Auction: The Dalva Brothers Collection, Jun 4, 2024

• Landmark Auction of The Dalva Brothers Collection on June 4, 2024 Surpasses Expectations!

• Almost 400 Lots of Exceptional Furniture, Decorative Arts, Clocks, Mirrors, Old Master Paintings & More

• One of the World's Foremost Dealers of 18th Century French & Continental Furniture & Decorative Arts Since 1933
  
  

NEW YORK, NY -- International competition drove strong results at the June 4, 2024 sale of Furniture, Decorative Arts & Old Masters from The Dalva Brothers Collection. For more than 90 years, Dalva Brothers was one of the world’s foremost resources for 18th century French and Continental furniture and decorative arts. Treasures from their New York showroom can be found in private collections around the world, as well as in such distinguished institutions as the J. Paul Getty Museum, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Louvre and the Palace of Versailles

Furniture, Decorative Arts & Old Masters from The Dalva Brothers Collection: June 4
The landmark sale on June 4 attracted an international audience of prominent collectors, designers and museum curators vying for exceptional French and Continental furniture, decorative arts, clocks, mirrors, tapestries and Old Master paintings.

Highlighting the furniture offerings was a superb Régence limewood console table that achieved $28,800, surpassing its $15,000-20,000 estimate. The vibrantly carved table was designed by Josef Effner and carved by Johann-Adam Pichler, both Germans who had been sent to study in Paris from 1709-1715 by the Bavarian royal court.

A tall Louis XV carved giltwood mirror measuring 6 feet 5 inches in height realized $21,760, many times its estimate of $3,000-5,000. A Louis XV/XVI transitional gilt-bronze mounted kingwood inlaid commode attributed to Charles Topino sold for $21,760, far surpassing its $6,000-8,000 estimate. And a graceful Louis XV chinoiserie decorated black lacquer lady's desk signed Rubestuck soared over its $600-800 estimate to achieve $16,640.

An unusual feature of the auction were several period paneled rooms of exceptional quality that had been installed by Dalva Brothers in their elegant townhouse galleries. A handsome 18th century George II carved pine paneled room of grand proportions sold for $64,000, and a delicately carved 19th century French oak boiserie room in the 18th century manner realized $44,800.

Porcelain from The Dalva Brothers Collection: June 6
The auction of Porcelain from The Dalva Brothers Collection showcased examples by Sèvres, Vincennes, Meissen and other makers. Read More

Dalva Brothers

Dalva Brothers was established in 1933 by Leon Dalva, Sr. and his two brothers, Raphael and Maurice. Leon and his wife Jean ran the business until they were joined by their sons David II and Leon Jr., a graduate in Art History from the Sorbonne. The firm welcomed its third generation with the addition of their grandson David III, a graduate in Art and Art History from Skidmore College.

Initially opened as Les Beaux-Arts Francais at the newly built Rockefeller Center, Dalva Brothers moved to a townhouse on “Antiques Row” on East 57th Street, the center of New York’s antiques trade, where they remained for over sixty years. Ten years ago, the firm moved uptown to 53 East 77th Street, a Gilded Age townhouse once owned by textile heiress and renowned collector Esther Slater Kerrigan.

Throughout its history, Dalva Brothers has always been a go-to destination for design professionals seeking rare finds for their projects. The list of interior designers who have sourced furniture and decorative arts from Dalva Brothers includes such influential design pioneers as Billy Baldwin, Sister Parrish and McMillan Inc., who helped Marjorie Merriweather Post decorate Hillwood, her lavish Washington, DC home, now a renowned museum. Other regulars included Albert Hadley, Denning & Fourcade and Mark Hampton, who would drop in on Christmas Eve searching for small gifts to present to his clients.

Dalva Brothers was also a favorite resource for prominent collectors and society luminaries, including Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Helena Rubenstein, Greta Garbo, Ann Getty, Gayfryd Steinberg, Susan Gutfreund, Enid Haupt and Jayne Wrightsman, who donated many of the furnishings from her own collection to the celebrated Wrightsman Galleries at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Fashion designers Hubert de Givenchy, Valentino Garavani and Gianni Versace were also clients of Dalva Brothers. On one memorable visit, Versace arrived with fashion editor André Leon Talley, who admired a Russian Orthodox ecclesiastical garment from the firm’s collection of antique textiles – André departed the visit happily carrying the garment, a spontaneous gift from the designer. He later wore it to the Metropolitan Opera.

For over nine decades, Dalva Brothers was a treasure trove of rare discoveries, each item bearing the hallmark of superior craftsmanship and timeless elegance. The firm remained dedicated to preserving and celebrating the legacy of exceptional French furniture and decorative arts, offering objects of enduring beauty and historical significance. The two auctions offer a final opportunity to acquire treasures from one of the world’s most widely respected and cherished resources of 18th century French furniture and decorative arts – Dalva Brothers.

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