BLOOMFIELD, NJ.- Nye & Company Auctioneers’ online-only Estate Treasures auction on Wednesday, October 14th, at 10 am Eastern time, will offer a variety of fine and decorative arts. Real time Internet bidding and absentee bidding will be provided by LiveAuctioneers.com, Invaluable.com and the Nye & Company website. Telephone bidding will also be available on a limited basis.
“In accordance with the New Jersey State mandate, we cannot open our doors to the public,” said Andrew Holter of Nye & Company Auctioneers. “However, we plan to deliver clients a seamless online experience and will strive to deliver accurate condition reports and images for all items on offer. We’ll be closely monitoring our email account and all the bidding platforms.”
The auction is headlined by several contemporary collections, including a well-curated group of Southern face jugs primarily from Georgia and North Carolina potters, including pieces by the well-known Meaders and Hewell families. Wonderfully whimsical, expressive and sometimes grotesque, this collection of Southern contemporary face jugs is an homage to an earlier time, when it was believed that slaves near Edgecombe, South Carolina started making them as early as the 1840s as a form of spiritual expression. Their popularity expanded as they were being produced by a much broader market, and they’re still popular today among folk art collectors.
Continuing along the lines of contemporary pottery, there are several pieces from a number of private collections, which contribute to a broad and diverse selection of Southwestern and Native American pottery. Santa Clara red and black pottery and Acoma pots are well represented. Also, Southwestern themed art by artists such as RC Gorman and Howard Carr will delight bidders. A number of contemporary Kachina dolls are also being offered.
There are two spectacular bronzes by Dave McGary included in the sale. The first, titled The Bounty of Grey Hawk, is a stunning representation of a Native American covered in a decorated buffalo hide. McGary is so accomplished that the textures of the hide, the ruffles of the feathers and the emotion of the sitter can all be felt. The second bronze, titled Thunder Dreamer, is also a stunning representation of a Native American deep in contemplation.
Rounding out the fine selection of contemporary collections is a beautiful group of home furnishings being sold from a private East Coast collection – perfect for those looking to freshen up their interiors during the pandemic. Highlighting the group is a large set of twelve Francis Elkins brown lacquered dining armchairs, as well as numerous Chinese inspired off white painted low tables and French inspired cabinets. These would be ideal for any clean, modern interior design project.
A nice complement to the contemporary home furnishings is a selection of Outsider/Self-Taught Art by Fayette, Alabama artist Jimmy Lee Sudduth. Known for painting with house paint, mud and found pigments such as motor oil and juices, Sudduth often painted with his fingers because “they never wore out” like a brush would. His paintings are a window into the soul of the artist and often portrayed things that spoke to him or that he saw. The sale features three prominent works, including one of a large brown Toto dog, a courthouse and an exceptionally large factory. His work can be found in the Smithsonian, the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, the Birmingham Museum of Art in Alabama and the Corcoran Gallery in Washington, D.C.
Those seeking more traditional works will be treated to a fine selection of American and European furniture and decorative arts. Colonial Pennsylvania is represented with two dressing tables. The first has a superb stance with tightly sprung cabriole legs ending in brush feet. The second is more austere in nature and has a Quaker-like aesthetic with pad feet and a meandering apron. From “across the pond” there is a curvaceous serpentine-front marquetry inlaid marble-top Louis XV commode, stamped with a fleur-de-lis and “CRESCEN”. This piece doesn’t have a straight line on it and is truly a symphony of curves.
Finally, there is a nice selection of Majolica and art pottery for ceramic and pottery enthusiasts. Of note is a small George Ohr pot that is indicative of the work from the “Mad Potter of Biloxi”. Saturday Evening Girls, Rookwood, Newcomb, Stellmacher, Hampshire and Zsolnay are all also represented.
