Metals, precious or otherwise, panned top results from auctions nationwide this week, led by a gold nugget from the Serra do Caldeirão claims, Pontes e Lacerda, Mato Grosso, Brazil, which earned a sparkling $118,750 at Heritage. An untitled bronze sculpture by Harry Bertoia from Doyle also made noise at $76,700. Landscapes in various media also attracted bidders, with a woodcut titled “Rain in the Mountains” by Gustave Baumann climbing to $46,125, while “Pond with Cottonwood Tree” by Birger Sandzén grew to $20,650 at Mockingbird. For these highlights and others, keep reading.
Bronze Bush By Bertoia Blooms To Top For Doyle
NEW YORK CITY — Doyle’s March 12 Doyle + Design auction featured two sculptures by Harry Bertoia (Italian/American, 1915-1978) from a Philadelphia estate, one of which became the top selling lot of the sale. Untitled (Bush), a “bush form executed in bronze and measuring approximately 16 inches in diameter,” was done circa the late 1970s and will be featured in the artist’s catalogue raisonné. Almost doubling the high end of its $20/40,000 estimate, the bronze grew to $76,700. For information, 212-427-2730 or www.doyle.com.
Heritage Pans For Gold In Kennedy Minerals Collection
DALLAS — A gold nugget from the Serra do Caldeirão claims, Pontes e Lacerda, Mato Grosso, Brazil, sold for $118,750 to lead The Dan Kennedy Collection of Fine Minerals Part 1 Signature Auction to $1,852,625 at Heritage Auctions on March 8. Gold nuggets are exceedingly rare — even more so than diamonds — and to have even a small crystalline example from Mato Grosso is a holy grail for many collectors. This relatively massive yet incredibly refined specimen weighed 178 grams and was formed in an aesthetically appealing bouquet shape that is entirely made up of sharp, defined, hoppered crystals. For information, 214-528-3500 or www.ha.com.
Declaration Of Independence Is Priciest March Discovery At Sandwich
HARWICH, MASS. — Following on the heels of two successful February sales, Sandwich Auction started the month of March with a Discovery sale on the 12th. A circa 1840 engraved broadside of the Declaration of Independence, published by Story & Atwood and carrying a $200/400 estimate, took top-lot honors at $2,560. Discovered in a local estate, it was in a 28½-by-24-inch ebonized frame with gilt liner and was the highest price in the 281-lot sale. For information, 508-385-3116 or www.sandwichauction.com.
Bottle Vases Overflow In JMW’s Single-Owner Asian Estate Auction
KINGSTON, N.Y. — JMW Auction Service offered, on March 7, the Troy, N.Y., estate of Asian collector Daniel Bucher. The 262-lot sale, consisting of porcelains, pottery, bronzes, paintings, statuary and furniture, benefited the Hart Cluett Museum in Troy. All lots were offered without reserves and all sold, led at $25,000 for a lot of two bottle form vases with reign marks that each measured nearly 8 inches tall. For information, 845-339-4133, 845-389-1933 or www.jmwauction.com.
Sandzén Landscape, Ex Three-Generation Collection, Flies For Mockingbird
KANSAS CITY, MO. — From February 27-March 9, Mockingbird Estate Sales & Auctions, with Blue Tape Estate Sales, presented the second of a three-part sale of a three-generation collection of one of Kansas City’s historic lumber families that counted avid travelers and collectors among its members. Leading the sale at $20,650 was a 1926 oil on board painting titled “Pond with Cottonwood Tree” by Birger Sandzén (1871-1954). In its original gold wash frame, the painting was purchased by a local collector who had been wanting to buy a Sandzén “forever” and was, a representative for Blue Tape told us, “thrilled to have bought it.” For information, 816-507-9718, www.mockingbirdestatesales.com or www.bluetapesales.com.
SFAA’s Baumann Woodcut Soaked With Bids
SANTE FE, N.M. — Gustave Baumann’s (1881-1971) “Rain in the Mountains,” a 1926 limited edition color woodcut, brought $46,125 and led Santa Fe Art Auction’s two day Prints, Multiples and Works on Paper sale, March 12-13. Estimated at $10/15,000, it was discussed in a catalogue raisonné for the artist and sold to an arts and education nonprofit foundation based in Michigan. For information, 505-954-5858 or www.santafeartauction.com.
Severin Roesen Still Life Highlights Americana At Brunk
ASHEVILLE, N.C. — More than 250 lots crossed the block on March 13, in Brunk Auctions’ American & Southern auction. One of the highlights of the sale was “Abundant Still Life” by Severin Roesen (German/American, 1815-1872), a circa 1865 oil on canvas still life of fruit, silver compotes and a glass of wine on a tiered slab that the preeminent scholar of Roesen’s work described as “an exceptional example.” It realized $46,740 against a $28/48,000 estimate. For information, 828-254-6846 or www.brunkauctions.com.
Elephant Table Stomps To Number One At Cornell
BELLPORT, N.Y. — Cornell Auctions, Objects and Trade prepared bidders for a festive Saint Patrick’s Day with its Lucky Charms Auction, offering 516 lots. The top lot, which hammered down for $2,250, was an Elephant Table by designer Giulio Lazzotti for Italian furniture brand Bernini. According to catalog notes, the 79-inch-long table made in the 1980s “[got] its name from the distinctive ceramic legs, which look like sturdy elephant feet”; it also had a black stone top. For information, 631-289-9505 or www.cornellauctions.com.
Bass Viola Da Gamba Plays A Nice Tune For Hargesheimer
DÜSSELDORF, GERMANY — Hargesheimer Kunstauktionen Düesseldorf conducted a three-day Fine Arts & Antiques And Jewelry & Watches auction March 12-15. Cataloged as probably from Italy in the Eighteenth Century, the leading lot was a bass viola da gamba, which bore a label that read “‘Giovanni Fiorillo / a Ferara 1776” and its mid Twentieth Century bow was marked “Günther Hellwig.” The dark reddish viola da gamba was made of spruce and maple with an ebony handle and ivory bridge. It sold — with a case, 10 spare strings, sheet music and instructions — to a buyer in Taiwan who was bidding online, for $36,269 (€33,280). For information, www.kunstauktionen-duesseldorf.de/en.
