May 8, 2012 - Auction Central News

Silver, jades, enamels at Auction Gallery of Palm Beaches, May 14-15

Important George IV gilt silver salver. Auction Gallery of the Palm Beaches image.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Auction Gallery of the Palm Beaches Inc. will conduct a two-session spring auction on Monday, May 14th and Tuesday, May 15th at 6 p.m. Eastern Time. The auction features a fabulous collection of important and rare English and Irish silver, fine quality Chinese Ming, Qing, and Early Republic jades and porcelains, amazing Vienna enamels, and fine-quality American and European antiques and fine art. Internet live bidding will be provided by LiveAuctioneers.com.

Included in the two sessions are the works of England’s most important silversmiths Paul DeLamarie (1688-1751), Paul Storr (1771-1844), and Benjamin Smith III (1793-1850). Each is considered one of the finest silversmiths in his day, with DeLamarie proclaimed by the Victoria and Albert museum as “the greatest silversmith working in the 18th century.” The collection has several fine examples of artistry in silver. Pieces by DeLamarie are few and far between. There are three examples by the silversmith in this sale, including Lot 394, a Geo. II chocolate pot, London, dated 1730, which is perfect in form and symmetry, along with Lot 393, a Geo. I mug, and Lot 392, a 1747 snuffer tray.

There are several outstanding pieces by Paul Storr. His reputation rests on his mastery of the restrained neo-Classical style developed in the Regency period and his later floral designs in the rococo styles. Lot 456, a superb Geo. IV tea kettle on stand, London 1827, is no exception as an example of his mastery of silver. The piece is sumptuously detailed in the rococo style with heavily chased flowers and foliage and the swing handles with stylized dolphins. An early piece by Storr, Lot 186, is an 1806 punch bowl, with a later associated 1816 Regency ladle.

Highlighting the silver collection is Lot 188, a Geo. IV silver-gilt salver by Benjamin Smith III. The salver is a remarkable work in silver with the wide circular border heavily cast with 15 front torsos of rearing horses amidst acanthus leaves. The articulation in the horses and leaves is exemplary of Smith’s work with animals in silver. The charger is engraved with the Royal badge of Geo. IV. The pre-sale estimate is $50,000-70,000.

There are several rare and early examples of 17th and 18th century English and Irish silver, including Lot 113 a Charles II 1674 London sterling tankard; Lot 112, a 1697 William III chocolate pot; and Lot 114 a Queen Anne 1710 Montieth bowl by silversmith Joseph Bell, presented to H. J. Hines.

The auction will also offer a fabulous collection of Chinese and Japanese objets d’art. The strength of the Asian market has been a boon for the sellers. Couple that with the large number of registered Asian bidders at each auction and the market is soaring. This auction will have several superb pieces including Lot 470, an ancient Chinese Bi jade/stone disk, 15 inches in diameter,and probably Liangzhu culture, Yuhang, Zheziang Province (31st/22nd century B.C.). These mysterious objects called Bi disks are symbolic of the sun spirit and as a symbol wealth.

Chinese white and celadon Jades are featured, including Lot 97 an 18th century white jade plaque carved with bats and prunus mounted in a silver box; Lot 184, an extremely rare 18th century Ming white jade hairpin with pierced flowers [similar examples in the Seattle Museum of Art]; Lot 368, a Ming celadon jade carved and pierced plaque mounted in a later export silver buckle; and Lot 185, an antique apple green jade pierced bead necklace with 65 beads with splashes of emerald green. The necklace is all natural and set with 18K white gold with diamond points spacers. There are many additional lots of Chinese and Japanese porcelains and objets d’art.

Four lots of Viennese enamels are being offered. The group is a tour de force in enamels. Lot 153 is an amazing enamel, silver, lapiz lazuli, and rock crystal ewer by Austrian maker Herman Bohm. Lot 154 is a rock crystal and enamel bird-form cornucopia, circa 1880; and Lot 152, a French 19th century large covered bowl with military scenes painted in the reserves. Other fine antique offerings include a well-executed piece of Judaica, Lot 453, which is an English sterling silver Torah breast plate with jeweling.

A nice selection of estate fine art will include Lot 482, a Picasso etching from the Vollard suite, “Minotaur Attacking an Amazon;” Lot 86 an American still life of raspberries by J. J. LaValley; Lots 110 and 111, two paintings by Polish artist Zofia Stryjenska; Lot 481, a drawing by American sculptor Richard MacDonald; and Lot 136, a regal English portrait of a military colonel by John St. Helier Lander, dated 1913. Several works by Miami outsider legend Purvis Young and two autographed books by Andy Warhol will also be sold.

For additional information on any lot in the sale, contact the gallery at 561-805-7115.

View the fully illustrated catalog and sign up to bid absentee or live via the Internet at www.LiveAuctioneers.com.

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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

George IV Paul Storr sterling silver tea kettle. Auction Gallery of the Palm Beaches image.

Important Viennese enamel and rock crystal cornucopia. Auction Gallery of the Palm Beaches image.

Celadon jade plaque. Auction Gallery of the Palm Beaches image.

Showplace to auction estate of artist Norio Azuma, May 17

Sui-Tang Dynasty carved red sandstone Guanyin figure. Image courtesy Showplace Antique + Design Center.

NEW YORK – Showplace Antique + Design Center will present an important estate sale of the late Japanese-American master artist Norio Azuma on Thursday, May 17. A wide variety of antiques from the artist’s private collection will be auctioned, as well as a series of works by Azuma himself.

LiveAuctioneers.com will provide Internet live bidding for the 470-lot auction.

Norio Azuma, born Mie-Ken, 1928-2004, was a Japanese artist and collector who lived and worked in New York. The objects to be auctioned in Showplace Antique Center’s May 17 sale were part of his personal collection, and most have remained unseen for at least two decades.

Some fine Chinese highlights of the collection include a Yuan Dynasty blue and white meiping vase, a Sui Dynasty straw-glazed amphora, both estimated at $9,000-$12,000, and a Sui-Tang Dynasty carved red sandstone Guanyin figure estimated $15,000-$20,000.

Azuma was also a collector of Japanese antiques and fine art. An Iro-e Ko Imari porcelain Guanyin figure with removable hands will be offered at $6,500-$8,000, and a lot of five 18th century Ko Imari mukozuke bowls for $2,000-$3,000.

Additionally a self-portrait by artist Tsuguharu Foujita is expected to fetch $5,000-$7,000 and a Takamori Oguiss watercolor painting depicting a cityscape for $2,500-$3,500.

Azuma’s original works can be found in major corporate and museum collections around the United States and abroad, including the Whitney Museum of American Art, University of Nebraska, Brooklyn Museum of Art, Butler Institute of American Art, Seattle Art Museum, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art, Cleveland Museum of Art, State University of Potsdam, Smithsonian Institute, the Free Library of Philadelphia, Library of Congress, Chase Manhattan Bank Collection, Philadelphia Museum of Art, National Academy of Science, St. Louis Art Museum, M.I.T., University of California, Art Institute of Chicago, University of Wisconsin, IBM., New Jersey State Museum, Princeton University, USIA, Des Moines Art Center, Rosenwald Collection, Hirshhorn Museum, American Republic Insurance Co. Collection, La Jolla Museum of Contemporary Art, Boston Public Library, Palm Springs Desert Museum, Chouinard Art Institute, Ishikawa Prefectural Museum of Art and Kanazawa Art College.

His work was also exhibited in shows such as “30 Contemporary Artists” at USIA, “28th Corcoran Biennial Exhibition” in Washington, D.C., “3rd International Triennial of Original Graphics,” “Contemporary American Artists” at the White House, “Sculpture and Prints” at the Whitney Museum of American Art, “Kagai Sakka Ten” at the Tokyo Modern Museum of Art, and “American Art Today” at the New York World’s Fair.

Among the original Azuma pieces being offered in this sale are several serigraphs, one titled Red Room circa 1970s for $700-$1,100. A series of original nude painted sketches are also up for auction at $500-$700 each.

Live bidding will begin Thursday, May 17, at 1 p.m. Eastern on LiveAuctioneers.com. Bids may also be placed absentee or by phone. For information contact an auctions department representative at 212-633-6063 ext. 804 or 805, or visit Showplace Antique + Design Center’s website: www.nyshowplace.com.

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

Takamori Oguiss watercolor painting. Image courtesy Showplace Antique + Design Center.

Five 18th century Ko Imari mukozuke bowls. Image courtesy Showplace Antique + Design Center.

Norio Azuma ‘Red Room’ serigraph. Image courtesy Showplace Antique + Design Center.

Yuan Dynasty blue and white meiping vase. Image courtesy Showplace Antique + Design Center.

Iro-e Ko Imari porcelain Guanyin figure. Image courtesy Showplace Antique + Design Center.

Sui Dynasty straw-glazed amphora. Image courtesy Showplace Antique + Design Center.

Kaminski presents potent lineup for art auction May 17

Portrait of a young woman wearing a blue jumper, oil on canvas, signed ‘Grant Wood – 1923,’ lower right, in original frame. Image courtesy Kaminski Auctions.

BEVERLY, Mass. – Kaminski Auctions will conduct their Spring Fine Art Sale on Thursday, May 17, at 6 p.m. Eastern their auction gallery at 117 Elliot St., Route 62.

Liveauctioneers.com will provide Internet live bidding for this auction, which spans many genres and collecting interests. The spring sale includes a fine selection of old master works, American paintings, works by the celebrated Cuban artist Mario Carreno, an Auguste Rodin watercolor, a Salvador Dali and bronzes by David Aronson.

The cover lot of the catalog is a rare portrait by the painter Grant Wood, (1891-1942), famous for his legendary American Gothic, an iconic image of 20th century American art and pop culture. Wood was born in Anamosa, Iowa, and as a boy moved to Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Always interested in art as a child, he later traveled to Europe to study the great 19th century Impressionist masters. After a visit to Germany, he came back to the United States with the idea to paint scenes of places and people he knew, using simple ideas of the old European masters. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Grant was not a prolific painter and it is rare for one of his works to come to auction. His portrait of a young woman wearing a blue jumper, oil on canvas, signed “Grant Wood – 1923” lower right, in its original frame, is estimated at $100,000-$150,000.

Two paintings by the celebrated Cuban artist Mario Carreno (1913-1999) originally from the Marta Vesa family of Havana and then to a private collector in Pennsylvania, include an abstract of a seated woman musician, oil on canvas, signed and dated 1947. A similar abstract titled Fiesta Nocturna, 1950 sold in 1950 in Madrid, Spain for over $77,000. The abstract is estimated at $60,000-$90,000.

The second painting is from his classical period, a brief but important period in the evolution of his style, and is titled Classic Nude, oil on canvas, signed and dated 1942. There is also a handwritten certificate of authenticity from his widow, Ida Carreno Gonzalez and verification by Carlos Martinez, former executive director of the Cuban Museum, Miami. The painting is estimated at $100,000-$200,000.

Another Cuban painting is by Leopoldo Romanach (Cuban, 1862-1951), Ballerina, oil on canvas, signed lower right and estimated at $10,000-$15,000. Romanach was a well-known professor of color theory at San Alejandro Academy and was instructor to many of the great early 20th century Cuban artists.

An important contemporary entry in the sale is a collage, depicting the assassination of John Fitzgerald Kennedy, JFK. Composed of collage, alkaline oil paint, and images from Time Inc. on cardboard, and inscribed NP MOV 67, (Neo Pop Movement, 1967), the collage measures 39 1/2 inches by 30 inches. It is significant as well, with next year being the 50th anniversary of the Kennedy assassination. Much research has been done on this poignant piece, and many people in the art world believe the work could be attributed to Robert Rauschenberg (1925-2008), the acclaimed American artist of the 1950s. Rauschenberg, well known for his “Combines” and later for his paintings incorporating found images, photographs and objects on canvas using a silk screen process. This technique was the start of what is described as the American Pop Art movement. Contemporaries of Ruaschenberg, associated with movement, include Andy Warhol and Jasper Johns.

European collectors will be interested in a 17th/18th Italian portrait of Christ bound by ropes, oil on canvas, #388 verso, having a label “Mr. Nesmith Loring, Yarmouth Maine, Box 73,” also having partial Museum of Fine Art label with red border, in original crate labeled “Sweat Memorial Museum, 97 Spring St., Portland, ME,” also labeled from R.C. & N.M. Vose, Boston. The painting is estimated at $10,000-$15,000. A painting titled The Appeal to Coriolanus, oil on canvas, depicting the legendary Roman leader Caius Marcius Coriolanus, is estimated at $10,000-$15,000.

Important American paintings include a Jane Peterson (American, 1876-1965), Woman at the Piano, oil on canvas, signed lower left, purchased by Lillian Sweenie of Ipswich, Mass., in the 1960s at the artist’s estate auction held by O. Rundle Gilbert Auctioneer, New York. It is estimated at $40,000-$80,000. A Reynolds Beal (American, 1867-1951), Sells Floto Circus, circus scene, crayon and pencil on paper, signed lower left and dated 1928, is estimated at $4,000-$6,000. An Elbridge Wesley Webber (American, 1839-1914) oil on canvas depicting ships in a harbor under moonlight is expected to make $4,000-$8,000.

Of interest to collectors of Cape Ann scenes is a marine painting by Aldro Thompson Hibbard (American, 1886-1972), painted during the last year of his life. It is an early view of docked boats in Gloucester, oil on artist board, signed, by the artist. In February a record for a Hibbard was achieved, as a Vermont landscape sold for $88,875. This marine painting is estimated at $15,000-$25,000.

By California impressionist Granville S. Redmond (American, 1871-1935) is a painting of California poppies, oil on canvas, signed and estimated at $40,000-$60,000.

Previously from the estate of Bruce Hyatt of Thousand Oaks, Calif., comes an Auguste Rodin (French, 1840-1917), female nude from the Cambodian dancer series, watercolor and pencil on paper, signed lower right and estimated at $12,000-$16,000.

British artists are represented by Sir Alfred Vickers (British, 1786-1868), landscape of a lake scene with mountains and a cottage, oil on canvas, and Sir Jacob Epstein (British, 1880-1959), Christ in Majesty, both valued at $4,000-$7,000.

With the publicity surrounding the 100th anniversary of the launching and sinking of the Titanic, 1912, a Brian Coole (British, b. 1939), signed RMS Titanic, off South Hampton, oil on board is sure to catch the attention of Titanic historians everywhere.

Sculpture in the sale includes bronzes by Boston University professor David Aronson, whose works are found in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and the Museum of Modern Art, New York. Recipient of a Guggenheim fellowship in 1960, Aronson was elected as an Academician at the National Academy of Design, in New York.

For details go to www.kaminskiauctions.com or phone 978-927-2223.

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

Collage of the assassination of JFK, collage and alkaline oil paint on cardboard, inscribed ‘NP MOV 67,’ (Neo Pop Movement, 1967. Image courtesy Kaminski Auctions.

Mario Carreno (Cuban, 1913-1999), ‘Classic Nude,’ oil on canvas, signed and dated 1942, 28 x 23 inches. Image courtesy Kaminski Auctions.

Mario Carreno (Cuban, 1913-1999), abstract of a seated woman musician, oil on canvas, signed and dated 1947. Image courtesy Kaminski Auctions.

Jane Peterson (American, 1876-1965), ‘Woman at the Piano,’ oil on canvas, signed lower left. Image courtesy Kaminski Auctions.

Italian painting of tortured Christ, 17th-18th century. Image courtesy Kaminski Auctions.

Morphy’s May 26 Marbles sale includes rare ‘miniature artworks’

Four-paneled controlled mica onionskin marble, est. $2,000-$3,000. Morphy Auctions image.

DENVER, Pa. – Some of the finest handmade and machine-made vintage marbles ever to be offered at auction will be available to bidders on May 26 at Morphy’s gallery in Lancaster County, Pa. “They are miniature works of art,” said Morphy’s CEO, Dan Morphy, referring to the contents of the 783-lot specialty sale. Internet live bidding will be available through www.LiveAuctioneers.com.

Manufacturers represented in the sale include such coveted names as Christensen Agate, Akro Agate and Peltier. The selection includes boxed sets as well as single marbles.

One of the auction’s special highlights is an Akro Agate Kullerbubbel Gum marble set, a display that was designed to offer children a stick of gum and one agate marble for a penny. The lucky person who purchased the last stick of gum from the display box would receive the only included corkscrew “shooter” as a bonus. The boxed set with 120 marbles, 120 sticks of gum and shooter is expected to make $3,000-$5,000.

Christensen singles include three teardrop guineas. Also among the top lots by Christensen are a rare cobalt with orange and white marble, est. $1,000-$2,000; a hard-to-find red devil that is estimated at $1,500-$2,500; and a blue devil with electric-yellow stripes, similarly estimated at $1,500-$2,500. The latter two examples are pictured in all four editions of Everett Grist’s “Big Book of Marbles.” A third red devil, with yellow striping and spotting is also estimated at $1,500-$2,500.

Onionskins are led by a rare 4-panel controlled mica with faceted pontil. It has two opposing panels of almost solid red and two other opposing panels of turquoise and white with blizzard mica. Extremely hard to find in this configuration, the 1 1/8 in. marble could realize an auction price of $2,000-$3,000.

A circa-1870 marble made of gutta percha (papier mache) displays a color palette of mustard yellow, oxblood red, tan, blue and gold on a black base. Together, the colors create an iris effect. An early, seldom-encountered marble, it is in 9.5 condition and estimated at $3,000-$5,000.

A rarity known as a “birdcage” marble because of the distinctive cage-like shape its latticino forms within the glass boasts a medley of five colors. “In fact, we have never seen this many colors in a birdcage marble,” said Morphy’s marbles specialist Brian Estepp. The condition is rated 9.7 and it is estimated at $3,000-$5,000.

Many wonderful sulphide marbles, with figures suspended in the glass, are included in the sale, including a standing Jester, Kneeling/Praying Angel and a wonderful Painted Dog. The well-centered figure of a spotted canine with brown eyes and nose stands on a green “grass” base. It could bring $2,500-$3,500 on auction day.

Morphy’s Marble auction will take place on Saturday, May 26, 2012, commencing at 9 a.m. For additional information on any lot in the auction, call Morphy’s at 717-335-3435 or e-mail serena@morphyauctions.com.

View the fully illustrated catalog and sign up to bid absentee or live via the Internet at www.morphyauctions.com.

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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

Five-color single-pontil birdcage marble, est. $3,000-$5,000. Morphy Auctions image.

Circa-1870 gutta percha marble with multiple colors creating an ‘iris’ effect, est. $3,000-$5,000. Morphy Auctions image.

Painted Dog sulphide marble, est. $2,500-$3,500. Morphy Auctions image.

Christensen Agate cyclone guinea marble with ‘submarine’ effect, est. $700-$1,000. Morphy Auctions image.

Akro Agate Kullerbubbel gum and marble display set, est. $3,000-$5,000. Morphy Auctions image.

Study suggests cave drawings in France are oldest artworks of their kind

Painting of a hyena found in the Chauvet Cave. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.

WASHINGTON (AFP) – Experts have long debated whether the sophisticated animal drawings in a famous French cave are indeed the oldest of their kind in the world, and a study out Monday suggests that they are.

The smooth curves and fine details in the paintings of bears, rhinoceroses and horses in the Chauvet cave in southern France’s picturesque Ardeche region are so advanced that some scholars believe they date from 12,000 to 17,000 years ago.

That would place them as relics of the Magdalenian culture, in which human ancestors used tools of stone and bone and created increasingly advanced art as time went on.

But scientists have previously shown through radiocarbon dating evidence of rock art, charcoal and animal bones in the Chauvet cave that the drawings are older than that, likely between 30,000-32,000 years old, befuddling some who believed that early art took on more primitive forms.

Now, according to research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a U.S. journal, scientists believe they have confirmation that the paintings are “the oldest and most elaborate ever discovered.”

Their findings are based on an analysis—called geomorphological and chlorine-36 dating—of the rockslide surfaces around what is believed to be the cave’s only entrance.

The research shows that an overhanging cliff began collapsing 29,000 years ago and did so repeatedly over time, definitively sealing the entrance to humans around 21,000 years ago.

That would mean the drawings had to have been done before that, and bolsters the notion that they were created by people in the Aurignacian culture which lived 28,000 to 40,000 years ago.

“Remarkably agreeing with the radiocarbon dates of the human and animal occupancy, this study confirms that the Chauvet cave paintings are the oldest and the most elaborate ever discovered, challenging our current knowledge of human cognitive evolution,” said the study.

“These results have significant implications for archaeological, human, and rock art sciences and seriously challenge rock art dating based on stylistic criteria.”

The cave and its remarkably well-preserved paintings were closed to human access by the rockfalls and were only recently rediscovered in 1994.

Researchers involved in the work came from France’s University of Savoie, Aix Marseille University and the Centre National de Prehistoire.

ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE

More Gerald Ford street art pops up in Grand Rapids

President Gerald R. Ford. Image courtesy LiveAuctioneers.com Archive and Early American History Auctions.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) – Another stenciled image of former President Gerald R. Ford has popped up in his hometown of Grand Rapids.

MLive.com reports the image of Ford in a swimsuit and towel was spotted recently on a river wall below the DeVos Place convention center. The graffiti just above the water line of the Grand River is similar to a photo of the 38th commander in chief taken at the White House pool.

The image is across the river from the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum. Ford’s grave is on the grounds of the museum.

Several other stenciled Ford images were noticed last month along Interstate 196 in the West Michigan city. The freeway bears Ford’s name.

AP-WF-05-07-12 1055GMT

ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE

Stradivarius cello damaged in photo shoot accident

An Edgar Bundy (English, 1862-1922) romanticized painting of Antonio Stradivari at work in is shop. Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

MADRID (AP) – A Stradivarius cello housed at the Spanish Royal Palace has been broken in an accident.

A National Heritage official declined to specify what went wrong. She refused to comment on an El Mundo newspaper report that the instrument fell off a table during a photo session. She confirmed it happened about three weeks ago. The official spoke on condition of anonymity in line with department policy.

The damage sustained: a piece that joins the neck of the 17th-century instrument to the body of it broke and fell off the rest of the cello.

That piece was not original but rather a replacement installed in the 19th century.

The official said the cello can and will be repaired.

The heritage official declined to say how much the cello was worth. She said it was part of a set of instruments—two violins and a viola were the others—that were known as “the Quartet.” They got this name because they were commissioned at the same time.

El Mundo quoted an unidentified expert at the Association of Luthiers and Bow-Makers of Spain as estimating the instrument would fetch up to 20 million euros ($26 million) at an auction. An official at Sotheby’s Madrid office said he could not immediately comment on that estimate.

AP-WF-05-07-12 1339GMT

ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE

Bertoia’s March 23-24 antique toy auction reaches $1.3M

Deep Sea Diver lithographed tinplate wind-up toy, German, $5,750. Bertoia Auctions image.

VINELAND, N.J. – Bertoia’s March 23-24 ‘Made to Be Played’ auction, a 1,400-lot offering highlighted by the Grover Van Dexter European tin toy collection, closed the books at an impressive $1.3 million (inclusive of 15% buyer’s premium). LiveAuctioneers.com provided the Internet live bidding.

An extensive variety of early toys crossed the auction block. A Hubley cast-iron Popeye Patrol depicting the popular cartoon sailor on a motorcycle had been estimated at $10,000-$12,000 and rode off as top lot after hammering $19,550.

“It was a well-attended event, and the phones and Internet were very busy,” said Bertoia Auctions associate Rich Bertoia. “We’ve noticed that with each successive sale there are more and more serious bidders using alternative bidding methods. We’re reached a point with the electronic crowd where they’re 100% trusting of the catalog descriptions. A bidder will call ahead of time and ask, ‘Is this toy really excellent?’ Then after the sale they’ll call me and say it was actually better than described.”

The aforementioned Popeye on Motorcycle had an association with Bertoia’s that went way back, Rich Bertoia said. “My brother Bill (co-founder of Bertoia Auctions) bought that toy years ago after visiting the Hubley showroom in New York. It was a big deal for a small company like Hubley (of Lancaster, Pa.) to make it to the big trade show, and the 1928 motorcycle was brought along for display only. Bill somehow ended up buying the toy, then resold it to collector Bob Brady. In turn, Bob sold it at auction a few years ago. The person who bought it at that particular auction, consigned it to our March 23-24 sale.”

Before the auction, Rich Bertoia was asked how he thought the toy would fare. “I said that cast iron has made a comeback, that there are a few more collectors in the mix now, and that you won’t find another one in that condition,” Bertoia said. “It ended up nearly doubling its low estimate at $19,550.”

Steam toys from the collection of the late Klaus Grutzka, who taught art at the prestigious Hill School in Pottstown, Pa., put in a strong performance. A fine Marklin rolling steam engine with foldable stack, double flywheel and other nice details topped the steam-toy group at $8,050.

There was interest from both sides of the Atlantic in European tin toys from the personal collection of Grover Van Dexter, who owned a legendary Greenwich village toy shop called Second Childhood. Van Dexter’s shop – like his personal collection – was laden with rare Lehmanns and Martins.

Van Dexter’s Lehmann Coco, a weighted-string pull toy that depicts an African native climbing a palm tree to retrieve a coconut, not only retained its paper tree leaves but also its rare pictorial box. Estimated at $1,500-$1,800, it was bid to $8,625.

A French Fernand Martin wind-up toy depicting an English soldier was made of tin and outfitted in a cloth uniform with metal helmet and gun. An unquestionably rare toy, it soared to $6,325 against an estimate of $1,000-$1,200.

Collectors love oddities, Bertoia said, and that described the German-made tinplate Deep Sea Diver of unknown manufacture. Examples of this nicely detailed tin-litho character in a primitive diving suit and domed helmet seldom appear at auction. Against an estimate of $1,200-$1,500, it claimed a winning bid of $5,750.

Depicting a character from the early newspaper comic strip “Toonerville Folks,” a Powerful Katrinka wind-up toy by Nifty swept past its $900-$1,100 estimate to realize $2,588.

“This is the type of toy that keeps comic character buyers interested. There were fewer Powerful Katrinkas made than other comic character toys. When one of them comes out of the woodwork, it gives the market a bump,” Bertoia said. “The Toonerville toys had more of a regional than national distribution. The comic strip had a rural theme, so the toys were only sent to certain pockets of the country. As a result, the toys are rare.”

A selection of antique still and mechanical banks – many in superior condition – was led by a hand-painted spelter bank depicting Santa Claus with a staff in one hand and a bag slung over his shoulder. Prices for spelter banks have continued to escalate, as the Santa bank proved when it sold for $8,625 against an estimate of $1,000-$1,500.

Perhaps the most unusual entry in the auction was a cast-iron figural hand, painted red and weighing more than 100 lbs. The 32-inch-tall trade sign was originally a display piece in a York, Pa., glove factory. Bertoia said he had seen only one other like it, in an Architectural Digest spread of several years ago. Bertoia’s sold the example in their sale for $6,325 – more than six times its high estimate.

Bertoia’s is known for its record prices on figural cast-iron doorstops, a collecting category in which Bertoia’s owner, Jeanne Bertoia, is an acknowledged expert.

“In this sale we included the complete range of Hubley Art Deco doorstops designed by Anne Fish, a popular English cartoonist and illustrator in the 1920s,” said Jeanne Bertoia. “Each was in beautiful condition. The Parlour Maid, which depicts a French maid serving cocktails, was in even better condition than the book example.” Estimated at $1,800-$2,500, the Parlour Maid achieved a top bid of $5,463.

Bertoia’s will present its annual Fall Sale on Sept. 21-22. On Nov. 10, the company will auction part II of the Dick Claus collection of nautical toys and boats. To contact Bertoia Auctions, call 856-692-1881 or e-mail toys@bertoiaauctions.com. Visit Bertoia’s online at www.bertoiaauctions.com.

View Bertoia’s fully illustrated March 23-24 auction catalog, complete with prices realized, at www.LiveAuctioneers.com

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Click here to view the fully illustrated catalog for this sale, complete with prices realized.

ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE

Nifty Powerful Katrinka, German, tinplate windup, $2,588. Bertoia Auctions image.

Hubley Popeye Patrol cast-iron motorcycle toy, $19,550. Bertoia Auctions image.

Hand-painted spelter Santa Claus still bank, German, $8,625. Bertoia Auctions image.

Hubley Parlour Maid figural cast-iron doorstop, designed by Anne Fish, $5,463. Bertoia Auctions image.

Painted figural cast-iron trade sign from glove factory, origin York, Pa., 32 in. tall, $6,325. Bertoia Auctions image.

Marklin rolling steam engine with foldable stack, double flywheel, other desirable details, $8,050. Bertoia Auctions image.

Fernand Martin cloth-dressed tin wind-up English soldier with metal helmet and gun, French, $6,325. Bertoia Auctions image.

Lehmann ‘Coco’ weighted-string pull toy, German, with original box, $8,625. Bertoia Auctions image.

Movie memorabilia nearly ‘Gone With the Wind’

An original 1939 one sheet movie poster for 'Gone With the Wind.' Image courtesy LiveAuctioneers.com Archive and Heritage Auctions.

DECATUR, Ga. (AP) – It is among Georgia’s most cherished cinematic heirlooms. But at this moment, it sits, crinkled and waterlogged, on a large table in Leonora Weaver’s studio, a converted garage where the Decatur conservator resurrects damaged works of art.

On this day, Weaver is busy removing, with surgeonlike precision, 30-year-old tape from a 72-year-old king-size Gone With the Wind press book jacket. The press book marked the first anniversary of the Oscar-winning movie.

The item, covered with photos and other details from the 1939 “GWTW” premiere in Atlanta, survived a Feb. 10 fire at a Stockbridge, Ga., storage unit where it had been housed along with several hundred other pieces of Gone With the Wind memorabilia. Water from firefighters’ hoses also caused the backside of the jacket to bleed through, giving the item a slightly pink hue.

Though the fire destroyed the stored belongings of some metro Atlanta families, the Gone With the Wind collection miraculously escaped the worst of it, suffering mostly water damage.

“We’re hoping she can get the water damage and all the stain and mold off,” said Newnan resident Herb Bridges, owner of the collection. The artifacts from the storage unit are estimated to be worth about $200,000 and account for about a third of the entire collection amassed during several decades by Bridges, who is considered the foremost “GWTW” collector.

This is what Weaver, a 53-year-old trained art historian, lives for. Weaver spent 30 years in England and learned restoration before returning to Atlanta to open a studio a decade ago. While Atlanta has a rather impressive number of restorers, Weaver is one of the few people who restore artwork made of paper.

“I’m really enjoying working on it. I really consider it an honor and true privilege,” said Weaver, who has restored original artwork of Currier & Ives and famed watercolor painter John James Audubon.

Weaver’s skills have been called upon to restore everything from Victorian organ pipes to a 2-inch-square etching to a 14-foot map. She has done work at 10 Downing Street, the home of Britain’s prime minister. Weaver’s family, the Okarmas , are well-known in Atlanta’s art circles. Her father, Eugene, founded the renowned Okarma-Jones Gallery in Midtown.

She is, if you will, the artwork whisperer.

Weaver has her work cut out for her on this “GWTW” project, according to Jeannie Barrett Stanca, a fine art appraiser who also is a licensed Georgia insurance agent.

“Leonora is a gem when it comes to restoration. I’ve seen her work. It’s phenomenal,” said Barrett Stanca, owner of J Barrett Studio in Lawrenceville.

However, Barrett Stanca said the value of any damaged “GWTW” artifacts—even with restoration work—is likely to be irrevocably affected.

As soon as Weaver heard about the fire and the uncertain future of the “GWTW” collection, her mind kicked into high gear. She was eager to get to work.

“I knew speed was important,” she said. “When things are soaking wet, you have to act immediately. You have to do first aid and get them to a dry and safe place away from the mold.”

Weaver praised the quick response of the staff at the Clayton County Convention & Visitors Bureau, which runs the Road to Tara Museum in Jonesboro, Ga., keeper of many “GWTW” artifacts. They stripped wet mat boards and backing from the posters, pictures and other memorabilia stored at the unit.

Most of the items are pieces that have been lent to museums and other facilities worldwide. They include posters of an all-female Japanese musical of the famed Margaret Mitchell novel-turned-movie, and numerous posters in different languages showing the famous pose of Rhett and Scarlett clutched in an embrace.

Weaver is part detective, part surgeon, part scientist and even part chef when it calls for whipping up a batch of homemade mending solution to repair tears.

This is not the line of work for those with little patience.

“We never rush anything,” Weaver said in a crisp British accent. The artwork tells me “when it’s jolly good and ready.”

She has a soft, steady stream of baroque music playing throughout the room to calm the heart and steady the hand. After all, “your heartbeat races.”

The work can get so intense that Weaver limits it to the period from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays. Weaver prefers to work on a few “GWTW” pieces at a time. The oversize book jacket will take about two months.

Items that Weaver works on are photographed and measured and receive condition reports because each piece “has different problems,” Weaver said.

The oversize book jacket, for instance, has three main problems: water, staining and a severely damaged spine from years of bending.

Using a small hot iron to lift the tape from the paper jacket, Weaver inches her way along with the help of a scalpel to lift tiny flecks of the tape. Once the tape is removed, the piece then will go into a solution bath to remove acid. It then dries a week before repair work on the torn parts begins, using Japanese tissue paper, which is thin yet remarkably strong.

Once that’s done, the piece is flattened and returned to a presentable shape, at which point Weaver consults with the client on the long-term prospects for the artwork. Framing? Storage? Traveling exhibition? Museum?

At some point, Weaver will start on the biggest challenge of the “GWTW” restoration: two pieces of artwork stuck together. One will likely be lost to save the other. Weaver has no idea what’s underneath.

But Bridges will probably make the call on the fate of the piece. Until then, Bridges has chosen to leave Weaver to her work.

“In her studio, I sort of let her alone,” Bridges said. “There’s no rush. We don’t have a big exhibit schedule. Therefore, she can take her time and get it done right and proper.”

___

Information from: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, http://www.ajc.com

AP-WF-05-06-12 0410GMT

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Ancient palace gardens blossom amid Roman ruins

Imperial Palace on the Palatine Hill overlooking the Circus Maximus. This file is made available under the Creative Commons CC10 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.

ROME (AFP) – Italian archaeologists on Saturday inaugurated new flower gardens in the ruins of ancient Roman palaces on the Palatine Hill in a colorful reconstruction of what the area may have looked like 2,000 years ago.

Purple petunias, white leadworts and medicinal vervain have been planted in the ruins of courtyards and shrines where scribes of the time described luxurious gardens created in imitation of the ancient Greeks.

“The Palatine was not only about architecture. It was a game of colors—frescoes, fountains and flowers. It was nature penetrating into the city,” said Maria Rosaria Barbero, the head of Rome’s archaeological department.

“We wanted to give the Palatine back its colors,” she said, looking at a bed of petunias surrounded by terra-cotta ruins in what was once a vast inner courtyard of the Flavian Palace built by the Emperor Domitian in A.D. 92.

“The emperors wanted their Palatine residences to be decorated with splendid gardens that with their magnificence could help legitimize the sacred nature of their authoritarian power,” a statement said.

The additions include a partial reconstruction of the 16th century Orti Farnesiani, Italy’s first botanical garden, which contained plant species discovered in the Americas just a few decades before by Christopher Columbus.

Organizers said they could not, however, also recreate the many fountains that dotted the hill, which overlooks the Colosseum and the Roman Forum, because of the difficulty of pumping up such large amounts of water.

The Palatine Hill was the most luxurious residential quarter of ancient Rome and its palaces appear in literature as far back as the fourth century B.C.

It was inhabited at various times by the philosopher Cicero and the emperors Nero and Augustus. The word “palace” originates from “Palatine.”

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