Heads up for Dentzel carousel giraffe at Neue’s March 11 auction
Carved and painted carousel giraffe, crafted circa 1910 by Gustav and William Dentzel, estimated at $5,000-$10,000
BEACHWOOD, Ohio – Neue Auctions’ 343-lot, online-only Neue to You – Estate Fine Art and Antiques auction on Saturday, March 11, starting at noon Eastern time, is filled with fine art, antiques, Mid-century Modern pieces, Modern art, sterling, bronzes, decorative arts, printwork, maps, fine furniture and carpets from prominent estates and collections. Absentee and Internet live bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.
The sale’s expected top lot is an unusual and visually striking piece: a carved and painted carousel giraffe, crafted circa 1910 by Gustav and William Dentzel. The giraffe, professionally restored, stands 64 ½in tall, features inset glass eyes, and is saddle-carved with eagle’s heads and green and red painted saddle details. It carries an estimate of $5,000-$10,000.
A painting by native Pittsburgh artist Joseph Ryan Woodwell (1843-1911), titled Magnolia, Massachusetts, Coastline with Two Figures, is artist signed at the lower left and has an estimate of $5,000-$8,000. Woodwell was a member of the Scalp Level School, named for the area of Pennsylvania where they all gathered to paint.
Joseph Ryan Woodwell, ‘Magnolia, Massachusetts, Coastline with Two Figures,’ estimated at $5,000-$8,000
In 1859, at age 17, Woodwell traveled to France, where he studied in the atelier of Charles Gleyre. Other artists in this group included Claude Monet, Auguste Renoir and Camille Pissarro. Woodwell also interacted with Barbizon artists Jean Francois Millet and Charles Jacque. He returned to Pittsburgh in 1865 and continued to paint in the Barbizon manner.
Pair of monumental Chinese porcelain jardinieres on carved giltwood stands, estimated at $5,000-$8,000
A pair of monumental Chinese porcelain jardinieres on carved giltwood stands are estimated at $5,000-$8,000. Each jardiniere is of baluster form, with octagonal rims that have wave patterns. The jardinieres are also decorated with a stylized lotus scroll, with their shoulders having a Ruyi pattern.
Chuck Close, ‘Phil,’ estimated at $1,000-$2,000
A 1976 rubber stamp on Strathmore three-ply paper by Chuck Close (American, 1940-2021), titled Phil, from the Rubber Stamp Portfolio, #103 from an edition of 1,000, carries an estimate of $1,000-$2,000. The work, matted and framed with a sheet size of 8in square, bears the artist’s stamp on the verso and was printed by the Press of A. Colish of New York, and it was co-published by Parasol Press , Ltd. and the Museum of Modern Art, also of New York.
A Chinese jade and rosewood scepter, or Ruyi, probably from the 18th or 19th century, is estimated at $3,000-$5,000. The Ruyi is a ceremonial symbol of authority, an attribute of Buddhist and Daoist deities and an imperial symbol of power, wealth and status. As time passed, it became a decorative object. The one on offer is carved from wood and accented with jade carvings.
Chinese jade and rosewood scepter, aka Ruyi, estimated at $3,000-$5,000
The three carvings feature a swan with outstretched wings against a background of lotus plants. They are intricately and deeply carved into the stone, so the birds are in slight relief. The stones are positioned at the ends and the middle of the S-shape of the scepter. The Ruyi is 19in long and in excellent condition.
Dutch Baroque map, titled ‘Pascaarte van alle de Zecusten van Europa,’ by Anthonie Jacobsz, estimated at $4,000-$8,000
Two antique maps of note appear in the March 11 sale lineup. One is a 17th-century Dutch Baroque map titled Pascaarte van alle de Zecusten van Europa, published by Anthonie Jacobsz of Amsterdam, as seen in the lower cartouche. The map is rare and obscure and rendered on animal skin vellum. Its estimate is $4,000-$8,000.
The Pascaarte van alle de Zecusten van Europa was, during its time, a practical working sea chart heavily used aboard ships, accounting for its low survival rate. It was printed on both paper and on vellum. Both types are exceedingly rare, with only eight institutional examples known. None are in any American or British collections.
Circa-1482 map of the Persian and Red Seas, after Claudius Ptolemy, estimated at $3,000-$6,000
The other standout map is Geographica, a circa-1482 example showing the Persian and Red Seas, after Claudius Ptolemy, estimated at $3,000-$6,000. The engraved woodcut with original color is after Ptolemy’s Cosmographia, showing Sinus Persicus (aka the Persian Gulf) and Sinus Arabicus (the Red Sea), a map of the Arabian Peninsula.
Claude Conover, ‘Siyab,’ estimated at $3,000-$5,000
A stoneware vessel by Claude Conover (American, 1907-1994), titled Siyab and having an ovoid form with a cylindrical neck, is estimated at $3,000-$5,000. The vessel is decorated all over in a pattern of small stylized rectangles. It’s signed and titled to the base by Conover, who worked as a commercial designer for more than 30 years before turning full-time to ceramics, using self-taught techniques.
English Leeds creamware chestnut basket, estimated at $500-$800
A late 18th- or early 19th-century English Leeds creamware chestnut basket with a footed bowl form base, applied entwined handles and applied bellflower swags, is estimated at $500-$800. The domed cover is molded with an openwork pattern of arabesques, with a flower bud knop finial. The basket’s base is impressed Leeds Pottery.
To learn more about Neue Auctions, please visit www.neueauctions.com. Cynthia Maciejewksi and Bridget McWilliams can be reached by phone at 216-245-6707, or by email at cynthia@neueauctions.com or bridget@neueauctions.com.
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