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Gallery Report: March 2017

ATLANTA – At the start of each month, ACN columnist Ken Hall gathers top auction highlights from around the United States and beyond. Here’s what made headlines since last month’s report:

 

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Marc Chagall figural drawing, $16,250, The Woodshed Gallery

A sanguine drawing on white paper by the Russian-born French artist Marc Chagall (1887-1985), titled Village Berger Descending, aka Dream of the Dance, sold for $16,250 in an Internet-only fine art auction held Feb. 22 by The Woodshed Gallery in Franklin, Mass. Another drawing by Chagall, titled Violinist and Family, fetched $9,600. Also, an ink drawing on tan paper by Man Ray, titled Female Figure (1951), brought $9,375; and Jean Cocteau’s Mermaids hit $720. Prices include a 25 percent buyer’s premium.

 

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Lou Gehrig-signed card, $49,450, Weiss Auctions

A 1934 Goudey baseball card for Lou Gehrig, signed by the Yankees’ slugger and with a JSA certificate, sold for $49,450 (a record for that year and card) at an auction held March 4 by Weiss Auctions in Lynbrook, N.Y. Also, a 1933 Gehrig card, also signed by the “Iron Horse,” hit $37,950 (also a record); a copy of Action Comics #7, just the second cover featuring Superman, restored, made $19,550; and cover art for Hawkman Showcase #101 (June 1978) by Joe Kubert rose to $17,250. Prices include the buyer’s premium.

 

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Tiffany 18K gold dresser set, $21,250, Rago Arts & Auction

A Tiffany & Co. 18K gold dresser set once owned by pop art icon Andy Warhol sold for $21,250 at a Great Estates Auction held March 17-18 by Rago Arts & Auction Center in Lambertville, N.J. Also, five very fine Mintons pate-sur-pate plaques by Louis Solon went for a combined $67,500; a Tiffany English King sterling silver flatware set fetched $13,750; a marble sculpture of Cupid and Psyche went for $18,750; and a pair of Chinese cloisonné elephants rose to $11,250. Prices include the buyer’s premium.

 

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Qiu Ying Chinese painting, $112,500, Ahlers & Ogletree

A classical painting attributed to Ming painter Qiu Ying (Chinese, 1494-1552), of a palace courtyard and monumental at 6 feet 7 inches tall by 21 feet 3 inches wide, sold for $112,500 at a Spring Salon Auction held March 25-26 by Ahlers & Ogletree in Atlanta, Ga. Also, a pair of Chinese huanghuali hardwood side tables made in the first half of the 20th century brought $26,550; and an 18K yellow gold and diamond women’s Rolex wristwatch went for $7,865. Prices include the buyer’s premium.

 

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Ovchinnikov sculpture, $8,610, Crescent City

A sculpture by Russian artist Pavel Akimov Ovchinnokov titled Russian Silver Knight on Horseback (1893), 10 inches tall on a tan marble base, sold for $8,610 at an estates auction held March 11-12 by Crescent City Auction Gallery in New Orleans, La. Also, a bronze sculpture by Demetre Chiparus (French, 1886-1947), titled Dourga (ca. 1925), 23 1/2 inches tall on a carved onyx plinth, realized $6,150; and a 14K rose gold link necklace, with diamonds totaling 12.25 carats, made $5,535. Prices include the buyer’s premium.

 

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Gilbert Atomic Energy Lab, $8,696; Hake’s Americana

A Gilbert Nuclear Physics U-238 Atomic Energy Lab children’s boxed set from 1952 sold for 8,696 at Auction #220, held March 13-17 by Hake’s Americana in York, Pa. Also, an Adventures of Superman syndicated promotional kit brought $4,283; a Mickey Mouse Book No. 1 softcover book (1931) also hit $4,283; a Universal Monsters Wolf Man Standard Plastic Products wall plaque (Vacuform, 1963) rose to $4,130; and a 1942 Walt Disney Studios Christmas card made $3,069. Prices include an 18 percent buyer’s premium.

 

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Martin Johnson Heade oil, $359,000, James D. Julia

An oil painting by Martin Johnson Heade, titled Florida Pastoral, sold for $359,000 at a Winter Fine Art, Asian & Antiques Auction held Feb. 9-10 by James D. Julia Inc. in Fairfield, Maine. Also, Montague Dawson’s The Chariot of Fame, Sunsails Pulling garnered $78,650; Thomas Hoyne’s Eliza Adams fetched $54,450; Thomas Moran’s A Hillside Village at Sunset knocked down for $51,425; and a pair of celestial and terrestrial globes by John Senex finished at $51,425. Prices include an 18.5 percent buyer’s premium.

 

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19th century toy fire pumper, $33,000, Cordier Auctions

A 19th century tinplate and wood toy fire pumper sold for $33,000 at a Winter Antique & Fine Art Auction held Feb. 11 by Cordier Auctions & Appraisals in Harrisburg, Pa. Also, a cast bronze signed by Isidore-Jules Bonheur (French, 1827-1901), bearing the Hippolyte Peyrol foundry mark, went for $23,000; a life-size portrait of 18th century royal Marie Leszczynska finished at $10,000; and a Goldsmiths & Silversmiths Co., London, 204 troy ounce sterling silver tray hit $7,500. Prices include the buyer’s premium.

 

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15th century choir book page fragment, $18,000, John Moran Auctioneers

A 15th century Italian antiphonal choir book illuminated page fragment, in excellent condition for its age, sold for $18,000 at a Decorative Art Auction held Feb. 21 by John Moran Auctioneers in Monrovia, Calif. Also, a 24-piece set of Gorham sterling silver dinner and bread plates achieved $11,400; a painting by Alan Lowndes (British, 1921-1978), titled An Actor (Charles Laughton), realized $10,200; and a tripodal Louis XVI-style fern stand by Francois Linke went for $9,600. Prices include a 20 percent buyer’s premium.auction

 

Holland & Holland shotgun, $43,050, Morphy Auctions

A cased Holland & Holland Royal Grade two-barrel shotgun hit the mark for $43,050 at a Firearms Auction held Feb. 24-26 by Morphy Auctions in Denver, Pa. Also, a rare Winchester Model 1886 “Big 50” smooth-bore lever-action rifle sold for $36,900; a John Rigby & Co. .470 caliber double hammerless sporting rifle sold for $27,060; a Colt U.S. Model 1873 Cavalry revolver brought $20,910; and a U.S. Springfield Air Service Model 1903 bolt-action rifle went for $17,220. Prices include a 23 percent buyer’s premium.

 

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Carved minstrel figure, $157,950, Thomaston Place

A circa-1870 American carved polychrome wooden minstrel figure of “Jim Crow,” or “Daddy Rice,” sold for $157,950 at a Winter Feature Sale held Feb. 11-12 by Thomaston Place Auction Galleries in Thomaston, Maine. Also, a 19th century weather vane in the form of an American fire engine steam pumper drawn by two horses rose to $55,575; and a rare, child-size red painted Queen Anne period highboy from the Delaware Valley region changed hands for $38,610. Prices include a 17 percent buyer’s premium.

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Diamond solitaire ring, $15,000, Carlsen Gallery

A 2.0-carat diamond solitaire ring in platinum, with GIA certificate, sold for $15,000 at an auction held March 5 by Carlsen Gallery in Freehold, N.Y. Also, a Philadelphia Chippendale tea table brought $9,500; a set of 19 fancy chairs in rosewood graining fetched $6,000; a Hepplewhite serpentine-front Baltimore sideboard breezed to $4,000; a rare, circa 1900 Bidjar pictorial carpet went for $3,750; and a bowed-end Pembroke table with exceptional inlay rose to $3,750. Prices are hammer, exclusive of the buyer’s premium.

 

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Auguste Toulmouche painting, $9,200, Direct Auction Galleries

A 25-by-17-inch oil on canvas painting by Auguste Toulmouche (French, 1829-1890), titled The Letter, sold for $9,200 at an auction held Feb. 7 by Direct Auction Galleries in Chicago. Also, a Victrola Lamp phonograph with Statue of Liberty figure brought $1,495; an American Flyer Hamiltonian train set with the original box chugged off for $2,185; an American Flyer train set with original boxes made $1,995; and a tandem bicycle made by Lozier Manufacturing in Ohio hit $978. Prices include the buyer’s premium.

 

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1877 Indian Head penny, $9,350, Legend Rare Coin

An 1877 U.S. Indian Head 1-cent coin, graded PCGS MS64 BN CAC, sold for $9,350 at a Premier Session Internet Auction held March 3-16 by Legend Rare Coin Auctions, based in Lincroft, N.J. Also, an 1842-O U.S. large date 25-cent coin brought $1,760; a 1911 U.S. 25-cent coin fetched $3,740; an 1814 U.S. 50-cent coin changed hands for $6,325; an 1834 small date, small letters U.S. 50-cent coin coasted to $3,630; and an 1878-CC (Carson City) U.S. $1 coin made $2,310. Prices include a 17.5 percent buyer’s premium.

 

 

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15th century Gutenberg Bible leaf, $52,500, Swann Galleries

A leaf of the Gutenberg Bible from a copy of Newton’s A Noble Fragment (Maintz, 1455), sold for $52,500 at a sale of Early Printed Medical, Scientific & Travel Books held March 9 by Swann Galleries in New York City. Also, a first edition of the Geneva Bible, in English (1560), realized $22,500; a first-edition copy of John Milton’s Paradise Lost (London, 1668) rose to $22,500; and a copy of Sir Philip Sidney’s The Contessa of Pembrokes Arcadia (London, 1598) hit $16,250. Prices include the buyer’s premium.

 

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Wayne Thiebaud still-life, $78,650, Clars Auction

A still-life painting by Wayne Thiebaud (American, b. 1920), titled Watermelon Slice (1958), sold for $78,650 at an auction held Feb. 18-19 by Clars Auction Gallery in Oakland, Calif. Also, Thiebaud’s Skyline, New York City (1956) hit $48,400; a watercolor by Chiura Obata (American/Japanese, 1885-1975), titled Monterey Cypress on the Cliffs of Pebble Beach (1948) breezed to $33,275; and a 17th century Italian refractory table deaccessioned from the Metropolitan Museum of Art made $42,350. Prices include a 19 percent buyer’s premium.

 

 

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Pattern molded sugar bowl, $10,530, Norman C. Heckler

A pattern molded covered sugar bowl, manufactured by Stiegel’s American Flint Glass Manufactory (Pa., circa 1763-1774), sold for $10,530 at a Premier Absentee Auction held March 6-15 by Norman C. Heckler & Co. in Woodstock, Conn. Also, a rare, early pattern molded pocket bottle, also made by Stiegel’s at around the same time, realized $9,360; and a “Freiot’s Renovator” medicine bottle, probably made by Albany Glass Works (N.Y.), circa 1847-1850, hit $9,945. Prices include a 17 percent buyer’s premium.

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By KEN HALL

 

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