Legendary Mansion Sale

SUNDAY, OCT. 3rd—50% OFF EVERYTHING (fine jewelry excluded)

Be prepared to STEP BACK IN TIME at this sale, to a period of OLD WORLD OPULENCE.

A portion of the proceeds from this sale and the sale of the property is being donated to Richmond Metropolitan Habitat for Humanity, Inc. by the consignor and Alexis Thompson, River Fox Realty LLC. 

This house was designed by revered architect Duncan Lee for one of Richmond's oldest families. Subsequent occupants ranged from the famous to the decidedly infamous.  The last residents, our consignor, rose to the top of this celebrated list with family trees that included a Mohawk princess, George Washington, and Princess Diana.  

The owners were intrepid world travelers.  After extensive round-the-world tours in their younger days, they frequently spent several months in a country they were particularly interested in.   Often, in semi-official capacities, they met and consulted with world leaders.  Amid this elite and intense life style, they were able to focus their considerable intellectual and artistic abilities toward COLLECTING.  They recognized and purchased the best, decade after decade, adding to an already impressive base of inherited pieces of distinction.  They were the Gilded Age couple of our time.

Leaving to start a new, scaled down life, the consignor is taking very few items with him.  This leaves an Ali Baba-like abundance of Asian treasures, two dozen Oriental rugs, traditional and continental furniture, art of almost every genre, porcelain, an absolute mound of sterling silver, many fine china services, crystal, object d'art, and many, many beautiful and unique pieces tracked down in the most obscure of locales, where even getting them to a shipping port was a challenge.  

An astonishing collection! An amazing opportunity to STEP BACK IN TIME,  please join us on this excursion. 

Please note:  More photos and descriptions are being added daily.  You won’t believe the selection of vintage and rare Radko ornaments, as well as tables and boxes overflowing with holiday decorations.  And, for a real treasure hunt, check out the super stylish Maurice Beane's Parisian Flea Market.  

Furniture

With three+ floors of furniture, there is a huge selection of furniture styles, forms and ages,  including some fantastic Oriental tables, chests, cabinets, trunks and screens.  Also, throughout the house you will find: a Tavern work table, walnut, Virginia., ca.1800; hunt board, cherry, Georgia, ca. 1800; several tilt top tables; 3-pedestal dining room table; 14 Louis, XV chairs; Philadelphia Chippendale side chair, ca. 1770; pair Louis XV arm chairs with fine needlepoint upholstery; elaborate Japanese lacquer and gilt tea cupboard fitted with all of the accoutrements for a ceremonial tea; Baroque Spanish sideboard; numerous chests of drawers, ca. 1800; highboy, 18th century; Queen Anne side chair, ca.1750; Adam sideboard, ca. 1800; Steinway Grand Piano; Georgian Secretary, English, ca. 1800; English chest on chest with Butler’s drawer, ca. 1780; Biggs dressing table; English lowboy, ca. 1800; Chippendale bombe chest, Rhode Island style; linen press, mahogany, ca. 1810; two Henkel-Harris Chippendale highboys; Duncan Phyfe sofa; Henredon campaign chest; Federal chest of drawers, Massachusetts, ca, 1790; George III chest-on-chest, ca. 1800; Chinese marble top desk ; Georgian chest-of-drawers, ca. 1810; Chippendale chest-on-chest, ca. 1760; Japanese black lacquer and gilt sewing table with intricate compartments; large Chippendale breakfront; numerous chairs, various styles and periods, etc.

Sterling Silver

This may be the largest selection of sterling silver we have ever had in a sale. “Old Maryland Engraved” by Kirk Stieff, 132 pcs; “Reposse’” by Stieff, 72 pcs; “America” by Wallace, 37 pcs., numerous serving pieces in various patterns; large and ornate pieces including a punch bowl engraved with the state seals of Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania, a six-piece tea service by Barbour Silver Company, a five-piece “Lady Diana” by Towle tea service, and two magnificent trays—one oval and one rectangular. Smaller items include  6 Stieff julep cups; 12 sherries, 12 goblets, 8 sherbets and 15 cordials by Wallace; two dozen sterling top vanity jars, several vanity mirrors and brushes, and many small bowls trays and condiment containers. And just in time for holiday giving, over 100 sterling silver pill boxes, as well as dozens of collectible sterling ornaments.

Jewelry

Select a fabulous piece from the largest, and most lavish, collection of fine jewelry we have ever had in a sale.  There is a wide range of rings with many different stones, including an extraordinary 7 kt. emerald and diamond beauty. A collection of brooches ranging from the subtle to the outrageous, and several elegant pearl necklaces, temp even the most discerning buyer. 

China and Crystal

Here is a sampling of fine and everyday china we are offering in this sale:  Wedgewood “Charnwood,” 85 pcs; Haviland & Co. Limoges, unidentified pattern, 158 pcs; Royal Worcester “Durham,” 45 pcs; Belleek “Limpet,” 25 dinner plates; Wedgewood, “Potpourri,” 77 pcs; Frederick Lunning “Cauldon,” 12 dinner plates; Fitz and Floyd “Coquille,” 72 pcs.; Coalport “Oceanside,” 67 pcs; Spode Copeland “Wicker Dale,” 83 pcs.; Royal Crown Derby “Imari” for Tiffany and Company, several tea service pieces; and many more sets of dinner, salad and dessert plates, and serving pieces.

The Butler’s pantry is overflowing with more than a hundred dishes and accessories decorated with daffodils, including a rare set of hand painted, French, gold edged dinner plates, and a Block Spal “Daffodil” luncheon service for eight.

Elevate your cocktail hour from ordinary to extraordinary with barware and stemware by Waterford, Baccarat, Tiffin, Moser, Lenox and other luxury crystal brands.  We have a huge selection of wine glasses, cordials, shot glasses, flutes, decanters, champagne coolers, ice buckets, tumblers, ewers, carafes and silver-rimmed pitchers.  If it’s beautiful and holds liquid, it’s here!

Art 

Art graces every wall of this home and includes: paintings by Steven Rettigi, Leonid Gechtoff, Edmund Lewis and Herb Pulliam; a large number of Asian 18^th and 19^th century woodblock prints, embroideries, and watercolors; a late 18th or early 19^th century portrait by William Hilton; a large collection of framed needlepoint, crewel work and cross stitch pieces, etc.

Accessories

There is an extensive and varied collection of Chinese and Japanese porcelain, as well as glass, lacquer ware, bronze, wood, cloisonné and bronze vases, baskets, trays, jars, bells, embroideries and clothing. Other highlights include a fabulous collection of boxes in various materials—wood, brass, silver, stone, lacquer—and for a wide range of uses. There are unusual lamps in a varied assortment of designs, as well as mirrors, sconces and candlesticks, large brass planters and buckets, and a wonderful hand-carved rocking horse that hasn’t decided whether he is an accessory or a piece of furniture. Also, there is a carved wooden pheasant, soup tureens in the shapes of rabbits and fowl, 19th century carved shutter panels, and a great many Asian planters, one in jaw-dropping detail. Really, just far too many unique items to list! If you have a room in need of absolute panache, we have your solution.  Finally, a large pair of Capodimonte figures of a God and Goddess—the God in a chariot being pulled by horses, the Goddess in a chariot being pulled by swans. Yes, swans!

Rugs

Hooked Floral 3’11” x 5’10”; Hooked Floral 3’11” x 5’9”; Joshagan 3’6” x 5’; Hereke 3’4” x 4’9”; Kirman 1’10” x 3’8”; Teake                          3’1” x 3’ 4”; Hamadan 2’6” x 4’11”; Kilim 6’6” x 11’8”; Sarouk 10’11” x 17’9”; Karaja 4’8” x 6’5”; Tabriz 6’6” x 9’5”; Farahan Sarouk 3’5” x 5’; Bidjar 3’7” x 5’3”; Kirman 8’10” x 11’8”; Needlepoint 5’11’ x 9’2’’; Kilim 5’4” x 10’4”; Hamadan 2’1” x 2’8”; Needlepoint 5’9’ x 8’10” Kashan 9’3” x 12’2”; Kafzin 8’4” x 10’3”; Njoshagan 8’6” x 11’10”; Chinese Silk 3’ x 4’11”; Kashan 9’1” x 12”3”