Whitley’s Auctioneers will offer the upcoming Masks, Marvels, and Mysteries auction at the end of January. In this sale, a selection of Japanese Meiji period vases, okimonos, and carved statues will be available. The Meiji era occurred between 1868 and 1912. Emperor Meiji (Mutsuhito) was known for his efforts to modernize Japan after years of isolation under the ruling military government. This industrializing era became known as the “Meiji Restoration.”
It was during this time that Japan built a powerful army and navy and established independence in its international affairs. Japanese art also changed. Formerly, it had consisted mostly of prints showing actors and scenic views. With the social, political, and cultural changes came a spectrum of subjects and styles that highlighted the country’s new transformation.
A Meiji period museum-quality vase by Makuzu Kozan is featured in the upcoming auction. The unusually shaped white porcelain vase features a blue dragon in different positions. A carved okimono is also showcased. This okimono depicts an adult skeleton with a child skeleton resting on its shoulders. Below the pair, a monkey holds the right leg of the adult and both figures hold a lotus flower. The monkey is symbolic of an undesirable person, while the flower represents love and compassion. Another item highlighted in the auction is a hand-carved Thai Buddhist Monk statue. This vintage statue was manufactured by Dessau Home. Visit Bidsquare to view the entire collection and to place a bid.
This winter, Charleston Estate Auctions will offer over 350 items in the upcoming auction. The available categories range from fine art to dolls and toys. One of the highlighted lots is a religious relic that reads ‘Crucis D.N.J.C.,’ which translates to ‘Wood from the Cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ.’ This lot comes in a silver and gold vermeil filigree case and bears an original wax seal. According to Invaluable, the wax seal is imprinted with the Latin motto “Copiosa Apud Eum Redemption (with Him there is plentiful redemption).”
Another item available in this collection is a dog portrait by Bea Kuhlke. Her work can be distinguished by her vibrant palette. The subjects of Kuhlke’s paintings are usually everyday objects, including florals, interiors, landscapes, and animals. Also among the highlights is a set of Giuseppe Armani’s Florence Figurines. Interested bidders can find a Michigan black duck decoy and a Catholic reliquary papal seal in this auction. To register to bid on any of these items, visit Invaluable.
Lazy Susans, also known as dumbwaiters, date back to 18th century England. Although the origin of the word is a mystery, some say Thomas Jefferson invented the term because his daughter complained of being served last at dinner. The spinning disks assist in serving meals and contributed to the replacement of servants. A dining table and vintage supper server plate in the Lazy Susan style are among the highlights of the upcoming Winter Gallery Auction, presented by Leland Little Auctions.
Another featured lot of the sale is an etching of an Orange County courthouse in North Carolina by Louis Orr. Considered to be a master etcher, Orr is celebrated for his extensive series of North Carolina etchings that he completed over 12 years. He often depicted landscapes, historical spots, houses, and plantations in his work. Also offered in the auction is a late 18th-century Chippendale-style walnut chest of drawers. The chest has four large and five smaller drawers, each with a brass handle. To browse the complete catalog of this auction and register to bid, visit Leland Little Auctions.
Potter & Potter Auctions’ first sale of 2020 will offer over 650 lots of vintage posters, including travel posters and advertisements. One of the leading lots is a Disneyland and United Airlines advertisement by illustrator Stan Galli. An artist who dabbled widely in his career, Galli created travel posters, training manuals, and postage stamps before exclusively painting the Tuscany countryside in retirement. The available poster depicts a crowd of American families on a covered boat, steering past giraffes and a yawning hippopotamus. In the distance, the theme park’s iconic pink and blue castle is visible.
The vintage posters available in this sale often serve multiple purposes, such as travel posters and advertisements or public service announcements and propaganda. A muscular Hercules is featured on a 1915 poster promoting the Panama Pacific International Exposition. Campari Soda, an Italian aperitif, is the subject of Giovanni Mingozzi’s Minimalist advertising flyer. Beyond the posters, a selection of drawings and artistic prints, illustrations, and Black Americana will also be offered. Browse the full catalog and register to bid by visiting Potter & Potter Auctions.
Interior designer Mario Buatta was well-known in the circles of the rich and famous, designing for the likes of Mariah Carey, Barbara Walters, and Malcolm Forbes. He made an industry breakthrough when he designed for the President’s Blair House guest quarters in Washington, D.C. Buatta’s fondness for chintz and over-the-top décor gave him a distinctly lavish style. Devoted to his work, Buatta would often spend years working on a single room. The New York Times quotes his design philosophy: “A room or a house has to come together the way a garden grows — a little bit today, a little bit tomorrow, and the rest when the spirit moves you.” The upcoming auction presented by Sotheby’s celebrates the “Prince of Interiors” with items from his personal residence and collection.
Many of the available lots reflect Buatta’s design style. A flower still life from Dutch master Jan van Os is a key lot. A leading still-life painter in the latter half of the 18th century, van Os painted this detailed flower arrangement in a glass goldfish bowl. The design community is particularly excited for the recognizable lots from Buatta’s Upper East Side apartment in New York. One such item is a blue and white wallpaper screen that the designer used to receive clients. Reportedly, he would “… hide behind the screen to eavesdrop whilst they discussed their reactions to his highly personal style.”
A black and gold lacquered Chinese bureau is another leading lot. This detailed piece from the 1730s came from a growing Eastern trend that imitated Western furniture and artistic design. Several whimsical pieces of decorative art are also available, including a pair of green wooden palm fronds standing over 11 feet tall and a Northern European tureen shaped like a cauliflower. Perched atop the vegetable is a small bird finial. View the complete catalog for this sale and register to bid by visiting the Sotheby’s website.
The upcoming American Historical, Political & Collectible Ephemera auction will be presented by Garth’s Auctioneers & Appraisers. This auction includes groups of Presidential books, a cabinet card of Confederate soldiers, and a set of 48 matchbook cases. Particularly highlighted in the auction is an advertising poster for a charity event. This poster shows a mother and two children embracing a man blinded by war. Made in 1917, this French color lithograph reads “Pret d’Honneur aux Aveugles de la Guerre,” which translates to “debt of honor to the blinded of the war.”
Also showcased in this sale is a group of ten homoerotica and photography books. In this group, works from Bruce Weber is featured. An American fashion photographer, Weber has worked with luxury fashion brands in their advertisement campaigns and has been featured on Vogue, Vanity Fair, and Rolling Stone magazines. Other books presented in this lot include drawings of male nudes, short stories, and other pieces of LGBTQ art. Visit Invaluable to view the entire catalog and to place a bid.
Ruth Whittier Shute and Samuel Addison Shute formed a married artist team, often working together on the same portrait at the same time. The couple traveled to small cities in northern New England and New York State as roaming portrait painters. The Shutes were particularly interested in creating portraits of children. One of their combined portraits, depicting two children of the Prescott family, is highlighted in Doyle’s upcoming auction, American Folk Art and Toys from the Estate of a Private Collector. The portrait depicts the two fashionably-dressed children respectively holding fruit and a whip, while their brown dog jumps on the older boy.
This auction of almost 400 lots features mechanical banks, decorative art, paintings, and works on paper. It also includes a selection of samplers and needlework pictures. Among these, a silk-on-linen pictorial sampler by Martha Mortimer Starr stands out. Examples of portraiture from America’s noted folk painters, including Jacob Maentel, William Matthew Prior, and Jane Anthony Davis, will be included as well. Explore the full listings and register to bid online on Doyle.
Christie’s will offer a collection of art and home décor in the upcoming Important American Furniture, Folk Art and Silver auction. The sale will particularly feature a painting by Quaker and folk artist Edward Hicks. The Peaceable Kingdom depicts an idyllic scene of the wild and was replicated by Hicks around 60 times. The painting reflects the artist’s religious and cultural beliefs, particularly the willingness to give oneself and one’s faith over to the divine. This version of Hicks’ signature scene was created after years of experimentation with the subject matter and was reportedly one of the artist’s favorite versions.
A carved cigar store figure of a “Moorish queen” is also a highlight. Tobacco shops used these wooden figures for advertisements in the 1880s after tobacco was introduced to the Europeans by Native Americans. Among the available furniture lots, a Gould family walnut drawer chest is a notable piece. The Queen Anne style carved high chest is detailed with curved legs and C- and S-scroll adornments. American silverware by Paul Revere II, Tiffany & Co., and Gorham is also available in the auction. Explore the full selection of porcelain, figurines, clocks, and bronze sculptures by registering to bid online on Christie’s.
Giovanni Antonio Canal, better known as Canaletto, was a Venetian artist admired for his landscapes of Venice. Inspired by the Roman painter Giovanni Paolo Pannini, the artist began portraying the daily life of the city and its people. Through the expression of his surroundings and views of Venice, Canaletto influenced many generations of landscape painters. The upcoming Master Paintings & Sculpture Day Sale offered by Sotheby’s will include an oil painting from Canaletto. It depicts a scene of the Riva Degli Schiavoni waterfront area, the Palazzo Ducale, and the column of St. Mark in Venice.
Another item available in the event is a piece from the 17th-century artist, Giovanni Lorenzo Bernini. Through his lifelong artistic career, Bernini explored a new style of expression that heavily contributed to the Baroque movement. Other featured items include a painting by Jusepe de Ribera, titled Job on the Ash Heap. Images of mutilated bodies, faces in pain, wounded flesh, and bearded women commonly reappear in his paintings. Through the use of coarse brush marks and thick pigment, de Ribera adds realistic details to show wrinkles and wounds in his work. View the full listings and register to bid online by visiting Sotheby’s.
Diamond jewelry, fine art, and Asian art will be offered in the upcoming New Year Premiere Furniture & Decorative Arts Auction, a two-day sale presented by O’Gallerie. A size 6 diamond and platinum ring is a notable lot. The ring has a central pear-cut diamond with shield-cut diamonds on either side. Another highlight of the auction is a pair of diamond and platinum earrings, each showing a central pear-shaped diamond surrounded by 24 smaller gems.
Beyond the jewelry pieces, the sale will feature is a single lot of 2,500 uncirculated Harry S. Truman one-dollar coins. Each one bears the bust of President Truman on one side and the Statue of Liberty on the reverse. Other key lots include a Jefferson Tester oil painting depicting a crowd of people outside a circus tent, as well as a bronze sculpture by Fred Fellows, titled Spirit of the Plains. The sculpture portrays a Native American man holding a shield and spear. Also available in the sale are hand-knotted Oriental carpets, Chippendale-style chests and drawers, and taxidermy pieces. Explore the full listings and register to bid on O’Gallerie.
