Bought in their time for as little as a penny (which is how the “penny toys” got their name), antique toys like the ones featured in this Pook & Pook auction have increased in value with each generation of owner. This is what draws a collector to antique toys: the feeling that they once lived in someone else’s world and now live in ours.
Noel Barrett from the popular television program Antique Roadshow helps curate this auction’s lots. This includes several steam toys from the Morton A. Hirschberg Collection. Mr. Hirschberg is considered an expert in steam toys and wrote a guide to the subject: Steam Toys: A Symphony in Motion (Schiffer, 1996). Some of the highest-valued pieces from this auction came last minute from a private collector, including a diorama of a European butcher. For a chance to own one of these pieces, register to bid online on Bidsquare.
Items range from landscape paintings to wine racks in the Day 1: Fine Art, Wine & Mid-Century Modern auction presented by Kamelot Auction House. American painter William Langson Lathrop, whose work is housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Smithsonian, is featured in this auction with a signed landscape painting. Some of the most noteworthy lots in this auction are pieces for the home, including a Steinway Model A grand piano, a vanity mirror with a distinctly-shaped mirror by Italian designer Silvio Cavatorta, and antique French wine racks. A neon dome light from sculpturist Dante Leonelli rounds out the featured lots for this auction. Those interested can register to bid online on Bidsquare.
The upcoming Jewelry and Timepieces: Discovery Auction by Cowan’s Auctions features high quality items that range from antique to contemporary. Each timepiece has been chosen for its craftsmanship, and highlights include a 1940’s gold wristwatch by Patek Phillipe, a rose gold watch by Longines, and a handsome sterling silver WWI torpedo boat watch. The jewelry component features many charming pieces and includes a Victorian Serpent necklace with rose cut diamonds and a signed 14k gold Eric de Kolb statement necklace of dancing women and cherubs. For more information on this elegant auction and to register, visit Bidsquare.
China’s long artistic and decorative legacy is featured in the upcoming auction offered by Christie’s. A wide variety of available lots spans centuries of craftsmanship, from second millennium B.C. blade fragments to modern work from Wang Jiyuan and Wu Changshuo. The Art of China: Summer Edition is a timed auction that allows several days for open bidding. With estimates ranging from $200 to $8,000, this auction provides an opportunity for starting collectors to acquire enviable pieces and discover their interests. Paintings and calligraphy works are highlighted alongside bowls, sculptures, and glazed vases. Novice collectors will find a diverse selection of objects to explore, including jade sword slides with intricate carvings. Several pieces in this auction particularly stand out for those with established collections. A blue and white Kangxi ‘phoenix-tail’ vase, two wooden guardian figures from the Ming dynasty, and a copper-red glazed vase are all noteworthy pieces. View the complete catalog and register to bid online on the Christie’s website.
This collection of Modern, Post War and Contemporary art is offered by Capsule Gallery and includes original works from the estate of Ines Bausili. Art on display is dramatic, and subjects often obscured or abstract, as in Pierre Alechinsky’s L’Orielle interne, where the figure represented may or may not be as described (the inner ear). Even photographs from this collection can seem illusory, perhaps most notably represented by a photo of Mohammed Ali boxing underwater.
This Capsule Gallery auction has a 147 of primarily fine-art works from a variety artists such as Pierre Alechinsky, Sarah Grilo, Peter Max, Pablo Picasso, Larry Dinkin, and Josef Albers. Works include original paintings, prints, photographs and sculpture. Preview all objects and register to bid online at Bidsquare.
Christie’s Pavilion Online: Chinese Art auction offers centuries of art in one location. Largely stemming from the collection of Quek Kiok Lee acquired during the 1960s through the 1980s, this auction is particularly good for the collector wishing to add Imperial Era pieces. Highlights include a Tang Dynasty sancai-glazed camel, signed Yixing purple clay ware, and several excellent examples of Transitional ware. There is also a collection of Yongzheng fine porcelains, as well as intricately carved Qing Dynasty bamboo brush pots. To see the complete collection and place a bid by June 13, go to Christie’s.
Christie’s online auction Write Me and Tell Me Your Heart: Leonard Cohen’s Letters to Marianne offers over 50 letters from the famous Canadian poet, author, and singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen to his muse Marianne Ihlen. This largely unknown collection is an excellent primary source of biographical information, providing an intimate glimpse into Cohen’s life and artistic process. Letters include Cohen’s account of his first major performance on stage, his reaction to a book refused by a publisher, and observations about Havana in 1961 after the Cuban Civil War. Also included are letters from Ihlen to Cohen as well as a cracked bell that inspired the famous song “Anthem:” “Right the bells that still can ring/Forget your perfect offering/ There is a crack, a crack in everything.” To view the complete catalogue and place a bid by June 13 go to Christie’s.
This auction, offered by Morton Subastas, is available only to bidders in Mexico. All of the auction’s 233 lots fall into the category of wine and spirits. Among the most notable lots are several bottles of the grand vin from Château Margaux from the year 2000. The estate’s wine was one of only four to make premier cru (also known as “first growth”) in the Bordeaux Classification of 1855. Also among the highest-valued lots in the auction are a bottle of Petrus grand vin from 2000 and a bottle of Le Pin pomerol wine from 1999. Collectors should also note the Cuvée Dom Pérignon Mágnum from 1998. View these items and register to bid online on Bidsquare.
The Estate Jewelry, Art & Collectibles auction by Kodner offers elegant objects in a wide variety of categories. With starting bids from $25-$10,000, there are an eclectic mix of items accessible to a variety of collectors. Alongside a novelty slot machine is a18K white gold necklace with 25.0 carats of brilliant cut round diamonds, as well as a colorful figure painting by Italian artist Nicola Simbari. There are also Japanese woodblocks and handmade Native American dolls. To view the complete catalogue and register to bid, go to Bidsquare.
Art has the unfortunate tendency of becoming exclusive, blocking those who run against established standards. It is then a creative triumph when counterculture receives attention and respect. Straight Up | American Outsider Art | No Reserves is offered by Material Culture, and gives outsiders that opportunity for appreciation. Starting bids extend from $20 to $500, bringing these works into reach for a wide range of collectors. The artists featured in this auction were mostly self-taught and all unconventional. Jimmy Lee Sudduth’s “Double-sided Painting” was painted with his fingers, for example, and David Butler’s tin cutouts were displayed in his front yard. By examining the accepted rules and then breaking them, these artists deliver entirely raw, unrestrained material.
Folk paintings from Clementine Hunter and Bessie Harvey speak to the experience of low-income African Americans, without regard to official culture. Corrugated metal paintings from Mary Tillman Smith mirror Purvis Young’s mixed media projects on found materials. This auction also highlights the imaginative work of Jon Serl, Sybil Gibson, and Mose Tolliver. No individual artist can represent them all, but Howard Finster’s “Coke Bottle” shows the key foundation of this auction: art that is unafraid to turn everything we know upside-down. Preview all works and register to bid online on Bidsquare.
