Strawser – The Helene Fortunoff Collection
Tuesday, April 23, 2024, Starting at 6pm EST
200 N. Main Street Wolcottville, IN 46795
www.strawserauctions.com

WOLCOTTVILLE, IND. — Anyone who grew up in the New York-New Jersey metropolitan area will recognize the name Fortunoff, the high-end retailer of housewares, silverware, lighting fixtures and jewelry. Few are probably aware, however, that the matriarch of the Fortunoff family, Helene Fortunoff (1933-2021), was a passionate collector of fine antique ceramics.

Now, the entire collection that Helene assembled with her second husband Robert Grossman will come up for bid in an online-only auction slated for Tuesday, April 23, starting at 6 pm Eastern time. The sale, comprising 243 lots, will be conducted by Strawser Auction Group. Online bidding will be via LiveAuctioneers.com. Absentee and telephone bids will also be accepted.

The auction is officially titled The Fortunoff Collection of Nineteenth Century Aesthetic Movement porcelain, reflecting the main focus of the collection. Helene had a passion for Japanese design and collected Japanese lacquer pieces. The specific styles in the auction were mostly inspired by Japan, including pieces designed by the “Father of Modernism,” Christopher Dresser.

Numerous pieces in the auction are expected to vie for top lot honors. Chief among them is a pair of rare Worcester porcelain Renaissance Revival pate-sur-pate moon flasks, circa 1875, the white ground bodies decorated with a cobalt blue panel of Italianate masks, scrolls, caryatids and animal heads and each with a large panel of pate-sur-pate flowers ($5/7,000).

A pair of hard-to-find Mintons Aesthetic Movement moon vases, circa 1875 and 10 inches tall, features sang de boeuf grounds decorated with a 22K gilded Japanese-style central design of a crane among prunus, each with two small, shaped handles ($2/3,000).

A large, circa 1875 Royal Worcester Aesthetic Movement moon flask decorated with blue and white Japanese style fauna and a 22K gilded butterfly, all against a black ground with a 22K gilded scrolling dragon to the neck, should fetch $1,5/2,500. The pair to this moon flask was donated by Fortunoff to the Metropolitan Museum in New York, where it now resides.

A circa 1862 Minton exhibition tazza, probably designed by Leon Arnoux with puce ermine, designed for display at the London International Exhibition 1862, has an estimate of $1,5/2,000. The stem is modeled as three parian back-to-back storks supporting a shallow dish painted in bright enamels against a 22K gilded ground in the style of Owen Jones.

A pair of circa 1875 Royal Worcester Aesthetic Movement moon flasks decorated in Japanese style, heron and fauna, all in the Imari palette, both with two square sectioned lobed handles and all upon on a faux hardwood style base, 12 inches tall, is expected to finish at $1,5/2,500.

A rare Mintons Aesthetic Movement cabinet plate, circa 1875, designed by Christopher Dresser, the white ground body within a wide turquoise border of enameled panels and geometric ornament and a center of sprays of flowers, 9½ inches tall, has an estimate of $800-$1,200.

A pair of circa 1875 Royal Worcester Aesthetic Movement foo dogs should bring $800-$1,200. Each opposing pair is decorated in blue and white with 22K gilding and modeled as a foo dog with paw on a ball.

A pair of circa 1880 Mintons Aesthetic Movement Gilded Age moon flasks, each with celadon ground bodies and a large bronzed and 22K gilded circular panel of Japanese-style pomegranates among leaves and branches, with Chinese-style square section handles and gilded lid, all upon faux hardwood stands, the only known examples, should hit $700/900.

A circa 1875 Mintons Aesthetic Movement bottle vase designed by Christopher Dresser, the turquoise ground body decorated in a faux cloisonné stylized Chinese motif, 9 inches tall, has an estimate of $300/500. Also, a pair of circa 1875 Mintons Aesthetic Movement vases, the yellow ground bodies decorated with 22K gilded flowering branches, should command $400/600.

A preview is available by appointment only on Tuesday, April 23, from 3 to 5 pm in the Strawser Auction Group facility at 200 North Main. For information, 260-854-2859, 260-336-2204 or www.strawserauctions.com.

19TH CENTURY AESTHETIC MOVEMENT PORCELAIN
The Antique Ceramic Collection of the Legendary Retailer Helene Fortunoff will be Auctioned by Strawser Auction Group Helene had a passion forJapanese design and collected Japanese lacquer pieces. The specific styles in the auction were mostly inspired by Japan, including important pieces designed by the father of Modernism, Christopher Dresser.
The auction will have a nice selection of porcelain by such makers as Minton, Royal Worcester, Royal Crown Derby, Coalport and others.
Preview By Appointment Only on Tuesday, April 23, 2024 from 3pm-5pm
ONLINE BIDDING: Visit our website for a link to ouronline catalog, www.strawserauctions.com • Terms and conditions are also listed on the online catalog. Auction was Cataloged and Curated by Nicolaus Boston. • Auction Conducted By: STRAWSER AUCTION GROUP, INC.
200 N. Main Street I Wolcottville, IN 46795 I 260-854-2859 I michael@strawserauctions.com I www.strawserauctions I Auo1036470 & Ac3070006o