Magnificent Rococo Furniture from the Bidstrup Estate
Let yourself be seduced by the opulence of the 18th century when a set of splendid Rococo furniture from the historic Bidstrup Estate in East Jutland comes up for auction on 30 November. The highlight is a rare bureau cabinet valued at DKK 1.5-2 million.
Elegance and graceful Rococo style will be permeating the final auction of the year in Copenhagen. Here, a significant and complete interior with Danish Rococo furniture from the Bidstrup Estate in East Jutland is up for auction. The furniture was made to order by the enterprising merchant and landowner Gehrdt de Lichtenberg (1697-1764), who bought the estate in 1748, and the pieces have been part of the interior ever since.
"It is with great interest that we can offer this fine interior at our upcoming auction. To my knowledge, there is no set like this anywhere else. It is very unusual to see such a large interior made to order for one place and one person. Here you really get the opportunity to see unique qualities of craftsmanship in the Danish Rococo style, both in terms of materials and design."
Anders Fredsted, valuation specialist, European furniture
The offered interior consists of a large Rococo bureau cabinet, a set of four identical Rococo commodes, numbered on the back in black ink "no. 1" to "no. 4" and the cabinet bureau "no. 5", as well as four very large Venetian glass mirrors and four smaller ones with the Lichtenberg coat of arms. The furniture will go under the hammer in Copenhagen on 30 November at 3 pm and can be experienced at our preview on 24-28 November.
The Landowner's Rococo Bureau Cabinet
The Danish Rococo bureau cabinet with the Lichtenberg coat of arms on the top and the four accompanying commodes were undoubtedly made to order by Gehrdt de Lichtenberg. The furniture is without any kind of joiner's signature, but according to the Danish National Museum's scientific investigations of the inventory at Bidstrup in 1952, which was led by museum inspector Tove Clemmesen, the conclusion is that it is more than likely that it is the Copenhagen cabinetmaker to the court Mathias Ortmann (1727-1757), who is behind it. Since the bureau cabinet arrived in Bidstrup around the middle of the 18th century, it has stood in the same hall and belonged to the de Lichtenberg family for nine generations.
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"We have never seen a piece of furniture in this league before, and it appears to be some of the best-preserved pieces from the Danish Rococo."
Anders Fredsted
The Rococo bureau cabinet is made of walnut and with giltwood carvings and sledge legs. The crest is adorned with the Lichtenberg coat of arms. Behind the bureau cabinet’s mirrored doors are two colonnades with four carved giltwood figures and two small oval miniature portraits, one of which depicts Gehrdt de Lichtenberg and his wife Bodil Hofgaard (1711-1795). On the back wall of the bureau cabinet, you can see two paintings painted on canvas – Engelsholm Estate near Vejle, which was one of the landowner's other estates, and Sorø Academy, where his son Frantz received his education.
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Gehrdt de Lichtenberg – Enterprising and BenevolentGehrdt de Lichtenberg was an enterprising man who invested in land during the agricultural crisis in the 1730s in the parishes of central Jutland. His approach to running the estates was both enterprising and benevolent. In addition to doing business in brick, paper and metal production, he contributed large financial sums to the churches, the Latin school and the poor services in his hometown of Horsens. De Lichtenberg ran his businesses with his father and uncle, and after their deaths he became extremely wealthy, rising through the ranks from Councillor to Councillor of the Chancellery, Councillor of Justice and finally Councillor of the State. In 1735, he was ennobled under the name "de Lichtenberg". Among his eight estates in total, he bought Bidstrup Estate in 1748, which he made the ancestral home of the Lichtenberg family in 1756, and it is probably in connection with this that the furniture was bought. |
For further information, please contact:
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Henrik SchleppegrelHenrik SchleppegrelHead of Department / København |
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Anders FredstedAnders FredstedSpecialist / European Furniture & Rugs / København |