During the reign of King Offa in the 7th century, Mercia’s coinage went through multiple changes. In one of the major changes, the coins bore the image of his queen, Cynethryth. She became the only Anglo-Saxon queen to appear on a coin during the Middle Ages. An example of this particular coin will lead the upcoming Coins, Tokens, Historical Medals, and Antiquities sale, presented by DNW Auctions. Alongside the portrait of Cynethryth is the name of the moneyer who issued the coins. The inscription reads CENEÐRYÐ REGINA (Queen Cynethryth) on the reverse.
Coin collectors can also find a pale gold Thrymsa that dates back to the Anglo-Saxon period. Around 600 CE, the Anglo-Saxons began making their first gold Thrymsa coins. The design of these early coins closely imitated gold Merovingian tremisses, the currency of late ancient Rome. This piece is one of only nine known examples of Thrymsa coins. Also highlighted in this auction are Roman gold coins featuring Carausius, Nero, and Agrippina II. For more information about these or any other lots, visit DNW Auctions and register to bid.
While many of her contemporaries pursued abstraction, Chicago artist Sylvia Shaw Judson felt drawn to lifelike garden figures. Judson supported Quaker’s causes and believed in a “delicate balance between the outward and the inward, with freshness and a serene wholeness and respect for all simple first-rate things.” Sylvia Shaw Judson’s most famous design will come to auction in Freeman’s upcoming American Art and Pennsylvania Impressionists sale. Judson cast the piece in 1938. Bird Girl depicts a young child wearing a buttoned dress while tilting her head to one side. She holds a bowl in each hand. Another version of the piece appeared on the cover of John Berendt’s Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, popularizing both the design and Judson’s work.
This auction features paintings by other notable American artists, including Norman Rockwell’s Piney Rest Motel (Cozy Rest Motel) and Daniel Garber’s Houses – Shannonville. The available Rockwell painting was likely created for a Saturday Evening Post cover. However, it later appeared as an advertisement for the Famous Artists School before entering a private collection. Other notable artists represented in the catalog include Martha Walter, Harry Leith-Ross, and Robert Tait McKenzie. For the complete listings and to place a bid, visit Bidsquare.
Paul Cézanne is one of the most influential Post-Impressionist artists in the history of modern painting. Over 40 years, Cézanne made over 1,000 paintings, of which nearly 200 are portraits. He often sketched his father, mother, sister, uncle, son, art dealer, himself, and Marie-Hortense Fiquet. Cézanne executed several painted and sketched portraits of his son, Paul Jr. One of these portraits will come come to auction with Nye & Company. It captures Paul Jr.’s childish features in three distinct drawings. One side of the piece bears a single sketch, while the other side has two.
The upcoming sale will feature works from several 19th and 20th-century American artists, including Frank Henry Shapleigh. Born in Boston, Shapleigh frequently spent winter at the Ponce de Leon Hotel in St. Augustine, Florida. The artist executed the available oil painting during his stay at the hotel. The large-scale oil on canvas depicts the old fort at Matanzas Bay in St. Augustine, Florida. Accompanying the painting is a letter from the artist to Charles Shultz. Beyond fine art, the catalog also offers early American furniture, English ceramics, Chinese porcelain, rugs, and lighting. Find the complete listings and register to bid on Bidsquare.
American fashion and celebrity photographer Milton H. Greene worked with Marilyn Monroe in over 50 sessions. This included the famous 1956 ‘Black Sitting.’ A 1973 vintage print of Monroe from the Black Sitting is a highlight of the upcoming Julien’s Auctions sale. The double-weight print has a semi-gloss finish with annotations penned on the reverse. Another 1980s print with a glossy finish leads the listings. The photograph by Bert Stern is a portrait of Monroe draping a strand of beads over her shoulder. Vogue commissioned the image in the summer of 1962. Monroe passed away a few months later. Stern was one of the last photographers to work with the star.
For music and movie enthusiasts, the sale includes a linen-backed rare movie poster of Monroe and Yves Montand’s Let’s Make Love from 1960. The 20th Century Fox film was Monroe’s parting musical film performance. This auction marks the auction house’s second annual tribute to the star on the occasion of her 95th birthday. To view the complete catalog and register to bid online, visit Julien’s Auctions.
Christie’s New York will present a selection of luxury jewelry this June. Among the notable lots is a yellow brilliant-cut diamond weighing around 204 carats. It comes from the Diavik mine in Canada and is among the largest diamonds ever found in North America.
Tiffany & Co. is also represented in this jewelry auction with a Jean Schlumberger diamond, ruby, and enamel clip brooch. A group of tapered baguette-cut diamonds, round cabochon rubies, and blue enamel forms two fish. A tied ribbon joins the fish at the top of the brooch. It comes with a black Tiffany & Co. case. A bangle bracelet by David Webb can also be found among the listings. This rock crystal, gold, and ruby ‘Chimera’ bracelet weighs 160.2 grams. Bidders can also consider items from Van Cleef & Arpels, Harry Winston, and other luxury brands. To view any of these items or the entire collection, visit Christie’s.
Deladier Almeida grew up in Brazil before immigrating to the United States and studying art under Wayne Thiebaud at UC Davis. Almeida’s work blurs the line between realism and abstraction, including his piece Inner Summer, which is available in this Crocker Art Museum auction. Viewers will notice Almeida’s sharp, comic book-like color palette stylizing this image of winding country roads.
This annual auction event benefits Sacramento, California’s Crocker Art Museum. Every year, artists submit their work for consideration, and a selection committee decides which pieces to offer. Among the other artists represented is California-based sculptor Robert Brady. He began his career working with ceramics before adopting wood as a primary medium nearly a quarter of a century later. With the sculpture Fold, Brady arranges wood pieces to create a human-like figure sitting with their knees up.
Finally, bidders can consider a still life painting of apricots, wheat, and poppies by David Ligare. These three items were sometimes offered together in ancient civilizations as thanks for a bountiful harvest. With this piece, Ligare hopes to remind the art world that still lifes can carry cultural significance and not just be “formal arrangements of objects or fruit or whatever.” Collectors can view each of the lots and register to bid on Bidsquare.
The upcoming Bonhams auction will offer a unique selection of meteorites, tektites, and impact memorabilia. A 600-pound main mass of the Bur-Abor meteorite is highlighted in the event. The present piece features distinctive elements caused by its course through the Earth’s atmosphere. The patterns on the main mass and the surface grooves were naturally created by millions of years in the heavy metal core of an asteroid. The piece remains intact from the day it was found in the Northeastern Province, Kenya.
Another impact memorabilia piece for sale is a recently discovered NWA 13951 lunar meteorite. Local tribespeople discovered it in the Mauritanian Sahara and chose to preserve it exactly as it was found. Less than 750 kilograms of lunar meteorites exist on Earth, comprising 0.1% of all meteoritic finds. An 82.28-gram slice of a Martian main mass is also on offer. Interested bidders can view the full catalog or place a bid on Bonhams.
Palmyrene funerary portraits flourished in the Roman era between the second and third centuries CE. These realistic pictures were placed in decorated family tombs outside the city of Palmyra. Illustrating the influences of the Parthian East and the Greco-Roman West, these pieces represent the lifestyle, occupations, and aspirations of the ancient population. The upcoming sale of Antiquities & Ancient Art, presented by Hindman, offers a Palmyrene limestone relief from this period. It depicts a trade between two merchants, one with a camel and one with a saddled horse.
The sale offers over 180 lots of Roman, Greek, and Egyptian artworks and antiquities. Highlighted is a Roman marble portrait head of Caracalla that dates back to the late second century CE. Caracalla was a Roman emperor known for the notorious actions carried out during his reign. This portrait depicts the future emperor when he was elevated to the position of Augustus at age 10. Explore these ancient art items and register to bid online by visiting Bidsquare.
Tiffany Studios rose to fame in the early 20th century and garnered patrons such as Mark Twain. Founded in 1881 by Louis Comfort Tiffany, the company was the first to collaborate with seminal artists and published designs under their names. Tiffany’s Art Nouveau designs feature the company’s trademark Favrile glass. Christie’s upcoming dedicated Tiffany sale will feature iconic pieces by Tiffany Studios, including lamps, mirrors, and memorabilia.
One highlight of the auction is a landscape window featuring magnolias, hydrangeas, and azaleas with a brook in the center. The leaded Favrile glass landscape from around 1915 likely depicts the Kissena Creek in Queens, New York. The floral window was possibly a commission for Samuel Bowne Parsons, Jr., a famous landscape architect. The floral blooms in the corners suggest the style of Tiffany designer Agnes Fairchild Northrop and display vibrant colors and textures.
Production of Tiffany Studios lampshades followed a rigorous process from glass selection to cutting and finishing. Among lamps and lightings, a peony table lamp is notable. The leaded glass lamp with a patinated bronze telescopic base features a bold color palette. Louis Comfort Tiffany likely supervised the award-winning design. Also showcased is a mirrored glass and patinated bronze Pond Lily mirror made in 1905. An American Art Nouveau inkstand, photographs taken by Agnes Northrop and Louis Comfort Tiffany, and the 1914 book The Artwork of Louis C. Tiffany round out the offerings. Interested collectors can explore the entire catalog and register to bid online by visiting Christie’s.
The Bulaq printing of Kitab Alf Layla wa-Layla was the first Arabic edition of Thousand and One Nights and served as the basis for almost all of its many translations and versions. The Bulaq was made between 1834 and 1835. A copy from this printing leads the upcoming Historic Manuscripts & Rare Books auction, offered by Skinner.
Among the paper items in the auction are several letters from John F. Kennedy’s Senate career and campaign for the presidency. One example from this collection is a set of typed letters from 1953 and 1957 regarding Kennedy’s concerns over fuel prices. Other epistolary examples include a letter of testimony by Peter George explaining that his 16-year-old son enlisted in the military without his consent. On the reverse is a Board of Enrollment confirmation of Mr. George’s integrity along with a brief note reading “Let this boy be discharged,” written and signed by Abraham Lincoln.
The available collection of historical manuscripts dates back to the 1930s and includes documents from George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Harry Houdini, and more. Rare books in the sale include many modern first editions, a first edition copy of Gone with the Wind, a first American edition of Franz Kafka’s The Trial, and more. View any of these lots and register to bid by visiting Skinner.
