[av_heading heading=’Mamluk 14th-century brass candlestick lit up Leland Little, selling for $125K’ tag=’h1′ style=” subheading_active=” show_icon=” icon=’ue800′ font=’entypo-fontello’ size=” av-desktop-font-size-title=” av-medium-font-size-title=” av-small-font-size-title=” av-mini-font-size-title=” subheading_size=” av-desktop-font-size=” av-medium-font-size=” av-small-font-size=” av-mini-font-size=” icon_size=” av-desktop-font-size-1=” av-medium-font-size-1=” av-small-font-size-1=” av-mini-font-size-1=” color=” custom_font=” subheading_color=” seperator_color=” icon_color=” margin=’,,35px,’ av-desktop-margin=” av-desktop-margin_sync=’true’ av-medium-margin=” av-medium-margin_sync=’true’ av-small-margin=’,,20px,’ av-mini-margin=” av-mini-margin_sync=’true’ headline_padding=” headline_padding_sync=’true’ av-desktop-headline_padding=” av-desktop-headline_padding_sync=’true’ av-medium-headline_padding=” av-medium-headline_padding_sync=’true’ av-small-headline_padding=” av-small-headline_padding_sync=’true’ av-mini-headline_padding=” av-mini-headline_padding_sync=’true’ padding=’10’ av-desktop-padding=” av-medium-padding=” av-small-padding=” av-mini-padding=” icon_padding=’10’ av-desktop-icon_padding=” av-medium-icon_padding=” av-small-icon_padding=” av-mini-icon_padding=” link=” link_target=” title_attr=” id=” custom_class=” template_class=” av_uid=’av-lptv0p74′ sc_version=’1.0′ admin_preview_bg=”][/av_heading]
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HILLSBOROUGH, N.C. — Estimated at $5,000-$10,000, a 14th-century candlestick made during the classical period of Mamluk artistic production hammered for $100,000 and sold for $125,000 with buyer’s premium at Leland Little on December 1. The 9in high silver-inlaid brass candlestick was likely used in court ceremonies or celebrations to honor the reigning potentate — either Sultan al-Malik al-Nasir Muhammad ibn Qalawun (1293–1341), or his son, Sultan al-Nasir Hasan (1334-1361).
The decoration is distinctive. By the period in which the candlestick was made, circa 1320-1360, the figural scenes that had appeared on much earlier Mamluk metalware made in both Egypt and Syria had been replaced by large calligraphic panels. This example, with its typical profile of a drum base, a drip tray, a cylindrical neck, and a flared socket, is inscribed in Thuluth script with an acclamation. It reads: Glory to our Master the Sultan, al-Malik al-Nasir, wise, diligent and just, who exerts himself [in time of war], who stands ready [to protect the realm]. Other inlaid motifs of flying birds, palmettes and six-petaled rosettes are also recognizable emblems of the Qalawunid dynasty, considered the apogee of Mamluk metalwork.
A very different lot, but one that generated similar levels of competition, was a rai stone ‘coin’ from the Pacific Island of Yap. Estimated at $1,000-$2,000, it hammered for $15,500 ($19,375 with buyer’s premium).
Though universal currencies have since become the norm on Yap, rai stones are still used for status and for important transfers of wealth. The largest of these stones, fashioned from carved and drilled crystalline calcite, can exceed 10 feet in diameter and are recognized as one of mankind’s most unusual means of exchange.
Exports of stone currency from Yap were restricted in 1965, with very few examples coming to market since. This 2ft wide example was consigned from a North Carolina collection with paperwork demonstrating its legitimate importation to the USA more than 60 years ago.
The auction house pointed to another example of similar size and condition (the one offered at Leland Little had been broken and was offered as two pieces) held by the Smithsonian. It is thought to date from the late 19th to the early 20th century.
The lineup of paintings included three oils by local favorite Francis Speight (1896-1989) and all beat their estimates. The top seller was W.P.A. Workers Grading Playground from 1939-40, an affectionate scene of one of the blue-collar industrial towns surrounding Philadelphia, which hammered for $77,000 ($96,250 with buyer’s premium) against an estimate of $10,000-$20,000. It came for sale from a collection in eastern North Carolina with an earlier provenance to the Sid Deutsch Gallery of New York.
The scene may depict Manayunk, the industrial area on the Schuylkill River where Speight lived until moving to Doylestown with his new family in 1943. In 1961 he moved back to his home state, with the North Carolina Museum of Art mounting a retrospective to mark his return.
Woman with Gloves, a 14 by 11in panel by Boston artist William McGregor Paxton (1869-1941), hammered for $22,000 ($27,500 with buyer’s premium) against an estimate of $5,000-$10,000. Paxton, who trained at the Cowles School in Boston and then in Paris at both the École des Beaux-Arts and the Académie Julian, is well known for quiet paintings of fashionable well-to-do women at ease in windowless parlors touched by soft light. He credited his distinctive technique to Vermeer. This particular composition, which showed no evidence of restoration or overpaint, was signed and dated 1907, when the artist was at the peak of his powers and teaching at the Museum of Fine Arts.
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14th-century candlestick made during the classical period of Mamluk production, which sold for $100,000 ($125,000 with buyer’s premium) at Leland Little.
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Rai stone ‘coin’ from the Pacific Island of Yap, which sold for $15,500 ($19,375 with buyer’s premium) at Leland Little.
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Francis Speight, ‘W.P.A. Workers Grading Playground,’ which sold for $77,000 ($96,250 with buyer’s premium) at Leland Little.
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William McGregor Paxton, ‘Woman with Gloves,’ which sold for $22,000 ($27,500 with buyer’s premium) at Leland Little.
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