Auction introduction: This July Sotheby’s is delighted to present the remarkable silver collection of Baron and Baronne Bertrand de Giey. Formed over generations, the silver treasures offered in the sale have until recently been kept at the Grand Noble Castle, in East Flanders, which the de Giey family has owned since 1763. With a particular focus on Flemish pieces, the collection spans the 16th and 17th centuries: a period in which Flanders and the wider region was enjoying a Golden Age. In particular, the group of superbly modelled animal-form drinking cups encapsulates a period where prosperity combined with artistry to create objects of beauty, pleasure and playfulness. Alongside the sale Sotheby’s London, will be offering a number of Flemish Old Master paintings from the family’s collection in the Old Masters and 19th Century Paintings Evening sale. The splendour of the silver-gilt-mounted nautilus shell, the tazza and the cups is mirrored on canvas in the sumptuous still lifes by Clara Peeters, David Ryckaert the Younger and Jan Brueghel the Younger.