Hopping to the highest price of the sale, $93,750, was “The Rabbit” by Marshall M. Fredericks (American, 1909-1998), 1936, bronze, 54½ inches high including limestone pedestal ($30/40,000).
Review by Kiersten Busch
YPSILANTI, MICH. — Schmidt’s Antiques Inc., rang in the New Year with its New Years Day Gallery Auction, which took place on January 1. The sale featured just under 300 lots of fine and decorative art, vintage and estate jewelry, Midcentury Modern furniture and additional antique furnishings.
The sale was led by Marshall M. Fredericks’ bronze sculpture, titled “The Rabbit.” According to the auction catalog, the sculpture was “Originally designed in 1936 for the Levi Barbour Memoriam on Belle Isle, Detroit, Mich.,” and “was purchased directly from Fredericks in the late 1970s by Dr and Mrs D. Eugene Thompson for their home in Birmingham, Mich.” The 54½-inch-high work contained its original patina and was signed by the artist in block letters on the base. The lot included a 1989 appraisal signed by Fredericks. Hopping, leaping and bounding past its $30/40,000 estimate, the sculpture made $93,750.
Fine art and sculpture were well represented, with an untitled drawing by Polish surrealist Zdzislaw Beksinski earning $37,500, the second-highest price of the sale. The graphite and charcoal on heavy paper was completed in 1975 and, according to catalog notes, depicted “a grotesque clergyman floating above a dystopian landscape with bones.” The drawing was acquired directly from the artist and surpassed its $10/20,000 estimate, despite minor toning, slight foxing and creasing and some water damage to its matting.
This untitled work by Zdzislaw Beksinski (Polish, 1929-2005), 1975, graphite and charcoal on heavy paper, 31½ by 39½ inches framed, signed and dated upper left, floated to $37,500, the second highest price of the sale ($10/20,000).
Another untitled artwork, this example a Flemish Baroque painting after Frans Fracken III, landed within its $4/6,000 estimate, nailing down a $5,000 finish. Depicting “the Fourth Station of the Cross as Jesus met his mother, Mary,” the unsigned Eighteenth Century oil on canvas mounted to board was housed in a heavily carved contemporary frame with a foliate design.
The decorative arts were led by a Chinese Coromandel six-panel screen from the Nineteenth Century. Each of the six black lacquer panels had molded rosewood frames and included hand-carved vine and floral decorations, as well as applied archaic, auspicious and scholarly symbols. These symbols were carved with jades, hardstone, wood, cast bronze and cloisonne. According to the auction catalog, they were “further decorated verso with hand-painted gold landscape designs depicting mountain villages along a river.” The screen folded its way to a $17,500 finish, capturing the fourth highest price of the day. A second Chinese Coromandel screen, this example with four panels instead of six, sold around 30 lots later for $5,000.
Ticking to $20,000 was this vintage 1979 18K gold Rolex Oyster Perpetual Day/Date men’s wristwatch, which came with a matching 18K President bracelet; the lot weighed 133.4 grams total ($8/12,000).
A vintage 18K gold Rolex Oyster Perpetual Day/Date gentleman’s wristwatch from 1979 led timepieces, ticking past its $8/$12,000 estimate to chime at $20,000. With an automatic wind movement, black dial and diamond markers and sweep seconds, the watch was accompanied by an 18K yellow gold case with a matching 18K President bracelet.
For the ladies, an 18K gold Patek Philippe Golden Ellipse wristwatch with a quartz movement clocked in at $5,000. Accompanied by its original oval-shaped box, the 42.5-gram watch was also fitted with a black leather “PP” strap, 18K gold oval links and an 18K “PP” buckle.
Prices quoted include buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For information, 734-434-2660 or www.schmidtsantiques.com.
