The table service that changed history — and other remarkable discoveries

Specialists in our Noble & Private Collections team discuss recent finds that showcase Christie’s expertise and teamwork, and the breadth of our international network

Blair Castle, Blair Atholl, Scotland. Photo: Paul Barker and Stephen Farthing/Atholl Estates

1. The right move to check

During a visit to the ancient ancestral home of Blair Castle in Scotland, Christie’s specialist Paul Van den Biesen made a last-minute discovery. About to leave for London after two days spent hunting through the castle’s attics and backrooms for potential consignments, he came across an interesting chess set locked inside a glass-fronted display cabinet. The chessboard reminded him at once of a visit to the Bernsteinkabinett (Amber Cabinet) at the Historisches Grünes Gewölbe (Historic Green Vault) in Dresden, Germany.

‘I got very excited when I caught a glimpse of an extremely ornate chessboard,’ Paul recalls. ‘Unfortunately the cabinet was locked and there was no time to get a better look. I listed the chessboard on my valuation document anyway, and later on the family agreed to consign it together with a curated selection of paintings, books, arms and armour, which would be sold to benefit the Blair Charitable Trust.’ 

 After the consignment arrived at Christie’s King Street, further research showed that the chessboard came from Köningsberg in North Germany, and had been crafted in amber around 1700. ‘Amber objects were particularly prized by 17th-century aristocrats because of the rarity of the material and its natural properties,’ the specialist explains. 

An amber-mounted chessboard, north-east German, Könisberg, c. 1700. Sold at Christie's Paris on 16 June 2015

‘Finely-worked amber caskets, games boards, cups and other objets d’arts were exchanged as diplomatic gifts. They could be found in the Kunstkammern (cabinets of curiosities) of the wealthiest and most learned rulers and merchants in Europe, including those belonging to the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II, Frederick II of Denmark and August II the Strong — notable collections all now on public display.’

For Van den Biesen, who thrives on rare finds, this was an extraordinary moment in his ongoing search for treasures to offer in Christie’s Noble & Private Collections sales in London.

2. The table service that changed history

Throughout its 250-year history, Christie’s has held country house and private collection sales, which have consistently achieved some of the strongest results for decorative arts at auction. In 2001, Christie’s Amsterdam started holding auctions with a specific focus on consignments from the collections of aristocratic European families. In 2013, these highly successful sales relocated to London.  

The Noble & Private Collections sale team searches for works of art with outstanding provenance, focusing on distinctive and eclectic pieces from European private collections. Paul Van den Biesen is particularly excited by pieces with strong provenance: ‘Ownership history, such as a silver teaspoon being used by a member of a royal family, gives a story to an artwork which appeals to collectors and in turn has a positive effect on bidding.’

The Baron Per Adolf Tamm ormolu and cut-glass table service, attributed to Pierre-Philippe Thomire (1751-1843), on view at the Christie's King Street Galleries for Noble & Private Collections, 2 October 2013

‘In 2013, I received a call from a lady based in Stockholm,’ he recalls. ‘She explained that her family was in possession of a royal table service and that she would be interested in a valuation and possibly selling it at Christie’s.’

After receiving images of part of the service by email, the specialist immediately booked a flight to Stockholm to visit the family. ‘My colleague Amjad Rauf (Senior Director and International Specialist) and I arrived at a retirement home just outside of Stockholm and were received by the most elegant lady and her daughters,’ he says. ‘Before seeing the service we joined the family for tea and cake.’

While discussing the provenance of the service over tea, Van den Biesen and Rauf were shown an original 12-course dinner menu and handwritten seating plan, which included Prince Liewen, Lord Youriwitsch, Chamberlin de Tolstoy and Russian Minister Count Potocki. The lady explained that she was a direct descendant of Baron Per Adolf Tamm (1774-1856).

Specialist Paul van den Biesen inspecting the Baron Tamm ormolu table service

At the beginning of the 19th century, Baron Tamm was an important figure in the Swedish court of Crown Prince Oscar. On 20 June 1838, he hosted an important political gala dinner for the Russian Tsarevich Alexander (later Tsar Nicholas II of Russia) and Prince Oscar (later King Oscar I of Sweden) at his estate, Österby Bruk, the menu for which was now in Paul’s hands.

‘After tea, we went to the dining room to see the service,’ he says. ‘I looked over at Amjad as he watched the ormolu and cut-glass pieces being brought, one by one, from the sideboard, and saw a smile appear on his face. We immediately recognised the work of one of the finest bronziers of the period, Pierre-Philippe Thomire. Later we deduced that Baron Tamm must have contacted Thomire in Paris to commission the ormolu-bronze and cut-glass table service in the style of the latest fashion for his royal dinner.’

The family archives do not reveal whether or not the dinner was a success, but we know that King Oscar succeeded in reversing his father’s obsequious policy towards Imperial Russia, and that Sweden remained neutral during the Crimean War.

‘A find like this service and the provenance behind it is exactly what appeals to me when I am looking for Noble sale lots,’ Paul explains. ‘The idea that this ormolu and cut-glass table service might have contributed, in even the smallest way, to an improvement in the relationship between Russia and Sweden in the first half of the 19th century lends a great story to an already wonderful objet d’art.’

Click here to read the full article at Christies.com.