Great sales came in pairs this week! Kaminski Auctions sold a serene celadon dragon vase for an exciting price, and Mockingbird released the dragons’ cousins in the form of a Beleek tea urn. A set of 16 upholstered dining chairs set the table at Doyle, while Thos Cornell Galleries took a well-deserved rest with a burl and branch Adirondack lawn chair. Two different types of freedom were represented; a print of Rockwell’s “Freedom of Speech” spoke up at Heritage, joined by Tom of Finland’s “Portrait of Eric” at Swann Galleries. Read on for more almost-matching sets.
William Savage Work On Color Printing Tops PBA Galleries Sale
BERKELEY, CALIF. – In 1822, William Savage (1770-1843), son of a Yorkshire bell- and clockmaker, published what he described as “perhaps, the first attempt to diffuse a general knowledge of the improvements that have taken place in the art of printing” Practical Hints on Decorative Printing, with Illustrations Engraved on Wood, and Printed in Colours at the Type Press. At PBA Galleries’ August 25 sale, the rare and significant work on color printing, which essentially revived the method of printing from relief blocks used in chiaroscuro printing, sold for $5,937. With the dedication page printed in color, an added pictorial title page printed in gold, it was bound in half red leather and orange boards, titled and decorated in gilt on its spine. For information, 415-989-2665 or www.pbagalleries.com.
Time For Tea With Mockingbird
KANSAS CITY, MO. – On August 28, Mockingbird Estate Sales & Auctions conducted an online auction, concentrating on the extensive holdings of Kansas City collectors Don and Victoria Quinn. Rare Belleek was a major strength in their collection, with many forms that are scarcely seen outside of museums. The top lot was one of these, a two-piece lusterware tea urn and stand decorated with a Chinese dragon on the base and two other creatures on the urn’s sides, which sold for $5,664. The urn was late of the McKelvey collection, bought from their estate auction at Butterfield, Butterfield & Dunning in San Francisco. For more information, 816-507-9718 or www.mockingbirdestatesales.com.
Celadon Dragon Flies High At Kaminski
BEVERLY, MASS. – Kaminski Auctions’ August estates auction took place on August 27 and 28, offering almost 700 lots from homes on Massachusetts’ North Shore and other coastal cities. The top buy of these sales was won on the second day in the form of a Chinese celadon dragon vase, selling for $13,200 against its $2/3,000 estimate. Showing a Qianlong mark on the bottom surface, the high-shouldered vase was carved in relief with five dragons against a background of undulating waves. Celadon vases are favored among bidders at Kaminski; a cong vase topped the house’s late May estates Auction, also outshining its $25/30,000 estimate to achieve $40,800. For more information, 978-927-2223 or www.kaminskiauctions.com.
Fan Favorite Adirondack Chair Top Seller At Thos Cornell
BELLPORT, N.Y. – One of the top sellers in Thos Cornell Galleries’ August 28 auction, which featured 433 lots of estate furnishings, was a burl and branch Adirondack arm chair, which achieved $3,000 against an estimate of $200/400. It was a high price in a sale that featured paintings, prints, Orientalia, a 1929 Steinway model L grand piano and rugs, among other items. For information, 631-289-9505 or www.thoscornellauctions.com.
Bruce Gamage Sells Jacobsen Painting, Found In Maine, To Maine Buyer
ROCKLAND, MAINE – One of the highlights of the August 29 auction at Bruce Gamage Auctions was an important oil on board painting by Antonio Nicolo Gasparo Jacobsen (American, 1850-1921) of the schooner, James B. Blake, a Bath, Maine-owned ship, which had descended in the family of the original owners. Measuring 22 by 36 inches and estimated at $8/12,000, it sold to a private collector in Maine for $10,925. For information, 207-594-4963 or www.gamageantiques.com.
Early Book Of Founding Father Pamphlets Finds Favor At Winter Associates
PLAINVILLE, CONN. – From an impressive home and its voluminous library came an Eighteenth Century book of nine bound pamphlets by John Adams and Alexander Hamilton, John Dickerson and others (shown) that wrote over its $1/2,000 estimate in Winter Associates’ August 29 live auction to sell for $44,400. Similarly, a thorough US stamp collection from 1847 to 2021 in five Scott Official National albums, which appeared to be a lifelong, single-owner collection, shot to $38,000 against an estimate of $2/4,000. For more information, www.auctionsappraisers.com or 860-793-0288.
Doyle At Home Finds New Home For Large Chair Set
NEW YORK CITY – A set of 16 modern upholstered and stained wood side chairs, unmarked and unattributed, made a good showing in the August 25 Doyle At Home sale when the set, estimated at $1,5/2,500, closed at $8,820. Described as in “generally good condition” with some scratches and other use wear, the chairs were the top lot of 369 on offer. Other highlights included Tiffany sterling silver flatware, Louis XVI-style furniture and a painting by Anne Childs Shaffer, that had been consigned from a Palm Beach, Fla., estate. For information, 212-427-2730 or www.doyle.com.
Rockwell’s ‘Freedom Of Speech’ Collotype Makes Bold Statement For Heritage
DALLAS – In Heritage Auctions’ online auction of Norman Rockwell prints on September 1, a collotype in colors on paper of his “Freedom of Speech” took top billing, earning $2,000. Signed in pencil along the lower edge, published by Curtis Publishing Co, distributed by Raymond & Raymond Inc and printed by Arthur Jaffé, New York, it was the top lot in a sale of more than 150 lots that realized a total of just over $100,000. For information, 214-528-3500 or www.ha.com.
Tom Of Finland Portrait Drawing Stars In Swann Galleries’ LGBTQ+ Auction
NEW YORK CITY – A graphite on paper drawing titled simply, “Portrait of Eric,” that depicted a mustachioed man provocatively clad in leather, was the star of Swann Galleries’ LGBTQ+ Art, Material Culture & History auction on August 18. Drawn by Tom of Finland (1920-1991) in 1985 and accompanied by correspondence between Tom and the sitter, the 13-by-9½-inch picture finished at $52,500, well ahead of its $20/30,000 estimate. For information, 212-254-4710 or www.swanngalleries.com.
