Fresh Finds At Mathesons’ Estates Auction

Published: September 26, 2023

Trotting horse tabletop bronze by Piotr Karlovich von Jürgensburg, signed in Cyrillic on the base, was the auction’s winning bet at $20,400 ($7/9,000).

Review by Z.G. Burnett; Images Courtesy Mathesons’ Gallery

MELBOURNE, FLA. — Mathesons’ Gallery’s Fresh Estates Auction took place on September 17 with more than 275 lots. In addition to selections from a major collection of works by Maxfield Parrish (American, 1870-1966), the catalog included a large collection of Chinese, Tibetan and Korean items from a private collector in Melbourne, Fla. Lots from this consignor were fresh to the market. Bidders participated online, telephone, absentee bidding and LiveAuctioneers.

However, the champion of the auction came from neither of these categories: a bronze, trotting horse by Piotr Karlovich von Jürgensburg (Russian, 1805-1867) that won $20,400 from an online bidder. The artist was also known as Peter Clodt von Jürgensburg, belonging to a baronial family of Baltic Germans despite being born in Saint Petersburg. Known for his monumental and tabletop equestrian bronzes, the Russian emperor Nicholas I is said to have commented that von Jürgensburg “creates horses finer than any prize stallion does.” In 1856-59, von Jürgensburg’s monument to the emperor was installed on Saint Isaac’s Square. It is the first equestrian statue of this scale to have been constricted with only two support points in the horse’s hind legs, and for this reason it survived the Bolshevik iconoclasm of imperial monuments.

Following behind in price was a bronze of a Chinese seated Buddha. This was one of 10 Buddha figures from the Melbourne, Fla., collection — others were in porcelain, wood and semiprecious stones and originated from Tibet and Thailand. Meditating in the lotus position, this Buddha materialized $2,700. Successful Asian listings included five lots of multiple archer’s rings made from bone, jade and other materials; the highest selling of these was a set of 16 at $900.

Second in the auction was this meditating Chinese Buddha in bronze, measuring 10½ by 6½ inches, that achieved $2,700 ($200/300) online.

The rest of the top lots were all painted or illustrated by Parrish, and the highest price was a lot containing a framed print and 14 lithographs of his work for Frank L. Baum’s 1897 edition of Mother Goose in Prose. This was Baum’s first children’s book, and the first book illustrated by Parrish. The print was framed by The Dream Gardener of Redmond, Wash., which specializes in Parrish’s art and collectibles and also framed the following Parrish lots. The group of works sold for $1,560.

Next in price, an extremely rare, unlisted artist’s proof by Parrish was bid to $1,140. Titled “Summer” or “The Swing Girl,” the proof was in “crisp condition” with “true mint colors.” According to the label verso, this is the first example of this print being framed and was used for the July 21, 1906, cover of Collier’s Magazine.

The prints which followed the proof were all in “mint,” “crisp” or “pristine” condition, representing Parrish illustrations that ranged from scarce to extremely rare. Printed for the Ferry Seed Co, the original poster “Jack & the Beanstalk” showed vibrant colors with very light signs of handling and was also the first framed example of the work; it achieved $1,020. A deluxe art print of “Toyland Soldier” or “The Sentry” that was “rarely seen or offered” in its uncirculated colors sold for $720. Another first-time framing belonged to a large size version of “The Lute Players,” also with pristine, uncirculated colors; this was bid to $600.