The Artisan’s Palette: Fine Arts Auction comes to Jasper52 July 2

After Alexander Cabanel, A Monumental Palace-Size Painting of Cleopatra Testing Poison on Prisoners, estimated at $91,000-$109,000 at Jasper52.

NEW YORK — Jasper52 has announced its next fine arts sale, The Artisan’s Palette: Fine Arts Auction, scheduled for 5 pm Eastern time on Tuesday, July 2. The complete catalog is now open for bidding at LiveAuctioneers.

This monumental palace-size oil on canvas depicts Cleopatra testing poison on prisoners. Done in the manner of French artist Alexander Cabanel (1823-1889), it measures 72 by 95in wide and carries an estimate of $91,000-$109,000.

Confidente is an undated oil on canvas by Canadian artist Liane Abrieu (b. 1947-). The artwork depicts a group portrait of four women drinking tea on a veranda. It is estimated at $26,000-$31,000.

The Governor’s Mansion in Sacramento, California is an acrylic on canvas by Douglas K. Gifford. It is estimated at $18,000–$22,000.

After Alexander Cabanel, A Monumental Palace-Size Painting of Cleopatra Testing Poison on Prisoners, estimated at $91,000-$109,000 at Jasper52.

After Alexander Cabanel, A Monumental Palace-Size Painting of Cleopatra Testing Poison on Prisoners, estimated at $91,000-$109,000 at Jasper52.

Liane Abrieu, 'Confidente,' estimated at $26,000-$31,000 at Jasper52.

Liane Abrieu, 'Confidente,' estimated at $26,000-$31,000 at Jasper52.

Douglas K. Gifford, 'The Governor's Mansion in Sacramento, California,' estimated at $18,000-$22,000 at Jasper52.

Douglas K. Gifford, 'The Governor's Mansion in Sacramento, California,' estimated at $18,000-$22,000 at Jasper52.

Picture of ACN Staff

ACN Staff

Content bearing the byline of ACN staff has been researched and written by multiple members of the Auction Central News team.

Tom Wesselman’s Poster for the 1972 Summer Olympic Games leads our five lots to watch

Tom Wesselman’s poster for the 1972 Olympic summer games in Munich, estimated at £180-£360 ($230-$450) at Antikbar on July 6.

Tom Wesselman’s Poster for the 1972 Summer Olympic Games

LONDON — For the 1972 Munich Olympics, various popular artists of the period were commissioned to design a series of posters for an advertising campaign which aimed to ‘represent the intertwining of sports and art worldwide’. Pictured is the entry from the American Pop artist Thomas Wesselmann (1931-2004), who supplied a bright illustration of a foot set over a green background. It is one of several posters from the 1972 summer Olympics series that carry estimates of £180-£360 ($230-$450) each at London vintage poster specialists Antikbar on Saturday, July 6.

Elizabethan Silver-gilt Tankard

LONDON — Bonhams’ Fine Decorative Arts sale on Friday, July 5 features this Elizabethan silver-gilt tankard (London 1592), with the maker’s mark IB possibly for John Brodie. It is being sold by a church in the county of Exeter, England and has never appeared on the open market before.

The covered flagon was given to St. Michael’s Church, West Hill, Exeter, on its consecration in 1846. A history of the church reads: ‘Lady Coleridge, wife of Sir John, gave the small tankard flagon marked IB, with rose in base, London 1592. The handle is scroll shaped with angel’s head as thumbpiece. Round the base of the lid and on top of the barrel is arabesque ornamentation; round the foot is a cable moulding; below this, egg and dart ornamentation with egg and tongue work at the base.’

A near identical silver-gilt tankard, with the same maker’s mark, the same date, and the same monogram, was offered at Sotheby’s in 1973, as ‘The property of Trinity Church, Upper Dicker’ in East Sussex. It is highly likely they were once a pair. 

Bonhams’ example has an estimate of £20,000-£30,000 ($25,350-$38,000).

Marco Rota Original Artwork for Disney Italia’s ‘Uncle Scrooge’ Comic

Marco Rota Original Artwork for Disney Italia’s ‘Uncle Scrooge’ Comic , estimated at €1,800-€3,600 ($1,900-$3,900) at Little Nemo.
Marco Rota Original Artwork for Disney Italia’s ‘Uncle Scrooge’ Comic , estimated at €1,800-€3,600 ($1,900-$3,900) at Little Nemo.

TURIN, Italy — Marco Rota (b. 1942-) is a longtime employee of Walt Disney Company Italia SRL, one of the parent company’s localizations for serving foreign language markets worldwide. From 1974 to 1988, Rota served as editor in chief of Disney Italia, where he oversaw a wide variety of titles. His illustration style is heavily influenced by Carl Barks (1901-2000), the primary illustrator of Donald Duck and the creator of Scrooge McDuck.

For Disney Italia’s Uncle Scrooge comic, around the year 2000, Rota created this pen-and-ink illustration of Scrooge McDuck and the Abominable Snowman as sheets of mathematical problems float around them. The original art and a colored variant come to market at Little Nemo Auction House SRL on Friday, July 5 as a lead item in its 485-lot 81st Auction: 90 Years With Donald Duck sale. The framed two-piece lot is estimated at €1,800-€3,600 ($1,900-$3,900).

19th- century Griffin-handled Brass Flat Iron

19th-century griffin-handled brass flat iron, estimated at $500-$1,000 at Harzell’s Auction Gallery July 10.
19th-century griffin-handled brass flat iron, estimated at $500-$1,000 at Harzell’s Auction Gallery July 10.

BANGOR, PA — In the nineteenth century, ironing was a weekly chore. Mondays were typically wash days, with Tuesdays devoted to pressing and ironing the clean clothing. Most American homes owned a cast-iron or brass flat iron, which was heated by placing it on the stovetop until it was sufficiently hot. The iron-heat-iron cycle would repeat until all the ironing was done.

Hartzell’s Action Gallery is featuring a 705-lot sale of vintage flat irons on Wednesday, July 10 and Thursday, July 11, in association with the Pressing Iron and Trivet Collectors of America (PITCA). Among the highlights is a brass flat iron featuring a griffin as its handle. With an engraved top and intricate detail, it is one of the sale’s most desirable examples of this once-everyday American household item. It has an estimate of $500-$1,000.

Stephen Huneck, Labrador Dog-decorated Folk Art Tiger Maple Chest of Drawers

Labrador dog-decorated folk art tiger maple chest of drawers by Stephen Huneck, estimated at $2,500-$3,000 at Rafael Osona July 6.
Labrador dog-decorated folk art tiger maple chest of drawers by Stephen Huneck, estimated at $2,500-$3,000 at Rafael Osona July 6.

NANTUCKET, MA — Rafael Osona’s Early Summer Auction, slated for Saturday, July 6 features a Labrador dog-decorated tiger maple chest of drawers as a star lot. Created by famed folk art furniture maker Stephen Huneck around 2000, it is one of three lots from the late creator.

Huneck (1948-2010) built his quirky empire while recovering from a coma-inducing illness in 1994. During his recovery, his beloved pets, led by his black Labrador, Lucy, provided him solace, driving him to immortalize them through his furniture art.

This piece features alternating black and white Labrador dogs surrounding the oval mirror. It measures 70 by 42 by 18in deep and carries an estimate of $2,500-$3,000.