The Auction Block – January 12, 2017

North Italian School (late 15th/early 16th century)
Estimate: $100,000 – $150,000
Auction Date: January 25

Christie’s
“Madonna lactans with the Last Supper”
North Italian School (late 15th/early 16th century)
Estimate: $100,000 – $150,000
Auction Date: January 25

It is rare to find a North Italian School work of this quality and stature up for auction: a woodcut printed from two blocks in black with extensive hand-coloring in blue, yellow, white, grey and brown on laid paper with a watermark. The image — a kneeling angel in a single circle surmounted by a trefoil (Veneto, c. 1530) — is a unique and unrecorded impression of this large single-leaf woodcut, trimmed on or just inside the borderline, framed and in remarkably good condition.

The Potomack Company
Special Sale: Estate of Novelist Tom Clancy
Auction Date: January 31

The Potomack Company will host an online sale from the estate of best-selling novelist Tom Clancy, author of “The Hunt for Red October” and “Patriot Games.” Highlights include a collection of chic modern furniture from Clancy’s 80-acre waterfront estate on Chesapeake Bay, including a mid-century modern shagreen-covered cabinet, a Garrison Rousseau crocodile-skin coffee table, a snakeskin-topped table and set of cut velvet dining chairs, along with the author’s golf cart and a telescope he used to view ships and wildlife from his office window. Reflecting Clancy’s fascination with Cold War history is a Soviet-era military trench coat with insignia.

Bonhams
“By the Dock”
Antonio Cirino (1889–1983)
Estimate: $4,000 – $6,000
Auction Date: January 26

Included in Bonhams’ Important Maritime Paintings and Decorative Arts auction, this work conveys a peaceful elegance; its availability at such a modest price is a rare opportunity. This auction is a must for any collectors interested in items related to boating or maritime traditions, including paintings from several eras as well as globes, sextants, orreries, figureheads and ship models.

Doyle New York
“The Grand Canal, Venice, Looking Toward Santa Maria della Salute”
Follower of Bernardo Bellotto
Estimate: $6,000 – $9,000
Auction Date: January 25

Doyle will hold an auction of English and Continental Furniture and Decorations, including Old Master Paintings and Drawings, presenting a broad selection of furniture, decorations, porcelain, Georgian silver, sculpture, clocks, chandeliers, sconces, tapestries and rugs. The section of the auction devoted to Old Master paintings and drawings offers landscapes, still lifes, portraits and religious subjects from the Renaissance to the 19th century, including this Venetian scene by a follower of Bellotto, the renowned painter of the city.

Freeman’s
“Hound with Hare”
Joseph Victor Chemin (1825–1901)
Estimate: $20,000 – $30,000
Auction Date: January 23

Part of Freeman’s European Art and Old Masters sale, this classically beautiful bronze with a verdigris patina depicts a European greyhound looking back at her master, having retrieved a wild hare on a hunt. Other items include an original etching and drypoint by Rembrandt, a signed colored lithograph by de Chirico and a wealth of Italianate drawings and paintings rife with cherubs, angels and Roman architecture — perfect gifts for Valentine’s Day.

**Sotheby’s**
*“Portrait of Mrs. James Smith Colburn *
*(Sarah Dunn Prince)”*
*Gilbert Stuart (1755–1828)*
***Estimate: $15,000 – $25,000***
***Auction Date: January 19***

Sotheby’s will host this sale of American and English furniture, silver, paintings and prints from the Collection of George S. Parker II from the Caxambas Foundation. Furniture highlights include a pair of Philadelphia side chairs attributed to Martin Jugiez; a Rhode Island Queen Anne shell-carved, blockfront dressing table; a Philadelphia high chest of drawers attributed to John Pollard; and an armchair by the same maker, once owned by Charles Thomson. American portraitists represented include John Singleton Copley, Gilbert Stuart, Thomas Sully and John Trumbull. This Stuart portrait depicts Sarah Dunn Prince, daughter of Captain Job and Elizabeth (Cutler) Prince of Boston. Captain Prince commanded the Massachusetts, at the time the largest merchant ship in America.