NEW ORLEANS – A luxurious selection of European and American fine and decorative art, furniture and antiques; and superb Chinese jade carvings will greet bidders in New Orleans Auction Galleries’ April 9-10 auction. Adding extra sparkle to the already dazzling array is a signed David Webb 18K gold, diamond and sapphire ring estimated at $50,000-$80,000. Internet live bidding will be available throughout the two-day sale through LiveAuctioneers.com.
The Asian art category is led by a large Chinese carved black and white jade snuff bottle. The bulbous body is carved in relief, the front showing a man in a boat greeting a passenger carrying a spray of ling chih. The reverse is carved with a scene of a scholar and attendant among serrated rockwork. Standing a diminutive 3½ inches tall, it is estimated at $8,000-$12,000.
The top Asian lot is a superb double-sided Chinese carved white jade landscape, the front depicting a waterside pavilion in a mountainous landscape and the reverse displaying another scene of natural terrain. Both sides are expertly carved, with a dimensional qualities that invites the viewer to enter the scene. Measuring 9¼ inches high by 10¾ inches long (excluding stand), it is expected to make $9,000-$12,000 on auction day.
After Raphael Sanzio da Urbino, known simply as “Raphael” (Italian, 1483-1520), a fourth quarter 18th-century oil on canvas title Madonna of the Chair measures 29¾ by 29½ inches. It is presented in a molded and heavily carved giltwood frame with corner acanthine accents and side shell patterns, the slip with corner scrolling designs centered by maiden’s heads. The artwork could finish in the $4,000 to $7,000 range.
New Orleans Auction Galleries has distinguished itself many times in the past with its offerings of Southern regional art. In the April 9-10 sale, the company will present Alice Ravenel Huger Smith’s (American/South Carolina, 1876-1958) A Summer Duck in the Pool at Lavington, a signed watercolor on paper that retains a partial label identifying an agent for the Pan-Pacific International Exposition of 1915. Measuring 13 by 21¼ inches, the work is presented in a period molded giltwood frame with brass artist plaque. Estimate: $12,000-$18,000.
A statue with great presence is the 43½-inch tall, carved and gessoed 19th-century Continental figure of St. Sebastian. The martyred saint is depicted standing on a rocky base and tied to a tree, his near-nude body pierced with arrows while a halo rises behind his head. Provenance: Gift to “Buzz” Harper from the author Anne Rice, formerly of New Orleans and now of Rancho Mirage, California. The statue is estimated at $3,000-$5,000.
The furniture selection includes a signed Louis XV rosewood, kingwood and marble-top commode from the third quarter of the 18th century, by Jean-Francois Lapie (1720-1797; Master 1763). The shaped Rance marble top with a molded edge sits above a conforming bombe case fitted with two short drawers over two long drawers, all banded and quarter veneered, the sides with matchbook-veneered banded panels, raised on shaped legs to sabots. The top case rail is stamped “J.-F. LAPIE.” The commode carries a presale estimate of $5,000-$8,000.
Sleeping like a king is assured in a transitional American Late Classical into Rococo Revival mahogany full-tester bed from the third quarter of the 19th century and attributed to the shop of Charles Lee. The Massachusetts craftsman was known for his bedsteads supplied to the antebellum New Orleans and Southern furniture trade. The stepped and molded bed measures 124 inches tall, 77 inches wide and 91 inches long. Estimate: $7,000-$10,000.
An American Classical mahogany sofa, first quarter 19th century, featured a molded crest rail with four figural panels, the arms terminating in scrolls on vasiform supports, with molded seat rail and saber legs ending in hairy-paw feet. Of a quality far superior to what is found in new furniture stores, it is estimated at $1,500-$2,500.
One of the sale’s decorative-art highlights it the 3-piece German .800-silver Jugendstil table garniture, circa 1900, by M. H. Wilkens of Bremen. The suite includes a pair of candelabra, each in the form of a realistic bearded iris with one central and three surrounding blooms, all entwined with leaves, with a pair of putti at the base endeavoring to climb the stalks. Each piece is monogrammed on the cartouche “H.de L. V.” for Hugh de Lacy Vincent, and the total weight for the three pieces is 248.08 troy ounces. Provenance: Hugh de Lacy Vincent (1852-1913), to his son Hugh Evelyn Vincent (1890-1951), thence by descent through the family. Estimate: $3,000-$5,000.
A dazzling 18K yellow gold, diamond and sapphire ring by David Webb is composed of a central 6.67-carat marquise-cut diamond surrounded by 9.0 carats of pave-set round brilliant diamonds in two tapered sections, the yellow gold mounting accented on the sides with arches of caliber-cut blue sapphires. Inscribed “Webb,” the exquisitely designed ring is expected to realize $50,000-$80,000 at auction.
For information on any lot in the sale, call New Orleans Auction Galleries tollfree at 800-501-0277, or at 504-566-1849, or e-mail info@neworleansauction.com.
View the fully illustrated catalog and sign up to bid absentee or live via the Internet at www.LiveAuctioneers.com.
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ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE
