Lot 159
Circa 1900
Octagonal, the centre of the hinged cover carved in high relief with the head of a maiden in Art Nouveau manner, all sides of the body with arch-topped panels with stippled grounds, the left and right side panels mounted with masks of roaring grotesque lions, on a plinth base concealing old, possibly original casters to the underside, the hinges with long sinuous copper straps to the back, the interior with a removable zinc metal liner, incised signature 'R. PRENZEL' in the hair at the lower edge the centrepiece of the top, stamped in ink underside 'ROBT PRENZEL / CITY ROAD / SOUTH MELBOURNE'
84cm high, 63cm wide and deep
Estimate $5,000 - $7,000
The Decoration Company, Melbourne, from whom acquired by the vendor's grandmother in the early 1960s
In private correspondence with the vendor, Terence Lane compared the present lot with a design for another such box in the Prenzel archive held by the National Gallery of Victoria which he described as less attractive than the present box.
Decorative Arts
AUCTION
Sale: LJ8805
4:00pm - 30 March 2026
Hawthorn
VIEWING
Fri 27 - Sun 29 March, 11am - 5pm
2 Oxley Rd, Hawthorn, VIC
CONTACT
Chiara Curcio
decorativearts@leonardjoel.com.au
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