This Chinese Qianlong period wine ewer/teapot, Eighteenth Century, Imperial yellow enamel on copper, 3¾ inches tall by 6½ inches wide by 3¼ inches deep, poured out the sale’s hottest price of $43,400 ($500/800).
Review by Carly Timpson
ATLANTA — Ahlers & Ogletree’s New Year’s Signature Estates Auction was conducted January 14-15, presenting nearly 650 lots of fine art, decorative arts and English, French and Italian antiques from select private collections. Jamia Berry, the firm’s marketing and advertising coordinator, reported a sell-through rate of 97 percent, realizing $1,053,025 in total.
Originally estimated just $500/800, a Chinese wine ewer from the Eighteenth Century could have been easily overlooked. However, the 3¾-inch-tall Qianlong dynasty vessel in Imperial yellow enamel on copper teapot was seen by knowledgeable bidders who pushed the piece all the way to $42,350.
Only an 1880 Steinway & Sons concert grand piano achieved a higher price: $74,400. It was a rare Rococo style example with marquetry and giltwood decoration, accompanied by a matching bench with a red velvet seat. The next two highest prices were achieved by a pair of circa 1898 leaded Favrile glass windows by Tiffany Studios/Tiffany Glass and Decorating Company from the South Congregational Church, Peabody, Mass. Finishing at $34,100, one depicted Christ Blessing Children and had a dedication panel for Deacon Benjamin Newell Moore (American, 1841-1917) and his wife Sarah Mansur Reed Moore (American, 1838-1907). The other, which made $27,900, had The Good Shepherd motif and was dedicated to Deacon George Francis Osborne (American, 1829-1895) and his wife Rebecca Proctor Jacobs Osborne (American, 1834-1898). Both windows were 95 inches tall by 55 inches wide, referenced in publications and were in a private Stone Mountain, Ga., collection after the church sold in 1961.
Leading the second day’s offerings at $27,900 was this Italian marble and alabaster bust of a Roman emperor, 34 inches tall by 27 inches wide by 10¾ inches deep ($1,5/3,000).
Also achieving $27,900 was an Italian bust of a Roman emperor made with mixed marble and alabaster and with provenance to an esteemed Atlanta collection. The bust showed the man wearing armor and a cloak and was seemingly unmarked. The lack of attribution did not deter bidders, who pushed the figure well past its $3,000 high estimate.
Sculptural forms continued to pique bidders’ interest and bring over-estimate results throughout the auction. Another unexpected result in the category was the $21,080 realized for a pair of garden lions. The nearly life-sized bronze sculptures came from a Woodstock, Ga., collection, as did a Twentieth Century American School bronze horse sculpture. Also life-size, standing 81½ inches tall, the horse found a buyer for $17,360.
The same price was achieved by a set of four Italian glazed white earthenware figures of the Four Seasons. Each season was depicted in an allegorical fashion with the representing lady holding a symbolic seasonal attribute: wheat, grapes, figs and roses. Raised on a square plinth, the figures were approximately the same size, with the tallest measuring 78½ inches.
This untitled fjord landscape by Johann Holmstedt (Swedish, 1851-1929), oil on canvas, 59 by 76⅜ inches framed, led the paintings category at $17,360 ($3/5,000).
The sale’s leading painting was a landscape by Swedish artist Johann Holmstedt. The oil on canvas showed large fjords with a small village on the shore and a few boats on the water. The painting was signed “J. Holmstedt” to the lower left and it retained a 1985 label from Christie’s on the reverse. It more than tripled its high estimate to finish at $17,360.
An important pair of bottle coolers made by the Imperial Porcelain Manufactory, in the Rose Frieze pattern commissioned by “Paul I (Russian, 1754-1801) in anticipation of the marriage of his daughter Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna (Russian, 1786-1859) to Karl-Friedrich, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (German, 1783-1853) in 1804,” according to catalog notes, were bid to $11,780. The pattern was characterized by a band of pink roses interspersed by diamonds with a gray rose around the rim, Classical figural mask handles on either side and Continental views painted in circles on both the obverse and reverse of the body. Each view was identified on the cooler’s underside, where the blue factory mark was also located.
Ahlers & Ogletree will conduct an auction of Modern Contemporary Art + Design on February 11.
Prices quotes include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For information, www.aandoauctions.com or 404-869-2478.
