Pair of life-size Roman marble statues of nude children representing Harpocrates, god of silence and secrecy, each standing on a plinth. Formerly in a West Sussex estate, acquired 1960s/1970s. Accompanied by archaeological expertise by Dr Raffaele D’Amato and geological scholarly report by Dr Ronald Bonewitz. Estimate £40,000-£60,000 ($50,185-$75,280)
LONDON – Dr. Ivan Bonchev of Apollo Galleries and Auctions, Britain’s premier source for authentic, expertly appraised cultural art and antiquities, takes pleasure in announcing highlights of the company’s May 14-15, 2022 sale. The elegant 599-lot auction event is divided into two sessions, each devoted to its own distinct specialties. Classical and Asian antiquities will be presented on Saturday the 14th, while ancient jewellery and weaponry are reserved for Sunday the 15th. Deeply provenanced, all auction items have been vetted by world-renowned consultants, and if applicable, scientifically analyzed and tested.
Lalique cameo glass perfume bottle ‘Trois Groupes De Deux Denseuses,’ 4.75 inches with dancing nude figures around the shoulders and a floral medallion stopper. Sold by Akiba Antiques through LiveAuctioneers for $57,950 against a pre-sale estimate of $100-$1,000. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers and Akiba Antiques
DANIA BEACH, Fla. – Many believe that buying what one likes, as opposed to speculating on an object’s potential to increase in value, is the only sensible way to collect, whether it’s comic books or French cameo glass. The globetrotting Florida couple who acquired this elegant Rene Lalique perfume bottle during their travels across Europe probably never gave a thought to its value beyond its obvious beauty, but both their taste and innate buying sense proved to be impeccable. The 4.75-inch rose-hued vessel, in flawless condition and etched with an “R Lalique” signature, was auctioned on April 26 for $57,950.
Ming dynasty Imperial dragon carpet, est. $200,000-$300,000
MARLBOROUGH, Mass. – Skinner Auctioneers will offer the lifetime accruals of a passionate antiquarian and outsized figure in the world of fine woven textiles: The Jim Dixon collection. Dixon, a master garden designer who passed away in 2020, was considered to have one of the most important collections of carpets and rugs in the United States. His significant and expertly assembled holdings will be auctioned by Skinner across five sales, beginning with an online auction April 25 – May 5 and a live auction on Wednesday, May 4 in Boston. Absentee and Internet live bidding for the May 4 sale will be available through LiveAuctioneers.
Britney Penouilh, ‘Providence Mountains,’ est. $4,500-$5,500
NEW YORK – Works by Murrell Butler, Britney Penouilh and Franco Alessandrini will draw strong attention at Jasper52’s Fine Prints, Paintings, and Decorative Arts auction, which will be held on Wednesday, May 4 at 8 pm Eastern time. Other lots in the sale include a LeRoy Neiman serigraph of a Parisian outdoor cafe scene; a circa-1885 painting by Martin Coulaud of a girl tending geese; a photorealistic painting of a large, rusted steakhouse restaurant sign by Jim Thomson; a model of a clipper ship rendered in exceptionally high-quality silver by Japanese master silversmith Seki Takehiko; several depictions of nudes, both painted and sculpted, distinguished by Louis Braquet’s Nymph 2020; an original drawing by famed American modernist Joseph Stella; a well-observed pastel by Barbara Geldermann Hails, portraying horse harness racers; and a wealth of landscapes, ranging from a serene Lake Como scene by Deborah Newman, to a highly vertical oil on canvas on hardboard panel upon which John Hawkins liberally wielded his palette knife, to a panoramic sunset by Boris Garibyan, thick with impasto. Absentee and Internet live bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.
Gold rush-era clipper ship sailing card, est. $10,000-$15,000
BERKELEY, Calif. – PBA Galleries announces an auction of Americana – Travel – World History – Cartography to take place Thursday, May 5. The sale includes more than 500 lots of interesting and valuable material relating to California, the Americas and the far reaches of the globe. Absentee and Internet live bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.
ATLANTA – Vivid and colorful oil on canvas paintings by Syd Solomon (American, 1917-2004) and Henri Hecht Maik (French, 1922-1993) each brought $20,000, while a classical early 20th-century Continental School marble sculpture of a woman finished at $21,250 in Ahlers & Ogletree’s two-day, two-session Spring Estates & Collections auction, held April 9 and 10.
Gray’s Auctioneers founders Serena Harragin (left) and Deba Gray fully expected the pandemic to hurt their business, but instead, their audience grew. Their Cleveland, Ohio, auction house reaches between six to eight million people worldwide. Image courtesy of Gray’s Auctioneers.
CLEVELAND – Friends warned Deba Gray and Serena Harragin that starting a business together would end their personal relationship. Fortunately for antiques and art buyers, they didn’t listen, and 28 years later, the couple is still going strong. After separate careers that took them from Key West, where they met, to Chicago and New York, the two settled 16 years ago in Gray’s hometown of Cleveland, Ohio. There, they bought a building and founded their own auction house, Gray’s Auctioneers. Gray had previously worked for Wolfs, Sotheby’s and Leslie Hindman, while Harragin’s background was in commercial advertising and finance. Auction Central News recently spoke with Harragin and Gray to learn more about the art-industry power couple and their booming business.
