Long-held Collection of Antique Asian Jade Takes the Spotlight in Austin Auction’s Nov. 21 Sale Army colonel’s collection led by exceptional Chinese jade design of cabbage and crickets
tree and bench with dual beveled mirrors and a central grandfather clock ($5,000-$7,000).
Approximately 50 lots of 18th- and 19th-century colonial Mexican art will be offered, including retablos painting on both canvas and tin. A 17 ¾-inch by 13-inch framed oil on canvas of The Repentant Magdalene is a naïve artwork that depicts the important female Christian disciple in a sensitive downward gaze, surrounded by cherubim ($400-$600).
A fine selection of antique European furniture has been cataloged for this sale. Among the highlights is a circa-1890 monumental Italian Renaissance-style sideboard, its upper shelf supported by four 20-inch griffins. The entire piece is richly adorned with foliate and figural carving, with the finishing touch being a monogrammed crest presented by winged putti. It carries an estimate of $5,000-$10,000. From the same decade, a Louis XV gilt and ormolu cabinet in the Vernis Martin taste features a landscape painting on each of its sides as well as a central-door painting of a courting couple in lavish attire ($2,000-$4,000).
Two lots in the sale consist of Mid-century Modern furniture designs by Pierre Jeanneret (1896-1967), a Swiss architect who often collaborated with his famous cousin Charles Jeanneret, a k a “Le Corbusier.” Both the Jeanneret teak desk with leather writing surface and six storage cubicles ($6,000-$8,000) and the set of six teak chairs with cane seats and backs ($4,000-$6,000) come with provenance from the Punjab Civil Secretariat of Chandigarh, India.
The 470-lot auction includes numerous other furnishings, paintings and decorative art, as well as small selections of coins, furs and jewelry. Four lots of pin-up art by Olivia de Berardinis (b. 1949) will be sold, including two signed and dated (1996) watercolors, each estimated at $2,000-$4,000; and two Playboy limited-edition lithographs, each of which is expected to make $400-$600.
All forms of bidding will be available for Austin Auction Gallery’s Nov. 21, 2010 Multi-Estates and Chinese Jade sale, including live via the Internet through LiveAuctioneers.com. For additional information, call 512-258-5479 or e-mail info@austinauction.com. View the fully illustrated catalog online and sign up to bid absentee or live via the Internet at www.LiveAuctioneers.com. Visit Austin Auction Gallery’s website at www.AustinAuction.com.
CAPTION:
Chinese pale celadon jade carving of a cabbage topped by two crickets, late Qing/early Republic period, 6½ inches long, 3.25 lbs. Provenance: U.S. Army colonel who lived in Asia post World War II. Estimate $3,000-$5,000. Austin Auction Gallery image.
