January 2012 - Page 6 of 21 - Auction Central News

Bruno Hadjadj shot this CBGB visitor wearing a lighted Ramones jacket. Image courtesy of Clic Gallery.

Multimedia exhibition reprises CBGB’s last riffs

January 24, 2012/in Art, Design & Architecture/by Tom Hoepf

Bruno Hadjadj shot this CBGB visitor wearing a lighted Ramones jacket. Image courtesy of Clic Gallery.

NEW YORK – Barely five years have passed since the famous New York music club CBGB closed, but memories of punk rock’s raucous heydays will come screaming back with multimedia artist Bruno Hadjadj’s exhibition “Bye Bye CBGB,” which will open Monday, Jan. 30, at Clic Gallery, 255 Centre St., in Manhattan.

“Bye Bye CBGB” is composed of black and white prints and silver prints mounted on light boxes with the flickering electric lights animating the figures. The accompanying sketches are rendered with a mix of ink and pencils.

The exhibition chronicles the final goodbye to one of the last relics of New York punk rock and 1970s/1980s underground culture. On Oct. 14, 2006 people came from all other the world to say farewell to CBGB. There were 48-hours of star-studded performances, but it was the emotionally charged goings-on right outside the club’s doors that captivated Hadjadj. Using sketches, photography and videos, he immortalized the anonymous throngs who queued up to pay their final respects. For two days people dedicated poems, artworks, mementos and performances to the legacy of the legendary rock club. Hadjadj’s resultant body of work not only pictures the end of an era, but also pays testament to the incredible endurance of CBGB’s influence.

CBGB is a place that continues to thrive on in the collective unconscious. It’s a historic landmark that belongs just as much to teenagers buying their first Ramones album as it does to those who attended the first Ramones gigs in 1974. It was in this dingy rock den on Bowery and Bleecker that the seeds of punk rock germinated before transforming worldwide counterculture forever.

Forget the Sex Pistols or The Clash—it was homespun heroes like Patti Smith, Television and The Ramones who were at the forefront what we now understand as punk. Dirty, rebellious, crass, unpracticed and irreverent, this new breed of rock ’n’ roll hellcats who performed nightly at CBGB, redefined what it means to be a voice of a generation. During its 33 years in existence, CBGBs dictated and detected new currents and strains of rock ’n’ roll like no one place has since.

Hadjadj was born in Paris and studied at art schools in both Paris and London. In the 1980s he was a participant in the street art movement and was featured in numerous group shows and auctions for emerging artists. At the end of the 1980s, Hadjadj moved to New York where he established himself in the city’s underground art scene and collaborated on music, movies, and art. As a production designer he has worked on more than 200 commercials, music videos and feature films including spots for Canal+ and Les Nubians and The Roots. In 2001 he directed and produced his first feature film, Bandidos, and in 2009 he created the Cutlog, a French art fair dedicated to emerging and avant-garde art.

For details visit Clic Gallery’s website www.clicgallery.com or call 212-966-2766. Copies of Hadjadj’s book, Bye Bye CBGB, can also be ordered at Clic Gallery’s website.

ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE

Bruno Hadjadj shot this CBGB visitor wearing a lighted Ramones jacket. Image courtesy of Clic Gallery.

CBGB club facade, Bowery Street, New York. Photograph by Adam Di Carlo, taken 10/1/2005, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported license.

Jack Lenor Larsen. Photo by Roberto Dutesco.

Design school honors Jack Lenor Larsen, Thomas Woltz

January 24, 2012/in People/by Tom Hoepf

Jack Lenor Larsen. Photo by Roberto Dutesco.

NEW YORK – The New York School of Interior Design will honor Jack Lenor Larsen with a Lifetime Achievement Award and Thomas L. Woltz with the school’s first Thomas N. Armstrong III Award in Landscape Design at its annual Spring Benefit on Wednesday, April 18.

“Each of these men has enriched the textures of our lives and the quality of the built environment. We are particularly proud to launch the Thomas N. Armstrong III Award in Landscape Design, honoring our late trustee’s devotion to landscape design,” said Patricia Sovern, Chairman, Board of Trustees.

Jack Lenor Larsen is a visionary, scholar and an authority on traditional and contemporary crafts. Founder of his eponymous firm in 1952, he has designed thousands of hand-woven fabric patterns and textiles in natural yarns, many of which are associated with the modernist architecture and furnishings and are in collections of major international museums. In 1997, his company merged with Cowtan & Tout, the American subsidiary of Colefax and Fowler in London, and has grown steadily to become a dominant resource for his innovative hand-woven signature fabrics and wallpapers in over 30 countries. Larsen’s passion for international weaving and textile crafts made him familiar with techniques such as ikat and batik, which he introduced to the American public in the early 1970s.

More than a textile designer, the 85-year old Larsen is also recognized for LongHouse, his spectacular home, which is located on 16 acres in East Hampton, New York. Built as a case study to exemplify a creative approach to contemporary life, Larsen was inspired by the famous Japanese Ise shrine. LongHouse contains 13,000 square feet and 18 spaces on four levels. The building is raised on stilts and the spaces are divided by fabric sliding panels, which showcase Larsen’s fabrics and his collection of historical and contemporary crafts, including works by Lucie Rie, Wharton Esherick, Edward Wormley, and a glass chandelier by Dale Chihuly. The gardens present the designed landscape as an art form and offer a diversity of sites for the sculpture installations by such luminaries as Yoko Ono, Sol LeWitt and Willem de Kooning.

Thomas Woltz, a Fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects, is the owner of Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects where he began working in 1997 upon completion of Master degrees in Architecture and Landscape Architecture from the University of Virginia. Working between offices in Virginia and New York, he has led designs of a broad range of institutional projects in the United States and abroad including the Peggy Guggenheim Sculpture Garden in Venice, Italy; the McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia; Round Hill, Jamaica; the National Arboretum of New Zealand and a Master Plan for the conservation of 42,000 acres of Catalina Island off the coast of Los Angeles.

Woltz has also led design work on private gardens and farmland in a dozen states and New Zealand over 16 years of practice. Contemporary design applied to restoration ecology is at the heart of the Conservation Agriculture Studio and has yielded hundreds of acres of reconstructed wetlands, reforestation, native meadow establishment, soil and water conservation and flourishing wildlife habitat. Many of these projects focus on restoration of damaged ecological infrastructure within working farmland and create models of biodiversity and sustainable agriculture.

Woltz also serves on the board of directors of the Cultural Landscape Foundation, and is an avid gardener.

The New York School of Interior Design’s second annual gala dinner will be held at the Metropolitan Club at 1 E. 60th St. To purchase tickets or for more information contact Director of Development Monica Cheslak, 212-472-1500, ext. 430, or email mcheslak@nysid.edu.

ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE

Jack Lenor Larsen. Photo by Roberto Dutesco.

Thomas Woltz. Photo by Will Kerner Photography.

A scale model of Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, where the Guggenheim and Louvre museums will be built. Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.

Abu Dhabi relaunches Guggenheim, Louvre projects

January 24, 2012/in Museums/by Tom Hoepf

A scale model of Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, where the Guggenheim and Louvre museums will be built. Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.

ABU DHABI (AFP) – The emirate of Abu Dhabi announced on Tuesday that it had given the green light for the completion of the Louvre and Guggenheim museums after construction delays.

The executive council of Abu Dhabi, which functions like a government for the emirate, said it had “approved the budgets and deadlines for the inauguration of projects on the island of Saadiyat, particularly the Louvre, Guggenheim, and Sheikh Zayed” museums.

The statement gave no specific timeline for completion.

In October, the Tourism Development and Investment Co, the government agency in charge of developing the Saadiyat Cultural District, said the plan to open the museums between 2013-2014 was delayed.

Local media reported at the time that projects valued at $30 billion were frozen in a bid to scale back spending.

U.S. architect Frank Gehry designed the Abu Dhabi Guggenheim museum, which aims to be larger than the existing Guggenheims in New York, Las Vegas, Berlin, Bilbao, Spain; and Venice, Italy.

French architect Jean Nouvel designed the desert Louvre.

Oil-rich Abu Dhabi is engaged in an ambitious development plan, “Abu Dhabi 2030,” aimed at modernizing the emirate and diversifying its economy.

Despite the global financial crisis and its severe impact on neighboring Dubai, construction has been going ahead in Abu Dhabi, although at a pace slower than planned.

ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE

A scale model of Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, where the Guggenheim and Louvre museums will be built. Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.

An example of a rare baseball card is this 1952 Bowman #101 Mickey Mantle card in mint 10 condition. It sold for $37,500 + buyer's premium at Robert Edward Auctions' May 1, 2004 sale. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers.com Archive and Robert Edward Auctions.

Collector says USPS lost his valuable baseball cards

January 24, 2012/in Collectibles & Pop Culture/by Catherine Saunders-Watson

An example of a rare baseball card is this 1952 Bowman #101 Mickey Mantle card in mint 10 condition. It sold for $37,500 + buyer’s premium at Robert Edward Auctions’ May 1, 2004 sale. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers.com Archive and Robert Edward Auctions.

GROSSE POINTE, Mich. (AP) – A Detroit-area baseball card collector has a question for the U.S. Postal Service: Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio?

Anthony Johnson is suing the agency, claiming it lost his jewelry and card collection valued at $329,000. He says the valuables were stolen in 2009 by a houseguest and shipped to California.

Johnson says he alerted the Postal Service, which intercepted the goods. But the Grosse Pointe man says he’s only recovered cash that was taken, not the collection. The memorabilia include mint cards of DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle and Hank Aaron.

Johnson tells the Detroit Free Press, it’s been a “three-year runaround.” The Postal Service has denied any negligence. Johnson says the collection was sent to an Atlanta postal site where it sat for months.

Today’s whereabouts? Unknown.

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Information from: Detroit Free Press, http://www.freep.com

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ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE

An example of a rare baseball card is this 1952 Bowman #101 Mickey Mantle card in mint 10 condition. It sold for $37,500 + buyer’s premium at Robert Edward Auctions’ May 1, 2004 sale. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers.com Archive and Robert Edward Auctions.

Portrait of a tattooed Maori chief seen by Capt. Cook and his crew, his hair in a topknot with feathers and a bone comb, full facial moko, a greenstone earring, a tiki and a flax cloak. He has a small beard and a moustache. Historical artwork probably sketched in 1769; published in 1784. Source: Alexander Turnbull Library.

France returns 20 Maori heads to New Zealand

January 24, 2012/in Antiquities, Cultures & Historical/by Catherine Saunders-Watson

Portrait of a tattooed Maori chief seen by Capt. Cook and his crew, his hair in a topknot with feathers and a bone comb, full facial moko, a greenstone earring, a tiki and a flax cloak. He has a small beard and a moustache. Historical artwork probably sketched in 1769; published in 1784. Source: Alexander Turnbull Library.

PARIS (AP) – Preparing the biggest homecoming yet of its kind, authorities in New Zealand on Monday received 20 ancestral heads of Maori ethnic people once held in several French museums as a cultural curiosity.

French Culture Minister Frederic Mitterrand and New Zealand’s ambassador presided over a solemn ceremony at Quai Branly museum in Paris, where the heads were encased in a box – the largest single handover of Maori heads to be repatriated, New Zealand’s embassy said.

Since 2003, the South Pacific country has embarked on an ambitious program of collecting back Maori heads and skeletal remains from museums around the world. Yet the program has run into significant obstacles.

France long resisted handing over such cultural artifacts, but a law passed in 2010 paved the way for the return of the Maori heads. They were obtained as long ago as the 19th century, and one as recently as 1999.

Some Maori heads, with intricate tattoos, were traditionally kept as trophies from tribal warfare. But once Westerners began offering prized goods in exchange for them, men were in danger of being killed simply for their tattoos, French museum officials have said.

The heads handed over to New Zealand were not available for public viewing on Monday. Over the years, French museums, private collectors and anthropological researchers have preserved and stored the heads.

The idea behind getting back the body parts was that they would be returned to their home tribes throughout New Zealand, where tribal elders could mourn them and, if they chose, give them proper burials.

“They are, after all, human remains, and in the Maori culture they should not be publicly displayed,” said Pou Temara, a university professor who chairs New Zealand’s repatriation advisory panel.

Bridget Gee, a New Zealand embassy spokeswoman, said the heads remanded on Monday have not been displayed in public for years.

Most of the remains aren’t readily identifiable, and only a small percentage have been returned to their home tribes – who are loath to accept any remains that aren’t their own. Heads and body parts from over 500 people now sit in storage at the national musuem, Te Papa, in Wellington.

The practice of preserving heads was begun by Maori as a way of remembering dead ancestors. In the decades after Europeans arrived, the heads became a curiosity and sought-after trade item, prompting Maori to ramp up their production levels.

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Nick Perry contributed from Wellington, New Zealand

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ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE

Portrait of a tattooed Maori chief seen by Capt. Cook and his crew, his hair in a topknot with feathers and a bone comb, full facial moko, a greenstone earring, a tiki and a flax cloak. He has a small beard and a moustache. Historical artwork probably sketched in 1769; published in 1784. Source: Alexander Turnbull Library.

Tiffany & Co. diamond, platinum ring. Estimate: $2,500-$3,500. Image courtesy of Michaan's Auctions.

Gold is everywhere at Michaan’s estate auction Feb. 5

January 24, 2012/in Upcoming Auctions/by Tom Hoepf

Tiffany & Co. diamond, platinum ring. Estimate: $2,500-$3,500. Image courtesy of Michaan’s Auctions.

ALAMEDA, Calif. – Michaan’s Jewelry Department highlights sought-after pieces in the Sunday, Feb. 5, Estate Sale. A classic Tiffany & Co. diamond and platinum engagement ring is a timeless piece of exceptional quality. The ring centers a round brilliant-cut diamond weighing approximately 0.95 carats and is accented by 15 full-cut diamonds weighing a total of approximately 0.20 carats. The stones exhibit beautiful color and clarity and are set in platinum. Signed “Tiffany & Co.,” lot 127, is estimated to bring $2,500-$3,500.

LiveAuctioneers.com will provide Internet live bidding.

Making an appearance once again at the auction are Ippolita jewelry pieces. Because Ippolita has been extremely popular in previous offerings at Michaan’s, the varied assortment in wonderful condition is expected to do well again. One such piece is lot 100, an Ippolita diamond, 18-karat yellow gold Anniversary bracelet. The asymmetric links are encrusted in approximately 440 full cut diamonds weighing a total of approximately 3.00 carats. Signed “Ippolita Anniversary 2010,” the bracelet has a $2,500-$3,500 estimate. Also available is an Ippolita Party ring featuring blue chalcedony, mother-of-pearl and blue topaz set in 18-karat yellow gold. Signed Ippolita, lot 104 is expected to bring $700-$900.

Among the Asian Department’s sale of porcelains, jades, furniture, ivory, coral, artworks and decorative items is lot 204, a collection of Asian-style jewelry estimated at $400-$600. The pieces in the unusual grouping were purchased in Hong Kong in the 1960s and ’70s, displaying numerous ethnic and Asian design nuances. The collection is indicative of its provenance, coming from the Napa estate of a world traveler and collector. Of the three beaded and inlaid necklaces is a Tibetan-style coral, turquoise, lapis lazuli, malachite necklace featuring stone ornamentation on the chain and a medallion centerpiece with three ornate drops. The necklace shows quality workmanship and is handsomely displayed in a custom-made fitted box. Completing the lot is a three specimen coral ring measuring approximately 2 1/2 inches in height and an enamel, floral motif bangle bracelet displaying lovely blue and green tones and cutout designs.

The Furniture and Decorations Department presents a variety of lots including porcelain service sets, folk art, vintage accessories, decorative pipes, clocks, rugs and silver. Lot 380 is a Rosenthal Winoblad Studio Line dinner service set that serves eight, estimated at $3,000-$4,000. The set is fashioned in the Magic Flute pattern, which was based upon opera imagery. The continuous artwork on the pieces depict stylized figures cavorting among flora and fauna. The heavy gold leaf work is gorgeous.

The Fine Art portion of the auction is largely composed of 18th-, 19th- and 20th-century European and American works of art. Offerings include sculpture, watercolors, oil paintings, drawings, lithographs, etchings, block prints and ceramics. Numerous prominent California artists are featured in the sale including Henrietta Berk, Carl Jonnevold, Leslie B. Buck and Melanie Taylor Kent. Highlighting the European offerings is an Achille Lauge (French, 1861-1944) oil, masterfully yet simply depicted in a realist style. Basket of Roses displays a gathering of blush and red blooms in and about a simple wicker basket. From one of the most coveted names comes this eternally collectible painting, offered as lot 516 ($8,000-$12,000).

Previews open at Michaan’s Auctions, 2751 Todd St., Alameda, CA 94501 on Feb. 3 and continue until the day of sale. For more information visit www.michaans.com or call (510) 740-0220.

View the fully illustrated catalog and register to bid absentee or live via the Internet as the sale is taking place by logging on to www.LiveAuctioneers.com.

ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE

Tiffany & Co. diamond, platinum ring. Estimate: $2,500-$3,500. Image courtesy of Michaan’s Auctions.

Ippolita blue topaz, chalcedony, mother-of-pearl, 18-karat yellow gold ring. Estimate: $700-$900. Image courtesy of Michaan’s Auctions.

Collection of Asian-style jewelry. Estimate: $400-$600. Image courtesy of Michaan’s Auctions.

Rosenthal Winoblad Studio LIne dinner service. Estimate: $3,000-$4,000. Image courtesy of Michaan’s Auctions.

Achille Lauge (French 1861-1944), ‘Basket of Roses.’ Estimate: $8,000-$12,000. Image courtesy of Michaan’s Auctions.

A pair of important pressed Boston & Sandwich Glass Co. tulip vases in deep teal blue, circa 1845-1865. Auctioned by Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates on May 22, 2010 for $15,210. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers.com and Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates.

National American Glass Club to award seminar scholarships

January 24, 2012/in Events/by Catherine Saunders-Watson

A pair of important pressed Boston & Sandwich Glass Co. tulip vases in deep teal blue, circa 1845-1865. Auctioned by Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates on May 22, 2010 for $15,210. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers.com and Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates.

HARRISONBURG, Va. – The National American Glass Club has announced it will offer two scholarships to cover registration fees ($225 each) for the 28th Annual Seminar in Harrisonburg, Va., May 16-19, 2012.

“We are doing this in an effort to engage young people in the study of American glass,” said NAGC member Jeffrey S. Evans, whose auction house, Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates, specializes in early American glass and other forms of Americana.

The scholarship is open to current graduate students or those who received their degree in 2011. Applicants should plan to attend all three days of seminar. Funds for transportation and lodging are not provided.

The application process is as follows:

1. Applicant must write a letter stating their specific interest in glass, why they want to attend the seminar, and why they need financial assistance. Financial records not required.

2. Two letters of recommendation should be provided.

3. All materials should be sent to: NAGC Scholarship Chair, 1 Park Place, Corning, NY 14830 or e-mailed to mmills2@stny.rr.com. E-mail is the preferred method.

Additional information about the seminar may be viewed online at http://www.glassclub.org.

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Application deadline: March 15, 2012.

For additional seminar details, log on to www.glassclub.org.

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ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE

A pair of important pressed Boston & Sandwich Glass Co. tulip vases in deep teal blue, circa 1845-1865. Auctioned by Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates on May 22, 2010 for $15,210. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers.com and Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates.

Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu (1918-1989) as depicted on a 1988 postage stamp.

Ceausescu’s exotic gifts headed to auction

January 24, 2012/in General Interest/by Catherine Saunders-Watson

Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu (1918-1989) as depicted on a 1988 postage stamp.

BUCHAREST, Romania – A bronze yak offered by China’s Mao Zedong and an African leopardskin are among official presents given to the late dictator Nicolae Ceausescu that will be auctioned off in Bucharest on Thursday.

The Jan. 26 sale in the Romanian capital falls on what would have been Ceaucescu’s 94th birthday.

Enameled and silver doves given by the former Shah of Iran as well as a pen presented by Japan to Romania’s former strongman will also be offered to collectors, along with many other objects from Communist times (1947-1989).

Among the latter are posters promoting healthy food like fruit or holidays on the Black Sea as well as other “proletarian” artifacts.

The auction is called “Golden Age” in reference to the final years of Ceausescu’s rule, when propaganda pictured a thriving Romania whereas in reality people were suffering food shortages.

Ceausescu and his wife Elena fled Bucharest after mass street protests at the end of 1989, when the iron curtain fell across eastern Europe. They were executed on Christmas Day the same year.

“Whether we like it or not, the communist regime is a page of our history. This time we are proposing to think about it in a different way from history books and sociological analysis,” Alin Ciupala, an art expert for the Bucharest-based auction house ArtMark told AFP.

Some of the objects were auctioned in 1999 by the state body charged with dealing with the dictator’s goods and came back on the market through private owners.

Several works from the Romanian-born Victor Brauner, a Paris-based Surrealist painter will also go under the hammer in Bucharest the same day.

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ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE

Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu (1918-1989) as depicted on a 1988 postage stamp.

Russian dictator Joseph Stalin photographed in Berlin in August 1945. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Bronze death mask of Stalin to be auctioned in Britain

January 24, 2012/in Auction Houses/by Tom Hoepf

Russian dictator Joseph Stalin photographed in Berlin in August 1945. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

LONDON (AFP) – A bronze cast from Joseph Stalin’s death mask goes on sale in London today. It is one of only 12 made after the Soviet dictator’s death in 1953, Mullock’s auctioneers said.

It is being put up for sale along with bronze casts of his hands—the left one withered—for a guide price of between £3,000 and £5,000 ($4,660 and $7,760, 3,580 euros and 5,970 euros).

Bought by art dealer James Birch in Moscow in 1990 and now being sold by a private collector, the bronze shows Stalin’s hair swept back from his forehead and his famous mustache is clearly evident.

Ten of the death mask bronzes are thought to be in Russia, with the 11th held in a private collection in London following its sale at Sotheby’s auction house in the early 1990s, Mullock’s expert Richard Westwood-Brookes said.

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ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE

Russian dictator Joseph Stalin photographed in Berlin in August 1945. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Caile Eclipse upright 25-cent oak slot machine, refinished and working (est. $15,000-$25,000). Image courtesy of Fontaine's Auction Gallery.

Big names in furniture stand out in Fontaine’s Feb. 11 sale

January 23, 2012/in Upcoming Auctions/by Tom Hoepf

Caile Eclipse upright 25-cent oak slot machine, refinished and working (est. $15,000-$25,000). Image courtesy of Fontaine’s Auction Gallery.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. – Fontaine’s Auction Gallery’s second event of the new year will be an aptly named Exceptional Antique Auction, with 400 quality cataloged lots slated to cross the block on Saturday, Feb. 11, in the firm’s gallery located at 1485 W. Housatonic St. Previews will be held Friday, Feb. 10, from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and on auction day from 8 a.m.-11 a.m. Online bidding will be facilitated by LiveAuctioneers.com.

“We had a good, solid year in 2011, but signs point to an even better year in 2012,” said John Fontaine, CEO of Fontaine’s Auction Gallery. “For this sale we were fortunate to have secured quality, fresh-to-the-market consignments not just from Massachusetts, but from across the country—Illinois, Michigan, Texas, California and Washington. I’m expecting a great sale.”

The first gavel will come down at 11 a.m. Eastern. Offered will be period furniture pieces by such renowned makers as John H. Belter, J.& J.W. Meeks, Alexander Roux, R.J. Horner, Thomas Brooks, Herter Brothers, Wooton Desk Co. and others. Also sold will be a clock collection, fine lighting, artwork, art glass, cameo glass, Lalique, porcelain plaques and cut glass.

In addition, there will be music boxes, pottery, bronzes, firearms, a collection of fine sterling, antique slot machines, jewelry and hundreds of related and decorative accessories. Phone and absentee bids will also be accepted.

The day’s top-selling lot could very well be a folk-carved stone sculpture of two people seated side-by-side, by Tennessee artist William Edmonson. The 26-inch-tall garden sculpture is expected to bring $40,000-$60,000. Also selling will be a relief molded Art Nouveau bronze urn with female figures in the forest, signed by French artist Alexander Vibert (est. $8,000-$12,000).

The lamps and lighting category will feature an 18-inch Handel reverse painted floral poppy table lamp boasting a conical shade and reverse painted with vibrant clusters of red and orange poppy flowers (est. $30,000-$50,000); and a 26-inch Duffner & Kimberly Renaissance hanging dome with bell-shaped shade decorated with lovely striated glass (est. $7,000-$9,000).

Fine art will include an original oil on ledger paper Impressionist landscape painting by Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot (French, 1796-1875), rendered from a hilltop near Lannion, France and showing two women enjoying the view (est. $20,000-$40,000); and a splendid autumn landscape with cows by Massachusetts artist William Lester Stevens (1888-1969), (est. $5,000-$7,000).

Furniture lots by R.J. Horner are certain to get bidders buzzing. They include a nine-piece figural oak dining room set featuring a large sideboard with deep figural carved panels (est. $15,000-$25,000); a mahogany winged griffin desk with rectangular top (est. $5,000-$7,000); and a massive oak griffin sideboard with beveled mirrors on the back (est. $5,000-$7,000).

Other furniture pieces of note will include a walnut extra-grade carved Renaissance Wooton desk having a fancy carved gallery with ebony trim and stylish corner pieces, 76 inches tall (est. $15,000-$25,000); and a pair of left and right rosewood meridiennes (sofas in which one arm is higher than the other), by John H. Belter in the Henry Clay pattern (est. $5,000-$7,000).

From the slot machines and firearms categories come a Caile Eclipse upright 25-cent oak slot machine made by Caile Brothers of Detroit, refinished and in very good working condition (est. $15,000-$25,000); and a cased Colt Model 1849 revolver (circa 1853) presented to John L. Miller, a Confederate colonel who died from battle wounds May 6, 1864 (est. $10,000-$15,000).

Music, anyone? Set to cross the block are a Regina Style 35 mahogany 12-tune disc changer that plays 15 1/2-inch discs on a double comb, circa 1900, in fine working order and with 25 extra play discs (est. $15,000-$17,000); and a mahogany Steinway music room grand piano, Model B, 6 feet 10 inches long, featuring classic style and heavy graining (est. $8,000-$12,000).

Rounding out just some of the day’s expected top lots are an impressive mahogany figural carved grandfather clock, 103 inches tall, with gilt dial and a silvered chapter ring with applied Arabic numerals (est. $8,000-$12,000); and a museum-quality model American steam yacht, titled Corsair (based on the original owned by J.P. Morgan), in a mahogany display case.

Fontaine’s Auction Gallery is actively seeking quality consignments for all future sales. The firm also buys antiques and entire estates outright. To consign an item, estate or collection, call (413) 448-8922 and ask for John Fontaine. Or, e-mail him at info@fontaineauction.com. For more information about the Feb. 11 auction, please log on to www.FontainesAuction.net.

View the fully illustrated catalog and register to bid absentee or live via the Internet as the sale is taking place by logging on to www.LiveAuctioneers.com.

ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE

Caile Eclipse upright 25-cent oak slot machine, refinished and working (est. $15,000-$25,000). Image courtesy of Fontaine’s Auction Gallery.

Eighteen-inch. Handel reverse painted floral poppy table lamp with conical shade (est. $30,000-$50,000). Image courtesy of Fontaine’s Auction Gallery.

Oil on ledger paper painting by noted French artist Jean-Baptiste Corot (est. $20,000-$40,000). Image courtesy of Fontaine’s Auction Gallery.

Regina Style 35 mahogany 12-tune disc changer, with 25 15 1/2-inch discs (est. $15,000-$17,000). Image courtesy of Fontaine’s Auction Gallery.

Double-seated figure garden sculpture by William Edmondson, 26 in. tall (est. $40,000-$60,000). Image courtesy of Fontaine’s Auction Gallery.

Walnut extra-grade Renaissance Revival Wooton desk in excellent shape (est. $15,000-$25,000). Image courtesy of Fontaine’s Auction Gallery.

Impressive mahogany figural carved grandfather clock, 103 inches tall (est. $8,000-$12,000). Image courtesy of Fontaine’s Auction Gallery.