Flights of fancy were abundant at auction this past week. Two avian-form lots swept their auctions; a silverplate glass eagle-form ewer at Stair Galleries and a Chinese Yue owl-form pottery vessel at Capsule Auctions, both of which flew past their estimates with ease. The baroque and rococo added flourish to the top lots, with a continental white marble column that rose exponentially higher than its estimate and an unmarked Meissen vase at Fifth Avenue Auctions that was later in age but elaborate enough to close on the highest price. Continue for more of this week’s top bids.
World War II Flight Jacket Is The Bomb At Bruneau & Co.
CRANSTON, R.I. – Bruneau & Co. Auctioneers presented its fall historic arms and militaria online-only auction on September 29, offering 265 lots of historic objects from the Civil War, World War I, World War II and modern era. A flight World War II 23rd Bomb Squadron, 5th Bomb Group A-2 jacket was notable, selling for $3,675 against an $800-$1,200 estimate. The A-2 leather flight jacket, with a label marked “Type A-2/Drawing No. 30-1415” with contract number and “Rough Wear Clothing Co./Middletown, PA./40,” was stenciled below the label in black “W.I. Mandell” with a 23rd Bomb Squadron, 5th Bomb group painted insignia on the left chest depicting a skeleton in a flight cap holding a bomb and a banner marked “23rd Bomb/In Hoc Signo Vinces.” For information, www.bruneauandco.com or 401-533- 9980.
Group Lot Leads Lark Mason’s Thomas Rowlandson Collection
NEW YORK CITY – An American collection of works by Thomas Rowlandson was offered by Lark Mason Associates in an iGavel auction that closed on September 28. Leading the sale at $16,625 was a group of eight etchings, each approximately 9½ by 13½ inches, that related to country or rural life. Some hand-colored and most dating to the late Eighteenth Century, the lot saw considerable interest that pushed it from its $600/800 estimate. For information, 212-289-5524 or www.larkmasonassociates.com.
Unmarked Meissen Vase Flies For Fifth Avenue Auctions
STAMFORD, CONN. – Fifth Avenue Auctions conducted a reserved 133-lot sale on October 1, candidly titled “Smalls, Bric-Brac Auction,” which saw as its top lot an unmarked Nineteenth or Twentieth Century Meissen porcelain lidded base, 24 inches tall and 10 inches in diameter, that finished at $16,900, well ahead of its $1/3,000 estimate. Despite featuring several old repairs, the quality of the vase was good, and it retained vibrant colors in the hunting motif that was its primary decoration. For information, 212-247-1097 or www.5thavenueny.com.
Mies Van Der Rohe For Knoll Daybed Stretches Out At Public Sale
HUDSON, N.Y. – On October 1, Public Sale Auction House conducted a Midcentury Modern and design auction. Titled “Conceptual Coherence,” the auction celebrated Modernism’s experimentation with shape and form through a wide variety of furniture, art and lighting. A modern brown leather Mies van der Rohe for Knoll daybed was the highest priced lot, selling for $5,100 with an estimate of $1,5/2,000. The Barcelona daybed couch for Knoll featured a rosewood frame with leather straps and tan leather upholstery. It had a single tubular pillow on one end, and the leather had a nice patina from years of use. For information, 518-966-7253 or www.publicsale.com.
Silverplate Glass Eagle-Form Ewer Swoops Down To Lead John Rosselli Collection
HUDSON, N.Y. – John Rosselli’s sophisticated eye and timeless sense of style established him as a preeminent dealer for interior designers and collectors, and that could be seen throughout the selection from his private collection offered at Stair Galleries on October 6 in the firm’s sale Master Class: John Rosselli at Home. Among the items he amassed in his New York City pied-a-terre was the sale’s top lot – a silverplate glass eagle-form ewer, which flew high above its $600/800 estimate to sell for $10,880. Unmarked, the rara avis was nevertheless impressive and stood 12 inches high. “We had a great response across absentee, phone and online bidders,” said the firm’s Lauren Anderson. “The silverplate mounted glass eagle-form ewer is an unusual piece and performed well above our expectations.” For information, 518-751-1000 or www.stairgalleries.com.
Showplace Sees Bidding Storm For Rubin’s ‘In Galilee’
NEW YORK CITY – On October 9, Auctions at Showplace sold Reuven Rubin’s (Romanian Israeli, 1893-1974) “In Galilee,” a 1966 oil on canvas work for $81,250 to an American collector. Depicting figures at work within an impressionistic landscape, the 20¾-by-28¼-inch work was a study for “A Mountainous View of the Galilee,” his monumental work at the Knesset in Jerusalem. The $40/60,000 study sold by Showplace will be included in the upcoming catalogue raisonné of the artist’s work. For information, 212-633-60693 or www.nyshowplace.com.
Andrew Jones Finds Continental Marble Column New Home
LOS ANGELES – Capping the 256-lot “Design for the Home & Garden” sale on October 9 at Andrew Jones Auctions was a late Sixteenth or Seventeenth Century Continental Baroque white marble column that earned $27,500, a considerable lift from its $500/700 estimate. The 51-inch-tall column was relief decorated with birds and leafy grapevines and had an attractive weathered patina. For information, 213-748-8008 or www.andrewjonesauctions.com.
Exceptional Orientalist Frame Tops Wilner Frame Sale
SARASOTA, FLA. – On October 6, Helmuth Stone offered the Historic Eli Wilner Antique Frame Collection, which was led at $10,370 by an exceptional Orientalist gilt and wood frame that measured 31 by 24 inches overall. The result exceeded it’s $1/2,000 estimate and capped a 420-lot sale from the New York City framer whose frames house works around the country, including institutional collections such as the White House and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. For information, 941-260-9703 or www.helmuthstone.com.
Owl Vessel Flies High For Capsule
NEW YORK CITY – Earning top-lot honors in Capsule Auctions’ October 6 Asian Art and Antiques Sale was a Chinese Yue glazed pottery owl form vessel, which flew from a $5/8,000 estimate to land at $16,250. From the private collection of Joseph Rondina, the 17½-inch-tall vessel was partially covered in an olive colored glaze and was accompanied by an Oxford Authentication thermoluminescence test that dated it to the Han dynasty (206 BCE-220 CE). For information, 212-353-2277 or www.capsuleauctions.com.
