Two Russian icons sell for a combined sum of almost $1M at Hargesheimer

Late 19th- or early 20th-century Mandylion icon and silver and cloisonné enamel okled or riza by Orest Kurlyukov, which sold for €558,600 ($597,500) with buyer’s premium at Hargesheimer Kunstauktionen.

DUSSELDORF, Germany – The sale at Hargesheimer Kunstauktionen on April 18 included an outstanding Russian icon and okled by Orest Kurlyukov. Made less than two decades before the Revolution forced the Moscow jewelers to close, it was in the 1890s that the firm founded by Kurlyukov Orest Fedorovich (1845-1916) in 1884 was at its peak, often supplying cloisonné enamel work to both Ruckert and the Fabergé workshops. Sale results can be seen at LiveAuctioneers.

The tempera on wood panel icon it houses is a copy of the Mandylion of Edessa, the legendary relic that was said to bear the miraculous imprint of the face of Jesus Christ. However, of equal importance to its commercial fortunes was the large 13 by 12in (33 by 29cm) silver-gilt frame worked in the elaborate ‘old’ or ‘original’ Russian style. It is marked ‘O Kurlyukov’ in Cyrillic alongside the Moscow assay mark for the period of 1896 to 1908.

Kurlyukov made a specialty of these icons and sold them in a number of different sizes, of which this was the largest and most complex. Another was offered by Sotheby’s in London in 2010 with an estimate of £200,000-£300,000 ($249,000-$373,685).

The market for the best Russian works of art has not been too negatively affected by sanctions: those who can afford them have multiple residences in different jurisdictions. This piece, with some minor restoration, was estimated at €80,000-€160,000 ($85,570-$171,135) but hammered for €420,000 ($447,000) and sold for €558,600 ($597,500) with buyer’s premium.

The following day, the auction house offered another important icon and riza – this one with a much earlier date. The tempera on wood panel depicted the famous Lady of Kazan, the holy icon of the highest stature within the Russian Orthodox Church, representing the Virgin Mary as the protector of Russia. It is thought to date from the last quarter of the 17th century as it is a gold riza engraved with local saints. The silver-gilt triptych in which it is housed was made in Moscow circa 1800. Estimated at €50,000-€100,000 ($53,480-$106,960), it hammered for €270,000 ($288,785) and sold for €359,100 ($384,100) with buyer’s premium.

Late 19th- or early 20th-century Mandylion icon and silver and cloisonné enamel okled or riza by Orest Kurlyukov, which sold for €558,600 ($597,500) with buyer’s premium at Hargesheimer Kunstauktionen.

Late 19th- or early 20th-century Mandylion icon and silver and cloisonné enamel okled or riza by Orest Kurlyukov, which sold for €558,600 ($597,500) with buyer’s premium at Hargesheimer Kunstauktionen.

Circa-1800 tempera on wood panel icon of the Lady of Kazan in a silver gilt triptych, which sold for €359,100 ($384,100) with buyer’s premium at Hargesheimer Kunstauktionen.

Circa-1800 tempera on wood panel icon of the Lady of Kazan in a silver gilt triptych, which sold for €359,100 ($384,100) with buyer’s premium at Hargesheimer Kunstauktionen.

Roland Arkell

Roland Arkell

Roland Arkell is editor of Auction Central News and deputy editor at Antiques Trade Gazette. He has been writing about all aspects of the art and antiques market for more than 25 years.

Peerless antique toy and bank collection showcased at Bertoia May 18

J&E Stevens Co. Jonah and the Whale mechanical bank, estimated at $80,000-$120,000 at Bertoia.

VINELAND, NJ — John and Adrienne Haley are English antique toy collectors who have spent more than 50 years networking with their American counterparts to find and sell the finest European toys. On Saturday, May 18, highlights from their top-tier collection will come to market at Bertoia Auctions. The 340-lot catalog is now available for review and bidding at LiveAuctioneers.

Always looking to upgrade items in their collection, the Haleys have assembled a remarkable overview of European and American toy manufacturing. The sale’s top lot is a virtually as-new Jonah and the Whale on Pedestal mechanical bank by J&E Stevens Co. Extremely rare and a prized addition for even the most advanced collector, the bank is all original and authentic, and one of only a handful known. It is estimated at $80,000-$120,000.

Equally scarce and desirable, a Marklin fire house with three engines has received the same estimate as the Jonah and the Whale bank. Three clockwork fire trucks sit in individual bays in the house, and are released to run across the floor when any of three levers are moved. Many collectors own the house and perhaps a single engine, but a complete set is nearly unheard of. With minor repairs and reproduction parts, this lot should clear its hefty estimate.

The wooden-boxed Marklin Battleship France dates to between 1902 and 1907. With a clockwork mechanism, the France comes complete with lead sailor figures and has like-new museum-level quality. It is estimated at $60,000-$90,000.

Formerly in the Tudor collection, this Kyser & Rex Co. Mikado mechanical bank features amazing action. Place a coin under the right hat, turn the rear crank, and watch as the man lifts the left hat to reveal the coin, then lowers it as the coin is deposited. Like the other star lots, the Mikado is in all-original condition, and is estimated at $60,000-$90,000.

J&E Stevens Co. Jonah and the Whale mechanical bank, estimated at $80,000-$120,000 at Bertoia.

J&E Stevens Co. Jonah and the Whale mechanical bank, estimated at $80,000-$120,000 at Bertoia.

Marklin fire house with three engines, estimated at $80,000-$120,000 at Bertoia.

Marklin Battleship 'France', estimated at $60,000-$90,000 at Bertoia.

Marklin Battleship 'France', estimated at $60,000-$90,000 at Bertoia.

Kyser & Rex Co. Mikado mechanical bank, estimated at $60,000-$90,000 at Bertoia.

Kyser & Rex Co. Mikado mechanical bank, estimated at $60,000-$90,000 at Bertoia.

Jim Bunte

Jim Bunte

Jim Bunte has worked in editorial, design and the toy and auction industries for more than 30 years. He co-founded Auction Central News in 2007.

Imperial Russian treasures that survived Bolshevism emerge at Heritage May 17

Imperial Fabergé Diamond-Set and Enameled Gold-Mounted Bowenite Egg-Shaped Frame, estimated at $120,000-$220,000 at Heritage.

DALLAS — Heritage Auctions has announced Imperial Fabergé & Russian Works of Art, a Wednesday May 17 event dedicated to the country’s cultural history and output. From private collections, highlights include museum-quality works by Carl Fabergé made for the Imperial House of Romanoff, as well as Russian paintings, icons, porcelain, furniture, and Romanoff archival materials from the estate of Princess Maria Romanoff. The complete catalog is now open for review and bidding at LiveAuctioneers.

“It is rare for any auction house to have more than one or two pieces with Imperial provenances that are new to the market in a sale,” said Nick Nicholson, Heritage senior specialist in Russian works of art. “But to have 25 such pieces is an embarrassment of riches, especially when many of them are masterpieces of the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries.”

One of the sale’s top lots is an Imperial Fabergé diamond-set and gold-mounted silver carved nephrite tomato-form gum pot. Gum pots were an Edwardian desk necessity, used for both adhering stamps and sealing envelopes. Purchased by Empress Maria Feodorovna on February 7, 1901 for 275 rubles at Hvidore, it remained in her possession until around 1924, when it passed to her children and eventually into several private collections. The lot is accompanied by its original purchase receipt. It is estimated at $150,000-$200,000.

Also outstanding is the Empress Maria Feodorovna-owned Imperial Fabergé diamond-set and enameled gold-mounted bowenite egg-shaped picture frame. Created by Fabergé workmaster Mikhail Perkhin in St. Petersburg before 1896, the 3-by-1.75in frame comes with its original Fabergé fitted presentation case. Its provenance begins with Empress Maria Feodorovna, who passed it to her daughter Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna. From there it went to Prince Vasili Alexandrovich, who sold the egg-frame in April 1949. Heritage estimates the lot at $120,000-$220,000.

Two Imperial Russian Fabergé animal-form items are also highly anticipated. An Imperial Fabergé gold-mounted composite hardstone cockerel created by Fabergé workmaster Henrik Wigström in St. Petersburg sometime between 1903 and 1917 is from the Empress Maria Feodorovna collection and descended through her heirs to today’s private owners. It is estimated at $60,000-$80,000.

This Imperial Fabergé diamond and champlevé enameled gold-mounted Purpurin elephant is an emblem of Danish sovereignty and symbolizes chastity and the defense of Christian faith. The marriages of the Danish Princess Alexandra to the future Edward VII of Great Britain, and her sister Princess Dagmar (known after her conversion to Russian Orthodoxy as Maria Feodorovna) to the future Alexander III, was an occasion for the Danish symbol of the elephant to enter the sphere of the British and Russian courts. Created by Fabergé’s workmaster Mikhail Perkhin before 1899, it is estimated at $70,000-$90,000.

Imperial Fabergé Diamond-Set and Gold-Mounted Silver Carved Nephrite Tomato-Form Gum Pot, estimated at $150,000-$200,000 at Heritage.

Imperial Fabergé Diamond-Set and Gold-Mounted Silver Carved Nephrite Tomato-Form Gum Pot, estimated at $150,000-$200,000 at Heritage.

Imperial Fabergé Diamond-Set and Enameled Gold-Mounted Bowenite Egg-Shaped Frame, estimated at $120,000-$220,000 at Heritage.

Imperial Fabergé Diamond-Set and Enameled Gold-Mounted Bowenite Egg-Shaped Frame, estimated at $120,000-$220,000 at Heritage.

Imperial Fabergé Gold-Mounted Composite Hardstone Cockerel, estimated at $60,000-$80,000 at Heritage.

Imperial Fabergé Gold-Mounted Composite Hardstone Cockerel, estimated at $60,000-$80,000 at Heritage.

Imperial Fabergé Diamond and Champlevé Enameled Gold-Mounted Purpurin Elephant, estimated at $70,000-$90,000 at Heritage.

Imperial Fabergé Diamond and Champlevé Enameled Gold-Mounted Purpurin Elephant, estimated at $70,000-$90,000 at Heritage.

Jim Bunte

Jim Bunte

Jim Bunte has worked in editorial, design and the toy and auction industries for more than 30 years. He co-founded Auction Central News in 2007.

American trompe-l’oeil painting collection beguiles bidders at DuMouchelles May 16-17

Frank Califano, 'His Master's Aim,' estimated at $25,000-$35,000 at DuMouchelles.

DETROIT, MI – Not just a trick of the eye, DuMouchelles’ sale on Thursday, May 16 and Friday, May 17 does include a private collection of a dozen American trompe-l’oeil paintings. The 12 oils come for sale from ‘a prominent Grosse Pointe Park collector of American art.’

Leading the lineup at $25,000-$35,000 is His Master’s Aim, a painting by the Italian American artist Frank Califano (1879-1939). Dated circa 1922, this composition of a violin, bow, and sheet music hanging on a door copied the celebrated work The Old Violin by William Michael Harnett, first sold at the 13th Cincinnati Industrial Exposition in 1886. His debt to the artist is shown by the letter pinned to the door, which is addressed to ‘WM Hamett.’ The painting, last sold at Sotheby’s in 2009, has been professionally restored.

Trompe I’oeil paintings of paper currency were a characteristically American art form. There are five examples in the collection at DuMouchelles, including two each by Victor Dubreuil (1846-1946) and Charles Meurer (1865-1955).

Dubreuil produced a near-obsessive amount of ‘dollar’ still lifes in his career, sufficient to attract the attention of the United States Secretary of the Treasury, who suspected him of counterfeiting the national currency. In 1909, Congress passed a bill prohibiting all ‘nonofficial copies of monetary tokens.’ Dubreuil was certainly good at his craft, although it didn’t make him rich. It is said that he often paid his Manhattan bar bills with his paintings.

His 9 by 11in painting of a wrap of ten-dollar silver notes hanging from a ribbon against a knotty wood surface is one of several pictures in the collection that featured in the 1994 exhibition at Berry Hill Galleries in New York titled Virtual Reality: American Trompe l’oeil Paintings. It is estimated at $3,000-$5,000, as is a similarly-sized canvas of a single one-dollar note tacked down to a maple panel.

Ohio painter Charles Meurer is often described as the last great trompe l’oeil painter. He was converted to the genre after seeing The Old Violin and other works by Harnett at the Cincinnati Expo in 1886. Offered in the DuMouchelles auction are A Pair of Fives, signed and dated 1898 on an envelope included in the composition, and the 1899 work Winchester Ten. Each is estimated at $2,500-$4,000.

Frank Califano, 'His Master's Aim,' estimated at $25,000-$35,000 at DuMouchelles.

Frank Califano, 'His Master's Aim,' estimated at $25,000-$35,000 at DuMouchelles.

Victor Dubreuil, 'Ten Dollar Silver Note,' estimated at $3,000-$5,000 at DuMouchelles.

Victor Dubreuil, 'Ten Dollar Silver Note,' estimated at $3,000-$5,000 at DuMouchelles.

Charles Alfred Meurer, 'Winchester Ten,' estimated at $2,500-$4,000 at DuMouchelles.

Charles Alfred Meurer, 'Winchester Ten,' estimated at $2,500-$4,000 at DuMouchelles.

Roland Arkell

Roland Arkell

Roland Arkell is editor of Auction Central News and deputy editor at Antiques Trade Gazette. He has been writing about all aspects of the art and antiques market for more than 25 years.

Grandma Moses and John Frederick Herring the Elder lead at Freeman’s Hindman May 16

John Frederick Herring, Sr., 'Lottery Going to the Start at Doncaster,' estimated at $80,000-$120,000 at Freeman's Hindman.

CHICAGO — Back-to-back sessions of European Art and American Art will draw collectors worldwide to Freeman’s Hindman Thursday, May 16. The American sale begins at 3 pm Eastern time and features two works by Grandma Moses, and the day begins with two equine works by John Frederick Herring the Elder at 11 am Eastern time with the European sale. Both catalogs are now available for bidding at LiveAuctioneers.

Anna Mary Robertson Moses (1860-1961) — popularly known as Grandma Moses — is the matriarch of naive American folk art. She didn’t begin her painting career in earnest until she was 78, and by 1950, when she was 90, she was featured in an Academy Award-winning documentary. She graced the cover of Life magazine and singlehandedly popularized what the industry now calls ‘outsider art.’

The Old Oaken Bucket in Spring is a 1944 oil on masonite measuring 21.25 by 35in. The work is an early example from Grandma Moses’ career, was a longtime part of the estate of Paul G. Benedum, Jr. of Ligonier, Pennsylvania, and comes to market after years of personal enjoyment. It carries an estimate of $70,000-$90,000.

1951’s Cutting Ice is from after Moses had achieved national fame. It depicts the classic wintertime business of ice cutting in a frozen river, with a delightful snowy landscape all around in her typical flattened-perspective style. Measuring 15 by 23.75in, Cutting Ice is estimated at $50,000-$70,000.

John Frederick Herring, Sr. (1795-1865) was an English artist who began drawing images of horses as a child. Today he is best remembered for his body of work focused on race horses, along with numerous landscapes. The sale includes two works by Herring the Elder (his son, also a famous artist, is known as Herring the Younger). Memnon, a Bright Bay, William Scott up, Wearing the Harlequin Colors of Lord Darlington is an 1826 oil on panel measuring 21.75 by 30in. Memnon had won the 1825 St. Leger race at Doncaster, the oldest racing series in England, which was founded in 1766 and continues to this day. This Herring the Elder work is estimated at $70,000-$100,000.

Lottery Going to the Start at Doncaster from 1830 depicts jockey G. Nelson taking Lottery, the eventual winner, to the track at Doncaster, the racetrack that Herring would repeatedly depict throughout his career. Though many consider the 1825 Cup Lottery’s finest achievement, that same year he won the Fitzwilliam Stakes at York and would go on to win a second Gold Cup at Preston. Lottery spent his final years in stud service to the French Orleans dynasty. The painting that depicts him is estimated at $80,000-$120,000.

Grandma Moses, 'The Old Oaken Bucket in Spring,' estimated at $70,000-$90,000 at Freeman's Hindman.

Grandma Moses, 'The Old Oaken Bucket in Spring,' estimated at $70,000-$90,000 at Freeman's Hindman.

Grandma Moses, 'Cutting Ice,' estimated at $50,000-$70,000 at Freeman's Hindman.

Grandma Moses, 'Cutting Ice,' estimated at $50,000-$70,000 at Freeman's Hindman.

John Frederick Herring, Sr., 'Memnon, a Bright Bay, William Scott up, Wearing the Harlequin Colors of Lord Darlington,' estimated at $70,000-$100,000 at Freeman's Hindman.

John Frederick Herring, Sr., 'Memnon, a Bright Bay, William Scott up, Wearing the Harlequin Colors of Lord Darlington,' estimated at $70,000-$100,000 at Freeman's Hindman.

John Frederick Herring, Sr., 'Lottery Going to the Start at Doncaster,' estimated at $80,000-$120,000 at Freeman's Hindman.

John Frederick Herring, Sr., 'Lottery Going to the Start at Doncaster,' estimated at $80,000-$120,000 at Freeman's Hindman.

Jim Bunte

Jim Bunte

Jim Bunte has worked in editorial, design and the toy and auction industries for more than 30 years. He co-founded Auction Central News in 2007.

Gio Ponti Triennale Armchairs lead our five auction highlights

Gio Ponti lacquered wood, upholstery, and brass Triennale armchairs by ISA Bergamo, which hammered for $90,000 and sold for $117,900 with buyer’s premium at Wright on March 28.

Gio Ponti Triennale Armchairs, $117,900

CHICAGO – Among the starring lots at the Wright Design sale on March 28 was this pair of Gio Ponti lacquered wood, upholstery, and brass Triennale armchairs dating to 1951.

The design is one produced for ISA (Industria Salotti e Arredamenti), the luxury furniture firm. To achieve the effect of ‘weightlessness’ in a wing-back chair, Ponti deconstructed the traditional form and inserted a metal frame within the wooden structure of the upholstered backrest to reinforce it. This pair, with manufacturer’s labels to the back stretchers, have a provenance to Count Luigi Baldini of Ravenna, whose family owned several important Ponti designs. The Triennale chairs were estimated at $70,000-$90,000 and hammered at the high end of their estimate, ultimately selling for $117,900 with buyer’s premium.

18th-century Tiger Maple Highboy, $55,250

Circa-1760 Philadelphia Queen Anne tiger maple highboy in the manner of William Savery, which hammered for $42,500 and sold for $55,250 with buyer’s premium at William Bunch on March 26.
Circa-1760 Philadelphia Queen Anne tiger maple highboy in the manner of William Savery, which hammered for $42,500 and sold for $55,250 with buyer’s premium at William Bunch on March 26.

CHADDS FORD, PA – The majority of 18th-century New England tiger maple highboys bring relatively modest numbers today. However, there are exceptions to the rule. Estimated at $2,000-$4,000, this Philadelphia Queen Anne chest raced to $42,500 and sold for $55,250 with buyer’s premium at William Bunch on March 26 as bidders made the connection with a well-known furniture shop.

This particular design – notably a scalloped frieze and cabriole legs with shell carving over Queen Anne feet – is associated with the celebrated Second Street shop of William Savery (1721-1787). He first earned the attention of scholars and collectors in 1918, when his label was found on a dressing table in the collection at Manor House at Van Cortlandt Park, New York.

While enjoying the patronage of colonial Philadelphia’s elite (Benjamin Franklin owned several pieces), Savery also made more affordable furniture for the middle classes and relatively plain pieces catering to the conservative taste of Quaker clients. This tiger maple highboy will require some restoration, including work to correct the discoloration around the handles caused by overzealous cleaning with an abrasive.

19th-century German Book on the Danube River, $20,635

Plate from Adolf Friedreich Kunike’s ‘Two hundred and sixty-four Danube views following the course of the Danube’, which hammered for £13,000 ($16,380) and sold for £16,380 ($20,635) with buyer’s premium at Forum Auctions on March 27.
Plate from Adolf Friedreich Kunike’s ‘Two hundred and sixty-four Danube views following the course of the Danube’, which hammered for £13,000 ($16,380) and sold for £16,380 ($20,635) with buyer’s premium at Forum Auctions on March 27.

LONDON – Leading Forum Auctions’ March 27 sale of more books from the remarkable library of Norman Bobins was a complete copy of a German work following the course of the Danube from its source to the Black Sea. This sequence of 264 lithographs was issued in three editions (1820, 1824, and 1826) by Austrian lithographer, illustrator, and publisher Adolf Friedreich Kunike (1777-1838).

The commission to produce the drawings for Kunike’s prints was initially undertaken by Rudolf Alt, but he resigned the post halfway through the journey, fearful of the dangers inherent in the later reaches of the Danube as it entered the Ottoman Empire. Instead, the intrepid Ludwig Erminy completed the sketches. Forum could not find another complete hand-colored set that had appeared at auction, and this was reflected in the price. Estimated at £3,000-£5,000 ($3,775-$6,300), it hammered for £13,000 ($16,380) and sold for £16,380 ($20,635) with buyer’s premium.

This was the fourth tranche of Norman Bobins’ splendid library of color plate books offered at auction since Christie’s New York held the first sale in June 2023. 

Doulton Stoneware Pâte-sur-pâte Vases by Hannah Barlow, $7,812

Doulton stoneware vases decorated in pâte-sur-pâte by Hannah Barlow, which hammered for $6,250 and sold for $7,812 with buyer’s premium at Lion and Unicorn on March 26.
Doulton stoneware vases decorated in pâte-sur-pâte by Hannah Barlow, which hammered for $6,250 and sold for $7,812 with buyer’s premium at Lion and Unicorn on March 26.

HOLLYWOOD, FL – Sisters Hannah and Florence Barlow, both graduates of the Lambeth School of Art and leading artists at the nearby Doulton art pottery studio, came to an arrangement in the early 1870s. Hannah would focus on sgraffito decoration – carving animal designs into soft clay – while Florence would work predominantly in the pâte-sur-pâte technique, painting her studies of birds in raised slip. They largely stuck to the agreement, although occasionally Hannah Barlow did do some designs in pâte-sur-pâte.

This pair of 14in-high vases, offered by Lion and Unicorn on March 26 on Day One of its Impressive Decorative Arts auction, are decorated with a frieze of hounds chasing a fox picked out in high relief. Estimated at a modest $200-$800, the pair hammered at $6,250 ($7,812 with buyer’s premium).

1969 Grateful Dead and Bonzo Dog Band Concert Handbill, $2,405

1969 Grateful Dead and Bonzo Dog Band concert handbill, which hammered for £1,400 ($1,765) and sold for £1,905 ($2,405) with buyer’s premium at Dawsons Auctioneers March 28.
1969 Grateful Dead and Bonzo Dog Band concert handbill, which hammered for £1,400 ($1,765) and sold for £1,905 ($2,405) with buyer’s premium at Dawsons Auctioneers March 28.

MAIDENHEAD, UK – Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band was an experimental performance art group created by British art-school students in the 1960s. They combined music hall, jazz, and psychedelia with comedy and avant-garde art in what can only be described as an unmatchable performance.

Today, the band is best remembered for being asked by the Beatles’ Paul McCartney to appear in their contractual commitment to United Artists, the incoherent, drug-fueled, and commercially unsuccessful 1967 film Magical Mystery Tour. In it, the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band performed Death Cab For Cutie, a single that would later provide name inspiration to a successful American rock band.

Vivian Stanshall (1943-1995) was a founding member of the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, which was invited to play with the Grateful Dead on October 2-4, 1969 at The Boston Tea Party, a concert venue located at 15 Lansdowne Street. On a handbill for the show, the group was touted as ‘Bonzo Dog Band.’

Stanshall’s son Rupert received that concert handbill as part of his father’s legacy. He sent it to auction March 28 at Dawsons Auctioneers in its Vivian Stanshall Collection: Part Two sale, which showcased Stanshall’s lifetime collection of artifacts and memorabilia from his career. The handbill hammered for £1,400 ($1,765) and sold for £1,905 ($2,405) with buyer’s premium.

Montrose returns with 550-plus lots of top-tier sporting, military, and personal firearms May 11

Smith & Wesson Pre-29 .44 Magnum, estimated at $2,500-$3,500 at Montrose.

MONTROSE, GA — Fresh off its triumphant return to LiveAuctioneers in March, Montrose Auction returns Saturday, May 11 with its Fine Firearms & Accessories sale, featuring a whopping 556 lots. The catalog is now available for review and bidding at LiveAuctioneers.

“We think firearms collectors are going to love the quality and variety in this sale and that first-timers will notice the personal, welcoming way we conduct business. We treat everyone like they’re family and try to make sure there’s something in the auction to suit every taste and pocketbook. Our goal is for every bidder to take home at least one longarm or pistol they had hoped to win,” said Trey Cottle, president of Montrose Auction.

The sale’s top-estimated lot at $6,200-$8,000 is one of the foremost sporting-clay 12 gauge guns in the world, the Beretta DT11 over-under shotgun. Built in 2012, the gun comes complete with its factory case, five chokes, coin-finished receiver, and blue finished barrels.

Also leading the sale’s estimates is a Caesar Guerini Invictus II 12-gauge over-under with a 32in barrel. Engraved with a rose-and-scroll motif and elaborate gold overlay, the shotgun is signed by engraving studio Bottega C. Giovanelli. Cesare Giovanelli is regarded as the godfather of engraving in Brescia, Italy. The Guerini is offered with a spotless factory case and a full complement of choke tubes and tools. In  ‘as-new’ overall condition, the estimate is $5,000-$6,500. It is one of a total of five Guerinis in the auction.

Likely to be the sale’s most prized handgun is a Colt 1905 semi-automatic pistol in .45 ACP. Dating to 1910, it features a 4.75in barrel and is described as being in ‘good to very good’ condition. This landmark platform is estimated at $3,500-$5,500.

One of America’s most beloved guns is the .44 Magnum, introduced by Smith & Wesson in 1955. In 1957, S&W would rebrand what it previously introduced two years prior as simply the ‘.44 Magnum’ to ‘Model 29.’ Montrose has a ‘pre-29’ S-Series .44 Mag in the sale, built in 1956-1957 and featuring a 4in barrel. Described as ‘extremely fine retaining most all finish and with a small cylinder turn line; grips are excellent,’ the Pre-29 is estimated at $2,500-$3,500.

Beretta DT11 12 gauge shotgun, estimated at $6,200-$8,000 at Montrose.

Beretta DT11 12 gauge shotgun, estimated at $6,200-$8,000 at Montrose.

Caesar Guerini Invictus II 12 gauge shotgun, estimated at $5,000-$6,500 at Montrose.

Caesar Guerini Invictus II 12 gauge shotgun, estimated at $5,000-$6,500 at Montrose.

Colt Model 1905 .45 semi-automatic, estimated at $3,500-$5,500 at Montrose.

Colt Model 1905 .45 semi-automatic, estimated at $3,500-$5,500 at Montrose.

Smith & Wesson Pre-29 .44 Magnum, estimated at $2,500-$3,500 at Montrose.

Smith & Wesson Pre-29 .44 Magnum, estimated at $2,500-$3,500 at Montrose.

Jim Bunte

Jim Bunte

Jim Bunte has worked in editorial, design and the toy and auction industries for more than 30 years. He co-founded Auction Central News in 2007.

Meiping vase from 13th-14th century earns $677K at Subastas Darley

Blue and white meiping vase, which sold for €500,000 ($533,165 or $677,120 with buyer's premium) at Subastas Darley.

VALENCIA, Spain — A blue and white meiping vase, a classic of Yuan (1271-1368) dynasty porcelain, hammered for a cool €500,000 ($533,165, or $677,120 with buyer’s premium) at the Spanish auction house Subastas Darley on April 10. The 17in (43cm) vase, made in the kilns of Jingdezhen during the earliest years of porcelain production, was consigned by a member of the Karabeyoglu family.

The Yuan dynasty was characterized by the development of new styles and techniques that were used and refined in later periods. Among the most iconic of the large blue-and-white forms of the period is the tall meiping, used at the time as a wine container. The intricate designs were painted in sapphire-blue tones, using cobalt imported via the Silk Road from Persia. The decoration on this example is characteristically divided into sections, with the Eight Treasures to the shoulders, panels of ruyi to the base, and a central band of four peonies in full bloom and lotuses in various stages of blossom.

According to the auction house, it had been in the collection of the Karabeyoglu family for generations. The vendor was Meltem Karabeyoglu, chairman of the oil and mining conglomerate Karabeyoglu Enterprises, and custodian of an impressive collection of ceramics dating from the family’s heyday during the Ottoman Empire. The vase had been subject to a thermoluminescence test, with the results indicating it was made sometime in the 13th or 14th centuries.

The price was many times the top estimate of €80,000 ($85,000), but the auction house did reference three other exceptional examples in its catalog. They included the meiping — retaining the original cover that is lost in almost all surviving examples — that was offered by Christie’s Hong Kong in November 2023 as part of a selection from the celebrated Tianminlou collection. That piece, last sold by Sotheby’s in London in 1985 for what was then a massive £286,000 ($352,105), took a mighty HK$67,775,000 ($8,648,770).

Blue and white meiping vase, which sold for €500,000 ($533,165 or $677,120 with buyer's premium) at Subastas Darley.

Blue and white meiping vase, which sold for €500,000 ($533,165 or $677,120 with buyer's premium) at Subastas Darley.

Roland Arkell

Roland Arkell

Roland Arkell is editor of Auction Central News and deputy editor at Antiques Trade Gazette. He has been writing about all aspects of the art and antiques market for more than 25 years.

Cassandre’s famous SS Normandie poster steams into Potter & Potter May 16

A. M. Cassandre, 'Normandie,' estimated at $7,000-$10,000 at Potter & Potter.

CHICAGO — A fine copy of A.M. Cassandre’s most famous poster will appear at Potter & Potter Auctions. The 610-lot sale of Vintage Posters on Thursday, May 16 includes an A grade version of the famous Art Deco image of the SS Normandie. It has an estimate of $7,000-$10,000.

The Normandie was the wonder of its age, a no-expense-spared ‘floating palace’ built as the glittering flagship for the Compagnie Générale Transatlantique — the shipping company typically known overseas as the French Line. To mark its launch and a regular service from Le Havre in France to New York in 1935, the CGT engaged the leading commercial artist of the day to produce an advertising poster.

Adolphe Jean-Marie Mouron (1901-1968), the Ukrainian French artist who had assumed the nom de plume Cassandre shortly after enrolling at the Ecole des Beaux-Art, brought all his knowledge of the early 20th century avant-garde to the table. Opting for portrait format and a limited color palette of black, white, red, blue, and green, he chose a novel frontal view of the ship’s bow to immediately convey its scale and streamlined elegance. A flock of seagulls, nature dwarfed by a man-made machine, appears as mere dots of color against the mighty hull.

There are several variants of the poster, all of them much reproduced. This example is the classic with the text below, which carries the name of the Alliance Graphique, the advertising agency Cassandre set up with a colleague in 1926. As a point of reference, two original examples appeared for sale last year. One realized £10,000 ($12,500) at the auction of Travel & Vintage Posters at Lyon & Turnbull in London in April 2023, and another sold by Swann Galleries in New York as part of an auction of Graphic Art on May 2023 earned $12,000.

And the SS Normandie? It proved to be both the apogee and the nadir of the Art Deco movement. The largest, fastest, and most luxurious ship of its age when launched in 1935, by 1941 it had been stripped of its Jean Dunand lacquer and René Lalique glass and was being converted for use as a troop carrier when it caught fire and capsized.

A. M. Cassandre, 'Normandie,' estimated at $7,000-$10,000 at Potter & Potter.

A. M. Cassandre, 'Normandie,' estimated at $7,000-$10,000 at Potter & Potter.

Roland Arkell

Roland Arkell

Roland Arkell is editor of Auction Central News and deputy editor at Antiques Trade Gazette. He has been writing about all aspects of the art and antiques market for more than 25 years.

Clementine Hunter and John Genin works highlight Louisiana heritage at Crescent City May 10-11

John Genin, 'Portrait of Paul Henri Augustin Capdevielle & Pierre Emmanuel 'Auguste' Capdevielle, Children of Paul Capedevielle, Former Mayor of New Orleans,' estimated at $4,000-$8,000 at Crescent City Auction Gallery.

NEW ORLEANS — Works by Clementine Hunter and John Genin are star lots at the two-day May Estates Auction at Crescent City Auction Gallery Friday, May 10 and Saturday, May 11. The catalogs are available for review and bidding now at LiveAuctioneers.

Considered by many to be the queen of self-taught artists, Clementine Hunter (1886-1988) began selling her paintings for 25 cents. She was in her fifties when her art career took off, and she gained national attention for her depictions of Black American farm life. She had worked on Louisiana plantations her entire life, first as a field laborer, like her father. Wash Day is an untitled oil on canvas board in classic naive style. One element that makes this lot stand out is the painting is accompanied by a photograph of Hunter holding the work in her lap. Crescent City has estimated Wash Day at $4,000-$8,000.

John Genin (1830-1895) was born in France but came to New Orleans in 1860 and set up shop as a portrait painter for the Crescent City’s elite. He painted portraits of men, women, children, and the elderly, and his style was clearly influenced by the bitter rival of 19th-century portraitists everywhere, photography. His uncanny depictions of his subjects are eerily photographic, a testament to the increasing pressure artists were feeling with the rising popularity of photography in the portrait space.

Portrait of Paul Henri Augustin Capdevielle & Pierre Emmanuel ‘Auguste’ Capdevielle, Children of Paul Capedevielle, Former Mayor of New Orleans is from the 1886-1887 period, when Genin was hitting his stride with New Orleans clientele. Capedevielle was mayor from 1900 to 1904, making the inscription on the painting likely from the early 20th century. Paul Henri would live until 1950 and Auguste until 1940, so the work likely remained in the family for some time. Capedevielle is best remembered for launching New Orleans’ modern sewage and drainage system, and for receiving President William McKinley, the first American leader to visit the city while in office. The painting is estimated at $4,000-$8,000.

Clementine Hunter, 'Wash Day,' estimated at $4,000-$8,000 at Crescent City Auction Gallery.

Clementine Hunter, 'Wash Day,' estimated at $4,000-$8,000 at Crescent City Auction Gallery.

John Genin, 'Portrait of Paul Henri Augustin Capdevielle & Pierre Emmanuel 'Auguste' Capdevielle, Children of Paul Capedevielle, Former Mayor of New Orleans,' estimated at $4,000-$8,000 at Crescent City Auction Gallery.

John Genin, 'Portrait of Paul Henri Augustin Capdevielle & Pierre Emmanuel 'Auguste' Capdevielle, Children of Paul Capedevielle, Former Mayor of New Orleans,' estimated at $4,000-$8,000 at Crescent City Auction Gallery.

Jim Bunte

Jim Bunte

Jim Bunte has worked in editorial, design and the toy and auction industries for more than 30 years. He co-founded Auction Central News in 2007.