Leading the three days of auction action was Orville Bulman’s (American, 1904-1978) circa 1975 oil on canvas “S’il Vous Plait, Mon Chere” (left), which sold to an online buyer in Alabama for $49,600. Bulman’s “Bonjour?,” (right) also circa 1975, was bought by the same buyer for $43,400. Both measured 23¼ by 21¼ inches framed ($15/20,000).

Review by Carly Timpson

DETROIT — Spanning three days, September 11-13, DuMouchelles conducted its September 2025 auction, featuring two live auctions and an online-only session on the final day, offering a total of 1,078 lots across all collecting categories. Karen Walker Beecher, executive vice president, shared that the firm “experienced very strong results across all categories, particularly fine art and jewelry. There was exceptionally strong bidding from our online platforms, phone and in the salesroom, yielding about 90 percent sell-through and about 65 percent of lots selling to buyers outside of Michigan (including international).”

As described in the auction catalog, the sale’s first day included “estate jewelry and sterling silver from distinguished Michigan collections” as well as “Pewabic Pottery from the estate of Finn Bergishagen, Bloomfield Hills, Mich.” However, the second day, which featured art, African sculptures from the Kerchache and Wentinck collection, items from the estates of Robert Littman, Louis Behre and Finn Bergishagen as well as deaccessioned works from the Grand Rapids Art Museum (Grand Rapids, Mich.), brought the sale’s highest prices. The third day had a mix of fine and decorative arts, furniture, jewelry, clocks and collectibles at more accessible prices.

Leading the sale overall was a circa 1975 oil on canvas of a playful tiger cub on a roof, with its mother coaxing it down. Titled “S’il Vous Plait, Mon Chere (Please, My Dear),” Orville Bulman’s colorful scene saw “Lots of spirited bidding on the phone, sales room and online,” according to Beecher. The work had provenance to the collection of Cynthia Newton of Grand Rapids and Traverse City, Mich., and sold to an online bidder based in Alabama for $49,600, almost two and a half times its high estimate. The same buyer also took home Bulman’s “Bonjour?” from the same collection. This work showed two tigers, each atop a palm tree, inquisitively looking into each other’s eyes. Signed and titled to the bottom, as was the first, “Bonjour?” went out at $43,400, also more than double its high estimate.

This Mahongwe (Gabon) wood and brass or copper reliquary figure, or Boho Na Bwete, circa late Nineteenth Century, 17½ inches tall on base, brought $46,500 ($10/20,000).

The selection of deaccessioned works from the Grand Rapids Art Museum was led, at $46,500, by a late Nineteenth Century Mahongwe (Gabon) wood and brass or copper Boho Na Bwete, or reliquary figure. The piece had extensive provenance, including Jacques Kerchache, Paris, France; Charles Wentinck, Provence, France; Pace Primitive and Ancient Art Gallery, New York City; and the work was donated to the Grand Rapids Art Museum by Mary Ann and Miner S. Keeler.

A Baga (Guinea) carved wood a-Tshol, or shrine figure, from the late Nineteenth or early Twentieth Century was also part of the Keeler donation to the Grand Rapids Art Museum and had additional provenance to Furman Gallery in New York City. Standing 29½ inches tall, this example had a stylized human head that extended into a long beak, mounted on a spherical base, and the catalog noted that “medicinal substances would have been placed in the cavities of the figure’s head and oil, likely palm oil, would have been applied to the surface of the figure.”

Two Pablo Picasso linoleum cuts printed in colors on wove paper in 1963 also impressed bidders. Earning $43,400 was “Portrait De Jacqueline À La Fraise,” numbered “5/50” and signed in pencil to the lower right. Her companion, “L’homme À La Fraise,” numbered “30/50,” went out at $24,800. Both works had provenance to London Arts Detroit, Inc., and were acquired by a prominent prints and multiples collector based in Southfield, Mich. Another Michigan buyer, bidding online, won the pair.

“Portrait De Jacqueline À La Fraise” (left) hung for $43,400 while her companion, “L’homme À La Fraise” (right), brought $24,800 ($20/40,000). Both Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881-1973) linoleum cuts printed in colors on wove paper were published in 1963.

Other notable artworks included an oil on canvas still life by French artist Maurice de Vlaminck. Beecher shared that in the firm’s preparation for the sale, they “worked with Wildenstein Plattner Institute who will include this work in the upcoming Digital Catalogue Raisonne Project for Maurice de Vlaminck.” The work came from a private collector in Cheektowaga, N.Y., and sold over the phone to a buyer in Switzerland for $37,200.

In Adolf Schreyer’s “Arabian Warriors on Their Mounts,” “Arab horsemen traverse a shallow stream against a sunlit expanse of open country, with the faint outline of a city visible on the horizon.” The catalog note continued, reading, “Schreyer’s masterful handling of anatomy, costume and atmospheric light reflects his extensive travels in North Africa and the Middle East, and his celebrated ability to convey the vitality and elegance of both riders and mounts.” Hanging in an ornate wood and gesso frame of the period, Schreyer’s warriors left a multi-generation family collection in Rochester Hills, Mich., and rode off with a Texas internet buyer for $24,510.

A cast zinc and polychrome tobacconist trade figure made by William Demuth & Company circa 1875 was bid past its $20,000 high estimate to achieve $31,000. Beecher shared, “The family that inherited the trade figure and had kept it for years was in the sales room when it sold and is thrilled with the result.” Wearing a feathered headdress, fringe pants and a belted tunic, and armed with both a knife and rifle, this “Indian Hunter” figure had a plaque for “Wm. Demuth & Co” on its base and came from a family cigar shop in Reed City, Mich. The catalog noted that it was advertised as being $80 in Demuth’s brochure, but in this sale, it sold to a New York online bidder for a bit more.

This cast zinc and polychrome “Indian Hunter” tobacconist trade figure by William Demuth & Company (American, 1863-1911), circa 1875, 67½ inches high by 23 inches wide by 18¼ inches deep, finished for $31,000 after “lots of phone and online bidding,” shared Beecher ($15/20,000).

The selection of silver on the first day was led by what Beecher described as a “handmade, scarce and very heavy and unique/scarce” Empire pattern flatware service by Buccellati. Comprising 149 pieces, this service for 24 came from a private collector in Clarkston, Mich., and showed no signs of use. It sold to a Texas buyer, bidding online, for $15,480.

The first day’s second-highest price was earned by a 14K yellow gold rope style necklace from 1950 that sold to a phone buyer based in Georgia for $14,880. Another gold jewelry lot to find success was a Cartier 18K yellow gold ring in the form of a Corona Corona Habana cigar band. With matte red enamel filling the logo stamp, Beecher called this ring “very rare,” and it sold well above its $1,000 high estimate, heading to New York with a phone bidder for $9,300.

Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For information, www.dumoart.com or 313-963-6255.