October 18, 2013 - Auction Central News

Christmas wishes to be granted at Bertoia’s Nov. 8-10 auction

Candy container, glass-eyed white mohair polar bear with Santa rider, 11in high. Est. $3,500-$4,500. Bertoia Auctions image.

VINELAND, N.J. – Many say the holiday season officially begins the day after Thanksgiving, when Christmas parades are held in major cities across the USA. But ask any toy collector and they’ll tell you the season begins at Bertoia’s annual November auction of toys, trains, banks and holiday antiques.

This year Bertoia’s highly anticipated year-end auction event will be held November 8-10, with 2,000 lots of select consignments sourced primarily from private collectors. Internet live bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.

The first two days feature three revered collections – Part II of the late Bill Bertoia’s occupational shaving mug collection, the automotive toys of the late Judge Glenn McDonald of Louisville, Ky.; and the spectacular early American tin toys and trains amassed by Frank Loveland of Gettysburg, Pa. Accompanying these important headliners are additional fine toys from other advanced collectors. The late Tom Fox’s renowned holiday antiques collection is the centerpiece of the festive Sunday session.

The Friday and Saturday sessions reveal a wealth of pressed steel, Lehmann and other European tin toys; early trains, cast-iron horse-drawn and automotive toys; and two beautiful Marklin ships. A Vindex Mike the Speed Cop with sidecar and policeman passenger is as perfect as the day it left the Vindex factory. “It even has its original factory sample tag and should make $12,000 to $15,000,” said Bertoia Auctions associate Rich Bertoia.

A classic cast-iron Carpenter Tally-Ho rated good to very good is affordably estimated at $7,000-$10,000. “If someone has been waiting to buy a Tally-Ho at a reasonable price, here’s their chance,” said Bertoia. “If I collected cast iron, I’d go for it.”

Bertoia’s sales always feature a full complement of figural doorstops. Guests at the November event will be greeted by two showcases brimming with doorstop animals, people figures, buildings and whimsical characters – each evaluated by Bertoia Auctions’ owner, Jeanne Bertoia, a top authority on doorstops. Many of the doorstops are from her own collection.

“I don’t think any doorstop collector would argue that, in terms of provenance, a doorstop has reached its pinnacle when it’s chosen by Jeanne for her personal collection. She has a great eye for color and condition, and of course she knows rarity when she sees it,” said Rich Bertoia.

The early American tin toys from Frank Loveland’s collection are of a caliber not often seen at auction. Highlights include a George Brown fire pumper and other early horse-drawn hose, reel and ladder wagons. A large, rarely seen Whitaker’s Patent two-horse push toy with both trotters on a wheeled platform is expected to bring $4,000-$5,000.

The Friday session then moves into mechanical banks – including a Milking Cow, Circus bank and nicely restored Girl Skipping Rope – followed by a grouping of still banks replicating safes, buildings, animals and people, including General William T. Sherman.

Saturday also presents a host of European, American and Japanese comic character opportunities, led by a classic 1930s Mickey & Minnie on Motorcycle toy estimated at $22,000-$25,000; an ever-popular Tippco Santa car, and an even more elusive CK prewar Japanese version of a Santa car.

The session also includes 1950s/60s Japanese cars, superb European automotive and tinplate character toys, and a diverse grouping of penny toys that includes cycles, a zeppelin roundabout, both standard and luxury autos; and other imaginative forms. The diminutive treasures will be followed by Part II of a Lehmann collection that Bertoia’s introduced in their May sale. The toys are of “exceptional quality,” said Rich Bertoia, and include several highly desirable examples: a Boxer Rebellion, Snick Snack, and boxed versions of both the Luna hot air balloon and Baker & Sweep.

It will then be time to launch two fantastic Marklin boats – a 42-inch George Washington ocean liner, est. $40,000-$50,000; and a 35-inch Battleship Cincinnati described by Bertoia as “a knockout attic find.” It is estimated at $40,000-$70,000.

Train aficionados have been eagerly inquiring about the contents of Frank Loveland’s train collection. It’s a premier assortment that includes such brands as Carlisle & Finch, Voltamp, Knapp and Howard. The most valuable of Loveland’s trains is an 18-inch-long Boucher Blue Comet set in matched blue and cream motif, manufactured in 2-inch scale to run exclusively on Boucher track. “Collectors who are into early American trains are well aware of Boucher’s existence and modern-day importance, but very little is known about the company itself,” Bertoia said. “A book about early American trains is currently in the works, and a photographer is coming to Bertoia’s specifically to photograph the Blue Comet and other important trains entered in this auction.”

Waiting in the wings to close out the session are approximately 23 pedal cars, some restored and some very early ones in their original state. Among the highlights are a restored American National fire pumper wagon, a water tower, and a ladder truck.

Day three features antique Christmas ornaments of every imaginable form, as well as belsnickles, Santa trade stimulators, Halloween goodies and a dazzling array of 19th-century American toys. Crowning the Nov. 10 session are the renowned holiday antiques collection of the late Tom Fox and a continuation of the magnificent Frank Loveland 19th-century toy collection.

“Frank’s remarkable collection of paper litho on wood toys would impress even the most sophisticated collector,” Jeanne Bertoia observed. “There are trains, wagons, panoramas, coaches, nautical toys and beautiful Ives toys, including tenpins, trolleys, and a Santa with reindeer.”

Special highlights include a Mexican Central Railroad, an extremely rare warehouse, and an open-front US Capitol Building that has an ingenious function. The domes on the Capitol can be hand-turned to provide a panoramic view of various American Presidents. It is estimated at $3,000-$5,000.

Jeanne described the Noah’s Ark in the sale as “a museum-quality showpiece,” adding, “It is almost certainly an English production. Reportedly, it was used as a display piece at the prestigious Harrods department store in London.”

The Tom Fox collection includes exquisite Dresdens replicating forms from A to Z. “Dresden collectors aren’t going to believe what’s in this collection. Tom was a very successful interior designer in New York City and had an incredible eye for art. He was an active member of the Golden Glow of Christmas Past and was very well liked and respected within the collecting community,” said Rich Bertoia. The list of Dresdens includes many rarities – a hot air balloon, a sailboat with rolled-up sail, trolleys, trains, yachts and both Cupids and Arabs riding camels. Other animal forms include lobsters, a monkey on a greyhound dog, and two stabled horses with a cart.

Delicate cotton batting ornaments are highly sought after. Bertoia’s will offer collectors many fine choices: a drum major, girl on skis, Santa seated on a reindeer, a clown on a tricycle, and a girl holding a bird. Glass ornaments include Brownie figures, a turnip head and a mushroom head.

Halloween collectors can choose from a terrific assortment of vintage jack-o-lanterns and watermelon lanterns, skulls, devil heads and other memorabilia from their favorite holiday. Many holiday antiques having a patriotic theme will be auctioned, as well.

Bertoia’s Nov. 8-10 Toys & Holiday Auction will begin at 12 noon Eastern Time on Friday, Nov. 8; 9 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 9; and 10 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 10, 2013. Preview 9 a.m.-5 p.m. any weekday during the week preceding the auction, and one hour prior to each of the three sessions. To contact Bertoia Auctions about any item in the sale, call 856-692-1881 or email toys@bertoiaauctions.com.

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

Marklin 2nd Series ‘Cincinnati’ battleship, circa 1912-1915, 34in long. Est. $40,000-$60,000. Bertoia Auctions image.

Boucher #2500 locomotive passenger set. Est. $15,000-$20,000. Bertoia Auctions image.

Vindex cast-iron motorcycle and sidecar, production run of less than two years, 8½ in, green with khaki driver and rider. Est. $12,000-$15,000. Bertoia Auctions image.

‘The Bowlers’ automaton, patented 1907 by Otto Eichenburger of Switzerland, multiple actions, bisque-head figures, 42in long. Est. $12,000-$15,000. Bertoia Auctions image.

Gunthermann landaulette, German, clockwork, 10½ in, lithographed tin body with three hand-painted tin figures. Est. $10,000-$12,000. Bertoia Auctions image.

Ives large-scale clockwork locomotive, hand-painted tin with cast-iron spoke wheels, 18in overall length. Est. $6,000-$8,000. Bertoia Auctions image.

Cast-iron General Butler still bank, J. & E. Stevens Co., 6½ in high. Est. $3,000-$4,000. Bertoia Auctions image.

Buddy ‘L’ Passenger Bus #208, circa 1927-1932, 29in long. Est. $3,000-$4,000. Bertoia Auctions image.

Silver Dresden Christmas ornament replicating a horse-drawn coach, 6in long. Est. $1,800-$2,000. Bertoia Auctions image.

UK architect’s furniture, art collection sell for nearly £1M

Dame Elizabeth Frink's maquette of Atlas sold for £27,000 ($43,659). Sworders Fine Art Auctioneers image.

ESSEX COUNTY, UK – Almost 1,000 lots from the one of the most complete house content sales to be sold in East Anglia this century went under the hammer Oct. 15-16 for a total of £936,000. Sworders Fine Art Auctioneers conducted the auction, which was titled “An Architect’s Eye, a Collector’s Passion.” LiveAuctoneers.com provided Intenet live bidding.

The collection of art and furniture had been gathered over the last 50 years by Bobby Chapman and his wife, Virginia, and kept at their former northwest Essex home, Debden Manor. Following their move from the manor, the couple put their collection of paintings, sculpture and ceramics up for sale with Sworders. The two-day sale featuring displays recreating the layout of Debden Manor, was held this week at Sworders’ Essex auction rooms in Stansted Mountfitchet.

Bobby Chapman was a founding partner of the international architectural practice Chapman Taylor Partners, whose work included New Scotland Yard, Lakeside Shopping Centre and the refurbishment of London’s St Pancras Station. His professional work with sculptors such as Dame Elisabeth Frink and Bill Pye was reflected with their work featuring in the sale.

“It was standing room only in the auction room on both days of this unique event. It has taken almost a year to put everything together and our layout of the lots in re-creations of their original room settings made an atmospheric backdrop to the auction,” said Guy Schooling, Sworders’ managing director.

Highlights of the auction included a maquette by Dame Elisabeth Frink of her bronze Atlas, which sold for £27,000 alongside her pencil sketch of the piece, which made £8,000. The full-size original now stands in the Yorkshire Sculpture Park in Wakefield. A George II mahogany hall seat, c.1758, similar to those at Houghton Hall, Norfolk, which were designed by William Kent, sold for £37,000. And a Chinese ox-blood brush pot, measuring just under 13 centimeters high with a simple glaze described as “mark and period” from the mid 19th century which had a guide price of £1,000 to £1,500, sold to a Chinese buyer for £13,500.

Schooling added: “We have great links with the growing antique market in China, so it was very satisfying to see bids fly from overseas and in the UK for the Chinese brush pot. In all, we had registered buyers from 37 different countries.”

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

ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE

The George II mahogany bench brought £37,000 ($59,828). Sworders Fine Art Auctioneers image.

Chinese ox-blood brush pot, nearly 5 1/4 inches high, fetched £13,500 ($21,828). Sworders Fine Art Auctioneers image.

DNA links mysterious Yeti to ancient polar bear

Illustration of a yeti by Philippe Semeria, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.

LONDON (AP) – A British scientist says he may have solved the mystery of the Abominable Snowman _ the elusive ape-like creature of the Himalayas. He thinks it’s a bear.

DNA analysis conducted by Oxford University genetics professor Bryan Sykes suggests the creature, also known as the Yeti, is the descendant of an ancient polar bear.

Sykes compared DNA from hair samples taken from two Himalayan animals — identified by local people as Yetis — to a database of animal genomes. He found they shared a genetic fingerprint with a polar bear jawbone found in the Norwegian Arctic that is at least 40,000 years old.

Sykes said Thursday that the tests showed the creatures were not related to modern Himalayan bears but were direct descendants of the prehistoric animal.

He said, “it may be a new species, it may be a hybrid” between polar bears and brown bears.

“The next thing is go there and find one.”

Sykes put out a call last year for museums, scientists and Yeti aficionados to share hair samples thought to be from the creature.

One of the samples he analyzed came from an alleged Yeti mummy in the Indian region of Ladakh, at the Western edge of the Himalayas, and was taken by a French mountaineer who was shown the corpse 40 years ago.

The other was a single hair found a decade ago in Bhutan, 800 miles (1,300 kilometers) to the east.

Sykes said the fact the hair samples were found so far apart, and so recently, suggests the members of the species are still alive.

“I can’t imagine we managed to get samples from the only two ‘snow bears’ in the Himalayas,” he said.

Finding a living creature could explain whether differences in appearance and behavior to other bears account for descriptions of the Yeti as a hairy hominid.

“The polar bear ingredient in their genomes may have changed their behavior so they act different, look different, maybe walk on two feet more often,” he said.

Sykes’ research has not been published, but he says he has submitted it for peer review. His findings will be broadcast Sunday in a television program on Britain’s Channel 4.

Tom Gilbert, professor of paleogenomics at the Natural History Museum of Denmark, said Sykes’ research provided a “reasonable explanation” for Yeti sightings.

“It’s a lot easier to believe that than if he had found something else,” said Gilbert, who was not involved in the study. “If he had said it’s some kind of new primate, I’d want to see all the data.”

Sykes’ findings are unlikely to lay the myth of the Yeti to rest.

The Yeti or Abominmable Snowman is one of a number of legendary ape-like beasts — along with Sasquatch and Bigfoot — reputed to live in heavily forested or snowy mountains. Scientists are skeptical, but decades of eyewitness reports, blurry photos and stories have kept the legend alive.

“I do not think the study gives any comfort to Yeti-believers,” David Frayer, a professor of biological anthropology at the University of Kansas, said in an email. But “no amount of scientific data will ever shake their belief.”

“If (Sykes’) motivation for doing the analyses is to refute the Yeti nonsense, then good luck,” he said.

Sykes said he was simply trying “to inject some science into a rather murky field.”

“The Yeti, the Bigfoot, is surrounded in myth and hoaxes,” he said. “But you can’t invent a DNA sequence from a hair.”

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Jill Lawless can be reached at http://Twitter.com/JillLawless

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ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE

EBay CEO cites ‘uncertainty’ for weak 4th-quarter outlook

John Donahoe, CEO of eBay. Photo by Michelle Kung, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) – EBay said the growth rate of e-commerce in the U.S. is slowing as it delivered a weaker-than-expected profit and revenue outlook for the current quarter through December. The company’s third-quarter earnings edged past analysts’ expectations, but revenue rose just short of estimates.

Following the release of the financial results Wednesday, eBay Inc.’s stock fell 5.3 percent to $50.70 in after-hours trading.

The San Jose, Calif.-based online auctioneer, marketplace host and payments processor said U.S. e-commerce had been growing at an annual 15.5 to 16 percent pace, but it slowed to around 13 percent by the July-September quarter. That softening, plus a weaker U.S. dollar affecting its overseas transactions, led the company to say its annual profit and revenue would come in at the low end of its outlook.

EBay Inc. CEO John Donahoe suggested that the 16-day partial U.S. government shutdown was partly to blame, citing “uncertainty about the government.”

“Those uncertainties, frankly, we can’t control,” he told analysts on a conference call.

In an interview, he said the government shutdown wasn’t entirely at fault for the depressed consumer psyche since the deceleration started in July and August. He said he hopes a last-minute resolution ending the gridlock gets passed. “Hopefully that’ll have a positive impact,” he said.

EBay’s forecast for the current quarter through December predicts adjusted earnings of 79 cents to 81 cents per share, below the 83 cents analysts were looking for. The company also said it expects quarterly revenue of $4.5 billion to $4.6 billion, while analysts were estimating revenue of $4.64 billion.

Its annual outlook for adjusted earnings between $2.70 and $2.75 per share and revenue of $16 billion to $16.5 billion was unchanged.

The muted fourth-quarter earnings outlook was partly the result of the company’s plans to invest more in a free-shipping pilot that began this month with nine retailers including Levi’s, Kenneth Cole and Aeropostale, Donahoe said. The company subsidizes the cost of shipping to a U.S. address if customers pay using PayPal, eBay’s payment processing unit, and it is examining adding more retailers to the program.

“We’re very encouraged by the early results,” he said.

For the quarter through September, eBay’s net income grew 15 percent to $689 million, or 53 cents per share, from $597 million, or 45 cents per share, a year ago.

Revenue rose 14 percent to $3.89 billion, thanks to increasing mobile transactions in its online marketplaces eBay and StubHub. It also cited growth in the number of people using PayPal. Revenue was slightly below the $3.91 billion analysts were looking for.

Excluding special items, adjusted earnings came to 64 cents per share, a penny better than expected by analysts polled by FactSet.

Kerry Rice, an analyst with investment banking firm Needham & Co., said the weak outlook might mean weaker-than-expected results at online rival Amazon.com Inc.

He also said eBay’s payments revenue came in below forecast because it discounted fees to large clients who agreed to accept PayPal payments. That could mean it is having to cut rates to deal with upstart competitors, he said.

EBay last month agreed to spend $800 million to purchase one such competitor, Chicago-based Braintree, whose success was driven partly by its relatively low fees and high-tech clients such as Airbnb, the vacation rentals site.

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New exhibit looks at history of Pewabic Pottery

Two Pewabic test vases, in turquoise and oxblood glaze, respectively. To be auctioned Oct. 26, 2013 at Rago's. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers and Rago Arts and Auction Center.

DETROIT (AP) – A new exhibit at the Detroit Historical Museum looks at the history of Pewabic Pottery and showcases its role in the city of Detroit.

“Made by Hand: Detroit’s Ceramic Legacy” opens Saturday in the museum’s Community Gallery. The retrospective also examines the growth of the Arts and Crafts movement in the U.S. and the development of ceramic art. The exhibit is scheduled to end Jan. 12.

Pewabic was founded in 1903. Its studio and education center on the city’s east side are a National Historic Landmark. Pewabic’s works are in many prominent places in Michigan, including Detroit’s Comerica Park and Detroit Metropolitan Airport, as well as in buildings nationwide.

“Today, Pewabic is a multifaceted nonprofit ceramic education institution with active and growing education, exhibition, museum and design and fabrication programs,” exhibit organizers said in a statement.

Mary Chase Perry Stratton co-founded Pewabic with Horace James Caulkins, the owner of a dental supply business and a kiln innovator. A native of the Upper Peninsula town of Hancock, Stratton moved and named her business after the Pewabic Mines.

The process through which Pewabic’s tiles and other clay creations are made is a blend of traditional and modern methods.

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Online:

http://www.detroithistorical.org

http://www.pewabic.org

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ADDITIONAL IMAGES OF NOTE

Built in 1908, the Pewabic Pottery headquarters in Detroit is on the US National Register of Historic Places. Nov. 1, 2008 photo by Andrew Jameson, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

Indiana town mulls 3 sculptures for arts village

The Ramp Creek Covered Bridge at the north entrance of Brown County State Park in Indiana. Photo by Chuck Szmurlo, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) – An 11-foot-tall Japanese-inspired pillar created from limestone, copper and steel. A barn-timber and steel sculpture depicting a guitar, banjo and fiddle. A free-form 1,500-pound limestone piece of art called “Coordinate Harmony.”

All may soon grace public spaces in the Indiana town of Nashville, which as one of the state’s five cultural districts has established an arts and entertainment commission that has funds to lease sculptures for public display to enhance and highlight the presence of art in the community. The district is called Arts Village Brown County and extends beyond the town limits to the county’s edges.

During a meeting Wednesday, members of the commission’s sculpture subcommittee reviewed four proposals from artists seeking to lease their sculptures to the town. Suzannah Zody explained that her subcommittee received a $5,000 private donation that the town council matched for the purpose of paying artists $2,500 to lease a sculpture to the town for 18 to 24 months.

The sculptures must meet a set of guidelines the committee established that don’t dictate what the art should look like, but offer suggestions, such as it being constructed from “vandal resistant,” durable materials that can withstand harsh weather conditions. There also can be no sharp edges to harm children or others passing by.

“We tried to stay away from being specific and saying what kind of art might be good or bad,” Zody told The Herald-Times. “We did say there’s lot of wood and trees, and that natural materials are encouraged.”

The guidelines say public art should create a focal point compatible with Nashville’s village atmosphere, that it should not obscure the view of historic buildings in town, and that its scale should relate it its surroundings.

The subcommittee members on Wednesday selected three pieces of sculpture from the four proposals submitted. The town has identified two sites for the sculpture installations _ in a landscaped section of a new parking lot at Jefferson Street and Pat Reilly Road and a smaller area at the corner of Franklin and Jefferson streets.

She said a third site is being sought, possibly near the new town pavilion, so that all three pieces can find a space.

Town council members will have to approve the sculptures; Zody said she hopes the two limestone ones are not deemed too contemporary for the rustic arts and shopping village. “We’ll see what they say,” she said, anticipating taking the suggestions to the town council’s Nov. 17 meeting. Nashville Arts and Entertainment Commission President and sculpture committee member Tom Tuley said he hopes all three will be in place by spring.

The sculptures proposed for display are:

— An 11-foot-tall and 24-inch-wide Indiana limestone pillar sculpture called “Ishi Kawa Venus,” featuring copper and steel accents and Japanese etchings. Bloomington artist Dale Enochs would install his piece on a limestone pedestal at the parking lot site, and it would be lit by a nearby streetlight.

— A polished barn wood-and-steel sculpture featuring a guitar, banjo and a fiddle leaning together. It is planned for the 4-by-4-foot space at Franklin and Jefferson streets. Brown County artist Michael Evans, a custom furniture maker and craftsman, said his sculpture would have a traditional Brown County bluegrass style to it.

— A smooth and fluid 40-inch-tall and 450-pound Indiana limestone sculpture called “Coordinate Harmony,” crafted by West Virginia artist Carl Wright, that would be secured on a 5-foot-tall pedestal.

“All three pieces are great,” said sculpture committee member Jim Connors, who liked the large scale of the pieces selected. “With public sculpture art, you want to have something big.”

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Information from: The Herald Times, http://www.heraldtimesonline.com

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ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE

Martin Luther King papers auctioned for $130K in NY

A selection of items from the Martin Luther King Jr archive. Image courtesy of Heritage Auctions

NEW YORK (AFP) – Dozens of handwritten notes, writings and letters of Martin Luther King Jr were sold at auction in New York for more than $130,000, Heritage Auctions said Friday.

The more than 100 artifacts had been in the possession of King’s close friend and personal secretary, Maude Ballou, 88, for more than half a century.

Eight cards of handwritten notes for a speech that King gave to bid farewell to his congregation at the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in December 1959 made $31,250.

Other highlights were two letters King wrote to Ballou from India where he studied Gandhi’s philosophy of non-violence that went for $18,750 and $17,500.

Two autograph draft chapters from his first book “Stride Toward Freedom” were also sold for $8,125 each.

The US civil rights leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who campaigned for racial equality and an end to discrimination, was assassinated on April 4, 1968.

Sandra Palomino, director of historical manuscripts at Heritage, said the material provided “a ground-level perspective of the civil rights struggle.”

“There was worldwide interest in the material and the emotional response to it was huge,” she said.

The items were sold as part of a two-day auction of historic manuscripts in New York that continues Friday.

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DESA Unicum to auction antique carved ivory collection Oct. 26

WARSAW – Eighty-five works of handicrafts made of ivory originating from China, Japan, India and Africa will be auctioned DESA Unicum on Oct. 26. All items are a part of one private collection, which has been built for many years. This offer is a rarity not only in Poland, but also in the European antiquities market. LiveAuctioneers.com will provide Internet live bidding.

At the turn of 19th and 20th centuries Oriental wood engravings and artifacts made of ivory were a compulsory element of collections built by “new art” supporters. Japanese aesthetics has revolutionised the postulates, which governed the art then. Items exhibited at the auction are the evidence of extraordinary craftsmanship of Oriental sculptures. The upcoming auction is also a rare opportunity to continue the great tradition of collecting Oriental works of art from the late 19th and early 20th century.

The auction of ivory sculptures collection is something totally new in the Polish antiquities market. The catalogue prepared by DESA Unicum auction house is divided into two parts: Chinese and Japanese. A characteristic feature of visual arts of the Middle Kingdom is impressive precision of workmanship. Chinese masters, using ivory, which is an extremely difficult processing material, commemorated figures of Taoist gods, historic heroes and activities of ordinary people.

An example of supreme craftsmanship of material processing are carved elephant tusks, which, while retaining their natural shape, transform into images of Taoist goddesses, openwork presentation of a Chinese city skyline, or a phoenix holding a lantern in its beak. Japanese sculptures are characterised generally by dynamic poses and lively facial expressions of the figures. The characters of Oriental sculptures were often treated with a large dose of humour. Legendary warrior, Musashi Miyamoto, creator of the school of two-sword fighting, was presented in an amusing scene of a skirmish with wolves. The figure is made of a rare material—whalebone with a smooth and shiny surface.

The auction offer also includes netsuke figures—famous traditional kimono clips having various and often surprising forms. The small works of art, measuring up to 8 centimeters, captivate the eye with naturalness of presentation and artistry.

The prices range from PLN 500 ($164 US) for Japanese netsuke to PLN 80,000 ($26,000 US) for the monumental double figures of Chinese goddesses.

The ivory sculptures collection auction will be held on Saturday, Oct. 26, beginning at 2 p.m. Central European Time (10 a.m. Pacific) at the DESA Unicum auction house, 34-50 Marszalkowska St. in Warsaw.

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

Local collector’s estate propels bidding at AGOPB sale Sept. 23

Image courtesy of Auction Gallery of the Palm Beaches.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – September in South Florida is typically very warm, humid and at the height of hurricane season. So when Auction Gallery of the Palm Beaches Inc. held their Major Fine Art and Antique auction on Sept. 23, the bidding was expected to be hot, but it turned out to be electric. The auction drew over 600 bidders from all over the world. LiveAuctioneers.com provided Internet live bidding.

The auction featured several local estates including the estate of Robert H. Murphy, a Palm Beach resident who had some notable and desirable lots. In particular, the Russian bronzes, ivory pieces, Chinese items and fine art were raising the temperatures of the bidders in and out of the saleroom.

Two desirable Russian bronzes commanded interest from the floor, phones and Internet. Lot 128 a work by Evgeni Alexandrovich Lanceray (1848-1886) of Prince Vyazemskii on Horseback with an estimate of $6,000-$8,000 sold for $37,000 to a persistent floor bidder. Brian Kogan, gallery president, remarked, “these pieces from the estate of Robert H. Murphy were expected to draw significant interest and sell well because the pieces were of excellent quality and the estimates were relatively low.” A smaller bronze by Lanceray of an officer on horseback, Lot 106, stormed to $14,400.

Quality Chinese items were aggressively bid on by the phones and Internet. In particular, Lot 291, a rare and unusual bronze ring handle vase with over 500 jeweled diamond, emerald, ruby and sapphire paste stones, that was cataloged as a copy of an imperial Chien Lung vase, made in the late 1930s to ’40s, with Shou symbols had an estimate of $15,000-$20,000 and stormed to $52,400 by an internet bidder on LiveAuctioneers.com.

Demand for European antiques made for the Chinese market is strong and lot 292 a three-piece gilt bronze and cloisonné clock set, attributed to Lievre, and mounted with an ivory lohan, went for $24,000 to a bidder from California. Additionally, lot 290, a Chinese bronze of a Liao Guanyin, 10th century, sold to the phone bidder from England for $14,400, and Lot 215, an exceptional detailed cloisonné enamel snuff bottle with a Chien Lung mark, which blew past the estimate of $3,000-$4,000 and sold for $8,400.

Ivory pieces from the Murphy estate did exceptionally well. Lot 268, a half tusk heavily carved with the immortals battling dragons, 13 inches long, sold for $15,990 to an Internet bidder, and Lot 267, a heavily carved lidded dragon urn along with Lot 269, a pair of 29 1/2-inch-tall Quan-yin goddesses, were fiercely contested and ended up selling for $5,500 and $7,995 respectively to the Internet.

The most surprising lot of the evening was lot 58, a painting by Italian artist Angelo Dall’Oca Bianca (1858-1942) of a mother and children on a shore with fishing boats, which sold for $42,000 to a collector from Verona, Italy, where the artist established a home for the destitute in 1939. Bianca had a celebrated career as an artist exhibiting at the major expositions and as the painter for Queen Margherita (1851-1926). Bianca won the gold medal at the Universale Exposition in Paris in 1900. The painting was consigned by a local man who was trying to sell the work in a consignment shop for considerably less for about a year. After going unsold he decided to restore the painting and was referred to the gallery to sell it at auction. After the auction, the consignor was stunned by the results.

Fine art continues to rebound; in particular, the European paintings in the auction all brought competitive bidding from all the bidding platforms. The phones were all booked for lot 78, a port scene painting by Spanish artist Jose Amat Pages (1901-1991) that climbed to $6,600, and lot 273, a small Jean Dufy (1888-1964) oil on paper from his Circus series, which went to a Beverly Hills phone bidder for $9,600. Lot 273, a Georges Croegaert (1848-1923) intimate cardinal painting, went for $5,250 to an Internet bidder. Additionally, a David Burliuk (1882-1967) interior peasant table scene sold for $7,300 and lot 170, a Chaim Gross (1904-1991) lyrical bronze of three ballet dancers, sold for $3,900.

While furniture and decorations are not faring very well in the market, a few of the lots from the Murphy estate brought solid results. Lot 142, an attractive pair of Louis XVI-style marquis chairs lushly upholstered in royal blue velvet, sold at $4,500; Lot 185, a pair of 18th/19th century French trumeaus missing their tops, sold locally for $3,600; and lot 100, a LaVerne bronze table in the Ming pattern, ended at $3,300. Lot 107, a French 19th century gilded bronze mantel clock, was won by an Internet bidder for $2,700.

Auction Gallery of the Palm Beaches Inc. celebrated their 10th year in June at their 7,000-square-foot gallery in West Palm Beach and over the past decade has developed a reputation for selling quality fine art, antiques and heirloom consignments from South Florida and both coasts in Florida. The gallery holds nine to 10 auctions a year and last year in June was honored to sell the 1991 Kentucky Derby 18K gold trophy for $137,000.

All prices reported include a 20 percent buyer’s premium.

For additional information or consignments contact Brian Kogan or Leslie Baker at 561-805-7115.

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

ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE

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