The Auction Block

October 8, 2014

Bonhams
Edgar Degas (1834-1917)
Danseuses et contrebasse (‘Dancers and bass’), ca. 1879-1880
oil on panel
ca. 1879-1880
Auction Date: Nov. 4, 2014
Estimate: $400,000 – $600,000

Part of the Impressionist and Modern Art Auction, this rare oil by Degas shows the painter at work again on his beloved dancers. With the recent 2012 exhibit at The Phillips Collection, “Degas’ Dancers at the Barre,” and the recently opened “Degas’ Little Dancer” at the National Gallery, this painting is a piece of a reinvigorated history for any Washington collector. This auction covers works from the dawn of Impressionism to the fracturing of traditions in the Post-War period, from Degas to Dalí, covering the movements that define recent Western Art. Artists represented include Monet, Bonnard, Sisley, Pissarro, Rodin, Picasso, Miró and Ernst ,to name but a few. www.Bonhams.com

Andy Warhol (1928 – 1987)
“Campbell’s Soup I,” 1968
The complete set of ten color screenprints on wove paper.
Auction Date: Nov. 2, 2014
Estimate: $250,000-400,000

Warhol’s “Campbell’s Soup I,” a complete set of ten screenprints, is the centerpiece of the Modern & Contemporary Art sale, featuring works by Calder, Dubuffet and Bertoia, among others. These screenprints were purchased directly from the artist
during one of their first showings at Leo Castelli’s gallery in 1968 by Lois Cowles Harrison,. The daughter of famed Warhol collector (and founder of Look Magazine) Gardner Cowles Jr., Cowles Harrison was an avid and early collector of Warhol and other Pop artists.

Potomack Company
Rare Gilt Bronze Mounted Kingwood
Meuble de Milieu
By Joseph-Emmanuel Zweiner, Paris, ca. 1880
Auction Date: Oct. 18, 2014
Estimate: $20,000 – $30,000

Cabinetmaker Joseph-Emmanuel Zwiener (1849-1895) was born in Germany and moved to Paris to practice his craft. He was renowned for his copies of 18th century furniture from public collections and won a gold medal at the Exposition Universelle in Paris in 1889. This cabinet is after a design by Charles Cressent (1685-1768). www.PotomackCompany.com

Doyle New York
Willem de Kooning (1904-1997)
Woman, 1965
Oil on paper laid to panel
Auction Date: Nov. 11. 2014
Estimate: $200,000 – $400,000

This seminal de Kooning will be offered with Doyle’s Post-War and Contemporary Art sale on Nov. 11, from the Estate of the Honorable Roy M. Goodman. The piece was initially acquired directly from the artist by New York State Senator Goodman (1930-2014), who was a dedicated and effective advocate for the arts in New York for more than forty years. Senator Goodman was even named an Ambassador for the Arts by the National Endowment for the Arts “in recognition of his unwavering support of the arts and cultural affairs.” The work is inscribed to Goodman by the artist himself on a notecard affixed to the reverse.

The Auction Block

September 10, 2014

Weschler’s

Tiffany & Co. Lucida Platinum and Diamond Solitaire Ring

Auction Date: September 19

Estimate: $25,000 – $35,000

Love is in the air at Weschler’s with a selection of nearly twenty diamond engagement rings, from their fall Capital Collections Estate Auction. The standout is a Tiffany & Co. Lucida platinum and diamond solitaire ring, set with an internally flawless, E-color, diamond weighing 1.63 carats. The auction will also feature an important selection of 20th century American works of art cultivated from prominent Washington, DC collections.

www.Weschlers.com

Sotheby’s New York

Platinum, 18 Karat Gold, Colored Stone and Diamond ‘Oiseau de Paradis’ Brooch, Schlumberger for Tiffany & Co., France, circa 1963

Auction Date: September 23

Estimate: $150/250,000

From an ‘Oiseau de Paradis’ brooch by Schlumberger boasting fantastical colored stone plumage, to an Art Deco inspired pair of David Webb diamond earrings framed by swirling enamelwork, the Important Jewels sale this September deftly guides collectors from day to night. Modern classics are mixed among exquisite period jewels including a rare Belle Époque garland design bracelet by Cartier. The sale also offers a superb array of top quality colored gemstones and diamonds, many of which are set in signed mountings.

www.Sothebys.com

Potomack Company

Magnificent String of Opal Beads with Diamond and Sapphire Clasp

Auction Date: October 18

Estimate: $10,000 – $15,000

This resplendent necklace consists of 29 graduated gemstone orbs in a rainbow of hues with a larger oval opal, sapphire and diamond clasp. Opal was considered good luck in the Middle Ages and is celebrated today as the October birthstone.

www.PotomackCompany.com

Doyle New York

Rose Gold, Platinum, Mystery-Set Ruby and Diamond Leaf Clip-Brooch, Van Cleef & Arpels

Auction Date: October 21

Estimate: $150,000 – $250,000

Part of Doyle New York’s Important Jewelry Auction. 18 carat brooch, composed of three overlapping leaves mystery-set with 316 square, rectangular and fancy-shaped rubies, centering fine ribbon-like veins and topped by two stylized leaves set with 20 tapered baguette and baguette diamonds.

www.DoyleNewYork.com

Freeman’s

9.69 Carat Diamond Ring with Diamond Accents

Auction Date: November 3

Estimate: $75,000 – $95,000

This pear shape diamond set in a platinum ring with triangular-cut diamond accents will be sold in Freeman’s Fine Jewelry & Watches auction on November 3.

www.FreemansAuction.com

BRINGING DOWN THE HAMMER

Sotheby’s

July 16, Fine Jewels Auction

Enamel and Diamond Bracelet, Verger Fréres, ca. 1920

Estimate: $34,280 – $51,420

Final Selling Price: $127,693

Bonham’s

July 02, Post-War & Contemporary Art (London)

Lucio Fontana (Italian, 1899 – 1968)

Concetto Spaziale, 1952

oil on canvas

Estimate: $400,000 – $565,000

Final Selling Price: $1,241,847

Christie’s

September 03, Out of the Ordinary auction (London, South Kensington)

Mark Stoddart

‘Hippo’ Dining Table, 2002

Estimate: $8,285 – $11,599

Final Selling Price: $28,805

The Auction Block August 6, 2014

August 6, 2014

The fall auctions of Asian art are lined up in New York like the panels of a painted screen, beginning Monday, Sept. 15, with Asian Works of Art at Doyle New York and Chinese Art at Bonhams.

On Tuesday, Sept. 16, Bonhams has a Fine Japanese Works of Art auction and Christie’s has two auctions: Indian and Southeast Asian Art and Fine Chinese Paintings. Sotheby’s also has two that day: Chinese Art through the Eye of Sakamoto Goro: Song Ceramics, and Fine Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art.

The sole auction on Wednesday, Sept. 17, is at Sotheby’s: Images of Enlightenment: Devotional Works of Art and Paintings. On Thursday, Sept. 18, Christie’s has an auction of Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art and Sotheby’s has two auctions of Chinese paintings: Fine Classical Chinese Paintings & Calligraphy and Chinese Paintings and Calligraphy, formerly in the collection of General and Mrs. Zhu.

The Chinese-owned Gianguan Auctions, at Madison Avenue and E 41st Street, has an auction of Fine Chinese Paintings, Ceramics, Bronzes and Works of Art on Sunday, Sept. 14.

On Friday, Sept. 19, concluding the week of intense contemplation – and competition – the Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art auction wraps up at Christie’s.

Just prior to the New York auctions, on Saturday, Sept. 13, Freeman’s in Philadelphia holds its fall auction of Asian art. Skinner in Boston has an Asian art auction on Wednesday, Sept. 17, with a preview in New York at The Culture Center on Friday, Sept. 12.

Asia Week New York, the even bigger spring series of sales and exhibitions, will take place March 13 to 21, 2015. Total sales at last spring’s event were $200 million, $25 million more than in 2013, due both to the rising interest in Asian art among museums and to the increasing number and wealth of Chinese buyers.

The Auction Block

July 2, 2014

Bringing the Hammer Down

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

Bonhams

James Edward Buttersworth, (British/American, 1817-1894)

“The America’s Cup yacht Vigilant”

Oil on canvas

Auction Date: June 25

Estimate: $200,000 – $300,000

Final selling price: $305,000

Freeman’s

Edouard Leon Cortes (French 1882-1969)

“Place St. Michel”

Oil on canvas

Auction Date: June 17

Estimate: $20,000 – $30,000

Final selling price: $43,750

Sotheby’s

Louis XV Ormolu-Mounted Chinese Lacquer Commode circa 1745, Stamped P. Roussel

Auction Date: June 9

Estimate: $150,000 – $250,000

Final selling price: $281,000

Doyle New York

Regence Style Walnut Marble Top Commode

Auction Date: July 16

Estimate: $1,200 – $1,800

The popular Doyle at Home auctions attract savvy buyers with an endless diversity of stylish furniture, elegant decorations and attractive works of art from prominent estates and collections across the country. Designers, architects, magazine editors and other trend-setters look to the Doyle at Home auctions as a resource for exceptional objects that combine quality, value and style. These auctions have also become popular venues for the sale of property from designers’ own collections or for furnishings that they have incorporated into projects for their clients. This auction of Fine Furniture, Decorations and Paintings from Prominent Estates and Collections, includes an impressive collection of furniture, prints, porcelain, silver and rugs.

Bonhams

Vasudeo S. Gaitonde (1924-2001)

Oil on canvas

Auction Date: September 17

Estimate: $300,000 – $500,000

Following a record-breaking auction of Indian, Himalayan and Southeast Asian Art in March, Bonhams New York announces it will offer two seminal works by one of India’s most important modern artists, V.S. Gaitonde. The masterworks by Gaitonde will headline a special section of Modern South Asian Art and will be on preview in New York from September 14-17. Signed and dated 1961 and 1963, respectively, the paintings stem from the artist’s much coveted and pivotal ‘non-objective’ series. With record prices achieved at auction over the past six months, and an upcoming retrospective opening at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York in October, Bonhams is anticipating strong international interest. This 1961 canvas, estimated at $300,000-$500,000, has a dramatic tonal variation with an abyssal vertical band of blue interrupting the median horizontal line.

Sotheby’s

Brian Belott

Untitled, 2014, mixed media and reverse glass technique, 40 1/4 by 32 1/4

Selling Auction: Hours of Operation

Monday – Friday 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., and by appointment

S|2 is Sotheby’s Contemporary art gallery, offering year-round exhibition programming and bespoke private sales. With dedicated gallery space in New York, London and Hong Kong, S|2 presents selling exhibitions exploring the work of celebrated artists. In collaboration with curator Ryan Steadman, Save It For Later is a selling exhibition of paintings and sculpture created for this show by a group of young and emerging American artists working in a consumer environment of disposable goods. The exhibition features artists that work with salvaged materials and incorporate reuse and recycling in their practice. Featured artists include Brian Belott, Graham Collins, Rachel Foullon, Jack Greer, Dave Hardy, Jo Nigoghossian and Jack Siegel.

The Auction Block

April 11, 2014

1. Freeman’s

Henri Matisse (1869–1954)

“Odalisque étendue”

Auction Date: May 4

Estimate: $100,000 to $150,000

As part of their sale of Modern & Contemporary Works of Art, which will include works
by Andy Warhol, Richard Pousette-Dart and Sam Francis, Freeman’s will offer this drawing
by Henri Matisse. Matisse’s series of odalisque pictures were made in the 1920s, after he
relocated to the French Riviera, and are representative of a softening of the artist’s approach
following World War I.

2. Bonhams New York

Peter Beard (b. 1938)

“Orphaned Cheetah Cubs in Mweiga nr. Nyeri, Kenya, 1968”

Auction Date: April 29

Estimate: $30,000 to $50,000

Bonhams will host a Fine Photographs auction, featuring more than 100 works from photographic masters including Ansel Adams, Jan Dibbets, Nan Goldin and Sally Mann. A highlight of the sale will be selections of animal photography, including Peter Beard’s “Orphaned Cheetah Cubs in Mweiga nr. Nyeri, Kenya,” from 1968. Beard, a prominent photographer and cultural icon, is known for his pictures of African wildlife, as well as his good looks and playboy impulses.

3. Sotheby’s

Henri Matisse (1869-1954)

“La Séance du matin”

Oil on canvas?

Auction Date: May 7

Estimate: $20 million to $30 million

Bright, classic and fresh-to-market works by Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso and Fernand Léger from a private American collection will lead Sotheby’s Evening Sale of Impressionist & Modern Art. The three paintings are important examples from a key phase in each artist’s career. “La Séance du matin” is one of Matisse’s celebrated works, painted in Nice in the 1920s It depicts his studio assistant Henriette Darricarrère, to whom he offered painting lessons during their time working together.

4. Potomack Company

Zhang Daqian (1899-1983)

“Letter to Wang Jiyuan,” 1967

Auction Date: May 3

?Estimate: $6,000 to $9,000

This one-page letter, in ink on paper, was inscribed by the internationally renowned 20th-century Chinese artist Zhang Daqian to his friend and colleague Wang Jiyuan. The two artists held a joint exhibition at the Smithsonian in 1971. Daqian wrote this letter from Sao Paolo, Brazil, in 1967, beginning his salutation warmly: “Jiyuan, my dearest brother, and to those you are closest to….” The letter is one of several Zhang Daqian letters featured in Potomack’s May sale.

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

Potomack Company

Qi Baishi,?“Rat Eating Loquat and Two Gourds,” 1924

Ink on paper on scroll

Auction Date: Feb. 22?

Estimate: $60,000 to $90,000

Final Selling Price: $194,000

Freeman’s

Child Hassam, “The Norwegian Cottage,” 1909

Oil on canvas?

Auction Date: March 30

Estimate: $200,000 to $300,000

Final Selling Price: $242,500?
?

Sotheby’s?

John James Audubon and John Bachman?, “The Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America,” 1845/48

3 vols., hand-colored lithographs

Auction Date: April 1

Estimate: $200,000 to $400,000

Final Selling Price: $245,000

The Auction Block & Bringing the Hammer Down

March 13, 2014

POTOMACK COMPANY
Foxall (Foxhall) Late Fall
By Benson Bond Moore (1882-1974)
1923
Auction Date: Feb. 22
Estimate: $2,000 to $3,000
A group of American paintings with local
interest will highlight Potomack’s February
Catalogue Sale. Notable among these works is
Benson Bond Moore’s “Foxall Late Fall.” A
native Washingtonian, Moore lived in the city
for 70 years and depicted regional scenes in
some some of his greatest paintings. Foxall, as
originally spelled, was one of Moore’s favorite
areas to set up his easel. This particular rendition
of Foxhall was painted in 1923 when
Moore turned to his impressionistic style.
www.PotomackCompany.com

SOTHEBY’S
Marcelle Ferron
Untitled
Oil on canvas
Auction Date: Selling Exhibition,
Feb. 14 to March 9
Sotheby’s will present Canadian
Abstraction, a selling exhibit of mid-century
Canadian abstract art in New York. This is
the first exhibit of its kind outside of Canada
in decades, which will highlight some of the
best examples of works by artists such as Jean
Paul Riopelle, Jack Bush, Jacques Hurtubise
and Marcelle Ferron, many of whom were
exhibiting their work alongside the great midcentury
Surrealists, Modernists and Abstract
Expressionists in New York, London and Paris.
www.Sothebys.com

FREEMAN’S
Chinese Famille Rose Porcelain ‘Boys’ Vase
Daoguang mark and of the period
Auction Date: March 15
Estimate: $30,000 to $50,000
Part of its Asian Arts auction, Freeman’s will feature a selection of exquisite
porcelain and bronze artifacts, including this this rose porcelain vase
decorated with a group of young boys.
Other highlights include a Tibeto-Chinese cloisonne enamel gilt
bronze stupa and a Japanese Namikawa Sosuke cloisonne enamel vase.
www.FreemansAuction.com

SLOANS AND KENYON
Selection of Exotic Skin Handbags from the
Estate of a New York Lady
Auction Date: February 22
Sloans and Kenyon’s Auction of Vintage
and Contemporary Fashion, Couture and
Jewelry will open with an exhibition from
Feb. 19 to 21, and will feature vintage and
contemporary fashion, couture and accessories
by designers including Chanel, Hermès,
Louis Vuitton, Dolce & Gabbana, Oscar de la
Renta, Yves Saint Laurent and many others,
including signed vintage and costume jewelry.
www.SloansAndKenyon.com

DOYLE NEW YORK
Set of Six Russian Gilt and Polychrome
Decorated Porcelain Dessert Plates
Krnilov Brothers Manufactory, St. Petersburg,
ca. 1900
Auction Date: Feb. 19
Estimate: $15,000 to $20,000
Doyle New York’s Belle Epoque Auction
will showcase 19th and 20th century fine and
decorative arts reflecting the opulence of the
bygone era. These featured plates are each
decorated with a circular medallion depicting
different historic versions of the Russian State
seal, including a double-headed eagle with
outspread wings clutching an orb and scepter
surmounted by a crown. Other highlights
include a Russian bronze by Nikolai Lieberich,
a Tiffany canister lamp, and an elaborate
Napoleon III gilt-metal ebonized side cabinet.
www.DoyleNewYork.com

BRINGING THE HAMMER DOWN
Final selling prices for last month’s
featured Auction Block items:

DOYLE NEW YORK
Saint John the Baptist Roman School
17th Century
Auction Date: Jan. 29
Estimate: $6,000 to $10,000
Final Selling Price: $11,250

BONHAMS
James Edward Buttersworth (1817-
1894) “Schooner’s from the New York
Yacht Club Racing in the Narrows”
Oil on canvas, ca. 1870
Auction Date: Jan. 24
Estimate: $70,000 to $100,000
Final Selling Price: $106,250

SOTHEBY’S
“A Child and Nurse in the Foyer of
an Elegant Townhouse, the Parents
Beyond Jacob Ochtervelt” (1634-
1682)
1663
Auction Date: Jan. 30
Estimate: $3 million to $4 million
Final Selling Price: $4,421,000

FREEMAN’S
“Allegory of Poverty and Vengeance”
Northern Italian School
ca. 2nd half of the 16th Century
Auction Date: Jan. 28
Estimate: $10,000 to $15,000
Final Selling Price: $17,500 [gallery ids="101633,146086,146077,146080,146084" nav="thumbs"]

The Auction Block March 12, 2014


Doyle New York

The Forster Flag

Auction Date: April 9

Estimate: $1 million to $3 million

This important relic of our nation’s past is the earliest extant flag incorporating 13 white stripes to represent the 13 United Colonies. Prepared for militia use a full year before the Declaration of Independence, the Forster Flag was inspired by Liberty Flags flown in Boston in the years following the hugely unpopular Stamp Act (1765) and the Boston Tea Party (1773). Comprising a field of fine red silk, a canton of numerous stitched lengths of a differing red silk and 13 applied white stripes, the flag has never been restored and is in a remarkable state of preservation with fresh original color.

Freeman’s

Child Hassam (1859-1935)

“The Norwegian Cottage,” 1909

Oil on canvas

Auction Date: March 30

Estimate: $200,000 to $300,000

This brilliant work of American Impressionism is part of the auction of the George D. Horst Collection of Fine Art. Tucked away in the depths of the Sheerlund Forest in Pennsylvania, a modest dwelling held an unknown cache of paintings. The collection includes fine examples of world-famous American and European painters such as Frank Weston Benson, Childe Hassam and Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot. The Horst collection is a beautiful time capsule, to be revealed for the first time later this month.

Sotheby’s

John James Audubon and John Bachman

“The Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America,” 1845-48

Auction Date: April 1

Estimate: $200,000 to $400,000

Sotheby’s will auction copies of John James Audubon’s two masterworks, consigned by the Indiana Historical Society. In four monumental volumes, “The Birds of America” of 1827-38 preserves 435 hand-colored aquatint plates depicting all the species of birds then known in the United States. Commonly known as the “Double-Elephant Folio” – after the size of the paper that had to be specially made for the publication – “The Birds of America” has long been recognized as a towering achievement of both book illustration and natural history. Smaller in size and reputation, though perhaps not in significance, is Audubon’s “The Viviparous Quadrupeds of America,” which contains 150 hand-colored lithographs of American mammals, on many of which Audubon was assisted by his son John Wodehouse Audubon.

Sloans and Kenyon

Early 20th-Century Carved and Painted Carousel Horse

with Glass Eyes and Metal Horse Shoes, Mounted on Brass Pole.

Auction Dates: April 12-13

This piece of early 20th-century Americana will be sold as part of the April Estate Catalogue Auction at Sloans and Kenyon. The rustic, well-preserved painting is reminiscent of the early French style of old-fashioned carousels. The mechanical carousel was an innovation at a crucial time in American culture, when increased prosperity meant that more people had time and money for leisure pursuits. The principal novelty of the modern fairground was the carousel, delighting thousands of pleasure seekers at home and abroad. To view all of the auction items, download the free Sloans and Kenyon iPad catalogue app.

Bringing the Hammer Down

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

Doyle New York

Set of Six Russian Gilt and Polychrome Decorated Porcelain Dessert Plates

Auction Date: Feb. 19

Estimate: $15,000 to $20,000

Final Selling Price: $34,375

[gallery ids="101668,144667" nav="thumbs"]

The Auction Block & Bringing the Hammer Down

February 13, 2014

Sotheby’s

A Child and Nurse in the Foyer of an Elegant Townhouse, the Parents Beyond

Jacob Ochtervelt (1634-1682)

1663

Auction Date: January 30

Estimate: $3 – 4 million

Sotheby’s sale of Important Old Master Paintings and Sculpture will be held during their annual Old Masters Week auctions. The sale is highlighted this year by a number of major paintings from the Dutch Golden Age, particularly this exciting rediscovery of Jacob Ochtervelt’s painting seen here, a previously unrecorded painting. This piece is tied to his series of “entrance hall paintings,” universally considered to be among the artist’s most innovative and interesting pictures. www.Sothebys.com

Freeman’s

Allegory of Poverty and Vengeance

Northern Italian School

ca. 2nd half of the 16th Century

Auction Date: January 28

Estimate: $10,000 – $15,000

Part of their European Art & Old Masters auction, Freeman’s is featuring this Italian tempera on panel painting, originally from a private collection in Milan. Painted in the lunette in the second half of the 16th century, the painting features three large form figures in a manner that suggests it previously hung in a church spandrel. With its period frame of carved, gessoed and gilded wood, this is a remarkable piece for any historic collection. www.FreemansAuction.com

Bonhams

Schooners from the New York Yacht Club Racing in the Narrows

By James Edward Buttersworth (1817-1894)

ca. 1870

Auction Date: January 24

Estimate: $70,000 – $100,000

Bonhams will offer the distinguished maritime paintings of noted connoisseur Alfred “Fritz” Gold, a WWII veteran who received a Purple Heart for bravery, in the Important Maritime Paintings and Decorative Arts. The auction will feature more than a dozen pieces from Gold’s collection, including James Edward Buttersworth’s ‘Schooners from the New York Yacht Club Racing in the Narrows,’ which shows Fort Wadsworth in the distance. A matching Buttersworth composition, ‘Schooners from the New York Yacht Club Reefing off Sandy Hook,’ will also be offered.
www.Bonhams.com

Doyle New York

Saint John the Baptist

Roman School

17th Century

Auction Date: January 29

Estimate: $6,000 – $10,000

Exemplified by this painting from the Roman School, Doyle New York will offer paintings from the Collection of Bayard Rustin (1912-1987), an important figure in the struggle for Civil Rights and one of the main organizers of the 1963 March on Washington. Rustin was recently in the news again when he was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Barack Obama in November 2013. Part of their Auction of Important English and Continental Furniture and Decorations, the auction will feature a broad selection of furniture, porcelain, Georgian silver, tapestries and fine art encompassing the 17th to the early 19th centuries. www.DoyleNewYork.com

Quinn’s Auction Galleries

Confederate General Robert E. Lee letter and personal items, including lock of hair

Auction Date: Jan. 18

Estimate: $20,000-$30,000.

Quinn’s, a local auction gallery in Falls Church,Va., will be auctioning a hand-written letter, together with a lock of Lee’s hair, his penknife and a Baltimore Sun newspaper article about the mementos, all of which Lee donated to a Baltimore orphanage in January of 1867. The items have been on loan to Arlington House, the Robert E. Lee Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery, for the past 18 years.

Bringing the Hammer Down

Final Selling Prices for last month’s featured Auction Block items

Doyle New York

Platinum Very Fancy Vivid Yellow Diamond, emerald and diamond ring

Auction Date: December 12, 2013

Estimate: $80,000 – 120,000

Final Selling Price: $365,000

Bonham’s

Diamond-set engraved and enameled gold singing bird snuffbox with musical movement and watch

Auction Date: December 12, 2013

Estimate: $120,000 – 180,000

Final Selling Price: $233,000

Sotheby’s

Egyptian Revival faience and jeweled brooch from Cartier

Auction Date: December 11, 2013

Estimate: $300,000 – $500,000

Final Selling Price: $1,025,000

Freeman’s

Lemuel Everett Wilmarth (American, 1835 – 1918)

Still Life with Wrapped Orange

1893, oil on canvas

Auction Date: December 8, 2013

Estimate: $50,000 – $80,000

Final Selling Price: $53,125
[gallery ids="101604,147105,147095,147101,147108" nav="thumbs"]

The Auction Block

December 5, 2013

Doyle New York
Platinum, Fancy Vivid Yellow Diamond,
emerald and diamond ring
Auction Date: Sept. 12
Estimate: $80,000 – $120,000
Doyle New York’s auction of Important Jewelry will offer exquisite jewelry spanning the Antique, Victorian, Edwardian, Art Nouveau, Art Deco and Modern eras by such designers as Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, David Webb and Tiffany & Co. Certain to attract attention will be this 1920 ring featuring an old-mine cut oval Fancy Vivid Yellow diamond flanked by emeralds and diamonds.

Sotheby’s
Egyptian Revival faience and jeweled brooch from Cartier
Auction Date: Dec. 11
Estimate: $300,000 – $500,000
Designed as an Egyptian fan, centering an ancient green faience bust of the goddess Sekhmet, this jeweled brooch is among the highlights of Sotheby’s Auction of Magnificent Jewels. Set against a lapis lazuli sky, twinkling with diamond stars and bordered by a black aureole and diamond-set lotus motif, there are a total of 100 diamonds throughout the piece. It is complete with the original fitted box stamped by Cartier.

Bonhams
Diamond-set engraved and enameled gold singing bird snuffbox with musical movement and watch
Auction Date: Dec. 12
Estimate: $120,000 – $180,000
Bonhams will auction this historic snuffbox as part of its Auction of Fine Watches, Wristwatches and Clocks. The box, with lozenge maker’s mark of Jean-Georges Reymond, bears the monogram of the 19th-century Ottoman Prince Shehzade Mahmud Celaleddin Efendi, son of the Turkish Sultan Abdul Aziz, who likely had the box embellished for his son. The diamonds were added during the mid 19th century.

Sloans and Kenyon
Portrait of a nude Norma Jeane Baker Dougherty
(later known as Marilyn Monroe)
3D filmstrip
Circa 1945
Auction Date: Dec. 14
Estimate: $2,000 – $3,000
This rare filmstrip depicts a young woman named Norma Jeane Baker Dougherty, who later changed her name to Marilyn Monroe and became the seminal, sultry icon of American desire. This full-length image is attributed to W.O. Schwartz, located in 1945 just six blocks from the Blue Book Modeling Agency, Norma Jeane’s first employer. Thought to be the first nude photograph of the future Marilyn, predating Tom Kelley’s famous 1949 pinup image. The full image is on view at the Sloans and Kenyon gallery prior to auction.

Freeman’s
Lemuel Everett Wilmarth (American, 1835-1918)
“Still Life with Wrapped Orange”
1893, oil on canvas
Auction Date: Dec. 8
Estimate: $50,000 – $80,000
Freeman’s American Art & Pennsylvania Impressionists Auction has a wealth of consignments from private collections across the country, featuring this still life by Lemuel Everett Wilmarth, a rarely auctioned artist admired for his genre scenes and still-life paintings. As seen here, Wilmarth’s still lifes are celebrated for their polished realism and deft display of textures. Additional works include portraits by William Merritt Chase and John Singer Sargent.

The Auction BlockNovember 6, 2013

November 7, 2013

**FREEMAN?S**
*Walnut Tall Case Clock
Edward Duffield (1720-1801), Philadelphia, Pa. 1765
Auction Date: Nov. 14*
***Estimate: $30,000 ? $50,000***
Freeman?s Pennsylvania Sale: Furniture and Decorative Arts features a wealth of hand-crafted
American antiques from the state?s rich tradition of craft and decorative arts. This walnut tall case
clock, a tour-de-force of 18th-century Philadelphia craftsmanship, was built by renowned clockmaker
Edward Duffield. The clock has double scroll molded cresting with floral rosettes and center
flame carved finial, two applied branch decorations above and arched face door flanked by slender
fluted columns. The brass face is ornamented with leaf spandrels and a moon phased, silvered dial
with Roman numerals and an outer Arabic numeral minute band.

**POTOMACK COMPANY**
*Ray Eames Desk Chair
Auction Date: Dec. 7*
Potomack Company?s Modern Designer Sale will feature designer
furniture from the personal collection of Charles M. Goodman
(1906-1992), the pioneering Washington area modernist architect,
who was the designer of National Airport, the Officers Club at
Andrews Air Force Base, the WMAL studio at American University
and other projects in Virginia and Maryland. The Dorothy S.
Goodman Trust is offering more than 100 lots from the collection,
including rare pieces by Ray Eames, Hans Wegner, Harry Bertoia,
Jens Risom and other noted mid-century designers, as well as
original furniture from the award-winning Alcoa Care-free Home
designed by Goodman in 1957 that was a prototype for the post-
World War II affordable housing boom.

**DOYLE**
*Photograph inscribed by John F. Kennedy
Gelatin silver print.
Auction Date: Nov. 25*
**Estimate: $5,000 ? $7,500**
Doyle?s upcoming auction of Rare Books, Autographs
& Photographs features material related to
President John F. Kennedy, including an image of
the president taken by photographer Fred Bauman
in Palm Springs on Sept. 28, 1963, inscribed to
him by Kennedy. A remarkably candid photograph
of President Kennedy, taken just weeks before his
assassination in Dallas, the image was taken by
Bauman at the Palm Springs airport upon Kennedy?s
arrival. Kennedy would spend two nights resting at
the home of Bing Crosby, just long enough for the
picture to be seen by Kennedy on the front page
of the Press-Enterprise. Secret service agent Jerry
Behn, who appears in the photograph behind the
president, was asked by Kennedy to call Bauman
and request a copy. Bauman sent two copies, requesting that one be returned signed and proudly
hung the inscribed photograph in his home for 50 years. Here the smiling Kennedy embodies the
forward-looking optimism of his era and the cool of a sunny afternoon in Palm Springs in 1963.

**SOTHEBY?S**
*Selling Exhibition: Les Lalanne: The
Poetry of Sculpture
Dates: Oct. 31 ? Nov. 22*
Sotheby?s selling exhibition at its New York
S|2 Gallery will feature Les Lalanne: The
Poetry of Sculpture, featuring works by
Claude and Francois-Xavier Lalanne, curated
by Paul Kasmin and Michael Shvo. Private
gallery sales will go through Nov. 22. Offering
a wide range of the couple?s most iconic
and sought-after works chosen by Kasmin, a
long-time gallerist for the duo, and Shvo, an
avid collector of the works, the gallery space
will be transformed into a midnight garden and
thereby evoke the surrealist sculptors? magical
world in which their life and art were intertwined
since the 1960s.

**BONHAMS**
*1940 Buick Phaeton automobile from
?Casablanca,? Warner Bros., 1942.
Limited model 81C convertible
Auction Date: Nov. 25*
***Estimate: $450,000 ? $500,000**
Bonhams auction, ?What Dreams Are
Made Of: A Century of Movie Magic,? in
conjunction with Turner Classic movies,
will feature more than 300 of the most
important pieces of movie memorabilia
ever to come up for auction. Iconic props,
costumes, production art, original scripts, posters and ephemera from Hollywood?s biggest starts
will be offered. The 1940 Buick Phaeton automobile from ?Casablanca? is one of the stars of the
auction, used in the final act of ?Casablanca,? as Claude Rains drives the car to the airport, with
Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman and Paul Henried. Other items include the lead statuette of the
Maltese Falcon from the 1941 James Stewart film of the same name, and Vivien Leigh neglig?e
from ?Gone With the Wind.?