ATLANTA – A Chinese Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) carved cinnabar lidded box sold for $81,250, an oil on canvas equestrian painting by John Frederick Herring (British, 1795-1865) realized $62,000, and golf legend Bobby Jones’s personal 1950s-era shag/range bag finished at $27,900 in Ahlers & Ogletree’s three-day Collector’s Dream Auction held Jan. 15-17. Absentee and Internet live bidding was available through LiveAuctioneers.
The online-only auction featured important art and objects from the estate of the noted American art collector and philanthropist Jack Warner (1917-2017), items salvaged from the wreckage of the RMS Carpathia, and more than 1,000 lots of fine art, period antiques, decorative arts, silver, jewelry and Asian arts from prominent estates and collections.
The rectangular Chinese Ming Dynasty carved cinnabar lidded box was the sale’s top lot. The 11¾-inch-tall by 13-inch-wide box showed a dragon chasing the flaming pearl and had a character mark to the pearl on the lid. Eager bidders were not deterred by some small scattered losses and vertical cracking to the enamel. Despite those flaws, it presented well.
The oval equestrian painting by John Frederick Herring, titled Horses and Goat Eating Turnips and Carrots (1848), was the top earner of items from the Jack Warner (and Warner Foundation) estate. The work was signed and dated. Herring was famous for his lively depictions of racehorses and agricultural scenes. He’s considered one of the top animal painters of his time.
The Bobby Jones personal golf shag bag – brown leather, personalized with Jones’s name in original stencil – came with a copy of a photograph of Jones, all housed in a Lucite and wood display case. The lot boasted an impeccable provenance.
Following are additional highlights from the auction, which grossed just over $2 million.
The action got underway on Jan. 15, with 94 lots of objects retrieved from the RMS Carpathia during a 2007 expedition. All lots were accompanied by certificates of authenticity. The Carpathia was built in England in 1903 and famously rescued survivors of the Titanic in 1912. A German U-boat sank the Carpathia in 1918.
Following are just a few of the better-performing items retrieved from the RMS Carpathia:
– A brass and bronze framed porthole with glass window, plus an attached partial wooden substructure sold for $16,120;
– A brass ship’s bridge engine order telegraph on a base, likely made by A. Robinson & Co. Ltd., sold for $14,880;
– A brass and bronze deck light having a colorless glass globe secured by a cage, plus fragments of the ship’s wooden elements, sold for $16,120;
– A Dobbie Son & Hutton (London) model 5561 marine chronometer, sold for $11,780.
Later on Friday, at 1 p.m. over 100 lots from Jack Warner’s estate came up for bid. The second top lot (after the Herring painting) was an oil on board American genre scene by Edward Lamson Henry (S.C./N.Y., 1841-1919), titled Tardy. The work, of an African American boy showing up late for school, was signed lower left and measured 13 inches by 10 inches. It sold for $19,000.
Also from the Warner estate was a 19th century Pacific Northwest coast British Columbia Haida polychrome and hand-carved wooden totem pole, 82 inches (including stand), with a raven, frog, human and bear motif ($16,250); and a Chinese silk embroidery housed in a 53-by-38¼-inch frame, with a pheasant, bird and blooming tree scene in nice blue and beige tones ($11,250).
A Signature Estates Auction was held Saturday and Sunday. Sold on Saturday were fine examples of art and design by Hans Wegner, Raphael Soto, Sir Thomas Lawrence, Ken Payne, Thomas Eakins and Athos Menaboni, plus a large collection of taxidermy. The Sunday lots included antiques and fine art from Great Britain, Italy, France and Europe.
Weekend winners included an oil on canvas Portrait of Miss Kent by Sir Thomas Lawrence (British, 1769-1830), unsigned, 30¼ inches by 25 inches (sight, less frame) ($25,000); and an English late 17th or early 18th century black lacquered japanned cabinet on a stand having an overall gilt chinoiserie landscape and foliate decoration ($21,080).
A complete antique suit of armor in the 17th century style, probably Italian or Swiss made and finely detailed with rope edged elements scattered throughout, 66 inches tall (less 12-inch stand) made $13,750. Also, a pair of late 19th/early 20th century Continental outdoor lion marble sculptures on plinths, unmarked, both 36½ inches tall, commanded $11,875.
For more information contact Ahlers & Ogletree at 404-869-2478 or info@AandOauctions.com.
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