Shown here is an example of an Albany slip stoneware face jug with rock eyes and teeth below incised name "Hoover." Origin: Lincoln County, N.C., circa 1936, 6-1/2 x 6-3/4 inches. Possibly the work of Casey Meaders (1889-1945) who moved from White County, Ga., to Catawba County, N.C., in 1920 and worked as a potter from 1920-1940. "Hoover" probably refers to President Herbert Hoover. This jug sold for $10,200 in Brunk Auctions’ March 24, 2007 sale. Image courtesy LiveAuctioneers Archive and Brunk Auctions.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) – A folk art stoneware jug with white porcelain eyes and bared teeth is heading to a museum in the city where it was unearthed six decades ago, with historians calling it a rare artifact made in South Carolina by some of the last African slaves brought to America.
Robert Strang, a plumber, unearthed the 10-inch-tall jug in 1950 while digging a sewer line in the city’s Mount Airy section. He took it home, thinking it might be an Indian relic, and never learned its history before his death in 2002.
But researchers now say it is one of only about three dozen mid-19th century “face jugs” known to still exist. So rare is the find, in fact, that the PBS History Detectives series plans an episode on the jug this summer.
Strang’s granddaughter, April Leopold Hynes, said she found the jug in a kitchen cupboard in October while helping her mother and aunt move from their Ambler, Pa., home. She identified similar jugs on the Smithsonian Institution’s Web site, and later got in touch with John Michael Vlach, a George Washington University professor of American studies and anthropology.
“It wasn’t made in Philadelphia,” Vlach said. “This bad boy was made in South Carolina and somebody carried it up (north).” Vlach said the jug was created shortly before 1860 in what was the Edgefield District, now part of Edgefield and Aiken counties, in South Carolina.
While potters throughout the United States have made face jugs, ones like this one made with stoneware and porcelain did not appear until after 1858, when 170 enslaved Africans were smuggled into South Carolina on a ship named The Wanderer, he said. Slaves were brought in illegally after the British abolished the international slave trade in 1807.
“The number of sites where African Americans were making pottery is really quite limited,” Vlach said. “Edgefield sites are remarkable because the slave owners decided they could get their slaves to do something more complicated.”
Gary Dexter, a South Carolina potter and historian, said the jugs are reminiscent of byeris, bark baskets from West Africa and the Congo that held teeth, skull and bone fragments of ancestors and which were consulted before major decisions.
They were decorated with crude wood faces “that looked almost identical to the Edgefield face jugs,” Dexter said. “It is my opinion that they were probably trying to recreate one of the single most important things in their culture.”
Still a mystery, however, is how the jug made its way from the South to the City of Brotherly Love.
David Barquist, curator of American decorative arts at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, says the jug will be on loan to the museum for display later this year, joining three other Edgefield face jugs already in the museum’s collection since early in the last century.
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Information from: The Philadelphia Inquirer, http://www.philly.com
Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
CAIRO (AP) – Archaeologists have unearthed a 3,500-year-old door to the afterlife from the tomb of a high-ranking Egyptian official near Karnak temple in Luxor, the Egyptian antiquities authority said Monday.
These recessed niches found in nearly all ancient Egyptian tombs were meant to take the spirits of the dead to and from the afterworld. The nearly six-foot-tall (1.75 meters) slab of pink granite was covered with religious texts.
The door came from the tomb of User, the chief minister of Queen Hatshepsut, a powerful, long ruling 15th century B.C. queen from the New Kingdom with a famous mortuary temple near Luxor in southern Egypt.
User held the position of vizier for 20 years, also acquiring the titles of prince and mayor of the city, according to the inscriptions. He may have inherited his position from his father. Viziers in ancient Egypt were powerful officials tasked with the day-to-day running of the kingdom’s complex bureaucracy.
As a testament to his importance, User had his own tomb on the west bank of the Nile in Luxor, where royal kings and queens were also buried. A chapel dedicated to him has also been discovered further south in the hills near Aswan.
The stone itself was long way from its tomb and had apparently been removed from the grave and then incorporated into the wall of a Roman-era building, more than a thousand years later.
False doors were placed in the west walls of tombs and faced offering tables where food and drink were left for the spirit of the deceased.
Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Sidney Nolan (1917-1992), First-Class Marksman, 1946, Ripolin enamel on composition board, 35.8 inches by 47.6 inches. Auctioned for US$4.9 million on March 25, 2010. Image courtesy Menzies Fine Art Auctioneers & Valuers.
SYDNEY (AP and ACNI) – A painting of Australia’s most notorious outlaw has sold at an auction in Australia for 5.4 million Australian dollars (US$4.9 million), a record bid for Australian artwork.
The buyer, previously identified only as “anonymous,” has stepped forward and been identified as the Gleeson O’Keefe Foundation. The nonprofit organization has donated the painting, titled First-Class Marksman, to the Art Gallery of New South Wales in Sydney.
The 1946 Sidney Nolan painting of Ned Kelly, who is regarded by historians as a Robin Hood-like figure, was sold at an auction conducted by Menzies Art Brands on Thursday, March 25, 2010. The famous painting features Kelly in his armored helmet pointing a rifle. Prior to the auction, it was the only remaining Sidney Nolan artwork in private hands.
Edward “Ned” Kelly (June 1854/June 1855-11 November 1880) was an Irish-Australian bushranger and, to some, a folk hero for his defiance of the colonial authorities. Kelley was born in Victoria to an Irish convict father, and as a young man he clashed with the Victoria Police. Following an incident at his home in 1878, police parties searched for him in the bush. After he killed three policemen, the colony proclaimed Kelly and his gang to be wanted outlaws. A final violent confrontation with police took place at Glenrowan. Kelly, dressed in homemade plate-metal armor and helmet, was captured and sent to jail. He was hanged for murder at Old Melbourne Gaol (Jail) in 1880. His daring and notoriety made him an iconic figure in Australian history, folklore, literature, art and film.
The previous record for an Australian artwork was AU$3.48 million (US$3.2 million) for Brett Whiteley’s The Olgas for Ernest Giles in 2007.
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Auction Central News International contributed to this report, using information obtained through Wikipedia.org.
Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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ADDITIONAL IMAGES OF NOTE
Ned Kelly’s suit of armor, displayed at the State Library of Victoria in Melbourne, Australia. Photo by Chensiyuan, permission to pubish granted through GNU Free Documentation License. 1880 photo of notorious Australian bushranger Ned Kelly, taken the day before his execution. Charles Nettleton photo from the collection of the State Library of Victoria.
David Webb 18K yellow and white gold diamond melee ring (est. $5,000-$8,000). Image courtesy Gray’s Auctioneers.
CLEVELAND, Ohio – Gray’s Auctioneers will conduct Auction 28: Fine Jewelry, Gems and Watches on March 31 beginning at 1 p.m. Eastern. This diverse sale will consist of more than 125 stunning jewelry lots ranging from rings, bracelets and necklaces to brooches, pendants and earrings. LiveAuctioneers will provide Internet live bidding.
Of particular note is a David Webb ladies 18K yellow and white gold, diamond melee ring, a piece that is remarkable for its bold shape and arrangement. A preeminent American jewelry designer, David Webb is known for his enigmatic, colorful and dramatic jewelry pieces – particularly those featuring animals, as evidenced in Lot 53, a white enameled and ruby frog ring. This ring captures Webb’s sense of whimsy, while illustrating his skillful craftsmanship.
Also featured is a beautiful single-strand Tahitian gray pearl necklace, particularly arresting for the pink overtone found in the pearls. The necklace pairs nicely with a number of gray pearl earring sets, including Lot 96, a pair of 18K white gold, black pearl and diamond drop earrings, or Lot 94, a pair of 18K yellow gold and Tahitian pearl stud earrings.
Further offerings include a unique carved Russian agate cameo. The piece features an 18K yellow gold, European-cut diamond and Akoya pearl frame with black and white enamel. The size of the piece, coupled with its intricately detailed carving, makes it truly remarkable.
Rounding out this diverse selection is an elegant Piaget, Van Cleef and Arpels ladies wristwatch with 18K yellow gold bezel and braided band and featuring a beautiful coral dial.
This sale marks Gray’s first online only auction. Gray’s showroom will be open for preview March 29, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. through the sale date, March 31.
Only a fisherman would know that this is a mahogany line dryer. The 8 1/2-inch-wide spool with wooden spindles sold for $590 at an auction held by Lang’s Sporting Collectables of Waterville, N.Y. The silver foil label with the initials
Did you know Abercrombie & Fitch made line dryers for fishing lines? Did you know there was even a need to dry your fishing line? At a recent auction by Lang’s Sporting Collectibles, which specializes in fishing items, a wooden line dryer sold for $590. David Abercrombie and Ezra Fitch became partners in a New York City sporting goods store in 1900. Their store had large displays of camp scenes that included camping equipment, a casting pool to let fishermen test gear and a rifle range for hunters. One item for fishermen was a fish line dryer. After a day at the lake, fishing line should be wound on a large, open reel so it can dry before the next excursion. It should not be wound on your hand because it might kink and later snarl. Many of the dryers look like storage holders for clotheslines to someone who doesn’t use a rod and reel. Collectors interested in fishing look for old rods, reels, creels, lures, tackle boxes, fish decoys and line dryers.
Q: A friend of mine in Turkey shipped me an antique ceramic heating stove because he’s sure it’s American. Sure enough, the plaque on the back says, “Rathbone, Sard & Co., Albany, Chicago & Detroit, Pat.: May 26, 1891.” I don’t know how the stove ended up in Turkey, but ceramic stoves are quite common there. Can you give me any information about the maker?
A: George Sard started working for Rathbone & Co., an Albany, N.Y., stove manufacturer, in 1860. He was just 17 years old. Eight years later he was offered a partnership in the company, which was renamed Rathbone, Sard & Co. in 1873. It went out of business in 1930. The patent date on your stove refers to a U.S. Design Patent issued May 26, 1891, for the design of the outside of your stove. So your stove was made in the 1890s or the early 1900s.
Q: I bought an oak buffet from a neighbor who moved out of state. The label in the back of one of the drawers pictures two Windsor chairs and says, “Windsor Chair Shop, The Owen Sound Chair Co. Ltd., Owen Sound.” The bottom corner of the label is torn off. Any idea where this company was?
A: There’s a town in Ontario, Canada, called Owen Sound. Your label was missing “Ont.,” the abbreviation for Ontario. The Owen Sound Chair Co. was in business from 1912 until about 1937. It manufactured dining room sets, living room suites, office furniture and Windsor chairs.
Q: While cleaning out our basement, we came across a large porcelain figurine my grandmother gave us years ago. I know she bought it in Europe during her travels, but I would like you to identify the mark. It’s a crown with the words “Turn Wien,” “Ernst Wahlis” and “Made in Austria.”
A: Ernst Wahlis owned retail stores that sold Bohemian porcelain in London and Vienna (“Wien” in German) in the late 1800s. In 1894 he purchased the Alfred Stellmacher porcelain factory in Turn, Bohemia (now Trnovany, Czech Republic). The factory manufactured porcelain and marked it with Wahlis’s name. The mark you describe was used from about 1897 to 1906. The factory closed in 1934.
Q: I have a large collection of Dixie Cup lids and premiums from the mid-1930s to the 1950s. Does anyone else collect them?
A: Sure. A few years ago, a collection of 760 Dixie Cup premiums auctioned for just under $8,000. The lids and premiums you’re referring to relate to Dixie Cup ice cream cups, not the paper drinking cups introduced in the early 1900s by Lawrence Luellen of Boston. The disposable cups were named “Dixie” in 1919, and four years later it became the corporation’s name. Then came the introduction of little paper ice cream containers with patented pull-off lids. To help market the new product, Dixie printed pictures on the inside of the lids. From 1930 to 1954, lids featured pictures of movie stars, sports heroes, animals, cowboys, etc. Customers could save the lids or mail 12 of them in for a premium, a larger photo of a real or fictional celebrity. Today a Flash Gordon premium photo sells for about $200 and a Roy Rogers for $100. Price depends not just on the fame of the star, but also the rarity and condition of the photo.
Tip: For your health and the well being of your collection, do not smoke. Nicotine stains fabrics, pictures and wood.
Terry Kovel answers as many questions as possible through the column. By sending a letter with a question, you give full permission for use in the column or any other Kovel forum. Names, addresses or e-mail addresses will not be published. We cannot guarantee the return of any photograph, but if a stamped envelope is included, we will try. The volume of mail makes personal answers or appraisals impossible. Write to Kovels, Auction Central News, King Features Syndicate, 300 W. 57th St., New York, NY 10019.
Need more information about collectibles? Find it at Kovels.com, our Web site for collectors. Check prices there, too. More than 700,000 are listed, and viewing them is free. You can also sign up to read our weekly Kovels Komments. It includes the latest news, tips and questions and is delivered by e-mail, free, if you register. Kovels.com offers extra collector’s information and lists of publications, clubs, appraisers, auction houses, people who sell parts or repair antiques and much more. You can subscribe to Kovels on Antiques and Collectibles, our monthly newsletter filled with prices, facts and color photos. Kovels.com adds to the information in our newspaper column and helps you find useful sources needed by collectors.
CURRENT PRICES
Current prices are recorded from antiques shows, flea markets, sales and auctions throughout the United States. Prices vary in different locations because of local economic conditions.
Masonic sash, red velvet, beaded woven star design, fringed, three metal rings hold sash together, 38 inches, $48.
“Supercar to the Rescue” board game, player whose car gets to the disaster scene first wins, Milton Bradley, 1962, $55.
Herbert Hoover-Al Smith matching mugs, white porcelain, Patriotic Products Association, Philadelphia, 1928, 7 inches, pair, $86.
Blue Ridge teapot, snub nose, rose bouquet, pink roses on white ground, two cups, $95.
Superman “Super-Babe” doll, composition, sleep eyes, jointed at shoulders, hips and head, snap-on cape, 1947, 15 inches, $375.
Disney calendar for National Life & Accident Insurance Co., “The Shield Keeps the Wolf from the door,” Three Little Pigs & Big Bad Wolf, 1939, 16 1/2 x 13 1/2 inches, $495.
Chinese red-lacquered scholar’s desk, three parts, top with five drawers, round brass pulls, latticed shelf, squared legs, 19th century, 31 x 67 inches, $4,320.
Give yourself or a friend a gift. Kovels’ Advertising Collectibles Price List has more than 10,000 current prices of your favorite advertising collectibles from boxes and bins to trays and tins. More than 400 categories are organized by brand name, company name, product or collectible. Plus 300 photographs, logos and trademarks. A 16-page color insert features important advertising collectibles. clubs, publications, resources and a full index. Available at your bookstore; online at Kovels.com; by phone at 800-571-1555; or send $16.95 plus $4.95 postage to Kovels, Box 22900, Beachwood, OH 44122.
Catalonia’s countryside is dotted with ancient houses and other structures, such as this Roman-built aqueduct near Tarragona. 2006 photo by Pamela McCreight. Courtesy Wikipedia.
MADRID (AP) – Spanish police have recovered most of a reported euro300 million ($400 million) trove of antique jewels and other valuables stolen from a mansion whose owner says he kept it looking decrepit to hide the treasure inside. Two people have been arrested in the March 14 burglary in the northeastern Catalonia region and a third is being sought, a police official said Thursday.
The entire house had been cleaned out, included rings, necklaces, tiaras encrusted with diamonds, rubies or pearls, silver medallions, medals, trays, jugs and other valuables dating as far back as the 12th century. About 85 percent of the loot has been recovered, the police official told the Associated Press on condition of anonymity, in line with department rules.
The owner, Llorenc Jaume Grau-Pla, 65, is a descendant of a medieval baron, and only used the house in the town of Riudecols on weekends and in summer. The valuables were in glass display cases inside, in plain view.
“I keep the house run-down on purpose as a way to camouflage the high-value collection I keep inside,” he was quoted as saying by the newspaper El Pais.
He estimated its value at euro300 million. Police said they can neither confirm nor dispute that amount because they have no experts to do appraisals.
The two detainees, identified only as young Romanians, apparently invited their own arrest. A day after the burglary, they called police to report an attempted theft at their home about 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the mansion.
Officers searching the house found a camera with pictures of the treasures and a sock containing an antique coin from the burgled house. They found the rest of the loot in a bag hidden in a nearby ravine.
The two men had learned from someone else in Riudecols that there were valuables in the mansion. Their call to police stemmed from an apparent fight with people who came around seeking a share of the goodies, the police official said.
Riudecols’ mayor, Pere Solanellas, said the town is shocked. “This has been surreal because almost no one knew about this treasure,” he said.
Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Kay and Bill Puchstein are adding a full summer schedule to their West Palm Beach Antiques Festival series.
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – “Everyone knows there is not a whole lot of antiquing going on during the summer in Florida. We are going to change that and make West Palm Beach a year round destination for antiques and collectibles,” said Kay and Bill Puchstein, owners of the West Palm Beach Antiques Festival.
Responding to increased dealer and customer interest and bucking the current trend in the industry, the Puchsteins announced an agreement with the South Florida Fairgrounds to include the scheduling of summer shows for the mid-2010 season in addition to the regular November to June shows. Bill Puchstein noted, “Many dealers who used to set up at the old West Palm Beach summer shows years ago have told us that the summer shows were always their best shows of the year.”
The new format for the summer shows will be a two-day affair, Saturday and Sunday instead of the normal three-day event during the regular season. Summer show dates will be July 3-4, August 7-8, September 4-5 and October 2-3; with a full day of setup for dealers on Fridays 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
In another welcome move, the Puchsteins have lowered dealers’ booth rent by 15 percent over the normal show fee. The popular “early buyers admission” feature will be continued in the summer starting at 8 a.m. on Saturdays before the regular show opening time of 10 a.m.. The $25 early buyer ticket is good for the entire weekend.
Summer show hours will be 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays and 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Sundays. Adult daily admission $7, seniors $6 with a $1 discount coupon for adult admission available on the Web site. Anyone under 16 is admitted free. There is no charge for parking at the fairgrounds.
The West Palm Beach Antiques Festival is held at the Americraft Expo Center at the South Florida Fair located off Southern Boulevard in West Palm Beach, Fla., 1.5 miles west of the Florida Turnpike and 1 mile east of 441/SR7. For additional information call 941-697-7475 or e-mail info @wpbaf.com.
‘American Flamingo,’ a hand-colored engraving from the Havell Edition of ‘Birds of America’ is 38 1/8 inches by 25 3/8 inches. It has a $40,000-$60,000 estimate. Image courtesy Neal Auction Co.
NEW ORLEANS – Various estates and institutions have consigned more than 1,100 lots of antique furniture, decorative art, paintings and prints to Neal Auction Co.’s Early Spring Auction on March 27-28. Many are important items, including an American Flamingo elephant folio hand-colored engraving from the Havell edition of Audubon’s Birds of America. LiveAuctioneers will provide Internet live bidding.
“To an Audubon collector, the Pink Flamingo is as iconic an image as a Marilyn or Jackie would be to Warhol collector,” said Marc Fagan, director of consignments at Neal Auction Co.
The print, which will sell on the first day of the auction, measures 38 1/8 inches by 25 3/8 inches and has an estimate of $40,000-$60,000.
A single-page letter written and signed by George Washington in 1780 to Robert Morris and Blair McClenachan thanking them for a gift of spirits is another important item offered by Neal Auction Co.
“Given the letter’s recipients and subject matter, the Washington autograph letter to would be an important addition to any collection and could be particularly well suited for an American financier,” said Fagan.
Paintings include Paul Sawyier’s Fishing Club, Jamaica Bay, New York City, which he completed circa 1915, two years before he died at age 52.
“(It’s) one of the most compelling and attractive Sawyier images to have ever come up at auction.” said Neal Alford, president and co-founder of Neal Auction Co.
The 14- by 17-inch oil on canvas board, signed on the lower left, carries a $30,000-$50,000.
The Ohio-born Sawyier spent much of his early career studying and painting in Kentucky before eventually moving to New York.
A life-size carved white marble figural group titled A Bacchante Toying with the Young Pan by Marius Jean Antonin Mercié (French, 1845-1916) is another masterpiece. It depicts a bacchante teasing the young faun who pleads for his reed pipe, a lion cub at his side. The marble group is 54 inches high and rests atop a 37-inch pedestal.
“Known for works in bronze, this massive, monumental marble carving by Mercié is as lighthearted and quixotically playful as it is rare and important,” said Michele Carolla, Neal Auction Co.’s specialist in European sculpture and works of art.
Saturday’s session consisting of 628 lots will begin at 11 a.m. Central. Sunday’s sale will begin at noon Central.
Paul Sawyier (Kentucky, 1865-1917) painted ‘Fishing Club, Jamaica Bay, New York City’ circa 1915. The 14- by 17-inch oil on board is in a period giltwood frame. The signed work has a $30,000-$50,000 estimate. Image courtesy Neal Auction Co. In a letter dated June 20, 1780, George Washington thanks two men for their letter and a gift of spirits. The single folio page signed boldly by Washington has a $50,000-$70,000 estimate. Image courtesy Neal Auction Co. At a height of 54 inches, 91 inches high with the pedestal, ‘A Bacchante Toying with the Young Pan’ by Mercié is a rare and important work. The life-size group carved in white marble has a $50,000-$75,000 estimate. Image courtesy Neal Auction Co.
Retired British racing driver Damon Hill’s name is sewn on the belt of this racing suit. Hill won the Formula One World Championship in 1996. Image courtesy Aurora.
BELL CANYON, Calif. – Aurora will be conducting a March 27 online sale through LiveAuctioneers.com that features historic collectibles, rare books and automobilia. The auction will begin at 8 a.m. Pacific.
“We are particularly excited about the span of history represented in this auction,” said Dr. Maureen Clemmons. “Included in our sale is a first edition in original binding of Sir Isaac Newton’s Philosophy, which was published in 1728 right after the great scientist’s death and described for the first time to the general public Newton’s theories, including his revolutionary idea that gravity kept the Moon in the Earth’s orbit. Newton’s theories about the laws of motion became the foundation for orbital mechanics and ultimately for the development of air travel and space flight. Other items we have in this sale are the result of the direct application of Newton’s theories, including a NASA checklist used for the second manned U.S. space flight by Gus Grissom that has been signed not only by Grissom, but also by the first U.S. astronaut, Alan Shepard, and a “wife’s pin” version of the mission logo carried to the surface of the Moon aboard Apollo 15.”
Noteworthy historical items also included in the sale are autographs by Samuel Huntington, one of the signers of the U.S. Declaration of Independence and an 1858 edition of explorer David Livingstone’s Missionary Travels in South Africa.
For those interested in automotive history, the sale includes racing suits actually used and autographed by race drivers Mario Andretti, Derek Bell, Eddie Irvine and Damon Hill; ornate oil-burning carriage lamps suitable for a brass-era automobile; a 1907 Napier motorcar catalog; and a selection of prewar Rolls-Royce motorcar tools to be sold in separate lots.
For details call 818-884-6468 or to view the full catalog and register for the sale go online to www.auroraauctions.com.
‘A View of Sir Isaac Newton’s Philosophy’ was published in London in 1728. The copy in the Aurora auction is in its original binding. Image courtesy Aurora. Pioneer astronauts Virgil ‘Gus’ Grissom and Alan Shepard autographed this NASA checklist. Image courtesy Aurora.
This patinated bronze sculpture titled ‘Nureyev Half Life, 1990’ set a new world record for artist Richard MacDonald when it sold for $53,330. Image courtesy Clars Auction Gallery. OAKLAND, Calif. – California artist Richard MacDonald’s sculptures are widely recognized – from his Flair Across America, installed at Centennial Park in Atlanta for the 1996 Olympic Games, to Momentum, installed at Pebble Beach to commemorate the 100th U.S. Open.
On March 14 Clars Auction Gallery sold McDonald’s Nureyev Half Life, 1990 for $53,330, setting a new world record for the artist. The patinated bronze sculpture of the ballet dancer measured 44 inches high by 25 1/2 inches wide by 18 inches deep. It was signed and dated “R. MacDonald 90.”
It was one of 17 MacDonald sculptures sold by Clars that day, the most extensive collection of the contemporary master’s work ever offered at auction. The collection came to Clars from a former real estate developer.
The sculptures ranged in size from 14 inches tall to 54 inches tall. Presale estimates ranged from $1,000 to $50,000. MacDonald is considered by many the foremost figurative sculptor working today. His bronze sculptures show the power, grace and beauty of athletes, dancers, mimes and nymphs.
Until Clars’ recent sale, only 14 of his works had been offered at auction, with the highest result being $13,200, achieved in a 2008 sale at Altermann Galleries.
MacDonald’s patinated bronze titled Myth and Legend: Diana & the Coursing Cheetahs sold for $13,040 at Clar’s auction. The 1996 work represents the third highest price ever paid for a MacDonald sculpture at auction.
Overall, Clars’ March sale realized strong prices across the board with other highlights being the work by another well-known sculptor, Louis Ernest Barrias (French, 1841-1901). His gold patinated sculpture entitled Nature reveals Herself was estimated to achieve $8,000-$12,000 but sold for $21,330. A diamond ring in platinum set with a 4.18-carat round diamond sold for $59,250.
Highlighting the paintings category was a framed oil on canvas entitled Silver Veiled Horizon by Hanson Duvall Puthuff, which achieved $13,035. KPM performed well as the framed porcelain plaque The Expulsion of Hagar and Ishmael sold for $9,480. On the furniture side, a stunning Napoleon III ormolu and porcelain mounted marble-top side cabinet brought $10,665.
For details about the sale visit Clars’ Web site at www.clars.com or call (888) 339-7600.
Richard MacDonald’s ‘Myth and Legend: Diana & the Coursing Cheetahs’ sold for $13,040. Done in 1996, it represents the third highest price paid at auction for the California artist’s work. Clars Auction Gallery.
