Featuring in our July Fine Art auction is the Mirošević-Sorgo Collection. Removed from two London flats in Kensington and Earls Court, the 170 lot collection comprises fine furniture, Old Master paintings and icons, silver, Classical antiquities and curios, all by family descent. The Mirošević-Sorgo family were Dubrovnik nobility who emigrated to the U.K. in the 1940s. They counted amongst their members Count Niko Mirošević-Sorgo (1885-1966), Yugoslavian ambassador to the Vatican, who was gifted a pair of 18th century giltwood chairs by Pope Pius XII, family tradition maintains the chairs were originally in the Vatican. Offered as lot 1534 in this sale; they are estimated at £1000-1500. Other furniture in the collection is known to have been acquired directly from General Marmont, Napoleon's general who was given the title of duc de Raguse when Napoleon appointed him as governor of the Illyrian provinces. Further highlights in this collection include lot 1625, a small carved onyx or chalcedony figure of Emperor Trajan, probably 4th century A.D. and estimated at £3000-5000. Lot 1603, a 16th century Creto-Venetian icon, estimated at £2500-4000 and lot 1584 a Pompeian style late 18th century Italian painted plaster table plateau, estimated at £5000-10000. Some items were sold from the collection some decades back, including a Fra Angelico Madonna, now in the Getty Museum, which demonstrates the potential significance of this wonderful collection, much of which has been retained within the family for centuries.
Lot 1500 - 18th century walnut and inlaid games table, possibly Maltese, with removable top
Lot 1501 - Pair of 18th century painted open armchairs, in the Louis XVI style
Lot 1507 - Early 20th century Zsolnay iridescent figure of Anonymous, and another. girl with shell
Lot 1508 - 19th century burr wood and parquetry domed jewellery or scent casket
Lot 1509 - Chinese sang de boeuf standing figure, a similar parrot figure and a similar vase
Lot 1510 - Two small Berlin porcelain figures other white glazed and similar porcelain figures
Lot 1512 - 18th century Italian marquetry desk, significantly damaged
Lot 1515 - An ornamental lamp in the form of stork, with gilt metal mounts
Lot 1518 - *Ken Howard (1932-2022) oil on canvas, Venetian canal scene, signed, 51 x 62cm, framed
Lot 1519 - Late 19th century Italian marquetry cylinder pot cupboard
Lot 1523 - Pierre Jules Mene (1810-1877), miniature bronze of a cat and its prey
Lot 1524 - After Barye bronze group of two hunting dogs, raised on rouge marble plinth
Lot 1525 - Emille Guillemin (1841-1907) bronze figure of a cavalier
Lot 1526 - 19th century Japanese bronze censor and cover in the form of a buffalo and rider
Lot 1528 - Manner of Mene, bronze figure of a stag, apparently unsigned
Lot 1535 - 18th century Continental walnut and inlaid side table, with single drawer
Lot 1536 - Early 20th century English School, oil on board, Surrealist portrait with parrot
Lot 1537 - Two 19th century continental watercolour studies of children
Lot 1538 - Two 19th century miniatures on ivory and a reverse painting on glass
Lot 1539 - Set of six late 18th / early 19th century Dutch marquetry side chairs
Lot 1542 - Six various Dutch Delft vases and covers, 18th century and later
Lot 1543 - Manner of John Baptise Mannoyer (1636-1699), pair of late 17th / early 18th century oils
Lot 1544 - Extensive set of 18th century Chinese famille rose dishes. (29)
Lot 1546 - Herend teaset in the Queen Victoria pattern, for six settings