Buttons, likely created between the 27th and 25th centuries BCE, are small disks that help secure clothing in place. Often overlooked, buttons have both functional and decorative purposes and can add to the value of the clothing item. Although mostly circular, they come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Some buttons are made of precious metal and stones while others bear stamped designs or prints. In the upcoming Buttons of Distinction Auction, presented by Whitley’s Auctioneers, 475 button lots will be available. Featured among the listings is an 18th-century carved button from a French artisan. Its carved scene on top is enhanced by the contrasting background of red foil.
Rare finds such as an eight-sided button and a smuggler’s button are also available in the sale. The eight-sided copper button, overlaid with an engraved pearl, also belongs to the 18th century. The 17th-century smuggler’s button was designed to smuggle opium in a concealed compartment. Several available Arita buttons also stand out, as their porcelain heads represent immortal Japanese deities. Modern collectors can find buttons with plique-à-jour and gin-bari enamel, fabric buttons with decorative trimming, and even a button decorated with a realistic metal fly resting on a pearl. The auction house will present buttons from the 17th through the 20th centuries CE in this event. To view the complete catalog and place a bid, visit Bidsquare.
Considered a seminal figure in Concrete Cuban art, Loló Soldevilla began painting in 1948. One year later, Soldevilla was named Cuba’s cultural attachée to Europe. She moved to Paris and remained there—with periodic trips back to the island—until 1956. During her stay, she visited London, after which she turned away from hard-edged abstraction and made circles the dominant form in her work. “I have changed the entire organization of my paintings,” she wrote at the time. A 1957 untitled painting by Soldevilla will highlight the upcoming Post-War & Contemporary Art Online auction, presented by Bonhams. The oil and collage piece shows geometric patterns of circles, rectangles, lines, and colors.
The auction also highlights an untitled oil on canvas piece by James Rosenquist. Considered a pioneer of Pop Art, Rosenquist was known for his billboard-sized works and striking color schemes. He took up commissions and made large-scale, fragmented works that brought the visual language of commercial painting onto the canvas. During the 1970s, Rosenquist often used nails as a motif to depict a period of personal difficulty. Rendered in black, nails refer to Rosenquist’s trauma and eventual renewal. The available painting is from that series and shows 20 nails, arranged to resemble four tally mark clusters. The auction also offers works from Vik Muniz, Jose Mijares, Pablo Bronstein, and John Fischer. Explore the full listings and register to bid online on Bonhams.
Cynthia Packard’s oil on wood piece, titled A Symphony, is one of the highlighted lots in the upcoming Live Virtual Auction, offered by the Arts Foundation of Cape Cod. The painting uses light and dark colors to represent the moon and the sun as a metaphor for an orchestra playing music. The Pops by the Sea Commemorative Artist for 2020, Packard is recognized for her self-expressive paintings that influence Cape Cod’s art and cultural scenes. She attributes her creativity to the area’s distraction-free environment: “I feel really free here.”
This event offers 13 lots, all created by Cape Cod artists to promote, support, and celebrate the diversity of arts in Cape Cod. Among them is a set of two paper sculptures by Joyce Utting Schutter, together titled Equus Hexifolia Spring and Autumn. Made of paper pulp and organic materials, they symbolize the life cycle of a leaf. A series of four paintings by Dianna Braginton-Smith and her sister Heather Braginton-Smith is also available for sale. The lot includes an unfinished 1989 commemorative painting by Heather, created shortly before her death. Visit Bidsquare to view the entire catalog or to place a bid.
David Burliuk was a Russian Futurism painter from Ukraine, best known for his influence on Modernism at the start of the 20th century. He was internationally known as the “Father of Futurism.” Burliuk’s work often displayed his fascination with the designs of Scythian culture and Ukrainian folklore. The upcoming Decorative Art & Objects auction, presented by Joshua Kodner, will offer an oil painting by Burliuk. This still life painting shows vibrant colors, thick paint, and dynamic brushstrokes.
Another top lot of the auction is a three-piece Togo sofa by Ligne Roset. Antoine Roset and his son Emile first founded the company in 1860 as a small business in Montagnier, France. From its establishment to date, Ligne Roset has been known for its sustainable designs and high quality. The featured Togo sofa was launched in 1973. An Eames lounge chair by Herman Miller, several antique arts, abstract paintings, and jewelry pieces will be featured as well. Interested collectors can explore the full catalog and register to bid online on Bidsquare.
Recognized for his contributions to American marine painting, Antonio Jacobsen was also known as the “Audubon of Steam Vessels.” Painting over 6,000 portraits of ships, many of his works documented domestic and international ships sailing by West Hoboken, New Jersey. A leading lot in the upcoming Americana, Fine Art, Marine sale, presented by Rafael Osona Auctions, is an 1887 oil painting from Antonio Jacobsen. The piece is a portrait of the Apache, an American steam-sail luxury liner, on the open sea.
This event also includes a scrimshaw sperm whale tooth from the 1830s. Scrimshaw started in the late 18th or early 19th century as whalebone carving style. Many sailors had plenty of leisure time between sighting and chasing whales. To utilize this time, they would scratch on ivory and hone their craft. Also available in this auction is an ivory and whalebone swift made during the same period. The piece consists of 114 carved bone staves emanating from whale ivory. View any other piece and register to bid on Bidsquare.
Artist Ralph Cahoon was known for his whimsical scenes of mermaids with sailors. In 1953, a New York art collector offered Cahoon the opportunity to paint for the Country Art Gallery in Long Island. After his paintings in the gallery were sold almost instantly, Cahoon became a well-known artist. Among the featured lots in the upcoming Americana, Fine Art, Furnishings, & Décor auction, presented by Rafael Osona Auctions, is Cahoon’s oil on canvas painting titled Sailor’s Surprise. In the piece, a sailor is shown covering a mermaid’s eyes. They are sitting in front of a chinoiserie dressing table in Canton, China.
The event includes an oil painting by American artist Wendell Macy. Many of his works explore the shipwrecks of Nantucket’s South Shore, while also experimenting with shadow and light. The available 1898 piece is an example of his signature style. Apart from fine art, the sale also offers decorative art, jewelry, furniture, wine, and more. Leading the available jewelry pieces in this auction is a Seaman Schepps bracelet designed with a series of cabochon tanzanite stones. View the complete catalog and register to bid on Bidsquare.
Aphrodite is the Greek goddess of love, beauty, desire, passion, and fertility. She is often portrayed as a complicated goddess, both generous and loving to those who respected her and easily offended with a temper. A Greek terracotta depiction of Aphrodite from the late Hellenistic period (400 – 30 BCE) will feature in the upcoming East Meets West: Works of Art Across Cultures auction, presented by Stair. The available Aphrodite has a wreath in her hair and is posed in a contrapposto position, a more relaxed posture originating in Greece in the early fifth century BCE.
In Chinese culture, ruyi scepters were formerly used not only as congratulatory gifts but also as a symbol of authority. The number and opulence of ruyi scepters increased during the Qianlong period, which required them to be presented during imperial ceremonies. A Chinese cinnabar ruyi scepter is among the featured lots in this event. The carved head of the scepter features four motifs, while the arched shaft is decorated with angular scrollwork. Also available is a collection of Chinese glazed objects, pre-Columbian pottery, and Etruscan bronze pieces. Explore these lots and register to bid on Bidsquare.
Since 1977, Joel Arthur Rosenthal (JAR) has produced around 70 to 80 pieces of jewelry a year, each of them one of a kind. Referred to as the “Fabergé of our times,” JAR’s pieces have been worn by such style icons as Elizabeth Taylor, Elle Macpherson, Barbara Walters, and Princess Firyal of Jordan. A pair of violet earrings from JAR will be available in the upcoming Jewels Online sale, presented by Christie’s. The floral ear clips first appeared in a 2002 Somerset House exhibition in London when JAR sent each of his 145 clients, who loaned him their jewels for the show, a pair of these earrings in colored aluminum.
Also among the auction’s featured lots is a Cerf-Volants ring by Van Cleef & Arpels. Introduced in 2015, Cerf-Volants celebrates the freedom and protective nature of kites. The available ring is designed to resemble two kites set with diamonds, sapphires, mother-of-pearl, and abalone. A pair of Graff earrings with an openwork hoop of rubies overlaid with butterfly motif diamonds is offered as well. With over 300 lots, the event also includes jewelry by Bulgari, Cartier, Tiffany & Co., and David Webb. To view the entire catalog and place a bid, visit Christie’s.
A Swiss manufacturer of luxury watches, F.P. Journe is named after its founder, François-Paul Journe. The company is the only three-time winner of the Aiguille d’Or grand prize from the Fondation du Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève. Today, F.P. Journe is among the last watch manufacturers still operating from central Geneva. One of the leading lots featured in the upcoming online watches auction, offered by Christie’s, is an F.P. Journe platinum Octa-Auto watch accessorized with a platinum tang buckle. Among the other lots of interest in the sale are two Patek Philippe watches. One is an 18-karat gold Perpetual Calendar (Ref. 3945/001), while the other is a Luminous Dial (Ref. 2508J). The Swiss luxury watchmaker is known for manufacturing some of the most complicated mechanical watches in the world.
Another key lot is an Audemars Piguet platinum minute-repeating John Schaeffer Star Wheel watch. Its accessories include a platinum buckle, as well as a notebook, box, and outer box. Audemars Piguet is known for creating the world’s first minute-repeating movement for wristwatches in 1892. To view the complete catalog and register to bid online, visit Christie’s.
“The real charm of the play, if it [has] charm, must be in the dialogue,” Oscar Wilde wrote in his pitch for The Importance of Being Earnest. The letter was sent to his friend and former collaborator, George Alexander, who would go on to produce, revise, and even act in the play. That letter, written in 1894, is available in the upcoming Books and Manuscripts auction, presented by Sotheby’s. Earnest would be Wilde’s final play. While lighter in tone than his previous works, the play still served as a critique of Victorian society, which is alluded to in the work’s subtitle: A Trivial Comedy for Serious People.
Collectors interested in literary history will also find a revised typescript of Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Truman Capote. The manuscript, submitted by Capote to Random House in May of 1958, shows the author fine-tuning his work. Some alterations are minor, such as changing the word “mad” to “vexed.” Others, meanwhile, grapple with macro-level issues of tone, such as Capote deciding how explicit he wants the main character Holly to be about her relationships.
The Sotheby’s event also includes atlases, with Gerard Mercator and Jodocus Hondius’ 1613 atlas among the highlights. The project began in 1563, when Mercator decided to create a five-book project outlining the entire world, from creation to the heavens to geography. Though Mercator would not live to see the project through to its completion, this atlas was the product of his efforts. Those interested in this or any other piece can register to bid on the Sotheby’s website.
