European Furniture, Decorative Objects & Early Sculpture

Charles Cator

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

During his long-time tenure at Christie's, Mr. Cator has contributed to the tremendous success of Christie's European furniture auctions. Under his leadership, Christie's set the current world auction record for any piece of furniture of £19 million ($27.5 million) for the Badminton Cabinet (2004), breaking its own world auction record of £8.5 million ($15.1 million) set in 1990. Mr. Cator has been closely involved with the sales of major single-owner collections at King Street, London, including Champalimaud (£39 million, 2005); Wildenstein (£21.9 million, 2005). 50 Years of Collecting (£6.5 million, 2003); Boulle to Jansen (£6.45 million, 2003); and Works of Art from Longleat (£26.2 million, 2002).

Among Mr. Cator's other successes are The Riahi Collection ($40.3 million, 2000); The Akram Ojjeh Collection ($34 million, 1999); Magnificent Works of Art from Houghton, sold on behalf of the Marquess of Cholmondeley ($34 million, 1994); The Collection of Hubert de Givenchy ($26.3 million, 1993); and The Samuel Messer Collection ($13.6 million, 1991). He 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 Co-Head
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, a longtime Christie’s veteran, is responsible for the Important English Furniture sales at King Street, some of which have realized significant prices, including £1.2 million for the St. Giles’ Dining Chairs (1999), the most expensive set of dining-chairs ever sold at auction, which beat a previous auction record set by Mr. Copley for the Goldsborough dining-chairs by Chippendale sold to the Metropolitan Museum, New York (1996). Robert Copley also oversaw the sales of the Anglesey Desk, which at £1.76 million, still the world auction record for any piece of English furniture; and the Dundas masterpieces for $2,854,975, the highest prices ever achieved for Chippendale furniture (1997).

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.

Rosie Hayes

Specialist
English Furniture

Rosie Hayes has been a member of the Furniture Department at Christie's for five years. Rosie is responsible for cataloguing and assembling English Furniture sales at Christie's King Street and has been the main contact for the two most recent sales of English and Continental Furniture at Christie's King Street.

Rosie has been involved in recent successful furniture and house sales, including Two Late Regency Collectors - Philip John Miles and George Byng 1815-45 which realised £4.765,600 (June 2005).

Rosie holds degrees in the History of Art from Edinburgh University, and Fine Art Valuation from the Southampton Institute.

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
London, King Street

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.

James Peill

Specialist and Head of Sale, English Furniture
New York

A regular figure in the auctioneer’s box, James Peill joined Christie's London in 1994. As well as working on the English Furniture catalogues, he has worked on a number of highly successful auctions, including the Coke Collection, which realized £1,204,065 (October 1996), the Whitbread Collection, which sold for £1,526,753 (April 2001), Works of Art from Longleat, which totalled £11,480,756 (June 2002) and more recently the Legend of Dick Turpin sale which totalled £4,970,560 (March 2006). In April 2006 he moved to Christie’s New York where he is currently Head of Sale for English Furniture.

James Peill is the co-author with the Knight of Glin, Christie's consultant in Ireland, of Irish Furniture (Yale University Press, 2007). He holds a degree in the History of Art from Edinburgh University.

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

Specialist
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
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

Specialist
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.