Dinesh Kumar
An extensive 230-piece Tiffany & Company sterling silver flatware set in the ‘Whittier’ pattern, an oil on canvas equestrian painting of a rider on a horse by Henry Thomas Alken (British, 1785-1851), and a gorgeous French Regence ebonized bureau plat (flat-topped writing table with drawers to the frieze) are a few expected highlights in Ahlers & Ogletree’s two-day Signature Estates & Collections auction scheduled for January 11th and 12th, starting at 10 am EST both days.
The auction will be held online and live in the Ahlers & Ogletree gallery located at 1788 Ellsworth Industrial Boulevard NW in Atlanta. The January 11th session will feature fine art, furniture, and decorative arts from England and the Americas. including seven Tiffany Studios lamps, plus over sixty lots of silver by Tiffany, Gorham, and Reed & Barton and other wonderful objects.
Session 2, on Friday, January 12th, will also feature a selection of fine art, furniture and decorative arts from Europe, to include seven lots of Royal Copenhagen Flora Danica china, collections of Baccarat and Steuben crystal, and Russian enamel and silver objects from an important collection. Both days represent rare opportunities for collectors and designers alike.
The 230-piece Tiffany & Company sterling flatware set in the ‘Whittier’ pattern was used aboard Mr. Allison Vincent Armour’s (American 1863-1941) research steamer yacht Utowana. Upon the engagement of his daughter, she requested that the pattern be cast in sterling silver for a wedding present. Tiffany cast the service in solid silver and then destroyed the dies. The other half of this service remains in private hands in Italy. The total weight is 340.15 ozt. (est. $10,000-$20,000).
The oil on canvas painting by Henry Thomas Aiken Alken, titled Marquis of Huntley, depicts a dark-haired rider on a brown horse with several other horses and riders in the background. The handsome work, measuring 27 ½ inches by 32 ¼ inches (sight, less the 33 inch by 40 ¾ inch gilt frame) is artist signed to the lower left. The painting carries a pre-sale estimate of $6,000-$12,000.
The French Regence ebonized bureau plat dates back to around 1725 and boasts a rectangular top centering a red Moroccan tooled leather writing surface with gilt accents framed in gilt brass above drawers with brass nets. The sides have brass netting and the back is decorated with five identical faux drawers. The whole rises on cabriole legs. The piece is expected to realize $10,000-$20,000.
A mid-18th century oil on panel River Landscape by Moonlight by Aert Van Der Neer (Dutch, 1603-1677), depicting a busy late night river bank scene showing several sailboats under a large cloud formation and a windmill in the background, should change hands for $10,000-$20,000. The work is signed “AVN” monogram lower left and measures 18 ½ inches by 29 ¼ inches (sight, less frame).
A 1927 Steinway ebony baby grand piano, having a QRS Petine CD player and remote control, with maker’s mark, model M, serial number 253508 to the metal plate, accompanied by a lift-top bench, was recently restored and should play a sweet tune for $10,000-$15,000. The piano is 38 ¾ inches tall by 57 ¾ inches wide by 61 ½ inches deep. Note: the player was not functioning at catalog time.
A pair of circa 1820 terrestrial and celestial globes by brothers John and William Cary of London, regarded as the greatest British globe makers of the Georgian period, should fetch $8,000-$12,000. The globes, on mahogany stands, each stand 40 inches tall and display maps of the Earth and the skies, drawn from recent geographical words, showing the whole of the new discoveries, with the tracks of all the principal navigators and every improvement in geography up to the present time.
An 18th century oil on canvas untitled half-length portrait of a lady from the studio of Jeremiah Theus (American, 1716-1774), depicts a female with dark hair in a white silk dress with blue flowers. The work is apparently unsigned and is marked “Mrs. Wake” to lower right, framed. It measures 30 inches by 25 inches (canvas, less frame) and is expected to fetch $6,000-$12,000.
A circa 1900 untitled portrait of Madame Helleu and child by Paul Cesar Helleu (French/American 1859-1927), executed in conte crayon, pastel, and graphite on paper, depicting a seated female figure holding a baby and signed to lower right, has a pre-sale estimate of $5,000-$7,000. The portrait is matted and framed, with a size of 18 inches by 12 ¾ inches (paper, minus the matte).
A circa 1890 German coin-op music-box (or polyphon), likely made by Paul Ehrlich, having a Renaissance Revival upright walnut and burl veneer case in two pieces and a coin slot and crank on the right side, surmounting a conforming drop front walnut and burl veneer disc storage case, holding (22) 26 ¼ inch disks, 79 inches tall by 35inches wide, should command $3,000-$5,000.
A large-scale, 19th century (or earlier) Continental School oil on canvas religious portrait painting of Frances de Sales, depicting the saint at prayer with a crucifix, miter and angels, should hit $2,000-$4,000. The framed work is apparently unsigned, with a plaque reading, ‘Presented by Mrs. Singers-Bigger’, with chalk notations en verso. The overall size is an impressive 90 ¾ inches by 65 inches.
A pair of circa 1915 French gilt brass birdcage automatons, each having two birds with natural feathers and repousse cages, one stamped ‘Made in France’ under the wooden panel, is expected to rise to $2,000-$4,000. The approximate dimensions are 20 inches tall and 20 ½ inches in diameter.
Internet bidding will be available on Ahlers & Ogletree’s platform bid.AandOAuctions.com as well as on LiveAuctioneers.com and Invaluable.com. Telephone and absentee bids will be accepted.
Previews will be held Monday, January 8th, thru Wednesday, January 10th, from 10 am to 5 pm EST.; and on auction days, in the Ahlers & Ogletree gallery. An auction preview reception, which is open to the public, will be held on Tuesday, January 9th, from 5-7 pm EST. No appointments are necessary.
To learn more about Ahlers & Ogletree and the two-day, two-session auction slated for January 11th and 12th, online and live in the Atlanta gallery, visit www.aandoauctions.com. Updates are posted often. You can follow Ahlers & Ogletree via social media on Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook.
