Michaan’s July 16 sale presents generous range of treasures

ALAMEDA, Calif. – On Saturday, July 16, Michaan’s Auctions will hold its monthly gallery sale. An engraved gold and steel shield, a flapper dress dating to circa 1925, a ring featuring a 2.25 carat-diamond and Chinese ceramics are only some of the highlights on offer. Absentee and Internet live bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.

An expected top lot is a koftgari shield graced with a gilt metal star on the central face and four bosses around the center. It is estimated at $3,000-$5,000. Koftgari art originated in India as early as the 16th century as a means of elaborately decorating lethal instruments with gold and silver while preserving the functionality of the piece; this shield is a stunning example of this technique.

Not to be missed is an Austrian Renaissance Revival rosewood buffet, estimated at $2,000-$3,000. The cabinet door is gilt trimmed, ebonized and inlaid with a detailed scene of a ruined street and archways.

Fashion can be found at this month’s auction as well, including a sequin and bead flapper dress labeled R. Sacerdote Paris and estimated at $1,000-$1,500. Dating to circa 1925, this dress is in very good condition, preserving the work of petits mains seamstresses who individually attached every sequin.

Fine bronze sculptures are also featured, such as Clotilde de Surville, an 1877 work by Jean Gautherin (French, 1840-1890), estimated at $2,000-$4,000. It depicts a woman in medieval dress carrying a child.

Modern art makes an appearance as well, led by Rainbow Visual Prayer, a 2008 piece by Yaacov Agam (Israeli, b. 1928-), estimated at $800-$1,200. Agam is known as a pioneer of optical and kinetic art, and his most famous works employ a type of print now called an Agamograph, which uses barrier-grid animation to present radically different images as the viewer alters their perspective.

The July 16 auction offers fashionable jewelry in abundance. Certain to find a new home is a 2.25-carat diamond set in a 14K gold ring that has a striking band bordering the mounting on either side. Its estimate is $7,000-$9,000.

Several desirable ceramic wares enliven the selection of Asian art. Especially striking is a Chinese famille rose porcelain bowl boasting an exterior depicting several fauna and flora against an orange ground and an interior painted in a contrasting turquoise. It carries an estimate of $1,000-$1,500.

 

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