NEW YORK – On Wednesday, June 29, Capsule Auctions will offer the private collection of Joseph Rondina, a single-owner sale with a vast array of treasures from decades of collecting. Rondina was an internationally renowned antiques dealer who built a distinguished private collection of antique furniture, objet d’art, fine art and Asian art. Session I, which is devoted to Asian art, will begin at 10 am Eastern time, and Session II, which showcases antiques and fine art, will start at 2 pm Eastern time. Absentee and Internet live bidding for both sessions will be available through LiveAuctioneers.
Don McNair, in an essay in the catalog for the sale, said: “Joseph Rondina was born into a first-generation Florentine American family in Auburn, a community in upstate New York. He attended Auburn schools, graduated from Manlius Military Academy and served in World War II with the U.S. Army Occupation Forces, stationed in Berlin.”
“Returning to the U.S. at the end of the war with a renewed appreciation of art and history, as well as a continental approach to decorating, he graduated from the Whitman School of Design in New York City. He opened Joseph Rondina Antiques in 1957 on East 62 Street at Madison Avenue, taking possession of the existing premises of Williams-Michelsen. With his instinctive eye for elegance and refinement, it was not long before his establishment was the go-to destination for European aristocracy, scions of industry, notables of the social register and cafe society from the U.S. and abroad.”
“His interests focused primarily on European 18th-century decorative arts and furniture, later evolving to include Chinese, Korean, Indian, Siamese, Cambodian, Persian and Japanese material, bringing a more esoteric and exotic style to the market. With his sensitivity to changes in taste, he instinctively knew what was appropriate for the time. It would bring him enormous pleasure to see his collection enjoyed by the next set of owners.”
Highlights from the Asian art session is a pair of Chinese large Sancai glazed and painted pottery Lokapala from the Tang dynasty, estimated at $6,000-$8,000. Each figure is in a strong stance, with arms outstretched and hands clasped, which originally grasped a spear or weapon. Their raised legs rest on recumbent bulls, and each face is finely detailed with black and red pigments. Their armor is colored with patterned sancai green, cream and amber glaze. The smaller one is thermoluminescence-dated.
Equally alluring is a Chinese Yue glazed ceramic owl-form vessel from the Han dynasty, estimated at $5,000-$8,000. It is a lidded jar in the shape of an owl, its red stoneware body partially covered in olive green glaze, and it features incised feathers and other details. This piece is also thermoluminescence-dated.
The afternoon antiques and fine art session is graced with a pair of Swedish Rococo gilt mirrors from circa 1800. Created after a model by Gustav Precht, each pediment is topped with floral bouquet urns over the rectangular mirror plate bordered with etched panels. The pair are together estimated at $10,000-$15,000.
Eminently worthy of mention is a circa-1906 oil painting by Louis Valtat, titled Vase d’Anemones et Jonquilles (Vase with Anemones and Daffodils). Estimated at $10,000-$15,000, it is initialed on the lower right and is accompanied by a photocopied certificate of authority issued in 1969 from Louis Andre Valtat, grandson of the artist.
Sculpture offerings are distinguished by a bronze after Giambologna. Figure of Architecture is seated on an integrally cast plinth and mounted on a green marble base. Its estimate is $10,000-$15,000.
For more information, please contact Capsule Auctions at admin@capsuleauctions.com or 212-353-2277.
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