Miniature decorated ‘Good Boy’ folk art bucket. Image courtesy of William H. Bunch. CHADDS FORD, Pa. – William H. Bunch brings a broad array of fine and decorative art and collector’s items to the auction marketplace on Aug. 2, with Internet live bidding through LiveAuctioneers.com.
A large selection of toys, Halloween collectibles, mechanical banks and other novelties includes such highlights as a Hall’s Excelsior bank, Eagle and Eaglets mechanical bank, dolls by Armand Marseilles and other premier manufacturers; a Mills Eagle slot machine, AMI coin-operated chrome jukebox, Gunthermann “Flippo” tin windup dog, Issmayer tin litho train station and a rare Maggie and Jiggs tin windup toy. There are many other desirable toys by Lehmann, Marx, Meier, Bing and Kenton, with a nice selection of Disney character toys.
Pottery and porcelain to be auctioned includes a Rookwood Sportsmen blue pottery cigarette caddy, historical blue transferware view of Trenton Falls plate, a Weller Louwelsa vase, Hampshire Arts & Crafts vase, and other items by Limoges, Owens Pottery, Haviland and Fulper. A Paul Revere Pottery tea tile and a Gustausberg Sweden footed vase are also to be sold.
The collectibles section of the sale includes many oil lamps and miniature oil lamps, a 1959 Elvis Spearhead yearbook, papier-mache Halloween collectibles, Hubley cast-iron doorknockers, Canadian trout fishing rod, Gibson A-50 mandolin, beaded purses, 1920s beaded flapper dresses, American brilliant cut glass, Roycroft bookends, tramp art and advertising tins. Additionally, there are glass candy containers, tobacco advertising, redware, a carved-turtle spittoon, daguetteotypes, a U.S. Model 1902 “Army” officer’s sword, early Christmas ornaments, a 19th-century Pennsylvania or Kentucky long rifle, a Belgian revolver and an unmarked revolver.
Oriental rugs including Sarouks, Bokara, Kirman, and Caucasian rugs; and a Russian Olympics teddy bear prayer rug.
Silver tea and coffee services, flatware and goblets will be on hand; and jewelry includes many quality pieces such as a 14K white gold sapphire and diamond ring and an 18K yellow gold hinged bangle bracelet, 14K yellow gold necklace 5 diamonds, 14K yellow gold marquis diamond ring. Many other pieces of fine jewelry will be auctioned.
The sale also includes rare Pepsi and Coke vending machines, coolers, serving trays and dispensers from the 1940s and ’50s; Schwinn bicycles, vintage snack and vending machines, a carousel horse and other antique advertising.
The Orientalia section includes a 15th-century Ming Chinese bronze head, swords, vases, a black shell-inlaid screen, cloisonné, stoneware, sculptures and ivory.
Furniture lots range from an 18th-century Chester County (Pa.) walnut slant-front desk, Delaware Valley ladder-back chairs and other early pieces, as well as desirable mid-century and Danish Modern designs. Additionally, there is a large offering of paintings, sculptures and other artworks to suit a wide variety of tastes.
For additional information, call 610-558-1800 or email info@williambunchauctions.com.
View the fully illustrated catalog and sign up to bid absentee or live via the Internet at www.LiveAuctioneers.com.
Gold, emerald and diamond bracelet. Image courtesy of William H. Bunch.1940s Coca-Cola floor model chest cooler. Image courtesy of William H. Bunch.Maggie and Jiggs tin wind-up toy. Image courtesy of William H. Bunch.Halloween candy container jack-o-lantern with top hat. Image courtesy of William H. Bunch.Marie Weger painting. Image courtesy of William H. Bunch.Two-Faced Indian A.C. Williams cast-iron bank.Lyle Sopel jade Playful Bears sculpture. Image courtesy of William H. Bunch.
William Capron stoneware jar with incised cobalt flower and bird decoration, Albany, N.Y., circa 1800-05, the front and back decorated with incised cobalt blue decoration, one side depicting a flower blossom, the other a bird, 13 3/8 inches high. Estimate $2,000-$3,000. Image courtesy of Skinner Inc. BOSTON –Skinner Inc. will host an auction of American furniture and decorative arts at their Marlborough gallery on Sunday, Aug. 14. This sale of over 900 lots is highlighted by items from the collection of Barbara and Robert Levine. The Levines’ affection for Vermont’s rich history of folk art, needlework, clocks and furniture is reflected in the material in this collection. Of particular interest is a rare and important early 19th-century Federal tiger and bird’s-eye maple veneered bureau, lot 26, made in Rutland, Vt., and estimated between $50,000 and $70,000. A cherry bombe chest of drawers attributed to George Stedman and a rare cherry shop wall regulator by Levi Pitkin of Montpelier, Vt., also highlight the collection.
Internet live bidding will be provided by LiveAuctioneers.com.
Exceptional examples of folk painting include an unsigned American School work, lot 75, Portrait of Lavinia Fanning Age Seven Years. This portrait of the daughter of Nathaniel Fanning, a midshipman on John Paul Jones’s ship Bon Homme Richard, was painted in 1803 and is estimated between $8,000 and $12,000. It comes to Skinner through family descent and reportedly hung in the family home for over 200 years. A pair of portraits by John Brewster, lot 69, depicts Capt. John Low and his wife, Sara (Herrick) Low, and is estimated between $30,000 and $50,000. Another appealing portrait is Jonathan Orne Johnson “J.O.J.” Frost’s folk painting The “A(Zor). ORNE HOME,” Marblehead, Massachuesetts. Frost was an untrained artist who took up sculpting and painting later in life. The painting depicts several African-American servants with yard tools and a white gentleman holding a basket by a house. Interestingly, this house was used in the 1830s in the Underground Railroad as a secret meeting place for the New England Anti-Slavery Society. Estimates for lot 169 range from $15,000-$25,000.
Weather vanes, whirligigs and folk art sculpture going on the block include a whirligig tavern sign from Connecticut, circa 1870s, lot 82, estimated at $8,000-$12,000. The carved painted wood figure of a woman with paddle hands reportedly stood at the Halfway House, a tavern and inn established in 1876 halfway between the towns of Darien and Stamford, Conn. A diverse variety of weather vanes including codfish, horses, roosters, cows, a peacock, and a leaping stag will be offered. A copper Dexter running horse weathervane, lot 87, from the late 19th century had been mounted on a barn in Worcester County, Mass., since its original purchase and is expected to bring between $3,000 and $5,000. Finally, a J. Howard rooster weather vane, lot 692, made of gilt zinc and copper, and made in West Bridgewater, Mass., circa 1854-67, has been estimated to sell between $10,000 and $15,000.
Marine paintings include Solon Francis Monticello Badger’s Portrait of the Schooner Young Brothers. The Young Brothers was built in Belfast, Maine, in 1890. Her captain and share owner was George Snow of South Falmouth, Mass. The painting, lot 622, is expected to sell for $10,000-$15,000. Rounding out the marine offerings is an unsigned work, lot 601, Portrait of the Bark Silver Cloud. Capt. Thos. W. Lewis, Master, with an estimated value of $6,000-$8,000. A portrait of the captain himself attributed to William Matthew Prior will also be offered as lot 600. According to information collected at the Mystic Marine Museum and Bath Maritime Museum by a descendant of the consignor, the bark Silver Cloud was built in 1853 by Gen. Joseph Barry at George Town, in Bath, Maine. A painting by Ralph Eugene Cahoon Jr. of Cotuit, Mass., lot 634, entitled Nantucket Fish Co. will also be sold at an estimated auction value of $20,000-$30,000.
Textiles and needlework include several lots of samplers stitched by New England girls in the 19th century. Lot 215 by “Hannah W. Perkins Age 11,” from Jaffrey, N.H., is an example of the needlepoint featured in “Pictorial Samplers of Southern New Hampshire” in Girlhood Embroidery: American Samplers, Pictorial Needlework 1650-1850, by Betty Ring, Alfred A. Knopf Inc. Ring writes, “Between 1817-1821, girls of Fitzwilliam and Rindge placed paper-faced ladies in elegant pastures surrounded by luxuriant floral borders … Their samplers have an interesting variety of materials and their paper-faced people and consistently worked flowers unquestionably relate them to a later example naming Jaffrey.” Hannah Perkin’s sampler is expected to bring between $8,000 and $12,000.
The sale will also feature an important collection of American Rockingham-glazed stoneware, including an early example by William Capron. The stoneware jar decorated with a cobalt flower and bird design is dated to Albany, N.Y., circa 1800-05. William Capron is thought to have been the first producer of stoneware in Albany. He opened a pottery shop there on Washington Street in 1800. The jar, lot 188, has an estimated value of $2,000-$3,000.
Miniature objects, toys and household items from the collection of Joanne Forney will also be auctioned. Mostly 19th century, this collection is highlighted by a Nantucket oval box, painted blue and decorated with a whale carved from ebony. Lot 353 has an estimated value of $1,000-$1,500.
A selection of American clocks to be featured include patent timepieces attributed to Aaron Willard Jr., John Sawin and other makers, one of which has a full-striking movement. Lot 431, a mahogany striking patent timepiece from Boston, circa 1830, with mustard yellow and red eglomise tablets, is expected to sell for $1,500-$2,500. Tall clocks are highlighted by a Federal inlaid mahogany tall-case clock, lot 516, by Joshua Wilder, Hingham, Massachusetts, circa 1807-10, has a rocking ship dial. Auction estimates range from $6,000 to $8,000. Another Federal mahogany inlaid tall-case clock by James Cary, Jr. of Brunswick, Maine, circa 1810-15, comes from the collection of Israel Sack of New York. This clock, lot 517, is illustrated and described in American Antiques from Israel Sack Collection by Highland House Publishers and has an estimated value of $6,000-$8,000.
Previews will be conduced Wednesday, Aug. 10, through Saturday, Aug. 13, noon-5 p.m.; and preceding the auction on Sunday, Aug. 14, 8-10 a.m. Eastern
Skinner Inc. will present an Americana lecture by Philip Zea, president of Historic Deerfield, on Saturday, Aug. 13, with a reception at 2:30 p.m. and lecture at 3 p.m. in their Marlborough gallery at 274 Cedar Street. RSVP to 508-970-3000 or at events@skinnerinc.com.
For details visit the Skinner Inc. website: www.skinnerinc.com.
Needlework sampler, ‘Hannah W. Perkins Age 11,’ Jaffrey, N.H., 1818, wrought with silk, chenille, and metallic threads on a linen ground with painted and pricked paper details, 17 1/4 x 18 1/4 inches. Estimate $8,000-$12,000. Image courtesy of Skinner Inc.Federal mahogany inlaid tall-case clock, James Cary Jr., Brunswick, Maine, circa 1810-15, brass eight-day weight-driven movement, calendar aperture, 92 1/2 inches high. Estimate $6,000-$8,000. Image courtesy of Skinner Inc.J. Howard gilt zinc and copper rooster weather vane, West Bridgewater, Mass., circa 1854-67, cast zinc flattened full-body vane, weathered gilt surface, with stand, overall ht. 31, lg. 25 3/4 in. Estimate $10,000-15,000
Night shot of the architectural model of the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas. Image courtesy of the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.
BENTONVILLE, Ark. – Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art has announced a $20 million grant from Walmart to cover admission fees for all visitors. Prior to the grant, a $10 admission fee was being considered for adults.
“While saving people money is how we make people’s lives better every day, we realize that things like listening to your favorite song, seeing a beautiful painting or laying eyes on an amazing sculpture make our lives better, too,” said Walmart president and CEO Mike Duke. “We are excited about the cultural opportunities Crystal Bridges is bringing to our area and even more excited that our families, friends and neighbors will experience it at no cost.”
“One of the greatest challenges for museums today is finding ways to remove barriers to community participation, including admission charges,” said Don Bacigalupi, Crystal Bridges executive director. “Walmart has shown extraordinary vision and foresight in funding access to the museum, providing all that Crystal Bridges has to offer to all people at no cost. We know that this gift will allow the museum to become a daily resource in our community.”
Given over a period of five years, the grant is the first gift dedicated to the museum’s newly created Next Generation Fund which addresses the economic, social and cultural barriers that often prevent diverse audiences from participating in the arts.
“The arts should be an essential part of every child’s education,” First Lady Ginger Beebe said. “When Crystal Bridges opens on 11-11-11, it will be an incredible resource, and now it will be free to all who visit. The outstanding art found there will encourage young people by expanding their creativity, giving them an invaluable outlet for self-expression, and helping to develop greater artistic literacy.”
About Crystal Bridges The mission of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art is to welcome all to celebrate the American spirit in a setting that unites the power of art with the beauty of landscape. We explore the unfolding story of America by actively collecting, exhibiting, interpreting, and preserving outstanding works that illuminate our heritage and artistic possibilities.
Founded in 2005 by the Walton Family Foundation and set to open 11-11-11, the Museum takes its name from a nearby natural spring and the bridge construction incorporated in the building design by world-renowned architect Moshe Safdie. A series of pavilions nestled around two creek-fed ponds will house galleries, meeting and classroom spaces, and a large, glass-enclosed gathering hall. Visitor amenities will also include a café on a glass-enclosed bridge overlooking the ponds and a Marlon Blackwell-designed museum store. Sculpture and walking trails will link the Museum’s 120-acre park and gardens to downtown Bentonville, Ark.
Crystal Bridges is currently building its permanent collection through the efforts of its professional staff as well as important gifts from private collectors such as Alice Walton and others. The collection features American masterworks dating from the Colonial era to contemporary times and will be on view to the public year-round. The Museum also will display a changing array of special exhibitions featuring art from museums and collections throughout the region, the nation and abroad. Memberships are now available. For more information, visit www.crystalbridges.org.
About the Crystal Bridges Next Generation Fund The Next Generation Fund has been created by community-minded philanthropists who recognize the social, educational and economic barriers that often limit a community’s involvement with a cultural institution, and are also mindful of the importance of protecting the environment for future generations. Through private gifts, the fund will support programs and initiatives at Crystal Bridges that eliminate these barriers by providing and encouraging unhindered public access and subsidizing educational opportunities, while also promoting environmental sustainability.
About Philanthropy at Walmart Walmart and the Walmart Foundation are proud to support initiatives that are helping people live better. From Feb. 1, 2010 through Jan. 31, 2011, Walmart and the Walmart Foundation gave $732 million in cash and in-kind gifts, including donating 257 million pounds of nutritious food to local food banks across America. The Foundation also supports education, workforce development, economic opportunity, environmental sustainability and health and wellness initiatives. Internationally, Walmart gave $66 million in cash and in-kind gifts to charitable organizations.
An artist’s rendition of Reflecting Absence, the above ground part of the under construction National September 11 Memorial & Museum. Fair use of image whose copyright belongs to Squared Design Lab.
NEW YORK (AFP) – U.S. atheists are suing to try to block a cross-shaped steel girder once part of the destroyed World Trade Center from being displayed in an upcoming 9/11 museum.
The American Atheists group filed the lawsuit on Tuesday against the National September 11 Memorial and Museum, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and other bodies linked to the museum, which is due to open next year.
At issue is a piece of wreckage that happens to form a cross shape and which became a symbol of faith for many of those involved in the clean-up and reconstruction after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in which nearly 3,000 people died.
The cross was moved over the weekend to the still incomplete museum at Ground Zero as part of feverish preparations ahead of the 10th anniversary of 9/11 this September.
According to the complaint filed in New York state court, the presence of the cross in a government-financed museum violates the country’s constitution by promoting Christianity, without mention of other religions.
The plaintiffs write that they have been “injured in consequence of having, a religious tradition that is not their own imposed upon them through the power of the state.”
In a statement Friday, Memorial president Joe Daniels said the artifact was relevant because it helped “tell the history of 9/11.”
“This steel remnant became a symbol of spiritual comfort for the thousands of recovery workers who toiled at ground zero, as well as for people around the world,” he said.
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ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE
An artist’s rendition of Reflecting Absence, the above ground part of the under construction National September 11 Memorial & Museum. Fair use of image whose copyright belongs to Squared Design Lab.
Thomas Eakin’s The Gross Clinic, 1875, is now owned by the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) – The president of Thomas Jefferson University announced Wednesday that he will be stepping down from his post next year, but will return as a faculty member.
Robert Barchi arrived as president of the medical college in 2004, after serving as provost at the University of Pennsylvania. A search for his replacement will begin in September.
Barchi was the subject of controversy in 2006, when he said the university had agreed to sell its Thomas Eakins painting, The Gross Clinic, after 129 years of ownership to a museum being built in Arkansas by Wal-Mart Stores Inc. heiress Alice Walton.
That sparked an intense drive that raised $68 million and kept the painting in the city.
Eakins’ masterwork from 1875 depicts an operation in progress by the nation’s most famous surgeon at the time, Dr. Samuel Gross, at what then was called Jefferson Medical College.
“We are not a museum,” Barchi had said in explaining the decision to sell the painting, which is now owned jointly by the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.
“In the 40 years of my academic career, I have not seen another institution with a deeper sense of family and collegiality,” Barchi said in a letter to Jefferson faculty and staff announcing his June 2012 departure.
Barchi, a neurologist, plans to take a yearlong sabbatical and return as a full-time member of Jefferson’s faculty in September 2013.
During his tenure, the university has seen a 51 percent increase in enrollment and the opening of new schools of pharmacy and population health. The university also said it is on track to surpass $300 million in fundraising by the time Barchi’s presidency ends next year, a figure double the previous eight-year period.
“Bob Barchi has been a dynamic leader, and the Jefferson community and campus has greatly benefited from his extraordinary energy and vision,” said David Binswanger, chairman of the board of trustees. “His gifts as a CEO and academician will be missed, but I am delighted that he will remain part of our faculty.”
Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
AP-WF-07-27-11 2036GMT
ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE
Thomas Eakin’s The Gross Clinic, 1875, is now owned by the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
The Deere Model D, produced from 1923 to 1953, boasts the longest production span of all the two-cylinder John Deere tractors. Over 160,000 were made. This one was manufactured prior to 1926. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. Attribution: Artiez at the English language Wikipedia. CLEVELAND, Miss. (AP) – G.R. Harden has been around tractors all of his life.
He farmed his family’s land outside of Cleveland starting in 1959. The then 19 year-old Harden took over the land from his dad, who retired that year.
Harden was not always crazy about the pre-1960s tractors that sported only two cylinders, but he has developed a love for the machines in his later years.
“I grew up on those two-cylinder John Deere’s to begin with, and I couldn’t wait to get rid of them when they came out with the modern tractors,” Harden said. “A friend of mine, David Thornton, who lives here in Cleveland, is the one who got me back in it.”
Harden said that Thornton came to him over 20 years ago, looking for someone to refurbish the collector’s items.
“I helped David redo one of his,” Harden said. “I knew how to paint, so we painted it and fixed it up. That was back in the ’80s.”
Once the men got done with the first one, it became a habit for them.
“We found another one and redid it, and it just kept rolling from there,” Harden said.
Today Harden and his wife, Barbara, are retired from farming, but they are still fully involved in the hobby that has helped them meet tractor enthusiasts from all over the country.
Harden said that his grandfather and father always stressed the importance of keeping machinery clean and in good running condition. That’s why Harden and his right-hand man, Raymond Crossno, have been so successful at making their tractors seem like they are brand new.
“We’ve always kept our tractors first class,” Harden said. “My granddaddy pressed me about keeping everything in ship shape.”
Crossno joined the outfit after the initial tractor had already been redone, but with his mechanical skills, he fit right in.
“When I came to work here, they had already started doing it, and I kind of fell right into it,” Crossno said.
Harden and Crossno have had their hands into hundreds of tractors over the last two decades, remodeling their own to keep and sell and sprucing up a steady diet of machines from folks local and afar.
“This is what we do,” Harden said. “It’s turned into quite a hobby.”
Harden has a variety of tractors on hand at any given time. The most interesting he’s seen is a 1930s tractor that has the serial No. 1, meaning it was the first tractor of its kind sold.
It’s those kinds of tractors that make the hobby not only interesting but challenging as well.
Crossno and Harden have both worked on tractors that have parts that are not even sold anymore.
“Sometimes you have to make the parts,” Crossno said.
Crossno said that once he had to replace bearings on a tractor that were no longer available. He and Harden had to completely tear down another machine to find a set that would fit.
“Sometimes it takes two or three tractors before you find a fit,” Harden said.
Restoring these tractors is also a process that is drawn out over time.
“Sometimes, in getting the parts and getting exactly what you need, we work on them two or three months,” Harden said. “You may have two or three jobs going at the same time.”
Harden and Crossno’s method to their maddening work is simple. They pull the machine down to the tiniest piece. As they clean, replace and paint all the tractor, piece-by-piece, they reassemble.
“You tear it all to pieces,” Harden said. “Then you put it back together right, replacing everything it needs. You try to make it like new.”
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Information from: Bolivar Commercial, http://www.bolivarcom.com
Copyright 2001 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
AP-WF-07-27-11 1745GMT
ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE
The Deere Model D, produced from 1923 to 1953, boasts the longest production span of all the two-cylinder John Deere tractors. Over 160,000 were made. This one was manufactured prior to 1926. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. Attribution: Artiez at the English language Wikipedia.
An attractive hu-shaped blue-violet drip-glazed porcelain vase with incised six-character Qianlong mark stands 12 1/4 inches high. It is expected to reach an auction high estimate of $20,000. Image courtesy of 888 Auctions. RICHMOND HILL, Ont. – The Canadian company 888 Auctions will sell exquisitely carved figures of jade and stone, Asian dynastic porcelain and bronze antiques on Saturday, Aug. 6, at its Asian Art: Part 1 auction. LiveAuctioneers.com will provide Internet live bidding.
Spanning the Han Dynasty (c. 200 B.C. – A.D. 220) to the Republic Period, this auction features over 500 rare and exceptional works specially selected from private collectors in Canada. With estimates ranging from $100 to $50,000, the sale is expected to realize in the region of $800,000. (Estimates are shown in Canadian dollars; CAD $1 = USD $1.05.
Featured are a number of jade carvings. Lot 112, a large Chinese celadon jade mountain, openwork carved and finely detailed with a scene of two sages beneath a pine tree and with dwellings in the distance, is estimated $6,000-$8,000. A carved white jade boulder carving of a landscape with openwork grottos featuring a courtyard scene is estimated $10,000-$12,000.
Notable of these jade carvings is a charming 7-inch-long celadon jade model of a covered boat at Lot 50, openwork carved with three figures on board with accoutrements atop the roof and marked on the base. It is estimated $1, 200-$2,500.
However, the day’s most highly sought jade carving is a Ming Dynasty celadon jade brushpot at Lot 109. The finely detailed work adorned with two dragons “climbing” the lion is not readily recognized as a brushpot because of its unique carved lion form. It carries a $15,000 -$20,000 estimate.
Another highlight of the sale includes an exquisitely carved turquoise stone vase, featuring finely openwork carved birds and flowers in relief. The unusual openwork carved turquoise stone vase makes a striking impression with its unusual color and carved form. It is Lot 170 and is estimated to fetch $1,500 or more.
From the bronze collection of lots is a magnificent pair of Chinese bronze cloisonné vases, Xuande incised four-character mark at Lot 494. Hexagonal in form and standing 23 inches tall, its intricate enamel painting displays finely detailed and unusual depictions of colorful flowers and flower pots on a turquoise ground (estimate: $6,000-$8,000).
Equally impressive is a magnificent 16th-century Ming Dynasty bronze monument with an inscribed poem at Lot 467 (Please note: actual translation can be seen in the auction item description). Marked on the base, this monument may have been a model of an actual stone monument dedicated to the death of a prince reigning in the Ming Dynasty (estimate: $8,000-$12,000).
A highlight from the collection of shoushan stone carvings is a large shoushan stone mountain carving of Immortals at Lot 161. Finely rendered in relief, this unique depiction of Immortals, carved out of a solid piece of shoushan stone, displays an outlining clearly discernible due to the fine craftsmanship of the artist (estimate: $2,000-$3,000).
Inconspicuously residing at Lot 456 is the oldest piece in the auction: a Tang Dynasty bronze figure of Guanyin. Standing 9 1/4 inches tall on a finely preserved wooden base, the flowing robes are surprisingly detailed on the Guanyin bronze figure. Lot 456 commands an estimate of $600-$800.
When it comes to the antique porcelain collection, a standout is a rare antique Chinese Famille Rose porcelain vase at Lot 385. With gold gilt on the rim and foot, dragon designs and symbols are finely reserved on turquoise ground, with the interior also designed with dragon faces on the shoulder and floral designs on the ovoid-form body. Lot 385 carries a four-character Yongzheng mark and is possibly of the period. It carries an auction value of about $10,000.
Among glazes, flambé red is highly desirable for its intensity. Lot 404, a red flambé hu-type vase with notched corners and of squared baluster form is no exception. This attractive blue-violet drip-glazed porcelain vase, incised with a six-character Qianlong mark, stands 12 1/4 inches tall with a molded peach-form panel and squared tubular handles (estimate: $15,000-$20,000).
From the collection of Sino-Tibetan Deities, Lot 454 is a large Buddhist deity atop a lotus base. Ornately dressed and regal, it is 12 3/4 inches tall and estimated $200-$400.
There are many small items, including a multitude of jade pendants and ritualistic bi discs and ornamental huangs, during the first hour of the sale.
Part II of 888 Auctions’ Asian Art will be offering an extensive collection of fine art including Chinese traditional paintings and calligraphy; ivory, bone, and horn carvings; natural history; and traditional furniture.
For details on these and other items in the auction, visit www.888auctions.com or call the auctioneers at 905-763-7201.
888 Auctions’ Aug. 6 Asian Art: Part 1 Auction begins at 5 p.m. Eastern at 280 W. Beaver Creek Road, Unit 15, on the northwest corner of West Beaver Creek and Highway 7.
Registered bidders may also access LiveAuctioneers.com to bid live online from their computers.
888 Auctions has been the leader in sales of Chinese porcelains and Asian arts in Canada for more than 15 years.
This 7-inch-long celadon jade model of a covered boat is openwork carved with three figures on board with accoutrements atop the roof. It is Lot 50 and expected to command around $2,000. Image courtesy of 888 Auctions.The finely detailed Ming Dynasty jade brushpot is adorned with two dragons ‘climbing’ the lion, and its remarkable carved form is in the shape of a lion. As a dynastic jade brushpot, standing at 8 inches tall, it carries a high estimate of $20,000. Image courtesy of 888 Auctions.An exquisitely carved turquoise stone vase features finely openwork carved birds and flowers in relief. It is Lot 170 and is estimated to fetch $1, 500 or more. Image courtesy of 888 Auctions.A rare antique Chinese Famille Rose enameled porcelain vase Lot 385 has a four-character Yongzheng mark and is possibly of the period. The interior is designed with dragon faces on the shoulder. It carries an estimate of about $10,000. Image courtesy of 888 Auctions.A 16th-century Ming Dynasty bronze monument features an inscribed poem and may have been a scale model of an actual stone monument dedicated to a prince. It is Lot 467 and commands a high estimate of $12,000. Image courtesy of 888 Auctions.
Paint-decorated sideboard, attributed to the Loomis workshop, Shaftsbury, Vermont, c. 1825-40. To be auctioned Aug. 14 at Skinner. Image courtesy of Skinner Inc. MARLBOROUGH, Mass. – Skinner Auctioneers & Appraisers will sponsor an American furniture and decorative arts lecture on Saturday, Aug. 13, at their Marlborough gallery at 274 Cedar Hill St.
Philip Zea, president of Historic Deerfield, will present “Cabinet Furniture in All its Variety: Vermont Craftsmanship, 1780-1850.” A reception will be at 2:30 p.m. Zea’s lecture will follow at 3 p.m.
Free and open to the public, the lecture is in conjunction with a preview of Skinner’s Aug. 14 auction of American Furniture & Decorative Arts.
Guests should RSVP online (www.skinnerinc.com) or phone 508-970-3000.
ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE
Paint-decorated sideboard, attributed to the Loomis workshop, Shaftsbury, Vermont, c. 1825-40. To be auctioned Aug. 14 at Skinner. Image courtesy of Skinner Inc.
Gallery View – The Romantic Mind. Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
NEW YORK – The Metropolitan Museum of Art has announced it will offer late-night, final weekend hours to accommodate to its Costume Institute exhibition, “Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty.” The exhibition will remain open until midnight on its last two days—Saturday, Aug. 6, and Sunday, Aug. 7. This is the first time the Museum has kept an exhibition open until midnight.
“We have created these late hours to satisfy the unprecedented interest in this landmark retrospective,” said Thomas P. Campbell, director and CEO of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. “Visitors from across the globe have come to see this remarkable exhibition, and we want to keep it open for as many people as possible. Indeed, these midnight hours will mark a fitting conclusion to this powerful exploration of McQueen’s work.”
After 9 p.m. on Saturday, and after 5:30 p.m. on Sunday (the regular closing times for the entire Museum), visitors can enter the Met through its 81st Street and Fifth Avenue street-level entrance for a last chance to view the McQueen exhibition, which has attracted nearly 550,000 visitors since it opened on May 4. Weather permitting, the exhibition “Anthony Caro on the Roof” will be open both Saturday and Sunday evenings until 9 p.m. on the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Roof Garden. Visitors can buy general admission tickets in advance on the Met’s website at www.metmuseum.org.
Throughout the run of the exhibition, museum members enjoy express entry to the exhibition, allowing them to skip lines. Also for members, the museum opens one hour early each day, except Mondays, from July 22 to Aug. 7, offering exclusive access to the McQueen galleries from 8:30 a.m. until 9:30 a.m.
For more information visit the website www.metmuseum.org or phone (212) 535-7710.
ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE
Gallery View – The Romantic Mind. Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
A Britains “picture pack” counter display box with hinged front cover, containing 33 figures, sold for $6,000 at a sale of Rare Military & Civilian Figures held May 21-22 by Old Toy Soldier Auctions in Pittsburgh. Also, a Timpo boxed Hopalong Cassidy set, one of only a few known, realized $5,040; a Timpo Big Game Hunter hit $2,650; a 25-piece Britains set #2112 of the U.S. Marine Band in summer dress brought $1,320; and a Britains set #2099, Venezuelan cadets with officer, rose to $900. Prices include a 20 percent buyer’s premium.
