Auction Block

Georgetowner • June 3, 2015

Christie’s

“Benefits Supervisor Resting”

Lucian Freud (1922 – 2011)

Auction Date: May 13

Estimate: $30 million – $50 million

Final Selling Price: $56.2 million

Sotheby’s

San Ildefonso Polychrome Lidded Jar

Tony Da (1940 – 2008)

Auction Date: May 21

Estimate: $25,000 – $35,000

Final Selling Price: $68,750

Bonhams

“…Emerging into an opening that appeared to have been formed partly by the ravages of the wind, and partly by those of fire”

N. C. Wyeth (1882 – 1945)

Auction Date: May 20

Estimate: $400,000 – $600,000

Final Selling Price: $1,325,000

Freeman’s

Napoleon III Twin-Handled Urn

Auction Date: May 19

Estimate: $30,000 – $50,000

Final Selling Price: $131,000

Georgetowner •

The Potomack Company

“Indian Capturing an Eagle, No 5”

John Joseph Boyle (1852 – 1917)

Estimate: $15,000 – $25,000

Auction Date: June 13

“Indian Capturing an Eagle, No. 5,” by renowned American artist John Joseph Boyle, depicts a young Native American man kneeling over an eagle and plucking a feather pensively from his catch. The sculpture was cast by New York’s Roman Bronze Works and presented in 1908 as a gift from Boyle to his friend, the industrial artist and art educator Leslie W. Miller

Freeman’s

Laurence Stephen Lowry (1887-1976)

“Peel Park, Salford”

Estimate: $250,000-$350,000

Auction Date: June 16

Lowry’s paintings, featuring factories and textile mills in northern England populated by his iconic “matchstick” men and women, are by no means as naive or simplistic as they appear on first look. The throngs that haunt the canvases were, according to the artist, “part of a private beauty that haunted (me).” Peel Park, Salford, was one of his best-loved subjects. This work will be offered as part of the European Art & Old Master auction.

Christie’s

Grand and Petite Sonnerie Desk Clock,

c. 1925

Cartier, Paris

Estimate: $30,000 – $50,000

Auction Date: June 17

The dial and case of the clock are signed Cartier, Paris, and the movement and case are numbered. Part of Christie’s Auction of Important Watches, this superb piece has several exquisite features, including a white enamel dial, Roman numerals, an outer minute track with Arabic five-minute divisions, diamond-set hands, and a green guilloché case with white enamel border, the top with diamond-set initials.

Sotheby’s

Singing Bird Scent Flask, c. 1790

Estimate: $800,000 – $1,200,000

Auction Date: June 11

Unseen for generations, many of the timepieces in the Swiss Mechanical Marvels collection were created by preeminent artists of the late 18th and early 19th century, such as Jacquet-Droz and Piguet & Meylan. The highlight of the collection is the Singing Bird Scent Flask, a gold-enameled, pearl-and-gem-set piece, made specifically for the Chinese market. Music plays from the bird through a miniature six-pipe organ. The bird’s beak moves realistically, the body swivels and the tail goes up and down

Doyle New York

Gold and White Enamel Bangle Bracelet

Tiffany & Co., Schlumberger, France

Estimate: $8,000 – $12,000

Auction Date: June 11

This 18-kt. gold bracelet, signed Tiffany & Co., is part of Doyle New York’s Auction of Fine Jewelry. Including over 650 lots with more moderate estimates than in the Important Jewelry sales, the showcase includes glittering creations set with diamonds, colored stones and pearls, as well as gold, jewelry, fine watches and gentlemen’s accessories. Among the selection of fine watches for ladies and gentlemen are examples by Patek Philippe, Rolex, Boucheron, Graff, Cartier, Bulgari, Piaget, Blancpain and Tiffany & Co.

Christie’s

Diamond Rivière Necklace

Estimate: $ 1.4 million – $1.8 million

Auction Date: June 22

Part of Bonham New York’s Fine Jewelry Sale, this spectacular rivière comprises a graduated line of 51 round brilliant-cut diamonds weighing more than 70 carats, joined by a heart-shaped clasp weighing 2.04 carats and mounted in platinum. Each of the round diamonds in the necklace have ‘excellent’ grades from the Gemological Institute of America for polish, symmetry and cut — known in the industry as ‘Triple X’ (needless to say, this is extremely rare).

Georgetowner • May 6, 2015

Sotheby’s
San Ildefonso Polychrome Lidded Jar, New Mexico
Tony Da (1940-2008)
Estimate: $25,000 – $35,000
Auction Date: May 21

Sotheby’s sale of American Indian Art is distinguished by the Charles and Sharon Aberle Collection, which features early and exceptionally fine Navajo blankets. The sale also includes diverse works of Native art from the Great Lakes to the Northwest Coast, comprising basketry, pottery, carvings and jewelry.

Freeman’s
Monumental Napoleon III Bronze Twin-Handled Urn
Estimate: $30,000 – $50,000
Auction Date: May 19

Mounted on a rouge griotte marble pedestal, this urn is offered as part of Freeman’s upcoming sale of English & Continental Furniture and Decorative Arts. The sale will feature rare works of 18th-century porcelain by Chelsea and Worcester, speaking to a period of production that was guided by a fascination with natural forms, driven by advances both in botany and in taste.

Bonhams
“…Emerging into an opening that appeared to have been formed partly by the ravages of the wind, and partly by those of fire,” 1925
Oil on canvas
N. C. Wyeth (American, 1882-1945)
Estimate: $400,000 – $600,000
Auction Date: May 20

The father of Andrew Wyeth, Newell Convers Wyeth was one of the great American illustrators. His “Treasure Island” illustrations are widely considered to be among the greatest of all time. During his lifetime, Wyeth created over 3,000 paintings and illustrated 112 books. The present painting is an illustration from “The Deerslayer” by James Fenimore Cooper.

Doyle New York
Russian Silver Gilt and Cloisonné Enamel Coffee Pot
Workmaster Fedor Ruckert, Moscow, c. 1896-1908
Estimate: $40,000 – $50,000
Auction Date: June 3

Enameled silver is one of Russia’s greatest artistic legacies. The acknowledged master of this work was Fedor Ruckert (1840-1917), a silversmith of German origin working in Moscow in the final years of Romanov rule. This exquisite piece is part of Doyle New York’s auction of 19th- and 20th-century fine and decorative arts, reflecting the opulence of the Belle Époque.

Christie’s
“Benefits Supervisor Resting”
Lucian Freud (1922-2011)
Estimate: $30 million – $50 million
Auction Date: May 13

As part of Christie’s Post-War and Contemporary Evening Sale, this landmark painting by Lucian Freud will go on sale alongside equally monumental works by Mark Rothko, Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Franz Kline, Hans Hoffman, Jeff Koons, David Smith, Roy Lichtenstein, Wayne Thiebaud, Francis Bacon and others.

Bringing the Hammer Down
Final selling prices for last month’s featured Auction Block items.

Doyle New York
Frida Kahlo Archive
Auction Date: April 15
Estimate: $80,000 – $120,000??
Final Selling Price: $137,000?

Christie’s
Napoleon III Japanese Imari Porcelain Torchères
Auction Date: April 16
Estimate: $120,000 – $180,000
Final Selling Price: $149,000

Bonhams
Fair Copy of Enola Gay Log Book
Auction Date: April 29
Final Selling Price: $50,000

Sotheby’s
“Silent Seasons – Summer No. II”
Will Barnet (1911-2012)
Auction Date: April 23
Estimate: $60,000 – $90,000
Final Selling Price: $118,750

Freeman’s
Special Minguren I Coffee Table
George Nakashima (1905-1990)
Auction Date: April 22
Estimate: $30,000 – $50,000?
Final Selling Price: $55,000

Georgetowner •

Sotheby’s
Silent Seasons – Summer No. II
Oil on Canvas
Will Barnet (1911 – 2012)
Estimate: $60,000 – $90,000
Auction Date: April 23

Sotheby’s April sale of American Paintings, Drawings and Sculpture includes a rich array of American artwork from the 19th and 20th centuries, including this iconic painting by Will Barnet, which exhibits the artist’s characteristic motifs of the human figure and animals in casual scenes of daily life, depicted in a state of dreamlike whimsy. Other highlights include Gifford Beal’s ‘Fish Houses, Winter Day,’ as well as works by George Inness, Jasper Francis Cropsey, and notable 20th century artists like Charles Burchfield and Norman Rockwell.

christie’s
A massive pair of Napoleon III ormolu-mounted Japanese Imari Porcelain
thirteen-light torchère
Estimate: $120,000 – $180,000
Auction Date: April 16

Part of Christie’s auction, The Opulent Eye: 19th Century Funriture, Sculpture, Works of Art, Ceramics & Glass, each of these rather magnificent torch lamps is of bottle outline with a pair of profusely scrolled acanthus handles, issuing thirteen scrolled candle-branches on entwined dolphin support. A truly opulent sight.

bonham’s
An Important Suite of Diamond and Ruby Jewelry
Van Cleef & Arpels French, 1988
Estimate: $180,000 – $220,000
Auction Date: April 15

This diamond and ruby suite from the 1980’s, part of Bonham’s Fine Jewelry sale, is a beautiful and romantic example of Van Cleef & Arpel’s graceful designs set with superbly matched calibré set cut rubies and diamonds. This suite is a fine example of Van Cleef & Arpels interpretation of the unique time and fashion which characterized the 1980’s with the image of wealth and success expressed in impressive jewels and dress.

Freeman’s
Special Minguren I Coffee Table
Curly maple burl and walnut
George Nakashima (1905 – 1990)
Estimate: $30,000 – $50,000
Auction Date:April 22

The American Furniture, Folk & Decorative Arts sale at Freeman’s is a welcome treat for those interested in the unique history and style of American craft and design. From the 18th century to the 20th century, the selection ranges from a Chippendale walnut case clock ca. 1775, to 20th century master furniture makers like George Nakashima, whose renowned “natural wood” design is on full display with this beautiful coffee table. Other offerings include Oriental rugs and carpets, as well as rare coins.

doyle new york
Frida Kahlo Archive
Estimate: $80,000 – $120,000
Auction Date: April 15

Doyle New York’s auction of Rare Books, Maps & Autographs is highlighted by an archive of unpublished love letters written by Mexican artist Frida Kahlo to Jose Bartoli.This group of letters is dated between August 1946—when Kahlo had just turned 39—and November 1949. Her letters were written while Kahlo was recuperating at home in Mexico City from a spinal fusion performed in June of 46. The archive comprising approximately 25 letters in Spanish from Kahlo to Bartoli.

Michelle Galler • February 12, 2015

Governor Gooch had a secret.

Virginia Governor William Gooch had good reason to hide the truth in his 1732 annual report to the British Board of Trade. The colonies were forbidden to engage in manufacturing any products in direct competition with those imported from England, except for those that would benefit the mother country.

Yet, he and his government had long encouraged local entrepreneurs, including a Yorktown merchant known as William Rogers.

An enterprising brewer and businessman, Rogers’s pottery was one of Virginia’s most prosperous businesses, producing 23 types of redware and stoneware, which were shipped up and down the East Coast. Since the quality of Rogers’s vessels was comparable to anything imported from England, and clearly posed a conflict, Gooch maintained his deception until the end of the decade.

The most utilitarian pottery available, redware was one of the first necessities that the colonists made themselves. It’s no wonder Governor Gooch was covert about this flourishing industry. Redware pots were used like plastic is used today. They were comparably cheap, plentiful and locally crafted, using clay with high iron content (this is what gives redware its characteristic red or orange hue).

Redware jugs, jars, plates, bowls and tavern ware of various kinds were used throughout 17th- and 18th-century America. If the housewife needed it, the potter made it. Unfortunately, the potter, or anyone who regularly used redware vessels, commonly developed nervous disorders, like palsy and tremors, associated with lead poisoning.

There are multitudes of contemporary pieces on the market that are being advertised as antiques. Hence, collectors should educate themselves to be able to discern fakes.

Examine the back of the piece to see if it is blackened, which would indicate that it was used on the hearth and is likely an old piece. Since tallow or fat leaches into clay, smelling the piece for faint remnant odors of either can help determine whether it’s an older item. A glaze with a glassy quality is a sign of a modern piece.

Stoneware was developed due to the fear of poisoning from lead-glazed earthenware. Made of dense, blended clays, salt-glazed and then fired to vitrification, stoneware was imported to the colonies from England and Germany.

Early American redware potters rarely inscribed their names in the soft clay, but stoneware quite often bears the maker’s mark. Crocks, jugs, butter churns – chiefly utility items – were typically decorated with freehand cobalt decoration of flora, fauna and, occasionally, military motifs. An urn featuring Civil War soldiers recently sold at auction for $350,000.

The mellow, golden-colored ware is a type of stoneware made of fine yellow clay that was found along riverbanks in New Jersey and other Mid-Atlantic states. Since the yellow clay contains a lower level of iron, causing it to vitrify at higher temperatures than red clay, yellow ware items were much harder and more durable for kitchen use.

The collector can determine whether an older piece is American yellow ware by tapping it: American pieces will thud; English yellow ware will ring. It was a popular choice for kitchen use up until the 1940s, when homemakers began to be seduced by pieces made of modern materials.

The south has a wide and diverse 200-year history of pottery, covering multiple states. Southern redware and stoneware research has made significant strides in the last 25 years. Entire new schools of pottery have been discovered, uncovering new forms and traditions.

The pottery of the “Great Road” represents some newer discoveries of the southern pottery tradition. The Great Road, considered part of the “Great Wagon Road” initiating in Philadelphia, was the primary route from Roanoke, Va., to eastern Tennessee.

A wonderful piece of antique American folk pottery, whether it is redware, stoneware or yellow ware, has its own distinct past. A potter – who probably dug his own clay, mixed his own glaze recipe and fired his pieces in old wood-fired kilns – made each piece, and every piece tells its own unique story.

An antiques dealer for more than 25 years, Michelle Galler owns Antiques, Whimsies & Curiosities, based in Georgetown and in Washington, Va. Contact her at antiques.and.whimsies@gmail.com to suggest a topic for a future column. [gallery ids="101984,135444,135446" nav="thumbs"]

Georgetowner • February 11, 2015

Final selling prices for last month’s featured Auction Block items.

Bonhams

Shamrock V, 1995, oil on canvas
John Mecray (b. 1939)
Auction Date: Jan. 30
Estimate: $60,000 – $80,000
Final Selling Price: $62,500

Sotheby’s

Bacchante with Grapes Carried by Two Bacchantes and a Bacchant, dated 1800
Claude Michel, called Clodion (1738-1814)?
Auction Date: Jan. 29
Estimate: $600,000 – $1,000,000
Final Selling Price: $2,853,000

Christie’s

Tete de Chevre de Profil, 1950
Pablo Picasso (1881-1973)
Auction Date: Feb. 6
Estimate: $3,000 – $4,600
Final Selling Price: $15,310

Freeman’s

Diamond, Sapphire, Platinum and 14ct Rose Gold Spray Brooch
Torre Vincent?
Auction Date: Feb. 9
Estimate: $1,400 – $1,800??
Final Selling Price: $1,875 (buyer’s premium included)

Doyle New York

St. Sebastian, oil on canvas?
Follower of Jacopo Tintoretto?
Auction Date: Jan. 28
Estimate: $3,000 – $5,000??
Final Selling Price: $16,250 (buyer’s premium included)

Georgetowner •

Doyle New York

Pair of Chinese Cloisonné Elephants, early 20th century
Estimate: $70,000 – $90,000
Auction Date: March 16

Part of Doyle’s Asian Works of Art Auction, each elephant stands four-square on a rectangular base, the head held low with the trunk curled under between long, gently curved tusks. They are both set with a saddle and elaborate trappings, supporting a vase with a pearl and flame finial. This beautiful décor looms large: height 72 inches, length 47 ½ inches, width 24 inches.

Christie’s London

18ct Gold Sapphire and Coloured Diamond ‘Chiocciola’ Ring
De Grisogono
Estimate: $4,000 – $4,600
Auction Date: March 4

This opulent ring is of stylized crossover design, the single terminal set ‘en tremblant’ with briolette-cut yellow and orange sapphires, to a brilliant-cut yellow diamond looped surround and single shoulder. It will be part of Christie’s London’s popular Jewelery Auction.

Bonhams

Japanesque Tea Caddy, c. 1880
Hammered Sterling Silver and Mixed-Metal
Tiffany & Co.
Estimate: $12,000 – $18,000
Auction Date: March 4

This wonderful hammered tea caddy, with gilded interior, has a body and cover decorated with applied vines, dragonflies and gourds in copper and gold, along with ‘mokume’ butterflies. It will be part of Bonham’s Auction of Fine Furniture, Silver, Decorative Arts and Clocks.

Sotheby’s

Theatre Des Errements III, 1963, gouache on paper
Jean Dubuffet (1901-1985)
Estimate: $300,000 – $400,000
Auction Date: March 5

Sotheby’s March 5 Contemporary Curated auction will highlight a diverse range of works from the brightest stars of the post-war and contemporary periods. Examples from the Ab-Ex and Color Field artists will be offered side-by-side with important works from the Pop and Pictures Generation, as well as cutting-edge visionaries of today. This Dubuffet piece is sure to attract a great deal of attention.

Michelle Galler • January 29, 2015

Early American hooked rugs were a craft of poverty. Prior to 1780, most floors in American homes were bare, especially among the poor. Painted floors or stenciled floor cloths were found in the homes of those who were slightly better off. Only the very wealthy had the means to import carpeting, since the American textile industry was in its infancy.

After 1830, as factories in America began making wool carpets for the rich, having a floor covering became a symbol of domestic and socioeconomic well-being. This was a period when Americans were looking beyond the bare necessities, trying to make their homes more livable.

As the fashion for floor coverings took hold, poorer women began ransacking their scrap bags for materials to employ in creating their own floor coverings. Their work was laborious and slow, hooking rag strips through tightly woven linen or hemp backings using a special tool adapted from the sailor’s marlinspike.

Then, after 1850, trade tariffs relaxed and coffee, grain and feed started to arrive wrapped in jute burlap sacks made in India. This free fabric was strong, but loosely woven enough to allow the rag scraps to be easily hooked through it into the characteristic loops.

The women who made the early rugs also designed them, borrowing many of the motifs from the Oriental rugs imported by the wealthy. A New England peddler noticed the rug-hooking trend and saw an opportunity. In 1876, he began stamping the best of the traditional designs onto burlap. His designs also included lions, tigers, leopards, dogs, cats, birds, deer and floral patterns.

From this point on, every woman could make her own colorful rugs from scraps of clothing. For the next 50 years, this essentially rural craft spread to the humblest households along the northeastern seaboard.

In the waning years of the 19th century, with the industrial revolution well underway, machine-made goods were seen as superior to homemade goods. Hooked rugs were viewed as “quaint” and lost their popularity.

By the 1920s, however, American cities were filling up with multitudes of immigrants. Many Americans reacted to these social changes by idealizing the colonial period as a time of noble virtues and high moral standards. There was a flurry of interest in hooked rugs and homemade quilts as “virtuous” colonial artifacts (though most had been produced long after the end of the colonial period).

In the 1930s and ’40s, antique dealers and interior designers recognized the beauty and historical value of this form of needlework, leading to a resurgence of rug hooking. In fact, the great majority of the rugs we find today sold as “antiques” were made between 1900 and 1960. Since they are less than 100 years old, they are more properly called “vintage.”

American country antique collecting was at its height in the mid-1960s. Armistead Peter 3rd (1896-1983) and his wife Caroline Ogden-Jones Peter (1896-1965), the last private owners of the venerable Georgetown estate Tudor Place, began to redecorate their stately home after Peter’s father passed away. They elected to purchase three hooked rugs for their bedrooms, and those boldly pattern rugs are still part of the collection.

Today, older hooked rugs have again regained popularity, due in part to their wonderfully colorful graphics. Also, like American primitive antiques in general, they show “the hand of man” and mix well with other styles, including transitional and the now-popular mid-century modern look.

Condition is very important when collecting older hooked rugs. Collectors should be sure to check the backing for signs of rot or for missing fabric. A restorer can patch the backing and restore missing rag, but a buyer should be ready to do some heavy negotiating for a damaged hooked rug.

These once purely utilitarian objects are now recognized as an art form that, in addition, traces the nation’s history from pre-industrial times. The good news is that wonderful examples can still be readily found and are reasonably affordable. They add a dash of color, whimsy and history to any well-decorated home.

An antiques dealer for more than 25 years, Michelle Galler owns Antiques, Whimsies & Curiosities, based in Georgetown and in Washington, Va. Contact her at antiques.and.whimsies@gmail.com to suggest a topic for a future column. [gallery ids="101977,135524" nav="thumbs"]

Michelle Galler • January 16, 2015

Here in Georgetown, we live in the mother lode of antiquities, an antique community where relics are everywhere we look. Since Georgetowners interact with history every day in our 18th- and 19th-century homes and on our cobblestoned streets, it’s easy to stop actually seeing the objects and places that inform our daily lives.

So it’s interesting to delve a bit into the what and why of the old things that surround us, everyday household items or fine rarities from a century or more ago: a colorful vase that a favorite aunt left, an old bottle found under a floorboard during renovations, yellow ware bowls, glorious old silver, colorful tins that once held everything from soup to opium.

A dealer in antiques for most of my adult life, I am drawn to old things and old places. I still like to imagine the people who lived in my early 19th-century home and how they lived in it. They loved, lost and raised their families within the quotidian realities of the age.

Just as certain smells can flood us with memories, antiques can provide a powerful connection to our own personal histories. A familiar object spotted at an antiques shop can be an emotional bridge with our past, a childhood moment or a loved one.
Many collectors’ fascination with the things of the past reflects a profound desire to connect to a time when life was more predictable. True collectors don’t buy to resell. They buy for that enduring link to the past, a sense of history, the thrill of the hunt or to furnish a home.

My penchant for collecting Staffordshire portrait figures (1837-1901) stems from all of the above. They are decorative and have a wonderful naïve charm. The figures were the Victorian version of People Magazine; made to communicate the “news of the day” to everyman, they had a broad appeal across social classes. Many a politico, murderer, actress, soldier and historic event of the time were portrayed in Staffordshire.

Victorian portrait figures are generally titled, but not always. The quality of the workmanship varies tremendously. Some were quite primitively rendered, making the characters impossible to recognize (likely the result of basing the portrait on a bad engraving in a periodical of the day). Yet all are historically interesting and, amassed, make up a visually pleasing and thought-provoking collection.

Prior to 1840, most figurines were made to imitate porcelain and finely worked. Starting in 1842, the “flat-back” design made them easier to reproduce in earthenware. The Crimean War (1854-1856) was the heyday of this form. There was intense popular interest in Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, the allied leaders and their war commanders, and a profusion of figures were made in the new style.

One of the chief attractions in collecting Staffordshire figures is the great number of variations within a type. Each potter created his own version of a well-known contemporary subject – a famous battle, performer, literary character or royal personage – hence the profusion of similar subjects that look extremely different from one another.

Some collectors specialize in certain themes, like Little Red Riding Hood (a popular subject). Others may collect circus figures, politicians, sporting figures or any of the hundreds of variations available.

By the start of the 1880s, the art was beginning to decline. Finally, with the death of Queen Victoria, fewer figures were produced. Although a few figures were made to commemorate World War I, they were in a different, more sophisticated style, lacking the former rustic charm.

For me, the fun is in buying whatever strikes my fancy. Since the figures are ubiquitous, I am almost always able to find company for the others in my collection.

An antiques dealer for more than 25 years, Michelle Galler owns Antiques, Whimsies & Curiosities, located in Georgetown and in Washington, Va. Contact her at antiques.and.whimsies@gmail.com to suggest a topic for a future column.