Le Pho, Charles Bruguier and a Grand Harmonicon stood out at Nye & Co.’s Estate Treasures sale

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BLOOMFIELD, N.J. – The phenomenon of rubbing a wet finger around the rim of a wine goblet to produce a note is as old as glassmaking.

However, the crystallophone, an instrument composed of glass vessels to create music, is a more recent phenomenon. The Irish musician Richard Pockrich is credited as the first to play the so-called “glass harp” in the 1740s, with various musically minded entrepreneurs championing various forms of the instrument as a parlor amusement into the 1750s. It is none other than Benjamin Franklin who, in 1761, gained credit for “inventing” what he called the glass harmonica, which used graduated bowls to produce three octaves of sound by means of friction.

Francis Hopkins Smith (1792-1872), of Northampton County, Virginia, patented his version of the crystallophone, which he called the Glass Harmonicon, on April 7, 1785. Smith’s glasses were blown to pitch, with each engraved with the note to the base. Offering his instrument with an accompanying manual, Tutor for the Grand Harmonicon, published in 1825, Smith advertised that the instrument was easy to play, claiming “a few weeks practice will make a pleasing performer.”

Most, if not all, of Smith’s Glass Harmonicons were manufactured in Baltimore between 1830 and 1850, with prices ranging from $18 for the standard two-octave model to $85 for the 24-bowl harmoniums with elaborate cases that doubled as occasional furniture.

It is estimated that only around 30 of these survive, with most of them residing in American museum collections. The labeled example offered for sale by Nye & Co. on September 13-15 (Day 1, Day 2, Day 3) had a provenance to the dealership Stanley Weiss. It hammered for $8,500 ($10,880 including buyer’s premium) against an estimate of $3,000-$5,000.

Another music-making device popular in the middle years of the 19th century was the singing bird box. Some of the best were produced by the Swiss maker Charles Bruguier (1788-1862) of Geneva. Throughout his professional life he concentrated on automata, and was famed for making boxes that really did mimic birdsong. The example at Nye & Co. was housed in a 4in silver case decorated with taille-douce engraving and panels of polychrome enamel. It is dated to circa 1850. Estimated at $10,000-$20,000, it reached its high estimate ($25,600 with buyer’s premium).

The top lot overall was a large oil on silk by the Vietnamese artist Lê Phổ  (1907-2001), The 2ft 4in by 3ft 3in Mother and Child hammered for $90,000 ($115,200 with buyer’s premium) against an estimate of $40,000-$60,000.

Lê Phổ was part of the first generation of Vietnamese artists who — exposed to western artistic practices at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts of Hanoi — established an art career in Paris.

Lê Phổ’s career is often divided into three distinct historical and stylistic periods: his early works painted before the Second World War; those painted during the troubled post-colonial years, when the artist was represented by the French gallerist André Romanet; and the period from 1963, when Lê Phổ ’s near-exclusive dealer of choice was the Wally Findlay Galleries in the US.

Mother and Child was stamped and labeled Galerie Romanet, dating it to the period circa 1946-1962. Lê Phổ was still painting on silk but using the harsher and intensified colors thought to reflect sociopolitical events of the time. It came from a private Princeton, New Jersey collection.

The sale’s best performer against its estimate was a mahogany and painted metal center table designed by Gerard Bland. A typical creation by the Sotheby’s fine furniture specialist turned New York interiors dealer, it combined a circular top from a Georgian dining table with a contemporary base. A table of this design – perhaps the same one – appears in promotional shots of the Gerald Bland gallery taken a decade ago. Estimated at $400-$600, it raced away to bring $13,000 ($16,640 with buyer’s premium).
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Grand Harmonicon, which sold for $8,500 ($10,880 with buyer’s premium) at Nye & Co.
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Grand Harmonicon, which sold for $8,500 ($10,880 with buyer’s premium) at Nye & Co.
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Gerald Bland wood and black metal center table, which sold for $13,000 ($16,640 with buyer’s premium) at Nye & Co.
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Le Pho, ‘Mother and Child,’ which sold for $90,000 ($115,200 with buyer’s premium) at Nye & Co.
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Charles Bruguier singing bird box, which sold for $20,000 ($25,600 with buyer’s premium) at Nye & Co.
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John Moran anticipates a fruitful Art + Design auction, Aug. 29

Raimond Staprans, ‘A Study of Down-Rolling Oranges with a Staid Neon Apple,’ estimated at $40,000-$60,000. Image courtesy of John Moran Auctioneers
Raimond Staprans, ‘A Study of Down-Rolling Oranges with a Staid Neon Apple,’ estimated at $40,000-$60,000. Image courtesy of John Moran Auctioneers
Raimond Staprans, ‘A Study of Down-Rolling Oranges with a Staid Neon Apple,’ estimated at $40,000-$60,000. Image courtesy of John Moran Auctioneers

LOS ANGELES — On Tuesday, August 29 at noon Pacific time, John Moran Auctioneers will present its Summer Art & Design sale, featuring more than 300 lots. Absentee and Internet live bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers. Likely top lots include works by artists Alice Baber, Raimond Staprans and Lê Phổ as well as furniture designer Adrian Pearsall.

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Beachy keen: Case readies 1,200-lot auction, July 8-9

Detail of George Hughes cover illustration for the August 2, 1952 issue of The Saturday Evening Post, estimated at $18,000-$22,000. Image courtesy of Case
George Hughes cover illustration for the August 2, 1952 issue of The Saturday Evening Post, estimated at $18,000-$22,000. Image courtesy of Case
George Hughes cover illustration for the August 2, 1952 issue of The Saturday Evening Post, estimated at $18,000-$22,000. Image courtesy of Case

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — 20th-century fine art provides a vivid backdrop for an array of more than 1,200 lots at Case’s Summer Auction, set for Saturday, July 8 and Sunday, July 9. Standouts include large estate collections of fine jewelry and luxury fashion, as well as a treasure trove of flags and other Civil War Navy relics that descended from Rear Admiral John Ancrum Winslow, who commanded the USS Kearsarge to victory against the CSS Alabama. Absentee and Internet live bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.

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Gallery Report: Le Pho painting blooms at Hindman

ATLANTA – At the beginning of each month, ACN columnist Ken Hall delivers top auction highlights from around the United States and the wider world. Here is the November 2022 edition of his Gallery Report. All prices quoted include the buyer’s premium, except where noted otherwise.

Le Pho painting, $337,500, Hindman

A painting by Vietnamese artist Le Pho (1907-2001), titled Femme Peignant (Woman Painting), sold for $337,500 at Fine Art auctions held Sept. 27-29 by Hindman in Chicago. Also, Le Pho’s paintings La Lettre and Les Dahlia Jaunes brought $237,500 and $137,500, respectively; an untitled portrait of a baseball player by Ernie Barnes rang up $312,500; Friedel Dzubas’s 1978 work Aglaura went for $137,500; Ron Davis’s Red Top, from 1968, realized $131,250; and Gertrude Abercrombie’s Blue Screen, completed in 1945, hit $225,000.

Copy of Wonder Woman #1, $54,000, Bruneau & Co. Auctioneers

A copy of DC Comics’ Wonder Woman #1, featuring the first appearance of Ares and a retelling of the origin of Wonder Woman, graded CGC 5.5, sold for $54,000 at a sale of the Henry Anderson collection held October 1 by Bruneau & Co. Auctioneers in Cranston, Rhode Island. Also, a copy of DC Comics’ Detective Comics #38, featuring the origin and first appearance of Batman’s sidekick Robin, the Boy Wonder, graded CGC 3.0, brought $51,600.

American National pedal car, $66,000, Milestone Auctions

An American National Deluxe Coupe pedal car, fitted with opening doors, sliding windows, interior upholstery and curtains, sold for $66,000 at a sale of antique and vintage toys from the Mark Smith collection held September 24 by Milestone Auctions in Willoughby, Ohio. Also, a Gendron 50in-long chain-drive pedal car with a steel body and a wooden radiator, tires and frame sped off for $24,000; and a Domo Maserati 4cl tether race car made in Italy brought $6,600.

Chinoiserie-style table, $10,000, John Moran Auctioneers

A black lacquered Chinoiserie-style console table with gilt highlights sold for $10,000 at an auction of Property from the Thomas and Erika Jayne Girardi Residence held September 21 at John Moran Auctioneers in Los Angeles. Also, an 81in-tall bronze sculpture of a man by J. Seward Johnson, Jr. brought $13,750; a pair of Michael Taylor Monticello outdoor garden armchairs realized $7,150; and a 19th-century Continental hand-painted, black lacquered cabinet with mythological oil paintings rose to $11,875.

John Speed map of the world, $12,650, Old World Auctions

 A New and Accurat Map of the World by John Speed, an iconic 1626 first state version of Speed’s double-hemisphere world map with blank verso, sold for $12,650 in an online auction held in September by Old World Auctions, based in Richmond, Virginia. Also, Islandia, a 1585 map by Abraham Ortelius – one of Ortelius’s most decorative maps, featuring fantastical sea monsters – earned $12,075, and an unusual 1658 oval bible map of the world by Danckert Danckerts made $7,475.

1821 Half Eagle gold coin, $4.62 million, Heritage Auctions

An 1821 Half Eagle $5 gold U.S. proof coin, graded PR65 Cameo, the only proof in private hands and one of only two proof examples known (the other is in the Smithsonian Institution), sold for $4.62 million at Part 1 of the Harry W. Bass, Jr. Core Collection held September 29 by Dallas-based Heritage Auctions in Long Beach, California. Also, a 1795 BD-1 13 leaves $10 U.S. coin, MS64, rose to $690,000; and an 1848 CAL. quarter eagle coin, MS64, garnered $552,000.

Chinese porcelain vase, $504,000, Doyle

A Chinese famille rose porcelain vase with the Qianlong mark and of the period sold for $504,000 at an Asian Works of Art auction held September 21 by Doyle in New York City. Also, another exceptional Qianlong mark and period tianqiuping-form vase, decorated with a monochrome blue glaze, went to a determined bidder for $94,500, many times its $10,000-$15,000 estimate.

Maud Lewis folk art painting, $100,300, Miller & Miller Auctions, Ltd.

A mixed media painting by Canadian folk artist Maud Lewis (1903-1980), titled Winter Sleigh Ride, sold for $100,300 in an online-only Canadiana & Folk Art auction held October 8 by Miller & Miller Auctions, Ltd., based in New Hamburg, Canada. Also, a mixed media diorama by Adelard Brousseau of Quebec, titled Maple Sugar Time, rose to $10,620; and an acrylic on paper by Norval Morrisseau (Canadian, 1932-2007), titled Ancestral Visitors, made $11,800. Prices are in Canadian dollars.

Tiffany Poppy table lamp, $93,750, Fontaine’s Auction Gallery

A circa-1905 Tiffany Studios Poppy table lamp with vibrant red poppies surrounded by blue and yellow background glass sold for $93,750 at a fall sale held Sept. 24-25 by Fontaine’s Auction Gallery in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Also, a circa-1910 Tiffany Studios Peony Border chandelier realized $87,500; a platinum bracelet with more than 45 carats of diamonds finished at $81,250; and a circa-1880 Eastlake walnut four-piece bedroom set commanded $27,500.

Winchester Model 21 shotgun, $14,100, Rock Island Auction Company

An engraved and gold-inlaid Winchester 16-gauge Model 21 double-barrel shotgun set, offered with its case, hit the mark for $14,200 at a Sporting & Collector Auction held Oct. 5-6 by Rock Island Auction Company in Rock Island, Illinois. Also, a Ben Shostle signed master relief engraved Colt first generation single-action Army revolver with its case earned $11,750, and a pair of Remington Custom Ship Model 547 sporting bolt action rifles scored a bull’s-eye for $10,575.

William Skilling elephant painting, $18,750, Dallas Auction Gallery

An undated, signed oil on canvas dubbed Untitled (Elephant profile) by William Skilling sold for $18,750 at a Fine & Decorative Art auction held September 21 by Dallas Auction Gallery in Dallas. Also, an undated oil on canvas by Edouard Leon Cortes, titled La Place de l’Opera, realized $18,750; Texas artist Jose Vives-Astara’s 1982 painting titled Landscape of Vail – Colorado went for $6,875; and a pastel by Texas artist Reveau Basset, titled Mallards Landing, attained $3,750.

John Steinbeck letter, $32,426, RR Auction

A two-page letter John Steinbeck wrote to his 14-year-old son, Thomas, dated Nov. 10, 1958, in which he offers wise, fatherly advice on matters of the heart, sold for $32,426 in an online auction held Sept. 23-Oct. 12 by RR Auction, based in Boston. Also, Edgar Allan Poe’s handwritten letter soliciting a donation for the Southern Literary Messenger garnered $149,999, and Benjamin Franklin’s handwritten letter regarding the mutinous crew of John Paul Jones’s flagship earned $62,500.

Ansel Adams Yosemite photo print, $38,750, Holabird Western Americana Collections

An Ansel Adams-signed Yosemite photo print from around 1959 sold for $38,750 at a Western Frontiers auction held October 13-16 by Holabird Western Americana Collections in Reno, Nevada. Also, a Gibson model ES175 Sunburst electric guitar with a factory Bixbee whammy bar realized $3,500; a beautiful circa-1900 red mesa chief pattern rug went for $4,000; and a gold 1914 $50 American Buffalo coin brought $2,250.

Diamond and gold brooch, $2,080, Clars Auction Gallery

An antique diamond and platinum-topped 14K gold brooch designed as an old mine or old European-cut diamond-set flower, the diamond weighing 2.0 carats, sold for $2,080 at an auction held Oct. 15-16 by Clars Auction Gallery in Oakland, California. Also, a monumental 1996 work by Nathan Oliveira (American, 1928-2010), titled Wing-Owl, flew to $28,750; and a suite of prints by Richard Diebenkorn (American, 1922-1993), titled Six Soft Ground Etchings, finished at $16,250.

Lion model circus wagon, $6,600, Potter & Potter Auctions

A lion model circus wagon from around 1940, finely detailed and painted, sold for $6,600 at a Circus Sale held September 24 by Potter & Potter Auctions in Chicago. Also, a 1944 Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey / World’s Biggest Menagerie bird’s-eye view poster settled at $3,600; a 1930s Sells-Floto Miss Arline and Kiddo Balloon horse poster maquette earned $4,080; and a pair of gloves believed to have been owned by Buffalo Bill Cody changed hands for $1,560.

First edition 2007 factory-sealed iPhone, $39,340, LCG Auctions

A factory-sealed 2007 first-edition iPhone sold for a record price of $39,340 at a Fall Premier Auction held October 16 by LCG Auctions in New Orleans. Also, a 1978 Star Wars Luke Skywalker action figure with a double telescoping lightsaber, graded AFA 85, achieved $33.359; a 1987 G.I. Joe Defiant playset, CAS 80, earned $32,513; a 1982 Masters of the Universe He-Man action figure, AFA 80, brought $32,513; and a 1985 Transformers Jetfire, AFA 90, realized $18,353.

Gorham silver candelabras, $84,000, Cottone Auctions

A pair of Gorham sterling silver Art Nouveau candelabras made for the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair sold for $84,000 at a Fine Art & Antiques auction held September 23 by Cottone Auctions in Geneseo, New York. Also, a 1963 gouache on paper by Alexander Calder (American, 1898-1976), titled The Beams, went for $90,000; a Tiffany Studios Peony table lamp lit up the room for $103,200; and a Chinese Ming-style blue and white ewer, with a Qianlong mark and of the period, brought $282,000.

William S. Kendall painting, $24,000, Kaminski Auctions

A painting by William Sergeant Kendall (American, 1869-1938), titled St. Ives Pray for Us, signed and dated 1890, sold for $24,000 at a two-day estates auction held Sept. 24-25 by Kaminski Auctions in Beverly, Massachusetts. Also, a set of six circa-1970 Tucroma leather chairs, by Guido Faleschini for Pace Furniture, climbed to $4,800; an 18K gold bracelet with two sapphires at the closure settled at $12,000; and a set of Hermes Le Jardin de Pythagore dinnerware made $4,200.

Rolex Daytona Big Red watch, $90,000, Jones & Horan

A Rolex Daytona Big Red ref 6263 watch sold for $90,000 at a four-hour afternoon sale held September 25 by Jones & Horan in Manchester, New Hampshire. Also, a Patek Philippe Calatrava ref 2526 achieved $27,000; a Rolex Submariner ref 16808 reached $26,000; and a Tropical Deep Sea Alarm Diver finished at $25,000.

Zhang Daqian handscroll, $23,370, Michaan’s Auction

A large handscroll painting attributed to Zhang Daqian (Chinese, 1899-1983), titled Landscape, sold for $23,370 at an Annex Auction held Aug. 15-18 by Michaan’s Auction in Alameda, California. Also, a Chinese blue and white moon flask realized $19,680; an oil on canvas Self Portrait by Henrietta Berks (American, 1919-1990), achieved $9,225; an unmounted 2.20-carat diamond with pendant mount made $10,455; and two Flora Danica items, a tureen and a dish, won $3,382.

View top auction results on LiveAuctioneers here: https://www.liveauctioneers.com/pages/recent-auction-sales/

Hindman’s three mid-December art auctions take in $4.2M

N.C. Wyeth, ‘When Drake Saw for the First Time the Waters of the South Sea,’ $275,000
L-R: N.C. Wyeth, ‘When Drake Saw for the First Time the Waters of the South Sea,’ $275,000; Gladys Nilsson, ‘See Far: Son Good,’ $212,500; Albrect Durer, ‘The Four Horsemen,’ $62,500
L-R: N.C. Wyeth, ‘When Drake Saw for the First Time the Waters of the South Sea,’ $275,000; Gladys Nilsson, ‘See Far: Son Good,’ $212,500; Albrect Durer, ‘The Four Horsemen,’ $62,500

CHICAGO – In mid-December, Hindman Auctions achieved more than $4.2 million during three days of Fine Art auctions. Across the December 13 American and European Art, the December 14 Post War & Contemporary Art and the December 15 Prints & Multiples auctions, bidders from 32 countries and 42 states participated. Works by artists such as N.C. Wyeth, Orville Bulman, Gladys Nilsson, Larry Poons, Friedel Dzubas, Lois Dodd, Albrecht Durer and Julie Mehretu saw extraordinary engagement. Eager competition was demonstrated for the thoughtfully composed selection of more than 300 works.

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Wendell Castle, Le Pho, Claude Venard deliver at Neue

Claude Venard still life, which sold for $15,990
Claude Venard still life, which sold for $15,990
Claude Venard still life, which sold for $15,990

BEACHWOOD, Ohio – An important dining table custom designed by Wendell Castle soared to $70,110, and vibrant still-life oil paintings by Le Pho and Claude Venard sold for $20,910 and $15,990, respectively, in Neue Auctions’ online-only Modernism sale, held on May 15.

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Three distinct periods of Vietnamese painter Le Pho

Le Pho’s ‘Les dahlias,’ 1979, oil on canvas, was exhibited earlier in February 2019 by Findlay Galleries in New York City. Photo courtesy of Findlay Galleries

NEW YORK – Vietnam has not been synonymous with great art, at least in the mind of Western audiences. That unfortunate slight has been changing in recent decades as Vietnamese art has gained a foothold on the global art market of late, being showcased in major art fairs and exhibitions all over the world from Europe to Japan.

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