Achieving the sale’s highest price was this pichet à glace, A. R. 142, by Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881-1973), 1952, terre de faïence, 11½ inches high by 11 inches wide by 7 inches deep; it sold to a Californian collector for $15,000.
Review by Carly Timpson
BELLPORT, N.Y. — Cornell Auctions invited bidders to Feel The Heat in the firm’s July 5 sale, which featured 576 lots of art, furnishings, collectibles and curiosities spanning the centuries. While the firm’s co-owner Roy Braeger chose to keep the total realized private, he did note, “we are excited to share that our auction over auction revenues continue their rapid climb!” With the number of registered bidders exceeding 1,700, Braeger said it was “another new record for the auction house, and triple our historical average!” Of those bidders, there were “multiple international buyers from France and Germany” and some “avid private collectors of Rizzi and Picasso.”
Braeger continued, “People loved the assortment. Local buyers have been coming in and commenting on the elevated assortments leading up to the auction… Collectors are coming back month after month after seeing our consistent offering of elevated art and decorative pieces. Three private collectors have made a point to call in to speak with us and communicate their excitement around both our assortment and our entertaining and informative auctioneering style. They love what we are doing. We had standout pieces across multiple categories: crystal, fine art, pottery, Tribal/African art, as well as China.”
As things were heating up, a Pablo Picasso terre de faïence pichet à glace (ice pitcher) A. R. 142 brought the coolest price. Made in 1952, this pitcher was painted with blue stripes and dots and featured a face on its body. The underside was marked “Edition Picasso 21/100 Madoura” and was stamped with the Picasso and Madoura Pottery stamps. A California-based private collector filled the winning bid, taking the 11½-inch-high vessel home for $15,000.
This Baga D’mba-style mbulu ngulu or West African tribal headdress sculpture, 25 inches high by 11½ inches wide by 2½ inches thick, sold for $11,250, well beyond its $400/800 estimate.
The sale’s second-highest price was achieved by an object that carried an estimate of just $400/800. Rising above expectations, a wood and metallic West African tribal mask sculpture, or mbulu ngulu, realized $11,250. The large Baga D’mba-style headdress came from the estate of a New York-based private collector of African and Asian art.
For $4,688, a 30-piece purple glass dining set, comprised of pieces attributed to Moser and Steuben, set the table of a new buyer. Six of the glasses in the set were marked “Steuben” while six other glasses matched a pattern attributed to Moser Karlsbad. In total, the set of alexandrite or neodymium glass tableware included salad plates, dessert bowls, water goblets and wine glasses. Braeger called it “A truly one-of-a-kind collection of Moser and Stueben pieces. It is very hard to find this pattern from Stueben, executed in alexandrite — it’s rare to find one of these, much less a collection.” He also noted that the set came from “a prominent New York fashion and retail family with exquisite taste and access.”
From the same New York fashion family came an Italian stone and marble mosaic center table that Braeger called “A stunning one-of-a-kind terrazzo table, possibly customer made.” With a black-and-white checkered border, the tabletop featured a mosaic of floral arrangements and stylized leaf patterns. On a solid pedestal base, which was also covered in earth-toned mosaics and botanical patterns, the table was possibly an early Mackenzie Childs example and was bid to $2,875.
Featuring a botanical motif, this Italian mosaic stone and marble inlaid center table, possibly early Mackenzie Childs, 29¼ inches high by 45¼ inches wide by 29½ inches deep; it achieved $2,875 ($4/10,000).
Other decorative furnishings included a French tôle and gilt chandelier. Housed within the fixture’s gilt berry vines were frosted glass panels adorned with hand-painted bird motifs. This French chinoiserie chandelier hung for $2,750.
Several art pieces earned significant results. The sale’s third-highest price overall — $6,250 — was achieved by a Wassily Kandinsky tempera and gouache on paper. The abstract painting featured bold shapes in shades of red, yellow and blue, was signed to the lower left, monogrammed in pencil and stamped on the reverse. A pastoral folk art painting by Janis Price depicting a lively outdoor gathering of people playing baseball while others sat around tables in the yard. The acrylic on canvas scene hit a home run, selling for $2,625. An etching of a bustling city scene by James Rizzi achieved $2,500. This piece, titled “It’s So Hard to Be a Saint When You’re Living in the City,” was done in 1975 and was signed, titled and dated on the mat. According to Braeger, this marked “Another great Rizzi sale! This fabulous etching went to a major collector of Rizzi in Germany, who was also a friend of his.”
“It’s So Hard to Be a Saint When You’re Living in the City” by James Rizzi (American, 1950-2011), 19775, etching, 13 by 19½ inches, was bid to $2,500 ($1,2/1,600).
Also of note was the sale of three lots of garden decorations. Braeger reported, “A snail, a pair of concrete flamingos and our frog prince all went for over $1,000! The concrete flamingos ended up at a local client’s café in Brooklyn called the Black Flamingo! They have been looking for these the perfect flamingos to put in the garden of the cafe for years — and they walked in last week and saw them in their very own neighborhood local auction house!” The pair of flamingos, 29½ and 22 inches high, were estimated at $600/800 but sold for $1,250. The patinated bronze open-mouthed frog statue or fountain, 10 inches high by 24 inches wide, came from the living estate of Joseph Rodano and had the same estimate and achieved the same price as the flamingos. The cast bronze snail, 10 inches high by 24½ inches long, also came from the Rodano estate and sold for $1,188 ($500/800).
Braeger closed with mention of a recent change in Cornell’s operation: “We have also reinstated auction previews in a very informal weekly open house and happy hour: Summer Fridays at Cornell. The town is abuzz and so appreciative of what we have done in revitalizing the auction house and bringing a sense of life, activity and community to the space!”
Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. Cornell Auctions’ next sale is August 2. For information, www.cornellauctions.com or 631-289-9505.
