Serpenti wristwatches from Bvlgari double as both jewelry and timepieces. Shaped like a coiled serpent, the brand draws its inspiration from ancient Greek and Roman mythology. An 18 karat rose gold Bvlgari watch in this style will be featured in the upcoming Jewelry and Watches auction presented by Morton Subastas.
Leading this auction is a GIA certified Burmese ruby ring. A 2.77 carat oval ruby is placed between two fantasy cut diamonds. Also offered in this collection is a diamond, pearl, and emerald jewelry suite. A choker with a double adjustable box clasp is paired with a matching set of earrings. Another choker with diamonds and emeralds embedded in a pear-cut pendant is available as well. Visit Bidsquare to view the entire collection and to place a bid.
Realism art emerged in the 19th century to portray those in poverty. Life of peasants enduring hard labor was painted by artists like Jean-Francois Millet. However, artist Daniel Ridgway Knight chose a different approach. He depicted French peasantry as people involved in leisurely activities. The upcoming auction by Bonhams offers a similar countryside scene titled Girl in harvest field at the highest estimate.
Another highlight is a village scene by the Moravian painter Joža Uprka. The featured painting portrays villagers heading towards the farms carrying their tools and lunch pails. Paintings by artists like Emile Vernon, Antoine Blanchard, Félix François Georges Philibert Ziem, and others are also a part of the auction. Explore the full listings and register to bid online on Bonhams.
George Lucas was not happy with the original movie poster for Star Wars (1977) and commissioned the Hildebrandt brothers to make improvements. “I asked [the agent] if they knew what it was about,” remembers Greg Hildebrandt, “and they said, ‘It’s some kind of science-fiction movie.” That poster, produced the year of the film’s release, is available in the upcoming Gentleman’s Library Auction, offered by Whitley’s. The Hildebrandt poster shows a science-fiction series still working out the details: Luke Skywalker wears Darth Vader’s boots, and Leia holds Han Solo’s blaster. Beyond the Star Wars poster, the other lots in this auction are pieces of 20th-century historical memorabilia.
Available in this auction is a film reel with video from the Pacific Theater during World War II. While the auction house notes that the film has not been inspected, it is believed that the reel contains footage of the Battle of Luzon, the Battle to Recapture Corregidor, and the bombing of Hiroshima. The atomic bomb in Hiroshima was the first of two atomic weapons used against the Japanese under the approval of President Harry S. Truman, less than five months into his presidency.
As its name suggests, the Wurlitzer 1050 Nostalgia Jukebox was intended to remind users of an antique music machine, most notably those produced after World War II. The model available in this auction takes the style of a mid-20th-century jukebox with upgraded sound capabilities. It was the last jukebox Wurlitzer produced before stopping operations entirely in 1974. View each of these lots and register to bid online on Bidsquare .
Whether they are defined by their historical relevance or commercial value, vintage travel posters take an artistic look at travel and vacation destinations. Swann Auction Galleries’ upcoming Rare & Important Travel Posters auction will include almost 200 of these posters. One designed by Hubert Herkomer advertises the Normandie, a luxury cruise ship that set sail in 1935. This work was one of the last portraits of the famous ship before it sank in a fire a few years later.
Exotic travel destinations were advertised to draw business to railroads, cruises, and airlines in the early 20th century. A poster created by Air France in 1946 shines a positive light on post-war America, showing a towering city in the clouds. The sky is overlaid with stars and stripes. Other posters are noted for the artist who designed them. Roger Broders, an illustrator who promoted tourism within France, used travel posters as an artistic medium. His design for Dunkirk shows a fashionable couple in the foreground, looking out at the city’s shoreline. To view these lots and register for online bidding, visit Invaluable
Mark Rothko was an American painter known for his deep explorations of color. His Blue Over Red oil painting is a notable example of Rothko’s style. The canvas work is among the featured lots of the upcoming Contemporary Art Evening Auction offered by Sotheby’s.
Another key item in the collection is an untitled painting by Jackson Pollock. Upon close observation of his work, the network of interlaced dashes and scores begins to form shadows and figures. The painting was created with layers of lines, slashes, and strokes of colors. Another highlighted lot is a piece from Willem De Kooning. One of the most celebrated of the Abstract Expressionist painters, de Kooning’s body of work reflects the style of the movement. Paintings and sketches from Clyfford Still, Francis Bacon, Lee Krasner, and others will also be offered. View each of these lots and register to bid on Sotheby’s.
Full of hatch marks, strong lines, and scribbles, the paintings of the French-German Modernist Hans Hartung were a source of controversy during the mid-20th century. Hartung would eventually be imprisoned by the Gestapo in part because of his defiant style, which he consistently defended: “The first and most important thing is to remain free, free in each line you undertake, in your ideas and in your political action, in your moral conduct.” One of his later works, created in 1960, will be available in the upcoming Fine Modern Art auction presented by Doyle. This sale will also include fine art from modern and contemporary artists such as Man Ray, Grisha Bruskin, and Saul Steinberg.
A lithograph from Man Ray is featured here, titled Les Amoreux (A L’Heure de L’Observatoire). This 1970 print shows a pair of Surrealist lips hovering above a darkened landscape. Various sculptures will also be on offer in this sale, including a white marble and abstract piece from Carla Lavatelli. Browse the full catalog and register to bid on Invaluable.
High society in the early 20th century prized panther patterns, from room décor to fashion and jewelry. It was Louis Cartier’s lover, Jean Toussaint, who designed and introduced the iconic panther into Cartier’s collections. In the upcoming Estate Diamond Gold Antique Jewelry Auction offered by Allure Antique Auction Company, the modernized Cartier Panthère is available as a white gold and diamond bracelet. Over 700 stones cover this piece, including two emeralds for the cat’s eyes.
This auction features bracelets, rings, necklaces, brooches, and more. Several featured lots come from Van Cleef & Arpels. A pair of their clip-on earrings will be available, featuring brilliant-cut diamonds in a snowflake pattern.
Also of interest is a pair of 18 karat gold earrings from Tiffany & Co. Designed by Italian jeweler and philanthropist Elsa Peretti, the earrings follow a minimalist cuff design. To view the full catalog and register to bid, visit Bidsquare.
When most people think of Surrealism, they think of Salvador Dali. But like any major art movement, Surrealism was built and influenced by countless artists around the world. The second part of the Sleep of Reason auction, offered by Sotheby’s, represents work from these Surrealist artists, particularly women who influenced the movement.
Leonor Fini stayed with Salvador Dali for a year in 1939, hoping to wait out the German invasion of France. While never formally a member of the Surrealist movement, her work influenced and was influenced by its leaders. One of Fini’s works is available in this auction. Metamorphosis of a Woman is a four-panel wooden screen depicting female skeletons in elaborate outfits. Fini’s experimentation with the female form continues in Tête de Femme, or “woman’s head,” a sketch that is also available in this auction.
While Salvador Dali is not the direct focus of this sale, his work is represented among its lots. Dali’s Sperme, Verges et Vulves is an ink-on-paper depiction of ejaculation. The work was produced in 1939, the same year that Dali lived with Leonor Fini. The piece is dedicated to the late gallery owner Julien Levy. Those interested in any of these pieces can register to bid on the Sotheby’s website.
When Tadeusz Kantor, the noted playwright, began painting, the public mostly disregarded his efforts. “[N]o one knew whether he was to be seen as an important theatrical figure or as a visual artist,” writes the art magazine Frieze. But nearly thirty years after his death, the upcoming Abstracted: Post-War & Contemporary Art auction, presented by Capsule, especially features two lots by Kantor.
His paintings in this auction, IV and XI, both include disorienting black lines. Shapes emerge that appear familiar but are not easily identifiable. These pieces come to auction from the estate of Frank Loesser and Jo Loesser, the Tony-nominated actress who passed away earlier this year.
Like Kantor’s paintings, many of the auction’s lots are experimental. A notable example is Egg born by night by the Russian-American artist Ernst Neizvestny. From a broken eggshell hatches fragments that look both human and mechanical. This oil painting was produced in 1984, years after Neizvestny was exiled from the USSR. Despite his exile, many still considered his work to be emblematic of life in Russia. This included American playwright Arthur Miller, who referred to Neizvestny as the “philosophical conscience of his country.”
Also represented in this auction is American painter Michael Loew. Both an untitled piece and one painting from Loew’s Open Spaces series come to auction from his estate. They both represent Loew’s interest in experimenting with color and fragmentation. View each of these lots and register to bid on Bidsquare.
Sotheby’s is offering Sculpture from the Collection of George Terasaki, an auction highlighting the Indigenous cultures of North America. The Terasaki Collection is centered on the people of the Northwest coast and the pueblos of the Southwest. Masks, sculptures, and pieces of decorative art created during the 18th and 19th centuries will be available. A featured Tsimshian portrait mask and raven rattle were previously in the collection of the Heye Foundation in New York. The Tsimshian are Indigenous people from coastal British Columbia and southern Alaska. Also from southern Alaska is a Chugach mask that dates from the 18th century or earlier.
The collection also includes kachina figures from the Hopi and Zuni people of the Southwest. These carvings were formed in the likeness of religious spirits, found in the culture and beliefs of those communities. The spirits represent aspects of life in the human world and serve as links between the people and the land. Many of the kachina figures in this auction have been displayed in the published literature on the subject. View any of these lots and register to bid on Sotheby’s.
