Oddly enough, if there is one thing that can bring a person “down to Earth,” it is the full realization of our place in the unfathomably large universe. To help with that, smarter than average humans have developed quite a few instruments that have become more and more complex over time, including one piece on this list, a ‘Celestial Indicator’ orrery from a Nineteenth Century Connecticut company. You will find that, a Peter Paul Rubens work on paper, a petite Calder mobile, a Chinese automaton and more in this week’s top picks.
BONHAMS
Sale Date: January 26, 2017
Lot 13A
An Early American “Celestial Indicator” Orrery And Armillary Sphere
Henry L. Bryant (1812-1881), Hartford, Connecticut: 1872.
Estimate: $12/15,000
ESTATE OF MIND
Sale Date: January 21, 2017
Lot 50
Rare Large Franz Bergman Cold Painted Bronze Table Lamp
With viking interior, signed with hallmark and Nam Greb. Circa 1920.
Estimate: $100/1,000
DALLAS AUCTION GALLERY
Sale Date: January 25-26, 2017
Lot 317
Alfred Jacques Verwee (Belgian, 1838-1895)
“Untitled (Brown and white cows), oil on canvas laid on board. Signed lower left, “Alfred Verwee.”
Estimate: No Reserve, $50 Start
CHRISTIE’S
Sale Date: January 24-25, 2017
Lot 86
Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640)
Scipio Africanus welcomed outside the gates of Rome, after Giulio Romano. Black chalk, pen and brown ink, brown wash, grey, cream, white and green bodycolor with heightening in oil.
Estimate: $500/700,000
JOHN MORAN AUCTIONEERS
Sale Date: January 24, 2017
Lot 12
Millard Owen Sheets N.A. (American, 1907-1989)
“Mendocino Coves,” signed and dated lower right: Millard Sheets / 1988, watercolor on Arches paper under glass.
Estimate: $3/5,000
SKINNER
Sale Date: January 27, 2017
Lot 440
Alexander Calder (American, 1898-1976)
Untitled (Standing Mobile, circa 1965), unsigned, sheet metal, brass, wire, and paint, height 5 3/4 in.
Estimate: $150/250,000
FONTAINE’S
Sale Date: January 21, 2017
Lot 118
Eighteenth Century English Pagoda Automaton Musical Clock For Chinese Qing Imperial Court
English made bronze pagoda form automaton table clock, sits on a large black wood base with an engraved chessboard pattern brass top. The pagoda animates every 2 hours, corresponding to the 12 hour Chinese zodiac time system as well as the music, which also plays every 2 hours accompanying the automation of the pagoda.
Estimate: $80/120,000
MID-HUDSON AUCTION GALLERIES
Sale Date: January 21-22, 2017
Lot 239
J.J. Audubon
Canvas Back Duck, number 61, plate CCCI (301). R. Havell, Philadelphia, 1836. Gallery matted and framed.
Estimate: $10/20,000
FAIRFIELD AUCTIONS
Sale Date: January 20-25, 2017
Lot 29
Charles Schulz (American, 1922-2000)
Original comic art for Peanuts, dated Sunday, September 11th, 1966.
Estimate: $15/25,000
