This final auction contains contents from both Mrs. Mellon's New York apartment and her Cape Cod home. If the picture quality is poor, please blame me but, in truth, some of the shots are quite fuzzy but I include them so that you may see the overall view of the rooms.
I haven't mentioned art although there are copious amounts of it. Bunny's appreciation was broad and there is art of many genres. I also wanted to include a few of the New York rooms to illustrate how much art there is and how it is part and parcel of her lifestyle. Furniture, china, silver - of course these must be viewed for optimal decisions but art - it speaks only directly to the heart and unless you are buying for appreciation, it must be seen and loved to be yours.
This must be a study in the New York apartment. It is very welcoming and cozy and very English in style. Notice the warm red walls and the groupings of paintings which cover them, stacked one over another. The room feels personal - the photo was taken with Mr. Mellon's desk ( The initials being his) in the foreground covered with a collection of assorted desk items - stamp boxes, calendar, paper and pens but not much room for working. The chairs and sofa are easy and the yellow upholstery and red walls are combined in the rug to make a very inviting space. I love the coffee table and wonder why, with so much on the desk, there is nothing on it.
This is the New York breakfast room and is another colorful room with blue walls, a blue and white needlepoint rug, blue and white striped curtains and - the exclamation of citrus. It must be in a sunny location due to the topiaries and light filling the windows. Note that, from our perspective, there are no pictures on the walls. These are the only room settings shown from New York except for one hallway and an outside terrace which I will show you later. I will show items from the New York house, collections and so on, and then we will go to Cape Cod.
A late Louis XVI triple extending music stand.
A pair of Louis XVI style gilt queridons.
A Pair of metal dog-form chenets.
More small silver objects.
A George III gilt and patinated bronze pagoda-form clock case.
A rare set of seven George III parcel-gilt black-Japanned dining chairs. These are so very beautiful.
Here is a close up:
This beautiful part dinner service is Meissen, circa 1733 - 1763. "One of the most distinguishing elements of this service is the naturalistic depiction of various plants, fruits, nuts and seeds that exhibits itself both on the three - dimensional modeling of the knobs on the covers and the handles of the tureens as well as the two dimensional painting." The marking below is on several of the pieces, should you come across any in your travels.
More porcelains, all exhibiting a floral theme:
It seems that I am partial to chairs, especially ones with bamboo turnings. Here are two more sets; one with and one without.
The following shot - again, fuzzy - is of what must be the back hall and what a back hall it is. The trellis is exceptional for is arching turns over the right angles of the walls forming a lightly domed ceiling. The floor appears to have been once painted and then heavily used. Baskets are here in all descriptions - new and old, large and small, rustic and fine...ready to accompany any event. Trellising continues to the more sparsely decorated terrace just outside. Notice the patterns of horizontal members to delineate a story and the arched niches and doorways below. It turns this into an enclosure which feels taken notice of and elegant. On to Cape Cod.
The pictures of the Cape Cod house are too fuzzy to show. The house is a white clapboard cottage and appears to be small, although there are few interior shots of it. It is a very casual home, but the items included in this section of the auction vary widely to include some casual painted furniture as well as some more formal.
As you can see, this interior shot shows an interior which is cottage - like and vacation friendly.
There is a bit more porcelain which is all organic in nature. I love the white asparagus tureens!
The last few pieces are among my favorites. Love the blue large paisley fabric.
End of sale.
