Coinciding with New York’s Fall Asia Week is Skinner’s September 14 Asian Works of Art Auction in Boston, MA. This sale features over 550 lots of Asia Art from China, Japan, Korean, the Himalayan Region and the Islamic World. All categories are considered including paintings, ceramics, porcelain, jade carvings, furniture and textiles. Lot 547, Pair of Huanghuali Yoke-back Armchairs; Estimate $60,000-$100,000 The most anticipated highlight is lot 547, a pair of Chinese huanghuali yoke-back armchairs. These elegant chairs are dated to the 17th Century and were featured in the exhibition Classic Chinese Furniture, published by the Chinese Furniture Research Institute, LLC, in Concord, New Hampshire (2004). The pair of chairs are elegant in their simplicity and graceful lines. Huanghuali 黄花梨, which translates to ‘yellow flowering pear wood’ is ...Read More

Martin Brothers bird-form vessels (oft referred to as “Wally Birds”) are, for most, aspirational items. Largely made to resemble leading political and industrial figures of their time and rendered in the manner of caricature pioneered by the 19th-century English satirical magazine Punch, these whimsical works were eagerly sought-after by London’s “chattering classes,” with commissions for their production coming from aristocrats including Lord Faringdon and Sir William Drake. The Martin brothers in the studio at the Southall Pottery (b/w photo), English Photographer, (19th century) / Private Collection / Bridgeman Images Robert Wallace Martin, the inspired artist behind the sculpting of the birds, began his career apprenticing with Charles Barry on the redesign of the Palace of Westminster, where he was known to have modeled grotesques. The...Read More

Philadelphia-born visual artist Dan Dailey is counted among the pioneers of the American Studio Glass movement. Since 1970, Dailey has produced sculpture and functional art with an emphasis on lighting that oft depicts human characters, the world we inhabit, and iconic and familiar forms. Made primarily from glass and metal, Dailey’s myriad series explore extraordinary concepts in a broad range of themes and styles. The rationale for Dailey’s art, whether presented in glass, metal or, at the elemental level, in drawing, is a desire to communicate thoughts. Rendered first as sketches, Dailey’s creations are inspired chiefly by ideas and concepts rather than technique or process. His fabricated works are meticulously crafted with painstaking attention to detail - his blown glass creations so uniquely expressive as to defy historic or contempo...Read More

The autumn Asian Art season kicks off on September 6th at Cowan’s Auctions in Cincinnati, OH. They will be offering over 200 objects from China, Japan and the Himalayan region in their Asian Art: Discovery Auction. Lot 123, a Chinese Bronze Yan from the Western Zhou Period (1047-772 BC); Estimate $12,000-$15,000 One of the highlights of this sale is lot 123, a Chinese Bronze Yan from the Western Zhou Period (1047-772 BC). Used as a ritual food steamer for nobility, this vessel is elegantly proportioned with a large handled container supported by three legs.  With a fine greenish patina throughout, the elegant design is still present including large ox-form monster head taotie masks above the legs, and a band of stylized birds around the rim. These types of vessels are extremely rare and highly sought after by collectors of ancient Chinese b...Read More

Mike Ingham, the Director, of Rago's Unreserved Department details a special work coming up in their Unreserved sales! Among my [Mike's] favorite pieces on offer in the August 24-25 Unreserved Auctions is lot 450, an Argenta Art Deco tobacco jar by Swedish artist and designer Wilhelm Kåge. Lot 450, Wilhelm Kåge; Gustavsberg, Argenta Art Deco Tobacco Jar; Estimate $600 – 800 Born in 1889, Wilhelm Kåge studied painting at the Technical School in Stockholm before enrolling in the Art School Valand in Gothenburg. He also studied briefly under famed French artist Henri Matisse.  Wilhelm Kåge’s early career was dedicated to the design of theatrical and exhibition posters. Credited for pioneering the use of posters as a form of advertisement in Sweden, he is best known for his work in ceramics, which began in 1917 with his appointment as artistic ...Read More

Skinner held an auction of European Furniture & Decorative Arts, with ceramics and fine silver in Boston on July 13, 2019. The sale saw active participation from bidders in the U.S., the United Kingdom, Europe, and Australia competing for items online, by telephone, in the room, and via partner platforms. Lot 373, Wedgwood Fairyland Lustre Temple on a Rock Vase and Cover, England, c. 1920; Sold for $61,500 Wedgwood ceramics ruled the day, comprising seven of the top ten achieving lots. The highest-priced Wedgwood piece was a Fairyland Lustre Temple on a Rock (Lot 373) vase which sold to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston for $61,500. A John Northwood model of a Portland vase (Lot 351) reached $18,450 to a private buyer in Australia. Many of the Wedgwood lots in the auction were from the Spak Collection of Wedgwood with the sale proceeds going ...Read More

BOSTON, MA – Skinner, Inc. will hold an auction on July 13, 2019, of European Furniture & Decorative Arts. With over 500 lots in the sale encompassing fine silver, ceramics as well as furniture and decorative arts there is an item for both discerning collectors and novice buyers. Styles range from classic Georgian silver and early oak furnishings to elegant Belle Epoque tables and mantel clocks. Explore works from the 17th to the 20th century and see how you can mix periods and styles to create individual design-schemes in your own home. The Furniture of Paul Sormani Regarded as one of the most elite Parisian ébenistes of the 19th century, Sormani was born in 1817 in the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venice. Inspired by the work of the Royal maitres menuisiers et bronziers of the 18th century, he is best known for his pieces in the Louis XV and XVI s...Read More

NEW YORK, NY - Spring auction season is proving to be strong online, as bidders turn to Bidsquare for art and design finds. Modern design, 20th Century and fine art lead sale results in May and early June on Bidsquare. Highlights include a Lino Tagliapietra wall sculpture; a George Nakashima Pedestal Desk; a Sonia Delaunay on paper and more. Lino Tagliapietra, Twenty-Piece Masai Wall Sculpture; Sold for $113,400 on Bidsquare in Hindman's Modern Design auction May 9, 2019 A standout piece by glass maestro Lino Tagliapietra was the highlight of Hindman's May Modern Design auction, realizing a final price of $113,400 from a Bidsquare bidder - two times the original estimate. Hudson Berry, Specialist, Modern Design at Hindman, stated: “It’s no surprise the Lino Tagliapietra surpassed the presale estimate in the way it did. The work truly has a ...Read More

Stunning Arts Gallery and Auction from Toronto, Canada will be featuring almost 300 lots of Chinese art during their auction on June 19th. This sale will take place during the Toronto Asian Art Week from the 17th to 21st of June. Most Chinese art categories are represented including jade carvings, furniture, jewelry and paintings. However, the strength is really with works of art and porcelain, with many of these objects having solid provenances.   Lot 106, Xu Yanzhou, Oil Painting; Estimate CAD $15,000- CAD $25,000 One of the highlights of the Stunning Arts Auction is lot 106, an oil painting of a young girl by Xu Yanzhou 徐彥洲 (1961-  ). Xu is one of the leading ‘realist’ modernist painters in China, and has extensively showcased his artworks in the international art scene. Implementing a Western-style of painting, he is best known for depi...Read More

On the weekend of June 7-8, Stair in Hudson, NY will host a series of auctions offering an emphasis in the 20th century, modern and contemporary art. Highlighted as a sale of its own, with several works finding their way into the other Stair catalogs, is a significant bounty of prints, photographs, and sculptures by German avant-garde artist Joseph Beuys. A titan of conceptual art, Joseph Beuys is admired for his intimate contributions to movements such as Fluxus and Neo-Dadaism. Stair represents his breadth of work like a comprehensive syllabus where mixed media assemblages such as lot 409a, a lemon attached to a yellow light bulb, and ready-mades like lot 16, a 'Noiseless Blackboard Eraser,' exist in the fascinating, deadpan posture that blurs art and daily life, for which Beuys is keenly appreciated.  Other influential artists to be feat...Read More