Asian influence might be the theme for this week’s “Across The Block.” The top spot among these notable sales belongs to “The Tame Gazelle,” oil on canvas, which sold for more than $300,000 at Artcurial’s December sale of Orientalist and contemporary African art (during which ten new world auction records were set). Other notable sales in this week’s review include Chinese and Mandarin vases, a Buddha figure and a Meissen nodder. Other highlights include a mixed media work that surpassed its high estimate by more than five times, vintage Fortuny and a classic Strat to round out the hotlist.
Orientalist Gazelle Excites Bidders At Artcurial’s First Marrakesh Art Week
PARIS – Artcurial on December 30 presented its third edition of the sale of Orientalist and contemporary African art. Comprising 100 lots, the session totaled $2.1 million and recorded ten new world auction records. Top lot was Eugène Girardet’s (1853-1907) “The Tame Gazelle,” oil on canvas, which sold for $342,456. Girardet was a French Orientalist painter from a Swiss Huguenot family, the son of engraver Paul Girardet (1821-1893). He studied at the Ãcole des Beaux-arts and in the studios of Jean-Léon Gérôme, who encouraged him to visit North Africa in 1874. For information, +33 1 42 99 20 20 or www.artcurial.com.
Buddha Figure Carried To $2,600 At Locati Online Sale
MAPLE GLEN, PENN. – Locati presented its December online sale, which closed December 17. The sale comprised nearly 500 lots, including a wide range of items, such as Chinese porcelain, silver, artwork and World War I-era militaria. A figure of the Buddha, probably Amitabha, Nepal, finished at $2,600. For information, 215-619-2873 or www.locatillc.com.
Closet-Find Fender Strat Takes $16,600 Lead At Applebrook Auction
NEW MILFORD, CONN. – Applebrook Auctions celebrated the New Year with an eclectic January 10 estates auction, offering everything from vintage guitars, midcentury furniture and estate jewelry to estate silver, lighting, architectural elements and more. You never know what you’ll find in a former Hollywood television producer’s home in Connecticut, but auctioneer Mitchell Borenstein said he was very pleased with the $16,600 price achieved by a 1962 Fender Stratocaster guitar found in a storeroom of the producer’s house. By 1962 the Stratocaster had found its way into virtually all styles of popular music, and Fender sales were going strong. Unique to the year 1962 was the first instance of a curved or veneer rosewood fingerboard instead of the previous “slab” style. For information, 203-740-0944 or www.applebrookauctions.com.
Meissen Nodder Gets The Nod At Benefit Shop Auction
MOUNT KISCO, N.Y. – On January 9 at the Benefit Shop Foundation’s Red Carpet auction, a Meissen porcelain “Nodder” bobbing figural seated female in crossed leg position with bobbing hands, head and bobbing/wagging tongue surprised when it sold at $1,397 – well above its $50/100 estimate. The hand painted, hand sculpted porcelain figure, trademarked for Meissen on neck, measured 12½ inches high. It was listed as vintage, possibly antique, Meissen. For information, 914-864-0707 or www.thebenefitshop.org.
Out With The Old, In With The New(er) Old At Kaminski
BEVERLY, MASS. – Kaminski followed up its December 29-30 annual New Year’s sale with two days of estates auctions on January 12-13 intended to clean out some inventory. Still, among a collection of paintings and jewelry from a Palm Beach estate and others from Florida, Massachusetts and California, there were top lots each day. On day one it was a pair of Nineteenth Century Mandarin vases (pictured) that sold for $6,000. On day two, a Georgi Aleksandrivich Lapshine (Russian, 1885-1940) view of Venice, oil on canvas, signed, 32 by 39 inches, from a Los Angeles collection realized $4,800. For information, 978-927-2223 or www.kaminskiauctions.com.
Mixed Media Work Attributed To De Kooning Earns $32,500 at Clarke
LARCHMONT, N.Y.- A mixed media painting on newsprint laid on cardboard attributed to Willem de Kooning earned $32,500 at Clarke Auction Gallery January 13, selling to an internet buyer. The 21-by-10¾-inch painting handily surpassed its $4/6,000 estimate. For information, 914-833-8336 or www.clarkeny.com.
‘Real Old’ Chinese Vases Surprise At Blackwell Auctions
CLEARWATER, FLA. – “I love being wrong in the right direction,” quipped Edwin Bailey about his firm’s January 12 estates auction. He was referring to two matched Chinese porcelain vases with hand painted scenes of warriors on horseback that had been estimated $600-$1,200. Standing 23 inches tall and accompanied by a “certificate of antiquity,” dated 1972 and stating vases are Ching period and “more than 100 years old,” the pair ascended to a final price of $9,600. For information, www.blackwellauctions.com or 727-546-0200.
Vintage Fortuny Dresses Up Michaan’s 2019 Opener
ALAMEDA, CALIF. – Michaan’s auction calendar never loses momentum, not even in the depths of winter, and with the holiday season in the rearview mirror, January 12 brought a haul of estate finds to market for the firm’s first gallery auction of 2019. It was an eclectic sale, offering everything from Peter Max serigraphs to Herman Miller furniture and Chinese huanghuali pieces. A star, however, was a vintage Fortuny dress that brought a fashionable $4,200. The 54-inch-long dress featured lavender fabric with small vertical folds and blue cylinder beads from the neckline down the sleeve. It came with two sashes. For information, 800-380-9822 or www.michaans.com.
Set Design Study Watercolor Steals The Show At East Coast Fine Art
WEST PALM BEACH, FLA. – East Coast Fine Arts’ feature lot in the firm’s January 13 auction was a small watercolor by UK artist Rex Whistler that sold for $5,250. An original study for the set design of the 1935 play Victoria Regina, the work bears a partial New York gallery label on reverse identifying this. Signed lower left along with the date October 1935, the artwork and set design were for Act I Scene I of the play depicting the entrance of Kensington Palace. For information, 561-345-3627 or www.eastcoastfinearts.com.
