Two George II mahogany tables will lead Freeman’s upcoming auction of European decorative art and furniture. One of the tables was possibly based on a design by Matthias Lock, an English designer who worked under Thomas Chippendale. Its legs feature ‘S’ and ‘C’ curve decorations, flowers, and carved leaves. The other available George II mahogany table dates back to the early 18th century. It sports numerous animal motifs, including textured snakeskin along the apron and bird heads near the corners. A Louis XVI-style pedestal desk, a Sèvres-style guéridon table, and a sellette by Carlo Bugatti with silk tassel details are also among the key furniture lots.
Beyond furniture, this auction will highlight various pieces of decorative art. A pair of Louis XVI-style malachite and gilt bronze urns is particularly notable. Though these vases were produced in the 20th century, their bell-shaped campana form has a long history in European and American decorative art. The shape evokes ancient Greek vessels used for wine. The available urns accentuate that history with Bacchus mask handles and detailed floral swags.
Fine art collectors will find several 18th and 19th-century paintings in the catalog. These include John Everett Millais’ The Yeoman of the Guard and Alexander Mann’s Gathering Wood. View each of these available lots and register to bid on Bidsquare.
When King Louis XIV of France (1643 – 1715) decided to transform his father’s Versailles château into a palace, he commissioned architect Louis Le Vau for the renovation. The king officially shifted the royal court to the Palace of Versailles in 1682. Today, the palace is a UNESCO World Heritage site, particularly known for its sprawling gardens. Pierre Lepautre’s copperplate engraving of the Gardens of Versailles is a highlight of Turner Auctions’ upcoming sale.
Leading the flatware listings is a set of Tiffany & Co. sterling silver flatware. The 47-piece Hamilton pattern set (circa 1930) includes standard place settings along with hors d’oeuvres forks, a pie server, and other pieces. This auction will also feature a painting by Chuck J. Sabatino. Titled Plains Parfleche, the piece demonstrates the artist’s photorealistic style and preference for Native American pottery and artifacts. The sale also features several animation cels from Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937). To view the complete catalog and register to bid online, visit Bidsquare.
Mythical Roman scenes, gladiatorial combats in the Colosseum, classical ruins, and churches come alive in Viviano Codazzi paintings. The Italian painter (1604 – 1670) is best known for his capriccio paintings that mixed architecture and fantasy. Two Viviano Codazzi capriccio paintings will be available in an upcoming Showplace auction. They combine classical architecture with an imagined landscape. One depicts figures by a fountain while the other shows a man and dog next to an old archway. The two paintings are from a private residence at the Pierre Hotel and were formerly sold at Christie’s.
For watch connoisseurs, a Patek Philippe ladies wristwatch is available. The watch is an 18-karat yellow gold Calatrava stamped with the seal of Geneva. The classic round design has 18 jewels, a lizard leather strap, and a manual winding movement. This sale will also include Royal Copenhagen porcelain dinner plates. A set of four “Flora Danica” plates with pierced rims is available in the estate auction. They are hand-painted with botanical scenes. The underside carries the species names in Latin and maker’s marks. The auction brings 280 lots of fine art, porcelain, jewelry, and accessories from various estates in New York City. Visit Bidsquare for more details.
A work from Ogden Minton Pleissner, titled June Trout Fishing, will be available in an upcoming Copley Fine Art Auctions sale. Often regarded as a master of the watercolor medium, Pleissner captured his subjects in intricate detail. Explaining the nature of his expressive works, Ogden Minton Pleissner writes in the lot essay: “A fine painting is not just the subject . . . It is the feeling conveyed of form, bulk, space, dimensionality, and sensitivity. The mood of the picture, that is most important.” Watercolor landscapes depicting scenes of the American West became the trademark of Pleissner’s long and successful career. The offered painting shows a fisherman enjoying the early season.
The second day of the Sporting Sale 2021 event also highlights John James Audubon’s seven volumes of The Birds of America (1856). The octavo edition marked the success of Audubon’s hand-colored lithographs. It also includes more species that are organized in a scientific manner. View the full auction listings and register to bid on Bidsquare.
This July, Lion and Unicorn will present over 375 lots of vintage celebrity photographs. The upcoming auction particularly highlights photographs of Hollywood star Marilyn Monroe. Before Monroe was a household name, she struggled to break into the film industry. She worked as a photographer’s model in the early days of her career. Monroe remained in front of the camera’s lens after scoring leading film roles. This Lion and Unicorn sale will feature a selection of Marilyn Monroe photos from throughout her career. Bidders will recognize familiar poses in the catalog, including her iconic white dress flaring above a grate. Sets of unused Monroe postcards are also on offer.
Other American and European actresses are also represented in the catalog. A photo of American model Christy Turlington is one leading lot. Turlington entered the modeling industry in the 1980s, nearly 30 years after Monroe. She became one of the world’s first supermodels and the public face of various brands. This auction will present a black and white photo of Christy Turlington from the early 1990s. Collectors can also consider photos of Grace Kelly, Hedy Lamarr, Kim Novak, and others. To view the complete catalog of celebrity photographs and to place a bid, visit LiveAuctioneers.
Established in 1964 by Joseph Segel, the Franklin Mint manufactured gold and silver commemorative items for the private market. The company is now known equally for its coins and its sculptures, dolls, die-cast vehicles, and other collectibles. In Lion and Unicorn’s upcoming auction, a 12-piece Franklin Mint nativity set will be available. Issued in 1991 by artist Peter Carl Fabergé, the nativity set is made of porcelain. Each piece was hand-painted using traditional Russian folk art techniques and includes 24-karat gold accents.
Founded in 1995, Jakks Pacific designs and manufactures toys, including Cabbage Patch Kids dolls. This sale features the 2009 Jakks Pacific Lizabeth Lindsay Cabbage Patch Kids doll. This Pop ‘N Style Kid has all of its accessories, including hair pieces that pop into place. The doll comes with the traditional Cabbage Patch Kids birth certificate and adoption papers along with the original box. View the entire auction catalog and register to bid by visiting LiveAuctioneers.
17th-century painter Severin Roesen was famous for his fruit and wicker basket paintings. These traditional Dutch still lifes often delivered warm colors and an accurate portrayal of fruits and other objects. Unlike other Dutch still lifes of the time, Roesen’s work did not convey warnings regarding life’s brevity. Severin Roesen’s highly detailed compositions instead celebrated nature’s bounties. The upcoming Thomaston Place Auction Galleries sale presents a lush still life by Severin Roesen. The single-tier oil painting features an arrangement of fruits, a nest with eggs, and a glass placed on a marble pediment. It showcases Roesen’s signature brushwork and detailed motifs.
Another highlight is series of landscape paintings by seminal folk artist Earl Cunningham. The catalog offers an oil on Masonite piece titled Fantasy Island, which depicts coastal areas of Maine. Bidders can also consider a selection of rugs and carpets, including a meshed carpet. Introduced during the 15th century, these classical prayer rugs were initially called Perez Topaki rugs. The available cotton wool carpet features blue and maroon flowers, rosettes, and vines.
The auction also offers John Marriott Blashfield’s Statue of Venus sculpture, a pocket sundial by Johann Martin Willebrand, a J. Harris & Son weathervane, and an oil painting by Frederick Arthur Bridgman. Interested collectors can explore the entire listings and register to bid online on Bidsquare.
One of the decoys featured on the cover of the book New England Decoys by John and Shirley Delph is a plover in an unusual pose. The bird’s head is twisted, as if it is looking to the rear. Carver A. Elmer Crowell made the piece. The design is considered unique, though reminiscent of his well-known duck and goose decoys. The exact decoy used for the book cover will be available on the first day of The Sporting Sale 2021, offered by Copley Fine Art Auctions. Other carvings in the sale include a long-tailed drake decoy by Orlando “Os” Bibber, a ruffed grouse sculpture by Lemuel T. Ward, a pair of canvasbacks by Lemuel T. Ward and Stephen Ward, and more.
Beyond decoys, there are several paintings, including The Quiet Peace of an African Evening by British artist David Shepherd. It depicts a herd of elephants enjoying a dirt bath. The artist dedicated his work to conservation and launched the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation. Other lots in the sale include a Delph Perdew crow call, several early black and white photographs by Frank W. Benson, and a handful of miniature bird carvings by Wendell Gilley. View any of these lots and register to bid on Bidsquare.
American painter and illustrator Eyvind Earle pursued art from a young age. In 1951, he made a major breakthrough when he collaborated with Walt Disney Studios. Of his paintings, the artist once said, “I go to slightly lighter colors until little by little, the forms begin to take shape and I start to see what is happening. Since I never plan in advance, I simply let myself be led by instinct, taste and intuition.” The upcoming Summer Sale, presented by Abington Auction Gallery, Inc., features an oil on board painting by Eyvind Earle. Produced in 1973, the work depicts a dark tree trunk in front of an old barn.
Also among the leading lots is a screenprint by Andy Warhol. The piece is part of the Alexander the Great series, which was Warhol’s only series based on classical art. Beyond fine art, the auction also includes a selection of estate jewelry, sculpture, and watches. Browse the full catalog and register to bid on Bidsquare.
Over a year after fighting began with the Battles of Lexington and Concord, the Declaration of Independence made clear the Thirteen Colonies’ intention to fully separate from Great Britain. The document also hinted at the values a new American nation would try to uphold. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
Just days before the 245th anniversary of the document’s ratification, Freeman’s will offer a copy of the Declaration of Independence in a single-lot sale. This is one of 200 copies produced by William Stone between 1820 and 1824. Among the most notable recipients of these pieces were the three remaining signers of the original document: Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and Charles Carroll of Carrollton. The copy coming to auction was one of two presented to Carroll, the Declaration of Independence’s last surviving signer and the only Catholic member of the Second Continental Congress. Learn more about Charles Carroll of Carrollton in Auction Daily’s upcoming extended coverage.
The original copy of the Declaration of Independence was in poor shape by 1820. The document was nomadic for at least part of the American Revolution, traveling from hand to hand and being packed away or unfurled on a whim. Concerns by John Quincy Adams and others regarding the document’s long-term preservation led to the copies’ production from 1820 to 1824.
Adams’ instincts were correct. In 1841, the original Declaration of Independence went on public display in Washington, D.C. Despite the best of intentions, the document would be exposed to sunlight damage for 35 years, fading most of the original ink. Meanwhile, this copy of the Declaration of Independence comes to auction nearly two hundred years after its creation with only “original folds and light soiling,” according to the auction house. Register to bid and learn more about this lot on Bidsquare.
