Wednesday 22 April 2026 | 10:00
Chiswick Auctions is proud to present its first Design & Contemporary sale of 2026, bringing together four distinguished private collections spanning diverse periods, movements and disciplines.
A rare and important selection of works by Jean-Michel Frank is presented alongside other exceptional examples of Art Deco design. This single-owner collection brings together pieces by some of the movement’s most celebrated and influential figures, including Serge Roche, Maison Desny and Franz Hagenauer.
Jean-Michel Frank (French 1895-1941) for COMTE, Argentina
Pair of Modernist Bridge Armchairs
Estimate £15,000 - £20,000
Other highlights include a gilt relief panel after a design by Maurice Picaud, originally conceived for the façade of the Folies Bergère. Depicting the dancer Lila Nikolska, the composition exemplifies the stylised elegance now synonymous with the Art Deco aesthetic.
Maurice Picaud (Pico) (French 1900-1977)
Gilt relief panel after a design for the facade of the Folies Bergeres depicting the dancer Lila NikolskaEstimate £1,500 - £2,500
Further notable works include dancer statuettes by Josef Lorenzl, a rare cicada seal with wax tray by Maurice Daurat, and a striking bronze female nude by Joe Descomps. Juxtaposing Frank’s refined language of simplicity and restraint with more theatrical and decorative works such as the Picaud relief, the collection reflects the full breadth of the Art Deco era.
Witty, elegant and endlessly inventive, twentieth-century Italian design transformed everyday objects into expressions of style and imagination. Rooted in a rich craft tradition yet energised by post-war industry, designers blurred the lines between art, architecture and design, creating pieces that are as intelligent as they are beautiful.
Ico Parisi (Italian 1916-1996)
Pair of armchairs
Estimate £800 - £1,200
Figures such as Gio Ponti, Achille Castiglioni and Vico Magistretti brought lightness, humour and technical ingenuity to modern living, while Ico Parisi and Luisa Parisi explored more sculptural and expressive forms. Supported by forward-thinking companies such as Cassina and showcased at events including the Milan Triennale, Italian design quickly gained an international voice.
Stilnovo, Italy
Sputnik chandelier Estimate £1,000 - £2,000
This exceptional collection includes lighting by Stilnovo, Fontana Arte, Carlo Moretti and Barovier & Toso, together with furniture by Mario Bellini, Gio Ponti, Ico Parisi and Guglielmo Ulrich, showcasing Italy’s flair for style, elegance and craftsmanship.
Playful, irreverent and deliberately unconventional, Postmodern design challenged the strict functionalism of modernism with bold colour, exaggerated form and a taste for visual wit. Drawing freely on historical references, ornament and eclecticism, it brought a new sense of personality to interiors and objects alike.
Andrea Branzi (Italian, 1938-2023) for Cassina
Pair of 'Lubekka' Dining ChairsEstimate £300 - £500
This section of the sale includes works by designers now closely associated with the movement, including Emmanuelle Sanner, Giandomenico Belotti and Andrea Branzi. Also featured are Mondrian- and Sottsass-inspired works, including a trio of striking lacquer cabinets.
Koni Ochsner (1933-1995) for Röthlisberger Collection
'Mondrian' cabinet
Estimate £2,000 - £3,000
The distinctive character of the Amsterdam School is clearly reflected in the works presented here, offering a rare opportunity to acquire pieces by makers seldom encountered at auction, including Winkelman & Van der Bijl and De Nieuwe Honsel. The movement’s restrained yet expressive modernism is evident in the geometric motifs and matte glazes seen in two refined works by De Distel and a ‘Blocks’ vessel by Kennemer Pottery.
Frits Woltjes (Dutch 1903-1934) for De Nieuwe Honsel
Amsterdam School 'Tuschinksi' ceiling light shade, model E344
Estimate £600 - £800
The sale also includes an extensive group of vases, chargers and inkwells from leading Dutch factories, including Rozenburg Den Haag and Plateelbakkerij Zuid-Holland, showcasing the richness and variety of ceramic production in the Netherlands during this period.
Rozenburg den Haag, Holland
Large peacock vase, model no. 197
Estimate £400 - £600
Arts and Crafts metalwork is distinguished by honest craftsmanship, restrained ornament and a celebration of the inherent beauty of materials. This section of the sale presents a refined selection of works in copper and pewter, including iconic designs by Archibald Knox for Liberty, produced under the celebrated ‘Tudric’ line.
Archibald Knox (British 1864-1933) for Liberty and Co.
'Tudric' Claret jug, model no. 0310
Estimate £600 - £800
Also included are more domestic pieces, such as firedogs by Ernest William Gimson, handcrafted copper ceiling lights, and a finely executed firescreen, each reflecting the Arts and Crafts ideal of uniting beauty, utility and meticulous workmanship in everyday interiors.
Ernest William Gimson (British 1864-1919)
Pair of firedogs
Estimate £1,000 - £2,000
Franz Xaver Bergmann, the celebrated Austrian foundry owner, is renowned for his finely executed cold-painted bronzes, encompassing an imaginative range of subjects, from endearing animal studies to exotic and often orientalist figures. Among his most coveted creations, however, are the ingenious metamorphic models. These playful works conceal a hidden narrative: what at first appears to be an Egyptian mummy or a modestly draped female figure transforms, at the press of a button or the opening of a hinged section, to reveal a secret figure within.
This section of the sale includes five such examples, among them a charming model of an owl perched upon a book, which opens at the press of a button to reveal a delicately cast kneeling female figure concealed inside.
Franz Xavier Bergmann (Austrian 1861-1936)
Erotic metamorphic model of an owl on book opening to reveal a kneeling female nude
Estimate £500 - £800
The Art Nouveau offering is further complemented by a selection of Loetz glass, vases by Paul Dachsel, sculpture by Agathon Léonard and Ernst Wahliss, and finely crafted ceramics by Riessner, Stellmacher & Kessel.
The sale celebrates the extraordinary breadth and innovation of British design, spanning from the late nineteenth century, with the richly patterned tiles of William De Morgan, through to mid-twentieth-century and later pottery, including the delicate cups and saucers of Lucie Rie and painted dishes by Quentin Bell for Fulham Pottery.
Quentin Bell (British 1910-1996) for Fulham Pottery
Plate painted with a female wearing hat
Estimate £400 - £600
More contemporary works include expressive sculpture by Chris Buck, iconic textiles by Lucienne Day, and a prototype by Tom Dixon, together charting a continuous lineage of British creativity that unites meticulous craftsmanship, inventive experimentation and bold modernist vision.
Chris Buck (British, b.1956)
'Back to Back' sculpture, limited I/IX
Estimate £600 - £1,000
Understated and deeply considered, Scandinavian design is defined by its balance of beauty, function and human comfort. Emerging in the early twentieth century across Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland, it reflects a cultural commitment to simplicity, craftsmanship and everyday usability.
Poul Kjærholm (Danish 1929–1980)
PK-25 Lounge Chair
Estimate £1,000 - £2,000
Designers such as Alvar Aalto, Arne Jacobsen and Hans J. Wegner pioneered a modernism softened by natural materials and organic forms. The sale includes works by figures such as Finn Juhl, Tapio Wirkkala, Eero Saarinen, Hans J. Wegner and Arne Jacobsen, alongside designers including Poul Kjærholm and Poul Cadovius.
Alvar Aalto (Finnish 1898-1976) for Artek
Table 91 with Lazy Susan,
Estimate £3,000 - £5,000
Taking centre stage is a group of works by Alvar Aalto, including the much sought-after Table 91 complete with its original lazy Susan, offered alongside the timeless Screen 100 and Model 60 stool.
Viewing at the Barley Mow Centre, W4 4PH
Friday 17 April | 11:00 – 16:00 (Evening Preview - 17:00-20:00)
Saturday 18 April | 11:00–15:00
Sunday 19 April | 11:00–15:00
Monday 20 April | 10:00–17:00
Tuesday 21 April | 10:00–12:00