Oil on board painting of a woman in a yellow dress, one of seven works in the auction by Joseph Delaney (Tennessee/New York, 1904-1991). It is estimated at $3,000-$4,000. Case Antiques image.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – It’s not the Olympics, but bronze, silver and gold are expected to be among the key prizes at the Summer Case Antiques Auction. The sale will be held June 30 at the company’s gallery in Knoxville and features outstanding bronze sculpture, collections of Tiffany silver and Chinese and Russian silver, and several gold objects. A stellar lineup of Southern antiques and European and American paintings will also cross the block, along with important Civil War material, rare prints, maps, books, clocks and Asian antiques.
LiveAuctioneers.com will provide Internet live bidding for the 750-lot auction, which starts at 9:30 a.m. EDT.
Two bronze figural groups of men and horses by Russian sculptor Evgeni Alexandrovich Lanceray (1848-1886) lead the fine art category. There are also two Art Deco-style bronze sculptures of women by Romain Erte (Russian, 1892-1990), a bronze of a worker by Aime-Jules Dalou (French, 1838-1902), and a rare 12-inch Statue of Liberty American Committee model after Frederic Auguste Bartholdi (French, 1834-1904), produced in limited numbers in the 1870s to raise money for the statue’s pedestal.
Several artworks from the estate of Hollywood screenwriter Francis Faragoh are featured, including silver gelatin prints by American photographers Margaret Bourke White (1904-1971) and Samuel Gottscho (1875-1971), an etching of a nude woman titled The Weeper by Henri Matisse (French, 1869-1054), a charcoal and pastel nude by Abraham Baylinson (American, 1882-1950), and a lithograph by George Bellows (American, 1882-1924) titled Bathing Beach. An archive related to Faragoh’s Hollywood career, including a first revision script of Little Caesar, which earned him an Oscar nomination, will also be sold.
Expected to draw international interest are paintings by Angel Bottello (Puerto Rico, 1913-1986), Roberto Burl Marx (Brazil, 1909-1982), Josef Van Schlogl (Austria, 1851-1918), David Burliuk (Russian-American, 1882-1967), Edigus Linnig (Belgium, 1821-1860), Athanas Ivanovich Scheloumoff (Russian, 1892-1983), and Pang Tseng Ying (Chinese, 1916-1997). There is also a collection of early Old Master-style paintings and drawings from the estate of Tennessee judge W. Dale Young. American regional artists in the auction include Claude Curry Bohm (1984-1971), William Posey Silva (1859-1948), Louis Jones (1878-1958), Thomas Campbell (1834-1914), Charles Vickery (1913-1998) and Richard Clarke (1923-1997). Also featured is a collection of paintings by Knoxville born Joseph Delaney (1904-1991), an Island Hay lithograph by Thomas Hart Benton (1889-1975), and a painting of the discovery of two dead Union soldiers by noted Civil War veteran/artist William Shelton (1840-1932), used as an illustration for the classic Warren Lee Gross book Recollections of a Private.
There are nearly 200 lots of precious metals in the sale, including several lots of 19th and 20th century Chinese Export silver, prerevolution Russian hollowware, and Persian silver including an elaborate punchbowl and base weighing nearly 100 troy ounces. Also featured is a collection of Tiffany sterling consisting of an early 1900s tea service in the Persian taste with Edward Moore mark; flatware in the Wave Edge and Marquis patterns; a set of goblets; and a 19th century cake basket by Grosjean and Woodward, early suppliers to Tiffany. Coin silver includes a julep cup by William Calhoun of Nashville and a tobacco prize julep cup with marks for John Kitts and Peter Krider, awarded to a Kentucky plantation owner. There are also more than 70 pieces of American coin silver from estate of the late dealer Salli LaGrone of Franklin, Tenn. (The first part of LaGrone’s estate was sold in Case’s Winter auction; this auction will feature the remainder.)
A Tiffany 18K gold Maria Moors Cabot Journalism Prize Medal, awarded by Columbia University to radio commentator Edward Tomlinson in 1943 will be sold, along with several lots of fine jewelry including two Shah of Iran gold coins mounted as earrings, a platinum-set 2.99-carat yellow diamond ring, an Art Deco diamond and platinum watch, Navajo silver and turquoise jewelry, and a sterling silver and amethyst quartz frog bracelet by William Spratling.
Southern Pottery is a staple at Case; featured this time is a rare Charles Decker stoneware rundlet, a Cain pottery redware jar, a Pisgah Forest cameo pitcher, four graduated canisters by Arie Meaders of Georgia, a North Carolina stoneware jug stamped W.W. Ballard, a Sand Mountain Alabama jar and a collection of Jugtown, N.C. pottery.
This auction also includes a good selection of American Art Pottery such as a large rare Louis Comfort Tiffany Favrile pottery vase with textured blue, green and gold glaze; a Newcomb College mug by Sara Bloom Levy and a Sadie Irvine vase; and several pieces of Rookwood including mugs, a tile, and an Edward Diers-decorated scenic vase.
Asian material comprises a significant portion of the sale—nearly 100 lots—and encompasses Qing and early Republic period porcelain, snuff bottles, ivories and jades, including an outstanding carved russet jade dragon.
A dramatic 125-letter Civil War period archive from Capt. Oliver Pinkney McCammon of the 3rd Tennessee Federal Cavalry, along with his tintype and some personal effects, leads a strong selection of historical ephemera. There is also the personal diary of Confederate Pvt. Adam Kersh of Company F 52nd Virginia Infantry and an archive of letters and personal effects related to Fort Donelson.
Several scarce Civil War related books are featured, as well as a complete set of Laura Ingalls Wilder books all signed by the author, and an 1837-38 edition of John Gould’s Synopsis of the Birds of Australia with 73 color plates. A collection of 1930s Hollywood autographs including an Ingrid Bergman letter is also a highlight, along with four framed theater programs from plays performed at Windsor Castle in 1849.
An outstanding collection of rare engravings from the LaGrone estate includes ornithology prints by Eleazer Albin, zoology prints after A.L. Wirsing, and a set of Matthias Merian prints illustrating 17th century garden designs. Heraldry, seashells, insects, astronomy are other subjects in the category, and there are several maps including a 1795 map of Tennessee showing Native American landmarks.
By far the largest object in the auction is a massive and ornately carved sideboard brought from a European castle to Tennessee by the late country music star Johnny Cash and used at his House of Cash museum. Other furniture standouts are a Philadelphia desk and bookcase, a high chest in old surface, and a rare Tennessee cherry pie safe sideboard.
An assortment of clocks is highlighted by a circa 1820 French ormolu Jason and the Golden Fleece clock, numerous other gilt-bronze figural clocks, and a French porcelain clock, possibly Sevres, with gilt bronze mounts and horizontal dial. There are also single owner collections of early lighting and British creamware. Other items of note include a scarce Tennessee needlework sampler with house design; Southern quilts; a 20th century “Alabama Indestructible” black doll made by Ella G. Smith, the first doll maker in the South to manufacture black dolls; several mechanical music items including a Swiss cylinder music box on stand with four brass cylinders; and several World War related lots including an outstanding decorated European theater bomber jacket, and an archive and jacket from the first U.S. pilot shot down during World War II.
The auction takes place at Case’s gallery in the historic Cherokee Mills Building, 2240 Sutherland Ave. in Knoxville, on Saturday, June 30. Online, absentee and phone bids will also be accepted. A preview will take place on Friday, June 29, from noon to 6 p.m. or by appointment. The company is also accepting quality art and antique consignments for its October auction. For more information, call the gallery in Knoxville at 865-558-3033 or the Nashville office at 615-812-6096 or email info@caseantiques.com.
ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE
Oil on board painting of a woman in a yellow dress, one of seven works in the auction by Joseph Delaney (Tennessee/New York, 1904-1991). It is estimated at $3,000-$4,000. Case Antiques image. Evgeni Alexandrovich Lanceray (Russian, 1848-1886) large bronze ‘Capture of a Wild Kirghiz Horse,’ inscribed E. Lanceray in Cyrillic, with foundry mark for F. Chopin in Cyrillic. It is estimated at $10,000-$15,000. Case Antiques image. This elaborate 19th century Continental carved oak sideboard, from the estate of late country music legend Johnny Cash and formerly used in his museum, is estimated at $6,000-$8,000. Case Antiques image. A five-piece sterling tea and coffee service in the Persian taste, with M mark, is part of a single-owner collection of Tiffany & Co. silver featured in the sale. It is estimated at $4,000-$6,000. Case Antiques image. The rare books category includes a complete set of eight ‘Little House on the Prairie’ books, each bearing the signature of author Laura Ingalls Wilder. The books will be sold in pairs with estimates of $2,500-$3,500 per pair. Case Antiques image. Southern pottery featured in this sale are (clockwise from top) a rare Charles Decker signed and dated rundlet (est. $4,000-$4,500), a redware jar attributed to the Cain pottery (est. $1,000-$1,500), and a Greene County, Tenn., stoneware cream pot (est. $400-$500). Case Antiques image. There are nearly 100 lots of Asian material in the auction including this box with marks for Luen Wo of Shanghai, one of five pieces of Chinese silver in the sale. Estimate: $600-$900. Case Antiques image.
