Two famille rose porcelain plaques sold for $463,000. Michaan’s Auctions image. ALAMEDA, Calif. – Michaan’s Fine Asian Works of Art auction on June 23 was a resounding success, raking in over $2.4 million. Over 400 lots of fine Asian antiquities were presented to the world market with a variety of Chinese ceramic plaques doing exceedingly well.
LiveAuctioneers.com facilitated Internet live bidding.
The star of the day was lot 7435 consisting of two famille rose porcelain plaques. The Republic period pieces by Wang Qi (1884-1937) were a rare find, resulting in a rapid succession of phone and live bids that pushed the final sale to an amazing result: $463,000. The pair was estimated at $20,000-$30,000.
The plaques reflected the overall success of the ceramics offered.
Some noteworthy ceramic lots included a folding screen inset with porcelain plaques that sold for $59,000 (lot 7431, est. $20,000-$30,000), four miniature Republic period plaques (lot 7430, $2,000-3,000) that sold for $35,400, and a highly anticipated Yixing molded dragon bowl that realized $38,350 (lot 7395, $30,000-$50,000).
Huanghuali furniture also dazzled bidders, with multiple sales pushing past the $50,000 mark. A pair of horseshoe back armchairs accompanied by a side table sold for $100,300 (lot 7291, $50,000-$70,000), along with a comparable furniture grouping that realized $64,900 (lot 7290, $50,000-$70,000). Yet another pair of huanghuali horseshoe back chairs sped past estimates, selling for $64,900 (lot 7289, $5,000-$7,000). Also of note was an armchair that attained $53,100 (lot 7292, $30,000-$40,000).
Works of art performed well. A prestigious landscape hanging scroll by Shanghai artist and scholar Wu Hufan (1894-1968) also carried a provenance from the Thunig Collection (lot 7342, $50,000-$70,000). The painting sold for $59,000, as did another landscape scroll attributed to artist Tang Yin (1470-1523) listed as lot 7317 at an estimate of $50,000-$70,000. Rounding out sales from the section was an album of 12 fan paintings by Dai Xi (1801-1860) that sold for $26,550 (lot 7328, $6,000-$8,000), an album of 40 albumen silver prints that sold for $26,550 (lot 7354, $8,000-$12,000) and an imperial edict of the Daoguang period (1821-1850) that for $17,700 (lot 7353, $3,000-$5,000).
Categorically, Asian works of art saw a wide variety of top sellers at auction. The top five of the section included a cinnabar lacquer scroll form box (lot 7277, $3,000-$5,000) that sold for $38,350, a pair of cloisonné enamel gourd motif vases (lot 7250, $10,000-$15,000) that sold for $38,350, a gilt splashed bronze vase (lot 7220, $15,000-$20,000) that sold for $35,400, a similar gilt splashed bronze censer (lot 7221, $20,000-$30,000) that sold for $32,450, and a collection of three amber carvings (lot 7253, $5,000-$7,000) that sold for $26,550.
Three lots of carved jades more than tripled estimates. In their order of performance a rare spinach jade double gourd-form wall vase sold for $23,600 (lot 7082, $4,000-$6,000), four Qing dynasty carved pendants made $21,240 (lot 7050, $5,000-$7,000), and a group of three carvings realized $16,520 (lot 7041, $3,000-$5,000).
For information call Michaan’s Auctions at 510-740-0220 ext. 0 or e-mail info@michaans.com.
Dame Barbara Hepworth RA (1903-1975), ‘Argos,’ 1969, lithograph printed in colors, on handmade Barcham green paper, signed and numbered 6/60 in pencil, printed and published by Curwen Studio, with their blindstamp, 81 x 59cm. Estimate: £800-£1,200. Sworders Fine Art Auctioneers image.
ESSEX COUNTY, UK – A brand of desk, designed in 1959 and which shot to fame when it appeared in two James Bond films, is being sold at the largest ever decorative art and design sale held by Sworders Fine Art Auctioneers on July 29-30. LiveAuctioneers.com will provide Internet live bidding.
The rosewood and chrome desk, by Danish designer Bodil Kjaer, is one of the 20th century’s most desirable pieces of furniture. Widely promoted in the press when it was launched, the desk went on to feature in two Bond films, You Only Live Twice and From Russia With Love. Early editions of the piece are said to have been bought by the actor Michael Caine and the Duke of Edinburgh. The Model 901 desk is expected to make £6,000 to £8,000 ($10,263-$13,684).
The desk is one of a range of Scandinavian lots in the sale, which will be held on Tuesday, July 29, and Wednesday, July 30, at Sworders’ sale rooms in Stansted Mountfitchet.
“With a total of 1,000 lots, this is the largest decorative art and design sale we have ever held,” said Sworders Director John Black.
“It’s so exciting to be able to offer a real ‘lifestyle’ sale. Alongside some stunning modern pieces, there are more than 300 lots of Arts and Crafts and Art Deco furniture and furnishings. We’ve had huge interest from people looking for key pieces for their own homes – something with a contemporary feel but with a foot in the past. And with many lots in the £400 to £1,000 ($685-$1,710) price bracket it’s a chance to buy a unique piece that’s beautiful, useful and has real investment potential.”
The furniture collections also include a dining suite designed in 1975 by Afra and Tobia Scarpa for Maxalto. The suite is in walnut and the table features the original cement ballast. The lot has a guide price of £3,000 to £5,000 ($5,131-$8,552).
Also featured in the auction is a bronze sculpture by John W. Mills, which is now available to view at Sworders.
The work, titled Embrace, is by the local sculptor who created the Women of World War II Memorial in Horse Guards Parade and the Blitz Firefighters memorial at St. Paul’s Cathedral.
Embrace is based on a scene from Frederick Ashton’s choreography of the ballet Romeo and Juliet. It was cast at the Meridian Foundry in London in 1992. The foundry has now closed, but its previous works include the statue of Winston Churchill, which stands in Parliament Square.
Mills lives and works in Hinxworth, near Baldock in Hertfordshire. His other works include the design marking the 50th anniversary of D-Day and the VE Day commemorative coin.
Embrace is 153cm (61.2 inches) high, but stands on a reconstituted stone plinth and is, in total, 228 cm (91.2 inches) high.
“This is a stunning piece and it is now in pride of place in our main reception. John Mills is an exceptionally renowned sculptor and it’s a privilege to be selling one of his pieces which come up for sale very rarely,” said Black.
Its sale guide price is £20,000 to £30,000 ($34,210-$51,315).
Dame Barbara Hepworth RA (1903-1975), ‘Argos,’ 1969, lithograph printed in colors, on handmade Barcham green paper, signed and numbered 6/60 in pencil, printed and published by Curwen Studio, with their blindstamp, 81 x 59cm. Estimate: £800-£1,200. Sworders Fine Art Auctioneers image.
William de Morgan luster twin-handle vase, early Fulham Period, decorated each side with a peacock among flowering foliage, impressed Sand’s End Pottery, crack filled, firing crack, 37cm high. Estimate: £7,000-£10,000. Sworders Fine Art Auctioneers image.
Lalique ‘Bulbes No. 2’ assiette, molded with a blue opalescence, etched stencil mark ‘R. Lalique, France,’ 28cm diameter. Estimate: £400-£600. Sworders Fine Art Auctioneers image.
Danish rosewood and chrome Model 901 desk, designed by Bodil Kjaer in 1959 for E. Pedersen & Son, 200cm wide x 100cm deep x 72cm high. Estimate: £6,000-£8,000. Sworders Fine Art Auctioneers image.
Artona dining suite, designed in 1975 for Maxalto by Afra and Tobia Scarpa, in walnut with ebonised details, table labeled ‘Contrappeso Cemento Tavolo Tondo Noce, Liberty & Co., 145cm diameter x 70cm high, and a set of six ‘Africa’ chairs, with black leather seats. Estimate: £3,000-£5,000. Sworders Fine Art Auctioneers image.
Estimated to bring $7000 to $10,000, this Continental armoire is richly veneered with oak, elm, and burl walnut, among other woods. John Moran image
PASADENA, Calif. – In stark contrast to Moran’s modern-leaning June 17th Antiques and Decorative Arts Auction, attendees at the Southern California house’s July 22nd sale will find the saleroom floor resplendent with the gilt detailing of Continental antiques, including a large selection of Louis XV and XVI furniture, urns, clocks, and wall mirrors, displayed beside Edwardian and Renaissance Revival-style furniture, European porcelain, bronzes, art glass, Continental and British paintings and sculpture, and American midcentury modern pottery and furniture. The majority of the July offerings were culled from just five important Southern California private collections, and as always the catalog boasts the fresh to the market pieces of the highest quality.
Internet live bidding during the sale will be provided by LiveAuctioneers.
Fine art consignments include works covering a variety of price points, highlighted by a number of very collectible works by noted European artists. The first, by Fernand Pelez (1843 – 1913 French), is a study for a larger work titled “Petit Misere ou Mendiant au Chapeau,” which recently sold at Sotheby’s Paris for an impressive price of $80,120, well over its pre-auction estimate. The study offered at Moran’s is conservatively estimates at $6000 – $8000.
A moody composition titled “Le Reveil du Coeur” (The Awakening of the Heart) by Anatole Vely (1838 – 18812 French) is one of the largest and most exquisitely detailed of the artist’s works to be offered at auction in recent history. The stunning oil is estimated to find a buyer for $10,000 – $20,000. Known for his maritime compositions, Jules Noel’s representative oil on canvas depicting figures by a group of docked boats is estimated to earn $3000 – $5000. A selection of Erté gouaches hailing from a private Southern California collection will also be offered, including “Midsummer Fair, Le Tir Les Tireurs,” “Venus et les Trois Graces,” and a work featuring an alluring gypsy dancer, all offered for estimates under $1000.
Fantastic selections from an impressive Montecito Estate offer up a number of highlights, including a selection of striking carved giltwood wall mirrors in varying sizes. A monumental carved gilt wood four-panel screen, covered with an antique Flemish tapestry, demands a grand space for display, not only for its size but its visually arresting quality and craftsmanship. The screen is estimated to find a new home for $20,000 to $30,000. An exquisitely decorated gilt bronze-mounted “boulle” marquetry and ebonized bureau plat, with a serpentine rectangular top inset with a gilt-tooled maroon leather writing surface is estimated to bring $5000 – $8000. A robust Continental marquetry armoire, veneered with oak, elm, burl walnut and other woods with scrolled motifs and columnar supports carries an estimate of $7000 – $10,000.
On a different note, select lots of modern American pottery are also to be featured, including work by Ojai, CA potters Otto & Vivika Heino and Claremont, CA potters Rupert Deese and Harrison McIntosh. One lot, a shallow Heino pottery bowl in mottled brown and black with blue and yellow-green splashes, is expected to bring $600 – $800. Carrying the same estimate and injecting a splash of clean-lined modern sensibility into the catalog is a striking pair of stoneware covered jars in dark brown with vertical cream stripes by Deese.
China and porcelain are among the highlighted categories of the July 22nd sale. A pair of Royal Worcester porcelain candlesticks, dated to 1881 and each molded as seated Mandarin figures juggling spheres, carry a conservative estimate of $800 to $1200 for the pair. A figural group titled “Lessons in Love” by famed maker Meissen should earn a price realized between $2500 and $3500. A sensuous Riessner, Stellmacher & Kessel Amphora porcelain bust depicting a maiden in a yellow bonnet and dress with delicate gilt highlights is sure to charm bidders with the conservative $1000 – $1500 estimate.
Additional highlights include:
A carved marble statue of a boy and his dog by Samuel James Kitson, just over five feet tall (estimate: $7000 – $10,000).
Among a number of fine French clocks, a Napoleon III gilt bronze and marble mantle clock features a reclining classical female figure and children with various attributes representing the arts (estimate: $2000 – $3000).
A French patinated bronze figural group, cast from a model by French artist Alfred Boucher depicting three elegantly balanced male figures reaching into the distance, carries the title “Au But,” which translates to “Purpose” (estimate: $2000 – $3000)
For additional information on any item in the auction, call 626-793-1833 or email info@johnmoran.com.
View the fully illustrated auction catalog and sign up to bid absentee or live via the Internet at www.LiveAuctioneers.com.
Estimated to bring $7000 to $10,000, this Continental armoire is richly veneered with oak, elm, and burl walnut, among other woods. John Moran image
A study for a larger portrait recently sold at Sotheby’s Paris, this naturalist composition is expected to earn between $6000 and $8000 at auction. John Moran image
A monumentally sized composition, ‘Le Reveil du Coeur’ by French painter Anatole Vely is offered with a pre-auction estimate of $10,000 to $20,000. John Moran image
These late-19th-century Royal Worcester candlesticks depicting whimsical Mandarin jugglers are in excellent condition and may reach $800-$1200 at auction. John Moran image
This marble sculpture, created in 1873 during noted American artist Samuel Kitson’s sojourn in Rome, could fetch $7000-$10,000. John Moran image
One of a number of quality consignments handpicked from an important Montecito estate, this Napoleon III gilt bronze and marble mantel clock is surmounted by children representing the arts, and a reclining female figure. Estimate: $2000-$3000. John Moran image
Three sterling silver Georg Jensen brooches, each estimated at $200-$400. Stephenson’s Auction image PHILA., Pa. – Stephenson’s in suburban Philadelphia is known as the region’s premier estate auction house. The family-owned company specializes in gallery and online sales of fine and decorative art, antiques, furniture and fine-quality jewelry. The next such sale will take place on Friday, July 18, and will feature silver, jewelry and objets d’art from area residences and private consignors. All of the 400+ lots have been cataloged with reasonable estimates and opening bids. Internet live bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.
The demand for fine silver continues, and one of the many prized entries in the sale is Lot 54, a 5-piece sterling silver tea and coffee service. The elegant set consists of a coffee pot and teapot – both with bone insulators – sugar bowl with lid, creamer and waste bowl. Marked “Sterling,” the service has a total weight of 72.555ozt. Its presale estimate is $1,500-$1,800.
A stately design, Lot 92 is a hallmarked Weinranck & Schmidt Hanau sterling silver swing kettle on marked stand. Richly decorated with repousee figural and foliate reserves, the joined pieces stand 16 inches high. Having a total weight of 53.415ozt, the kettle/stand unit is expected to make $1,600-$3,000. The sterling silver selection also contains a pleasing array of flatware, serving bowls, trays and baskets; goblets and cordials; sets of teaspoons, candlesticks and various small objects.
A great variety of decorative art is included in the sale. Among the top examples is a stunning antique jeweled and gilt-enameled French porcelain dresser box with matching lid. When opened, the box reveals three perfume bottles with enameled and gilt-decorated tops that match the cobalt-blue outer container. This exquisite work of art is estimated at $600-$1,000.
Many great names in Continental and British decorative art are represented, such as Lalique, Meissen, Coalport and KPM. Lot 3, a KPM porcelain double-cherub figurine, exhibits the superior quality for which the great German manufactory is so well known. Its estimate is a modest $160-$300.
Those who love jewelry – both silver and gold – will be well pleased with the choices in Stephenson’s July 18 auction. Starting with sterling silver, three outstanding and well-marked designs by Danish master silversmith Georg Jensen are offered as consecutive lots. Lot 255 is a circa-1940 tulip brooch whose finely hammered silver is embellished with a dark green stone. Lot 256 is a stylized star-shape brooch designed by Jensen’s Henning Koppel. It, too, is a mid-century piece. Another Henning Koppel for Jensen brooch, Lot 257, is a sophisticated solid freeform triangle with beveled edge on two sides. Each of the Jensen brooches carries a presale estimate of $200-$400.
A wealth of stylish gold jewelry will leave bidders spoiled for choice. Lot 172, a 24K two-tone white and yellow gold panther bracelet features a linked and braided bracelet with two facing, bas-relief panther heads, each with diamond eyes and clasping opposite sides of a gold ring. With a motif that pays homage to the now-classic Panthere design by Cartier, this bracelet is estimated at $800-$1,200.
Lot 173 combines 14K white gold with 15 champagne-color diamonds, each surrounded by 10 white diamonds, in a stylish bracelet whose total diamond weight is 5.0 carats. A versatile contemporary design that could easily travel from brunch to an afternoon business meeting and then to the most formal of dinners, the bracelet is cataloged with a $1,000-$2,000 estimate.
Several charm bracelets will be auctioned, including Lot 264, a triple-strand 14K gold bracelet heavily laden with 22 gold charms. Some of the charms are travel related, depicting such items as a trolley car, cruise ship, and cupcake with “I Love N.Y.” spelled out on the “icing.” All of the charms are either marked 14K or test as gold. Estimate: $2,500-$4,000.
There’s plenty in the sale to appeal to gentlemen, as well. For instance, Lot 121 is a hefty 14K gold ring that contains a 1925 2-1/2 dollar Indian-head gold coin. The centrally positioned coin is surrounded by 12 prong-set round diamonds, with each stone weighing approximately 4 points. This distinctive, chunky (18.2 drams/11.7dwt) ring comes to auction with a $700-$1,200 estimate.
Stephenson’s Friday, July 18 Jewelry, Silver & Objets d’Art Summer Auction will commence at 4 p.m. Eastern Time. Internet live bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.
For additional information on any lot in the sale, call Cindy Stephenson at 215-322-6182 or e-mail info@stephensonsauction.com.
View the fully illustrated online catalog and sign up to bid absentee or live via the Internet at www.LiveAuctioneers.com.
Three sterling silver Georg Jensen brooches, each estimated at $200-$400. Stephenson’s Auction image
KPM porcelain double-cherub figurine, est. $160-$300. Stephenson’s Auction image
Five-piece sterling silver coffee and tea service, total weight 72.555ozt, est. $1,500-$1,800. Stephenson’s Auction image
Weinranck & Schmidt Hanau sterling silver swing kettle on marked stand, total weight: 53.415ozt, est. $1,600-$3,000. Stephenson’s Auction image
Men’s 14K gold ring featuring a 1925 2-1/2 dollar Indian-head gold coin surrounded by 12 prong-set round diamonds, est. $700-$1,200. Stephenson’s Auction image
14K white and yellow gold bracelet, facing panthers with diamond eyes, est. 72.555ozt., est. $800-$1,200. Stephenson’s Auction image
14K white gold bracelet with 15 champagne-color diamonds, each surrounded by 10 white diamonds. Total diamond weight: 5.0 carats, est. $1,000-$2,000. Stephenson’s Auction image
Gilt and enamel on cobalt blue French porcelain dresser box containing three perfume bottles with matching lids, est. $600-$1,000. Stephenson’s Auction image
14K gold triple-strand charm bracelet with 22 gold charms, est. $2,500-$4,000. Stephenson’s Auction image
This rare Tennessee ring jug is the most elaborately decorated Southern example of the form found to date, and was made by Civil War era potter Christopher Haun. Est. $16,000-$18,000. Case Antiques image KNOXVILLE, Tenn.— An exceptionally rare Southern pottery ring bottle discovered at a local appraisal fair leads a lineup of more than 800 lots of fine art and antiques at the Summer Case Antiques Auction, set for July 19 at the company’s gallery in Knoxville. Internet live bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.
The copper oxide and lead glazed earthenware bottle was made in the shape of a ring, which allowed it to hang easily from a saddle. Although a utilitarian form, company president John Case said it is the most elaborately decorated Southern ring bottle discovered to date, and the only such known form by Tennessee potter Christopher Haun. Haun is remembered not only as an excellent potter, but also for his role in Civil War history: he was part of a group of Union sympathizers executed for burning the Confederate-controlled Lick Creek Bridge in Greene County, Tennessee, in 1861. Haun’s pottery is highly sought after by collectors, and this ring jug is estimated at $16,000-$18,000. Pottery is a specialty at Case, so auction-goers can expect to find other examples of antique Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia and Midwestern pottery in the sale.
Fine Art constitutes the largest category in the auction. American paintings include an oil on canvas marine scene by influential artist Albert Pinkham Ryder (1847-1917), originally owned by sculptor Henry Augustus Lukeman (1872-1935); it is accompanied by extensive provenance documentation and a radiography report and estimated at $30,0000-$40,000. A bronze sculpture, “The Star,” by American female sculptor Harriet Frishmuth (1880-1980), fresh from a Tennessee estate, is expected to be another key lot, along with a sharecropping scene by William Aiken Walker (1839-1921), and an original drawing by French Impressionist master Camille Pisarro (1830-1903), depicting the artist’s mother. A still life by Ralph Wormeley Curtis (1854-1922), harbor scene by Hayley Lever (1876-1958), landscape by Carroll Thayer Berry (1886-1978), 3 pencil drawings by Alfred Hutty (1877-1954), and duck hunting scene by Aiden L. Ripley (1896-1969) are also featured. Western art includes a Harry Jackson (1924-1911) bronze figure of John Wayne, works by Howard Rogers (b. 1932), Lowell Ellsworth Smith (b. 1924) and Gerald Farm (b. 1935), and 2 cowboy paintings by Carl Hantman (b. 1935), one of which was used as the cover illustration for a Western novel. Art and Military collectors alike are expected to compete for a 19th century portrait of Confederate General Robert E. Lee by Cornelius Hankins (1863-1946) and a William Cary (1840-1922) painting of Teddy Roosevelt and his Rough Riders storming San Juan Hill.
The sale also features a larger-than-usual selection of 20th century art from the Nashville collection of Stephen and Lisa Steiner Small, many of it by Southern artists: a trompe l’oeil “Punch and Judy” scene and a “Humpty Dumpty” scene by Werner Wildner (1925-2004), a Circus Parade scene by Kentucky memory painter Helen LaFrance (b. 1919), an abstract by Kentucky artist Henry Faulkner (1924-1981), and two works by Noel Rockmore (1928-1995; an urban landscape and a portrait of two New Orleans Preservation Hall jazz musicians). The collection also includes a folk art landscape by Charles Wysocki (1929-2002), and surrealist works by Carlo Canevari (1922-1996), John Foote (1921-1968) and Aaron Bohrod (1907-1992).
European paintings in the auction include Paris views by Jules Rene Herve (1887-1981) and Antoine Blanchard (1910-1988), a large oil of a little girl with her doll by Edmund Adler Rode (1876-1965), a 16th century Italian portrait after Antonio Maria Crespi (Il Bustino), a large Battle of Waterloo scene by Charles Hoffbauer (1875-1957) and a pair of 19th century “nature morte” game still lifes by English painter George Morland (1763-1804). A collection of Salvador Dali works including a gold sculpture “Christ of St. John on the Cross,” 2 bas relief silver plaques “Lincoln in Dalivision” and “Last Supper”, and a tapestry, “Battle Round a Dandelion”, all with authentication, plus serigraphs by Robert Rauschenberg and Andy Warhol and 2 lithographs by Joan Miro, round out the art highlights.
“This is Case’s largest offering to date of mid-century modern material, not just art but also furniture and accessories,” pointed out Sarah Drury, Case’s Vice President for Fine and Decorative Arts, adding that demand for 20th century items is increasing as well. Among the expected highlights is a “Frenchman’s Cove” cherry dining table made by George Nakashima in1968 for NASA research pilot Philip Brown of Atlanta. There are also 3 tables by Philip and Kelvin Laverne, Knoll and Eames chairs, midcentury posters, a collection of Bjorn Wiinblad ceramics (including a life size figural sculpture) and 20th century art glass by Lalique, David Hutchthausen, and Charles Lotton.
Adding sparkle to the sale is a 5.06 carat diamond ring with full GIA report, estimated at $30,000-$40,000. The oldest piece of jewelry in the sale is an 18K gold ring by William Fearn of London, dating from 1835, but other periods are represented as well. There are several Art Deco brooches and a 1.65 carat diamond and sapphire ring, a 3-stone mine cut diamond ring, and even a rare 19th century jeweler’s lathe. A vintage Patek Philippe pocketwatch and other vintage wristwatches, groups of jewelry by John Hardy and David Yurman, Southwestern and sterling jewelry, and a good selection of vintage costume and bakelite jewelry, are also for sale.
Civil War material and historic documents are an increasingly important category at Case. This auction includes an archive of letters related to the Tennessee 8th Infantry with graphic descriptions of the war’s toll, photographs including a half-plate tintype showing a cannon and several soldiers from the Keystone Battery of Pennsylvania, along with a collection of Civil War battle maps issued in the 1870s, and an 1809 map of Virginia by Samuel Lewis. Other interesting ephemera includes documents signed by Patrick Henry, Andrew Jackson, James K. Polk, John F. Kennedy, John Sevier, and Mark Twain, and a land grant signed by Sam Houston two days before he officially became Tennessee’s governor. There are also about two dozen historic firearms in the sale, including a Civil War brass frame revolver (possibly Griswold), 9 Colt Army, Navy and pocket revolvers, and a Sharps Model 1859 Carbine.
Furniture offerings include a Sheraton carved work table attributed to Salem, Massachusetts, a Windsor settee attributed to Pennsylvania, an Edwardian floral marquetry desk and painted Satinwood breakfront and ladies’ desk. There also are two Southern sugar chests in the sale, plus an East Tennessee cherry Jackson Press and walnut corner cupboard,
A stunning 6-piece coin silver tea service made by Charles Burnett, a leading silversmith of Alexandria, Virginia, is one of nine silver tea services in the auction. There is also a New York coin silver tea service by John and James Cox, an 18th century Boston tankard by William Simpkins, and coin silver from Tennessee, Kentucky and South Carolina (mulberry pattern). A large collection of sterling hollowware by S. Kirk and Sons and Steiff in the Repousse and Baltimore rose pattern includes a tea service, candlesticks, and various bowls, plus 3 flatware services in those popular patterns. Also offered are flatware and hollowware from other American makers such as Gorham and Wallace, and a large Kirk Castle pattern centerpiece.
Porcelain collectors will find much to love in this sale, including an outstanding Meissen figural centerpiece with candelabra, a French Sevres-style tea service decorated with battle scenes and several pairs of Sevres style urns, a pair of Worcester Barr Flight Barr urns, Paris Porcelain, Staffordshire, Herend items, and Austrian portrait plates.
Tennessee’s Milligan College selected Case to sell several Chinese items they are deaccessioning, among them a Qing Civil Officer’s Surcoat and leggings and a silk robe with undergarments and a rare Manchu official’s winter hat. Other Asian arts items in the sale include a rare large Chinese export Hawthorne bowl, Famille Rose jars, plaques and bowls, a collection of Imari and Canton porcelain, and white and green jade carved objects.
Early folk art and advertising includes a life sized cigar store Indian princess and a pair of black folk art carved ventriloquist dolls used for a traveling Tennessee minstrel show, along with trade signs, a painted barber pole and copper doll molds. Toys include a large collection of Lionel trains, an award-winning 1933 scale model Dewitt Clinton Model Passenger Locomotive, a group of cast iron toys and banks, and various German and French dolls (including a possible Bru).
Other notable offerings are a rare Tennessee needlework house sampler, a pair of hand carved black ventriloquist’s dummies once used in a Tennessee traveling minstrel show, a collection of Bohemian/Moser glass, a Federal carved work table attributed to Salem, Mass., a brass ship’s wheel from the USS Yosemite, ship lanterns and other nautical collectibles, and oriental rugs.
The auction takes place on Saturday, July 19, starting at 9 a.m. EST. For additional information on any item in the sale, call the Knoxville gallery at 865-558-3033 or the company’s Nashville office at 615-812-6096 or email info@caseantiques.com.
View the fully illustrated catalog and sign up to bid absentee or live via the Internet at www.LiveAuctioneers.com.
This rare Tennessee ring jug is the most elaborately decorated Southern example of the form found to date, and was made by Civil War era potter Christopher Haun. Est. $16,000-$18,000. Case Antiques image
A desolate marine painting by American romantic visionary painter Albert Pinkham Ryder (1847-1917) is estimated at $30,000-$40,000, and accompanied by documented provenance and radiography report. Case Antiques image
A George Nakashima ‘Frenchman’s Cove #2’ cherry dining table leads a selection of midcentury modern furniture and accessories. Est. $8,000-$10,000. Case Antiques image
‘The Artist’s Mother,’ original drawing by Camille Pissarro (French, 1830-1903), with exhibition history. Est. $4,500-$5,500. Case Antiques image
An oil on canvas painting of Teddy Roosevelt storming San Juan Hill by American illustrator and Roosevelt friend William de la Montagne Cary (American, 1840-1922), one of several military-themed artworks in the auction, is estimated at $2,000-$2,500. Case Antiques image
Federal coin silver tea and coffee service by Charles Burnett (1769-1849, Alexandria, Va./Georgetown, DC), one of several silver tea services in the auction. Estimate: $8,000-$10,000. Case Antiques image
Emile Louis Picault (French, 1833-1915) patinated bronze figure ‘The Whaler,’ $13,200. Capo Auction image
LONG ISLAND CITY, N.Y. – Capo Auction Fine Art and Antiques’ first summer auction in New York on Saturday, June 28th featured exquisite bronze figures, along with a contemporary sculpture and a traditional Steinway. LiveAuctioneers provided Internet live-bidding services for the sale.
A beautiful Emile Louis Picault (French, 1833-1915) patinated bronze figure The Whaler, which is 23 inches high, with signature incised and numbered 8901 (on plinth), sold for $13,200.
Along with that, a Romain de Tirtoff (Erté, Russian/French, 1892-1990) bronze figure La Femme a la Panthere (L from the alphabet series) was dated 1980. Signed on the base “Erté,” it was also impressed “206/250 RKP INT. CORP 1980” with a JM foundry stamp. It stands 14 3/4 inches tall and sold for $5,400.
Another highly anticipated piece was the very unusual Carole A. Feuerman (American, b. 1945) sculpture called Waterskier, which is painted resin and stands 36 inches high (without base). This sold for $15,600. And, on the more traditional side, Capo Auction sold a magnificent Steinway piano, serial no. 236473, 1932, in mahogany case with an associated bench. Length 64 inches. It sold for $7,800.
To contact Capo Auction, call 718-433-3710.
View the fully illustrated catalog for Capo’s June 28 auction, complete with prices realized, at www.LiveAuctioneers.com.
March Avery (American, b. 1932) Kitchen Window, 1966, oil on canvas. Est. $1,000-2,000. Material Culture image
PHILA., Pa. – Material Culture’s July 18 auction, “Fine, Self-Taught & Outsider Art,” provides a stage for many categories of art across its 564 lots. The auction house, a leader in folk and self-taught art, brings forward the work of many such artists in this sale, from the United States and around the world. Fine art consists primarily of American and European paintings, prints, and works on paper from the 19th century through the present day.
The sale commences at 10 a.m., EST, on Friday, July 18, with LiveAuctioneers providing Internet live-bidding services. This diversity of art will be exhibited, free and open to the public, in Material Culture’s gallery space July 16-17, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
One of the leading artists in fine art is American painter March Avery (b. 1932), daughter of Milton Avery. Trained by her father, March’s work displays the focus on color relation, rendering the representational also abstract, that made Milton’s work so important amongst his colleagues Mark Rothko, Barnett Newman and Marsden Hartley. The younger Avery’s finest works at auction are the 1966 oil on canvas painting “Hadrian’s Olives” (lot 414) and the 1975-77 oil on canvas board “Catnap” or “Caleb and Friend” (lot 418). Another 20th century female American painter shown at auction is Dorothy Heller (1917-2003), represented by a work of oil on canvas, a portrait of a woman in long, abstract expressionist brushstrokes (lot 419).
Material Culture’s sale also showcases the work of Hans Christoph Drexel (1886-1979), a German artist whose successful early career was quashed by the Nazis. Denouncing his dark work as degenerate, the Nazi censors forbade him to paint. Like many German artists of this period, Drexel’s art has remained largely hidden from view. The present works were discovered in the estate of Drexel’s godson, Dr. Christof Heinicke, and include a range of works from pre WWI to post WWII. His nine works at auction highlight his mastery of watercolor and his expressionistic use of pastel. Perhaps most striking is his untitled work of watercolor, gouache and pastel on paper, depicting a black bird in flight under an equally dark sky, separated by folk buildings and a watchtower in bright yellow and blue (lot 126). In addition to landscapes, several portraits by Drexel come to auction, the faces in them at once familiar and unsettling (lots 124, 130, 131). Another German-born artist featured at auction is Albert Urban (1909-1959), with six lots of his abstract compositions dating to 1945. Nearly-recognizable forms leap and recede from the geometrical webs of these ink on paper drawings, both colored and black and white (lots 386-391).
Exceptional works by self-taught artists will be on offer. Eleven lots by Purvis Young (1943-2010), a native of Miami, displays the artist’s marriage of assemblage and painting, as in the untitled piece that unites masonite, cardboard, fabric and wood as surfaces for painted figures and buildings (lot 36). The artist’s common themes of the African-American experience and urban life are seen in many of the paintings at auction. American self-taught artist Justin McCarthy (1891-1977) is shown in three paintings that exemplify his variety of subjects. “Christ Carrying the Cross” (lot 27), a strolling couple in “University Campus” (lot 28), and a landscape of “Lake Wallenpaupackke” (lot 29) are all rendered in McCarthy’s bright color and exuberant line. A portrait of McCarthy (lot 31) by another notable self-taught American artist, Jack Savitsky (1910-1991), shares the provenance of the McCarthy figural paintings, coming to auction through the collection of Patricia L. and Morris C. Thompson.
Displayed first among self-taught artists is Ghanian painter Kwame Akoto or “Almighty God,” born in 1950. The eight lots (17-24) by this famous street artist exhibit a number of the subjects for which he has become known, including depictions of animals with a moral theme or anti-smoking message, spiritual or political allegories, and portraits, from his daughters to African Kings. The auction also features a wealth of self-taught art, comprising forty-five lots, from the Living Museum, which fosters the creative talents of the patients of the Creedmoor Psychiatric Institute. Several of the Museum’s star artists, including Issa Ibrahim (b. 1965), Richard A. Smith (b. 1947) and John Tursi (b. 1961) are highlighted in this auction. Ibrahim blends pop culture such as cartoons and action heroes with political messages or erotic situations; his leading pieces at auction are “Justice League” (lot 84), a large canvas depicting President Obama, Michelle Obama and Joe Biden as Superman, Wonder Woman and the Green Lantern, and a painting of Michael Jackson with mixed-media collage (lot 85). Smith’s erotic drawings play with proportion and are often colored with food products, such as mustard. Eight lots by Tursi exhibit the artist’s use of prismatic color and vibrating contrast in the geometrical construction of his surreal faces. Other American self-taught artists shown at auction include Mose Tolliver (1925-2006), Richard Burnside (b. 1940), Barbara Strawser (20th century), Missionary Mary Proctor (20th century) and R.A. Miller (1912-2006).
Other leading lots in fine art painting include a portrait of Saint Sebastian in the manner of Guido Reni (Italian, 1575-1642), oil on canvas in a gilt frame (lot 232), and a still life with flowers by Jeanne de Kock (European, 19th-20th century), also oil on canvas (lot 234). Another still life, by Russian-American artist Joseph Solman (1909-2008) depicts a group of items alongside large windows suggestive of an artist’s studio (lot 405). An oil painting of the Schuylkill Bridge (lot 381) by Giovanni Martino (American, 1908-1997), a still life by Margaret E. Short (American, 20th c.) and two paintings by John Van Dreal (American, 20th c.) round out the category. Featured watercolors include paintings by Christian Ernst Bernhard Morgenstern (German, 1805-1867), Aaron Draper Shattuck (American, 1832-1928), Colin Campbell Cooper (American, 1856-1937), Ignat Bednarik (Romanian, 1882-1963), Ben Benn (Russian/American, 1884-1983) and Adolf Arthur Dehn (American, 1895-1968).
Fine art is also highlighted in works on paper by well-known painters, such as three etchings (lots 243-245) by James Abbott McNeill Whistler (American, 1834-1903), and six lots of drawings (lots 205-210) by Henri Lebasque (French, 1865-1937). Drawing includes “Market Scene at Piazza di SanMarco Venice” (lot 154) by Andre Maire (French, 1898-1984), a portrait, possibly of painter Jacob Lawrence (lot 457), by Raphael Soyer (American, 1899-1987) and an abstract composition (lot 400) by Taro Yamamoto (American, 1919-1994). Many lithographs and etchings by significant artists are featured in the sale, including pieces by Frank Weston Benson (American, 1862-1951), Ellison Hoover (American, 1888-1955), Reginald Marsh (American 1898-1954), Louis Lozowick (American, 1892-1973), Harold Altman (American, 1924-2003) and Henry Moore (British, 1898-1986). Illustration art from the turn of the 20th century is showcased in work by Leon Guipon (American, 1872-1910), Edwin Megargee (American, 1883-1958) and Grace Gebbie Wiederseim Drayton (American, 1877-1936).
A strong collection of Haitian art at the sale is led by three pieces by Georges Liautaud, frequently regarded as the artistic father of all subsequent metalwork in the country. The steel sculptures at auction are two-dimensional renderings of sprightly people, goats, or the two together (lots 63-65), and their provenance includes the Thompson collection, as above. Among Haitian painting and prints, “The Massacre,” by William Jean Louis (20th century) stands out (lot 66). The savagery of the title’s action, at bottom center, is offset by the breathtaking beauty of the landscape that surrounds.
Other highlights of the auction include over thirty lots of Japanese woodblock prints, with pieces by Utagawa Hiroshige (also known as Ando Hiroshige), Katsushika Hokusai, Utagawa Kuniyoshi, Utagawa Toyohiro and Utagawa Kunisada. A group of eight Asian painted panels, tree-filled landscapes populated with animals such as cranes and deer, will be auctioned together (lot 342). The auction also opens with a series of vintage posters, led by a linen-backed lithograph of a Brigitte Bardot film (lot 1). Made for distribution in Italy, the poster bears the title “Piace a Troppi,” for the 1956 French film “Et Dieu…crea la femme” (“And God Created Woman”).
View the fully illustrated auction catalog and sign up to bid absentee or live via the Internet at www.LiveAuctioneers.com.
March Avery (American, b. 1932) Kitchen Window, 1966, oil on canvas. Est. $1,000-2,000. Material Culture image
Justin McCarthy (American, 1891-1977) Christ Carrying the Cross, 1960s. Provenance: The Collection of Patricia L. and Maurice C. Thompson. Est. $1,000-1,500. Material Culture image
Hans Christoph Drexel (German, 1886- 1979) Untitled (Chickens), watercolor and gouache on paper. Est. $1,000-1,500. Material Culture image
Frank Weston Benson (American, 1862-1951) Old Tom (246, Paff), 1926, drypoint etching from an edition of 150. Est. $1,000-2,000. Material Culture image
Joseph Solman (Russian/American 1909-2008) Still Life, oil on board. Est. $2,000-3,000. Material Culture image
Dorothy Heller (American/New York, 1917-2003) Abstract Expressionist Portrait of a Woman, oil on canvas, old repairs. Est. $1,000-2,000. Material Culture image
A visually arresting Berlin KPM plaque featuring the Three Fates set the record for this plaque image and size, realizing $36,000. John Moran image PASADENA, Calif. – John Moran Auctioneers’ June 17th Decorative Art Auction offered an eclectic mix of mid century modern furniture, Arts and Crafts furniture and decorative arts, Continental porcelain, bronzes, European paintings, silver, Native American artifacts, works on paper by celebrated 20th century modernists, and more. The diverse selection particularly appealed to online buyers using LiveAuctioneers, who responded in larger than usual numbers. Online bidders snapped up a quarter of the lots offered and, in so doing, helped establish a number of records.
Arts and Crafts furniture and decorative arts proved its continued relevance in the Southern California market, finding buyers willing to pay strong prices. A Gustav Stickley chest of drawers (model no. 906) shot past its initial estimate of $6000 – $8000, earning a final price realized of $12,000 (all prices include 20% buyer’s premium). A quintessential Dirk Van Erp copper and mica table lamp incited a bidding war among prospective buyers via telephone, ultimately going for $14,400, well over the estimated $5000 to $8000. Directly following, a gorgeous leaded glass and patinated metal table lamp with a daffodil-adorned shade earned a very respectable $1845 at the block (estimate: $800 to $1000).
Antique Continental and British decorative arts were certainly in high demand. A finely painted Berlin / KPM plaque depicting the Three Fates brought a record price for that subject, realizing $36,000 (estimate: $10,000 – $15,000). A French provincial gilt bronze-mounted walnut commode with an inscription chiseled to the top of the case caused quite a stir leading up to the auction. Prospective online bidders were all abuzz with queries prior to the sale, however, the commode ended up earning a handsome price of $22,050 after a determined bidder cast the winning bid via telephone (estimate: $8000 to $12,000). A giltwood over-mantel mirror, elaborately carved in George II style, was given a conservative pre-auction estimate of $3000 – $5000 but easily doubled the high estimate, fetching a final price of $11,922.50.
Smaller pieces across all genres and time periods of decorative arts achieved hearty prices, as well. A fun collection of exuberantly modeled sterling silver circus clowns was a hit, finding a buyer for $2280 (estimate: $800 to $1200). Late in the sale, a Russian icon of St. Nicholas drew attention from international buyers, tying up a number of phone lines with interested parties. Estimated to bring between $1500 and $2500, the icon found a buyer for $3900. A pair of Meissen porcelain figural candelabra, each adorned with roses, birds, and butterflies, thoroughly charmed online buyers, selling for $3997.50 (estimate: $1000 – $1500.)
It was the category of modern art, however, that stirred up the most excitement in the weeks preceding the June 17th auction, and the final results did not disappoint, particularly for an impeccably documented group of prints from a local collection. Just eighteen lots into the sale, a record was set for Marc Chagall’s lithograph “Le Prophète” when number 42 from an edition of 50 sold for $9000 (estimate: $2500 – $3500). “Boomerang”, a color lithograph by iconic New York modernist Alexander Calder, earned $3900, well over the estimated $800 – $1200. Works by Spanish artists Joan Miró and Pablo Picasso also brought impressive prices. “La Femme des Sables” by Miró brought $24,000 (estimate: $8000 – $10,000), while Picasso’s “Femme Couchee et Homme à la Guitare” realized $19,200 (estimate: $5000 – $7000). Expected to realize between $800 and $1200, an original mixed media collage on fabric titled “The Bird Party”, by modern San Francisco artist Jean Varda, set the record for the artist’s work when was purchased for $2384.50 by an online bidder.
Additional sale highlights include:
• Henry Chapman Ford’s etching of the Santa Barbara Mission, which realized $1592.50 (estimate: $600 – $800).
• A pair of 1930s Japanese cloisonné vases, both from an Altadena, CA estate and each assigned a pre-auction estimate of $300 – $500, brought $1080 and $1200, respectively.
• A gorgeous, tightly woven Teec Nos Pas Navajo rug, circa 1930, handily outstripped the conservative $1500 – $2000 estimate and realized $3382.50.
• A charming oil on panel painting of a woman in profile by British artist Edwin Harris, measuring a mere 8” high by 6” wide, found an enthusiastic buyer for $3600 (estimate: $1500 – $2000).
Moran’s next Antiques and Decorative Arts Auction is scheduled for Tuesday, July 22, 2014, with another to follow on Tuesday, September 23, 2014. LiveAuctioneers will provide the Internet live-bidding services for both sales.
For more information on Moran’s sales, both past and upcoming, please contact John Moran Auctioneers directly at: info@johnmoran.com or 626-793-1833. Consignment inquiries are always welcome.
View the fully illustrated catalog for John Moran’s June 17 auction, complete with prices realized, at www.LiveAuctioneers.com.
A visually arresting Berlin KPM plaque featuring the Three Fates set the record for this plaque image and size, realizing $36,000. John Moran image
Fresh to the market from a private Las Vegas, Nev., collection, this late 18th-century French provincial gilt bronze-mounted walnut commode found a new home for $22,050 (estimate: $8,000 – $12,000). John Moran image
Carrying a presale estimate of $1,500-$2,500, this early 20th-century Russian icon featuring a painted portrait of St. Nicholas on panel surrounded by silver-gilt and enamel oklad earned a $3,900 price tag. John Moran image
Setting the record for this image at auction, Marc Chagall’s ‘Le Prophete’ sold for $9,000 (estimate: $2,500-$3,500). John Moran image
This Navajo woven Teec Nos Pos rug, executed in typically complex design and coloration, was sold to an online bidder to the tune of $3,382.50 (estimate: $1,500-$2,000). John Moran image
This diminutive oil portrait by British artist Edwin Harris realized $3,600, well over its estimated $1,500-$2,000 selling price. John Moran image
Image courtesy of HeritageCLEVELAND – The gloves that Muhammad Ali wore in his 1971 Championship bout against Joe Frazier – the first of three fights between the two giants of pugilism, which would culminate in the legendary “Thrilla in Manila” – will cross the auction block on Thursday night, July 31, 2014, in Heritage Auctions’ Sports Collectibles Platinum Night Auction at The House of Blues in Cleveland, Ohio.
“This match was billed as ‘The Fight of the Century,’ and, despite the fact that Ali lost, it more than lived up to its billing,” said Heritage spokesman Chris Ivy. “It was a controversial fight at a controversial time in America and the bout took on distinctly political and cultural overtones. These gloves are more than sports memorabilia; they’re artifacts of early-1970s American Pop Culture.”
At the time, both fighters owned a legitimate claim to the Heavyweight Championship of the World, though only Frazier held the title officially. Ali’s reign, which had begun in 1964 when he had beaten Sonny Liston, ended because of his refusal to enter the Vietnam draft. He became the most polarizing figure in American sports, fueling an antipathy within a segment of the American populace unseen since the reign of Jack Johnson. The country was polarized around the match: those who supported the Vietnam War and the failing cause of racial segregation vs. the anti-war crowd and those who favored the Civil Rights movement.
“To top it off, each combatant was guaranteed $2.5 million for the bout, a record purse that lent perspective to the enormity of the contest,” added Ivy. “The fight sold out a month before the event with ringside seats commanding a record $150, with even Frank Sinatra unable to get his hands on one. He ended up with a press credential, taking photos ringside for Life Magazine. The bout was quite literally the most star-studded event in Big Apple sports history.”
Ali dominated the early rounds with deft footwork and a pumping jab. Frazier stalked the elusive former Champ, looking to uncork the devastating left hook that had spelled doom for many of his earlier victims. Slowly the tide began to turn as the fight wore on, Frazier’s sledgehammer blows exposing the ring rust on the former Champion.
Ali continued to paw at Frazier’s face but the answers came with far more punishing authority and, in the late rounds, it was evident that only a knockout could salvage the night for the Louisville Lip.
“It was Ali that nearly ended up getting knocked out in the fifteenth round at 2:34,” said Ivy. “It was the exclamation point to Frazier’s dominating victory. All three judges declared Frazier the victor, setting the stage for the 1974 rematch at MSG and the historic finale to the trilogy at Manila in 1975.”
These gloves, according to Heritage specialists, are the most significant boxing gloves to reach the auction block since those worn by Ali to claim his first World Championship from Sonny Liston in 1964 drew a final bid of $836,500 in a Heritage auction in New York City. Like those gloves, these derive from the personal collection of Ali’s renowned trainer Angelo Dundee.
This first professional loss for Muhammad Ali gave birth to the narrative that the former Champion was now a “has-been” who should have remained in exile from the sport, setting the stage for what may be his most celebrated victory against the heavily favored George Foreman in Zaire. Though Ali would publicly decry the loss, he privately acknowledged the legitimacy of Frazier’s victory, setting a course for his own redefinition from an arrogant invincible to resilient three-time Champion of the World.
“In order to be a three-time World Champion, Ali had to lose twice,” said Ivy. “This was the fight that steeled his resolve and set him firmly on the path to becoming the Greatest of All Time and one of the most beloved athletes of any sport, or any nation, in history.”
Civil War ordnance sergeant’s cavalry ‘shell’ jacket with correct belt and colt-type black leather holster ($3,510). Mohawk Arms image BOUCKVILLE, N.Y. – A Confederate cannonball from the Battle of Gettysburg, mounted on three brass leg finials and engraved in script “Rebel shell – Gettysburg 1863,” sold for $5,850 at Mohawk Arms’ Auction #71, held June 13th-14th online through LiveAuctioneers and at the firm’s gallery in Bouckville. The “plugs” had been removed from the seven-pound shell, exposing two threaded openings.
The auction featured hundreds of military items from multiple wars and generations. Headlining the sale was a single-owner lifetime collection of items from the Civil War through World Wars I and II. These included swords, combat gear, headgear, belts, buckles, uniforms and guns. Also sold were 300 lots of helmets and hats, over 100 uniforms, edged weapons and mannequin sets.
“We were very pleased with the results of this, our 71st auction,” said Ray Zyla, the owner of Mohawk Arms, Inc. “Interest in the Americana items (which included the Rebel cannonball and took into account items from the colonial era to the Civil War, the Spanish-American War and World Wars I and II) is what really put us over the top. Those items did well across the board.”
Zyla added, “American World War II items and groupings are gaining in popularity, especially when they can be connected to specific individuals. That personalizes them and makes them more desirable. It used to be that a helmet or a uniform with no provenance or anything to link it to a soldier or unit would be enough. Today, people want to know the history behind the item.”
Other categories that fared well were mannequins (all sold except one), American helmets from World Wars I and II, and firearms (especially Civil War carbines). Bids poured in from around the world – Canada, Russia, Italy, England, Germany and even Asia.
By the time that last of the nearly 1,800 lots had crossed the block, the auction grossed a total of around $480,000. Zyla estimated between 75 and 80 people attended the auction in person, while another 800 registered to bid online. Phone and absentee bids were also recorded. Following are additional highlights from the auction. All prices quoted include a 17 percent buyer’s premium.
A Civil War felt fez hat worn by a member of the 11th New York Fire Zouaves (a unit that saw action in the battles of Bull Run and Manassas), with original full blue yarn, knot and tassel, with multiple strands, brought $5,850. Also, a Union Army M1858 “Hardee Hat” (also known as the “Jeff Davis hat”), worn by a member of Company I, 4th U.S. Cavalry, very rare, brought $3,627.
Also from the Civil War, a Confederate state of Louisiana Bowie knife, made circa 1860 with a 7 ¾ inch blade and showing the Louisiana state seal with a mother pelican feeding her young made $3,393. Also, an Ordnance Sergeant’s Cavalry “shell” jacket, with a period-correct Cavalry belt, a Colt-type black leather holster, cap box, pistol box and leather shoulder strap, went for $3,510.
The top lot of the auction was a uniform worn by SS officer Karl Franz, the last Kommandant of the Nazi concentration camp at Treblinka, a custom four-pocket white linen summer tunic with silk lined sleeves and other features ($10,238). Also, a 33-inch wood cross bar and cords for the “Deutschland Erwache” standard, with turned “acorn” ends and matching tassels, made $5,967.
From the firearms category, a Sharps new model 1859-1863 percussion saddle ring carbine, with a receiver marked “C. Sharps Pat. Oct. 5th, 1852” and “R. S. Lawrence, Patented Feb. 15th, 1859” with clean stock and forearm, rang out at $4,329. Also, a Civil War Green Breech loading rifle with unusual .53 caliber percussion underhammer bolt action mechanism hit the mark for $3,276.
A Civil War Spencer repeating carbine, with the top of the frame marked “Spencer Repeating Rifle Co., Boston, Mass, Pat’d March 6, 1860,” with light patina on the blued 20-inch barrel marked “M. 1865,” breezed to $3,042. Also, a German World War II “Panzer Faust,” designed to be a portable one-man anti-tank weapon (very effective against Soviet tanks) fetched $2,691.
Tops in the edged swords category was a Japanese Yasukuni shrine sword, with a tang signed “Yasunori” and dated “A Lucky Day in March 1941,” with handmade 26 ¾ inch curved blade ($5,265). And from headgear, a German Army General’s World War II peaked cap made of fine quality doeskin, with gold metal eagle with swastika and gold wire cord piping, rose to $4,212.
A complete United States Marine World War I uniform on a mannequin, worn by a K. H. Becker, with an M1912 wool olive drab tunic, matching trousers and peaked cap, ankle-high boots and field-worn helmet, garnered $4,212. Also, a German Third Reich SA Oberfuhrer (for Westfallen) field service, four-pocket gold-brown wool uniform with breeches brought $2,925.
Mohawk Arms’ next big auction (#72) is planned for November, probably in the second or third weekend. Already consigned is a large collection of military medals, plus antique guns and swords. Consignments for this and all future auctions are being sought. Tel. 315-893-7888, or e-mail Mohawk@MilitaryRelics.com.
View the fully illustrated catalog for Mohawk Arms’ June auction, complete with prices realized, at www.LiveAuctioneers.com.
Civil War ordnance sergeant’s cavalry ‘shell’ jacket with correct belt and colt-type black leather holster ($3,510). Mohawk Arms image
Confederate cannonball from the Battle of Gettysburg (1863), mounted on three brass leg finials ($5,850). Mohawk Arms image
Very rare Civil War blue felt fez hat worn by a member of the 11th New York Fire Zouaves ($5,850). Mohawk Arms image
Sharps new model 1859-1863 percussion saddle ring carbine rifle with clean stock and forearm ($4,329). Mohawk Arms image
Third Reich wood cross bar and cords for the ‘Deutschland Erwache’ standard, 33 inches long ($5,967). Mohawk Arms image
SS uniform worn by Karl Franz, last Kommandant of the Nazi concentration camp at Treblinka ($10,238). Mohawk Arms image
Japanese Yasukuni shrine sword with tang signed ‘Yasunori’ and inscribed ‘A Lucky Day in March 1941’ ($5,625). Mohawk Arms image
From left: John Tkachuk (a dealer and researcher of colonial-era documents), Ray Zyla (owner of Mohawk Arms, Inc.), Igor Folomeyev (a dealer-collector from Moscow) and Mark Zyla (Ray’s son). Mohawk Arms image
Click here to view the fully illustrated catalog for this sale, complete with prices realized.
