Date: Mon 01-Feb-1999

Publication: Ant

Author: JUDIR

Quick Words:

Jacksons

Full Text:

Glassware, Paintings & Russian Works At Jacksons

(with 21 cuts)

CEDAR FALLS, IOWA -- The unusually warm weather must have had a radiant effect

on the bidders who attended the December 5 and 6 auction at Jacksons. The

two-day event drew buyers nationwide, accounting for the over 360 registered

bidders who competed for over 1,100 lots of art and antiques for a total of

$822,000. Three main collections, including that of Mr and Mrs Joseph

Doddridge, Jacksonville, Fla., the estate of Mr and Mrs Carl Geissler,

Carthage, Ill., and a European collection, were in the sale.

One of the most beautiful items, and the highest priced single item, was lot

#667, a Thomas Webb & Sons Gem Cameo bowl. Although not artist signed, the

blue and white seven-inch bowl was finely carved with water scenes, willow

trees, birds, dragonflies and water lilies. The bidding opened at $18,000 and

went back and forth between two in-house bidders, ending with $28,000

(including premium). The happy buyer and his wife, both seated in the front

row enjoyed a short but enthusiastic round of applause after vice president

and senior Jackson auctioneer Jon Crisman called fair warning and then dropped

the gavel.

The sale began with president and CEO James L. Jackson taking the podium. The

first items were a selection of the approximately 100 icons to see that day,

the majority from the collection of a European family who amassed their

collection over a long period of time. The total sale of icons came in

slightly under $200,000, making for another record breaking sale. As those in

the trade know, Jackson's enjoy an excellent national and international

reputation in the area of Russian icons and Russian art.

The first offering of icons was followed by paintings beginning with a small

16 by 12 inch oil on panel by French artist Jean Jaques Henner (1829-1905) for

$1,568. A 44 by 28 inch Nineteenth Century Continental altar panel, depicting

the Annunciation and selected saints, which sold to a Nebraska buyer for

$4,256.

Other paintings included an 18 by 23 inch oil on canvas of an Italian beauty

by Giuseppe De Sanctis (Italian 1858-1924), an oil on canvas copy of "The

Madonna of the Veil" after Carlo Dolci, $3,248, an interesting 10.5 by 15 inch

oil on panel of the head of a woman, catalogued as Italian school, circa 1600,

to a New York buyer for $5,040.

All seven phone lines were lit up as lot #40 went on the block, a 22.5 by

18.75 inch oil on canvas by Jan Josef Horemans the Elder (1682-1759). The

painting opened at $4,000 and sold to an East Coast buyer for $13,440 (est

$3/5,000). A seven by ten inch hand colored litho, "Tame Flowers" by Grant

Wood (1890-1941), did well at $3,472. A 36 by 22 inch oil on canvas marine

scene by Anton Otto Fischer (1882-1962) sold on the phone for $1,792. A nice

18 by 26 inch watercolor of a Chinatown urchin did $1,792, and a ten by eight

inch oil on canvas by Mary L. Macomber (1861-1916), titled "The Prayer,"

$3,360.

An oil on panel portrait attributed to Sir Thomas Lawrence made $1,904, an

unframed and unsigned 28 by 22 inch American School oil on canvas of a young

girl with a rabbit, $1,232, an oil on board rural winter landscape by Hazel

Livingston Engel, (b. 1906) $1,120 and a 10 by 14 inch oil on board landscape

by Alma Held (American 1898-1988) $1,344.

Russian works of art included a small watercolor of the archangel Michael by

famed Russian artist Mikhail V. Nesterov (1862-1942), $3,360, and a four by

seven inch watercolor illustration by Ivan Bilibin (1876-1942) for $6,160. A

12 by 8 inch oil on canvas of a young girl by Russian artist Vladimir A.

Kuznetsov (1878-1960) sold to a Colorado collector for $2,352. A 42 by 58 inch

oil on canvas village scene by Georgi A. Lapshin brought $6,160, and a 20 by

14 inch colored crayon drawing by Philip A. Maliavin (1869-1940) made $3,136.

A nice watercolor costume sketch by Boris M. Kusodiev did $3,584 and an

interesting watercolor and ink sketch of Seventeenth Century Russian Prince

Pyotr I. Potemkin, $3,584.

Russian decorative arts included a beautiful six inch gilded silver and

champleve enamel punch bowl by Kuzmichev to a Missouri collector for $7,280

and a cased set of 12 silver-gilt and enameled teaspoons, circa 1908, with

Cyrillic makers mark G&K, $2,800. A two inch two piece enamel egg by Dimitri

Nikolaev, circa 1908, sold for $1,792, and a 17 by 11 inch set of Russian

altar gospels with Eighteenth Century silver corner plaques, $3,696.

A 24 inch French gilt-bronze figural clock, circa 1880, with works by "Vincent

& Cie," sold to a California buyer for $3,360, a 17 inch Japy Freres champleve

and gilt-bronze shelf clock, $2,464, a 15 by 12 inch hand drawn Lebanon County

fraktur attributed to Abraham Huth and dated 1810, went to a Pennsylvania

collector for $1,000, a Twentieth Century Chinese carved ivory chess set with

folding wood game board, $4,245, and a nice seven by six inch gilt-bronze

casket, circa 1900, sold to a Paris dealer for $3,024. A nine inch wood

carving of a fallen bird by British artist Grilling Gibbons made $1,008, a 29

inch carved and polychrome Nineteenth Century Blackmoor taza, $1,000, an

interesting Nineteenth Century Continental triptych with porcelain inserts,

$3,472 and a 10 by 13 inch KPM porcelain plaque depicting Christ $3,024.

An interesting 64 inch carved altar cupola, circa 1900, did $1,736, and a pair

of Nineteenth Century 30 inch gilt-bronze candlesticks, $952.

Probably one of the most unusual items was a hand written letter by Eugene

Sullivan. Nicknamed "Red," Eugene was one of the five Sullivan brothers who

together all perished when their ship the USS Juneau sunk in the South Pacific

in the fall of 1942. It was this tragedy that resulted in the creation of the

"Sullivan Act," a law disallowing next of kin to serve together in the same

theater of war. The letter sold to the Sullivan brother's hometown museum in

Waterloo, Iowa for $2,128.

Day two featured a selection of glassware and porcelain, opening with a small

collection of the larger size German bisque Piano Babies and Nodders. These

charming baby figurines were produced mostly in Germany for export to the US

around 1900. The term "piano" in their title, is derived from their common

placement on pianos as a decorative element. An unmarked ten inch piano baby

figurine of an infant girl holding a peach sold for $504, while another girl

figure holding a dog, also brought $504.

An assortment of Royal Worcester included a 12 inch bolted urn decorated with

highland cattle, unsigned, for $1,456, an 11.5 inch Royal Worcester lidded urn

with pierced body and handles decorated with ferns, $1,120, a circa 1880

coffeepot with floral decoration $728 and a 12 inch ewer with dragon handle

brought $616.

Other porcelain included a 12 inch Royal Bonn portrait vase, $700, and a 12

inch square KPM plaque of a child playing with a toy cannon, at $3,584.

English and Continental glassware included a six inch Thomas Webb & Sons Gem

cameo bowl for $28,000, an eight inch cranberry glass celery, $896, and a six

inch Nailsea biscuit jar, $728.

The bidding on French Cameo glass echoed the current trend of better pieces

selling very strong and the so-so examples being a little soft. An 11 inch

Muller cameo vase in four colors depicting a mountain lake landscape, $3,136,

a Muller cameo vase depicting a frolicking wood nymph and measuring 13 inches,

$3,248, a 13 inch Daum Nancy cameo lamp, $6,720, and a six inch Daum Nancy

cameo vase, $2,688.

An interesting 14 inch Laverre Francis cameo footed vase with applied handles

sold for $2,128. Although only four inches in height, a Galle cameo cologne

bottle went for $1,792. A four inch Walter Nancy Pate de Verre baby bird

crossed the block at $1,568, and a 14 inch dome-shaped Galle ceiling fixture,

$4,480.

A large selection of enameled glass, much being Bohemian, drew active bidding

from around the country. The top lot of Bohemian glass was a 14 inch Moser urn

shape green vase with gilt decoration and an applied portrait of "Countess

Anna Potocka," $2,800. A Meyer's Neffe three piece beverage set in emerald

green and heavily enameled sold for $1,008, and an 11 inch Moser vase in red,

$784.

The sale ended with a variety of American and European art glass. Notable

sales included an 11 inch Rubina Verde enameled vase for $840 and a somewhat

rare nine inch Aladdin Alacite lamp at $1,232. A small Tiffany vase, only

three inches in height, surprised many when the hammer fell at $1,792. A seven

inch Durand vase of simple form in iridescent blue made $1,120 and a seven

inch Loetz oil spot vase came in at $1,288.

The last items were a small collection of Lotton art glass, named for its

creator Charles Lotton, (American born 1935). A hairstylist by trade and a

self-taught glass artisan, Lotton began creating works in the early 1970s in

his central Illinois studio. Over the past 20 years, Lotton's works have

gained national notoriety among art glass collectors. Included were a circa

1983 eight inch cobalt blue iridescent vase sold for $896, a six inch Cypriot

blue luster vased signed and dated 1987, $700, a ten inch green aventurine

vase signed and dated 1988, $728, and an eight inch opal and blue luster vase

signed and dated 1983, $672.

A 90-page fully illustrated color catalogue with prices realized for this

auction is available while supplies last. For more information 800/665-6743.