The Long Beach Expo U.S. Coins Signature Auction offers an abundance of coins that are vital to any coin collection. Featured coin is the 1975 NO S Roosevelt dime, one of the rarest issued in the U.S. federal series. This is one of only two known coins with the error. The dime is terrific to look at; its perfect surfaces are an attractive array of cerulean-blue and pale jade toning. I is absolutely essential to complete a Roosevelt dimes collection.
The 1876-CC twenty cent piece is listed as one of the 100 Greatest U.S. Coins. The coin has sharply detailed design elements and doubling on stars 2 through 7 and in LIBERTY. When examined, the remnants of two misplaced numbers, 87, can be found below the date. A faint die crack can be noticed from the T in CENTS to the eagle’s wing. The 1876-CC is a must-have for the serious coin collector.
The S.S. Central American gold ingot offered is a piece of the three tons of gold recovered from the U.S. Mail ship Central America that sank in 1857 and found in 1988. This brick retains most of its character from when it was found at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean with six sides showing reddish-russet incrustation from the rusted iron hull of the ship.
Visit Heritage Auctions to view the complete collection and place a bid.
The Fine Jewelry Collections Auction presented by Skinner offers contemporary rings, earrings, necklaces, and other jewelry. With estimated values as low as $100, emerging collectors should find one or more lots within their budgets. A pair of “Cassandra” earrings designed by the late Helen Woodhull are among the most eye-catching pieces in the auction. The earrings were made posthumously by an original Woodhull craftsperson using Helen Woodhull’s design. Their unique color comes from garnet juxtaposed against 18 karat gold.
Another pair of earrings with a high estimated value is the 18-karat white gold earrings with South Sea pearls. The pearls are each 11.2 millimeters. For those looking to add a ring to their collection, a 14-karat gold, and a diamond solitaire ring. The diamonds form a triangular shape with the gold intersecting them on both ends, creating a distinct appearance.
For those looking for a more affordable lot, bidding on the 14-karat gold and amethyst ring begins at $100 with an estimated value of $200-$300. The piece’s striking amethyst is 18.00 x 13.70 x 8.90 millimeters. Those interested in any of these pieces can register to bid on Skinner’s website.
“To buy art, you really buy the energy of [the piece],” says Japanese-American artist Mayumi Oda. “I feel I have a very strong responsibility to make people exuberant, happy, [and] healthy.” Oda’s prints, including several available in the upcoming Japanese Prints Auction offered by Skinner, aim to empower women and are influenced by her spirituality and social activism.
“Ancient Sea, Spider Conch” and “Silver Sea” are among the most notable works by Mayumi Oda in this auction. Both pieces focus on an identical woman in the nude. In “Ancient Sea, Spider Conch”, the woman is at peace in the sea even with hard, crashing waves around her. In “Silver Sea”, the waves take on a more abstract form.
From modern artists like Oda to more traditional printmakers such as Hashiguchi Goyo, Skinner’s Japanese Prints auction provides pieces from a wide range of Japanese artists. Goyo’s “Woman Holding a Tray” is among the pieces with the highest estimated value. Produced in 1920, the colored woodblock is on gray mica paper. Hashiguchi Goyo only began carving, printing, and publishing his work in 1918, less than three years before his death. The high quality combined with the tragically low supply of Goyo’s work, makes them valuable to many collectors.
Those seeking a slightly different lot should consider a collection of twenty-nine Japanese fairy tale books, all published by Takeshijiro Hasegawa. He was an innovative Japanese publisher who gave the world stories were based on well-known Japanese folk tales. View each of these lots and register to bid online on Skinner’s website.
Traditional art is timeless. It retains its beauty as its value increases. Indian, Himalayan & Southeast Asian Works of Art Auction by Christie’s showcases important Asian arts and antiques that are sure to remain elegant for centuries to come.
The auction is led by a gilt-bronze figure of Vajrasattva, with the highest estimation of $800,000. The sculpture is what sets this auction apart, as it symbolically represents purity.
More distinctive lots include an illustration from a Bhagavata Purana series- revered text in Vaishnavism, a Hindu tradition. With it is a 19th-century Thangka painting of Shambhala. Each item is rendered with mythological stories such as the divine figure of Shadakshari Avalokiteshvara. The deity is portrayed as a spirit who devotes his powers for the good of humankind. The 15th-century piece is a rare find for the collectors. The sale of 120 items raises continuous interest in the Asian art culture. View the remainder of this auction and register to bid online on Christie’s.
Christie’s South Asian Modern + Contemporary Art auction is an important collection of over 100 works by early pioneers of modern South Asian art as well as contemporary artists from the region. Present are a group of early paintings by members of the Progressive Artists’ Group including Sayed Haider Raza, Francis Newton Souza, Maqbool Fida Husain, and Hari Ambadas Gade. These works sought to define what modern Indian art could and should be, and often combine styles and elements from a host of sources including folklore, cave fresco, and European influences like Cubism. The results remain masterful experimentations on form, color, and composition; a sublime chapter in modern art.
An auction highlight from the Progressive Artists’ Group are two Francis Newton Souza portraits, Head in Landscape and Head of a Woman. Both borrow from primitivism and feature hints of Catholicism in their subject’s vestments, and are from a moment in the artist’s career that is widely viewed as his seminal. Christie’s holds Head of a Woman to be “perhaps one of the finest examples of the genre to come to auction,” and another Souza painting from this era is part of the Tate’s permanent collection.
Also included are a magical Sayed Haider Raza painting of a French village at night; a voluptuous reclining female nude by Sri Lankan painter George Keyt. Indian artist Bikash Bhattacharjee’s oil painting, The Visitors straddles realism and surrealism in a photorealistic image of a young woman. It complements the collection alongside other contemporary artists like Zarina and Mrinalini Mukherjee. Their work includes several photographs and sculptures. For the complete auction catalogue and to register to bid go to Christie’s.
Sotheby’s celebrates the tradition of collecting Chinese and Korean art in their upcoming Noble Pursuit: Important Chinese and Korean Art from a Japanese Private Collection auction. The bronze tripod ritual food vessel from the western Zhou dynasty, imposing the taotie masks on each of the three lobes, is a rare collectible. Painted ceramics like the blue and yellow-enameled ‘gardenia’ dish and the blue and white ‘windswept’ Meiping are other attractions of the auction.
A tall and slender waisted bronze ritual wine vessel (Gu) from the Shang dynasty is an extensive example of Chinese bronze casting. These vessels were primarily used as sacrificial wine receptacles. Belonging to the private collection are Chinese bronzes, Chinese and Korean ceramics from the Tang, Song, and Ming dynasties respectively, like the Korean Punch’ong and Goryeo ceramics. Explore the full listings and register to bid online on Sotheby’s.
To create a masterpiece is to be patient. An ample amount of time is required to compose an art that brings out a sense of awe. This September, Bonhams awes its audience with a renowned piece by Japanese painter, Katsushika Hokusai. He created “The Great Wave off Kanagawa” after 60 years of producing unique artworks. The Oban Yoko-e print is Hokusai’s best-known work which was able to influence the Impressionist art movements of the 19th century. The work is a symbol of great spiritual importance in Japanese culture.
Collectors will also witness a series of imposing works, such as a pair of figures of Nio (temple guardians) with its detailed woodwork and distinct patterns. Alongside is an illustration of Buddhas and Boddhisattvas of the ten directions, where the directions represent ten realms of Buddhas. Notable Korean artwork include Dal hangari- moon jar, which is a piece built with heft and grace. Characterized by a lunar arc and settled base, this monochromatic porcelain is a pot of elegance. Go through the intriguing catalog of 1000 lots on Bonhams.
Sotheby’s upcoming auction, Bodies of Infinite Light Featuring an Important Collection of Buddhist Figures Formerly in the Collection of the Chang Foundation contains pieces spanning the Northern and Southern dynasties to the Qing dynasty.
Of the 30 figures offered in the auction, 20 are from the Chang Foundation and were once featured in the seminal 1993 published catalogue Buddhist Images in Gilt Metal. The minute detailing and elaborate draping that is present in the exquisitely crafted figures give the illusion of movement and dimension. The sculptures offer opportunity for both quiet inward reflection and public display. They are unique in that some were created for private devotion and meditation rather than as tribute to institutions. It is breathtaking when taken into account the centuries of enlightenment these iconographic figures have offered.
The leading item in the auction is an exceptional polychrome wood figure of Jinasagara Avalokiteshvara, and is a rare find as few wood sculptures depicting Vajrayana Buddhist deities have survived from the early Ming dynasty. Also of note are several crisply cast bronze figures, including a serene likeness of Water-Moon Avalokiteshvara from the Song dynasty as well as a delicately embroidered silk Thangka with gold-couched threads.
Pieces from the Chang Foundation include gilt-bronze figures of Ksitigarbha and Miatreya from the Ming dynasty, among others. To view the complete catalogue and for bidding registration go to Sotheby’s.
The Fine Chinese Paintings Auction, offered by Christie’s, is a “diverse sale of paintings and calligraphy from several periods in many styles and at a wide range of prices.” The auction offers dramatic 17th century works to lively paintings by ever-popular Zhang Daqian and innovative contemporary ink works.
Among the most valuable of the lots is a work by Fu Shan. Shan was a well-known calligrapher and art theorist during the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties. Seventeenth-century calligraphy was modeled on rough, broken epigraphs of ancient bronzes and stone artifacts, which led to the formation of the stele school. Fu Shan was a principal force of this school and this style continues to be reflected in Chinese calligraphy today. Fu Shan was also well versed in poetry, literature, and painting and his calligraphic works are highly regarded and sought after.
Another celebrated artist in this collection is a bit more contemporary. Zhang Daquian–who is represented by his painting Hibiscus, as well as several others—was one of the best-known and most exceptional Chinese artists of the twentieth century. He was originally known as a guohua or traditionalist painter. But by the 1960s he became renowned as a modern impressionist and expressionist. Expect his paintings to create a lot of interest.
An even more contemporary artist represented here is Huang Yongyu, also a well-known writer. He was a professor at the Central Art Academy and became one of the principal targets of the Cultural Revolution. Huang was incarcerated in an “ox-pen” prison, and was later exiled to the countryside. His painting up for sale is Cranes, which depicts a number of cranes entering the frame from the right as if the entire flock of birds is clamoring for space as it races to the left. This striking work is full of activity and contrast, and nicely represents one aspect of this exciting artist’s work.
View any of these lots and register to bid at Christie’s.
Famed collector Stephen Junkunc III spent his years assembling one of the most impressive collections of Asian works of art. Sotheby’s was privileged with offering items from Junkunc’s collection in their March 2019 auction, Arts of Ancient China. In celebration of Asia Week, Sotheby’s once again offers rare and exceptional weapons, jade animals, gilt-bronzes and inlaid fittings from Stephen Junkunc’s collection, in their forthcoming Arts of Ancient China II Auction.
This portion of Junkunc’s collection is highlighted by an exceptional and rare carved jade. In the shape of a camel peacefully reclined, the softly polished beige jade with brown striation accentuates the life-like nature of the carving, which dates to the Tang Dynasty. Contrasting the serenity of a carved camel among the many available jade items is an archaic calcified jade ceremonial blade. This Neolithic artifact includes a curved blade, flaring at the end with a pierced hole on the handle. The beige tint of the jade appears sporadically across the calcified portions.
In addition to the extraordinary jade items are several pieces of fine metalwork. First among them is a magnificent gilt-bronze and silver-lined stem cup from the Tang Dynasty. A testimony to the prosperity of the Tang years, the cup includes fine lines and boldly detailed foliage on both the body and base of the cup. From the Han Dynasty, a silver and gold-inlaid bronze figure of a mythical beast gives a glimpse into both the creativity and craftsmanship of the era.
Those interested in the fine works of ancient China will do well to peruse the collection of Stephen Junkunc III. To view all 59 available lots and register to bid, visit Sotheby’s today.
