European Furniture, Decorative Objects & Early Sculpture

Charles Cator

Deputy Chairman, Christie's International
Chairman, Furniture & Decorative Arts Department

Charles Cator, Chairman of the International Furniture and Decorative Arts Department, has contributed to the tremendous success of sales during his long career at Christie’s. Under his leadership, Christie’s set the current world auction record for any piece of furniture - £19 million for the Badminton Cabinet in 2004, which broke the record of £8.5 million which had been previously set in 1990.

Charles was also closely involved with the sales of major single-owner collections during the 1990s, including The Riahi Collection, The Akram Ojjeh Collection, and Magnificent Works of Art from Houghton and The Collection of Hubert de Givenchy. More recently, he has worked closely on prestigious single-owner collections including Works of Art from Longleat (2002), 50 Years of Collecting (2003), Boulle to Jansen (2003), The Champalimaud Collection (2005), Wildenstein (2005) and The Simon Sainsbury Collection (2008).

A keen historian, Charles was responsible for the discovery of the Royal provenance (Queen Marie-Antoinette) of a pair of Louis XVI ormolu-mounted Chinese porcelain ewers, which subsequently sold for over £1 million on behalf of the Luton Hoo Foundation (1994).

Stefan Doebner

Department Head - Furniture and Works of Art
Amsterdam

Stefan Doebner began his career at Christie's in 2003, and is credited with numerous successes such as the 2008 sale of a pair of Blaeu Globes for €793,850, the highest price ever realized for a work of art at a Dutch auction.

Prior to Christie’s, Stefan received a cabinet maker apprenticeship in Augsburg and gained in-debt knowledge in the field of restoration and conservation at Cologne College, where he also worked for the Museum für Angewandte Kunst. Consecutively, he held practice as an independent restorer for 2 years, published a standard work about Biedermeier furniture and was employed as a Specialist at a Stuttgart auction house. Stefan is fluent in German, English and Dutch.

Robert Copley

Deputy Chairman, Christie's UK
International Head of Furniture & Decorative Arts Department

Robert Copley was appointed International Director of the Furniture and Decorative Arts Department in January 2007, continuing the extraordinary sales and record prices which have greatly contributed to Christie’s dominance in this category.

Highlights during Robert’s long-standing career include the sale of the Anglesey Desk in 1993 for £1.76 million; at the time a world record for any piece of English furniture. Later however, the Exceptional Furniture sale (London, June 2008) saw this record broken four times over with pieces such as the Kenure Cabinet, attributed to Thomas Chippendale, realising £2.76 million, a pair of Dundas chairs reaching £2.28 million and the Dundas sofa achieving £2.17 million, both designed by Robert Adam and made by Thomas Chippendale.

Robert was also instrumental in cataloguing the contents of Dumfries House in Scotland, arguably the most important representative collection of works from Thomas Chippendale’s Director period. Dumfries House and its contents were acquired for the British Nation by the Art Fund in June 2007.

Amjad Rauf

International Specialist, European Furniture
London, King Street

Amjad Rauf is undoubtedly the most international member of Christie's Furniture department, with fluency in English, French, German and Dutch. He joined the department in in London 1995, was subsequently based in Amsterdam from 1997-1999, and re-joined the London team in 2000. Since 2003 Amjad Rauf has been responsible for the department's sales of European Furniture and Tapestries, traveling throughout the Continent. He has been involved in various landmark sales, such as the collection of the Dukes of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Oldenburg (£1,609,767), the late Dr Anton Dreesmann (£22.4m), and was responsible for the sale of the Badminton cabinet in 2004 (£19 million), the most expensive piece of Furniture ever sold at auction.

Marcus Rädecke

Specialist and Head of Sale, European Furniture
London, King Street

Marcus Rädecke joined Christie’s furniture department in 2000 and now heads the King Street sales of ‘Important European Furniture’. He has travelled extensively in Europe and the UK finding property for auction in London and has been a key figure in several collection sales in London and across Europe, including the ‘Deutsche Schloss Auktion’ at Schloss Anholdt in Germany, November 2001 (£1,798,872), the ‘Axel Vervoordt’ house sale in Antwerp, Belgium, May 2004 (£5,144,273), as well as the auctions of the ‘Champalimaud Collection’, July 2005 (£38,968,460), and the ‘Wildenstein Collection’, November 2005 (£21,907,760) in London.

Following training as a reserve officer in the Germany Navy, Marcus read Classical Architecture as well as undertaking an apprenticeship as a cabinet-maker. A diploma in restoration from West Dean College, Sussex, and subsequent position in the conservation studios of Spink and Son brought Marcus to London where he also gained an M.Phil in History of Art at Christie's Education. Drawing on his practical experience as well as his academic knowledge Marcus gives lectures and talks and has contributed to various publications in the field.

Rufus Bird

Specialist and Head of Sale, English Furniture
London, King Street

Rufus Bird has catalogued numerous collections of English furniture alongside cataloguing English furniture for King Street sales since 1999. In 2008 he masterminded the sale Thomas Hope & the Neo-Classical Vision, coinciding with the Victoria & Albert Museum's exhibition. Rufus was also instrumental in the ground-breaking sale of 12: Exceptional Furniture, which included ‘The Kenure Cabinet’, which sold for £2.73m establishing a new world record for any piece of English furniture sold at auction. The same sale included three other pieces of English furniture which broke the previous record of £1.76m, set at Christie's in 1993. In 2007, he catalogued the contents of Dumfries House and was a key member of the team that compiled and researched the accompanying two-volume sale catalogue. The house and contents were sold for £45 million.

Throughout his Christie's career, Rufus has been a key figure in many successful auctions including the John Reid Collection (£2.6 million; December 1998); Castillo de Bendinat and Ca'n Puig in Mallorca (£5.9 million; May 1999); the Ven House sale in Somerset (£4.7 million; June 1999); The Manor House at Clifton Hampden, the home of Christopher Gibbs, Esq. (£3.2 million; September 2000); the Axel Vervoordt house sale in Antwerp, Belgium (£5.9 million; May 2004).

Rufus Bird has an M.A. in the History of Art from Cambridge University.

Donald Johnston

International Department Head, Sculpture
London, King Street

During a career at Christie's that began in 1990, Donald Johnston’s knowledge of early European sculpture (Mediaeval, Renaissance, Baroque and Neo-classical) has helped shape numerous European sales which feature sculpture. His most recent successes include the sale of The Beit Collection of Early Italian Bronzes in December 2006, and a previously unrecognised Italian bronze relief of the late 15th century depicting Mars, Venus, Cupid and Vulcan which sold in December 2003 for £6,950,000 - a world record for any piece of early European sculpture at auction. He was also responsible for the discovery and sale of a bronze St. Sebastian by Alessandro Vittoria which sold for £936,500 in July 1998.

Other spectacular sales to which Mr. Johnston contributed were Ancienne Collection Charles Gillot (March 2008), Ancienne Collection du Baron Hottinguer (December 2003), Works of Art from the Wernher Collection (July 2000), The Collection of the Barons Nathaniel and Albert von Rothschild (July 1999), Wentworth (July 1998), and Works of Art from the Bute Collection (July 1996).

A graduate of Trinity College, Toronto, Mr Johnston also holds an M.A. in English Renaissance History from the University of Toronto, and continued his studies at Christie's Education in London with a Diploma from the Royal Society of Arts.

Andreas Pampoulides

Specialist, Sculpture
London, King Street

Andreas Pampoulides has been a specialist in the European Sculpture department since July 2000. In his role at Christie's, Andreas travels extensively throughout Europe and America advising clients on selling, as well as buying, while also generating business for sales in New York, Paris, Amsterdam and London, where he is based. Since 2000 he has played an important part in the development of the department and was instrumental in the sale of the late 15th century Mantuan roundel in London, December 2003, which established a world record price for any early European sculpture at auction (£6,950,000). Andreas’s further successes include the collection sale of the Baron Hottinguer in December 2003 (€9,543,364) where he discovered the bronze of Apollo flaying Marsyas by Giovanni-Battista Foggini that achieved €844,250. More recently Andreas was involved in the spectacular sale of European sculpture in July 2005 that for the first time in auction history saw three bronzes achieve prices in excess of £1,000,000.

Andreas completed the M.Phil in early European Art History at Christie's Education and also graduated with an Honours degree in Classics from the University of Kent, Canterbury. Born to Greek parents and having lived in Holland and Italy as a child, Andreas speaks English, Greek, Italian and French.

Isabelle Degut

Specialist, Sculpture
Paris

Isabelle Degut joined Christie’s in March 2008 as a specialist in Early European Sculpture and Works of Art in London. Isabelle started her career in London in 2004 in another leading auction house in the Sculpture and Works of Art department where she was responsible for business-getting and for developing their equivalent sales. Isabelle has since broadened and maintained strong relationships with the global network of European scholars and in particular French art historians. Isabelle will be actively business-getting for the Paris office and focusing on developing Sculpture sales there. She will remain an integral member of the international sculpture department, assisting with sales in London.

Isabelle was educated in France and England, studied Art Business and Marketing (Lyon, 2000) and holds a B.A. in Art History (Goldsmith’s College, London, 2004). Isabelle speaks fluent French and English and is currently learning Italian.

William Strafford

Department Head
New York

In early 2003, Mr. Stafford rejoined the New York team he left behind in 1999 to lead the European Furniture & Decorative Arts Department at Christie’s London. The landmark sales he worked on included Works of Art from the Wernher Collection (2000); Works of Art from the Collection of the Late Baroness Batsheva de Rothschild (2000); and Important European Furniture from the Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection (2000) Mr. Strafford has a degree in English and History of Art, and over 17 years of experience in the auction business.

Melissa Gagen

International Specialist
New York

Melissa Gagen joined Christie’s in 1990 and has been responsible for all sales of English furniture at Christie’s New York. During her tenure she has overseen many record-breaking sales such as the sale of the George III ormolu-mounted marquetry commode by Pierre Langlois ($2,532,500, 1998). In 1993 Ms. Gagen participated in the Attingham Country House Program and in 1998 joined The Royal Collection Studies Program. She also contributes regularly to Christie’s publications. Ms. Gagen brought to Christie's, five years of expericnce as a specialist in European Furniture Department. Ms. Gagen earned a B.A. degree in Economics at the University of Virginia.

William Russell

Specialist
New York

Will Russell joined Christie's in 2000, just in time for the spectacular sale of French decorative arts from the Riahi Collection that realized $40 million, the highest total for a single-owner sale of French furniture at auction. Two years later, he organized the Malmaison Sale of Roger Prigent's eclectic and chic collection of decorative arts from the 18th through 20th centuries. Mr. Russell received his M.A. degree from New York University's Institute of Fine Arts, followed by fellowships at the J. Paul Getty Museum and the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. From 1996-2000, he was the curator of the most important private collection in the Czech Republic, the Lobkowicz Collections at Nelahozeves Castle in Prague.

Adrien Meyer

Department Head
Paris

Adrien Meyer is responsible for all furniture sales at Christie's Paris and most recently led the successful auction of the Property from a Private European Collection for €3.4 million or $4.6 million (December 2004). Following his graduation from the Ecole du Louvre, with a specialty in Contemporary Art, Mr. Meyer gained experience as an 18th Century Furniture specialist at a New York auction house before joining Christie's France in June 2004. He was appointed head of the department in January 2005. Mr. Meyer who over the years in the auction business has built a strong international network of clients is fluent in English, Spanish and German.

Simon de Monicault

Specialist
Paris

Simon de Monicault joined the Christie's furniture department in 2004 just in time for the sale at King Street of the Badminton Cabinet which remains the most expensive piece of Furniture ever sold at auction (£19 million).

More recently, he has been involved in the sales of the Champalimaud Collection in July 2005 (£39 million) and of the Wildenstein Collection in December 2005 (£22 million).

After studying law and history of art in Paris, Simon worked there for five years with an independent Art advisor, building a strong network of private collectors.

Christiaan van Rechteren Limpurg

Head of Furniture Specialist - Furniture, Works of Art, Early Sculpture, Carpets and Tapestries
Amsterdam

Christiaan van Rechteren Limpurg began his career at Christie’s as a trainee in the Chinese Department. He was appointed junior specialist at the Furniture Department in 1999. Now as co-head of the department he specialises in furniture, carpets and sculptures from 1400-1800. His accomplishments include the sale of a carpet which fetched €201,075 at Christie’s King Street and in 2006 he achieved €314,400 with a lyre secretaire, the highest price ever for a piece of furniture at a Dutch auction.

Christiaan studied in Rotterdam, Leiden and Amsterdam and speaks Dutch, English, German and French.

Nicole Verkade-Schraven

Specialist - Furniture, Works of Art, and 19th Century Sculpture
Amsterdam

Nicole Verkade-Schraven joined Christie’s in 1992 as a specialist at the Furniture Department and soon became an auctioneer. Nicole has been involved in many successful sales including The Collection of the Late Mrs Doodeheefver-Toonen (100% sold for €1,062,794.) Nicole was also instrumental in the sale of The Collection of Princely Family zu Hohenlohe-Schillingsfuerst for €1,080,000.

Nicole studied History at the University of Amsterdam and speaks Dutch, English and German.

Koen Samson

Furniture Head
Specialist - Furniture, Works of Art, Clocks and Globes
Amsterdam

Koen Samson joined Christie’s Amsterdam Furniture Department in March 2005. Recently promoted to specialist, Koen focuses on clocks and scientific instruments. Under his aegis, in December 2007, The P.C. Spaans Collection of Important European Clocks sold 100% for a total of €2 million. Prior to Christie’s Koen worked as an auctioneer and a specialist of Applied Arts for auction houses in Groningen and Hilversum. He is also a certified appraiser of art and antiques.

Koen studied History at the Rijksuniversiteit Groningen. He is fluent in Dutch, English and German.

Jessica S. Fox

Specialist and Head of Sale, European Furniture
New York

Jessica Fox has been a Specialist in the European Furniture Department for over eleven years and is currently Head of Sale for the European Furniture sales. Her areas of expertise are French and Continental furniture. Ms. Fox has been involved in numerous single-owner sales, and oversaw the highly successful Segoura sale in October 2007 which totaled over $16 million, 85% above the pre-sale estimate.

Before joining Christie’s, Jessica worked at the J. Paul Getty Museum, in Malibu, California in the department of Decorative Arts. Prior to that, she worked as an intern in the Decorative Arts departments of the Cooper Hewitt Museum, New York, and the Chicago Art Institute.

Jessica earned a B.A. in Art History at Northwestern University and an M.A. in the History of European Decorative Arts from the Cooper Hewitt/Parsons Master’s Program, New York City. She is also a graduate of the Christie’s Fine Arts Course in London, and participated in the prestigious Royal Collection Studies Course in London.

Anne Igelbrink

Specialist
New York

An auction house veteran, Anne Igelbrink has been a Decorative Arts specialist since 1994. She joined Christie's in 2000 as the Head of European Furniture at Christie's East and then spent six years as the primary appraiser for Decorative Arts in the Trusts, Estates and Appraisals department. Since re-joining the Furniture department in 2006, she has worked on both the English and European Furniture sales.

Anne has been a guest lecturer at New York University’s Appraisal Studies program, a speaker at the National Conference of the American Association of Appraisers, and regularly appears on television as an appraiser on the Antiques Roadshow. She graduated with honors from Wellesley College and received a diploma from the Royal Academy of Art in association with the Christie's Fine and Decorative Arts course.

Simon de Monicault

Senior Specialist
Paris

Simon de Monicault began his career in Christie’s European Furniture department in London in 2004. Later moving to the Paris department, Simon contributed to the successful sales of the Maître et Madame Jean Michard-Pellissier collection; the Monsieur René Smadja collection; as well as an ensemble of five masterpieces from the Qizilbash collection. Based in Paris, Simon continues to participate in the development of London sales, including the successful sale of the Marquis and Marquise de Ravenal collection from November 2007, which doubled its initial estimate achieving €6.8 million. Prior to Christie’s, Simon studied law and art history, beginning his career in Paris with the firm Lepic & Nazare-Aga.

Stefan Kist

Director of European Decorative Arts
International Specialist - Tapestries New York

Stefan Kist is the New York Director of European Decorative Arts which includes the European, English, and 19th Century Furniture and Works of Art, Silver, Porcelain and Carpet departments. He is also the International Specialist for Tapestries.

Stefan originally joined the European Furniture department at Christie’s London in 1993 and relocated to the European Furniture Department in New York in 2002. He has been instrumental in several landmark sales at Christie’s including the $90 million collections of the Barons Nathaniel and Albert von Rothschild sale in 1999 which included the commode supplied to Louis XVI’s bibliothèque by Jean-Henri Riesener in 1778 which sold for $10,984,740, the collection of Ruxton and Audrey B. Love in 2003 which achieved a total of $22,576,538, and more recently in 2006, the sale of a selection of English and European Furniture, Old Master Pictures, Silver and Porcelain from Partridge, which achieved a total of $14,855,560.