George Nakashima Furniture Among Headliners At Ahlers & Ogletree Sale
1966 Walnut Minguren Coffee Table Sold For $74,400
May 28, 2021
A polished bronze sculpture on a Lucite base by the Italian sculptor Arnaldo Pomodoro (b. 1926), titled Sfera and numbered (2 of 6), soared to $186,000 in an online Spring Fine Estates and Collections auction held March 27 and 28 by Ahlers & Ogletree, based in Atlanta, Ga. The work was the top earner in an auction that featured more than 1,000 lots. Pomodoro, now 94 years old, lives and works in Milan. Hes known for having designed a controversial fiberglass crucifix for the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in Milwaukee, Wis., which is topped with a 14-foot diameter crown of thorns that hovers over the figure of Christ. The piece in the auction, 11 inches tall (sculpture, minus base), is in the artists online catalogue raisonn. Session one contained Asian arts, Modernism, Mid-Century and Contemporary design, fine art and decorative arts, estate jewelry and fashion. Session two featured period antiques, silver, fine art, important books and maps, antique scientific equipment and tools, and antique weapons. Both auction days were live-streamed on LiveAuctioneers. A collection of five furniture pieces by the renowned American woodworker George Nakashima (1905-90) came up for bid, each one offered as a single lot. All five were from the same seller, who acquired the pieces from her mother, a doctor in Tucson, Az., who purchased them directly from Nakashima, whose furniture creations are highly prized by collectors. Leading the pack was a walnut Minguren coffee table crafted with rosewood butterfly, several free and raw edges and a natural reticulation, marked to the underside with the original owners name. It went for $74,400. Also sold was a walnut hanging wall case ($40,300), a conoid end table ($27,900), a set of four cherry New chairs ($22,320) and a cherry dining table ($17,360). All prices quoted include a 24-percent buyers premium. Paintings by American noted listed artists were plentiful and included an abstract mixed media work by Ida Kohlmeyer (1912-97) titled Cluster Drawing (1975), signed and dated and in a 61-by-41-inch frame ($17,360). An oil-on-canvas Western Landscape by Ed Mell (b. 1942), signed, 36-by-48 inches, realized $40,300. An oil-on-canvas portrait by Samuel Burtis Baker (1882-1967), titled Viola with Guitar (1919), signed, 37-by-30 inches, sold for $6,820. From Europe, an oil-on-masonite painting by Patrick James Woodroffe (British, 1940-2014), titled Mons Veritatis (Truth Mountain) 1982, artist signed and dated, brought $10,540. Also, a monumental birds-eye view map of Paris by Blondel la Rougery (French), titled Plan de Paris a Vol DOiseau (ca. 1950s-60s), in a huge 65-by-83.5-inch frame, finished at $6,820. In the jewelry and watches category, a Rolex stainless steel Oyster Perpetual Submariner automatic mens wristwatch (1968), model 5513, with case, found a new owner for $10,540, while an Elsa Peretti for Tiffany & Company articulated sterling silver belt in the form of a snake that could also be worn as a necklace, about 37.25 inches long, marked, went for $8,680. A late Victorian era (ca. 1880) English part ebonized mahogany library table in the Regency taste was the top seller of session two, selling for $10,540. The table was previously sold through both Sothebys and Christies. It featured a tooled green leather writing surface above a Greek key frieze with two concealed drawers to both sides. Other furniture pieces from the U.K. included an Irish 18th-century Georgian silver or tea table having a dish or tray top ($9,920); an 18th-century George II mahogany console (or side table) with a marble top in the manner of William Bradshaw (English, 1700-75) ($8,060); and a nicely carved English mid-18th-century mahogany games table ($7,440). Silver enthusiasts were treated to a Joseph Craddock and William Ker Reid 1817 sterling armorial lidded George III tureen bearing the Langton family coat of arms, 136.38 ozt. ($9,300), and a large, late 20th-century repousse sterling footed vase by Grand (Italian), boasting a foliate and grape motif and acanthus leaf scroll handles, 192.40 ozt. ($7,440). To learn more about Ahlers & Ogletree Auction Gallery, visit www.AandOauctions.com.
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