International auction at Bredgade

Colourful bird feathers

The auction starts with a unique collection of feathered bird pictures, which present a wealth of different European and exotic bird species – from the East Indian woodpecker to the black falcon. It is the first time that such an extensive collection of feather art is being put up for auction in Denmark.

Famous Russians and European orientalists

You’ll need your sea legs for the stormy seascape by I.C. Aivazovsky. The painting is on sale in the Russian themed auction, where you will also find a sunny market day by A.V. Makovsky. From other far-flung places, the auction also includes Danish painter Harald Jerichau’s depiction of ordinary life in Constantinople, and there are all sorts of similar motifs by other European orientalists. 

French cabinetmakers and an erotic box

If you’re into French furniture from the 1800s, you will be spoilt for choice at auctions offering unique craftsmanship by such famous names as Francois Linke and Henri Dasson. At the more curious end of the spectrum is an 18th-century German snuffbox with strongly erotic motifs.

Avant-garde Danish masters

With this catalogue, we welcome summer and a lively auction market, which promises a wide and diverse range of modern art and design. One of the auction’s highlights is Vilhelm Lundstrøm’s still life, which originates from a rarely offered period of his work, his heyday years of 1925–35. With an intense complementary contrast and objects reduced to geometric shapes, this still life is Danish avant-garde art par excellence.

Imaginative CoBrA

The CoBrA section is a riot of colour where imagination is given free rein in Asger Jorn’s work from 1945 and two earlier mask compositions by Egill Jacobsen from the early 1940s. The latter come from the acclaimed art collection of the late Ejner Johansson, known for his books on Robert Jacobsen and Richard Mortensen, among others.

Royal furniture

The paintings are accompanied by equally impressive heavyweights in the field of Danish cabinetmaking. The finest craftsmanship is to be found in Jacob Kjær’s “Princess Desk”, which was designed in 1950 and subsequently acquired its noble name when Queen Margrethe was given a specimen as an 18th birthday gift. We remain in the royal section with Kaare Klint’s desk chair. The model was originally made as a wedding gift for Frederik IX and Crown Princess Ingrid in 1935.

Jonas Bohlin’s concrete chair

At the other end of the spectrum entirely is Swedish designer Jonas Bohlin’s sculptural concrete chair “Concrete” – his debut piece at our auctions. The chair was exhibited as part of Bohlin’s graduation project in 1981 and went on to become an icon of 1980s Scandinavian furniture design.

Auction: 30 May - 9 June

We look forward to seeing you at this summer’s modern auction at Bredgade!

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Download the catalogue of modern art

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