PASADENA, Calif. – John Moran Auctioneers’ April 28 Auction was stocked with great finds, including modern and contemporary prints, traditional Continental paintings, English silver, art glass, and French furniture. Online activity was animated, with a nearly 10 percent increase in online bidder registration from Moran’s last decorative art auction.
LiveAuctioneers.com provided Internet live bidding.
Contemporary and modern pieces were the clear winners, with works by Pablo Picasso, Rufino Tamayo, Angel Botello and Richard Pettibone earning stellar auction prices.
One of the most anticipated lots in Moran’s auction was the Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) for Madoura pottery ice pitcher, or pichet à glace (estimate: $12,000-$18,000). The ovoid pitcher featured a hand-painted abstracted face to one side and two spouts; one small and one large. With its unique form and intriguing knife-engraved polychrome exterior, the pitcher inspired raucous bidding, with the price shooting to $36,000 (price realized includes a 20 percent buyer’s premium).
Modern and contemporary fine art also proved quite popular, including a trio of female portrait oil paintings by Puerto Rican artist Angel Botello (1913-1986). Each brought prices within or above estimate, with the first work offered (below) bringing $10,800, well over the estimated $6,000-$8,000 price.
Richard H. Pettibone’s (b. 1938 American) diminutive silkscreen, Woman with Flowered Hat, 1963 (after Roy Lichtenstein), inspired by Lichtenstein’s copy of Picasso’s original portrait of Dora Maar, performed within estimate, realizing $9,412 and sold online.
Moran’s provided collectors the opportunity to acquire a number of exciting decorative gems, including a rare Swiss singing bird clock with a silver and enamel case attributed to celebrated maker Charles-Armand Marguerat and a movement possibly by E. Flajoulot (below). After restorations were completed by Antique Music Box Restoration in nearby Costa Mesa, Calif., the piece was assigned an estimate of $6,000 to $9,000. The clock found a new home with a private collector for $14,400.
A dramatic Lalique Hokkaido art glass veilluse lamp, designed in 1990 by Marie-Claude Lalique and also accompanied by its original fitted box was assigned an estimate of $3,000-$4,000. The piece sold to an online buyer for bit over the high estimate, at $4,305.
For additional information regarding consignment or upcoming auctions, contact John Moran Auctioneers via phone: 626-793-1833 or email: info@johnmoran.com.
Click here to view the fully illustrated catalog for this sale, complete with prices realized.
