NEW YORK – Bloomsbury Auctions will conduct its 20th Century Art and Editions sale at the company’s Manhattan gallery Wednesday, June 9, beginning at 2 p.m. Eastern. LiveAuctioneers will provide Internet live bidding.
The 329-lot sale will feature a range of paintings, drawings, prints, photographs and photo-books from headline artists such as Lichtenstein, Matisse, Banksy and Warhol, as well as a variety of more modern and lesser-known artists. Valuing in at a low estimate of $520,000, this intriguing offering consists not only of works created by accustomed professionals but a handful of more novice and contemporary sources as well.
Forever Goodbye, created under the pseudonym Yu Ling, is a large acrylic work by actress and painter Lucy Liu (estimate: $25,000-$30,000). Liu, whose work is represented by the Eli Klein Gallery located in New York’s Chelsea neighborhood, adopted the alternate handle in order to gain distinction as an artist through her ability rather than rely on her celebrity status.
A work by Shepard Fairey, the skateboard silkscreen artist-cum-iconic graffiti artist, also finds its place in the sale with his silkscreen entitled Vote (Radio). The work, estimated at $1,000-$1,500, distinctly evokes Fairey’s signature style seen in other ubiquitous images including the 2008 Obama HOPE campaign poster as well as the urban staple André the Giant, seen on paraphernalia from stickers to T-shirts.
Also of note is the sale’s cover lot, an Andy Warhol collage of die-cut gold card and ink on paper entitled Angels Orchestra created circa 1957 (estimate: $25,000-$35,000).
Other sale focal points include Conrad Marca-Relli’s Untitled (Figures), a newly authenticated painting by the American-born artist, from the American Abstract Expressionist school (estimate $20,000-$30,000), as well as Take 4, No. 27, a striking work from British artist James Nares, which skilfully demonstrates a combination of form and medium in a few simple, yet monumental brushstrokes (estimate: $10,000-$15,000).
For details e-mail e-mailnewyork@bloomsburyauctions.com or phone 212-755-8500.
Bloomsbury Auctions is located at 6 W. 48th St.
Bloomsbury invites customers to view these and other works in the sale at the Web site ny.bloomsburyauctions.com
Art Deco platinum, sapphire, and diamond bracelet, J.E. Caldwell & Co. Estimate $25,000-$35,000. Image courtesy of Skinner Inc.
BOSTON – Several stellar collections comprise Skinner’s auction of fine jewelry Tuesday, June 15, at its Boston gallery beginning at 10 a.m. Eastern. The sale will feature interesting and one-of-a-kind pieces for style-focused jewelry buyers. LiveAuctioneers will provide Internet live bidding
“If you’re interested in seeing the range of what can be bought in a Fine Jewelry sale, Skinner’s June sale has everything from very rare and exquisite gemstones, to beautifully delicate Edwardian designs, to quirky and funky modern pieces that are just plain fun to wear,” said Gloria Lieberman, Skinner’s fine jewelry director. “Jewelry buyers need to know that buying fine jewelry at auction is easy, non-intimidating, and affordable,” she added.
One highlight of the sale is an extensive collection of Scottish agate jewelry, coming to Skinner from the personal collection of Corinne Davidov, a Victorian jewelry expert. The collection features more than 50 pieces, predominantly bracelets and brooches. Another featured collection is a fine grouping of high-end couture jewelry with works by Elsa Schiaparelli and Miriam Haskell, and an Italian cookie necklace by Ugo Correani for Karl Lagerdeld. A collection of Modernist jewelry is highlighted by works by Sam Kramer, an important designer. Of note is a wonderful red jasper ring.
The sale also features a number of impressive sapphires. Included is a natural Burmese sapphire and diamond ring of unusual color and clarity from the late Edwardian period and a sugarloaf Kashmir sapphire and diamond ring, Trabert & Hoeffer Mauboussin, both accompanied with GIA report. Also being offered is a J.E. Caldwell & Co. Art Deco sapphire and diamond bracelet. All three pieces are estimated at $25,000-$35,000 each.
Two terrific Art Deco rings also go up for bid: one, coral, diamond and enamel by A. Marchak, Paris the other, platinum, jadeite and diamond, Boucheron, Paris. Each is estimated at $4,000-$6,000.Two New England estates have provided Edwardian jewelry and colored diamonds. A small collection of Cartier jewelry from the 1940s and ’50s comes to Skinner from a local family.
Exceptional diamonds being offered include an emerald cut solitaire weighing 7.53 carats and accompanied by GIA report, estimated at $40,000-$60,000, and an Asscher-cut solitaire weighing 4.89 carats estimated at $25,000-$35,000.
Previews for the auction will be Sunday, June 13, noon-5 p.m. and Monday, June 14, noon-7 p.m. The Sunday preview will also feature a Jewelry Clinic from noon-5 p.m., hosted by Hagop Matossian of Bostonian Jewelers.
Whimsical couture necklace, Ugo Correani for Karl Lagerfeld, Italy,1990s. Estimate $800-$1,200. Image courtesy of Skinner Inc. Victorian shoe-form sterling silver and Scottish agate pincushion, Birmingham, 1890-91. Estimate $400-$600. Image courtesy of Skinner Inc. Platinum and diamond solitaire, prong-set with an emerald-cut diamond weighing 7.53 carats, flanked by tapered baguettes, size 6 3/4. Estimate $40,000-$60,000. Image courtesy of Skinner Inc.
Marble House is one of Newport’s most popular mansions. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.NEWPORT, R.I. (AP) – Marble House oozes decadence at every corner, from the 22-karat gold leaf decorations to the Corinthian columns at the front entrance to the lavish ceiling paintings of Greek gods.
But for more than 80 years, the Gilded Age mansion has been without one of its most treasured features: a vast collection of more than 300 objects of Medieval and Renaissance art.
The wealthy Vanderbilt family bought the works in Paris and displayed them for years on the red-silk walls of their mansion’s aptly named Gothic Room. But after the house closed in 1925, the items were sold to art collector and circus entrepreneur John Ringling and today belong to a Sarasota, Fla., museum bearing the Ringling name.
Now, Newport visitors can see the items in their original setting. The John and Mable Ringling Museum has loaned the collection to Marble House through Oct. 31. The items – paintings and sculptures, busts and furniture – have been reassembled in the Gothic Room and displayed exactly as they were 100 years ago.
The Preservation Society of Newport County operates the Marble House and other Newport mansions as public museums.
“I think that most people who know the Gothic Room always thought it was a very pretty room, and then you have these 300 objects added to it, and you go, ‘Oh my God, it was bare before,’” said Trudy Coxe, the Preservation Society CEO. “But, we didn’t know that until the objects were added.”
Marble House is among the most popular of Newport’s mansions, palatial summer homes built for wealthy industrialists in the late 19th century that today rank among the most-visited attractions in the northeastern U.S.
Inspired by Greek architecture and the Petit Trianon at Versailles, the home was completed in 1892 for railroad heir William K. Vanderbilt and his wife, Alva, a lover of art and culture who collected Renaissance art at a time when not many other Americans did.
In 1889, the Vanderbilts and architect Richard Morris Hunt traveled to Paris to find artworks and other decorative pieces for the home. They acquired the Gothic collection of French architect Emile Gavet and sent it to Newport.
The collection is varied and vast. There are 15th-century Italian paintings depicting battle scenes; painted terra-cotta busts; assorted copper and silver chalices and candelabra; intricately detailed French dressers showing stories from the life of Jesus and Greek mythology; and a case of wax portrait medallions bearing the likenesses of such dignitaries as King Henry II of France and popes Benedict XIV and Clement XI.
A highlight of the collection is The Building of the Palace, a 16th-century Italian painting showing men busily constructing a mammoth structure arising in the background. The painting is by Florentine artist Piero di Cosimo, who was believed to have contributed to the Sistine Collection.
“You could spend a whole day in here and not grasp everything,” said Erin Marshall-House, 33, of New Bedford, Mass., who was browsing the collection while vacationing in Newport one recent morning. But she also said the aesthetic seemed a little over-the-top.
“This room was made to look like a museum,” she added. “You can’t live and be comfortable in a museum.”
The Gothic Room, a reception room decorated with stained glass and a mantelpiece, was created to display the collection. Alva Vanderbilt opened the room to the public, but closed Marble House in 1925, moved to France and put the art up for sale. John Ringling, of Barnum & Bailey Circus fame, bought the works in 1927 for $125,000.
Many of the items have been displayed at the Ringling Museum, but others were in storage. Preservation Society staff had long discussed displaying the collection, and Virginia Brilliant, the Ringling Museum’s associate curator for European art, said she made a loan agreement a priority soon after joining the museum.
The Ringling Museum relocated most of the collection to Newport, though some items were too fragile to travel and are replaced at Marble House by to-scale photographs. Archival photos helped Preservation Society staff know exactly where Vanderbilt hung each piece.
“You can, for all intents and purposes, walk in and out of that room and know that she’s there,” Coxe said.
Brilliant said it was poignant to see the works in Marble House and that she’s open to leaving some items there long term. But, she said, history can’t be undone.
“When you talk about the rightful place of an object, then everything should have to go back to the church it was made for, or the home it was made for,” Brilliant said. “Art changes hands. That’s just the nature of life and collecting.”
Coxe said she’ll be sad when the collection is returned.
“If I had my druthers, they would forget that they loaned them to us and we would have them forever. But I don’t think that’s going to happen.”
Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
This early-20th-century French papier-mâché e milliner’s head has original paint with some crazing. Her name, ‘Dorothee,’ is written on the front. It sold in March at Garth’s Auctioneers in Delaware, Ohio, for $646.
Hats are not as popular today as they were years ago, so there are fewer hat shops and fewer people making special hats fitted to a particular buyer. But in the 19th and early 20th centuries, milliners were found in every city and town. A hat was designed and created with the help of a “milliner’s head.” The milliner shaped, cut, pinned and fashioned the hat on the head. Then the finished hat was displayed in the shop. A life-size head made of soft wood or papier-mâché was used. Sometimes the top of the head was made of padded cloth so it was easier to pin the hat to the head. If you plan to buy an old milliner’s head, be sure to look for pinholes. There probably will be flaking or damaged paint, too. Early ones were painted, but by the 1850s some were made with printed eyes and mouths pasted in place. The hairstyle also helps date the head. Folk art collectors like these heads, so they’re pricey. An early one could cost $1,500, and a 20th-century example $500 or more, depending on condition.
Q: I have a six-piece dresser set of Val St. Lambert’s uranium glass from the 1890s. Because it has uranium in it, is it safe?
A: Uranium glass was first made in the 1800s by adding uranium dioxide to melted glass. The uranium gives the glass its bright yellow-green color and makes it fluoresce under ultraviolet light. Most uranium glass contains only a small amount of uranium, although older glass may contain as much as 25 percent uranium. The amount of uranium in the glass will set off a Geiger counter, but it is not considered unsafe to use. Production of uranium glass ceased during World War II, when uranium was not available for nongovernmental use. Small amounts of uranium are available today, and some uranium glass is being made.
Q: I have a toy pot-belly stove that my husband bought about 30 years ago. It is embossed “Grey Iron Casting Co., Mt. Joy, Pa.” The stove is about 13 inches high and has a piece to open the top and another to stir the ashes. I would love to know if it’s worth anything.
A: Grey Iron Casting Co. is best-known as a manufacturer of cast-iron soldiers and other toys. The company was in business from the late 1800s until the mid-1900s. Grey Iron made toys, banks, hardware, tools and other iron products. It was sold in 1967, and the name was changed to Donsco Inc. in 1974. Your stove is worth about $100,
Q: I have an armless rocking chair that was my great-grandmother’s. She passed away more than 20 years ago, at 100 years old. The chair has a label on the bottom that reads “Cochran Chair Company, Cochran, Indiana.” Can you tell me anything about it?
A: There is very little information about the Cochran Chair Co. It seems to have been in business from 1879 until 1983, but was no longer family-owned after the early 1970s. The label on your chair reads “Cochran, Indiana,” which means it was made before 1900. Cochran labels reading “Aurora, Indiana,” indicate the furniture was made after 1900. While your chair may have great sentimental value, it probably is worth less than $150.
Q: I have a calendar clock that belonged to my great-grandfather. It has been handed down throughout the years to the youngest child in the family. The clock was patented March 18, 1879, by Southern Calendar Clock Co. of St. Louis. It has two dials, one with the numbers of the hours and one with the numbers of the days of the month. The word “Fashion” is written in gilt letters between the two dials. Can you tell me the approximate value of my antique clock?
A: The Southern Calendar Clock Co. was founded in 1875 by three brothers, Henry Harrison, Lucius L. and Wallace W. Culver. The movements for the company’s Fashion calendar clocks were made by the Seth Thomas Clock Co. of Thomaston, Conn., and the calendars were made by Randall Andrews. The company advertised that the Fashion clock would run for 100 years. Southern Calendar Clock Co. closed temporarily in 1889 but reopened for a short time in the 1890s. A clock like yours sold for $1,770 a few years ago.
Q: We have a collection of World War I postcards from Germany and Holland. Are they worth anything? I expect that some of the buildings shown were destroyed in the war or later during World War II.
A: A postcard can sell for anywhere from 5 cents to several hundred dollars. The price is determined by the type of picture on the card, the artist or manufacturer, condition and rarity. Even the stamp or postmark can contribute to the value. Cards with pictures of street scenes with stores, advertising, people or special events are very collectible. Collectors also look for pictures of early autos, trains or airplanes. You can go to a postcard show and see what cards like yours are selling for. Dealers may be interested in buying your cards but will pay you a lot less than the retail value. They have to make a profit.
Tip: Do not wrap ceramics, wood, marble or other porous materials in old newspapers. The ink used for print eventually will stain the pieces. Newsprint is high-acid paper and can discolor other materials, especially other paper, over time. Recycled paper usually is bad for storage, too, but some photocopy paper is acid-free and good for archival storage. Cardboard boxes, plastic boxes and many folders, scrapbooks and plastic sleeves can damage old paper items, including autographs, photographs and baseball cards.
Terry Kovel answers as many questions as possible through the column. By sending a letter with a question, you give full permission for use in the column or any other Kovel forum. Names, addresses or e-mail addresses will not be published. We cannot guarantee the return of any photograph, but if a stamped envelope is included, we will try. The volume of mail makes personal answers or appraisals impossible. Write to Kovels, Auction Central News, King Features Syndicate, 300 W. 57th St., New York, NY 10019.
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CURRENT PRICES
Current prices are recorded from antiques shows, flea markets, sales and auctions throughout the United States. Prices vary in different locations because of local economic conditions.
Handmade dollhouse made from crates, cut shingle roof, faux-stone chimney, two stories, glazed windows, side opening, open porch, 1850s, 26 x 22 x 15 inches, $150.
World War II Sweetheart plaque, woman kissing soldier, painted plaster, original hanger with string, 8 1/2 x 11 1/2 inches, $155.
Johnny Ringo Western game, board, red and blue plastic markers, spinner, 1960, Transogram, 9 x 17 inches, $160.
Tin rhinoceros cookie cutter, soldered to perforated foundation, folded edge handle soldered to back, early 19th century, 3 1/2 x 5 1/2 inches, $320.
Effanbee Olive Oyl doll, sawdust-stuffed fabric, hard-rubber head, red dress, arms outstretched, tag reads “I Am Olive Oyl, Popeye’s Sweetheart,” 1930s, 16 3/4 inches, $400.
Hooked rug, E.S. Frost & Co. pattern, brown dog lying on red-and-white checked floor, beige ground, brown trim, red roses on ends, No. 36, c. 1880, 31 x 61 inches, $410.
Rookwood Vellum swan vase, landscape, three white swans, trees and flowers, dated 1907, E.T. Hurley mark, 9 inches, $2,115.
Pennsylvania Country Sheraton daybed, woven oak splint top, blue and gray paint, turned legs and stretchers, 21 x 75 x 20 inches, $2,260.
Berkshire Bitters bottle, Amann & Co., Cincinnati, amber pig, applied mouth, circa 1870-75, 9 x 4 inches, $2,400.
Keep up with changes in the collectibles world. Send for a free sample issue of our 12-page, full-color newsletter, Kovels on Antiques and Collectibles, filled with prices, sale reports and photos, plus major news about the world of collecting. To subscribe at a bargain $27 for 12 issues, write Kovels, P.O. Box 420347, Palm Coast, FL 32142; call 800-571-1555; or subscribe online at Kovelsonlinestore.com.
‘Moonrise over Mojave’ by Maynard Dixon (California, 1875-1946) achieved an impressive $110, 450. Image courtesy of Clars Auction Gallery.
OAKLAND, Calif. – Redge Martin, president of Clars Auction Gallery, knew the May 15-16 sale would be one of the company’s strongest based on the important estates represented and the quality of consignments in both art and furnishings. When the final hammer dropped his expectations were realized. The auction resulted in $1.4 million in sales, fourth largest in the firm’s 60-year history.
Martin said that Clars Auction Gallery is already more than 50 percent ahead of last year at this time. A staff of top specialists in their fields, a long-standing reputation for the highest standards of operation, and aggressive national and international marketing campaigns all contribute to Clars’ success in a still delicate economy, said Martin.
Clars’ May sale featured art and antiques from several important estates and consignors including the Lane & Jenkins trust of San Francisco, the Frank Hinman estate of San Francisco, the Dr. Sydney Widrow estate of Hawaii and the Dr. Lawrence Loftus estate of Carmel, Calif.
The art category soared above all achieving strong prices for both contemporary and classic works. Several important works from California painters were offered, led by Moonrise over Mojave by Maynard Dixon (California, 1875-1946). The bidding opened at $75,000 and competition from the floor, phones and Internet quickly drove this work to a final sale price of $110,450.
Sunday Boating, an oil on canvas by James Weeks (California, 1922-1998), a scene of a group sailing on San Francisco Bay executed in rich tones of blue, was estimated to earn $20,000-$30,000 and sold for $28,440. Oaks in a Field of Poppies and Lupine by Percy Gray (California, 1922-1998) followed at $24,885. View of Mount Tamalpais from the Valley, also by Percy Gray, achieved $20,145, and a stunning coastal work titled Mt. Doud, Big Sur, by Arthur Hill Gilbert (California, 1894-1970) did well at $20,145. American artist Andrew Wyeth’s watercolor, painted on the title page of a book and showing an empty basket on a sloping hill, sold within the estimate at $28,400.
A framed gelatin silver photograph, Clearing Winter Storm, Yosemite by Ansel Adams from the Widrow estate sold for $23,700. This same photograph is part of the current traveling exhibition of Adams’ work entitled Ansel Adams, Early Work.
Turning to the contemporary art category, Enrico Donati’s framed mixed media entitled Eclipse Anee 2000 earned $26,070. Persons of the Prism, a framed acrylic on canvas by Gordon Onslow Ford (California, 1912-2003) sold well at $13,035.
Clars reports that Asian art and antiques has been performing exceptionally well for them. This sale had a set of four Chinese hanging scrolls, executed in ink and color on paper and attributed to Liu Kuo-sung (b. 1932), which nearly doubled its high estimate by selling for $35,550.
Important antique furniture lots performed within or over their estimates, suggesting that the decline in prices has been reversed. Selling for well over estimate was a circa 1875 monumental American Renaissance Revival bedroom suite done in walnut and walnut burl. With a high estimate of $12,000, this suite sold for $18,960.
The Sunday session of the two-day sale featured several exceptional jewelry offerings from these important consignors. The headliner of this category was a 9-carat brilliant cut diamond ring set in platinum accented by 52 smaller diamonds. This dazzling piece of fine jewelry sold for $88,450 to a determined phone bidder.
Clars Auction Gallery’s next two-day Fine Estate Auction will be Saturday and Sunday, June 12 and 13.
The auction house is located at 5644 Telegraph Ave. in Oakland.
For additional information, call Clars Auction Gallery at (888) 339-7600, visit their website at www.clars.com, or email: info@clars.com.
Enrico Donati’s mixed media on canvas ‘Eclipse Annee 2000’ earned $26,070. Image courtesy of Clars Auction Gallery. Estimated to achieve $12,000 on the high side, the monumental walnut and walnut burl American Renaissance Revival bedroom suite sold for $18,960. Image courtesy of Clars Auction Gallery. The headliner of the jewelry category was this 9-carat brilliant cut diamond ring set in platinum accented by 52 smaller diamonds. A determined bidder prevailed, paying $88,450. Image courtesy of Clars Auction Gallery.
Rookwood’s impressed logo, date, shape number and artist Kataro Shirayamadani’s signature are on the bottom of this 5 1/2-inch vase. It has a $2,000-$3,000 estimate. Image courtesy of Treadway Gallery.
CINCINNATI – Climate change isn’t always about the weather. The climate of the antique market is constantly changing, and Don Treadway of Treadway Gallery is attempting to adjust the thermostat to keep his customers comfortable. Results will be gauged Saturday, June 5, when Treadway conducts his annual Decorative Arts auction at the historic Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal.
This major sale, which begins at 10 a.m. Central, includes more than 500 lots, slimmed down a bit from previous Treadway auctions. LiveAuctioneers will provide Internet live bidding.
“It’s sort of a sale for the times,” said Treadway, describing the market for antiques as “dicey.”
“Great things are still in demand, the middle is difficult,” said Treadway. “Acknowledging this, we have been particularly stingy with reserves.”
Treadway said saw at his recent auction in Chicago a willingness among buyers to pay fair prices for good items. “So don’t give me something encumbered with a reserve,” he said.
Reflecting the summertime feel of the auction are two fine Rookwood vases that will sell in the first half hour. A graceful bulbous shape vase, 5 1/2 inches high by 4 inches wide, dated 1894 and decorated with sunflowers by Kataro Shirayamadani has a $2,000-$3,000 estimate. A 15-inch-tall Rookwood vase with a Vellum glaze and a finely painted landscape of birch trees by a lake shore, done by Lenore Asbury in 1918, is expected to sell for $3,500-$4,500. A Rookwood Vellum plaque picturing a Venetian boat scene by Ed Diers has a $15,000-$20,000 estimate.
Other Rookwood artists whose works will be available at the auction are E.T. Hurley, Sallie Coyne, J.D. Wareham, Carl Schmidt and Lorinda Epply.
In addition to the featured Rookwood pottery, Treadway will offer Rozane, Weller, Owens, Roseville, with the emphasis on Ohio pottery.
Also included are many examples of Moorcroft, Charley Vyse, Martin Brothers, Royal Doulton, Lachenal, Zsolnay, Ruskin and Bigot.
Buyers will find numerous examples of Arts and Crafts pottery such as Van Briggle, Teco, Wheatley, Fulper, Dedham, several pieces of Newcomb and metalwork by Dirk Van Erp. There is also a collection of WMF metalwork including several rare examples.
American and European art glass includes fine examples by L.C. Tiffany, Tiffany Studios, Gallé, Daum, Muller and Rene Lalique.
A selection of graphic works by Leon Dolice and Gustav Klimt are also listed along with a fine Pedro Lemos pastel. Other artists include John Weis, Victor Casenelli, William Meuttman and Werner Drewes There are several fine Asian vases.
As always, everything is guaranteed, noted Treadway.
For details call Treadway Gallery at 513-321-6742.
A finely painted landscape by Lenore Asbury is covered with a Vellum glaze. The 15-inch Rookwood vase, which is dated 1918, has a $3,500-$4,500 estimate. Image courtesy of Treadway Gallery. ‘On the Riva’ is the title of this Venetian scene painted on a Rookwood Vellum glaze plaque by Ed Diers. It is 20 1/2 inches by 15 inches, including frame. The estimate is $15,000-$20,000. Image courtesy of Treadway Gallery. The bronze base of this Tiffany Studios lamp is an unusual form. Topped with a leaded glass shade in the Pomegranate pattern, the lamp is estimated at $15,000-$20,000. Image courtesy of Treadway Gallery. Rookwood artist Grace Young titled this portrait ‘Ute Squaw + Papoose,’ which she painted on an 11-inch vase dated 1898. This classic example of Rookwood Standard glaze has a $6,000-$8,000 estimate. Image courtesy of Treadway Gallery.
Rare and important, this 14 3/8-inch Overbeck vase is carved with the profiles of three women walking amid stylized flowers. The work of sisters Elizabeth and Mary Frances Overbeck, the vase is estimated at $12,000-$17,000. Image courtesy of the Auctions at Rookwood. CINCINNATI – The Auctions at Rookwood will present art pottery and art glass treasures with Keramics 2010 on Saturday, June 5, and Rookwood XX on Sunday, June 6. LiveAuctioneers will provide Internet live bidding for both auctions, which begin at 10 a.m. Eastern both days.
This marks the first time the annual sales will be sponsored by and conducted at Rookwood Pottery Co. at its facility near downtown Cincinnati. Last November Rookwood Pottery assumed the art pottery auctions conducted for many years by Cincinnati Art Galleries.
“It’s very good sale and we’ve tried to be conservative with the pricing. We hope customers appreciate that and come spend some money,” said Riley Hummler, director of auctions at Rookwood Pottery.
As in past Cincinnati auctions, the first day will be devoted to art pottery other than Rookwood. In recent years art glass has been added to the mix.
An outstanding Overbeck pottery vase carved with the profiles of three women walking amid stylized flowers will come up early in Saturday’s auction. Done by Elizabeth and Mary Francis Overbeck, the 14 3/8-inch vase bears the incised Overbeck logo along with the artists’ incised initials. In excellent original condition, except for light crazing, the vase has a $12,000-$15,000 estimate.
A rare Weller vase, based on a painting by Childe Hassam, pictures a nude female bather on a rocky seaside cliff done in Hudson Perfecto or Silvertone colors. The 11-inch vase bears an impressed Weller mark in block letters. It carries a $6,000-$8,000 estimate.
“The figure and background are three dimensional and may be cast but we have never seen another example. We do not know if Weller made more of these but this is the sole example that we have encountered,” states the auction catalog.
An impressive Daum Nancy cameo glass lamp, the shade and base exhibiting frilly cockscomb flower heads, the blooms supported by woody stems lined with foliage, will also be sold Saturday. The shade measures 12 3/4 inches in diameter and displays the Daum Nancy signature with the Cross of Lorraine. The wrought iron arms are each tipped with a single ginkgo leaf. The lamp is 20 inches high and has a $15,000-$20,000 estimate.
A fine paperweight vase created by Mark Peiser in 1979 is an example of the contemporary glass at the auction. Fashioned from Wisteria blue glass, the vase features a tropical theme showing two palm trees on the front and a solitary palm tree on the obverse. The trees tower over a speckled sandy shore graced by tiny white and yellow flowers peeking through tall grasses. Within the bottom of the vase, a pool of cobalt blue imitates a pool of water. The early signed Peiser vase carries a $10,000-$15,000 estimate.
Headlining Rookwood XX is a rare Iris glaze vase with Art Nouveau tulip decoration done by Kataro Shirayamadani in 1900. Its yellow flowers, done in heavy slip, are nicely contrasted against the milky white ground. Marks include the Rookwood logo and flames indicating 1900 along with special shape number S 1656. There are also remnants of the red acquisition numbers used by the Cincinnati Art Museum for pieces on loan from Rookwood. “Rookwood thought enough of this vase to lend it to the CAM and it is also possible that it may have made its way to Paris for the 1900 Expo,” notes the auction catalog. In excellent original condition with a bit of crazing, the 13 1/8-inch vase is expected to sell for $9,000-$12,000.
Large white poppies adorn an 8 1/2-inch Iris glaze vase decorated by noted Rookwood artist Carl Schmidt in 1904. This vase has a $3,000-$4,000 estimate.
The sale will take place at Rookwood Pottery, 1920 Race Street, in the historic Over-the-Rhine neighborhood near downtown Cincinnati.
Hummler said he expects to encounter some logistical and emotional hurdles in staging the auctions at a whole new venue, but with the customers’ patience believes the sale will go smoothly.
More than 500 lots are included in the Keramics 2010 auction Saturday. The Rookwood XX sale on Sunday has approximately 400 lots.
Kataro Shirayamadani decorated this rare Iris glaze vase with Art Nouveau tulips early in his career at Rookwood. The 13 1/8-inch vase is dated 1900 and is estimated at $9,000-$12,000. Image courtesy of the Auctions at Rookwood. Rookwood’s Carl Schmidt decorated this 8 1/2-inch vase with large, flamboyant white poppies. The Iris Glaze vase is dated 1904 and has a $3,000-$4.000 estimate. Image courtesy of the Auctions at Rookwood. Standing 20 inches high, this impressive cameo glass lamp is signed Daum Nancy with the Cross or Lorraine. It has a $15,000-$20,000 estimate. Image courtesy of the Auctions at Rookwood. The scene on this rare Weller 11-inch vase is based on a painting by American Impressionist artist Childe Hassam that pictures a nude female bather on a seaside cliff. Marked ‘Weller’ in block letters, the vase, has a $6,000-$8,000 estimate. Image courtesy of the Auctions at Rookwood. Mark Peiser created the decoration for this 1979 paperweight vase using Wisteria blue glass. The 9 1/2-high signed vase has a $10,000-$15,000 estimate. Image courtesy of the Auctions at Rookwood.
This Queen Anne period American tiger maple highboy in original finish came from a Virginia estate. Dating to the mid-18th century, the highboy has a $6,500-$10,000 estimate. Image courtesy of Bobby Langston Antiques.
WILSON, N.C. – Veteran antique dealer Bobby Langston knows he has outstanding merchandise for his annual Memorial Day Auction. Now that everything is cataloged and ready to sell, he hopes for a strong response from bidders for the Monday, May 31 auction, which will begin at 9:30 a.m. Eastern.
“We have two or three estates with fantastic stuff,” said Langston. “I hope we have a lot of bidders come here or bid online.”
LiveAuctioneers will provide Internet live bidding.
Langston will sell a large selection of 18th- and 19th-century English, American and French antiques from estates in Goldsboro and Greensboro, N.C., in addition to items from several private collections.
The signature piece of furniture is a Queen Anne period American tiger maple highboy in original finish, which comes from a Virginia estate. Dating to the mid-18th century, the highboy has a $6,500-$10,000 estimate. “It has the original dark finish,” said Langston.
A Queen Anne period American tiger maple and bird’s-eye maple tea table, circa 1750-1760, in as-found condition in a Virginia estate, has a $1,200-$1,750 estimate.
English furniture includes a petite18th-century mahogany broken-arch top secretary, which stands 87 inches tall, 30 inches wide and 22 1/2 inches deep. The top door doubles as a mirror. It carries a $3,000-$5,000 estimate
An American continuous-arm Windsor armchair with a saddle seat has a $600-$900 estimate.
A set of 12 mahogany antique Hepplewhite shield-back chairs has a $3,500-$5,000 estimate.
Eight American banister-back chairs with woven seats from the early 1700s have an estimate of $1,400-$2,000. “You just don’t see them anymore,” said Langston.
A tall case clock in mahogany and with a moon phase dial by Walter H. Durfee, Providence, R.I., is estimated at $15,000-$18,000. Its mahogany cast stands 8 feet 5 inches tall. Another clock that will get a lot of attention is an early 1800s weight-driven banjo clock in the style of Willard. “It’s not signed, but it’s a fantastic clock of that age,” said Langston.
Ceramics in the auction include Staffordshire, Imari, majolica and Delft.
Paintings include a large 19th-century portrait of an English noblewoman. The oil painting, which measures 60 inches by 44 inches, has a $1,500-$2,500 estimate.
Bird’s-eye maple and tiger maple went into the making of this as-found Queen Anne period American tea table, which dates to circa 1750-60. It carries a $1,200-$1,750 estimate. Image courtesy of Bobby Langston Antiques. Though unsigned, this early 1800s weight-driven banjo clock dates to the time of clockmaker Willard Simon. The clock appears to be in working order and has a $2,000-$30,000. Image courtesy of Bobby Langston Antiques. ‘R.A. Parker’ is clearly signed on this oil on canvas painting titled ‘A Winter’s Day.’ The painting is 58 1/2 inches by 41 inches.’ It has a $2,000-$3,000 estimate. Image courtesy of Bobby Langston Antiques. Bidding is expected to reach $7,500-$15,000 for this 18th-century Georgian mahogany secretary with original top and antique hardware. Image courtesy of Bobby Langston Antiques.
Rupp Quality Motion of Mansfield, Ohio, manufactured this miniature Corvette, which is powered by a small gas engine. It is expected to sell for $500-$800. Image courtesy of Harrison Auctions Inc.
FORT MYERS, Fla. – Memorial Day weekend has long been associated with auto racing, and Harrison Auctions Inc. will feature several sporty toy and pedal cars in its sale Saturday, May 29, which starts at 10 a.m. Eastern. LiveAuctioneers will provide Internet live bidding.
First to the line is a Corvette Sting Ray by Rupp Quality Motion of Mansfield, Ohio. The gas-powered convertible is 84 inches long and sports a $500-$800 estimate.
An electric Corvette, which is 60 inches long by 29 inches wide, has a $400-$600 estimate.
Several pedal cards, both vintage and new, will be sold. A vintage pedal car in original white paint has a $200-$400 estimate. Reproductions of a Speedway Pace Car and a pedal airplane will also be sold.
The auction will begin with a selection of antique furniture including display cabinets. Toys, dolls and collectibles, including NASCAR items, will follow.
The 178-lot auction will be conducted at Sam’s Plaza Unit 312, 5100 S. Cleveland Ave. in Fort Myers.
An electric motor powers this miniature Corvette. The toy sports car is 60 inches long and has a $400-$600 estimate. Image courtesy of Harrison Auctions Inc. Basic transportation, this vintage pedal car is in its original white paint with red trim. It is expected to sell for $200-$400. Image courtesy of Harrison Auctions Inc. This Speedway Pace Car is a reproduction of a pedal car. It is in excellent condition and carries a $150-$300 estimate. Image courtesy of Harrison Auctions Inc.
Shimon Okshteyn (b. 1951 Ukraine) ‘Mona Lisa’ painting and serigraph on paper mounted on canvas composed of four individual colored and painted serigraphs laid down on canvas, with the image of Mona Lisa painted on all four, estimate: $8,000-$10,000. Image courtesy of Gray’s Auctioneers & Appraisers.
CLEVELAND – Gray’s Auctioneers & Appraisers will offer a rare Shimon Okshteyn oil painting and serigraph Mona Lisa at their 19th Century, Modern and Contemporary Fine Art Auction on Thursday, May 27. LiveAuctioneers will provide Internet live bidding for the sale, which begins at 1 p.m. Eastern.
Estimated conservatively at $8,000-$10,000, the painting is composed of four individual colored and painted serigraphs on paper laid down on canvas, with the image of Mona Lisa painted on all four. The signature is on the lower right panel in the lower right corner.
Okshteyn’s work is described by Robert Sandelson as “a new kind of pop art, engaging, shocking and baffling.” It is a massively scaled work in which Okshteyn expands upon his signature sensational mimetic representation of an old master painting. The work is 84 inches high by 94 inches wide overall. Each panel is 42 inches high by 47 inches wide.
Shimon Okshteyn immigrated to the United States from the former Soviet Union in 1980. He currently lives and works in New York City. His work is held in the permanent collections of the Whitney Museum of Contemporary Art in New York, the Brooklyn Museum of Art in New York and the State Russian Museum of Art in St. Petersburg.
This small and select auction of 178 lots also features a dynamic Clement Meadmore (Australian/American, 1929-2005) bronze Cross Current, standing at 13 inches tall.
The Sculpture of Clement Meadmore, published in 1994 by Hudson Hills Press, New York, states: “In a typical sculpture by Clement Meadmore, a single, rectangular volume repeatedly twists and turns upon itself before lunging into space, as if in a mood of aspiration or exhilaration, or simply to release physical forces held in tension.”
Edmond Jean-Baptiste Tschaggeny (Belgian, 1818-1873) is represented by a stunning pastoral scene, oil on canvas featuring a shepherdess, sheep, cattle and a dog stopping for a rest beside a stream. Tschaggeny is a highly regarded animal painter.
Other top works are lot 73, by Oscar Dominguez (Spanish, 1906-1957) Nude Woman with Fruit, ink on paper signed and dated 1935, and lot 120A, Louis Icart (French, 1888-1950) Miss America colored etching, which is signed lower right “Louis Icart.”
Founded by Deborah J. Gray and partner Serena Harragin in 2006, Gray’s Auctioneers holds specialized live auctions every month. For detail contact Serena Harragin at serena@graysauctioneers.com or call 216-458-7695. The company is located at 10717 Detroit Ave., Cleveland.
