Mostly crafted in platinum and white gold, Art Deco jewelry is distinctly marked by symmetrical patterns and geometric designs. As blue was one of the most popular jewelry colors of the era, sapphire gemstones were prominently used. A Cartier Art Deco bracelet designed with sapphires and diamonds is a key highlight of this upcoming Wright auction. It is made of platinum. Another noteworthy platinum jewelry lot is a finger ring studded with rare alexandrite and diamonds. Alexandrite is a highly unique gemstone that radiates green in daylight and fluorescent light, and red in incandescent light. Also of interest is a Claude Lalanne 18-karat gold butterfly ring. The jewelry designer was known for her unique artistic expression with flora and fauna. She would use an electroplating process to cover the butterflies and flowers she found with a thin metallic layer. This transformed the organic material into metal.
A Jaeger-LeCoultre ‘Reverso Duetto’ gold and diamond wristwatch also leads the catalog. It features a reversible dial with Arabic hours and blued steel hands on one side and circular dial and sword-shaped hands on the other. Visit Wright to view the complete catalog and register to bid in the upcoming Summer Jewels & Watches sale.
Christie’s will offer the Collection of Donna Summer at auction from June 15 to June 29, 2023. The collection showcases the legendary disco star’s career and includes polaroids, trophies, and paintings by the singer. Also included are examples of the legend’s rise to fame through handwritten lyrics, RIAA gold 45s, and iconic concert outfits. The American singer-songwriter Donna Summer was born LaDonna Adrian Gaines, who soared to fame in the late 1970s disco era. In addition to winning five Grammy Awards, Summer became the first artist to chart three consecutive number-one double albums on the US Billboard, and four of her singles charted at number one in the US in 13 months. One of the top lots includes lyrics for On the Radio, a song she wrote in 1979. This sale also includes a pongee silk evening dress. Summer wore this dress during the 50th Presidential Inauguration Ball for Ronald Reagan on January 19, 1985 in Washington, D.C.
Other items of interest are an exhibit of paintings by Summer, including the abstract landscape Two Women with Guitarist and Faces of Rio— proving the artist’s ability to transcend not only musical genres but also other creative mediums. The event will benefit the Elton John AIDS Foundation, Save the Music Foundation, and the St. Jude Children’s Hospital, which Summer supported until her passing in 2012. Find the complete catalog and register to bid by visiting Christie’s.
Leading Day 2 of DuMouchelles‘ June 2023 Auctions is Marshall Fredericks’ bronze sculpture titled Leaping Gazelle. It is a large green patinated bronze sculpture standing 31 inches tall and 20 inches wide. Marshall Fredericks (1908 – 1998) was an American of Scandinavian heritage. Fredericks was best known for his outdoor sculptures and public monuments like Man and the Expanding Universe Fountain in Washington D.C. and Fountain of Eternal Life in Cleveland, Ohio. Also by Fredericks is Seated Baboon, a series of five patinated bronze sculptures of baboons.
Another noticeable bronze sculpture in the catalog is Mujer e Nin by Francisco Zúñiga. It is a green/brown patina bronze sculpture completed and signed on February 12, 1962. It comes with an original invoice signed by Zúñiga. José Jesús Francisco Zúñiga Chavarría (1912 – 1998) was a Costa-Rican-born Mexican artist listed as one of the 100 most notable Mexicans of the 20th century by journalist Fernando González Gortázar. He is also considered to be the best sculptor of the Mexican political modern style, known for his painting and his sculptures, most of which depict unapologetically, unassumingly posing women. This second day of the auction also offers fine art, furniture, jewelry, watches, pop culture, and more. View the complete catalog of The June 2023 Auctions: Day 2 and other online auctions and register to bid at Bidsquare.
Shah Abbas I, commonly known as Abbas the Great, moved the Safavid government to Isfahan, the new capital of Iran, in 1597-98. He did so to revive the national economy. Abbas courted foreign traders and made commercial agreements with several European countries by increasing carpet and textile production in state workshops. Chinese potters and their families settled in Iran to capitalize on the vogue for Chinese ceramics. The Shah then relocated Armenians who controlled much of the Persian end of a bustling international silk trade. Abbas I also halted the encroachments of the Mughals and Ottomans by creating a new standing army to restabilize Iran’s territories. Day 1 of DuMouchelles’ June 2023 Auctions kicks off with an allover Shah Abbas design Persian Isfahan rug. This hand-woven wool and silk rug has an allover floral design, ivory background, and a nude peach border— the signature style of Isfahan carpets. Some of the world’s most expensive rugs have hailed from Isfahan. They are incorrectly known as Polish rugs because of the trade route between Persia and Poland.
Jewelry such as a 3.40-carat diamond ring is another notable lot in the sale. It is an 18-karat gold, size four ring studded with diamonds. The central diamond is pear-shaped with VS2 clarity and J color. It is accented with eight marquis, brilliant-cut diamonds, and 20 princess-cut diamonds, appraised by Rottermond Jewelers. View the complete catalog of The June 2023 Auctions: Day 1 event and find more online auctions on Bidsquare.
Three American sterling silver picture frames from the 20th century will be offered in this upcoming Doyle auction, which highlights the Alice Kwartler collection of silverware and collectibles. The antique picture frames are rectangular with foliate scroll corners. A Cartier France Art Deco sterling silver, enamel, and jade cigarette case is another piece highlighted in the event. Dating back to the 1920s, the available lot measures 3 1/8 inches by three inches. The rectangular case features a mirror inside a silver clasp.
Another notable lot is a group of five American silver overlay and glass table articles. It includes four cranberry glass scent bottles with intricate floral patterns and a clear glass inkwell. The largest one in the group is six inches tall. The auction also offers a mid-20th-century Mexican sterling silver large jewelry box, a set of six Tiffany & Co. sterling silver place card holders, and a French gilt metal, enamel, paste and glass paperweight ball clock. Visit Doyle for more information on the upcoming Gifts by Alice Kwartler auction and to place a bid.
Mr. Brainwash (a pseudonym for Thierry Guetta) is a French artist based in Los Angeles. His style is a blend of street and Pop art. Many critics believe Brainwash was influenced by British graffiti artist Banksy. He is also known to take inspiration from Pop artists such as Andy Warhol. Brainwash often uses a vivid color palette and dense brushwork to portray past and contemporary icons. The upcoming Robinhood Auctions event will feature one such original mixed media on deckled edge paper piece by Mr. Brainwash, titled Cover Girl. Depicting British model Kate Moss, the illustration emulates a still image from one of her famous photo sessions. Another striking artwork by Mr. Brainwash is a mixed media original on wood panel, titled Banksy Thrower. Using spray cans and stencil graffiti, the work is clearly dedicated to the artist’s idol, Banksy.
An acrylic on canvas painting by Peter Max also leads the listings. The American artist of German-Jewish origin was initially a Pop art adherent in the 1960s but later evolved into Neo-Expressionism. His works are noted for their bright hues and subtle whimsy. To view the complete catalog and register to bid in the upcoming Contemporary Art Auction, visit Bidsquare and browse other online auctions.
An antique Victorian grand piano leads this upcoming auction, presented by GCB Estate Sales and Auctions, LLC. It has been manufactured by the German instrument-manufacturing family Schiedmayer Pianofortefabrik. Schiedmayer started producing keyboard instruments in 1735. The brand catered to prominent artists such as Franz Liszt, Friedrich Silcher, and Clara Schumann. The available lot comes with ornate burled walnut cabinetry. It is also equipped with QRS Pianomation 2000C and Yamaha Digital Sequencer Recorder DSR1.
A Tiffany & Co. sterling silver Hamilton set of 114 flatware pieces is also notable. The large set contains forks, knives, spoons, two ladles, a sugar shell spoon, and butter spreaders, which is enough for several courses of a meal. This auction offers vintage furniture and decorations, fine art, Asian decorative arts, and more. To view the complete catalog and register to bid in the upcoming Celebrating the Arts and Crafts Movement, Tiffany Jewelry, Fine Art, and So Much More sale, visit Bidsquare and browse other online auctions.
The upcoming Summer Vacation sale, offered by Atlanta Auction Gallery, will feature an abstract painting by Alma Woodsey Thomas. An American artist known for Abstract Expressionist works and Pointillism, Alma Woodsey Thomas uses a range of colors in her paintings, all the while having her own distinct style. The paintings she created were meticulously planned, despite their apparent spontaneity. In Thomas’ paintings, nature is a powerful inspiration and a shaper that consistently refreshes her work. Her yard and the parks in the Washington area were studied for their hues, patterns, and movement. To convey the shifting colors in the plants as they swayed in the wind, she painted with dabs and strokes. The available work is striking in its bright colors and excellent condition.
Another top lot in this sale is an oil on canvas painting by Antoine Bouvard. The French landscape artist Antoine Bouvard is renowned for painting scenes of Venetian canals in warm tones with a hazy light associated with sunsets. The artist often painted under the pseudonym Marc Aldine. The available painting, titled Venetian Canal with Gondola, shows a canal at sunset in Venice alongside a gondola driver. Additional examples of interest include a black and yellow striped ceramic art pottery table vase by Scheurich Keramik, a Greg Copeland wood dowel and block wall sculpture, and more. To view the complete catalog of the Summer Vacation sale and to search for other online auctions, visit Bidsquare.
A rare pair of ACT UP screenprints on paper by American artist and activist David Wojnarowicz will be available in Vallot Auctioneers’ upcoming Exceptional Art + Design + Craft + Objects sale. Printed in 1990, the works date from a scarce edition of 100. Wojnarowicz worked closely with artists such as Nan Goldin, Tom Rubnitz, Rosa von Praunheim, and Peter Hujar. After the death of Hujar, Wojnarowicz’s longtime partner and mentor, the artist turned to stronger and more urgent activism to address the AIDS crisis. In the available works, aqua-colored text appears behind a map of the United States with a target. The text expresses the artist’s anger around political indifference to the AIDS crisis, noting that one Texas healthcare official said, “If I had a dollar to spend for healthcare, I’d rather spend it on a baby or an innocent person with some defect or illness not of their own responsibility; not some persons with AIDS…”
The upcoming auction also presents several works by Sam Gilliam. Associated with the Color Field movement, Gilliam was known for his free-standing canvases that broke the boundary between paintings and installations. Notable in this auction is a 1981 cut and stitched monoprint piece that is signed and annotated by the artist in colored pencil. Collectors can also consider works by James Rosenquist, Tage Frid, and Dorothy Daley Bartholomew. Visit Bidsquare to register to bid in the Exceptional Art + Design + Craft + Objects sale and browse other online auctions.
Known for his installations using found objects, Rodney McMillian (American, b. 1969) explores complex and loaded subjects by connecting contemporary culture with history. McMillian uses symbols of domesticity to explore and examine the intersection of race, class, gender, and socioeconomic policy. He is a professor of sculpture at the UCLA School of Arts and Architecture and a recipient of an MFA from the California Institute of the Arts in 2002. McMillian made Garden of Eden, an acrylic on plastic with elements of collaged enamel, in 2000. It is a leading lot in the upcoming Outsider, Folk, and Fine Art sale, presented by Potter & Potter Auctions. Created on a plastic shower curtain, Garden of Eden has a pink and gray background with plants and flowers rising upward from the lower horizon edge. This piece is signed, titled, and dated verso. Its inscription is a note to Margaret (the Chicago artist Margaret Wharton) thanking her for her generosity. McMillian worked for her for about a year, and this was his gift to her.
In ancient China, dragons were associated with the emperors and fenghuang (mythological birds) with empresses. On clothing, the Chinese dragons denote the superiority of the wearer and his aspirations. Dragon and fenghuang robes were forbidden attires for anyone but the emperors since the Song, Liao, Jin, and Yuan dynasties. A gold couched dragon robe from the late 19th century Qing dynasty is available in this sale. It is a majestic, well-preserved robe decorated in gold thread against a blue background with dragons, clouds, and other animals surrounded by auspicious emblems. The gold thread was made by beating high-karat gold into a gold leaf and pasting it onto a paper support with lac from a lac tree. The gilt material would then be burnished and cut into fine strips before being wrapped around a silk thread core. View the complete auction catalog and register to bid by visiting Potter & Potter Auctions.
