The Collection of the Late Anthony Phillips, the renowned international silver and objects of vertu expert, heads to auction this Autumn in a single owner sale at Tennants Auctioneers, North Yorkshire, on 15th November. Having worked for Christie’s for 57 years, Phillips was a legend in his field, admired for his curiosity and passion for his subject, his deep knowledge and his steadfast mentoring.
Tennants’ Silver Specialist Jeffrey Lassaline says of the sale: “Tennants is honoured to be able to present silver, objects of vertu, jewellery and books from the collection of the late Anthony Phillips for sale. Having personally worked with Anthony for nearly 20 years one can feel his thinking behind the pieces he acquired, often with focus on an interesting provenance or an unusual hallmark. The sale will give a chance for the many people who worked with or were advised by Anthony during his many decades in the world of silver, to own a piece of his collection. We are also pleased to announce that a portion of the proceeds from the sale of the catalogue will be donated by Tennants to The Meath Epilepsy Charity, a cause close to Anthony’s heart, and that of his family.”
The sale will offer over 180 lots of rare and early silver, jewellery from the ancient world through to the early modern period, intricate objects of vertu and a selection of key reference books. Highlights of the collection include a Spanish Silver Snuff-Box, Apparently Unmarked, circa 1713, engraved with a portrait bust of King Philip V of Spain, and his wife Maria Luisa Gabriella of Savoy (estimate: £7,000-10,000 all figures exclude buyer’s premium). Further notable pieces of silver include a Maltese Silver Sugar-Bowl and Cover by Giovanni Carlo Vella made circa 1710 (estimate: £3,000-5,000), and a Pair of William III Silver Trefid Table-Forks by Charles Williams, made in London in 1697 and thought to have once been in the collection of the Dukes of Hamilton (estimate: £2,500-3,500).
Objects of vertu are led by a Louis XVI Two-Colour Gold, Jewelled and Enamel Bonbonniere by August-Gaspard Turmine, made in Paris in 1784-85, once in the collections of the Rothschild family, will be offered with an estimate of £5,000-8,000. Amongst the early and antique jewellery in the sale is a Greek Ring, Possibly 3rd Century B.C. engraved with a goddess (estimate: £1,000-1,500), and a Renaissance Turquoise and Enamel Ring, Second Half of the 16th Century (estimate: £700-1,000), both from the collection of Phillips’ mother, Phyllis.
Anthony Phillips (1945-2024) was born in Hampstead, the son of a senior civil servant and the celebrated artist and illustrator Phyllis Bray, who was herself a collector of Renaissance jewellery. Having studied geography at Christ Church, Oxford, in 1967 a fascination for historical objects led him to join Christie’s, where he began his career behind the front desk. His enquiring mind caught the attention of the long-standing and much-admired silver specialist Arthur Grimwade, who asked him to join his department, setting the course of his career. Entering at a time of huge growth in the antique silver market, he soon developed an eye for great objects, and in 1977 was chosen to go to New York with his wife, Sara, and help set up the first Christie’s office in the United States. Here he helped establish the auctioneer’s reputation, with such discoveries as a Charles I goblet that he traced back to the Mayflower pilgrim and first governor of the Plymouth Colony, William Bradford. Having been promoted to Head of Silver and Objects of Vertu, then Head of Specialist Departments, in 1996 Phillips and his family moved back to London where he became Director of International Silver. His reputation and knowledge secured many important sales from great collections across the globe, perhaps crowned by the extraordinary sale of the Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé Collection in Paris in 2009, in which the silver alone realised €19.8m, and the sale of an Imperial Fabergé egg from the heir of the McDonald’s fortune. Following a long and illustrious career, in later years he worked as a consultant for Christie’s, always on hand to give sage advice and eager to share his encyclopaedic knowledge.
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