Flowers and insects and birds ... oh, my! jd

2 December 2009 - It would appear that the market for Porquier Beau botanical pieces, particularly plates, is having something of a comeback. At yesterday's auction, there was a splendid series of early PB botanical plates – not only did they have the blue intersecting P and B, but they also had PB impressed in the clay – and there was much interest and a lot of bidding. There were two major bidders on the phone for the whole series (and one in particular now has some very nice additions to his/her collection!), and at times there were as many as four phones going. The glaze on these plates was exceptionally good, as was the quality of the painting. They all came from the same collection, but when and how that collection was constituted was never mentioned. (Sometimes you can figure out where some pieces come from, and other times it remains a mystery. It is very bad form to ask!)

The estimates ranged from 1000 to 2500 euros, and almost every piece went over the estimate. Here are some of the winning bids ... gavel price (not including the buyer's fee).

My personal favorite – I like the snail (but only on this plate; I do not want to see him in my garden) – 1150 euros.

This plate has a splendid pineapple as well as two insects – 2300 euros.

A bird with a red crest, a rather exotic decor – 3200 euros.

A very nice pair of beetles, called scarabs – 2250 euros.

And this thrush was the high point of the sale of PB plates – 3700 euros.

This butterfly is a lovely blue one – 2700 euros.

And the seahorse was the lone denizen of the watery depths represented in this sale; he is rarely seen on the market – 3100 euros.






My thanks to Thierry-Lannon & Associates for letting me take and use photos of this sale!


We'll be making a quantum leap of about 50 or so years into other cultures for the next auction ... stay tuned!