Porcelain expected to make half a million at auction - 30/06/2010

Bonhams will be selling the Procida Mirabelli di Lauro collection on July 6th in London and hopes to make at least half a million pounds from the single Italian-owner's objects.

Highlights of the collection include some pieces commissioned by King Ferdinand IV of Naples and his queen, Maria Carolina of Austria in the 18th century.

Four plates were made for the king's private use and these are expected to fetch between £5,000 and £8,000. A rare Doccia perfume bottle from 1745 is estimated to reach between £4,000 and £6,000.

A collection of snuff boxes from 1790 are expected to sell for between £5,000 and £12,000.

Over 100 items will be auctioned from the private collection by Roberto Procida Mirabelli di Lauro, gathered from the 1960s until his death in 2009.

Nette Megens from Bonhams said: "The collection of Roberto Procida fits neatly in the generation of Neapolitan collectors that were extremely rounded in their knowledge and had a wide range of interests, in his case varying from French snuff-boxes to Italian maiolica."

King Ferdinand married Maria Carolina, the sister of Marie Antoinette, in 1768. The queen soon held political sway over the king.

Posted by Harry Baxter