NEWBURY, England – Dreweatts & Bloomsbury Auctions will offer a rare opportunity to buy landmark items from a unique private collection spanning William Morris and the Arts & Crafts Movement on Wednesday, Feb. 27. LiveAuctioneers.com will provide Internet live bidding.

The Hodson Collection offers connoisseurs, collectors and lovers of William Morris and the Arts & Crafts Movement a unique opportunity, and possibly the last opportunity, to buy key pieces with an unparalleled and unbroken provenance.

Eric Knowles, a consultant at Dreweatts & Bloomsbury Auctions and a familiar face on high profile television programs and documentaries, says of the Hodson Collection, “It is rare in one’s career to have the opportunity to handle an important collection which is a mixture of all the major disciplines that illustrate the excellence of design and craftsmanship, which was the essential prerequisite demanded by the ethos of the Arts & Crafts movement.”

Dreweatts & Bloomsbury Auctions will be staging the sale of this unique private collection in three parts:

– Interiors, which will be offered at Dreweatts, Donnington Priory in Newbury on Feb. 27;

– The Gaskin Jewelry which is part of Dreweatts’ Fine Jewelry, Watches, Pens and Luxury Items on March 20;

– and Part III will be Books, Manuscripts, Prints and Drawings at Bloomsbury Auctions in London on April 4.

William Morris was probably the greatest single influence on the Arts and Crafts movement. He founded his original firm in 1861, mainly inspired by the Pre Raphaelites; most of the early commissions were ecclesiastical including stained glass but soon he added furniture, household glass, metalwork and tiles and by the 1870s he was concentrating on wallpapers and fabrics.

Laurence William Hodson, a man of taste and foresight, was an admirer and patron of William Morris and the Arts & Crafts movement. After Morris’ death in 1896, Hodson negotiated the future of the library at Kelmscott House and the Kelmscott Press. During these negotiations he was able to secure the four beautiful watercolor and pencil designs by Philip Webb for the famous “Forest Tapestry” offered in the Interiors sale (lots 116-119).

One of the many highlights must be the gilded convex, hexagonal wall mirror (lot 80) designed and painted by Joseph Southall, with gesso work and gilding by Charles M. and Edith Gere and stones set by the jeweler Georgina Gaskin. Decorated with six painted roundels of the Virgin and Child with five angels, it is inlaid with six cabochon stones and is signed with a monogram and dated 1899 (estimated £4,000-6,000).

The textiles in the Hodson Collection are well documented and many have been exhibited publically either in the first Arts & Crafts Exhibition of 1888 or in the British & Irish Arts & Crafts Exhibition, Paris 1914. The delicate “Honeysuckle” curtain or wall hanging (lot 86) was designed by William Morris and worked by Jane and Jenny Morris in floss silk on printed linen. It is expected to fetch £5,000-8,000.

An Arts & Crafts Merton Abbey tapestry panel, made for a settee with a handsome design of a flowering tree with scrolling foliage and a stitched label for Morris & Co on the reverse, carries an estimate of £3,000-5,000. Smaller needleworks could be bought from Morris & Co. as kits, which were often partially completed by the Morris & Co. Needle workers. It is fitting that the sale should include one such “kit” worked by Mary Hodson, the wife of Laurence Hodson; “Rose and Olive” (lot 78) is a silk work panel set into a fire screen designed William Morris in about 1880 and it has an estimate of £1,000-1,500.

Among the carpets is a beautiful Arts & Crafts hand-knotted carpet circa 1916, which was probably designed by John Henry Dearle (lot 121). Decorated with a central floral panel on a beige ground, it is has a border consisting of a floral meander on a deep blue ground, and it has an estimate of £6,000-8,000.

The collection also has a large selection of printed and woven textiles at all price levels, thus offering admirers of William Morris and his circle the rare opportunity to buy.

The Hodson Collection Interiors sale also boasts four remarkable watercolor and pencil sketches by Philip Webb, created in 1886/7. These were naturalistic studies for “The Forest,” the tapestry designed by William Morris, Webb and Dearle, which now hangs in the Victoria & Albert Museum and which was woven in 1887 at Merton Abbey. The drawings of The Fox (estimated £4,000-6,000), The Hare (estimated £4,000-6,000), The Raven (estimate £2,000-3,000) and The Lion (estimate £3,000-5,000) were all on show at the “Centenary of William Morris” exhibition at the V&A in 1934.

Many pieces from the Hodson Collection are well known and immediately recognizable. As David Rees, Dreweatts’ director in charge of the Interiors sale, remarked, “It is very unusual to have a collection of this span and caliber which can be traced right back to the original purchaser.”

The first part of the Hodson Collection Interiors sale will be held at Dreweatts, Donnington Priory in Newbury on Wednesday, Feb. 27.

For general information regarding the collection contact David Rees (Hodson Arts & Crafts Collection), email: drees@dnfa.com .

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

---

HILLSBOROUGH, N.C. – Since its conception in 2010, the rare and fine wine department at Leland Little Auctions has expanded to offer the largest wine auctions in the Southeastern United States. Their largest and most impressive sale to date will be conducted on Saturday, March 9. LiveAuctioneers.com will provide Internet live bidding.

Leland Little Auctions will be offering nearly 500 lots of unique and highly collectible wines, including 23 lots of Petrus, 36 lots of Chateau Latour and 26 lots of Domaine de la Romanee Conti. Just one bottle of Petrus can sell for $2,000 or more. Major wine collections consigned for this auction have traveled from as far away as New York.

Mark Solomon, the fine wine director of the sale, predicts the upcoming auction will attract many local wine collectors as well as engage notable national and international bidders through live online bidding. He remarked, “Our goal is to change the way wine auctions are performed … to make them more accessible, interactive and transparent for the benefit of both consignors and collectors.”

Local collector and wine enthusiast Kirsten Venema said, “I am thrilled that I no longer have to travel to New York to attend world-class wine auctions. Now we have one in our own backyard … I raise my glass to them.”

Contact the fine wine director at Mark@LLAuctions.com for any wine bidding or consigning questions.

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

---

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. – The excitement of Asia Week New York, with its multitude of lectures, exhibitions and other special events, has attracted knowledgeable buyers from the Far East to Manhattan for the past seven years. Now dedicated Asian art aficionados who spend as long as 16 hours on an airplane to reach the US East Coast have a very tempting reason to add a Los Angeles layover to their itineraries. The I.M. Chait Gallery in Beverly Hills will be hosting a March 17 auction of Important Chinese Ceramics and Asian Works of Art to welcome those travelers to US shores.

“Many outbound flights from Asia to New York make a stop in California along the way. Since we were unable to participate in Asia Week this year due to the unavailability of a suitable auction space in New York, we decided to conduct our annual Asia Week sale right here in our Beverly Hills gallery,” said Chait founder Isadore M. Chait.

Chait explained that Asia Week’s agenda has expanded to the point that exhibition space is now difficult to secure – in his words, “a good thing, in one way, as it is a clear indication that the economy is improving and the Asian art market is robust.” He added that bidders can also participate conveniently from anywhere on earth live via the Internet through LiveAuctioneers.com.

The I.M. Chait family and staff have left no stone unturned in preparing for the March 17 live auction, which also will be available to bidders via phone, Internet and absentee methods. The 295-lot sale is led by a premier Park Avenue (New York) collection of carved jades, early Chinese bronzes, ivories and fine ceramics. Also highlighting the event are Ming Dynasty porcelains (including 15th- and 16th-century examples) and carved jades from a second prestigious East Coast collection; and a collection of rare contemporary carved netsuke and Ojime pieces.

A European collection was the source of the auction’s centerpiece – a magnificent 14th-century Yuan Dynasty blue and white ovoid porcelain jar (Lot 144) decorated with a continuous equestrian warrior scene. A most exceptional and historically significant piece, its motif narrates a scene from the Yuan zaju drama “The Savior Yuchi Gong” and describes how General Yuchi Gong saved the Tang Emperor Taizong from assassination. Isadore Chait believes the vessel could reach or exceed one million dollars at auction.

Divine in more ways than one, a highly important early 15th-century Ming Dynasty gilt bronze Bodhisattva of Manjushri (Lot 186) wears an elaborately detailed crown, necklaces and earrings. A six-character Yongle mark is inscribed under the figure’s base. Estimate: $200,000-$300,000.

From China’s 18th-century Qianlong Period, a celadon with gray-black jade mountain (Lot 212) is masterfully carved with the scene of two figures in a boat amid rockery and clouds. A third figure of a man is carved in relief to render the effect that he is crossing a bridge. This artwork is expected to make $45,000-$55,000.

Another fine antique carved from celadon jade is the 18th-century Chinese marriage bowl on ornate hardwood stand (Lot 214). Of low, wide form with openwork bats and flowers on its handles, the bowl is decorated in relief with gourds and foliage that create the rebus “fulu shuangquan,” translated: “’May both fortune and wealth prevail.” It is entered in the sale with a $40,000-$50,000 estimate.

A third celadon jade artwork of particularly fine quality is the Chinese carved tablescreen (Lot 287) with an image of flowering bushes and rocks on its front and a lacquered landscape scene on verso. The carving is handsomely presented in a carved hardwood frame of archaistic motif with dyed green bone and ivory openwork borders. Estimate: $8,000-$12,000.

Large and well modeled, an early Tang Dynasty model of a striding Bactrian camel (Lot 175), with mouth agape and separate bearded rider on saddle, stands 28 1/8 inches tall. It is accompanied by an Oxford TL Test Certificate and has a presale estimate of $25,000-$35,000. Extremely rare and dating to the Song Dynasty, a pair of pottery figures of seated generals (Lot 172), each wearing ornate armor and hats with removable finials, also comes with a TL Test Certificate (C-Link Research & Development Ltd). Estimate for the pair: $18,000-$24,000.

An example of symmetrical perfection in Chinese porcelain, a 21¼-inch-tall gu-form dragon vase (Lot 147) dates to the 16th-century Ming Dynasty. With a blue-on-white pattern that incorporates peonies, foliage and writhing dragons, the stately vessel bears the Wanli mark and carries an estimate of $35,000-$40,000.

The realistic artistry on many of the netsukes in the auction simply must be seen to be believed. For example, a carved wood sashi netsuke (Lot 29) depicting a tall armored warrior deity about to plunge a long sword into an oni at his feet is as intricately detailed as any full-size work by a master sculptor. Each strand of hair on the oni’s head is clearly visible, as is the musculature of his legs. This particular netsuke is signed and boxed, and comes with provenance from the Florida estate of Michael Earlman. It is estimated at $2,500-$3,000.

An impressive 7 7/8 inches tall, a spinach jade brushpot (Lot 224) is expertly carved with a continuous landscape scene of sages in a courtyard, with pavilions tucked amid rockery and pine trees. Formerly in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art and deaccessioned around 1950, the brushpot should realize $35,000-$45,000 at auction.

Isadore Chait, who spent the past year carefully hand selecting each piece for his company’s March 17 auction, said he is confident the event will be a great success. “Asian art buyers have become one united community. Although it is always a pleasure to see and be seen in New York during Asia Week, we know that the location of our auction room is of far less importance, now, thanks to new technologies and the choice of bidding methods that have been made available to Asian art buyers,” he said.

I.M. Chait’s Asia Week Important Chinese Ceramics & Asian Works of Art Auction will take place at the Chait gallery on Sunday, March 17, commencing at 1 p.m. Pacific Time. For additional information on any lot in the sale call 1-800-775-5020 or 310-285-0182; or e-mail joey@chait.com.

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

---