Now there’s a $2 result. From modern masters to rare white moonstone Aladdin lamps, the August 14, 2020 issue of Across The Block features hits across categories and styles. Results from Neue Auctions flew away while an Austrian landscape painting went the distance at Michaan’s. These and more inside.
Satsuma Incense Burner Fires Up Roland’s Bidders
GLEN COVE, N.Y. — A diminutive Japanese Satsuma reticulated incense burner on a trefoil base standing just 5½ inches tall from a Garden City, N.Y., estate sizzled at Roland Auctions’ July 25 sale. A private collector bidding online won the item for $16,640 against considerable competition and an estimate of $250/350. For information, 212-260-2000 or www.rolandauctions.com.
Painted Mantel Assumes Lead For Auction Barn
NEW MILFORD, CONN. — Standing tallest at the July 26 estate sale at the Auction Barn was a large, two-piece carved and painted fireplace surround that made $5,625 despite some decoration and paint losses. The impressive surround stood 108 inches tall and was 85 inches wide and had been estimated at $400/600; a trade buyer bidding online won the piece. For information, 860-799-0608 or www.theauctionbarnct.com.
Little Birds, Big Surprise At Neue’s Online-Only Auction
BEACHWOOD, OHIO — Neue Auctions’ online-only Summer Art and Antiques auction on July 25 was packed with 300 lots of unique treasures seeking new homes. These included art, antiques, rock ’n’ roll-signed albums, vintage posters, decorative arts, Asian objects, furniture garden items, works on paper and more. One of the sale’s many highlights was a garden bird whirligig yard ornament. A simple thing, it stood about 5 feet 6 inches tall, and attached to a central post were seven spinning branches, each with a bird on either end. The birds appeared to be machine-stamped metal with traces of blue paint. The estimate was conservative at $150/300. After 23 bids, it sold to an online bidder for $1,100 and was marked as a “hot” lot, with 50 bidders marking this a favorite. For information, 216-245-6707 or www.neueauctions.com.
Hamilton $2 Legal Tender Note Gets Standing Ovation At Cordier
HARRISBURG, PENN. — An 1862 US $2 legal tender note, the first $2 bill issued by the US government, took $1,560 at Cordier’s July 26 auction. This version had a portrait of Alexander Hamilton and was produced until 1869, when it was redesigned. Because these were printed on a low grade of paper, most notes collected today display much wear. For information, www.cordierauction.com or 717-731-8662.
Chinese Incense Burner Smokes Estimate At Schmidt’s Auction
YPSILANTI, MICH. — The final price was $38,400 for a Chinese inlaid bronze incense burner featuring an Archaic-style Kirin-form animal with hinged cover on back and silver and gold inlaid detail. Standing 10 inches tall, the figure, estimated at just $1/2,000, came with great provenance, having been published as item #153 of the exhibit “Asian Art: A Collector’s Selection” at the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art at Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., in 1973. This exhibition was a large single-owner collection of an anonymous collector. An original exhibition catalog from the Cornell University Library accompanied this lot. For information, www.schmidtsantiques.com or 734-434-2660.
At Michaan’s Gallery Auction, Austrian Landscape Painting Hits The Heights
ALAMEDA, CALIF. — Michaan’s gallery auction on July 25 presented works by artists from California and Taos among the many fine art highlights. A notable sale in the auction, however, was a European landscape by Josef Stoitzner (Austrian, 1884-1951). “Heiligenblut auf Großglockner, Austria,” an oil on board, went out at $21,600. The Austrian painter and printmaker, best known for his landscapes of the European countryside, plied a unique style of painting that combines hyperbolic colors with detail work, creating dramatic areas of space within the composition. For information, 510-740-0220 or www.michaans.com.
Haring Woodblock Leads At Mid-Hudson Auctions
NEW WINDSOR, N.Y. — An untitled Keith Haring woodblock print on archive paper, dated 1983, was the top seller at Mid-Hudson Auction Galleries’ July 25 sale, bringing $3,965 against an estimate of $2,5/3,500. Consigned from an estate, the work saw extensive competition, ultimately selling to a private collector from the US, bidding on the phone. For information, www.midhudsongalleries.com.
Frida Kahlo Portrait Ascends At The Benefit Shop
MOUNT KISCO, N.Y. — Thirty-five bids were logged on a signed oil on canvas depicting artist Frida Kahlo until it sold for $6,710 in The Benefit Shop’s July 29 sale. The painting was signed “Frida Kahlo” and dated 1945 to the left corner with a stamp on the back that read “Museo Frida Kahlo” and an exhibition label for the Julien Levy Gallery. A Capuchin monkey sits on her shoulder and there is a large flower in her hair. For more information, www.thebenefitshop.org or 914-864-0707.
White Moonstone Aladdin Lamp Lights Up For Jeff Evans
CRAWFORD, VA. — An Aladdin model B-84 beehive kerosene stand lamp in the white moonstone color sold for $7,170 in Jeffrey S Evans & Associates’ Summer Nineteenth & Twentieth Century Lighting & Glass auction July 31 to August 1. The lamp was in mint condition with only an as-made annealing line around the top of the stem. It was produced by the Mantle Lamp Company of America in 1937 and 1938 and had provenance to the collection of Larry Spradley. According to J.W. Courter’s Aladdin: The Magic Name in Lamps, the color is rare and was never produced in any quantity. For more information, www.jeffreysevans.com or 540-434-3939.
