Quinn’s Sept. 26 Fine & Decorative Arts Auction features high-quality Asian, American, European and Modern selections from estates, gracious homes
Paintings include works by Besnard, Monnoyer, De Szyszlo, and influential Harlem Spiral Group founding member Merton Simpson
FALLS CHURCH, Va. – On Saturday, September 26, Quinn’s Auction Galleries will conduct a Fine & Decorative Arts Auction featuring Asian, American, European and Modern selections from estates and elegant homes in the northern Virginia region. Although not a gallery event with in-person floor bidding, the auction will be accessible by means of several convenient alternatives, including phone bidding on auction day, live online through LiveAuctioneers or Invaluable, and absentee, either via Quinn’s website or ahead of time by phone.
An excellent and quite varied offering of fine art was reserved for this sale, including a Paul Albert Besnard (French, 1849-1934) oil-on-canvas titled Sous Les Saules (Under the Willows). Signed and dated “1909,” the artwork depicts two women beneath a willow tree, one of them semi-clad in what appears to be a gauzy sarong. The 47 by 36-inch (sight) painting was part of an important 1922 exhibition at the Museum of Art at the Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, and its provenance includes prior sale at Christie’s New York in 1980. Auction estimate: $5,000-$7,000
A large (37½- by 28½-inch, sight) oil-on-canvas floral still life attributed to Antoine Monnoyer (French, 1670-1747) dates to the late-17th or early 18th century. The flower arrangement includes redolent blooms in pleasing shades of red, orange, purple and white. A partial paper gallery label is retained on verso. Estimate: $3,000-$5,000
The sale includes 11 paintings by the influential Harlem Spiral Group co-founder Merton D. Simpson (African-American, 1928-2013), including a moody oil-on-paper that measures 19 by 25 inches (sight). It is titled Confrontation F Poem 6 and is artist-signed and dated “1967” at lower right. The abstract expressionist artwork comes directly from the inventory and collection of the Estate of Merton D. Simpson. Estimate: $2,000-$3,000
Si Chen Yuan’s (Chinese/American, 1911-1974) untitled mid-20th-century oil-on-canvas is an abstract depiction of a couple nestled closely together. It is artist-signed and measures 30 inches square (sight). The auction estimate is $3,000-$5,000.
No fewer than 10 lots consist of jade art, including pendants, carvings, a brush pot, repousse box, and vase. A beautiful 10½-inch Chinese carving depicts a floral arrangement in dark and light green jade and is decorated with taotie masks. It comes with an included open-work wooden base. Formerly in the collection of Anna Chan Chennault (1925-2018), widow of the legendary WWII American aviator Lt. General Claire Chennault, it is affordably estimated at $600-$900.
A pair of 19th-century armchairs in the Egyptian Revival style is attributed to the prominent Victorian furnituremaker Pottier & Stymus. The chairs’ tufted upholstered backs are flanked by carved stiles, and an attractive cast-bronze bust adorns the end of each arm. The turned trumpet legs are designed with rolling self-casters. The pair is entered in the auction with a $1,500-$2,500 estimate.
Showcasing many appealing aspects of Georg Jensen’s trademark Danish Modern style, a hand-hammered sterling silver footed bowl was originally designed in 1916 and produced sometime between 1945 and 1977. Known as the No. 197A design, the bowl has a total weight of 22.97oz, is stamped “Denmark Sterling” under the base with a circular Georg Jensen mark. Estimate: $3,000-$5,000.
A second silver highlight is a stunning 1743 George II Rococo sterling sauceboat by Charles Federick Kandler, London. Its design details include a griffon-shape handle surmounted on a shell-form body rising on a pedestal base decorated with repousse flowers. The vessel itself is decorated with repousse laurel swags of flowers and chased foliate and shell designs, and panels on each side display chinoiserie scenes of a house and tree, and a gatehouse astride a moon bridge. With English hallmarks and partial strike of Charles Kandler’s Post-1739 JK mark, the 27.27ozt sauceboat is expected to reach $2,000-$4,000 at auction.
A set of 12 Royal Crown Derby for Tiffany & Co dinner plates in the “Old Imari” No. 1128 pattern, was produced in England in 1916. Each vibrantly colored plate measures 19 3/8 inches and is stamped in red on verso “Royal Crown Derby England, Tiffany & Co New York.” The set is estimated at $1,000-$1,500.
Primitively crafted and undeniably charming, a mid-19th-century black-bellied plover decoy retains original paint and has an unusual head-form and iron-nail bill. Stamped “W.J. Mackey Collection,” the 9½-inch-long seabird is ready to fly to a new home for an estimated $2,000-$3,000 bid.
Quinn’s Saturday, Sept. 26, 2020 auction will start at 11 a.m. ET. There will be no in-person floor bidding; all bidding will be remote, either by phone, live via the Internet through LiveAuctioneers or Invaluable, or absentee through Quinn’s website or by phone prior to the auction. For additional information about any item in the auction or to discuss a future consignment, call Charlotte Taylor at Quinn’s, 703-532-5632 ext. 526, or email [email protected]. Visit Quinn’s online at www.quinnsauction.com.
