Tiffany Lamps, Fine Jewelry, Art At Clarke Auction Gallery
LARCHMONT, NY.- Tiffany lamps, fine designer jewelry, Lalique, Hermes silver wine coolers and art by Jim Dine are just some of the highlights in a jam-packed auction at Clarke Auction Gallery on Sunday, March 22, at 11 am.
“This auction should be of key interest to collectors and investors considering the importance of the Tiffany, jewelry and art that will cross the block. The Tiffany and Lalique come from an important New York City collector, who wishes to remain private,” said owner and auctioneer Ronan Clarke. “The jewelry was collected over decades by the former Buffalo Bills founder and longtime owner Ralph Cookery Wilson Jr. estate.”
Highlighting the day will be a small but choice grouping of Tiffany Studios lamps from an important New York City collection, featuring a table lamp with “Lotus” shade, signed ($125/225,000), 14 inches tall; a table lamp with “Peony” shade ($100/150,000), illustrated on page 51 in Egon Neustadt’s renowned book on Tiffany lamps 14 inches tall; a table lamp with “Nasturtium” shade ($80/120,000), having a 21-inch diameter; and a signed large geometric pattern chandelier with piano border ($30/50,000)
Fine art will also be featured in the auction, led by a Jerzy Nowosielski (Polish, 1923-2011) oil on board ($8/12,000), signed and dated, 1973, retaining at Desa gallery label, 15 by 19 inches, and a signed Jim Dine (American, b 1935) mixed media on paper self portrait from 1996 ($8/12,000) from a New York City collection, 37 by 28 inches. Another Dine mixed media work, a portrait of a child ($5/7,000) is also from 1996.
“Self-portraiture figures heavily in Dine’s oeuvre. He has painted himself throughout his career, even using a robe (one of his trademark motifs) as a stand-in for self,” said Clarke’s fine art specialist William Schweller, noting the 1996 mixed media self-portrait on offer here is textbook Dine, showing his mastery of atmospheric abstraction as he places himself in undefined space.
The Nowosielski demonstrates the artist’s interest in the religious, he added. “His depiction of an orthodox church reflects his role in the creation of religious art for churches across Poland as well as his practice of church design. Clarke is thrilled to sell this painting, intending to continue our recent success handling works of Central European modernism.”
Jewelry and silver always figure prominently into auctions but perhaps none more so than in this sale, which presents over 200 lots of jewelry and silver ranging from Art Deco and estate jewelry to contemporary pieces. The familial estate of Wilson is but one of several fine estates featured.
“It’s just a fantastic collection and eclectic grouping of pieces,” said jewelry and silver specialist Whitney Bria. Jewelry offerings include a significant amount of signed couture jewelry from designers like Tiffany, Bulgari, David Yurman and Cartier while a collection of ladies watches has examples from Omega, Bulgari and Cartier.
“I have numerous nice estates in this auction, I have a Bailey, Banks and Biddle Art Deco opal and diamond ring set in platinum that is absolutely stunning, a pair of yellow diamond earrings that is at GIA now, a three-piece Buccellati suite that is to-die for, Russian jewelry, Art Deco jewelry and more Southwestern jewelry that we began offering in our last sale,” she said. Men won’t be left out however as there are men’s pieces crossing the block, led by a nearly 2½-carat Old European cut man’s diamond ring.
The silver category always has some standouts in each auction and this sale does not disappoint. A pair of Hermes French .950 silver wine coolers ($5/7,000) will lead the offerings. Silver tapered with striated rims to the opening and bottom perimeter, the circa 1930s coolers have applied tapered handles and measure 11 inches tall.
Asian art is always a large part of Clarke auctions and buyers look forward to finding an ever-changing selection of art and antiques here. This month’s highlights will include a large baluster Kinkozan Satsuma vase ($3/5,000), Japanese, Meiji, decorated with enamels and gilding over a cobalt blue background, 17½ inches tall; a pair of Meiji Nishimura embroideries ($3/4,000) depicting a mother lion with a cub and two crouched lions, 18½ by 26 inches (sight) and a massive Meiji “Dragon Gate” Imari charger ($1/1,500), Japanese, 18th/19th century, incised and painted with a carp leaping amongst frothy golden waves to a rocky outcropping.
Rounding out the auction will be a signed René Lalique figure ($20/30,000), “Grande Nue Bras Levés,” frosted glass with wood base, standing 24½ inches tall, and a pair of boardroom chairs ($4/6,000) custom made for Gannett Company’s Rochester, N.Y. headquarters by Wendell Castle (1932-2018), 28½ by 32 by 27 inches.
