A Continental rock-crystal and lapis lazuli, circa 1900 (c. 1900 Continental)

20623.1

Rock-crystal and lapis-lazuli

Circa 1900

  30.00 cm high

  11.81 inches high

39.00cm

15.35 inches

The circular shallow bowl centered by a monogram, raised on a waisted fluted column supported by a merman and mermaid, on spreading foot with shell border.

This wide-ranging ensemble, much of which was acquired in Europe, was begun more than a century ago by Donohue's father-in-law, the oil and cement tycoon Daniel Murphy, who was once described as the richest and most powerful man in Los Angeles.

To inherit such a collection of artworks was a lifetime's responsibility for Daniel Donohue. The son of a New York physician, he was working in the St John of God Nursing Home which was situated opposite 2076 West Adams Boulevard. Daniel Murphy and his wife, Antoinette, who had lived there since 1906 – and indeed built what was the city's first Italian Renaissance-style house – had died in 1939, leaving everything to their adopted daughter, Bernardine. When one of Bernardine's servants became terminally ill and requested to return to his native Germany, Daniel Donohue was on hand and offered to escort the man back. It was a connection that drew Donohue and Bernardine into a relationship, and the pair married in January 1954.

Please email or call +44 (0)20-7242 7624 for more information or to purchase this item.

FOR SALE