John Moran to Offer Large Selection of Jewelry and Fine Art at April 27th Antiques Auction Pasadena, CA--The spotlight will be focused on estate jewelry and fine art at John Moran’s two-session Antiques and Decorative Arts Auction to be held on April 27th. About seventy lots of jewelry and
News-Antique.com - Mar 22,2010 - Known for the consistently high quality of their jewelry offerings, Moran’s is pleased to match that that standard yet again. The evening session’s many pieces of exquisite jewelry include an abundance of diamond solitaire rings of all cuts and sizes. Among those are a 10.79 ct round-cut diamond ring offered for $20,000 – 30,000, a 3.01 ct round-cut and a 4.03 ct round cut ring offered at $9,000 – 12,000 each, and a pear-shaped diamond set in an 18K gold ring and weighing in at 3.95 ct that is expected to bring $5,000 – 7,000. Another pear-shaped diamond, weighing 2.65 cts, is offered for $12,000 – 15,000. Several emeralds, aquamarines, and sapphires set as rings, necklaces and earrings are also sure to attract enthusiastic bidding, such as a 22 ct pear-shaped Columbian emerald ring (est: $5000 – 7000), a 5.25 step-cut emerald ring accented with 34 round-cut diamonds (est: $3500 – 4000), and an amusing vintage aquamarine sputnik pendant (est: $5000 – 7000).
Bidders will also find one of John Moran’s largest ever selections of wrist and pocket watches, with offerings from all the major makers: Rolex, Tissot, Cartier, Omega, Piaget, Audemars Piguet, Chopard and Tiffany to name a few.
Renowned scenic and costume designer Alexandre Benois was the art director for silent filmmaker Abel Gance’s epic masterpiece, “Napoleon”. This sketch for the character Saint-Just is estimated to bring $4000 – 6000.
Though jewelry is sure to draw a large audience, a quality selection of fine art from 19th and 20th century European and American artists is also expected to shine in the evening session. Moran’s has steadily built up a strong record for sales of European paintings, in addition to their well-known sales of American Impressionists, and is thrilled to be offering several works by important Russian artists, including four oils and two watercolors by the Futurist David Burliuk (1882 – 1967). A member of the Blue Rider Group along with such other luminaries as Kandinsky, Jawlensky and Feininger, Burliuk is represented in the collections of world-class museums including the Met, the Museum of Modern Art, the Guggenheim, the Whitney and the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. With accessible estimates ranging from $400 up to $9,000, the six paintings are an exciting opportunity for collectors to acquire the work of a major innovator in 20th century art history.
Another immensely influential Russian, Alexandre Benois (1870 – 1960), was renowned as a critic, art historian and editor, but best remembered as the scenic director of the Ballets Russes and the 20th century’s pre-eminent stage and costume designer. He was also Art Director for French silent filmmaker Abel Gance’s 1927 masterpiece “Napoleon.” The four graphite-on-paper drawings by Benois in the April 27th sale were prepared for that film, including a drawing of St. Just, who was played by Gance himself. Each of the four works is offered with an estimate of $4000 – 6000.
Film enthusiasts will also appreciate a work from another well-known Russian, Boris Chaliapin (1904 – 1979) the
