Dancing to the front of the two-day sale at $60,500 was “The Dancers” by David Wynne, bronze, edition #3/6, which was sold to benefit the Morris Museum of Art ($30/50,000).

Review by Madelia Hickman Ring; Photos Courtesy Ahlers & Ogletree

ATLANTA, GA. — Ahlers & Ogletree’s October 13-14 auctions presented more than 900 lots of Modernism, art glass, folk art, Jewish art, and European, American and Asian art and antiques. More than 91 percent of the lots trading successfully.

A noted trend among top lots on both days of the auction was the human form, represented in a variety of media and styles, from abstract to realistic. At the top of the sale with a result of $60,500 was David Wynne’s (English, 1926-2014) “The Dancers,” an 83-inch-tall, limited edition bronze conceived in 1971 but cast in 1972, which not only had provenance to a Hilton Head, S.C., family and the Southeastern Newspapers Corporation but was also being sold to benefit the Morris Museum of Art in Augusta, Ga.

Another work sold to benefit the Morris Museum was Latchezar Boyadjiev’s (Bulgarian, b 1959) “Woman II,” an abstracted female figure that was worked in amber glass in 2011. It was signed, titled and dated and charmed bidders out of $9,680, a significant increase over its $4/6,000 estimate.

“Woman II” by Latchezar Boyadjiev, cast glass, signed, titled and dated, 23½ inches tall, charmed bidders out of $9,680 ($4/6,000).

The sale’s second highest result was achieved by a Seventeenth or Eighteenth Century Chinese gilt bronze seated Guandi, that stood just 4¼ inches tall but which brought $15,730.

This Chinese gilt bronze figure of Guandi, the god of War, dated to the Seventeenth or Eighteenth Century saw interest that drove it to a $15,730 finish ($800-$1,600).

Rounding out figural highlights at $7,865 was “Defenders Of New Haven, July 5, 1779,” a 1905 patinated cast bronze figural group by James Edward Kelly (American, 1855-1933), that depicted the Defender’s Monument in New Haven, Conn. Standing more than 24 inches tall, the bronze was marked “Cast For/George Hope Ryder MD/Yale 1894.”

James Edward Kelly, “Defenders Of New Haven, July 5, 1779,” 1905, patinated cast bronze, 24-3/8 inches tall. The prevailing bidder paid $7,865 for it ($2/4,000).

Ahlers & Ogletree will sell the Estate of Fred Bentley Sr on November 10.
Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For information, www.aandoauctions.com or 404-869-2478.