This group of six Safavid cuerda seca pottery tiles was accompanied by an early provenance and dated to the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century; it sold to a buyer in England who beat out competition in the US and Saudi Arabia, among other places, for $212,500. It was the highest price of the day ($5/8,000).
Review by Madelia Hickman Ring; Photos Courtesy Andrew Jones Auctions
LOS ANGELES — Andrew Jones Auctions’ September 27 Design for the Home & Garden sale presented nearly 250 lots, of which more than 95 percent traded successfully, including many of the top lots to international buyers. A total of $758,000 was achieved, exceeding the firm’s presale expectations.
One of the lots that helped push the bottom line up was a group of six Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century Safavid cuerda seca pottery tiles, which earned a whopping $212,500 against an estimate of $5/8,000. Aileen Ward, vice president and senior specialist for the house, confirmed they had global interest, including from Saudi Arabia, with competition coming via online and phone bidders. After a heated battle, she said the tiles sold to a buyer in England. Some of the factors driving interest was that the early provenance for all tiles was known, and the lot featured two pairs of figural tiles. The tiles came from a private Beverly Hills, Calif., collection of nearly 60 widely varying lots, all of which were being sold to benefit the Cotsen Foundation of the Art of Teaching.
Also from the same collection was a Victorian sterling silver mounted glass claret jug, designed by Christopher Dresser, Hukin & Middleton, London, 1894, which sold to a buyer in Vienna for $12,500. A decorator in Los Angeles paid $9,375 for a circa 1900 Northwest Persian Serapi carpet that measured approximately 12 by 8 feet and had what Ward described as “a great color palette” despite some wear. Louise Nevelson’s (Russian/American, 1899-1988) painted wood construction, titled “Cryptic #68,” achieved the same price of $9,375, while a group lot of four English and Continental stained glass leaded glass panel fragments that dated from the Thirteenth to Fifteenth Centuries sold to a buyer in Belgium for $8,125.
A buyer in Vienna was not deterred by the slight fading of this otherwise early and good impression of “Flowers” by Andy Warhol. Measuring 23 by 23 inches, the 1967 signed and dated offset lithograph in colors brought $15,000 ($2/3,000).
The second highest result of the day at $15,000 was Andy Warhol’s (American, 1928-1987) offset lithograph in colors “Flowers,” that was signed and dated “‘67” in the lower right margin, printed by Total Color, New York City, and published by Leo Castelli Gallery, New York City. It was considered an early example, though it had some fading. A buyer in Vienna had the winning bid.
The Philadelphia firm of Tucker and Hemphill produced European-style porcelain for a short period of time, just from 1825 to 1838, so surviving examples are often highly sought-after by Americana collectors. The auction featured just two examples, both from the Judson Family Collection of Philadelphia Tucker Porcelain — a pitcher relief molded with a fox hunt, circa 1835, and a slightly earlier (circa 1830) vase that depicted the Fair Mount Waterworks and may have been made by Joseph Hemphill. Both sold for $13,750, tying for third-place honors and each to different East Coast collectors.
Though tastes have drifted away from traditional antiques, good examples still have an audience and can bring good prices, as shown by a Louis XV-style gilt bronze mounted marquetry inlaid kingwood table, dated to the second half of the Nineteenth Century, which came from a Northwest family who acquired it from Dalva Brothers in New York City in 1986. It is returning to the East Coast, to a collector who paid $13,750 for it.
“It’s a little gem of a table; two people really went after it,” Aileen Ward said of this late Nineteenth Century Louis XV style gilt bronze mounted marquetry inlaid kingwood table that earned $13,750 from an East Coast collector ($1/1,500).
Andrew Jones Auctions will conduct its Downtown LA auction around Halloween and another Design for the Home & Garden at the end of November, dates to be announced.
Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For information, www.andrewjonesauctions.com or 213-748-8008.
