This pair of gazelles had graced the property of a prominent Central Avenue, Bay City, Mich., collector. Now they will recline as outdoor garden décor for a West Side Michigan collector, who placed the winning bid of $18,600.
Review by W.A. Demers, Photos Courtesy DuMouchelles
DETROIT, MICH. – DuMouchelles conducted three days of sales, October 12-14, under the firm’s rubric that there’s something for everyone in its monthly auctions. October 12 featured fine and decorative art, antiques, furniture, estate jewelry, ceramics, art glass and crystal and more. It had an auspicious start with an Italian marble sculpture of Venus and Cupid, circa 1900, topping the offered lots at $18,600. The same price was achieved on October 13 for a pair of bronze gazelle garden sculptures that had graced the property of a prominent Central Avenue, Bay City, Mich., collector. That day saw further notable results for an impressive German silver plaque by Marshall Maynard Fredericks, fine art by Lemuel Everett Wilmarth, Veronese and Robert Natkin and antique militaria. The October 14 sale featured more than 150 lots of estate jewelry, kicked off by a stunning 50-carat aquamarine pendant.
In all, the three days drew 1,168 registered bidders on the firm’s own DuMoLive, 1,808 on LiveAuctioneers and 258 on Invaluable, while about 150 house bidders assembled in the gallery.
The sale series’ first day saw its top result with the Italian marble sculpture of Venus and Cupid, which was won by a New York City dealer. Venus is depicted semi-nude and holding a garland of flowers, standing 45 inches high on a base 18 inches in diameter. The important large sculpture was brought from Italy by the grandparents of the Troy, Mich., consignor around 1920.
The gazelle garden sculptures sold on day two featured one standing 37 inches high and the other 36 inches high. With requisite green patina due to outdoor use and exposure, the castings were Twentieth Century. A West Side Michigan collector will be adding them to them to the outdoor décor.
Fetching $9,300 was an oil on canvas described as after Paolo Veronese, (Italian, 1528-1588) depicting the family of Darius III, the Persian king, before Alexander the Great, who had defeated him in battle.
The second day’s action kicked off with a Marshall Maynard Fredericks (American, 1908-1998) relief cast silver plaque, 1949, 30 inches high, selling for $14,880. Titled “Young Kneeling Knight,” it depicted the medieval warrior taking the knee dressed in Spanish armor. Marked “Marshall Fredericks 1949” in block letters on the sword and “Gorham Co Founders” on the bottom side edge, it had provenance to the Fredericks family. The sculptor was known for such works as “Fountain of Eternal Life,” “The Spirit of Detroit,” “Man and the Expanding Universe Fountain” and many others.
Jewelry collectors were rewarded on day three with more than 150 lots of estate jewelry. The day was led by the $9,920 paid for an approximately 50-carat oval aquamarine and diamond (1 carat) pendant on an unmarked yellow gold setting, total weight: 23 grams.
Also notable was a 30.94-carat sapphire, diamond and 14K gold ring, The size 6.25 sparkler featuring an emerald-cut corundum sapphire, accented with multiple round diamonds and presented in a polished rhodium plated 14K white gold setting made $6,820. Accompanied with a Premier Gem Laboratory certificate from July 28, 2022, it came from a Grosse Pointe, Mich., private collection.
There was much fine art to be acquired on the series’ second day. In the genre paintings category, an oil on canvas by Lemuel Everett Wilmarth (American, 1835-1918) from 1883 was titled “Please May I Keep Him” and depicted young boy pleading with his mother, who is peeling apples, to keep a stray dog. Measuring 22 by 18 inches, signed and dated lower left, it was housed in a Twentieth Century carved wood frame and realized $13,970. It had been property from a Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich., second-generation collection. Also in this category, John Russell’s (British, 1745-1806) pastel on paper, “Portrait of Eliza Pullau with Kitten,” took $3,810. Dated 1804 and measuring 19 by 15 inches, the unsigned likeness of the winsome 6-year-old and her kitten was presented in a wood and gesso frame under glass.
The auction’s third day was given over to jewelry. Topping the sparklers was this approximately 50-carat oval aquamarine and diamond (1 carat) pendant on an unmarked yellow gold setting, which was bid to $9,920.
Fetching $9,300 was an oil on canvas described as after Paolo Veronese, (Italian, 1528-1588) depicting the family of Darius III, the Persian king, before Alexander the Great, who had defeated him in battle. In a period gold leaf over gesso and wood frame, the painting had provenance from a Rochester Hills, Mich., private collector. From the same collection and evoking Seventeenth Century painter Annibale Carracci (1560-1609) was an oil on canvas described as after the Italian baroque-style Old Master depicting Susanna and the Elders, a moral biblical tale of false accusations. The framed 55-by-40-inch work went out at $5,080.
A Twentieth Century highlight was an abstract acrylic on paper by Robert Natkin (American, 1930-2010). The circa 1980 painting, 29 by 38½ inches, was untitled from the artist’s “Hitchcock” series, a visual homage to the director Alfred Hitchcock. Natkin was a fan of Hitchcock’s films with their dark undertones and contradictions. This work was signed lower right and accompanied by the book Robert Natkin Recent Paintings from the Hitchcock Series. Estimated $2/3,000, it did better, finishing at $6,985.
A patinated bronze sculpture of a young woman’s head atop a slender neck by Wilhelm Lehmbruck (German, 1881-1919), 1915, and titled “Madchenkopf Auf Schlankem Hals,” brought $4,650, just under its low estimate. The 15¼-inch head bore an incised signature “W. Lehmbruck,” was dated and edition 6/8 to the base, with the foundry mark “Cire Perdue AA. Hebrard.” Lehmbruck, also a draftsman and printmaker, was known for his sculptures of slender, elongated figures whose solemn, often downcast gestures convey introspection and a hushed, brooding emotion.
A collection of six Japanese Twentieth Century tanto swords accompanied by their respective saya of leather and lacquer earned $6,350.
Military arts were well represented. A collection of Japanese Twentieth Century tanto swords comprising six pieces and ranging in length from 23 to 30 centimeters, accompanied by their respective saya of leather and lacquer, earned $6,350. A Pietro Caino (Milan) composite rapier from about the late Sixteenth/early Seventeenth Century, 51 inches in length and sporting a floral engraved basket hilt with a wooden grip, found a buyer for $4,763,
The same price was achieved for a Browning Citori Lightning grade VI over-under shotgun, 410 gauge. The circa 1994 shotgun had a 26-inch barrel and glossy walnut stock and forearm. Its scrolling engraved receiver had gold pheasants, hunting dog, ducks and quail. And a cased pair of William Bond, London, percussion cap pistols, circa 1830-50, with 8-inch barrel gaveled at $4,430. The case contained accessories, including a powder flask, bullet mold, lead balls, cap tin and lubricant.
Prices given include the buyer’s premium as stated by the auction house. Next sale is November 17-18.
For information, www.dumoart.com or 313-963-6255.
