Artur Van Riggle, Harry Bertoia, Paul Evans, and other design greats charmed bidders at Rago

1902 Despondency vase by Artus Van Briggle for Van Briggle Pottery, which sold for $104,800 with buyer’s premium at Rago.

LAMBERTVILLE, N.J. – Back-to-back design sales in mid-January at Rago delivered typically strong results. Early 20th Century Design, held on January 18, posted high numbers for ceramics, while Modern Design, which took place January 19, saw triumphs for furniture and sculpture. Both sales were presented via LiveAuctioneers.

The crowning glory of the January 18 sale proved to be a 1902 Despondency vase, made by Artus Van Briggle for his self-named pottery firm. Estimated at $20,000-$30,000, it hammered for $80,000 and achieved a staggering $104,800 with buyer’s premium. The vase dated to soon after Van Briggle established his pottery in Colorado Springs in 1901, a location he chose in hopes it would ease his tuberculosis. Sadly, he would succumb to the disease in July 1904, at only 35 years old. The Despondency vase, possibly influenced by Rodin figures Van Briggle would have seen when studying in Paris in the late 1890s, is a coveted form of his. An example is on view at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

A 1901 piece by Anna Marie Valentien for Rookwood Pottery also handily beat its $4,500-$6,500 estimate. The large, yellow-beige modeled matte vase that featured the figure of a young woman clinging to one side hammered for $26,000 and sold for $34,060 with buyer’s premium. In addition, a circa-1920 Dinanderie vase by Jean Dunand charmed bidders, hammering for $21,000 and selling for $27,510 with buyer’s premium against an estimate of $7,000-$10,000.

Earning top-lot status in the January 19 auction was a circa-1968 bronze by Harry Bertoia, dubbed Untitled (Bush Form) and estimated at $50,000-$70,000. Bidders evidently liked that it had been in the same collection since it was made and that it is listed in the Harry Bertoia catalogue raisonné, because it rose to a hammer price of $100,000 and sold for $131,000 with buyer’s premium.

Another clear winner was a lot consisting of an armless sofa and matching chairs in teak, created in the 1950s by Pierre Jeanneret for Punjab University in Chandigarh, India. Estimated at $40,000-$50,000, the group hammered for $65,000 and sold for $85,150 with buyer’s premium.

Paul Evans is a perennial favorite at Rago; more than two dozen pieces by the New Hope, Pennsylvania furniture artist appeared in the January 19 lineup. A circa-1968 loop cabinet with a pleasing green-patinated copper exterior romped past its $12,000-$16,000 estimate to hammer for $60,000 and sell for $78,600 with buyer’s premium.

Stahl Collection brings early 20th-century art pottery prizes to market at Toomey Jan. 17

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CHICAGO — Lee and Susan Stahl are collectors of early 20th-century American and English art pottery, and have amassed an amazing collection in impeccable condition. More than 220 examples from this collection will come to market on Wednesday, January 17 at Toomey & Co. featuring vases, bowls, tableware, landscapes, sculpture, and more. The complete catalog is now available for bidding at LiveAuctioneers.

One of the Stahl collection’s stars is a Roseville Pottery tank vase, designed by Frank Ferrell (1878-1961), one of the Zanesville, Ohio company’s leading talents. Reflecting the Art Deco period in which the vase was released, its Egyptian-like geometry almost defies explanation, making it a top collector favorite today. Known as Model 412-9, the crystalline-glazed earthenware dates to 1928 and is estimated at $8,000-$10,000.

Now part of Tulane University in New Orleans, Newcomb College was founded through a grant from Josephine Louise Newcomb in memory of her beloved daughter, Harriott Sophie Newcomb, who died at 15 of diphtheria. The goal was to create an environment for women to learn and acquire practical skills, including industrial arts such as pottery. From that art program came what is now known as Newcomb College Pottery, and one of its stars was a young woman named Sabina Wells, a native of Charleston, South Carolina. This 1904 vase with anemones is an example of her work, and it is the sale’s top lot at $10,000-$15,000.

Mazie Teresa Ryan was another acclaimed Newcomb potter working in the same period as Wells. Dated to 1906, this vase with stylized chrysanthemums is made of glazed earthenware, stands 8.6in in height and has NC AY26 M T Ryan marked to its base. It carries a $5,000-$7,000 estimate.

Cincinnati’s acclaimed Rookwood Pottery Company was founded in 1880 and survived until 1967, though a revival of the brand began in 2004. Lenore Asbury (1886-1933) was a lifelong Rookwood employee, having originally attended Cincinnati Art Academy. She worked in a number of media, including vases, but she also excelled at glazed ceramic plaques. Twilight Landscape is a 9 by 12in vellum plaque, is signed LA, and has an estimate of $3,000-$5,000.

Weller Pottery began in 1872 with a log cabin and a beehive kiln, but grew to become the nation’s biggest pottery concern by 1905. With success came more mass production, such as this Dancing Frogs garden ornament dating to 1930. Standing 16.5in in height, the piece is estimated at $3,000-$5,000.
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Roseville Pottery Futura tank vase, estimated at $8,000-$10,000 at Toomey.
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Early Sabina E. Wells vase for Newcomb College, estimated at $10,000-$15,000 at Toomey.
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Early Mazie Teresa Ryan vase for Newcomb College, estimated at $5,000-$7,000 at Toomey.
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Lenore Asbury for Rookwood large vellum plaque, estimated at $3,000-$5,000 at Toomey.
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Weller Pottery Dancing Frogs garden ornament, estimated at $3,000-$5,000 at Toomey.
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Whimsical Rookwood tile mural a highlight of Bruneau May 20 auction

Monumental Rookwood tile mural, estimated at $10,000-$15,000
Monumental Rookwood tile mural, estimated at $10,000-$15,000
Monumental Rookwood tile mural, estimated at $10,000-$15,000

CRANSTON, R.I. – A monumental Rookwood tile mural salvaged from a historic theater in Washington, D.C. and a nude figural drawing by the Indian artist Jehangir Sabavala (1922-2011) are expected top lots in Bruneau & Co. Auctioneers’ online-only Estate Fine Art & Antique auction planned for May 20 and starting at 6 pm Eastern time. More than 400 lots will be offered. Absentee and Internet live bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.

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