1770 German walnut parquetry bureau cabinet or schreibshrank, 89 inches tall, made expressly for Gernyeszeg, the Teleki family’s baroque castle in Transylvania. Estimate: $15,000-$25,000. Image courtesy Quinn’s Auction Galleries.
FALLS CHURCH, Va. – Heirlooms, important artworks and historical jewelry from one of Europe’s most distinguished noble families will be auctioned on Saturday, Feb. 7 at Quinn’s Auction Galleries in Falls Church, Va. While many high-profile estates and collections have been entrusted to the suburban Washington, D.C., auction house in the past, Quinn’s gallery director Matthew Quinn says the consignment of fine artworks, furnishings, decorative art and jewels from the combined Teleki and Mikes (pronounced Me-KESH) families is without precedent.
“This will be a tremendous sale,” said Quinn. “The 300 to 400 items to be auctioned are from old Hungarian aristocracy, whose combined family tree could be compared to a merger of the Kennedys and European royalty. The consignor, who now lives in suburban Washington, is the son of the late Countess Johanna Mikes Teleki and Geza Teleki, and grandson of two-time Hungarian Prime Minister Pal Teleki (1879-1941).” Continue reading
A rare and exceptional Marblehead vase incised and painted with stylized brown and yellow blossoms on a polychrome band, against an olive green ground. Glazed-over firing line to bottom. Ship stamp and paper label. 6 inches by 7 1/2 inches. Estimate $5,000-$8,000. Image courtesy Rago.
LAMBERTVILLE, N.J. – Rago’s has announced plans for its 2009 Arts & Crafts auction season, outlining three different types of sales with prices at all levels of collecting. While showcasing the top-notch Arts & Crafts and other early 20th-century design in a single, major sale in June, Rago’s will also offer Arts & Crafts period furniture, ceramics, glass, metal and accessories in January, February, August and September events in 2009.
The most important of these sales, in June, will be a two-day, 1,000-lot auction featuring the best material accumulated over the course of the year. Already secured for that auction is Tiffany lighting (including a Venetian table lamp from a private estate), a collection of early Moorcroft ceramics, an important and large Marblehead vase with roses, and a fine assortment of Gustav Stickley furniture including a rare grouping of high-back spindle chairs. This sale is aimed at collectors and dealers looking for high-end property and rarities.
This 6-carat diamond is one of four unmounted diamonds in the sale. Color is L or M, clarity is I1. Replacement value is $60,847 and its presale estimate is $16,000-$24,000 with a $15,000 reserve. Image courtesy Brunk Auctions.
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The scenic oceanfront city of Charleston, S.C., commands center stage in Brunk Auctions Jan. 3-4 sale. For starters there is Louis Rémy Mignot’s 1854 luminist painting with the poetic title Solitude or Sunset. Mignot, one of Charleston’s most celebrated artists of the 19th century, was only 23 when he completed Solitude or Sunset. It was one of the most important paintings of his career.
The painting has remained for generations in the possession of the Chazal family, French Catholic entrepreneurs originally from Santo Domingo. The 30 inch by 41 7/8 inch painting is in its original Barbizon gilt-wood frame and is estimated at $100,000 to $150,000, with an $80,000 reserve.
LAS VEGAS – On Dec. 20, Kruse International will present the opportunity to bid on four celebrity-owned automobiles and aircraft in the auction portion of their 35th Las Vegas Car Collector Auction & Show, at the South Point Hotel and Casino. Those who cannot attend in person can preview the auction catalog and bid absentee or live online through LiveAuctioneers.com.
Headlining the celebrity section of the sale are Elvis Presley’s Lockheed Jetstar, Pamela Anderson’s customized “LoveStream” Trailer Lounge and two of Wayne Newton’s personal vehicles: a 1982 Mercedes Benz and a 2001 Jaguar.
Starting today and continuing till Dec. 20, bidders can log on to www.LiveAuctioneers.com to place absentee bids. When the sale begins, bidders may then participate in the auction in real time via the Internet.
Landscape of haystacks by John Leslie Breck (American, 1860-1899), estimate $10,000-$20,000. Image courtesy Kaminski Auctions.
BEVERLY, Mass. – Kaminski Auctions, one of Massachusetts’ premier antiques and fine art auction houses, has announced details of its Holiday Estates Auction. The sale features a diverse array of fine art, antiques, collectibles and fine 18th- and 19th-century Italian furnishings from descendants of Conte Gennaro Balamo. Furnishings from early settlers of the Massachusetts towns of Salem, Hamilton and Wenham are also to be offered.
The auction will take place Saturday and Sunday Dec. 27 and 28 at Woodman’s Function Hall, 122 Main St., Essex, Mass. Bidding commences at 10am each day, and preview periods are scheduled Friday, Dec. 26, 4-8pm; and 8-10am on the days of the auction. A complete catalog will soon be available online at www.LiveAuctioneers.com, and the auction will feature live online bidding through eBay Live Auctions.
Victorian 14K gold, amethyst and pearl pendant necklace. Courtesy Estate Road Show.
MT. PLEASANT, S.C. – Due to difficulties associated with eBay Live’s applet problem of last weekend, the principals of Estate Road Show Auctions have rescheduled their auction of fine and costume jewelry from the Estate of Louise Mondani Graham. The sale originally scheduled for Dec. 7, will now take place on Sunday, Dec. 14.
“Many enthusiastic bidders are looking forward to having a second chance at this incredible collection. It’s going to be an exciting event,” said Estate Road Show’s IT Director, Michael Whelchel.
NEW YORK – On Wednesday, Dec. 17 Swann Galleries will offer an outstanding private collection of 11 posters by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, and seven by Alphonse Mucha as part of their annual auction of Rare & Important Art Nouveau Posters. The posters are from the collection of Bob and Peggy Marcus, who assembled their collection over the course of 30 years. They continually sought out the finest examples, always with an eye on condition.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to acquire these extraordinarily rare and important works in exceptional condition, ” said Nicholas Lowry, Swann president and poster specialist.
Austrian bronze Peacock lamp with iridescent inset jewels on the “tailfeathers,” and Mont Joye shade with butterfly-and-dragonfly motif. Estimate $6,000-$8,000. Image courtesy Morphy Auctions.
DENVER, Pa. – Morphy Auctions’ remedy for chilly weather is a Dec. 11-13 Winter Sale of 2,900 lots of antique toys, banks, trains and antique advertising, enhanced by the warmth of superior-quality Austrian art-glass lamps and the cheerful colors of vintage Bakelite.
“With each successive auction we’ve expanded into new categories of fine and decorative art,” said Morphy’s chief operating officer, Dan Morphy. “In this sale, we’re offering collections of rare Austrian bronze art-glass lamps and extremely fine Bakelite novelty jewelry. Both are from the same consignor, who has a remarkable eye for quality and artistic design.”
More than 20 Austrian art-glass lamps from the single-owner collection will be auctioned, including a superb figural Peacock lamp whose draped bronze base dramatically replicates a peacock’s showy tail feathers with inset jewels. Adding to its magnificence is a Mont Joye enameled-glass shade with quintessential Art Nouveau butterfly-and-dragonfly motif. Estimated at $6,000-$8,000, the 18-inch stunner is in excellent working order, as are all of the lamps from this collection.
Keith Haring. Untitled Litho. 11 inches by 14 3/4 inches – 28 inches by 37 inches. 1987. Edition PP. Custom framed as shown. Estimate $48,000 – $55,000. Image courtesy Abercrombie Auctions International.
MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – Abercrombie Auctions International will present its Grand Auction Dec. 6 at the Ritz Carlton Miami Beach during the second-largest art show in the world: Art Basel Miami Beach. In all, 381 superior-quality lots will be offered.
The auction is centered around a distinctive collection of fine art and collectibles, as well as many pieces of opulent estate and designer jewelry. Grand Masters such as Van Dyck and Rodin will be represented, as well as leading lights of Contemporary/20th century art, including Andy Warhol, Peter Max and Salvador Dalí.
Robert Indiana’s Heliotherapy Love is estimated at $10,000-$14,000, while Flower Blossom Lady by Peter Max is estimated at $37,000-$50,000. Artworks by “rising stars” such as Keith Pawlak and Cerj Lalonde will be included, as well.
Attributed to New England is this 19th century portrait of a woman with her dog. The painting is expected to fetch $2,800-$3,200. Image courtesy Case Antiques.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Civil War related material and the largest selection of Tennessee fine art ever offered at auction will highlight the Case Antiques Winter Auction to be held Saturday, Dec. 6. Also among the 350 cataloged lots is an offering of exceptional period American furniture and Southern regional pottery.
Two of the star lots of the sale are expected to be a pair of painted canteens attributed to John Adams Elder (American, 1833-1895) and illustrated in the book Collecting the Confederacy by Shannon Pritchard. They are estimated at $20,000-$25,000 and $35,000-$40,000 each.
The sale also features a sword, diary, photographs and other personal effects of Capt. Edmund Morse, Quartermaster of the 7th Vermont Infantry. The lot is expected to bring $3,500-$4,500. Weapons include an 1863 Colt Hartford rifle and a Harper’s Ferry flintlock rifle. Its lock plate is marked “Harpers Ferry 1825.”
This is Case Antiques’ largest offering ever of fine art. Bidders can choose paintings ranging from an early Cuzco School-attributed Spanish Colonial religious scene to an American folk art portrait of a lady with dog to a landscape by noted Australia artist Sydney Long. However, the number of pieces from Southern artists is expected to draw a large regional crowd to the gallery.
“One interesting thing is the fact that we have three major female artists from Tennessee represented in this sale, whose work almost never comes on the market,” said company president John Case.
Featured are two paintings by American Impressionist Anna Catherine Wiley (1879-1958) and one by her sister, Eleanor McAdoo Wiley (1876-1977), as well as a floral still life and print by Ella Sophonisba Hergesheimer (1873-1943), a great-great-granddaughter of Charles Wilson Peale.
There are also a number of Southern landscapes from Lloyd Branson, Charles Krutch, Dwight Holmes, Louis Jones, Thomas Campbell and Eliot Candee Clark. A riverboat painting by Charles Henry Reinike (New Orleans, 1906-1983), portraits attributed to Samuel Shaver and George Dury and 1940s block prints of Nashville by Ernest Pickup are also included.
Case, which set a record for Tennessee pottery in September with the $63,000 sale of a redware jar by J.A. Lowe, will follow up in this sale with an important West Tennessee stoneware jar marked T.W. Craven ($7,000-$8,000). It was exhibited in the 2003 Art of Tennessee exhibit at the Frist Center in Nashville and is pictured in the catalog.
There is also a cobalt decorated stoneware churn attributed to Charles Decker of Keystone Pottery ($900-$1,200), a Middle Tennessee salt-glaze honey jar ($300-400), and several pieces of Southwest Virginia cobalt decorated pottery.
Period furniture includes an outstanding Federal giltwood convex mirror with spread-winged eagle ($3,500-$4,500), a Federal Hepplewhite paint decorated dressing table ($800-$1,200) and a Federal sofa with tiger-maple crest ($1,000-$1,500).
There is also an outstanding folky East Tennessee inlaid chest of drawers ($1,800-$2,200), and a circa 1800 inlaid walnut dower chest, documented by the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts and attributed to Tennessee ($1,800-$2,200).
Smaller items include Arts and Crafts silver and Southern coin silver, an important sampler signed Franklin, Tenn., a Kentucky painted Odd Fellows box, baskets, folk art carvings, historical Staffordshire, coverlets, a large selection of historic books, and a Rookwood floral vase decorated by Ed Diers.
There is also a rare cabinet card of the famous Comanche chief Quanah Parker (1853-1911) and his two wives, which has a $2,000-$3,000 estimate.
The auction will be held at Case’s gallery in the historic Cherokee Mills Building, 2200 Sutherland Ave. in Knoxville, on Saturday, Dec. 6, at 10 a.m., and bids will also be accepted by phone and Internet. A preview will take place on Friday, Dec. 5, from noon to 7 p.m. For additional information visit Case’s Web site, www.caseantiques.com, or call (865) 558-3033.
T. W. Craven turned this West Tennessee stoneware jar, which was recently included in a museum exhibit. It is estimated at $7,000-$8,000. Image courtesy Case Antiques.
Tennessee house samplers are considered rare. This one signed Mary Elizabeth Collins, Franklin, Tenn., 1836, may top $10,000. Image courtesy Case Antiques.Several Federal-era pieces are in the sale, including this giltwood convex mirror estimated at $3,500-$4,500. Image courtesy Case Antiques.A painted canteen attributed to Virginia artist John Adams Elder, a variation of his work After Appomattox, is expected to bring $35,000-$40,000. Image courtesy Case Antiques.
