BLOOMFIELD, NJ.- Nye & Company Auctioneers’ three-day sales extravaganza, March 8th, 9th and 10th, features American, English and Modern Furniture, an extensive selection of silver and jewelry, as well as a broad selection of fine art and prints, beginning at 10 am Eastern time. The Chic and Antique Estate Treasures auction features a little under 900 lots. It’s online-only.
The catalog is a curated mix of fine and decorative arts spanning the 18th century to the present day, including the Part III of selection of property from the Stanley Weiss collection, property from the Maggie Cohen collection and selections from the estate of Edward Bohn. The headliner is property consigned by Stanley Weiss, the well-known, highly regarded Rhode Island collector.
For over 30 years, Stanley developed an eye for the early American aesthetic, with an emphasis on the Queen Anne through the Neoclassical periods. His passion for quality craftsmanship and wood are evident in each piece he collected. Highlights from the third installment include a superb pair of Queen Anne shell-decorated side chairs hand-made in Philadelphia circa 1765.
Another eye-catcher is a Classical mahogany bookcase cabinet attributed to John Needles of Baltimore. The piece is bold and bears the classic turned beehive feet associated with the cabinetmaker. Also, it is surmounted with monumental cast brass urns. Estimated at $3,000-$5,000, this piece offers bang for the buck for the bidder fortunate enough to bring it home.
Another fine piece hails from Salem and is a card table raised on sabre legs. This finely crafted table is conservatively priced at $1,500-$2,500. Moving down the coast, there is a Chippendale cherrywood desk-and-bookcase from Connecticut with exceptional proportions and design.
Other furniture highlights include a Ludlow-Powell-Ramsdell Chippendale carved mahogany marble top pier table made in New York between 1760-1780. The boldly shaped serpentine front piece retains its original Tuckahoe marble top. The table is descended through several prominent families and was once on loan to the Metropolitan Museum of Art (est. $20,000-$40,000).
Also on loan to the MMA was a Rococo Revival armchair in the “Tuthill King” pattern attributed to the cabinetmaker John Henry Belter. There are a couple additional pieces of highly ornate Victorian furniture, including a marble-top center table and shield-decorated piano stool.
Moving away from the traditional early American furniture, there are two exceptional Korean Najeonchilgi Emperor chests crafted with exquisite inlay and black lacquer. Each is estimated to sell between $4,000 and $6,000.
Continuing to more Modern and Contemporary furniture, the sale features an after Eileen Gray black “Transat” chair and a Paul Evans stone-top metal base occasional table. Both are derived from collectible makers and leaders in the field of Modern and Contemporary furniture design.
For those who prefer shinier objects, the sale boasts silver from private collections. Highlights include a set of four George II sterling silver candlesticks by Jonathan and James Gould (London); sterling flatware services made by Tiffany & Co. and Frances Higgins & Son; a fabulous repousse work tea service by Samuel Kirk, the highly regarded Baltimore silversmith; and a three-piece tea set by the modern master of silver, Georg Jensen.
Sticking with the theme of shiny, bright and sparkly, the old adage that good things come in small packages holds true with the fine selection of jewelry. Notable lots include an Edwardian gold and diamond en tremblant bow brooch; an 18kt gold, platinum and diamond dogwood necklace and matching earrings; and a Piaget 18k woven yellow gold ladies’ wristwatch.
Transitioning to fine art, the auction contains a well-balanced mix of traditional through Modern and Contemporary. Pieces such as the “Porthole” Washington portrait of George Washington after Rembrandt Peale is an exceptional painting that captures the reverence for America’s first president. There is also an oil on canvas of two jockeys atop horses attributed to the French artist Rene Pierre Charles Princeteau. Both works are estimated at $5,000-$7,000.
For those who prefer more Modern and Contemporary pictures, there is an oil on Masonite by the celebrated self-taught artist Purvis Young, deaccessioned from the NAMITS collection; a watercolor self-portrait by Alice Neel; a Barry Le Va untitled work spray paint on photograph from his Munich Africa photo project; an oil on steel titled Planet Requiem by David Bierk; and prints and multiples by Thomas Hart Benton, Joan Miro, Roy Lichtenstein and Louis Icart.
