THE REMARKABLE
EMBDEN COLLECTION

WORKS OF ART & DECORATIVE ARTS
AUCTION 18 SEPTEMBER 2025

Since the 1960s, the couple Arlette and Antony Embden have undoubtedly ranked among Paris’s most important antiques dealers. Their celebrated shop at 15 Quai Voltaire drew, for more than half a century, the leading collectors of antiquities, museum curators and many of the capital’s most illustrious figures. Guided by a curious and discerning eye, Antony Embden (1930–2023) travelled the world in search of rare and unusual objects. With passion, he brought his finds together in a constantly evolving cabinet of curiosities. His specialties ranged from the dawn of the Renaissance to the 18^th century.

Without the precious collaboration of his wife Arlette—who soon took charge of the gallery—the talented and discreet Antony Embden would not have known such success. Their collection spans a wide range, consisting mainly of Italian and French bronzes, Limoges enamels, ivories and rock crystal pieces, together with a refined selection of Renaissance furniture and Italian maiolica.

ISTORIATO BASIN WITH
FAMILY ARMS

SAINT CHRISTOPHER
WITH THE CHRIST CHILD

MAJOLICA
‘SCODELLA’

Thanks to their in-depth research and constant exchange with leading curators and the foremost experts at major auction houses, the Embdens acquired exceptional expertise and an international reputation in their chosen fields. Their discerning choices even led to important acquisitions by the Louvre.

Among the centrepieces of this exceptional sale are an equestrian bronze of Archduke Ferdinand Charles of Austria, c.1650, attributed to the Austrian sculptor Caspar Gras, as well as a French Renaissance credenza from the 16^th century, probably from Lyon.

Also of note is a pair of gilt-bronze wall sconces, very likely made in Venice in the 16^th century after the work of the sculptor Niccolò Roccatagliata, together with a statuette of Hercules after an Etruscan model of the 4^th century BC and executed in the Renaissance. An impressive brass basin—described as ‘istoriato’ for its fine engraving—proves to be an important discovery for art history: this large dish can be attributed to the Croatian goldsmith Orazio (or Horacije) Fortezza, active in the Republic of Venice around 1570. From the same period come a rock-crystal tazza adorned with a marine scene, the work of a Milanese family of goldsmith-lapidaries, as well as a group of Veneto–Saracenic metalwares. A figure of Saint Christopher bearing the Christ Child, produced around the same time in Northern Germany or the Netherlands, rounds out this selection. The exceptional offering also includes with a plate from the maiolica service of Alfonso d’Este, dated 1579 and produced by the Patanazzi workshop in Urbino.

Koller is delighted to present a selection as rich as it is varied from the remarkable Embden Collection—nearly 250 lots. The highlights will appear in our traditional ‘Works of Art & Decorative Arts’ catalogue, while the second part will be offered in parallel in an ‘ibid online only’ catalogue devoted entirely to the collection.

ROCK CRYSTAL CUP
WITH MARINE IDYLL

View the catalogues