ATLANTA, GA.- A 15th century English Nottingham alabaster relief depicting the Resurrection of Christ, a rare 16th century hand-woven German Gothic figural tapestry panel, a 12th century French carved limestone sculpture of St. John mourning at the Cross, and an ink painting on silk by Japanese artist Yokoyama Taikan (1868-1958) titled Mt. Fuji, will all be sold April 30-May 1.
They are a few of the hundreds of important lots, mostly pulled from prominent Atlanta estates and collections, that will come up for bid at
Ahlers & Ogletree, Inc., in the firm’s gallery at 715 Miami Circle (Suite 210) in Atlanta, as well as online, at LiveAuctioneers.com, Invaluable.com, Bidsquare.com and the new Ahlers & Ogletree app, available for Android and the Apple iPhone.
Officially titled The Atlanta Collection, the two-day sale will feature 17th-19th century furniture, important Asian arts, fine estate silver, period oil paintings, Modern art, medieval Ecclesiastical carvings and more. Noteworthy estates will include Dr. Woody Cobbs and Mrs. Honor Cobbs, and Joseph Gilbert, both of Atlanta. Start times both auction days will be 11 am Eastern time.
The 15th century English Nottingham polychrome carved alabaster relief depicts a large-headed Jesus figure at the center, stepping out of the tomb and flanked on either side by Roman soldiers, with his proper right foot stepping on the body of a sleeping soldier. It is mounted to a later rectangular acrylic plank. The stone carving, 17 ¾ inches tall, should bring $20,000-$40,000.
The early 16th century German Gothic figural tapestry panel is horizontally aligned and measures 39 ¼ inches by 72 inches. It depicts three scenes divided by ribbon banderoles, with German text inscriptions. The central scene is of a young woman in a gown (presumably a queen), walking in a forest and looking back at a man (possibly a king). It is expected to breeze to $30,000-$50,000.
The 12th century carved limestone sculpture, likely of St. John mourning at the Cross, is French, probably Middle Rhone Valley. It depicts a man with short curly hair, head tilted back with a sad facial expression, holding a Bible, with scattered remnants of gilt and polychrome throughout. The sculpture is 11 ¼ inches tall and is on a later 2 ¼ inch stand. It should hit $30,000-$50,000.
The ink scroll painting on silk by the renowned Japanese artist Yokoyama Taikan, titled simply Mt. Fuji, is signed with Taikan’s seal lower left and measures 25 ¾ inches by 52 ¾ inches. It is a tonal, calm and serene view of Mt. Fuji, Japan, with layers of trees in a surrounding forest, with the foot of a mountain in the foreground. The scroll is estimated to gavel for $40,000-$60,000.
Staying with artwork, a 17th century hand-woven Flemish garden tapestry, impressive at 142 ¾ inches by 96 inches and showing various forms of animal life in a lush garden or forest setting, apparently unsigned, is expected to sell for $20,000-$40,000. Also, an oil on canvas painting by the Irish-born artist Joseph M. Kavanagh (active Fr./Belg., 1856-1918), titled Cherry Blossom Time, depicting a young girl picking flowers with a boy nearby, should make $10,000-$20,000.
Three artworks by Denis Adeane Mitchell (Br., 1912-1993), one of them an abstract polished bronze sculpture (#6 of 9) titled Selena (1969), featuring a pieced rhombus form on the body and two pointed horns curving inward, 7 ½ inches tall with the base, is expected to realize $15,000-$30,000; while a 19th century Southeast Asian polychrome and parcel gilt bronze sculpture of Dhyani Buddha Amitabha seated atop a throne, 21 ¼ inches tall, should rise to $10,000-$20,000.
Switching to silver, a large, 101-piece sterling flatware set made circa 1899 by Reed & Barton (founded in 1824 in Taunton, Mass.) service for 12 in the Art Nouveau 'Love Disarmed' pattern, with a mythological scene of Venus and Cupid is expected to change hands for $15,000-$30,000.
Two very different lots carry identical pre-sale estimates of $10,000-$20,000. One is a late 19th or early 20th century tiger oak case clock, made for Tiffany & Company by J.J. Elliott (London, founded 1865), tall and stately at 102 inches in height. The other is a first state Revolutionary War-era English map of the United States by Claude Joseph Sauthier (Fr., 1736-1802), titled A Topographical Map of Hudsons River, etc. (circa 1776), a hand-colored cartography engraving.
A volume of rare first and early editions of the Romantic period from the Polish-born piano virtuoso Frederic Chopin (1810-1849), owned, signed and annotated by Boston pianist Otto Dresel (Am./Germ., 1826-1890), containing 15 opuses, should fetch $10,000-$20,000; while a first edition, first printing copy of the novel Gone With the Wind (Macmillan & Co., 1936), signed by author Margaret Mitchell (Am., 1900-1949), should bring $8,000-$12,000. Also up for bid will be a signed Margaret Mitchell letter and many lots of Gone With The Wind ephemera.
From the English furniture category, a fine, museum-quality George I Queen Anne-style walnut upholstered settee (circa 1720), with a rectangular shaped and padded back and raised on three front cabriole legs and terminating on pad feet, is expected to reach $10,000-$20,000; and a Chippendale-period rosewood tilt-top tea table made in the second half of the 18th century, with a carved pie crust design, 29 ½ inches in height (with top down) should top out at $2,000-$4,000.
A silver gelatin print of a photo originally taken in 1932 and later printed, of a man riding a bike on a winding cobblestone street, by the noted French photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908-2004), titled Hyeres, signed by Bresson, has a pre-sale estimate of $10,000-$20,000; and a group of over 100 photographs documenting the excavation of King Tut’s tomb, by the Metropolitan Museum of Art photographer Harry Burton (Br., 1879-1949), should hammer for $5,000-$7,000.
A circa 10th century Spanish Ummayad carved and drilled white marble column capital, likely from Cordoba and exhibiting a classical Roman Corinthian style, with remnants of scrolls to each corner flanking high relief floral motifs, 14 ½ inches tall, is estimated to sell for $10,000-$20,000; and a pair of 14th century Renaissance period French carved limestone columns in three parts, with each column standing a majestic 63 ½ inches tall, should finish at $8,000-$16,000. The columns have a pedigree; they're from the collection of publisher William Randolph Hearst.
Noted Australian artists will also be represented in the sale. An oil on canvas painting by Helen Elizabeth Ogilvie (1902-1993), titled Farm Buildings (1962) and signed by the artist, a landscape work of a farmhouse, probably in Tasmania, should knock down at $2,000-$4,000; while an oil on canvas landscape work by George Feather Lawrence (1901-1981), titled Sand Dunes, Kurnell (1960), depicting sand dunes, trees, landscaping and blue machinery, should hit $1,000-$2,000.
Doors will open both auction days at 10 am. Previews will be held Monday and Tuesday, April 25-26, from 10 am to 5 pm; and Wednesday and Thursday, April 27-28, from 10 am to 6 pm. A preview party will be held the evening of Thursday, April 28, from 6-9 pm. Light refreshments will be served. In addition to live and online bidding, phone and absentee bids will also be taken.
