The upcoming NYC Asia Week Estate Auction, presented by Auctions at Showplace, will highlight Asian fine and decorative arts, furniture, and jewelry. The collection includes several lots from the estate of a prominent Chinese musician. Bidders can consider important Chinese porcelain and pottery of the Ming dynasty, cinnabar boxes, ancient jade ax blades, and lamps. Continental and American paintings are available as well, including an oil on panel portrait by Cesare Auguste Detti. The painting, titled Musician, depicts a boy playing a flute. He wears a hat and cloak.
Fine jewelry, silver, and costume jewelry will also be available. The collection features a 14-karat white gold and diamond tennis bracelet with 39 round brilliant-cut diamonds. A vintage 18-karat gold and Tahitian black pearl necklace is on offer as well. The Etruscan ornament includes 14 Baroque pearls fastened with a magnetic ball clasp. View the full catalog and register to place a bid online on Bidsquare.
Hindman’s upcoming Springborn Collection sale features a wide variety of contemporary crafts. The auction offers Wendell Castle’s ‘Seven Days of the Week’ dining set, crafted in 1997. The dining table is made of ebonized mahogany wood; it showcases Castle’s signature stack lamination technique. The ten biomorphic chairs have ash legs and contrasting upholstery. Castle’s pieces, considered works of art for their distinctive designs, have found permanent places in museums and cultural institutions.
Pushing the limits of glass art is Mary Ann Toots Zynsky’s untitled vessel. It will be showcased in the Springborn sale. Zynsky uses heat-formed glass threads to form a vessel. She has received acclaim for her exploration of colors and shapes in glassmaking. Nine lots from Albert Paley are also available in the event, including a fabricated steel breakfast table topped with glass. Find more contemporary crafts online by visiting Bidsquare.
Auto enthusiasts can expect a broad array of collector cars at the third annual Mecum Auctions sale in Glendale, Arizona. The sale will be held at State Farm Stadium and is expected to host more than 1,200 cars. One of the featured cars in the sale is one of only 1,580 Porsche 911 Carreras ever produced. It was previously owned by Kevin Buckler, a 24 Hours of Le Mans class-winning driver. The Carrera was restored at the Porsche factory in Stuttgart and includes all factory restoration invoices and a Porsche Certificate of Authenticity.
A 1970 Ford Mustang Boss 429 Fastback is among the American cars up for bid. The low-mileage car on the block is from the Steve Todhunter Collection. This Boss 429 includes the original Ford invoice, factory build sheet, owner’s manual and owner card, and a Deluxe Marti Report. Other available lots include collectible motorcycles, tractors, and road-related art. View any of these items and register to bid by visiting Mecum Auctions.
Cloisonné is an art technique that uses enamel to decorate metal. Artisans developed the style around the 14th century. Many Chinese artists are known for using cloisonné and jade in their pieces of work, along with porcelain, pottery, and lacquer. Sotheby’s upcoming cloisonné and jade auction will highlight a rare cloisonné ‘bats and clouds’ vase from the Qing dynasty. The body of this vase is round, slimming out through the neck and featuring beasts on each handle. It shows 16 bats in red, pink, yellow, and green. They are depicted in flight amongst blue clouds.
A white and russet jade brush pot from the Qianlong period is available as well. This brush pot features a continuous landscape with a rider on horseback and another pushing a cart. There is a single songbird near the edge of the scene, while the pictured ravine shows cliffs that rise to either side. The brush pot measures just over seven inches tall. This auction will feature numerous items formerly held by the Brooklyn Museum. View the entire collection and register to bid at Sotheby’s.
Kenneth Noland was a famous color field painter who worked mainly in plain colors and simple forms like stripes, bullseyes, and chevrons. The color field artist initially worked in Abstract Expressionism and later embraced the minimalist style. The upcoming Doyle auction will highlight a 1983 artwork titled Sand Glass by Kenneth Noland. The abstract acrylic on canvas features a vivid color palette and chevrons.
Sorel Etrog’s Flight II bronze with a green and gray patina is also showcased. Etrog’s sculptures are famous for their intellectual engagement with the audience. His works are also known for re-introducing ancient sculptural traditions in modern sculpture. They often feature contrasts between organic and mechanical elements. Those interested in Abstract Expressionism can consider Elaine de Kooning’s late 1950s Untitled oil on Masonite painting. The available artwork shows the influence of prehistoric cave paintings on Kooning’s work.
The auction will highlight color lithographs by Ellsworth Kelly that mark the beginning of his concerted style printmaking. The available works, such as Orange (Bleu Sur Orange), belong to a lithograph series produced with Maeght Éditeur in Paris. These lithographs depict Kelly’s emphasis on line and color, a style similar to Kenneth Noland’s. Rounding out the catalog is Gene Davis’ signature colored vertical striped painting, a screenprint by Ernest Trova, and a B. R. Khedkar bronze. Interested collectors can explore the entire listings and register to bid online on Doyle.
François-Paul Journe entered the watch industry as a clock restorer and later started his own company in 1999. His innovative approach to watchmaking led him to become one of the most celebrated watchmakers in history. An Automatique Lune Havana from François-Paul Journe is featured in the upcoming Fine Watches auction, presented by Sotheby’s. The rose gold wristwatch is an updated model that ensures every small movement is used to wind the watch. It also displays the date and moon phases.
Collectors interested in Rolex watches can consider a Rolex Paul Newman Daytona ref. 6241, produced between 1965 and 1969. This design gets its name from American actor and racecar driver Paul Newman, who often wore the watch on the race track. The available stainless steel wristwatch has a black acrylic bezel and sunken subsidiary dials inspired by the Art Deco style. Also included is a Patek Philippe pocket watch from 1903. With a minimalistic design, the timepiece features an 18-karat yellow gold case. Those interested in this or any other lot can register to bid on Sotheby’s.
Herman Melville’s tale of revenge on the high seas, Moby-Dick; or The Whale, was not an instant success. Melville took a year longer to write it than expected, and it arrived with mixed reviews, including particularly unfavorable ones from America. A copy of the first American edition of Melville’s Moby-Dick highlights the upcoming Literature From a Private New Orleans Collection sale, presented by Hindman. Published in 1851, the American edition had over 35 passages not offered in the British edition. This includes the epilogue that explains Ishmael survived the Pequod’s sinking.
From the 20th century, bidders will find several collections of Beat Generation books. That includes a bundle of works by Lawrence Ferlinghetti, the late owner of City Lights. Those interested in learning more about Lawrence Ferlinghetti‘s legacy and his books on offer can read Auction Daily’s extended coverage. Also available is a first edition copy of John Steinbeck’s The Pastures of Heaven. The book is a collection of interconnected short stories revolving around a small California community. Pastures was an early John Steinbeck work, and even the author was surprised to see this copy when he autographed it for a friend in 1932. “Where’d you get hold of this,” Steinbeck’s note begins. Register to bid and view each of the lots on Bidsquare.
Sotheby’s will kick-start this year’s Asia Week with a Modern and Contemporary South Asian Art auction. An abstract canvas by Vasudeo S. Gaitonde leads the catalog. Gaitonde began his career as a figurative artist, later becoming resolutely non-figural, almost geometrical. Executed in 1962, the offered untitled painting shows geometric elements in black and yellow against a red background. Another abstract work from Gaitonde will hit the auction block for the first time. The untitled 1962 painting features calligraphic brush and ink work. According to the lot essay, “the origins of this work are inextricably tied to the artist’s travels to Japan.”
Another featured work in this event comes from Jehangir Sabavala. His work uses Cubist elements to achieve varied results and textures. Sabavala’s Lone Vigil features a figure in a landscape that depicts all five elements of nature. Collectors interested in this or any other South Asian artworks can register to bid on Sotheby’s.
By the time Keith Haring opened his Pop Shop storefront in 1986, he had an established cast of characters and themes in his drawings. These evolved in the subways of New York before landing in his Lower Manhattan store. This March, Sotheby’s will bring 12 preparatory Pop Shop drawings to auction for the first time. Haring completed these 11 by 14-inch drawings in 1985. These studies directly informed Haring’s Pop Shop merchandise, appearing on t-shirts, buttons, magnets, and more. Sotheby’s notes the importance of these works: “The twelve drawings included in [the auction] are the foundation of his mission to spread joy to a wide audience through his art… [They] serve as the blueprint for Haring’s oeuvre.”
Each of the available lots highlights an iconic Haring motif. The catalog opens with a “best buddies” print. Considered a symbol of friendship and communal support, it features radiance marks above the figures’ heads. Bidders will also find a two-headed barking dog and various dancing figures on separate prints. Several less common images are available as well, including a bulbous tree of life and a dancing figure hovering above water. The offered Pop Shop drawings emphasize Haring’s positive messages that could easily be understood by the casual viewer.
The available ink on paper drawings were acquired directly from the artist before the present owner purchased them in 1990. A certificate from the Authentication Committee of the Estate of Keith Haring accompanies each lot. For more information and to place a bid, visit Sotheby’s.
In some Buddhist traditions, Maitreya is considered a bodhisattva residing in the Tushita heaven. He is regarded as the future Buddha, who will return to the earthly world only when the teachings of Gautama Buddha have been completely forgotten. The upcoming Bonhams sale features a rare black stone figure of Maitreya, belonging to the Longmen Caves of the Northern Wei dynasty (5th – 6th century CE). The Northern Wei dynasty witnessed a period of political unrest and Maitreya was believed to summon peace in those troubled times. The available figure has angular features with a smiling visage. Wearing a dhoti, he sits with his legs crossed at the ankles. His right hand is raised in abhayamudra (a reassurance gesture) and his left hand is lowered towards the knees.
Another key lot is a white-glazed ingot-shaped pillow from the Song dynasty (960 – 1279 CE). In ancient times, Chinese people often slept on ceramic pillows. These were especially popular during the Song dynasty. The Cizhou-type pillow is washed with a cream slip and covered in crackled glaze. It is molded in two parts, scripted with a 100-character poem that was composed by the Qianlong Emperor. The poem includes 12 eight-character lines and one four-character line, followed by a short inscription and two seals. To view the complete catalog and register to bid online, visit Bonhams.
