Dear Friends,

We are pleased to present to you the catalogue of our auction 181: a special auction to be held in two sessions covering an extended set of art pieces of particular quality, rarity and antiquity.

The cover is illustrated by two extremely fine «Doucai» porcelain fishbowls, Qing Dinasty – Qianlong Period (1736-1795), that until 1946 were part of the famous art collection belonging to Sir Francis Cook (1817-1901), Bt., viscount of Monserrate, one of the richest man of Great Britain in his time.

The fact that one of the fishbowls is marked on the base– which is rare and significant – and the possibility to confirm beyond any doubt the quality of the provenance reinforce the international importance and value of those pieces. In fact, the conducted research produced a rare photograph reproducing one of the pieces at the dining room of the famous palace that Sir Francis Cook rebuilt in Monserrate, Sintra, in 1856, and recently restored (lots 425 and 426).

Several other pieces - cabinets, bureaus, ivory sculptures, a table and a remarkable Namban ink tank (lot 223) illustrate in a particularly eloquent way the originality, aesthetics and cultural richness of the art pieces which were commissioned since the time of the Portuguese Discoveries from Africa to the Far East – a crossover between Portuguese art and culture and the art and culture, beliefs, traditions, styles and craftsmanship of India, Ceylon, China or Japan to name just a few countries with which we closely related to since the 16th century.

And also: painting; Portuguese and foreign furniture; sacred art; silver and jewellery; a Collection of table and long case clocks; carpets; European porcelain; glass and crystals, books and a Collection of engravings and lithographs related to the city of Oporto.

Two announcements, to conclude:

The start, in October, of the CABRAL MONCADA LEILÕES ONLINE AUCTIONS.

Celebrating in an innovative way our twentieth anniversary, we aim to complement the services we have been providing through our traditional auctions, enlarging and rejuvenating sellers and buyers, diversifying and extending the items to be put to sale, updating our Business Conditions, namely the Commissions due (see our Customer Guide) and modernizing the conventional ways to participate in our auctions, beginning by a new website – but keeping without change the accuracy, the quality and the professionalism on which is based the trust you have placed on us and that we want to keep deserving.

The most recent publication of our partner SCRIBE, "Do Oriente ao Ocidente: a Aventura da Porcelana Chinesa de Exportação com Decoração Ocidental (1695-1815) by Filomena Cunha Alves e Paulo Cunha Alves  - now available (Portuguese only)

Hoping to have the pleasure of welcoming you soon with our best regards,

Pedro-Maria de Alvim                           Miguel Cabral de Moncada