A Nineteenth Century inro
topped all offerings at $25,850.
By Bob Jackman
BOSTON - On January 25-26 Skinner conducted an auction featuring
Asian and European decorative arts and fine ceramics at its
Boston gallery. The preview and auction were well attended, and
most lots were strongly contested. A Nineteenth Century inro,
whose black lacquer surface had a barklike texture, was top lot
at $25,850.
Sales for the weekend were $1,630,495 with 89 percent of 1,750
lots selling.
Fine ceramics and European lots were auctioned on Saturday, and
Asian goods went to the block on Sunday. It was the first Skinner
auction that combined these three fields.
Ceramics specialist Stuart Slavid commented, "There is a
significant amount of crossover between buyers interested in
Continental wares and buyers interested in Asian items. About 25
percent of our telephone inquiries have sought further
information about both a Continental lot and an Asian lot. We
have many international clients, and a larger sale gives them
more motivation to get onto a plane and come over."
Elephant ivory Tartar hunter netsuke, $14,100.
Slavid also noted, "A sale of this magnitude became possible when
we expanded the Boston gallery. In the past we could have a sale
of 1,000 lots, but not of 1,700 lots. We will likely combine the
several areas in some future auctions, but not this summer. The
Asian sale is scheduled for June, and the Continental sale will
be in July."
Asian Art
The Asian segment of the sale was highly successful, with sales
exceeding $660,000, a new high for Skinner's Asian department.
While Asian specialist Jim Callahan was delighted with the record
price achieved, he was more excited about the high percentage of
lots that sold. "In general, Asian auctions are notorious for
having many lots that fail to sell," said Callahan "Skinner has
been sending a message that our Asian auctions are real auctions,
and that the merchandise will change hands."
Callahan pointed out that there were client reserves on very few
items. "Of the 750 Asian lots in this sale, only 20 had
reserves," he said. "We indicate there are no reserves by
printing a low estimated selling price range. Some people think
an auction estimate is the same as an appraisal. It is not. By
law, an item cannot have a reserve higher than the bottom of the
estimated selling price. Dealers flew here from California and
Asia because they read the catalog and understood that these
items were actually being auctioned. It is remarkable to sell 90
percent of an Asian auction."
A South Carolina family made the most dramatic consignment in the
Asian sale. They sent two inro storage boxes filled with a
collection of Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century Japanese inro,
many with matching ojime and netsuke. The collector's notes
indicated that the last inro in these boxes was added in 1935,
and works in the collection were described as part of a pre-World
War II collection.
While all inro in the South Carolina collection did very well,
the most successful was the Nineteenth Century example that sold
for $25,850, against an estimate of $1,200 to $1,400. "The value
was in the surface texture and workmanship," said Asian
specialist Callahan. "It had a lacquer surface with a texture
similar to bark. That texture is very difficult to create in
lacquer that is usually applied with a brush. This effect was
probably produced by precisely applying alternate wet and dry
layers of lacquer in quick succession. The design is one of
restrained elegance. The materials were not expensive, but the
workmanship was intense." The surface was further decorated with
dragonflies composed of lacquer and mother-of-pearl.
The inro storage boxes were themselves fine Meiji works of art.
One box with Japanese notations indicating that it had belonged
to Baron Morimasa Takei brought $8,225. It was an exceptional
example of design and the craft of lacquer ware. Virtually every
technique of working lacquer was incorporated into the surface of
the box. The other storage box was early and decorated with
painting. It sold for $2,585.
The top netsuke at $14,100 was a 41/2-inch depiction of a Tartar
hunter carved from elephant ivory. At the preview, one
sophisticated collector picked up this netsuke and exclaimed, "My
heavens, what marvelous detail!" The work was extremely
sculptural and dramatic. Japanese artisans first produced netsuke
in the late Sixteenth Century, so this Eighteenth Century work
was also an early example in comparison to other works now on the
market.
There was a small group of Santos in the auction, and they did
very well. The most exceptional lot, containing three Santos
heads each about seven inches high, sold for $15,275.
Fine Ceramics
English polychrome charger depicting Adam and Eve, $8,813.
The fine ceramics selections placed strong emphasis on English
works, with representative works from France, Germany, Holland
and Italy. Within the gallery, the standing-room-only crowd bid
aggressively against one another and persistent phone bidders. A
smattering of lots went to absentee bidders.
A fine but small selection of delftware sparked intense bidding.
Topping the field at $8,813 was a circa 1710 English charger with
polychrome decoration depicting Adam and Eve. With a diameter of
133/4 inches, it was large for the period. The clay was a deep
buff color, and the charger was thought possibly to have been
produced in Bristol. Another Bristol delftware polychrome charger
had tulip decoration and sold for $7,050.
During the preview Stuart Slavid noted, "English delft usually
sells for higher prices than Dutch delft." That was borne out
when a circa 1690 Dutch charger featuring the king and queen in
blue and white sold for $4,994.
Another strong area of the ceramic auction was Eighteenth Century
Staffordshire pottery. A circa 1765 creamware teapot in a
pineapple design sold for $7,050, against an estimate of
$1/1,500.
Another teapot from the same period featured large, stylized
roses atop a black mesh laid over a green field. It sold to a
bidder in the room for $5,581.
Within the field of Staffordshire pottery, there was a small but
exceptional selection of agate ware. Again, two opposite teapots
from 1750 did equally as well. One was fashioned in the design of
a robust shell. Its surface was boldly colored with swirling
bands of cream, rust and gray. The thickness of lines swelled and
narrowed. That uncommon teapot sold for $4,935.
A contrasting example was a geometric teapot with softly curving
sides and light veining suggesting a hint of agate. The
understated work was in the rare diamond form. As a true rarity
and as a wonderful integration of form and coloring, that teapot
sold for $4,406.
European Decorative Arts
European decorative art lots were interspersed among ceramic lots
through the first 300 items on Saturday. They then continued for
the next 700 lots.
George III linen press, $9,988.
The most exciting European furniture lot was a circa 1800 George
III linen press. The lot went to a phone bidder for $9,988, with
Max Webber as the underbidder in the gallery. The case of the
piece was fashioned from mahogany. Panels and drawer fronts were
finished with satinwood veneer of exceptional figure. Pilasters
flanking the doors and a simple domed pediment exuded a calm
Neo-classical grace. While 91 inches high, the simple, elegant
lines and fine proportions made this linen press less imposing
than some other examples.
Matching antique bookcases are uncommon, and a slender George III
pair sold for $8,813. They were a spiffy pair with fine design.
Glazing on the doors were three lights wide, but with a stylish
touch. The top and bottom rows of lights were of conventional
size while the two middle rows were unusually tall. This vertical
emphasis was further accentuated by strong rope molding on either
side of the doors. Their exceptional height (104 inches) made the
narrow width (28 inches) more pronounced. Their paired
relationship was left-handed and right-handed doors to the bottom
cabinets.
Dealers and collectors bid steadily for a deep selection of
furniture decorated with marquetry and parquetry. An Italian
Neo-classical commode led that field at $6,463. It featured a
parquetry diamond field that transversed the two lower drawers.
Inlaid within those diamonds were a light square and dark diamond
producing an eight-point star. Surface decoration elsewhere
incorporated extensive and exotic inlays.
