A phone bidder paid the sale-high price of $27,225 for Jean-Jacques Henner’s (French, 1829-1905) mid Nineteenth Century oil on canvas painting, “The Distraught Woman” or “Weeping Magdalene” ($2/4,000). In its frame, the work measured 23½ inches high by 20¼ inches wide.
Review by Carly Timpson
ATLANTA — Decorative and fine arts from Gregory Crawford’s curated Atlanta estate were the focus of Ahlers & Ogletree Auction Gallery’s 389-lot auction on September 12. On the following day, the firm conducted its September Fine Estates auction, presenting 330 lots of antiques and fine and decorative arts including from the Tampa, Fla., collection of Diana McCluskey, as well as other prominent estates and collections. Jamia Berry, marketing and advertising coordinator at Ahlers & Ogletree, shared that the sale realized $861,664 and 97 percent of the 719 lots offered across both days sold. Berry noted that there were many local bidders as well as those from locations such as California, North Carolina, Virginia, London and India.
Titled “The Distraught Woman” or “Weeping Magdalene,” a mid Nineteenth Century painting of a nude redheaded woman by Jean-Jacques Henner made $27,225, becoming the top lot of the sale. Henner’s oil on canvas was signed “JJ Henner” to the upper right and bore several old labels. One, in handwritten script and affixed to the stretcher, read “ai signe Henner et provenant de la collection de Mr Anglade de Paris (signed Henner and coming from the collection of Mr Anglade of Paris).” The framed painting came from the McCluskey collection and was previously sold by Christie’s, London.
Leading the selection of lots from the Crawford collection was a pair of blanc de chine porcelain elephant-form table lamps. Each French chinoiserie elephant base was mounted with a gilt bronze howdah that held a beaded palanquin shade and stood on top of a simple pink marble base. The mid Twentieth Century lamps marched beyond their $2,000 high estimate to a new buyer for $7,260.
These French mid Twentieth Century chinoiserie porcelain and gilt bronze elephant table lamps, 19 by 10¼ inches, were on pink marble bases and had beaded palanquin shades; they sold together for $7,260 ($1/2,000).
Earning $6,655 was a set of 12 Buccellati sterling silver wine goblets. Each of the hammered silver vessels had a gold wash interior, turned silver stem and domed foot. While they were each stamped appropriately, all but one were further marked “Mario Buccellati.”
More silver to complete the tablescape included a sterling silver flatware service by Towle Silversmiths, predominantly in the King Richard pattern, paired with two Gorham Manufacturing Co., Chantilly pattern master butter knives with stainless steel blades and two serrated Reed & Barton knives, also with stainless steel blades. The 158-piece assembled service finished just shy of its estimate at $5,748. Additionally, a seven-piece Grosjean & Woodward hot beverage service went to an online buyer for $6,050. The Nineteenth Century floral repoussé coin silver service included six monogrammed vessels and an unmarked silverplated tray. Excluding the tray, the set weighed approximately 190 troy ounces.
A Baroque-style carved elm trestle table, with an inlaid stainless steel damask design, might have been the perfect setting for these items. Raised on a double pedestal base, the unmarked 98¼-inch-long rectangular table was attributed to Tuscan craftsmen I. Vassalletti; it went out at $5,748.
This set of 10 Chippendale-style mahogany dining chairs with leather seats, English, early Twentieth Century, sold for $6,050 ($1,5/3,000).
Of course, no table is complete without a set of chairs and the Crawford estate presented a good option. More than doubling its $3,000 high estimate, a set of 10 mahogany Chippendale-style dining chairs from the Twentieth Century realized $6,050. The eight side chairs and two arm chairs had leather saddle seats with nailhead trip and were all apparently unmarked.
Also from the Crawford estate was a Nineteenth Century — or older — Flemish mythological tapestry. According to the catalog, the scene depicted the Roman gods Mars and Diana, hunting with a dog in a verdure landscape. There were multiple repairs to the piece, the backing was added later and Ahlers & Ogletree specialists believed the original outer border was missing. Still, the hanging textile went out above estimate at $6,050.
Another Nineteenth Century mythological tapestry, this one French, depicted an outdoor scene in which two uniformed men approaching two seated women who were joined by a putto or Cupid figure, found a buyer for $5,748. Bordered by a red and gold scrolling acanthus pattern with ornamental anthemion corners, the tapestry had later backing and outer border, was seemingly reduced in size and had some fading and staining, though the fabric was described as “supple and not brittle” in the catalog.
This late Nineteenth Century French tapestry depicting a mythological scene measured 104 inches high by 116 inches wide and brought $5,748 ($4/6,000).
Mythological artwork also included a statue of Hebe, the daughter of Greek gods Zeus and Hera. The bronze goddess was formed in the Nineteenth or Twentieth Century and was unmarked, though the work was modeled after Bertel Thorvaldsen’s 1816 marble “Hebe” statue. The example from Crawford’s collection was on a conforming marble base and achieved $5,748.
Continuing the theme, a pair of Nineteenth Century French gilt bronze garnitures from the McCluskey collection went out at $5,445. Each of the married pair featured a patinated bronze god, Poseidon on one and Amphitrite on the other, riding on a dolphin and holding up a nautilus shell which was being driven by a Cupid.
An Indo-Portuguese rosewood, shell veneer and bone cabinet from the Seventeenth or Eighteenth Century was also bid to $5,445. Behind a fall front, the tabletop cabinet featured eight primary interior drawers and another concealed drawer. Despite some cracks and scattered breakage, the case was structurally sound and included its key to lock the front panel.
This Indo-Portuguese rosewood, shell and bone cabinet, Seventeenth or Eighteenth Century, had eight drawers and measured 10¼ inches high by 14¼ inches wide by 10 inches deep; it found a buyer for $5,445 ($2/4,000).
A matching pair of black leather club chairs with ottomans by Whittemore Sherrill (American, founded 1945) were claimed by an internet bidder for $5,143 ($3/4,000). With an attached back cushion and loose seat cushion, the chairs had nailhead trim and were on front turned legs which matched the turned legs of the ottomans. These chairs, model number 238-01, were made in the Twenty-First Century and were affixed with the manufacturer’s label.
The highest-achieving lot of Asian arts was a pair of Chinese gilt bronze Guanyin figures. Each was seated on a recumbent elephant or lion and raised on a thin rectangular plinth bordered by lotus petals. Measuring 25¼ inches tall by 21 inches wide, the figures, which were from the Crawford estate, found a new home for $4,840 ($5/7,000).
Prices include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For information, www.aandoauctions.com or 404-869-2478.
