Jackson's European, American Art Sale Grosses $1.4 Million

CEDAR FALLS, IOWA

:Jackson's International December 14-15 record auction of important American and European fine art and antiques featured items from various estates and collections including items from the late Iowa philanthropist Myron Blank. The 900-lot auction was well attended with registered buyers from more than 16 foreign countries and 37 states with total sales of $1,427,350.

The top lot was a Tiffany "Crimson Bouquet" leaded glass-hanging lampshade ($80/120,000) that was offered without the mounting hardware or sockets and with a few cracked glass panels. Bidding opened up at the low estimate and slowly bounced back and forth between two gallery bidders until bidding surpassed the high estimate at which time six phone bidders began to dominate the bidding. In the end the lampshade sold to a buyer from New York who paid $223,250.

Day one opened with European paintings and sculptures as president and CEO James L. Jackson took to the podium. The first lot on the block was an oil on canvas interior genre scene measuring 14 by 23 inches and painted by the Nineteenth Century Italian artist Ettore Forti. It carried a presale estimate of $10/15,000 and sold to an in-house buyer from Chicago for $18,800.

A 23-by-30-inch oil on canvas marine scene by German artist Michael Zeno Diemer (1867-1939) was offered next and sold to a buyer from Moscow for $9,047. A gilt bronze allegorical figural grouping by French sculptor A.E. Carrier-Belleuse (1824-1887) measuring 21 inches sold to a collector from Beverly Hills, Calif., for $8,225.

A Nineteenth Century Italian carved relief marble plaque of the Madonna and Child, measuring 25 by 18 inches, contained in an elaborate frame, sold to a buyer in Washington, D.C., for $14,100. A pair of Henry Keck stained glass windows depicting the Virgin Mary and Christ and each measuring 79 by 29 inches sold to a Chicago buyer for $6,580.

Russian standouts included a 9-by-7-inch icon of Saint Nicholas with a silver gilt and enameled riza dated 1890 that sold to a Russian phone bidder for $12,925 against an estimate of $4/6,000. An unusual painted chest in the provincial Russian style measuring 44 inches in height and overall decorated with Russian motifs sold for $3,760.

American paintings were up next. A 20-by-24-inch oil on canvas landscape by Indiana artist T.C. Steele (1847-1926) sold to a buyer from Indiana for $22,325 followed by a 24-by-18-inch watercolor snow scene by Walter Launt Palmer (1854-1932) that brought $16,450. A new auction record was established for a work by New Hampshire artist Omar T. Lassonde (1903-1980). The 16-by-20-inch landscape of a view of Samoa sold for $3,050, over $1,000 more than a previous work by the same artist.

Day two of the auction featured American and European glassware, porcelain, furniture and decorative art. A 13-inch work by contemporary American glass artist Dale Chihuly (born 1941), formerly part of the Myron Blank collection, was estimated at $8/12,000 and sold for $19,387.

As any advanced collector or dealer of French cameo glass can attest, the market has shifted in the past five to ten years. Vice president and European glassware department manager at Jackson's International Jon Crisman, said, "The good news is that there is a steady increase in the value of good hard to find examples and examples of high artistic merit." He added though that the prevalence of fakes and the global market also has affected all areas of collecting.

Finely decorated porcelain saw active bidding with particular interest in painted plaques. A German porcelain plaque, "Entertaining the Pharaoh's Daughter," and not made by KPM, sold for $12,925. Another plaque, this one unmarked, and depicting an "Odalisque" sold for $9,165.

Decorative arts and furniture highlights included a French Empire gilt-bronze figural mantel clock measuring 18 inches depicting Cupid. Although it was nonworking and missing a few parts and decorative elements, it still managed a respectable $7,755. A Regina desk style music box sold to a collector from Arkansas for $5,400.

All prices include the buyer's premium. For more information, www.jacksonsauction.com.