In 1963, four years after the first Daytona 500 race, Rolex debuted a watch designed to be synonymous with race car drivers and first-place finishes. Two Rolex Daytona watches will cross the auction block with Sotheby’s as part of its Fine Watches sale. Both of the Rolex Daytonas are examples of reference #116508, distinguished by their dark green dials. Bidders should note that the first example (lot #1) comes to auction with its original papers, while the second (lot #2) does not.
Representing Audemars Piguet in this auction is a skeletonized wristwatch from the Swiss company. Skeleton watches straddle the line between giving wearers an inside look at its inner workings and also serving as a functional timepiece. In this Audemars Piguet example, the minute and hour hands stand out front and center among the watch’s intricate parts. Another distinctive feature of this reference is its rectangular, Art Deco-inspired case. Those interested can register to bid and view each of the lots on Sotheby’s website.
An Oliver Cromwell Broad gold coin is the leading lot of Dix Noonan Webb’s upcoming auction. Born in 1599, Oliver Cromwell rose to prominence at the beginning of the English Civil War. After Cromwell and his allies proved victorious in the Civil War, they executed King Charles I to establish the Commonwealth of England. Cromwell earned the title of Lord Protector in 1653. Soon after, he introduced the new coinage. The Cromwell Broad gold 20 shillings was struck between 1656 and 1658; production soon halted due to Cromwell’s sudden death. The 1656 is an early example of the first milled coins in England. The available coin features Cromwell’s portrait with a laureate wreath on one side. The other side bears his personal motto ‘PAX QVÆRITVR BELLO,’ meaning ‘peace is sought by war.’
The sale also offers coins dating from the time of Alfred the Great and Harold II. A silver penny of Harold II is one of the highlights. Harold Godwinson, popularly called Harold II, was the last crowned Anglo-Saxon king of England. He only ruled for nine months before William the Conqueror invaded England in 1066, defeating Harold at the Battle of Hastings. Coins minted during Harold’s reign featured a bust facing left on one side and ‘Peace’ written on the other side. Those interested in this or any other lot can register to bid by visiting Dix Noonan Webb.
Freeman’s upcoming Modern and Contemporary Art auction will present a major bronze sculpture by Barbara Hepworth. One of Britain’s first abstract sculptors, Hepworth found inspiration in the Yorkshire countryside where she grew up. The naturalistic stone-like sculptures of Hepworth’s early career gradually evolved to include sharp edges and more human shapes. The artist cast the available bronze, titled Torso II (Torcello), while coping with the death of her son in World War II. The piece belongs to Hepworth’s anthropomorphic torso series. It features a dimpled texture, deep hollows, and a slender base. Other notable sculptors represented in the sale include Henry Moore, Fritz König, and Allan Houser.
Modern and contemporary art collectors will find some of the most famous 20th-century artists in the auction catalog, from Andy Warhol to Pablo Picasso. A print of Warhol’s Mao is among the leading lots. Picturing Chairman Mao Zedong in bright green and blue, the piece was printed in 1972. It includes a handwritten dedication to Janet Solinger, a prominent New York arts administrator. Picasso’s Trois Femmes is on offer as well. This 1960 color linocut depicts a group of three women on a coffee brown background. The women appear to be stretching and welcoming the morning. Visit Bidsquare for more information and to place a bid.
Through the 1980s, American Abstract Expressionist painter Joan Mitchell suffered numerous health problems, including cancer. Mitchell created an untitled painting in 1989 amid these health issues. The oil painting, which will come to auction with Hindman, reflects the artist’s late-career reflective mood. Shades of blue and aquamarine crisscross the canvas, interrupted by two strokes of mustard yellow. Hindman’s lot description notes that, for Mitchell, the painting is “the essence of the external world internalized, interpreted and expressed in paint, conveying a deeper and harder felt meaning.”
The upcoming sale will feature works from other key American artists of the 20th century. Alexander Calder’s Pyramidal Shapes painting from 1956 is particularly notable. Calder is best known as a sculptor of aesthetic mobiles, but he occasionally worked in two dimensions. The available Calder painting positions a pyramid in the foreground. Two lines balance on its peak, supporting a sphere and a half-moon on either side. Another pyramid and a white sphere draw the viewer’s eye to the composition’s vanishing point.
Hindman’s auction of post-war and contemporary art spans across national boundaries. The catalog offers works by Polish artist Magdalena Abakanowicz, Japanese abstractionist Sadamasa Motonaga, and Taiwanese sculptor Yuyu Yang. Find the complete listings and register to bid on Bidsquare.
“Untouched by hands and unhurried by time” best describes a bottle of Van Winkle bourbon. The journey from barrels to bottles takes decades and is one of the main reasons why each bourbon is considered rare. The Beverage Testing Institute (Chicago) also gave Van Winkle bourbon a score of 99/100, the highest rating ever given to a whiskey. Enthusiasts hunt for their share of Van Winkles. An 18-year-old Rip Van Winkle Blue Smoke and a 23-year-old Pappy Van Winkle’s family reserve are featured in Sotheby’s upcoming sale. The aged bourbons have flavors of leather, oak, and complex fruitiness with notes of spice and oak tannins.
Over 250 lots of rare American bourbons, ryes, and thoroughbred whiskeys that stretch back over decades will be available in this auction. The collection spans from Kentucky to Pennsylvania and celebrates American whiskeys, particularly those from Kentucky. 30 bottles from the Van Winkle stable, ten bottles of Hirsch Reserve, and eight bottles of LeNell’s Red Hook Rye are all available online the day before the 2021 Kentucky Derby. Visit Sotheby’s to place a bid.
Léonard Tsuguharu Foujita, a Japanese-French artist, was known for blending Eastern and Western elements in his works. In his paintings, Foujita combined oil paint with a blend of sumi ink. By the early 1920s, it became his signature style which he adapted to painting nudes and self-portraits. A 1957 artwork by Foujita, titled Les Deux Amies, will be available at the upcoming auction of American and European Art, presented by Hindman. It is signed and is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity.
Paintings by other notable artists are also featured in the event, including an oil on canvas by American artist William Glackens. Like most of his other works, Girl with Violin reflects Glackens’ interest in recreation and entertainment scenes. Artworks by Robert Salmon, Daniel Garber, and other American artists are available as well. To view the full catalog or to place a bid, visit Bidsquare.
The upcoming auction, presented by Sotheby’s, offers 85 lots of minerals, fossils, and meteorites. A highlighted piece in the collection is a Triceratops skull. According to the lot essay, it is one of the largest Triceratops skulls to have ever been discovered intact in a single block. The Triceratops, a large herbivore dinosaur, had two horns rising from its forehead with a shorter horn stemming from its nose. A massive bony collar behind the skull protected the head, shoulders, and neck from any kind of attack by predators such as the T-Rex.
Another standout piece is a large specimen of purple labradorite. Labradorite was found by Moravian missionaries in the Labrador region of Canada in 1770. According to Inuit traditions, the mineral can treat a variety of ailments. Inuit legends tell that labradorite fell from the frozen fire of the aurora borealis. Visit Sotheby’s to view the entire collection and register to bid.
In July of 2009, a young couple found several decoys in the attic of an Indiana house they were remodeling. The factory markings on the decoys led them to collector Joe Tonelli, who was able to identify the works and provide information. Some of the attic decoys bore markings from Robert Elliston and were sold at auction to collector and former Illinois Governor Jim Thompson. The Elliston decoys purchased by Thompson have now returned to Guyette and Deeter for the second session of the upcoming Spring Decoy & Sporting Art Sale. Featured in the Elliston group is a back preening mallard hen with original paint and rubbed feather detailing by Catherine Elliston.
Other decoys in the sale include a swimming greenwing drake by John Blair, Sr., a walking greater yellowlegs by Elmer Crowell, and an emperor penguin by Charles Hart. Hart is known for his carved penguins that he sold to tourists and gifted to friends. Though most of his carved penguins were less than 12 inches tall, the emperor up for bid is comparatively monumental at 33.5 inches and was used as an outdoor porch ornament. View any of these decoys and register to bid on Bidsquare.
The upcoming Historic Arms & Militaria sale, hosted by Bruneau & Co. Auctioneers, will include a wide selection of antique guns. Among 413 lots is an 1812 Virginia Manufactory 2nd model flintlock pistol. The firearm has a .56 bore, a brass butt cap, and a thin brass band at the front of the stock. It is one of few vintage pistols made by a wooden ramrod between 1812 and 1813. A U.S. Navy Elgin cutlass pistol from around 1837 is also available in the listings. A blade produced by N.P. Ames is attached to the pistol’s edge.
Another lot of interest is Eli Kimball’s powder horn. Produced in 1776, the horn is engraved with foliate designs and marked with incised lines. Also available is a Springfield flintlock pistol and a U.S. Navy breech-loading Howitzer. Browse the full catalog and register to bid online by visiting Bidsquare.
Michelle Smith’s collection of jewelry, couture, furniture, and décor will soon come to auction with Sotheby’s. A prominent businesswoman and philanthropist of the Washington, D.C. area, Smith was known for her curated taste. “With everything in her life, she developed a perfectionism… the kind of perfectionism you don’t switch on and off,” Christian Hemmerle told Sotheby’s. The upcoming Vision of Luxury auction will highlight Smith’s jewels, handbags, and accessories.
Among the leading lots is a Havane Hermès Birkin bag from 2007. This bag features scaled skin sourced from Australian saltwater crocodiles. It also includes palladium hardware accents. Smith collected several other Hermès bags. The upcoming sale features a 2012 Hermès Birkin bag with gold hardware, as well as early 2000s Togo and Fjord leather bags. Other notable Hermès pieces on offer include Kelly pochettes, Jige mini clutches, and crocodile leather crossbody bags.
Smith also curated luxury jewelry pieces. This auction will offer a pair of Cartier ‘coffee bean’ ear clips from her collection. Made in the 1950s, these gold, diamond, and pearl ear clips come with a matching floral brooch. Bidders can also consider a gold ‘Tubogas’ bracelet-watch from Bulgari, ear clips from Van Cleef & Arpels, and a David Webb gold and rock crystal bracelet. For more information and to place a bid, visit Sotheby’s.
