Sterling Associates to offer fine estate art, jewelry and luxury goods in curated Oct. 20 auction

Highlights: Signed Chagall and Grau Sala artworks, 18K gold Rolex Presidential Day/Date Oyster Perpetual wristwatch, 1890 Louis Vuitton steamer trunk, many 18th C. to Mid-century paintings

NORWOOD, N.J. – New Jersey’s estate specialists, Sterling Associates, will host an October 20 Fine Art and Antiques Auction featuring a carefully vetted selection of goods from estates and elegant residences in the Garden State, as well as Manhattan, New Orleans, and Jupiter, Florida. The boutique auction comprising 205 lots includes an outstanding array of European, American and Asian art; fine jewelry and coins, furniture, clocks and luxury goods. 

Among the auction’s highlights are signed artworks by Marc Chagall and Emilio Grau Sala; a men’s 18K gold Rolex Presidential Day/Date Oyster Perpetual wristwatch, and an antique Louis Vuitton steamer trunk. Bid absentee or live online through LiveAuctioneers.  

Approximately 100 lots are devoted to oil paintings, watercolors and prints, with a number of works by sought-after names of the 18th century through Mid-century Modern period. A top entry is Marc Chagall’s (Russian/French, 1887-1985) Couple et Poisson (Couple and Fish) a color lithograph on Arches paper from a period edition. After a 1967 Chagall painting of lovers soaring above the Cote d’Azur, the lithograph is artist-signed and numbered (107/150) in pencil. Estimate: $10,000-$15,000

A wonderful painting by Emilio Grau Sala (Spanish, 1911-1975) titled Deauville ’64 depicts horses being lightly exercised on the green at the legendary Deauville La Touques racetrack in Normandy. Spectators in an open-air café look on in this pleasing and quite verdant horizontal composition. Artist-signed at lower left and also signed and titled on verso, it is expected to reach the $4,000-$6,000 range on auction day.

In the more traditional taste, a gilt-framed 18th/19th-century oil painting of ruins and several people at an open-air bath, is of Continental origin, perhaps Italian. It is estimated at $2,000-$3,000. Another European scene, an atmospheric oil-on-canvas by Augustus Wall Callcott (English, 1779-1884), is titled Marino di Andora, referring to a town in the province of Savona in the Italian Riviera. Estimate $1,200-$1,800

The auction presents collectors with the opportunity to acquire a 16-inch bronze by the esteemed sculptor Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse (French, 1824-1887). Titled Ariosto, the 19th-century bronze reflects the quintessential style of Carrier-Belleuse, a founding member of the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts and recipient of France’s highest order of merit: membership in the Legion of Honour. The bronze has been assigned a conservate estimate of $600-$800.

The auction selection also includes four interesting Midcentury artworks by ichiro Inokuma (Japanese, 1902-1992), a painter whose work was included in the art competition at the 1936 Summer Olympics. One of the auction entries, a signed charcoal and pastel creation, is estimated at $800-$1,200.

Sterling Associates’ owner, Stephen D’Atri, commented that the tremendous diversity of art genres seen in the auction inventory warrants a careful scrutiny of the catalog. “My advice to collectors is that they should take the time to review what’s in this sale. The art has come from many fine estates in different parts of the country. Some of the buyers liked classical art, others liked contemporary or other types of art. There could be some hidden treasures to discover.”  

Furniture and decorative art entries include pieces of a very high standard, such as the pair of Louis XVI period carved armchairs sourced from an Old Tappan, New Jersey estate. They were previously purchased from Manheim Antiques, New Orleans, and will now take the auction spotlight with an estimate of $2,000-$3,000. High-end lighting includes a bronze and tole Empire-style 8-light chandelier with three-dimensional eagles. Made circa 1890, it has been assigned a $800-$1,200 estimate. Other items of note range from Chinese ceramics, lacquer and bronze wares; to several antique clocks and more than a dozen pieces of Lalique crystal, including a “Boite Corfu” square dresser tray estimated at $300-$400.

Luxury goods, fine jewelry and watches will be in plentiful supply. A men’s 18K gold Rolex Presidential Day/Date Oyster Perpetual wristwatch with diamond markers and a certified chronometer is offered with papers and its inner and outer boxes. Estimate: $10,000-$15,000. And from the golden era of travel, an 1890 Louis Vuitton steamer truck with its original hardware, inner lining, label and interior tray will cross the auction block with expectations of reaching $6,000-$8,000.

Sterling Associates’ Wednesday, Oct. 20, 2021 Fine Art & Antiques Auction will begin at 5pm US Eastern Time. Sterling Associates, Inc., is a full-service brick-and-mortar auction house. Their auctions are conducted online, exactly like a gallery auction, but without a live audience in attendance. Bidders may participate absentee or live via the Internet through LiveAuctioneers. All items may be previewed at Sterling Associates’ gallery on Monday and Tuesday, Oct. 18-19, from 11-3; or other times by appointment. Masks are required. Winning bidders have the option of picking up their auction purchases at Sterling Associates’ premises at 537 Broadway, Norwood, NJ 07648. Alternatively, goods can be shipped anywhere in the world.

For additional information on any item, call 201-768-1140 or email [email protected]. Online: http://www.antiquenj.com. View the fully illustrated catalog and sign up to bid absentee or live online through LiveAuctioneers.

About Sterling Associates:Sterling Associates of Norwood, New Jersey, is owned and operated by its founder, Stephen D’Atri. Stephen’s family has been in the antiques business for over 60 years and provided the all-important foundation that launched him toward his lifelong career. After working with his family and graduating from Rutgers University, Stephen furthered his education at New York School of Interior Design. He followed his passion and, in 1989, opened his own businesses, Sterling Restoration and Antique D’zynes. Those firms merged to become the company known today as Sterling Associates Inc., a full-service antique sales, auction and restoration facility, specializing in the finest European and American antiques. Stephen scours the world for the rare and beautiful objects he offers to collectors, interior designers and decorators; and others in the trade. Sterling Associates’ restoration services are known for their historical accuracy and are always undertaken or personally overseen by Stephen D’Atri himself.