Decorative arts swept the block this past week. Lamps from Tiffany Studios and Daum Nancy lit up a scene that was cushioned by Turkish and Uzbekistani carpets. Art glass and luxury jewelry also commanded high prices, with fine art exceeding estimates across the board. Read on for more details.
Marc Chagall Litho Evokes Rich Mediterranean Landscapes In Nadeau’s Sale
EAST WINDSOR, CONN. – Nadeau’s Auction Gallery presented a Midcentury Modern art and contemporary sale on January 28 full of midcentury furnishings for the collector. Right at home in any such décor was a lithograph in colors by Marc Chagall (1887-1985), “Daphnis et Gnathon,” which rose from a $2/4,000 estimate to sell for $8,610. Signed lower right, numbered lower left 26/60 and sight size 19 by 14 inches, it bore the Arc watermark for Arches paper. Chagall’s “Daphnis et Gnathon,” from “Daphnis et Chloé,” 1961, is one of the stunning lithographs within the illustrated Daphne and Chloe series. Chagall dedicated three years to this project and undertook a series of lithographs that perhaps defined his career. For more information, www.nadeausauction.com or 860-246-2444.
Daum & Edgar ‘Cobra’ Table Lamp Strikes High At South Bay Auctions
EAST MORICHES, N.Y. – Featuring lots from New York estates and collections, South Bay Auctions on January 28 assembled a sale full of paintings, prints, sculpture, antique American, English and Continental furniture and more. Notable was a Daum and Edgar Brandt bronze “Cobra” table lamp, 42 inches high, which sold for $13,200 against a $7/9,000 estimate. Its base was impressed “E. Brandt” and its shade was engraved ”Daum Nancy France” with the Croix de Lorraine. For more information, 631-878-2909 or www.southbayauctions.com.
Bidders Circle Grogan’s Suzani Carpet
BOSTON – Grogan & Company presented almost 300 lots in its Fine Rugs and Textiles sale on January 29, many of which sold within or above estimate. The auction total of $1,440,000 exceeded its high estimate. The top of these was an embroidered Suzani textile from Shakhrisyabz, Emirate of Bukhara, Uzbekistan, made in the first half of the Nineteenth Century. According to The Craft Atlas, Suzani is from the Persian Suzan, which means needle. The art of making such textiles in Iran is called Suzandozi, meaning needlework. These usually have a cotton, sometimes silk, fabric base and are embroidered in silk or cotton thread. This example, consigned from the Jeremy and Hanne Grantham collection, Boston, sold for $75,000 ($30/50,000). For information, 617-720-2020 or www.groganandco.com.
Thomaston Place’s Paperweight Panorama
THOMASTON, MAINE – Thomaston Place Auction Galleries started off the month with a multi-category Panorama sale on February 1. Out of 284 lots, six were fine art glass paperweights, one of which secured the highest price in the auction. From 1848, a Baccarat millefiori paperweight showed figures of a rooster, a monkey, a horse, a stag and a dog atop its many colorful canes. One of the canes was marked “B 1848.” The lot included an ebonized wood base, and the paperweight was secured to it with rubber cement but was otherwise in good condition. For information, 207-354-8141 or www.thomastonauction.com.
Tiffany Clematis Table Lamp Climbs High At Kodner Galleries
DANIA BEACH, FLA. – A Tiffany Studios New York Clematis table lamp surpassed its high estimate to achieve $31,460 at Kodner Galleries on February 1. Featuring leaded glass and patinated bronze, with an impressed signature to shade “Tiffany Studios New York 1480” and an impressed signature to base “Tiffany Studios New York,” the 22ý-inch-high lamp was among the 276 lots of estate jewelry, fine art and collectibles across the block. For information, www.kodner.com or 954-925-2550.
Massive Hereke Turkish Carpet Unrolls Top Price For Tremont
SUDBURY, MASS. – The top-selling carpet in Tremont Auctions’ January 30 Rugs and Carpets sale was a circa 1900 Hereke carpet of Ardebil design, which realized $10,540 against an estimate of $3/5,000. Measuring 27 by 13 feet, and with provenance to the Boston collection of Christopher R. Hunt, the rug was considered in exceptional condition. It sold to a buyer in the United States. For more information, 617-795-1678 or www.tremontauctions.com.
Notre Dame Painting Charms Eldred’s Bidders
EAST DENNIS, MASS. – Nearly four years after Paris’ Notre Dame Cathedral was extensively damaged by fire, a watercolor on paper view of its west façade, by John Whorf (Massachusetts, 1903-1959) brought $11,875 and the top price in Eldred’s February 3 Paintings auction. Beautifully executed, unframed and measuring 22 by 30 inches, the work carried an estimate of $4/6,000 but soared past it, chased by two phone bidders and an online bidder. In the end, the latter prevailed. For information, 508-385-3116 or www.eldreds.com.
Diamonds Are Kaminski’s Best Friend
BEVERLY, MASS. – The top lots of Kaminski Auctions’ February 5 Estates auction sparkled with two white gold and diamond necklaces and two rings from a Chestnut Hill, Mass., collection. Each of these bid to success, including a 15-inch, approximately 10-carat white 18K gold necklace with a floral centerpiece on its chain, accentuated with glittering teardrops, that bid to $11,400. This was followed by a 14K white gold, 3.92-carat necklace for $3,900. The 14K rings both had cognac color diamond center stones weighing approximately 1.61 and 1.15 carats, and sold for $3,600 and $2,760. For information, 978-927-2223 or www.kaminskiauctions.com.
Collective Hudson’s Meteorite-Faced Rolex Makes Impact
KINGSTON, N.Y. – Collective Hudson’s online-only First Premier of the Year sale occurred on February 5, offering more than 400 lots of fine art, decorative art and jewelry. Luxury watches occupied two of the top lots, including the highest price achieved, for a rare 18K white gold Rolex Daytona Chronograph watch with a meteorite face that bid within estimate to $54,400 ($40/60,000). The watch came with its original papers and box. Another rare watch that achieved $20,480 ($20/30,000) and placed third in the sale was a circa 1970 Audemars Piguet skeletonized wristwatch, wrought in 18K gold with a sapphire crystal display back. For information, 845-514-2218 or www.collectivehudson.com.
