This two-piece George II-style red lacquered and parcel gilt secretary is 93 inches high by 40 inches wide by 24 inches deep. It has a $6,000-$8,000 estimate.
CHICAGO – Leslie Hindman Auctioneers will present its first of four Furniture and Decorative Arts Auctions this year, Jan. 24-25. More than 1,200 lots consigned by estates, private collectors and institutions from across the country will be sold at Hindman’s West Loop location. LiveAuctioneers will provide Internet live bidding.
The auction will begin Sunday at noon Central with the sale of a Georgian eglomise panel depicting an urn filled with flowers on a mirrored ground. The picture frame measures 33 1/2 inches by 29 inches. The estimate is $2,000-$4,000.
Ten lots later a George II-style red lacquered and parcel gilt secretary, consigned by Atlanta’s High Museum of Art to benefit its Acquisitions Fund, will open the furniture lineup. The 93-inch-tall secretary is decorated with chinoiserie figures and motifs. It has a $6,000-$8,000.
A 19th-century bracket clock adorned from top to bottom with gilt metal mounts is 52 inches tall. It features a face with Arabic numerals above winged putti. This ornate timepiece carries a $20,000-$30,000 estimate.
Also selling on the first day is a 33-inch-tall Italian marble sculpture of the Three Graces, after Antonio Canova. The lovely trio is carved standing, draped and leaning together before a column. The estimate is $20,000-$30,000.
Eighteen Sevres-style porcelain plaques adorn the top of a gueridon, a small French table. The tabletop also holds a central porcelain panel of Louis XVI with gilt metal mounts throughout. It is 30 inches high by 31 inches in diameter and estimated at $20,000-$30,000.
Bronze female figures titled The Pharaoh’s Gift and The Queen’s Offering are each inscribed “E. Picault” and raised on a stepped marble and bronze base. The figures stand 20 1/4 inches high and have a $25,000-$35,000 estimate.
A pair of Continental cranberry cut glass urns features gilt metal mounts on the handles that depict female masks with braided hair. The 28 1/2-inch tall urns have a $30,000-$40,000 estimate.
More than 50 lots of carved jade will be among the Asian treasures to be on the second day of the auction, which will begin again at noon Central. One of the best is a reticulated lidded jade vessel of pale green stone, 11 1/4 inches in diameter. The top has a thinly carved central medallion of Shou Lau with radiating foliate carving above pierced figural scene panels around the perimeter. It carries a $20,000-$30,000 estimate.
Various Immortals are included in the mountainous scenes carved into a 5 1/2-inch high jade brush pot, which also carries a $20,000-$30,000 estimate.
Another item being sold for the High Museum is a French three-piece garniture by Bointaburet of Paris. Made during the second half of the 19th century of silver marble and bronze, each piece is remounted with silver putti allegorical of the four seasons. The centerpiece alone is 28 inches wide.
For details phone 312-334-4225.
To view the fully illustrated catalog and sign up to bid absentee or live via the Internet during the sale at www.LiveAuctioneers.com.
The Three Graces are carved in Italian white marble. The 33-inch-tall sculpture dates to the turn of the 20th century. It carries a $20,000-$30,000. Images courtesy Leslie Hindman Auctioneers. Pineapple form finials accent this 19th-century oak and gilt metal mounted bracket clock, which is 52 inches tall. It has a $20,000-$30,000 estimate. Images courtesy Leslie Hindman Auctioneers. The Immortal Shou Lau is depicted in the central medallion of this finely carved lidded vessel, which measures 11 1/4 inches in diameter. It has a $20,000-$30,000 estimate. Images courtesy Leslie Hindman Auctioneers. Silver bowls and mirrored plateaus are found on this three-piece garniture by Bointaburet. Each piece features silver putti, dolphins, mask fountains and waterfowl over silver bowls and mirrored plateaus. The set has an $8,000-$12,000 estimate. Images courtesy Leslie Hindman Auctioneers.
Heyde 15-piece set made in 1890 depicting Frederick the Great on white horse, with flag bearer, guards and two African drummers. Sold for $4,425 against an estimate of $700-$1,000.
PITTSBURGH – Collectors of antique toy soldiers and figures have long known that good things come in small packages, and that ever-growing legion of enthusiasts helped push the total for Old Toy Soldier’s Nov. 21 auction to $193,000 – the company’s highest sale total to date. Leading the charge in the 644-lot sale was an army of figures from the German manufacturer Heyde (pronounced “High-dee”).
“The Heyde lots really got the momentum going,” said Old Toy Soldier Auction USA’s owner, Ray Haradin. “There was a tremendous amount of interest in them, and in all the German-made figures, for that matter.”
Haradin explained that collectors are attracted to Heyde figures because they are highly realistic and do not look mass produced. “Their sets are very fanciful. They tend to have 20 pieces in them, with all 20 being different, so they display very nicely. Also, Heyde made their figures in a larger scale than Britains did, so they tend to cross over more with toy and train collectors.”
The top-selling Heyde set in Old Toy Soldier’s November sale, which utilized LiveAuctioneers.com for its Internet live bidding, was an 1890 ensemble of 15 pieces featuring Frederick the Great on his white mount, flag bearer, guards and two African drummers. Estimated at $700-$1,000, the grouping was bid to a hefty $4,425 (all prices quoted inclusive of 18 percent buyer’s premium).
Other Heyde lots that finished well above estimate included an extremely rare, boxed circa-1910 Old Volunteer Corps comprised of officer drummer and 10 men and 10 men, $3,835; and a set called the Napoleonic Old Guard, $1,416.
Britains is the brand that has the largest collector base of all the toy soldier companies, and Haradin said that more than 100 “regular, very active collectors” of Britains participate in his sales. “Because Britains produced so many sets, it takes persistence if you want to be a ‘completist,’ but that’s what makes it so enjoyable,” he said. “In this sale we saw a lot of bidders going after the pre-World War I sets from the renowned collection of Deutschebank managing director Vincent C. Banker.” Mr. Banker’s premier collection of figures was previously featured in Town & Country magazine.
Among the Britains auctioned on Nov. 21, a Life Guard Band in red achieved $2,714 against a $700 high estimate, while a civilian figural pair known as the Lambeth Walk Dancers achieved $1,770. An exceptionally rare H.R.H. The Prince of Wales in the uniform of the Welsh Guards, made around 1939, retained its original box indicating it was made exclusively for the souvenir shop at Madame Tussauds in London. It garnered an above-estimate price of $2,360.
Few Britains productions rival the charm of their 1937-1941 Noah’s Ark with figures of Noah, his wife and 22 animals. With a box ingeniously designed to double as an ark, the set drew a throng of bidders who sent the lot sailing to a closing price of $5,900.
A much-anticipated highlight of the sale was the late Dr. James “Doc” Wengert’s collection of figures, vehicles and other scale-model toys related to military medicine. A third-generation physician, Dr. Wengert served as a U.S. Navy flight surgeon during the Vietnam War. Because of his profession, he chose to specialize in medical figures – doctors, nurses, orderlies, stretcher bearers, wounded soldiers – and all the accoutrements that a collector might desire in setting up a miniature M.A.S.H unit, like operating tents, field kitchens, rescue dogs and emergency vehicles.
“Many new people with a connection to medicine – notably physicians and dentists – heard about this unique collection and decided to bid in the sale. They couldn’t have picked a better way to get started in this specialty collecting field,” said Haradin, noting that there “strength all across this part of the sale. The prices weren’t huge numbers, but they were consistently above estimate.” A very rare circa-1890 British medical ensemble made by T. Krause (Germany) and featuring 20 pieces was the highest-priced lot from the Wengert collection. Featuring a medical tent, tinplate horse-drawn medical wagon, medical officers, nurse, and other figures and accessories, it sold for $2,124 against a high estimate of $1,200.
Single figures that were made by special order at the Britains factory in 1938 included two khaki-attired medics – one with a forage cap, the other with a peaked cap. They sold well above estimate at $767 and $798, respectively. A circa-1934 Johillco brand 5-piece Abyssinian Red Cross Unit with original red-and-white-labeled box made $650.
Together with the antique and vintage pieces that form the core of his sales, Haradin always offers a selection of later soldiers and figures to encourage new collectors. “If you don’t want to dive right into the earlier market, buying quality pieces from the 1980s is a great way to get your feet wet and become involved in the hobby,” Haradin said. He noted that even the more recently made military miniatures are seeing a “nice spike in value” at auction. In the November sale, a 1980s King & Country TK011 Austin K2 Ambulance, gloss green version and one of only 20 made, sped past its $400-$600 estimate to apply the brakes at $1,416.
On Saturday, May 1, 2010, Old Toy Soldier Auctions USA will conduct an absentee, phone and Internet auction (through LiveAuctioneers.com) from its home base in Pittsburgh. The event will feature the premier Britains collection of brothers Don Thompson and the late Bill Thompson, as well as part III of the John Graham collection. Additional select properties, including a San Francisco collection of coveted 1950s Courtenay knights, will round out the auction offering.
For additional information, call 412-343-8733 or 800-349-8009; or visit Old Toy Soldier Auctions USA online at www.oldtoysoldierauctions.com. Watch for the fully illustrated electronic catalog at www.LiveAuctioneers.com.
Circa-1910 Heyde Old Volunteer Corps Set #1387 with original box, $3,835. Extremely rare circa-1939 Britains H.R.H. The Prince of Wales in the uniform of the Welsh Guards, made under special commission for souvenir shop at Madame Tussauds, $2,360. Britains 1937-1941 Noah’s Ark Set #1550 with figures of Noah and his wife, a variety of animal pairs and an ark-shape box, $5,900. Circa-1890 T. Krause (Gotha, Germany) 20-piece representation of British medical unit. Estimate $900-$1,200. Britains 1938 figure representing a khaki-uniformed World War II medic, $767. 1980s-vintage King & Country TK011 Austin K2 Ambulance, one of only 20 made, $1,416. Circa-1934 Johillco Abyssinian Red Cross Unit with original box, $650. Britains’ Lambeth Walk dancing duo based on the musical Me and My Girl, made only during the year 1939, $1,770.
Evening view of the St. Louis Art Museum at Forest Park in a photo taken by Matt Kitces on Sept. 27, 2008. Image used by permission, Creative Commons license, Wikimedia Commons.
ST. LOUIS (AP) – The St. Louis Art Museum broke ground on Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2010, to mark the start of a $130.5 million expansion project.
Mayor Francis Slay, St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley and other dignitaries attended the 3 p.m. event outside the museum in the city’s Forest Park.
Museum officials announced the go-ahead for the expansion last month – more than a year after weakening credit markets and the sour economy delayed the project.
The expansion has been in the planning stages for more than a decade. The new wings are expected to open in about two years, and the museum will remain open during construction.
The additional space will allow the museum to display more of its 30,000-piece collection.
Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Statue of cat goddess Bastet, photographed by Gryffindor in 2008 at the Istanbul Museum. Permission to use image granted through GNU Free Documentation License, Creative Commons.
CAIRO (AP) – Egypt says its archaeologists have unearthed a Ptolemaic temple dating back more than 2,000 years, that may have been dedicated to the ancient cat-goddess Bastet.
The Supreme Council of Antiquities said the temple’s ruins were discovered in the heart of the Mediterranean port city of Alexandria, the seat of the dynasty founded by Alexander the Great in the 4th century B.C., that ended with the suicide of Cleopatra 300 years later.
The statement said the temple was thought to belong to Queen Berenice, wife of King Ptolemy III who ruled Egypt in the 3rd century B.C.
Mohammed Abdel-Maqsood, the Egyptian archaeologist who led the excavation team, said the discovery may be the first trace of the long-sought location of Alexandria’s royal quarter.
The large number of statues depicting Bastet found in the ruins, he said, indicated that this may be the first Ptolemaic temple discovered in Alexandria to be dedicated to the cat goddess.
That also suggests that the worship of the cat-goddess continued in Egypt during the later, more Greek-influenced, Ptolemaic period, he said. Statues of other ancient Egyptian deities also present, he added.
Zahi Hawas, Egypt’s chief archaeologist, said the temple may have been used in later times as a quarry and that this was evidenced by the large number of missing stone blocks.
Modern Alexandria was built squarely on top of the ruins of the classical-era city and many of the great temples, palaces and libraries of that time remain undiscovered.
The temple was found in the Kom el-Dekkah neighborhood near the city’s main train station and is also the site of a Roman-era amphitheater and well preserved mosaics.
It said the temple was thought to belong to Queen Berenice, wife of King Ptolemy III who ruled Egypt in the 3rd century B.C.
The archaeologist who led the excavation team, Mohammed Abdel-Maqsood, said the ruins indicate this may be the first Ptolemaic temple discovered in Alexandria to be dedicated to Bastet and indicates that the worship of the cat-goddess continued in Egypt after the end of the ancient Egyptian era.
Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Probably made in New Orleans or New York, this American Gothic Revival oak chair is considered rare and important because of its place in plantations of the antebellum South. This fine example has a $20,000-$40,000 estimate. Image courtesy New Orleans Auction St. Charles Gallery Inc.
NEW ORLEANS – New Orleans Auction St. Charles Gallery will sell nearly 1,500 lots of antiques and fine art at its Jan. 23-24 auction. Highlights range from a Belter sofa in the Tuthill King pattern, to a rare Gothic Revival oak hall chair to a museum-quality collection of American Brilliant-period cut glass. LiveAuctioneers will provide Internet live bidding.
The cut glass is from the estate of Johnnie Mac Booker, a longtime antique dealer who operated Booker’s Antiques in Whynot, Miss., since 1961. Mr. Booker’s inventory focused on cut glass, Wave Crest glass, carnival glass, clocks, oil paintings and Victorian furniture. He died last August.
“His prized collection of American Brilliant cut glass includes some of the finest examples we have had the pleasure of offering,” said Tessa Steinkamp, executive vice president of St. Charles Gallery.
Reportedly named for a wealthy real estate tycoon in Chicago, the coveted Tuthill King pattern was one of the most elaborate pierced carving found on furniture made by the New York shops of John Henry Belter. The sofa attributed to Belter in the St. Charles Gallery auction is 48 inches high, 87 inches long and 32 inches deep. It carries an estimate of $50,000-$80,000.
An American Rococo Revival rosewood étagère attributed to J. H. Belter is a rare low version of the étagère sold by Belter to “Rosalie” in Natchez, Miss., in the third quarter of the 19th century. Rosalie became the name of another Belter carving pattern. The crest, centered by fruit carving amid a pierced foliate- and grape-carved field, is on an arched central mirror flanked by two graduated serpentine shelves on a pair of larger serpentine shelves each backed by a mirror plate, on a low serpentine marble-top base with central shell, foliate and fruit carving. It stands 76 1/2 inches high by 54 inches wide by 16 inches deep. The estimate is $18,000-$25,000.
The Gothic Revival side chair is American, made in either New York or New Orleans, and considered an important piece from the plantations of the antebellum South. The oak chair has carved spires reaching 70 1/2 inches high. A similar chair sold for nearly $29,000 at St. Charles Gallery in January 2009. This one has a $20,000-$40,000 estimate.
A Pairpoint Puffy table lamp with a reverse-painted shade depicting roses in bloom is another featured lot in the sale. The shade retains a partial gold stamped label “Pairpoint Corp.” The base is marked with a only a cast number “1116.”
It’s undoubtedly the original base,” said Steinkamp.
The lamp is 22 inches tall and the shade is 10 inches in diameter. The estimate is $3,000-$5,000.
An attractive pair of Paris porcelain garniture vases from the third quarter 19th century, now mounted as table lamps, 14 1/2 inches high, has a $700-$800 estimate. One façade of each of the rococo-style vases is well-painted with a spray of summer flowers, the reverse with gallants reserves.
One of the top paintings in the sale is Portrait of a Young Girl With a Sheep by Carnig Eksergian (Armenian/American, 1855-1931). Signed and dated 1906, the 54- by 47-inch oil on canvas is presented in a period molded giltwood and gesso frame.
“It’s by a good artist who has work in the Metropolitan Museum of Art,” said Steinkamp. The lovely painting has a $3,000-$5,000 estimate.
Among the best and the most brilliant of the cut glass collection is a punchbowl on stand in the Hobstar and Comet pattern. It is 14 1/4 inches tall by 19 inches in diameter. Several small chips and minor scratches from use are noted. It has a $300-$500 estimate.
The auction will begin Saturday at 10 a.m. Central and consists of 827 lots. Sunday’s session, which will begin at 11 a.m. Central, will have 657 lots.
For details phone 504-586-8733.
To view the fully illustrated catalog and sign up to bid absentee or live via the Internet during the sale at www.LiveAuctioneers.com.
The Tuthill King carved pattern was one of the most elaborate produced by John H. Belter. This sofa in the coveted pattern is estimated to bring $50,000-$80,000. Image courtesy New Orleans Auction St. Charles Gallery Inc. Roses in high relief cover the reverse-painted glass shade of this Pairpoint Puffy table lamp. The 22-inch high base is marked with a cast number only: ‘1116.’ It has a $3,000-$5,000 estimate. Image courtesy New Orleans Auction St. Charles Gallery Inc. ‘Portrait of a Young Girl With a Sheep’ is signed and dated lower left ‘C. Eksergian 1906.’ The 54- by 47-inch oil on canvas painting has a $3,000-$5,000 estimate. Image courtesy New Orleans Auction St. Charles Gallery Inc. More than 50 lots of American Brilliant era cut glass will be auctioned. At the center is an early 1900s punchbowl on stand in the Hobstar and Comet pattern. The bowl, 19 inches in diameter, has a $300-$500 estimate. Image courtesy New Orleans Auction St. Charles Gallery Inc.
Click here to view Leslie Hindman Auctioneers’ complete catalog.
