Top lot of the December 13 jewelry sale was this 2.50-carat diamond engagement ring solitaire that earned $15,600.
Review by W.A. Demers, Photos Courtesy William Bunch Auctions And Appraisals
CHADDS FORD, PENN. – Richard Avedon’s (American, 1923-2004) photograph “June Leaf” led the lots presented in William Bunch Auctions’ December 14 quarterly fine and decorative arts sale. Selling for $39,000, the large format silver gelatin on paper, signed and stamped on reverse, edition 4/10, measured 50 by 40 inches, presented in an acrylic shadowbox frame. Born in 1929, Leaf is an American artist known for her abstract allegorical paintings and drawings; she also works in Modernist kinetic sculpture and is based in New York City and Mabou, Nova Scotia.
On December 13, the auction house presented a lineup of jewelry, the highest price of which was attained by a 2.50-carat diamond engagement ring solitaire that earned $15,600.
A Bailey Banks and Biddle diamond heart necklace surpassed its $3/6,000 estimate to sell for $11,000 to an online bidder. A stunning pave-set heart convertible pendant/brooch and a 22-inch curb link chain, the piece’s heart shape was diamond-encrusted with approximately 85-2.5mm European cut diamonds and featured a 6.7mm center diamond.
Another diamond ring, this one a GIA-certified 1.80-carat example, brought $9,600 from an online bidder, while a vintage Cartier diamond watch in 18K yellow gold earned $3,300. It was marked “Cartier France 18 KTS” and set with an estimated 0.75 carat weight of diamonds, measuring approximately 7 inches long.
A Bailey Banks and Biddle diamond heart necklace surpassed its $3/6,000 estimate to sell for $11,000 to an online bidder.
Christmas came early for one phone bidder who was thrilled to win the bidding for an antique platinum and sugarloaf sapphire ring. Estimated $600/800 and earning $1,800, the ring was a Christmas gift to herself.
The firm’s December 14 session presented a collection of fresh-to-market antiques, fine art, glass, china, furniture of all ages and style, silver, jewelry, Asian, porcelain, glass and more. In addition to the Avedon photograph, notable prices were achieved by a couple of sculptures by Harriet Whitney Frishmuth (1880-1980). An American sculptor known for her works in bronze, she was born in Philadelphia, and when her parents divorced while she was in her teens, she moved to Europe with her mother and sisters, living there for eight years. She studied briefly with Auguste Rodin at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, and for two years with Cuno von Uechtritz-Steinkirch in Berlin. She returned to the United States and studied at the Art Students League of New York under Gutzon Borglum and Hermon Atkins MacNeil.
In this sale, “Extase,” a nude female form extending her arms skyward, brought $13,200. The bronze with original patina was signed Harriet W. Frishmuth 1920, stamped Gorham Co. Founders OBKE, and stood 19½ inches tall.
Richard Avedon’s (American, 1923-2004) photograph “June Leaf” led the lots presented in William Bunch Auctions’ December 14 quarterly fine and decorative arts sale, selling for $39,000.
Frishmuth’s “Crest of The Wave,” a 21½-inch-high bronze with verdigris patina, similarly signed and stamped, was bid to $11,430.
Fetching $6,033 was an Andy Warhol screenprint of “Mao,” one of approximately 100 printings created for a Warhol exhibition at Musee Galliera in Paris 1974. The silkscreen on wallpaper was signed “Andy Warhol” in felt tip lower left and measured 39½ by 29½ inches.
Another fine highlight was Seymour Remenick’s (American, 1923-1999) painting of “Manayunk Bridge,” the former railroad bridge over the Schuylkill River. The oil on canvas signed “Remenick,” with gallery label on reverse from Pearl Fox, Philadelphia, and measuring 24 by 30, bettered its $300/600 presale expectation to finish at $2,400.
Beyond the fine art, the ever-popular vintage auction item, the steamer trunk, was represented by an antique Goyard monogram example that left the gallery at $5,100.
Prices given include the buyer’s premium as stated by the auction house. For information, www.bunchauctions.com or 610-558-1800.
