ATLANTA, GA.- A lovely oil on canvas painting by the renowned artist and stained glass and jewelry designer Louis C. Tiffany (1848-1933) sold for $108,900 in
Ahlers & Ogletree’s two-day Fine Estates & Collections auction held August 25th and 26th, online and live in the Atlanta gallery. The painting easily bested its pre-sale estimate of $50,000-$75,000 and ended up being the auction’s top achiever.
The auction featured 484 lots of Modernism, weapons, collectible books, jewelry and Asian arts on August 25th; and 474 lots of antiques and fine art, scrimshaw, silver and rugs on August 26th. Live gallery bidding was held in Ahlers & Ogletree’s new gallery location on Atlanta’s Upper West Side, at 1788 Ellsworth Industrial Boulevard. Around 50 eager bidders attended the auction live and in person.
The oil on canvas painting by Louis C. Tiffany, titled Boat at Sea Bright (1888), depicted four men carrying a boat in the sand with buildings in the background. The work was signed and dated lower left and measured 24 ¼ inches by 36 ¼ inches (canvas, less frame). It had an Art Institute of Chicago First Annual Exhibition 1888 label en verso and an Ohio Society of New York label en verso (both partial).
Following are additional highlights from the auction, which overall grossed around $1.3 million. Internet bidding was via Ahlers & Ogletree’s online bidding platform, bid.AandOAuctions.com, as well as LiveAuctioneers.com and Invaluable.com. Prices include a 21 percent buyer’s premium.
A 19th century Chinese double-edged sword with a blade built in the style of a tai-chi blade, with a shagreen covered scabbard, having pierced gilt brass mounts, one topped by a chilong dragon the other decorated with writhing dragons and tendrils, changed hands for $66,550. The blade alone was 25 ½ inches and the sword overall was 34 ¾ inches. The sword and scabbard were 37 ½ inches.
A Chinese 18th century style bronze and parcel gilt ceremonial "Phoenix Bearing Zun" wine vessel on wheels, the tall Gu form vessel with trumpet form rim resting in a hole at the center of the bird's back, the bird's feet resting on an axle between two six spoked wheels, while the bird's tail curved down and around, standing 16 inches in height by 9 ½ inches in width, changed hands for $51,425.
A stunning Audemars Piguet 18k rose gold and custom diamond set Royal Oak Offshore model watch, case No. 0307, featuring a Swiss made perpetual (self-winding) jeweled movement, custom (non Audemars Piguet) diamond chrono dial, and a custom (non AP) diamond encrusted bezel, case, and bracelet, approximately 15 cts. total of SI-1 clarity and H-I color diamonds, fetched $42,350.
A large oil on canvas painting by Henri Hecht Maik (French, 1922-1993), titled A Yellow Lion (1972), depicting a jungle landscape and other animals around a large lion, signed and dated lower right and signed and titled en verso and measuring an impressive 51 ¼ inches by 38 ¼ inches (canvas, less frame), bested its $8,000-$16,000 estimate by hammering for $20,570.
Two similar (but not identical) Chinese Export Rose Mandarin palette enamel and gilt lidded urns, one having a figural finial and one having a Buddhist guardian lion finial, each having applied branch form handles and florals, iron red Y-patterned ground, and landscape, mythical beasts and figural decorated reserves, finished at $14,520. The taller of the two urns stood 19 ½ inches tall.
A large bronze sculpture on a disk form base by Richard MacDonald (Calif., b. 1946), titled Transcendance (2006), brought $12,100. The 53 ¼-inch-tall work depicted a male aerial acrobat suspended from a silk rope. It was signed, dated and numbered (41/75) to the base. Richard MacDonald is a contemporary figurative artist known for his association with the Cirque Du Soleil.
A beautiful oil on canvas painting by William A. Slaughter (Calif., 1923-2003), titled Bluebonnets in Spring, depicting a field of flowers with a town in the background, earned $10,285. The painting, measuring 30 inches by 40 inches (canvas, less frame), was signed by Slaughter to the lower right.
An oil and mixed media on canvas by Anna Razumovskaya (Russian Federation / Canadian 20th century), titled Serenade in Blue 1, climbed to $5,748. The 47 ¾ inch by 35 ¾ inch (canvas, less frame) painting depicted a woman standing with her back to the audience, partially dressed in a blue and black ball gown with a leaning cello, artist signed lower right and signed "Original" en verso.
A group of six different hand-painted carved duck decoys with glass eyes, painted to look like a mallard, a wood duck and possibly a green winged teal hybrid, most having mixed color configurations from several bird types and all finished with distressed paint, gaveled for $5,748. Four of the decoys had holes in the bottom from the removal of righting weights; two had no holes.
A Chinese silvered metal, brass, and stone teapot in the form of a standing duck with its neck extended, having brass scrollwork and cloud accents above brass wings inlaid with sunstone and jasper, topped out at $5,445. The duck’s head had inlaid cabochon stone eyes and the whole rose on realistic duck feet. The piece was apparently unmarked and was approximately 9 inches in height.
An American Hepplewhite Federal mahogany sugar chest, possibly Southern/Tennessee, 19th century, having a lift top lid, a single drawer, and rising on tapered legs, with no apparent marks, measuring 32 inches tall by 25 ½ inches wide, realized $4,538. The chest came with some condition issues. Overall wear to the finish and surface was typical of age but the case was structurally sound.
