The first day of the upcoming Antique and Americana Auction offered by Hess Auction Group features a variety of antiques, fine arts, and decorative arts. Of interest to vintage clock collectors is a Chippendale tall case clock created by Daniel Oyster of Reading, Pennsylvania. Reading is known for producing tall case clocks like the available piece. Oyster is thought to have made more clocks than any other Reading clockmaker in his lifetime.
Another key lot in the collection is a softwood Dutch cupboard painted with red and green in the Mahantongo Valley style. Along with the cupboard, another presented piece is a wood sculpture of a mother bear carrying a tree. Her cub is perched on top of the piece. Interested bidders can also find a Philadelphia chapbook titled Black Prince from 1800. According to LiveAuctioneers, “The Black Prince is a story of the life and death of Naimbanna, an African king’s son, who arrived in England in the year 1791.” For more information and to bid on these lots, visit LiveAuctioneers.
Mickey Mantle’s 1952 Topps card introduces him as the successor to Joe DiMaggio. During his playing career, Mantle managed to meet those high expectations, earning a spot in the Baseball Hall of Fame and a statue in Yankee Stadium’s Monument Park. Like the player himself, Mantle’s 1952 Topps card grew more appreciated over the years. “In 1952, [Topps] made the card larger, they used real photography, and they used statistics on the back,” said Chris Ivy of Heritage Auctions regarding that year’s cards. A near-mint Mickey Mantle card is available in the upcoming 1952 Topps & 1953 Topps PSA event presented by Heritage Auctions.
Also available in this auction are two Jackie Robinson cards from 1952 and 1953, respectively. Robinson broke the color barrier in baseball when he played for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. Years later, his number would be retired by every major league team, the first time an athlete ever received that honor. The 1953 card available in this auction is in quality condition despite being susceptible to chipping along the edges, according to the Professional Sports Authenticator. Those interested in this or any other piece can register to bid on the Heritage Auctions website.
Jan Lievens painted Woman Embraced by a Man in 1626 while working in a studio with Rembrandt. The latter artist even served as the model for the man shown in the painting. He holds the woman’s hand and looks fondly at her. The painting’s whereabouts were unknown for many years until it resurfaced in a 1998 Christie’s auction in Amsterdam. Now, Woman Embraced by a Man is among the highlighted lots in the upcoming Master Paintings Evening Sale, presented by Sotheby’s.
Also available in this auction is the altarpiece titled Madonna of the Rosary with Angels by the Venetian Rococo artist Giovanni Battista Tiepolo. Sotheby’s claims it is the only large altarpiece by Battista that is still privately owned. Among the piece’s notable former owners is South African mining magnate Sir Joseph Benjamin Robinson.
Represented, too, is Peter Paul Rubens with his painting The Virgin and Christ Child, with Saints Elizabeth and John the Baptist. The painting is Rubens’ first known depiction of the meeting of Jesus and John the Baptist, a subject he would revisit many times after. Rubens painted this shortly after returning from Italy, and a video produced by Sotheby’s shows the inspiration Rubens may have found in Leonardo da Vinci and other Italian artists. Those interested in Rubens can also consider his piece The Last Supper, En Grisaille, which is also featured in this auction. A grisaille is a painting created with only grey or other neutral colors. This grisaille painting by Ruben is a reproduction of his altarpiece for St. Rombouts Cathedral. Register to bid and view each lot on the Sotheby’s website.
The second session of the Luxury Estates and Private Collections auction, offered by Great Gatsby’s Auction Gallery, continues the offerings from day one with more works of fine and decorative art, furnishings, jewelry, and antiques. One of the top lots up for bid is a Model B grand piano by Steinway & Sons. The case of the piano is made of Macassar ebony and citron wood, and the design is in the manner of Rene Prou and Albert Guenot, French Art Deco furniture designers of the early 1900s.
Also available is a Dale Chihuly art glass sculpture from 1986. This paired piece takes an undulating shell form, with one piece (or “shell”) nested inside the other. A signed and numbered Salvador Dalí sculpture, Venus Aux Tiroirs, will be presented as well. The piece is executed in pate-de-verre and silver, depicting the familiar form of Venus de Milo. However, this work includes working silver drawers inserted in her breasts, belly, and knee.
Beyond fine and decorative art, a selection of furnishings and antiques will be presented. Key lots include Art Nouveau glass panels, a Chinese Chippendale style mahogany book cradle, a pair of 19th-century English oak and leather armchairs, and a carved mahogany and leather executive chair. View any of these lots and register to bid on Invaluable.
The upcoming Winter Sale offered by Abington Auction Gallery will feature a range of fine art pieces from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Among the key lots is an oil painting by Peder Severin Krøyer, a Danish artist who gained renown for his paintings of a seaside vacation town. Skagen was home to a group of Danish artists who became the subjects of Krøyer’s paintings. Man Looking Over the Sea, the piece available in the upcoming auction, shows one of these artists wading into the water and gazing at the setting sun. Other European painters highlighted in this sale include Parisian Neo-Impressionist Paul Signac and 20th-century landscape artist Roger Mühl from the South of France.
Another lot of interest is a sculpted wood hand chair from Mexican artist Pedro Friedeberg. A contemporary Surrealist, Friedeberg is particularly known for his everyday furniture pieces shaped like hands and other unusual objects. Luxury jewelry and decorative artworks are featured as well, including a yellow gold Van Cleef & Arpels dragon brooch and a miniature jeweled piano with a hidden clock inside. View the complete catalog and register to bid online by visiting Bidsquare.
Nikolay Milioti was a key figure in the Russian ‘Blue Rose’ group. He drew his inspiration from the mystical imagery of Mikhail Vrubel. A 19th-century floral still life by the Russian artist is a key lot in the upcoming two-session Studio Decorative Art Auction and Studio Fine Art Auction, offered by John Moran Auctioneers, Inc.
A sculpture composed of steel, enamel, and brass pivoting rings on a plinth by Betty Hoenshell Younger is another featured piece. Known as the “Woman of Steel,” Younger’s steel sculptures are rooted in the abstract. Starting her career with jewelry, she was inspired by the Bauhaus movement to take up large-scale sculpting in 1990. Her stainless steel sculptures include graphic shapes and curving lines. One of her sculptures won the silver medal at the 2000 Olympic Art Committee. Also among the featured lots is a 20th-century Francis I sterling silver flatware set by Reed & Barton. One of the oldest silversmiths in America, Reed & Barton produced stainless steel flatware for soldiers in World War I and was chosen to design and produce the medals in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. To explore the full catalog and register to bid, visit John Moran Auctioneers, Inc.
The upcoming two-day Decorative Arts and Fine Art auction presented by Bunte Auction Services, Inc. features paintings and etchings by Wallace Nutting, Ada Walter Shulz, Hiroshi Yoshida, John James Audubon, Frank Benson, and others. Hiroshi Yoshida, one of the best-known artists of the shin hanga style, had a great affinity for nature. He revived traditional Japanese woodblock printing, also known as ukiyo-e. Yoshida’s ukiyo-e prints incorporate red, blue, purple, and sakura-pink pigments. A colored woodblock print titled Spring in a Hot Spring by Yoshida is a key highlight of the auction.
An oil painting by Ada Walter Shulz is another lot of interest in this sale. Children dominate Shulz’s art, usually painted in the Impressionist style of capturing the moment. The present lot, titled Girl with Cat, shows a young girl on the grass holding a cat in yellow, green, and brown colors. The auction will also present sculptures by Sheila Oettinger, Chinese vases, Hummel figurines, and blankets. The sculpture by Oettinger was inspired by the artist’s interest in the female human form. Her Superiority sculpture depicts a woman in a sitting posture with her hands on either leg and her neck slightly tilted. To view the complete catalog and register to bid, visit Bunte Auction Services, Inc.
Featured in the upcoming Asian Art Auction, offered by A.H. Wilkens Auctions & Appraisals, is a selection of Asian ceramics, furniture, paintings, and sculpture. Works of art from China are particularly highlighted, including a Longquan celadon ewer, or wide-mouthed pitcher. This piece from the late 13th or early 14th century comes from the southern Zhejiang province of China and is characterized by its pale green color. Another notable porcelain lot is a set of two small waterpots. One is bright yellow and the other is bright pink; both bear character marks on their bases. These pots are housed in a wooden carrying case that is inscribed with calligraphy.
Several Buddha statues from China, Tibet, and Thailand will also be presented. A gilt bronze statue of Buddha Shakyamuni shows him seated in a cross-legged, meditative pose. Other available representations of Buddha show him laughing, seated on a throne, or surrounded by disciples. Standing out among the furniture lots is a Chinese day bed with a rattan seat. The legs of the piece are accented by inward-facing hoof feet. Explore the complete listings and register to bid for this auction by visiting A.H. Wilkens.
Jan Willem Pienemann created a portrait of Charles Cornwallis Dancey, a British colonel, showing Cornwallis in intricate detail. The subject was an educated aristocrat who served King George III and Britain as one of the leading generals of the Revolutionary War. He also served in the Royal Artillery during the Peninsular War in Spain and at the Battle of Waterloo. The upcoming Fine Art, Furniture, & Decorative Art auction presented by Gray’s Auctioneers will particularly showcase this painting. Besides fine art, the sale also includes furniture and decorative arts from estates across northeast Ohio. A selection of rugs, runners and carpets are offered as well.
A Persian Kashan wool rug is another lot of interest in this auction. Other pieces include a 19th -century satinwood sofa table painted in the style of Angelica Kauffmann and a Danish wood chaise lounge from the 20th century. Explore the full listings and register to bid online on Gray’s Auctioneers.
Known best as a writer, social critic, and playwright, August Strindberg was also a prominent Swedish painter. Strindberg used his art as a centering tool, an escape from his tumultuous personal and political life. The upcoming fine art auction offered by Sotheby’s will highlight one of his Impressionist works, titled Översvämning Vid Donau (Flood on the Danube). Using only a palette knife to create his impressions, Strindberg painted the landscape of Austria and the Danube river. His approach to the work was almost nonchalant, as quoted by Sotheby’s: “I am governed by a vague desire. What I have in mind is the interior of a shadowy forest, through which one can see the sea at sunset.” The style of the painting has been compared to Gustave Courbet’s work, which also features in the sale. Courbet’s La Mer Orageuse shows a thickly-painted and stormy sea below equally turbulent skies. It belongs to the artist’s series of “seascapes,” which pushed him and future artists to more realistic depictions of nature.
French painter William Bouguereau’s Ora Pro Nobis will be available as well. A lifelike, symbolic portrait of the Virgin Mary, this painting shows traces of inspiration from Bouguereau’s travels and studies in Italy. He was notoriously technical and academic, which led both to his creation of realistic paintings and his exclusion of the rising Impressionists. This auction will sample from traditional artworks like Bouguereau’s as well as from the newer movements that sprang up in 19th-century Europe. In response to the period’s industrialization, artists such as Carl Larsson embraced the Arts and Crafts Movement as a simpler way of life. Larsson’s Verkstaden (The Workshop) reflects his brightly-colored and light-filled home, a common theme in his paintings. This piece is sourced from the collection of investor J.E. Safra.
Several works from Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot will be presented, as well as pieces from Jules Breton, Vilhelm Hammershøi, and Jean Béraud. View the full selection of fine art and register to bid by visiting Sotheby’s.
