As summer continues and temperatures rise, one craves nothing else than lounging in the heat with a good book. This week’s featured top lots had all the furnishings to do just that, minus a tall glass of lemonade. Bonhams Skinner’s Iranian Ziegler Mahal carpet would be the ultimate choice for a “glamping” site, with a Danish Royal Copenhagen service from Showplace to entertain guests. For seating, there was the choice of two Wegner chairs at South Bay Auctions and a metal Windsor chair at Public Sale, although the latter would probably become quite hot in the sun. During leisure time, a first edition of Tolkien’s The Fellowship of the Ring from the Connecticut River Book Auction is the perfect read for getting lost, assisted by the Cartier Giverny sunglasses sold by Benefit Auction. Read on for more ways to enjoy the season.
Artful Quartet Of Posters By Alphonse Mucha Outperforms
NEW YORK CITY – The 87th rare posters auction from Poster Auctions International on July 12 featured rare and iconic images from a century of poster design. On offer were choice examples of Art Nouveau, Art Deco, Modern and contemporary lithographs, decorative panels and maquettes. Selling for $90,000, twice its low estimate, was a rare appearance of Alphonse Mucha’s (1860-1939) full arts quartet from 1898: Music, with her songbirds on a branch and the winds of emotion through her skirts; Dance, a blush of toe-point passion and sweeping precision; Painting, with concentric rainbows emanating from a flower, plucked; and Poetry, crowned with laurels, meditating on the poplars upon Mount Olympus. For information, 212-787-4000 or www.posterauctions.com.
Pair Of Wegner Chairs Gives South Bay Auctions The Horns
EAST MORICHES, N.Y. – South Bay Auctions’ fine art, antiques and sporting sale on July 9 offered an array of goods from estates all over New York, including a Marc Chagall (1887-1895) lithograph that sold for $3,375. The healthy market for the artist’s work persists. However, the top lot was a surprise winner – a pair of Hans J. Wegner (1914-2007) “Cow Horn” chairs that sold for $13,750, pitching its $250/450 estimate clear out of the ring. Midcentury Modern continues to climb in price, and single Wegner chairs sell for thousands by their own steam. For more information, 631-878-2909 or www.southbayauctions.com.
Full Royal Service From Showplace
NEW YORK CITY – The New York City estate auction was conducted by Auctions at Showplace on July 10, with 280 lots of fine and decorative arts from New York City metropolitan estates. The victor of this sale was a 118-piece Danish Royal Copenhagen “Blue Fluted” service that sold for $8,125. Also known as “Service No. 1,” the pattern was introduced in 1775. The majority of the pieces were in “blue fluted half lace” and sold with six additional related pieces of blue and white serving ware. This sale follows the market’s current revival of interest in serving ware as buyers once again begin holding large functions together. For information, 212-633-6063 or www.auctions.nyshowplace.com.
Cartier Giverny Sunglasses Exude Cool At Benefit Shop Auction
MOUNT KISCO, N.Y. – A fashion auction to include luxury labels, couture, niche designers from France, Italy and the United States by the Benefit Shop Foundation on July 6 was curated from closets around the globe. Somebody favored a pair of Cartier Giverny sunglasses in the bubinga wood line, taking it to $2,193 from its $100/300 estimate. Circa 1990s, sized small 49-20, the pair was made in France, possibly as an upcycle to sunglasses or prescription glasses with lens replacement. For information, www.thebenefitshop.org or 914-864-0707.
Grand Tour Column Fetches Grand Price For Clarke
LARCHMONT, N.Y. – One of the top lots at Clarke Auction Gallery’s July 10 summer estate auction was an etched and gilt-bronze Grand Tour column with the figure of Napoleon on top, a model of the column in the Place Vendome in Paris. Estimated at $2/3,000, it closed out at $21,250. The column stood 52 inches tall, retained great patina and came from an estate on East 86th Street in New York City. For information, 914-833-8336 or www.clarkeny.com.
Ziegler Mahal Goes Over Estimate At Bonhams Skinner’s Art Underfoot
MARLBOROUGH, MASS. – The top lot in Bonhams Skinner’s “Art Underfoot” auction, which closed July 12, was a late Nineteenth Century Iranian Ziegler Mahal carpet that bidders took to $20,000 from an estimate of $4/6,000. The carpet, which demonstrated a classic early Persian decorative field design, had some damage and repaired ends, and measured 14 feet 6 inches by 12 feet. For information, www.skinnerinc.com or 508-970-3211.
Artist’s Estate Provenance Boosts Klinghoffer Portrait To Lead At Capsule
NEW YORK CITY – Capsule Auctions’ July 13 “Summer Rush: Art, Estates and Discovery” sale featured seven works by Clara Klinghoffer (British/American, 1900-1970), all from the estate of the artist. One of them and the auction’s cover lot – a portrait of English composer and pianist Stanley Bate (1911-1959), achieved $2,875. The unframed oil on canvas measured 30 by 25 inches and had some minor condition issues but was the highest price realized in a sale of approximately 300 lots. For information, 212-353-2277 or www.capsuleauctions.com.
Middle Earth Fans Vie For Tolkien Masterpiece
GLASTONBURY, CONN. – Despite its “good” condition, absence of a dustjacket and being only the first book of a three-volume set, the first UK edition of Tolkien’s masterpiece The Fellowship of the Ring (shown) brought $575 at the July 8 Connecticut River Book Auction. It sold to a phone bidder. Selling to an in-house bidder, a fine press copy of All for Love Antony and Cleopatra published in 1976 by the Allen Press in a limited edition of 140 copies realized $425. For information, 860-908-8067 or www.ctriverbookauction.com.
Metal Windsor Chair Wins Over Public Sale Bidders
HUDSON, N.Y. – A painted metal barrelback or sackback Windsor-style armchair, in the manner of the Simmons brand, sat at the head of the class in Public Sale Auction’s July 16 469-lot “Forgotten Summer” auction. Estimated at $100/200, it retained hints of blue and green paint as well as a rust patina. Bidders liked the look enough to push it to $3,600. For more information, 518-966-7253 or www.publicsale.com.
