This week’s lots in Across The Block showed either an abundance or an absence of decoration. An unmarked but ornately adorned Chinese export porcelain bough pot in a commode form multiplied its estimate, but not as much as a Japanese giltwood palanquin that began in the hundreds and exploded into the thousands right at the start of bidding. On the opposite end of the decorative arts category was a monumental Iroquois burl bowl, which tripled its high estimate with the beauty of its form alone. Another unpainted but classically constructed general store counter was used as an Mikahil Chemiakin’s workbench that sold from the artist’s estate with its only ornaments being from years of use. Continue reading for more top lots.
HUDSON, N.Y. – On September 3, Public Sale Auction House conducted an online auction titled, “Wisdom of the House,” featuring items from the Claverack, N.Y., estate of the contemporary artist Mikhail Chemiakin (b 1943), alongside a wide array of antiques, including art, mirrors, rugs and furniture. Highlights from the estate included worktables, easels and palettes, which he used in the creation of his art, as well as large store counters and tables. Described as a “large artist studio workbench or shop counter desk,” a general store shop counter, previously used in the artist’s studio as a workbench, sold for $7,188. It featured molding on the exterior front and five shelves in the interior and overall patina from years of use and measured 33¼ by 91½ by 23½ inches. For more information, www.publicsale.com or 518-966-7253.
POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. – In its September 4 sale, Hyde Park Country Auctions offered Part II of the Doris & Jerry Soldner collection and the estate of Dr Joan Roessler of New Paltz, N.Y., among others. At the top of the nearly 750-lot sale was a monumental carved Iroquois burlwood bowl with openwork handles that overflowed with bidder interest, going from an estimate of $1/3,000 and an opening bid of $500 to finish at $9,375. It had been discovered in an Ulster County, N.Y., barn, was dated to the Eighteenth Century and measured 10¼ inches high, 24 inches long and 21 inches wide. For information, www.hpcountryauctions.com or 845-471-5660.
HUDSON, N.Y. – Of the 191 lots from the Tibor collection offered at Stair on September 7, a Chinese export famille rose porcelain commode-form bough pot blossomed from an estimate of $800-$1,200 to finish at $9,840. Based on European faience examples, the piece was related to several published works and had been previously handled by Jorge Welsh of London. It measured 5 by 8½ by 4¾ inches and was unmarked but in generally good condition with some minor wear and losses to the decoration. For more information, 518-751-1000 or www.stairgalleries.com.
SCHNECKSVILLE, PENN. – An estate collection of clocks and antiques was offered on September 7 by Tom Hall Auction Gallery, with clocks of every form on offer. Leading a selection of nearly 200 lots was an antique brass-faced shelf clock by Edward Cockey of Warminster (British, 1781-1860) that had applied cherub decoration and timed out at $2,486. For information, 610-799-0808 or www.tomhallauctions.com.
BLOOMFIELD, N.J. – A chalk drawing by American pop artist Keith Haring (1958-1990) went the distance at Nye & Company’s September 7-8 Estate Treasures auction when it realized $30,750, well beyond its high estimate. Drawn on a sheet measuring 46½ by 58½ inches and dating from 1983 to 1985, “Ouroboros” had been removed, or rescued, from a SoHo or lower East Side subway station in the early 1980s by the seller. It is one of several of Haring’s Subway series Nye & Co has sold in recent months. For more information, 976-984-6900 or www.nyeandcompany.com.
PLAINFIELD, N.H. – William Smith’s Labor Day auction is always full of exciting objects, and this year was no exception. The firm’s 53rd annual event on September 7 featured choice Americana from the estate of Harry Thurgate, a friend and longtime customer, and many more treasures culled from throughout the year. Top lot was a small Twentieth Century primitive still life attributed to American self-taught artist Horace Pippin (1888-1946), an oil on paper depicting flowers in a vase on a table with a lace doily. Signed lower right, H. Pippin, the 4½-by-3-inch image in a grain-painted frame sold for $31,250. Pippin painted a range of themes, including scenes inspired by his service in World War I, landscapes, portraits and biblical subjects. For information, 603-675-2549 or www.wsmithauction.com.
BERKELEY, CALIF. – A rare complete copy of the Great “She” Bible sold at PBA Galleries on September 8 for $68,750. The copy was complete with title pages for both the Old and New Testaments, the genealogies and the important double-page engraved map of the Holy Land by John Speed, which is often removed. The “She” Bible is Fry’s “first edition, second issue” of the King James Bible, commonly known as the authorized version, undoubtedly the most influential of all English language versions of the Bible. For information, 415-989-2665 or www.pbagalleries.com.
LOS ANGELES – Andrew Jones Auctions conducted its DTLA Collections & Estates auction, offering more than 400 lots of mostly Asian art and decorative arts. At the top of the sale was a Japanese giltwood palanquin, decorated with fierce golden dragons and reaching 54 inches in height with a 33-by-32-inch base. The lot’s description was scarce, and even more brief was the bidding. Despite its $400/600 estimate, the bidding began at $4,400 and culminated to $6,240. For information, 213-748-8008 or www.andrewjonesauctions.com.
CINCINNATI – On September 8, Hindman hosted the auction of The Lifetime Collection of Forrest Fenn, Part II, offering almost 200 lots of American Indian art that sold for $53,125. The victor of the sale was a Southern Cheyenne hide shield from the late Nineteenth Century. The shield was painted with a battle scene of a galloping Cheyenne warrior wearing a long feathered headdress, holding his own shield and a lance and puncturing an enemy warrior with it. For information, 312-280-1212 or www.hindmanauctions.com.
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