Decorative Arts Auctions Melbourne & Sydney

Leonard Joel Melbourne is currently moving premises. Please refer to each auction catalogue for relevant locations.

Leonard Joel Decorative Arts Auctions present fine European and Australian furniture, porcelain, silver, clocks, portrait miniatures, works of art and sculpture.

With a focus on timeless quality and craftsmanship, the appeal of this Fine Auction category is far-reaching, attracting discerning collectors and those seeking unique and original statement pieces to enhance their traditional or contemporary interior.

If you have a single work of art or a collection you are considering selling, please contact us for a complimentary valuation.

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Now consigning for 2024 auctions

Decorative Arts Auction Highlights

A Rare 18th Century Ebonised Bracket Clock With Carillon and Bird Automaton

Sold for $43,400

A set of four Victorian novelty kangaroo salts by John Samuel Hunt for Hunt & Roskell, London 1856

Sold for $86,800

An Impressive Bronze Figural Scuplture, 'gloria Victis' By Ferninand Barbedienne & Marius Jean Antonin Mercie, Circa 1875

Sold for $12,400

19th century porcelain lidded vases

Sold for $40,800

Georg Jenson candelabra designed by Johan Rohde

Sold for $48,800

A 17th Century William and Mary Fall Fronted Cabinet on Stand

Sold for $21,080

Decorative Arts Specialists

Chiara Curcio
Head of Decorative Arts, Design & Interiors

chiara.curcio@leonardjoel.com.au

Chiara joined Leonard Joel in 2011 with a keen interest in antiques and the auction market. After completing her Bachelor Degree with a focus in Theory of Art and Design, Archeology, History and languages, Chiara joined Leonard Joel as a junior objects assistant. Her eager interest in object and furniture design and their histories moved her from junior assistant, to manager and then Decorative Arts specialist within a four year period.

In 2017, Chiara was appointed Head of Decorative Arts; within her tenure, she has pioneered two dedicated Asian Art auctions in this category per year and further developed partnerships with local and international collectors and societies within this field.

In addition to valuing and curating specialty auctions, Chiara is also a Senior auctioneer, offering eight years of auctioneering experience.

David Parsons
Head of Private Estates & Valuations

david.parsons@leonardjoel.com.au

Since taking his BA in art and architectural history, David has spent thirty years handling and studying antique furniture, objects, and art in salerooms, museums, and collections in Australia and England. He has a keen interest and depth of knowledge in earlier furniture and art but, as Leonard Joel’s Head of Private Estates and Valuations, is well versed in handling, researching, valuing, and cataloguing in all areas of the fine and decorative arts.

Having long observed the direct relationship between the quality of cataloguing and results at auction, David is a firm believer in the importance of well-written cataloguing that is confident, precise, and well-informed by strong technical knowledge and research – all of which he brings to the table to the benefit of Leonard Joel’s clients.

Ronan Sulich
Senior Adviser, Sydney

ronan.sulich@leonardjoel.com.au

Ronan’s career is deeply grounded in the fine and decorative arts, with an arts degree from the University of Sydney majoring in Fine Art and Archaeology followed by a graduate diploma of Museum Studies. His ensuing three years at the storied David Jones Art Gallery, rounded out a practical understanding of the decorative arts as well as contemporary Australian art, followed by time spent as curator at the atmospheric and untouched Rouse Hill House.

Moving to London in 1988 he worked in a busy auction house in Chelsea cataloguing a weekly antiques sale and has calculated that in the five years he was there he catalogued 300 lots per week for 48 sales per annum, about 70,000 objects described in his time there. Christie’s Australia offered him the role as the decorative arts specialist in the Sydney office in 1995 and he had the opportunity to work on many of the milestone auctions of the time, the Whiteman Collection, the BinThuan Shipwreck sale, the collections of Leo Schofield at Bronte House and John Schaeffer at Rona in Bellevue Hill. With the closure of the Australian salerooms in 2006 he was made the Christie’s representative for Australia and until 2020 worked with major collectors and collections, institutions and artists.

Madeleine Norton
Head of Decorative Arts & Art, Sydney

madeleine.norton@leonardjoel.com.au

Originally from Perth, Madeleine completed a double degree in Commerce and Fine Art at the University of Western Australia. From Perth she moved to London to undertake her master’s degree at Christie’s Education in History of Art and Art-world Practice. Following her studies she interned at the Peggy Guggenheim, Venice and Sotheby’s, London where she then worked for a further two years in the Contemporary Art Department on both auctions and private sales. Moving to New York in 2017 Madeleine worked at the blue-chip art gallery Sperone Westwater for two years before returning home to Australia.

In Sydney she has built her knowledge of decorative arts working on The Collector’s Auction, as well as the private collections of Dr Trevor Hyde, the late John Schaeffer AO, Trevor Kennedy AM and the Brans Collection. As a specialist in both decorative arts and art, her highly organised auctions in the Sydney saleroom highlight Leonard Joel’s multitude of strengths within the secondary market.

Now consigning for auction. Submit items for online valuation here or contact us to book an appointment.

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