Neue Auctions Offers Marvin Drucker’s Asian Collection, Including Boulle Marquetry Bookcase and Mito Kinko Sword Guard

Boulle marquetry was introduced by the French cabinetmaker André-Charles Boulle (1642-1732). Known as the “furniture jeweler,” Boulle was considered a preeminent artist in the field of marquetry or inlay furniture. He made furniture for Louis XIV of France. A late 18th or early 19th-century Boulle marquetry diminutive secretary bookcase is one of the featured lots in Neue Auctions’ Marvin Drucker Lifetime Collection. The bookcase has a rectangular top with a pair of hinged glazed doors opening to a mirrored back glass shelf. The front doors have gilt bronze mounts, red tortoiseshell details, and a floral medallion centered by a pair of winged lion terms. The interior is fitted with leather and three small drawers, above a pair of hinge doors with Boulle marquetry inlay, raised on a bracket base and fitted with gilt bronze mounts. 

The auction of Marvin Drucker’s lifetime collection also includes Asian antiques. A set of 12 Japanese 19th-century sword fittings is available in the sale. The set includes one signed Tsuba (sword guard), eight Menuki (hilt fittings), one Seppa (spacers placed above and below the tsuba), and two Kashira (caps for the sword handle). The Mito Kinko Tsuba is attributed to the workshop of the Hamano Shozui master. The cast resembles an Oni (demon or troll in Japanese mythology) wearing a loin cloth and basket hat— probably the disguise of a humble, holy man. The sale also has Asian porcelain, pottery, carvings, lacquer, bronze, and cloisonné works that honor Mr. Drucker’s passion for collection. Find the listed items and more online auctions on Bidsquare.