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renowned collections

Cottone’s auction Sept. 28 to disperse renowned collections

Tom Hoepf
Tom Hoepf
renowned collections
Tiffany Studios ‘Geranium’ table lamp, leaded glass and patinated bronze, 17-inch shade impressed ‘TIFFANY STUDIOS NY,’ 20½ inches tall (est. $60,000-$80,000). Cottone Auctions image

GENESEO, N.Y. – Cottone’s Fall Fine Art & Antiques Auction on Saturday, Sept. 28, will feature selections from the Peter Tillou collection out of Litchfield, Conn. Over the course of his 50-year career as a sought-after expert in a wide array of collecting categories, Tillou helped build some of the finest private collections of art and antiques in the United States. Bid absentee or live online through LiveAuctioneers.

The auction will also feature the impressive lifelong collection of Lorraine and the late Sy Merrall of Brighton, N.Y. Mr. Merrall, a former vice president at Bausch & Lomb, and his wife developed a passion for collecting midcentury modern furniture and design objects, including Hans Wegner, Finn Juhl, Mogens Koch and Isamu Noguchi, to name a few.

The auction will begin at noon Eastern Time.

More than 300 lots of fine art, Tiffany lamps (above), estate jewelry, automobiles, 20th century art and design, decorative arts, furniture and Asian objects will come under the gavel.

Standout lots from the Tillou collection include a “Maximillian” suit of armor, important Japanese Meji mixed metal vases, rare watercolors by Amedeo Preziosi (Maltese, 1816-1882), a fine collection of Oriental rugs, European furniture and Tang pottery figures.

renowned collections
Maximillian suit of armor, 16th century-style, exceptional quality, Peter Finer (London), from the Peter Tillou collection (est. $35,000-$55,000). Cottone Auctions image

Notable items from the Lorraine and Sy Merrall Collection include the iconic Danish-designed “Papa Bear” and “Chieftain” chairs by Hans Wegner and Finn Juhl (both est. $3,000-$5,000).

The auction is filled with tantalizing offerings, such as the life-size Roman marble head of Dionysos, after an early fourth century B.C. late Classical Greek archetype, dating to the Roman Imperial, Hadrianic period (est. $50,000-$80,000). Dionysos is depicted with an ivy wreath, an absent downward gaze and three-quarter turn. The marble was acquired by Clinton Gilbert (New York City, 1866-1924) from the Kalebdjian Frères in Paris, on May 1, 1923.

renowned collections
Life-size Roman marble head of Dionysos, after an early fourth century B.C. late Classical Greek archetype, dating to the Roman Imperial, Hadrianic period (est. $50,000-$80,000). Cottone Auctions image

The estate jewelry category will be led by a gorgeous Marcus & Co. 3-carat Asscher diamond and platinum ring estimated at $20,000-$30,000, along with several other pieces, many of which are Tiffany & Co. and descended in the family of Donna Gould.

The many outstanding Tiffany Studios lamps from various collections will include a Dragonfly lamp with 17-inch shade (est. $50,000-$80,000); a Geranium lamp with 17-inch shade (est. $60,000-$80,000);  an Arrowroot lamp with 14-inch shade (est. $30,000-$50,000); and a Poppy lamp with 20-inch shade (est. $45,000-$65,000).

Automobiles from the estate of Lisle Hopkins in Bath, New York include a 1931 Packard Model 840 and a 1931 Cadillac 335 Fleetwood, both with estimates of $80,000-$120,000. From the Peter Tillou collection is a 1927 Hudson Super Six Sports Tourer, constructed in the early 1990s in Australia by builder and master craftsman Wolfgang Rebien. Every aspect of the car is inspired by the factory racing Hudsons of its day and the finest coachbuilding traditions of the 1930s. The car is expected to speed off for $120,000-$160,000.

renowned collections
1931 Cadillac 335 Fleetwood, tan/cream rumble seat roadster with red leather interior, V-8 motor and goddess radiator ornament, restored in 1971-72 (est. $80,00-$120,000). Cottone Auctions image

Modern paintings and sculptures include a screenprint by Andy Warhol (American, 1928-1987), titled Vegetarian Vegetable, from Campbell’s Soup II (est. $15,000-$25,000); a modern sculpture by Dame Elisabeth Frink, R.A. (British, 1930-1993), titled Birdman IV (est. $15,000-$25,000); and an oil painting by Patrick Hennessey (British, 1915-1980), titled The Killarney Boy (est. $4,000-$6,000).

renowned collections
Bronze sculpture by Dame Elisabeth Frink, R.A. (British, 1930-1993), ‘Birdman IV,’ 26¾in. tall, signed on base (est. $15,000-$25,000). Cottone Auctions image

The auction will also feature fine paintings by John George Brown (British, 1831-1913) and Elizabeth O’Neill Verner (American, 1883-1979), as well as an array of furniture, decorative art objects and important Americana, including a fine and rare Shaker carrier with original yellow paint (est. $7,000-$10,000). Also offered will be an important stoneware churn by C.W. Braun (Buffalo, N.Y.); and a 5-gallon star face by T. Harrington (Lyons, N.Y.), with estimates of $7,000-$10,000 and $5,000-$8,000, respectively.

For details contact Cottone Auctions at 585-243-1000 or info@cottoneauctions.com.

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