2025 in Review: Decorative Arts & Design

Waddington’s Decorative Arts & Design department presented a wide spectrum of items—from the classical to the bizarre—over our 2025 season. We take pride in offering objects across periods and price points, presenting auctions that appeal to novice and expert collectors alike. As we enter our 176th year in business, we’re pleased to share some of 2025’s highlights, and invite you to join us for another year of exciting auctions.

March Decorative Arts & Design

This auction featured Ferdinando Vichi’s Bust of Sappho, which sold for $13,750, a German Silver Gilt Cup and Cover, Augsburg, c.1680, which fetched $3,250, and a Gallé Cameo Glass Landscape Large Vase, c.1900, which sparked an intense bidding war, ultimately selling for $12,800.

Also featured in March was English Porcelain from the William B.G. Humphries Collection – Part II, with notable sales including a Chelsea Peony Dish, c.1755, which sold for $5,250 and an Early Worcester Famille Verte Bowl, c.1752, which realised a price of $11,875.

June Decorative Arts & Design

A hot summer called for a hot auction, with this sale showcasing four particularly notable lots. The first, a pair of Meissen ‘Schneeballen’ Vases and Covers, mid-19th century, inspired serious bidding, to sell for $18,950. A George III Silver Circular Salver, William Cripps, London, 1761 went well over the high estimate to realise $6,250. Proving that great design never goes out of style, a Charles and Ray Eames for Herman Miller Lounge Chair and Ottoman, c.1968 sold for $4,500, while a Piero Fornasetti Dog-Form Tole Umbrella Stand, mid-20th century sold for $4,250.

June also saw our Canadian Arts, Culture & History auction, which featured a Canadian Indian Peace Treaty No. 6 Silver Medal, 1876, which sold for $21,250. Examples from this genre have been performing well at Waddington’s for years.

December Decorative Arts & Design

Closing out the year was a colossal Decorative Arts & Design auction, with some 500-plus lots. One of the stars of the show was a Russian Silver-Gilt and Cloisonné Enamel Icon of Christ Pantocrator, Pavel Ovchinnikov, Moscow, 1895, which quadrupled its estimate to sell for $61,750.

A delightful Martin Brothers Stoneware Bird Tobacco Jar, 1899 also delighted collectors, fetching $54,050, alongside several other examples of Martinware. A Russian Plique-à-Jour, Champlevé and Guilloché Enameled Silver-Gilt Sherbet Cup and Stand, Fedor Ruckert, Moscow, 1896-1908 also drove bidders wild, selling for $30,000. A pair of George III Silver Chinoiserie Tea Caddies and Covered Sugar Bowl, Samuel Taylor, London, 1764 sold well over estimate, for $25,000, a similar outcome for a George II Burl Walnut Folding Games Table, c.1750, which sold for $23,750.

Exceptional vases included a pair of Wedgwood ‘Jewelled Tree’ Fairyland Lustre Vases, Daisy-Makeig Jones, 1920s, which doubled their high estimate to sell for $12,800, while a Gallé Hyacinth Mould-Blown Cameo Glass Vase, c.1900 realised $6,144.

Rounding out the notable results was a Tiffany Studios ‘Linen Fold’ Gilt Bronze and Etched Amber Glass Table Lamp, New York, c.1910 which sold for $20,000 and a sculpture by Demetre Haralam Chiparus entitled Ayouta, selling for $18,750.

Cabinet of Curiosities

Our collector-favourite Cabinet of Curiosities auction presents the weird, the wonderful, and the historically significant, offering a treasure trove of items that defy easy categorization. Offerings span millennia and civilizations, with objects from the natural world to ancient antiquities. Highlights from 2025 include King George III’s Gold Hunting Cased Pocket Watch, which sold for $47,110, a Greek Apulian Red Figure Trefoil Oinochoe from the 4th century B.C., which sold for $5,750, an Italian Renaissance Lombardy Table Top Collector’s Cabinet from the 17th century which sold for $4,750, a Turkish Ottoman Empire Gold and Silver Damascened Kilij Sword from the 19th century which sold for $4,608, and a 17th Century German Lutheran Bible, 1670, which sold for $4,000.

Rugs & Carpets

Our Rugs & Carpets department saw excellent examples perform well at auction. In February, a Tabriz Carpet and a Lilihan Carpet, both Persian and circa 1920, sold for $4,750 and $4,500, respectively. April saw an Indian Heriz Carpet, c.1920 sell for $10,625, alongside a Large Ziegler Mahal Carpet, c.1880/90, which sold for $10,625. In November, a Heriz Carpet, Persian, c. 1910/20 fetched $5,000, and a Bakshaish Carpet, Persian, c.1910/20 sold for $7,500. Closing out the year, a striking yellow Barbro Nilsson Tile Design Mixed Weave Carpet for AB Marta Maas-Fjetterstrom, Sweden, c.1950, went for $6,000.

View All Results

Interested in viewing all the results from our 2025 auctions? Please click here.

Consignment Opportunities

The consignment process for our 2026 auctions is already underway. We look forward to connecting with you to discuss how you can achieve excellent results for your items and artworks.

Please contact us for more information on consigning with Waddington’s.