Fabergé egg duo set to shine in New Year’s sale
A pair of Russian Fabergé Workmaster silver and enamel eggs by Mikhail Perkhin are among the lots expected to spark intense bidding, during Ahler’s & Ogletree’s Jan. 1 auction.
ATLANTA, Ga. – An ambitious New Year’s Signature Estates Auction packed with about 1,100 diverse lots will be held Saturday and Sunday, January 3-4 by Ahlers & Ogletree, in the firm’s gallery at 715 Miami Circle (Suite 210) in Atlanta, beginning at 11 a.m. Eastern time both days. Doors will open at 10 a.m. each day.
The auction offers original artworks ranging from 17th century Old Masters to 20th
century Cuban painters, Chinese and other Asian objects, European and American period furniture, estate jewelry, art glass, Persian rugs, sterling silver, lighting, pottery, and decorative accessories.
Sale highlights include Russian enamel pieces (two Fabergé Workmaster silver and enamel eggs by Mikhail Perkhin, a pair of Fabergé cufflinks and a brooch), a large collection of Jaeger-Le Coultre clocks, a large collection of unframed 18th and 19th century Chinese scroll paintings, three fine tapestries (two French, one 18th century Continental) and miniature portraits.
Also offered will be a collection of around 40 fine antique canes, all from one collector (some sterling-mounted, some ivory, some figural), a collection of engravings (mostly British), three Grant Wood limited-edition lithographs, a collection of Chinese pottery, Mid-Century Modern furniture, 18th and 19th century leather-bound books and Chinese-influenced chinoiserie furniture.
“We always strive to make our New Year’s Estates Auction the strongest sale of the year, and I believe the incredible mix of merchandise in this sale, in so many diverse categories, will result in a potential record-breaker for us,” said Robert Ahlers of Ahlers & Ogletree.
The Asian objects category is led by three polychrome pottery sculptural lots, all from the Tang Dynasty (circa 618-907 AD) and all previously housed at the Michael C. Carlos Museum at Emory University in Atlanta. One figurine depicts a horse and female rider, one is of a tall nude man with a stoic expression and one is of a woman holding a bird in the palm of her hand. Also sold will be a group of three 18th century hand-painted enamel Chinese Canton snuff boxes.
Paintings by American artists will be led by a pair of works by William Aiken Walker
(S.C./Md., 1838-1921), both of them oil on wood panel, one titled Male Sharecropper and the other Female Cotton Picker. Each measures 13 1/4 inches by 9 1/4 inches (sight). Also sold will be a signed oil on canvas work by Homer Dodge Martin (N.Y./Minn., 1836-1897) titled Coast of Normandy.
The precious metals category includes a Reed & Barton (Am., Taunton, Mass., circa 1950s) four-piece sterling tea set (tray, teapot, creamer, sugar dish) in the Stratford pattern, weighing 103.6 troy ounces; and an early 20th century Elkington & Co. (Birmingham, Eng.) 9 kt. rose gold on copper circa 1929 Seaton Pippin Challenge Cup horse trophy totaling 468.5 grams.
Sculptures include two limited-edition bronze creations by Erté (Romain de Tirtoff, Russia/France, 1892-1990). One, titled Moonlight (circa 1985) is 17 3/4 inches tall; the other, titled In the Evening (circa 1980), is 20 inches tall. Both depict an Art Deco-style standing female in a green gown, decorated with gold feathers.
Also sold will be an unsigned carved marble figural sculpture after Pierre Julien (Fr., 1731-1804), Amalthea & the Goat of Jupiter, 56 3/4 inches tall.
Rounding out the expected top lots is a 15-volume set of books by Oscar Wilde (Ir., 1840-1900), with 14 volumes published in London and one in Paris; a fine and unusual Edwardian Sheraton Revival-style mahogany and polychrome-painted Carlton House desk from the 19th century, heavily carved and decorated; and a figured tulip wood small turned bowl (or “donut form” bowl), by Ed Moulthrop (Ga., 1916-2003), 6 1/2 inches in diameter.
Internet bidding will be facilitated by Invaluable.com, Bidsquare.com and LiveAuctioneers.com (online bidders should register at least 24 hours prior to the auction). Phone and absentee bids will also be accepted up to 24 hours prior to sale. Inquiries regarding bidding or the auction may be made via e-mail (bids@aandoauctions.com) or by phone (404-869-2478).
Learn more about Ahlers & Ogletree and the Jan. 3-4 auction by visiting www.AandOAuctions.com.
