Top lot in the sale was a stunning diamond and platinum engagement ring, which surpassed its $40/60,000 estimate to sell for $86,100. It featured a D color, VS2, 4.88-carat pear-shaped brilliant diamond flanked by pear-shaped diamonds and was accompanied by its official GIA report.
Review by W.A. Demers; Photos Courtesy Nadeau’s Auction Gallery
WINDSOR, CONN. — In a New Year’s Day event that presented more than 600 lots of jewelry, silver, fine and decorative art, rugs, furnishings and antiques, many with provenance to New England and Mid-Atlantic estates, Edwin J. Nadeau, III, president, and his family and staff ended the series with a $2.4 million total and 94 percent sell-through. Bidders participating in the sale remotely, did so by phone, absentee bids or online through Invaluable, Bidsquare or LiveAuctioneers. Internationally, there were 52,000 registered bidders participating, 8,000 of which were with Nadeau’s and approximately 100 people were in the gallery.
When Gavin Nadeau, the 12-year-old grandson of founder Ed Nadeau – and the youngest auctioneer in America – came up to the podium, a Cartier Art Deco desk clock traded hands at nearly 13 times its high estimate. The Cartier clock sold by Gavin was a new personal record price for the up-and-coming auctioneer. Bid to $64,575 it had a circular nephrite frame, lapis face and enameled 18K gold hands and jewel supports mounted to a lapis frame on silver feet. The back of clock was marked Cartier.
Sparklers and museum-quality paintings prevailed. A stunning diamond and platinum engagement ring, estimated at $40/60,000, crossed the podium at $86,100, top lot in the sale. Featuring a D color, VS2, 4.88-carat pear-shaped brilliant diamond flanked by pear-shaped diamonds, the ring’s total weight of the side diamonds was about 1 carat. It was accompanied by its official GIA report. Also, a platinum and diamond brooch, having a center cushion cut diamond approximately 3.42 carats, F color, VS1, landed at $32,500.
Leading the fine art category was this pair of Nineteenth Century tandem portraits done by a follower of Lucas the Elder Cranach (German,1472-1553). Realizing $58,425, they depicted, respectively, medieval theologians Fridrich Kurfurst, Johann Der Kurfurst, Martin Luther and John Calvin. The watercolor and gouache on paper portraits were signed illegibly upper right and dated 1543.
A pair of Nineteenth Century tandem portraits done by a follower of Lucas the Elder Cranach (German, 1472-1553) were $58,425. They depicted, respectively, Fridrich Kurfurst, Johann Der Kurfurst, Martin Luther and John Calvin, medieval theologians, and were watercolor and gouache on paper. Signed illegibly upper right and dated 1543, the 8-by-10-inch portraits had provenance to an earlier Christie’s sale from the collection of Lord Michelham.
Yaacov (Jacob Gipstein) Agam’s (Israeli/American, b 1928), “Liberty II,” a polymorphic painting demonstrating liberation from gravity rotating on its axis can be placed in any position in 360 degrees, having six painted views. It was signed, dated on verso “Paris 1978 Liberty II Agam Paris 1957-78,” total diameter 27 inches, with a center diameter of 17 inches and it realized $29,000.
After Edgar Degas (French, 1834-1917), “Grande Arabesque, Premier Temps,” circa 1882-85, a bronze standing female nude with dark brown patina, was stamped with signature, numbered and stamped with foundry mark on base and left the gallery at $21,000.
A bidder paid $19,000 for an Asher Brown Durand “Landscape with Rocks and Stream,” oil on canvas, signed lower right A.B. Durand, 24 by 17 inches.
Other fine art highlights included Asher Brown Durand’s (American, 1796-1874) “Landscape with Rocks and Stream,” an oil on canvas, signed lower right A.B. Durand, 24 by 17 inches, $19,000; Leon Berkowitz’s (American, 1911-1987) untitled (Samaras) oil on canvas, $16,000; William Wheeler (American, 1832-1893) after Thomas Cole (English, 1801-1848), “Mount Etna from Taormina,” oil on canvas, $14,000; and an abstract watercolor on paper, 1983, by Nancy Stevenson Graves (American, 1940-1995), $14,000.
A Tiffany Studios Moorish oil lamp had been electrified and several beads and balls were missing. However, that did not deter a winning bid of more than twice its high estimate, finishing at $55,350. The 22½-inch-tall lamp was of greenish iridescent glass with “watermelon stripe” body and sported bronze mounts with white/yellow opaque glass shade and bronze filigree over a dangling ball fringe. A Tiffany Studios leaded glass bronze and turtleback tile ceiling light fixture comprised a hanging lamp having a geometric shade in amber glass, centering one gold iridescent turtleback medallion, all hung from a gilt gold circular. It found a buyer at $27,000
Among the sale’s lineup of heavy hitters was a Kerman pictorial carpet. Estimated $10/20,000, it did much better, earning $43,050. Impressively decorated with animals, figures and horses on its field and borders, it measured 12 feet 8 inches by 20 feet 8 inches.
An untitled bronze by Alicia Perez Penalba, patinated and gilt bronze standing 74¾ inches high on a 15-by-17-inch stone base went out at $46,125.
A sculpture highlight was an untitled bronze example by Alicia Perez Penalba (Argentinian/French, 1913-1982), patinated and gilt bronze on a stone base. Going out at $46,125, it was signed Penalba Epreuve D’Artiste with a foundry mark of Susse Fondeur, Paris and stood 74¾ inches high on a 15-by-17-inch base.
Also among notable sculpture was “La Joueuse De Boules” by Jean-Leon Gerome (French, 1824-1904) depicting a nude playing an ancient game of Gérôme’s invention. In the Néo-Grec tradition, this game required that the in balls be dropped into the open mouths of the masques below. “La Joueuse de Boules” was exhibited at the Paris Salon in 1902 and was cast in versions of marble, bronze, plaster and polychrome. This late Nineteenth Century version was carved and painted marble on a custom rotating pedestal, signed on base JL Gerome. With provenance to the estate of the Post family, the 32-inch-high sculpture sold for $54,400.
And it would not be a mid-winter sale without an iconic city “snowscape” by Guy Carleton Wiggins (American, 1883-1962). His “5th Avenue Winter Storm” picturing the New York City street in a blizzard, with cars and people navigating the snowfall, with American flags waving above was a framed oil on canvas painting measuring 24 by 20 inches, signed by the artist on the lower left and verso. Winning bid was $52,275.
It was not a “white” New Year’s Day in Windsor, Conn., but just to remind us that winter has us in its grips for another three months was an iconic New York City “snowscape” by Guy Carleton Wiggins. His “5th Avenue Winter Storm” depicting a blizzard, with cars and people navigating the snowfall and American flags waving above was a framed oil on canvas painting measuring 24 by 20 inches, and it earned $52,275.
Ciro Ferri (1634-1689) was an Italian baroque sculptor and painter, born in Rome, where he is known for working with a team of artists in the extensive fresco decorations of the Quirinal Palace and frescoed ceilings and other internal decorations in the Pitti Palace in Florence. In this sale, his “An Allegory of the Catholic Church,” brown ink with pink wash, and red and white chalk highlights on paper, 11¼ by 8½ inches, garnered $33,280.
Ephemera and American history bidders liked an early map by British cartographer John Bowles (1709-1779). His A New and Exact Map of America Laid Down from the Latest Observations and Discoveries, circa 1750, a two-sheet map engraving of the “Representation of the Customs and Habits of the Native Virginians, the North Pole, Several Representations of the Customs and Manners of the Natives of Diverse Parts of America” drew a winning bid of $12,800 against its $1/2,000 estimate.
A Philip and Kelvin LaVerne coffee table, 18¾ by 49 by 22 inches, checked the midcentury box for furniture. The etched and patinated polychromed bronze table featured pewter having a raised signature. With just four examples of this sinuous model believed to exist, its rarity ensured a strong $21,760 finish.
Also, midcentury, Rolex Oyster chronograph pre-Daytona wristwatches are desirable in today’s market. A stainless steel example featured a cream dial and the company’s signature time keeping dials at 3, 6 and 9 o’clock. Measuring 36.4 mm with movement marked 72, it elicited $20,000.
These vintage steamer trunks by Louis Vuitton are sought-after for their look and utility as a coffee or cocktail table. This trunk featured six interior drawers with leather pulls and a small lift top box with hangers and separators monogrammed C.P.C., plus a White Star Line label, and sold for $15,000.
Finally, it’s a rare general antiques sale these days that doesn’t have bidders vying for vintage Louis Vuitton steamer trunks, which can be used to evoke a world traveler’s décor as a coffee table or cocktail table. The trunk in this sale featured six interior drawers with leather pulls and a small lift top box with hangers and separators monogrammed C.P.C., plus a White Star Line label. It debarked at $15,000.
Prices given include the buyer’s premium as stated by the auction house. The firm’s next sale is scheduled for January 27. For additional information, www.nadeausauction.com or 860-246-2444.
