Graff is a multinational jewelry brand founded in the 1960s by jewelry designer Laurence Graff. The company has facilitated many notable diamond sales in history and has received honors such as the De Beers Diamond International Award. The upcoming Jewels Auction, presented by Christie’s, will include several pieces from Graff and other luxury jewelry brands. One highlight is a pair of Graff Icon emerald and diamond earrings. The 18-karat white gold earrings have a tapering fringe design set with round diamonds and pear-shaped emeralds. Inspired by its founder’s lifelong passion for diamonds, the Icon collection has a contemporary, classic setting of jewels and an undertone of 1920s style.
To highlight ancient coins, Bulgari launched its Monete collection in the 1960s. Ancient Roman, Greek, and Persian coins find a place in modern jewelry pieces in this collection. The available Monete diamond necklace by Bulgari has a Greek Corinthian silver coin setting. Also offered is a colored diamond and gold bracelet by the Milan jeweler Pomellato. The wideband adjustable bracelet has oval-shaped intertwined hoops and colored diamond-set links. This collection also includes designs by Cartier, Tiffany & Co., Van Cleef & Arpels, and Verdura. Interested collectors can explore the full listings and register to bid online on Christie’s.
When American muralist and graffiti artist Keith Haring started drawing graphic lines and cartoon figures on the vacant billboards of New York City’s subway, the art scene was caught up with Conceptualism. His white-chalk graffiti drawings captured the attention of New Yorkers and earned him international recognition. Fascinated by cartoon art from an early age, Haring eventually dropped out of the Ivy School of Professional Art and moved to New York. While there, he befriended fellow artists such as Jean-Michel Basquiat and Andy Warhol. Defending the public nature of his work, he once said, “Art is for everybody.” A Haring drawing on plexiglass is a leading lot of the upcoming Modern Art & Design: Spring 2020 auction, presented by Palm Beach Modern Auctions. This piece shows several winged figures above a dancing television set.
A large bronze figural sculpture titled Extasis by Venezuelan artist Abigail Varela is also among the leading lots. Known for his bronze sculptures depicting abstract feminine figures, Varela’s sculptures have disproportionately thin arms, small heads, high necks, and wide hips. A parchment-covered oak table by Jean-Michel Frank is also highlighted in the sale. Frank is known for his Minimalist, elegant furniture made of luxury materials. View any of these lots and register to bid on Bidsquare.
Contemporary artist Robert Freeman has exhibited in numerous museums and galleries in the Boston area over the last 30 years. His paintings capture the Black middle class in various situations, from black tie events to Mardi Gras celebrations. Available in the live session of the upcoming 2020 MassArt Auction is one of Freeman’s paintings, titled Two Red Dresses. The 2018 work shows two women dancing in cocktail dresses. Their suited partners have matching corsages.
A polyurethane wall sculpture from Bill Thompson is among the highlighted items. The piece is colored in a deep shade of magenta that varies in shade across the sculpture’s curves. Thompson’s work has been shown in Santa Fe, Munich, and Boston. An example of Jane Maxwell’s mixed media pieces will also come to auction. The available lot shows four female silhouettes standing with their hands on their hips; the figures are overlaid with the phrase “nevertheless, she persisted.”
This sale, offered by the Massachusetts College of Art and Design Foundation to benefit students of the arts, will present 31 lots from contemporary artists. Many mediums are on offer, including painting, sculpture, photography, jewelry, and cast paper. Bidders interested in jewelry can find a multi-colored necklace from Rebecca Hannon made of thin, connected circles. Visit Bidsquare to explore the full catalog and register to bid.
Offered in the upcoming sale, presented by Sotheby’s, are 65 lots of European paintings, drawings, and sculptures. One highlighted item is a work executed by Guillaume Seignac. A French academic painter, Seignac was trained in both the academic style of the École des Beaux-Arts and the classical themes of the Renaissance. Specializing in subjects that reveal hidden meanings as well as mythological figures, his work idealizes female nudes based on Greek and Roman art. The available painting shows a woman, clothed in white, with a blond cherub leaning against her shoulders. Behind her is a landscape furnished with Greek urns and trees.
Other lots of interest include an oil painting by Martín Rico y Ortega, titled Gondolier On a Venetian Canal. In the early 1860s, Rico hiked through Switzerland, Brittany, and England in search of inspiration. The sketchbooks from his journey document his study of the varied landscapes and cultures he encountered. The available piece shows the gondolier rounding a corner with houses and chimneys on his right. Another available lot, titled Fleurs Pour Maman (Flowers for Mother) from Henry Jules Jean Geoffroy, shows two children admiring a small bouquet. View the complete catalog for this auction and register to bid by visiting Sotheby’s.
This April, Sotheby’s offers a variety of vintage furniture, silver collectibles, and ceramics from as early as the 16th century. One highlighted piece of furniture is a pair of kingwood and Chinese lacquer bookcases. The pair was created through the combined effort of father-son duo Jean-Charles and Claude-Charles Saunier around 1765. Both pieces were made in the late Louis XV-style.
Another leading lot is a Victorian silver punch bowl from Hunt & Roskell. Founded by Paul Storr in 1819, the firm specialized in ornate centerpieces, tea sets, and jewelry. After exhibiting at the Crystal Palace in London in 1851 and subsequent shows through the 1860s, Hunt & Roskell rose in popularity around the world. Their silverware is known for intricate floral and vegetal motifs and scrolling patterns. The sale also includes an Italian silver flamingo sculpture by Mario Buccellati, a 20th-century artist known for his texture-engraving technique. View the complete catalog for this sale and register to bid on the Sotheby’s website.
A set of Elizabeth Garouste and Mattia Bonetti chairs will be featured in the upcoming Design Signature Auction, presented by Heritage Auctions. The French duo collaborated for many years to create imaginative furniture. Their designs have appeared in museums around the world, including the Musée des Arts décoratifs et Du Design in Bordeaux and the Guggenheim Museum in Manhattan.
A Dale Chihuly original Grande Venetian glass sculpture is also available in the auction, along with glasswork from William Morris and Yoichi Ohira. Made in 1989, the Chihuly vase is cobalt blue with carmine rings and turquoise leaves. The lot comes with the artist’s paper sketch of the piece. Works from Mira Nakashima and Pedro Friedeberg are also featured in the sale, including Nakashima’s custom table for the Hyatt corporate offices in Chicago. One of Friedeberg’s signature mahogany Hand Chairs is available as well. Other featured items include a Viktor Schreckengost bronze sculpture of a Mangbetu child. To view the full catalog, visit Heritage Auctions.
Founded in 1824 by Alexander Reid, a barley farmer and schoolteacher, The Macallan was one of the first legally licensed distilleries in Scotland. Bottles from the collection of Californian retailer Wing Hop Fung come to auction in the upcoming Sotheby’s sale. Many of the available bottles were acquired directly from The Macallan, including vintages produced between 1937 and 1972. The auction also includes the oldest whisky ever released from The Macallan distillery, the Lalique Genesis Decanter, which was distilled in the 1940s and bottled in 2018 in a custom crystal decanter. The set is presented in a custom wooden case designed by Burgess Studio and handcrafted by NEJ Stevenson. Only 600 bottles were produced worldwide.
Up for bid is a complete seven-bottle Black Bowmore and Bowmore Trilogy set, for the first time being sold in a single lot. Peated Scotches from Ardbeg and Brora are available as well. The sale will also present spirits from outside Scotland, including Kentucky Bourbons from Buffalo Trace Distillery and several bottles from the Suntory distilleries in Japan. View any of these lots and register to bid on the Sotheby’s website.
Founded in 1780 by Marie-Étienne Nitot, the House of Chaumet is a Paris-based luxury jewelry and watchmaking firm that saw success after the French Revolution in 1789. It went on to become the official jewelry designer of Napoleon I. A ruby and diamond bracelet, crafted by Chaumet, is one of the leading lots in the upcoming Important Jewels auction. The bracelet is set with oval-shaped rubies, weighing a total of 6.25 carats. Emerald-, pear-, and brilliant-cut diamonds, weighing around 25 carats, are also placed on this piece.
Another key lot in this Fortuna Auction event is a princess-cut diamond ring crafted in platinum. Set with a 3.42-carat rectangular modified brilliant-cut diamond, it is flanked by two emerald-cut stones. The cut appears square-shaped when viewed from above but looks like an inverted pyramid from the sides. The princess cut, which is popularly used in engagement rings, was created by Betazel Ambar and Israel Itzkowitz in 1980.
A tennis bracelet, crafted in 18-karat gold and set with radiant-cut diamonds, is another highlight of the sale. Owing to their lightweight and flexible form, tennis or eternity bracelets are especially popular among sportswomen. To view the complete catalog and register to bid online, visit Bidsquare.
A lighthouse painting from Paul Lipp is a key lot in the upcoming Maritime & Estates Auction, presented by Americana Auctions. Born in Connecticut, Lipp traveled around the small towns and boroughs of New England with his camera in search of the perfect subject. As he said, “I never know what I am going to paint. I am dictated to by the scene.” The available Photorealist painting shows a sailor boy on a post in front of the Brant Point Nantucket lighthouse.
The upcoming sale will offer nearly 500 lots, including furniture, decorative art, and more. Among the leading items is a Fayetteville rifle from 1863. Produced at the Confederate States Arsenal in Fayetteville, these rifles were produced using the captured machinery and tooling from Harpers Ferry. However, in 1865, production came to a halt when the arsenal was seized. The available rifle features a wooden stock, double-banding, and chambering for the .58 ball. An antique Chinese trade painting will also be presented. The 19th-century piece by an anonymous painter shows a tea hong with numerous figures. Visit Bidsquare to browse the full catalog and register to bid.
From the first century BCE to the seventh century CE, the Gandhara region was a multicultural hub for commerce and art. Situated within present-day Pakistan and Afghanistan, artwork from this area was influenced by both Roman and Indian iconography. Several items from the Gandhara region are available in the upcoming Art of Asia event, presented by Pax Romana Auctions. Among these works is a stucco head of the fasting Buddha, produced sometime between 200 and 300 AD. This depiction of the Buddha has sunken eyes and veins bulging from the forehead and neck.
Bidders will also find lots from numerous periods of Chinese history. From the Tang Dynasty comes a terracotta horse, standing with one leg in the air. Despite being produced between the seventh and tenth centuries AD, the piece comes to auction with its original pigment. Collectors of Chinese ethnographic pieces can also consider three snuff bottles, presented in a single lot. Two horses running in an open field decorate one of the bottles, while portraits of women are painted on the other two. Register to bid and view each of these lots on Bidsquare.
