TWO REGENCY RED AND GILT-JAPANNED TOLE COAL-BOXES

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This lot will be removed to Christie’s Park Royal.… Read more

Kenneth Neame began his career as an antique dealer after studying architecture at Cambridge. His first shop was housed in Handel's House in Brook Street, Mayfair. It soon became the destination for discerning clients staying at Claridges from around the world. After over 30 years in Handel's House the business relocated to its present address in Mount Street in 1990. Now in his seventh decade of trading, Kenneth Neame's client list inevitably reads like a Who's Who of British aristocracy, European and Middle Eastern royalty, Hollywood actors and Greek shipping magnates. He has acquired antiques for both the 2nd and 4th Viscounts Rothermere, working at Daylesford and Warwick House. Baroness Thatcher, Gianni Versace, Valentino, Brook Astor, Bunny Mellon, Daisy Fellowes, HRH Princess Soraya, Pamela Harriman, Vivian Leigh, Ava Gardner, Ralph Richardson, Margaret Leighton, Madame Rochas, Estée Lauder, Helena Rubenstein and Rudolf Nureyev were all clients. A longstanding collector recounts a visit to Kenneth's shop in Brook Street where an outstanding bed was positioned in the window complete with an elegant Nureyev sprawled across the silk covers. Nureyev was of course trying it for size. Kenneth's conversation is peppered with fascinating anecdotes. They are not boasts but the day-to-day reality of dealing in such a fascinating world of extraordinary antiques and the clients who bought them. Many of Kenneth's clients became lifelong trusted friends. When one decorates such intimate spaces it is inevitable that a strong bond develops between client and dealer. Whether a project was a grand house, an intimate chalet, yacht or private aircraft, the level of professionalism and flair remain a constant hallmark of the Neame style. Further proof of the trust and regard in which he is held is evident in the acquiring and reacquiring of antiques from clients throughout subsequent generations. As a well-respected dealer Kenneth Neame continues to trade and decorate. He has just completed a house in Ireland and revels in the whole design process. Curtains, porcelain and furniture are all crucial to complementing the whole look. Kenneth has also exhibited at Masterpiece since its inception. The client list has inevitably evolved into the new markets of China and beyond and as Kenneth looks forward to the relocation of his business he can look back through his many decades in the trade with great pride. He is both professionally and as a friend a 'life enhancer' of the greatest order. Diane Shiach Art Historian, Curator and Advisor

TWO REGENCY RED AND GILT-JAPANNED TOLE COAL-BOXES

EARLY 19TH CENTURY

Details

TWO REGENCY RED AND GILT-JAPANNED TOLE COAL-BOXES
EARLY 19TH CENTURY
Each decorated overall with chinoiserie designs, with domed lid and shaped finial, the tapering body with lion's-mask ring handles, on gilt-metal feet, the smaller lacking liner, the larger lid probably later
One: 19 in. (48 cm.) high; 19 ½ in. (49.5 cm.) wide; 13 ½ in. (34.5 cm.) deep
The other: 18 in. (45.5 cm.) high; 18 in. (45.5 cm.) wide; 13 ½ in. (34.5 cm.) deep

Special notice

This lot will be removed to Christie’s Park Royal. Christie’s will inform you if the lot has been sent offsite. Our removal and storage of the lot is subject to the terms and conditions of storage which can be found at Christies.com/storage and our fees for storage are set out in the table below - these will apply whether the lot remains with Christie’s or is removed elsewhere. Please call Christie’s Client Service 24 hours in advance to book a collection time at Christie’s Park Royal. All collections from Christie’s Park Royal will be by pre-booked appointment only. Tel: +44 (0)20 7839 9060 Email: cscollectionsuk@christies.com. If the lot remains at Christie’s it will be available for collection on any working day 9.00 am to 5.00 pm. Lots are not available for collection at weekends.

Brought to you by

Amelia Walker

awalker@christies.com +44 (0)20 7389 2085

Lot Essay

A related box from Harewood House, Yorkshire is illustrated C. Gilbert and A. Wells-Cole, The Fashionable Fireplace 1660-1840, Leeds, 1985, fig. 46.

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