips October auction is jam packed with an amazing variety of high quality offerings ranging from superb furniture, fine Oriental porcelain, stunning plates and beautiful dining settings.

Leading the pack is a truly wonderful rock crystal letter opener from Fabergé. This stunning creation presents with a distinctive dagger shape, and is wonderfully embellished with a horse head that has been fashioned from .875 silver, with the addition of gold horseshoe decals on either side. Complete with the mark of K. Fabergé in Cyrillic and a double-headed eagle imperial warrant, this is a most exceptional example of the Fabergé oeuvre, and would make a wonderful and appropriate presentation piece at this time of year.

The Philips September auctions proved to be real winners with 187 bidders for the Decorative Arts auction, and 116 bidders at the Modern and Antique Jewellery auction held the following night. Both auctions enjoyed packed rooms, with buyers moving in and out to suit their particular interests as the sales progressed. Great results were seen in the areas of English porcelain, carriage clocks, furniture and copper ware, including notable interest in copper saucepans.

Highlighting the success of the Decorative Arts auction was the fantastic result achieved for a premium collection of perfume bottles. Showcasing a wide and fascinating range of this great decorative arts category, the Baker-Finch & Grech Collection was a major success with only three items remaining from the entire offering of over 40 lots. Outstanding prices were achieved well above estimate, with a rare Chelsea Porcelain 'toy' perfume bottle, 'Cupid On The Donkey' topping the range at $2,928, an inlaid enamel sterling silver perfume bottle reaching a rewarding $890, and a remarkable result for a group of six porcelain bottles selling for 6 times greater than high estimate.

Celebrating the arrival of spring, Philips launches into September with a fantastic auction featuring a glorious offering of fine perfume bottles from a single well respected collection, a great range of French glassware, copperwares, and antique porcelain. Also of interest is a delightful showing of paintings, rugs, and many items of quality French furniture.

Comprising over 40 lots of diverse and wonderful examples of a very special decorative arts genre, the Baker-Finch & Grech Collection of Perfume Bottles is an amazing presentation that represents the best available in Australia. Director Tony Philips says “These are really fine pieces from well-known collectors and represent the crown jewels of the September auction”. Of particular note is a very early and rare Chelsea piece depicting Cupid on the Donkey, of which it is believed there are only four examples available in the world.