London – The fabled Twinight Collection of museum-quality fine porcelain and enamel returns to Bonhams with some exquisite pieces offered in the 500 Years of European Ceramics Sale on Tuesday 3 December at Bonhams New Bond Street.

Nette Megens, Bonhams' Head of Continental Ceramics commented, "The Twinight Collection includes one of the foremost collections of enamel portraits with works by Henry Bone (1755-1834), the celebrated English miniature painter. Already world famous during his lifetime, Bone toured some of the grandest homes in the United Kingdom, attracting the Royal Patronage of George III, George IV and William IV. This is a rare opportunity to acquire works of such exceptional quality and prestige by the 'Prince of Enamelers'."

Among more than 25 works by Henry Bone in the sale, is a remarkable portrait of Sofonisba Regina, wearing a single shouldered deep burgundy velvet dress with slashed sleeve, painted after Titian. Bone uses the same pose as Titian's Girl in a Fur Coat, now in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna. This refined portrait is offered with an estimate of £10,000-15,000.

Richard Baron Cohen - an exceptional collector

Richard Baron Cohen, the creator of The Twinight Collection, began collecting fine porcelain when he saw an urn in an antique shop in New Orleans. It was the start of a passion that led to a collection of 7,000 pieces – and for 20 years, Baron Cohen estimated that he had acquired 1.4 pieces of porcelain, or a portrait miniature every other day for 20 years. His especial love was for 19th century neo-classical porcelain that led him to hunt for examples around the world, and unusually from a variety of manufactories, rather than the traditional focus on a specific one. He is one of the world's greatest collectors.

Rare Meissen porcelain including the famous Swan Service

The Meissen manufactory, established in 1710 remains one of the most sought-after names in European Ceramics. Included in the sale is a very rare and extensive early 19th century Meissen service decorated in high relief and picked out in gilding with various scenes after antiquity with an estimate of £30,000-50,000. The service comprises 48 pieces in total to include a coffee pot, tea pots, smaller hot chocolate pots, tea and chocolate cups, saucers, plates and more.

The most famous service of high baroque Meissen porcelain, the Swan Service also makes a rare appearance to include a pair of Meissen circular dishes (2nd size) from the Swan Service, estimate £20,000 – 30,000 and a Meissen circular dish (5th size) from the Swan Service, circa 1738-39 also with an estimate of £20,000-30,000. This opulent service was ordered by the important Saxon/Polish cabinet minister, Count Heinrich von Brühl (1700-1763), and originally comprised over 2,200 pieces.

Sèvres – continuously at the forefront of European ceramic production

A Sèvres perfume burner and cover, circa 1807, steals the show with its exquisite decoration and delicacy, testimony to the skill and mastery of its artists. The dolphin-footed bowl is decorated with butterflies and edged with a red ground band around the underside of the scalloped rim filled with alternating stylised gilt flowers and rosettes. Perfume burners, sometimes known as veilleuse, functioned as night lights as well as perfume burners and were used to scent rooms and improve atmosphere either through burning aromatic oils or using dried herbs. Estimate: £30,000-50,000.

One of the many remarkable accomplishments of the Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory, founded in 1745, was its ability to stay continuously at the forefront of European ceramic production despite the myriad changes in technology, taste and patronage. A highly decorated and very large vase, 'Vase d'Angers au Gui', made almost a century later than the perfume burner, is testimony to this. The vase, standing an impressive 95cm in height and dated 1902, showcases the incredible skill and artistry of the manufactory, with moulded decoration of stylised mistletoe hanging from blue entwining ribbon and wrapped around twigs of oak and holly. The vase, signed Gébleux, is decorated by Léonard Gébleux (1883-1929), who was employed at the Sèvres manufactory as a chef des ateliers de décoration. Offered with an estimate of £15,000-20,000.

Other highlights in the sale include

• A Meissen octagonal plate from the Christie-Miller service, circa 1740. Estimate: £10,000-15,000.

• German school, a gilt-metal locket containing eight family portraits, circa 1600. Estimate: £8,000-12,000.

• An extremely rare pair of gilt-bronze-mounted Chantilly tobacco jars and covers, circa 1740. Estimate: £6,000-8,000.