TUESDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2025 
Cabinet of Wonders: Exceptional Treasures at Drouot
O n 28 October, Gros & Delettrez will open the doors to its “Cabinet of Wonders” sale, a unique selection of rare and precious objects that bear witness to the taste and craftsmanship of Europe’s greatest artisans from the 16th and 17th centuries.
Among the highlights of this auction, a covered cup in agate mounted with enamelled gold, made in Paris around 1640–1650, draws all eyes. Its delicacy is breathtaking: the iris-shaped handle perfectly complements the nuanced colours of the agate, whose natural veins and marbling reveal its full beauty. The mount, typical of the period, links this fine vessel to a small corpus of hardstone pieces crafted by Parisian goldsmiths. Underneath the foot, an intaglio depicting Cupid and Love echoes similar pieces preserved at the Louvre from the former collections of Louis XIV, underlining the exceptional quality of this object.
In the same vein, a covered cup in blood jasper mounted with white enamelled gold, probably made in Milan by the Miseroni workshops in the 16th century, showcases the artistry of this family of Italian lapidaries, whose renown spread across European courts in the following century. Traced to the inventory of Madeleine Fabry, widow of Chancellor Pierre Séguier, this masterpiece reflects the refined taste of the elite for hardstone objects during the reign of Louis XIV, who assembled one of the most important collections of its kind.
The previous edition of the “Cabinet of Wonders” in December 2024 had already unveiled treasures such as a marbled calcedonio glass ewer, which sold for €390,000. This year, a Venetian basin from the late 15th century, with shifting colours reminiscent of agate, will further enrich the selection. Rare and of exceptional quality, it completes a unique ensemble initiated by the artisan Angelo Barovier, the master glassmaker behind some of the greatest innovations in Venetian glass.
In the same vein, a covered cup in blood jasper mounted with white enamelled gold, probably made in Milan by the Miseroni workshops in the 16th century, showcases the artistry of this family of Italian lapidaries, whose renown spread across European courts in the following century. Traced to the inventory of Madeleine Fabry, widow of Chancellor Pierre Séguier, this masterpiece reflects the refined taste of the elite for hardstone objects during the reign of Louis XIV, who assembled one of the most important collections of its kind.
The previous edition of the “Cabinet of Wonders” in December 2024 had already unveiled treasures such as a marbled calcedonio glass ewer, which sold for €390,000. This year, a Venetian basin from the late 15th century, with shifting colours reminiscent of agate, will further enrich the selection. Rare and of exceptional quality, it completes a unique ensemble initiated by the artisan Angelo Barovier, the master glassmaker behind some of the greatest innovations in Venetian glass.
