This Week’s Top Lots: Nov 15 – 20

Editorial Staff Furniture & Decorative Arts

Skinner Boston/November 15, Fine Books & Manuscripts *  Important letter signed by Martin Luther, 1581 $106,650 (estimate $15,000-25,000) *  Map of English and French dominions in North America, 1755 $65,175 (estimate $15,000-20,000) *  John James Audubon, Carolina Parrot from Birds of America, 1830 $38,513 (estimate $25,000-35,000) Christie’s London/November 17, Centuries of Style: Silver, Ceramics, Miniatures & Gold Boxes Total: £3.5 …

This Week’s Top Lots: November 8 – 13

Editorial Staff Art, Furniture & Decorative Arts

* Skinner Boston/November 8, American Furniture and Decorative Arts The top lot was William Bradford’s Arctic Sunset with the Ice Bound Panther that sold for $259,000 (estimate $80,000-100,000). Other top lots were a pair of gilt and mirrored pier New York tables that sold for $54,510 (estimate $12,00-18,000), and a federal bookcase by Joseph Murphy of South Berwick, Maine that …

This Week’s Top Lots: November 2 – 6

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* Sotheby’s New York/November 2, Russian ArtThe sale total was just under $13.8 million, with 98 of 122 lots sold. The top lot was Boris Dmitrievich Grigoriev’s Mother and Child that sold for $1.3 million (estimate $500,000-700,000). Other top lots were an award portrait miniature of Peter the Great that sold for $1.3 million (estimate $80,000-120,000), and Konstantin Alexeevich Korovin’s …

Endnotes: Duck call

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This Canada goose clearly lost its bearings, migrating all the way to South America in the twentieth century before returning to the United States this past August. A routine e-mail inquiry to Christie’s in New York resulted in the exciting realization that it was only the fourth decoy of its type to come to light. What makes it so special …

This Week’s Top Lots: October 26 – 30

Editorial Staff Furniture & Decorative Arts

* Christie’s London/October 27, 20th Century Decorative Art & Design The sale total was £778,625. The top lot was a set of six art nouveau chairs by Emile Gallé that sold for £79,250 (estimate £30,000-50,000). Other top lots were a vitrine by Koloman Moser for J & J Kohn that sold for £51,650 (estimate £15,000-20,000), and a prototype Odalisque bench …

Superlative finds at the International Fine Art & Antique Dealers Show

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Wrapping up the 21st annual International Fine Art & Antique Dealers Show, which closed on Thursday, organizers Brian and Anna Haughton, who recently announced they will host a major new fair—Art Antiques London—in June 2010, reported healthy sales and attendance significantly up from last year.  In the Haughtons’ own words, the fair was a display of “objects of drop-dead beauty, …

This Week’s Top Lots: October 17 – 23

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* Christie’s London/October 17, Post-war and Contemporary Art Day SaleThe sale total was £3.5 million. The top lot was Anselm Kiefer’s Baum mit Panzer that sold for £169,250 (estimate £70,000-90,000). Other top lots were Martin Kippenberger’s Self-Portrait that sold for £139,250 (estimate £18,000-22,000), and Wim Delvoye’s Last Port that sold for £109,250 (estimate £50,000-70,000). * Skinner Boston/October 17, Asian ArtThe …

This Week’s Top Lots: October 10 – 16

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* Skinner Marlborough/October 10, Richard Wright Collection: Important DollsThe top lot was a Roullet & Decamps magician automaton that sold for $80,580 (estimate $25,000-35,000). Other top sales were a set of four Alice in Wonderland character dolls that sold for $40,290 (estimate $30,000-40,000), and a Queen Anne lady doll and case that sold for $50,363 (estimate $50,000-70,000). * Sotheby’s Milan/October …

This Week’s Top Lots: September 26 – October 2

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* Skinner Boston/September 26, American Indian & Ethnographic ArtThe top lot was a tie between a 19th century carved Maori figure of a man (estimate $30,000-50,000) and a 19th century carved wood triple-blade gunstock club (estimate $25,000-35,000) that each sold for $35,500. Another top lot was a pre-Columbian carved limestone figure that sold for $29,625 (estimate $6,000-8,000). * Christie’s New …

This Week’s Top Lots: September 14 – 18

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*  The first of several Asian art auctions kicked off this week with the Arthur M. Sackler collection sale at Christie’s New York on September 14, which totaled $3.2 million with 111 of 115 lots sold. The top lot was a 12th-11th century BC bronze ritual vessel that sold for $362,500 (estimate $20,000-30,000). Other top lots were a Qing Dynasty …