100 Top Treasures
November 2007
7 Savery Treat
The star lot at Sotheby’s January Americana sale was a circa-1765 Philadelphia Queen Anne dressing table, which brought $4.4 million. It was originally owned by the Johnson family, who were successful tanners and Quakers, and had been in their Germantown home for about 130 years. The piece, which retains its original hardware and is constructed of figured maple, is attributed to chairmaker and fellow Quaker William Savery. C.L. Prickett Antiques of Yardley, Pennsylvania, was the purchaser. "It’s a combined tour de force of American design and cabinetry," says Leslie Keno, head of Sotheby’s American furniture and decorative arts department. "The dramatic cutout scroll on the scalloped skirt gives the table a sense of movement." —D.G.
8 Animal Instincts
Although Carlo Bugatti will always be known for his fantasy furniture, he created a number of silver sculptural objects later in life. Loosely based on specific animals, he christened these extremely imaginative works "Ses Bêtes" (his creatures). At Christie’s New York in December, a rare silver claret jug (c. 1907) sold to a European dealer for $688,000. "It’s an incredible whimsical creation," says Carina Villinger, a specialist in Christie’s 20th-century decorative arts and design department. —D.G.
9 Last Respects
As a young painter, Marsden Hartley went to Germany in 1913 and returned to the United States within a year after World War I began. "It was an intense period of creativity for him," says Patricia Junker, curator of American art at the Seattle Art Museum, which acquired "Painting No. 49, Berlin" (1914–15). The painting was among nearly a thousand other gifts to the museum by some 40 collectors in celebration of SAM’s 75th anniversary last May and the opening of its new building in downtown Seattle. The value of the painting, given by Barney Ebsworth, was estimated in the low to mid-seven figures by art-market sources. Although this and other related paintings include visual references to a young German officer whose death Hartley mourned, the artist offered little explanation of its striking, richly pictorial symbolic imagery of the imperial cavalry. Junker notes "about eight works refer specifically to this same young officer" for whom Hartley "felt a great affection. Although this painting is a symbolic portrait, it is such a powerful statement that it makes me weak in the knees," says Junker. "It is just an unforgettable work of art." —D.K.
10 Loosened Ties
It’s always harder on the parents when a young man or woman leaves home. Norman Rockwell’s "Breaking Home Ties" (1954) poignantly underscores this point. The classic work, which once graced the cover of The Saturday Evening Post, brought $15,416,000, a new world auction record for Rockwell, in November 2006 when it was sold at Sotheby’s New York. In a major book published about the artist in 1975, Norman Rockwell’s America, to which the auction catalogue also referred, author Christopher Finch wrote that "the period from the mid-’40s until the late ’50s was perhaps Rockwell’s time of greatest achievement." During this period, Finch observed, Rockwell "transcended the category of illustration" and produced "richly conceived, fully rounded works … of art." —D.K.
11 Fit for a Pharaoh
When a lot comes up for sale at auction, its image is usually displayed on a screen at the front of the salesroom. Not so for the final lot of the Judith H. Siegel collection of Castellani and Giuliano revivalist jewelry at Sotheby’s New York last December. All eyes were directed toward Lisa Hubbard, chairman of Sotheby’s jewelry department for the Americas and the sale’s auctioneer, who was wearing lot 153, a circa-1860 Egyptian revivalist scarab and micromosaic necklace. Together with a matching brooch, it sold for a record of $475,200 to Gregory Kuharic, a decorative and fine arts consultant, who purchased it for a client. The necklace was composed of 15 antique steatite and faience scarabs strung on a gold chain, the brooch centered by an ancient scarab carved with the baboon god and lotus flower. Both are rare examples in the Egyptian taste created by Castellani, a 19th-century Italian jeweler. "It was the piece to own," says Kuharic, "a consummate collaboration of historic style and superb workmanship." —D.G.
12 All Done by Hand
Because Massimiliano Soldani-Benzi’s "Pietà with Two Putti Angels" is rendered in terracotta, the mark of the artist is particularly conspicuous. "Unchanged by firing, the clay Pietà preserves the swiftly dragged strokes of [Soldani-Benzi’s] modeling tools and even his fingerprints, details that in a finished bronze would have been chiseled into sharp, linear patterns and polished to glowing surfaces," says Denise Allen, associate curator of The Frick Collection in New York, which was given the sculpture as a gift by the Quentin Foundation in October 2006. Soldani-Benzi was one of the most prolific bronze sculptors in early 18th-century Florence, where he was in the employ of Cosimo II de’ Medici. Yet, this work is, according to Allen, one of the artist’s few surviving figurative groups rendered in terracotta and "the only known example of this composition." Of the several versions of this subject Soldani-Benzi executed, this is the only one in which the Virgin is not included. The two emotive putti imbue the work with a "powerfully distilled emotional intensity," says Allen. Baroque sculptures of this caliber are valued in the low seven figures. —D.M.
13 The Eyes Have It
He has the sweetness and innocence of a choirboy, and his soulful, untroubled look is made even more angelic by the black clerical-like garb he wears. Amedeo Modigliani’s "Le fils du concierge," painted while the artist was living in the south of France in 1918, brought $31,096,000 at Sotheby’s New York in November 2006. The buyer was Doris Ammann, a prominent dealer from Zurich. The price was well above the high estimate of $18 million, and within striking distance of Modigliani’s auction record of $31,368,000, achieved at Sotheby’s New York in 2004. One of Modigliani’s most significant and accomplished male portraits, "Le fils du concierge" was completed at a time when he was becoming a painter of simple, unknown people. As opposed to the blank, almond-shaped eyes typical of most of his portraits, Modigliani painted the boy’s pupils and irises so that his "gaze directly confronts the viewer," says David Norman, a Sotheby’s executive vice president and worldwide co-chairman of Impressionist and Modern Art. "Inch for inch, it is one of the most exquisite of Modigliani’s figures and one of the most tender and sensitive portraits he ever made." —D.K.
14 Inspired Illumination
At first glance it resembles a Rolodex in full flutter, or a stylized plumed helmet. In actuality, the circa-1970 Proteo table lamp is one of the most visibly exciting creations by the protean Italian architect, artist and designer Gio Ponti (see page 147 of this issue). One of these rare pieces was sold last October at the International Art + Design Fair 1900–2006 in New York for $25,000. "It looks like it’s in a state of flux, as if it were about to change its form," notes Brian Kish, the New York dealer who sold the piece. "Its name was inspired by classical mythology and yet it is indebted to Italian Futurism. It’s a utilitarian artifact verging toward sculpture. Ponti was always coming up with these sort of remarkable things." —D.K.
The star lot at Sotheby’s January Americana sale was a circa-1765 Philadelphia Queen Anne dressing table, which brought $4.4 million. It was originally owned by the Johnson family, who were successful tanners and Quakers, and had been in their Germantown home for about 130 years. The piece, which retains its original hardware and is constructed of figured maple, is attributed to chairmaker and fellow Quaker William Savery. C.L. Prickett Antiques of Yardley, Pennsylvania, was the purchaser. "It’s a combined tour de force of American design and cabinetry," says Leslie Keno, head of Sotheby’s American furniture and decorative arts department. "The dramatic cutout scroll on the scalloped skirt gives the table a sense of movement." —D.G.
8 Animal Instincts
Although Carlo Bugatti will always be known for his fantasy furniture, he created a number of silver sculptural objects later in life. Loosely based on specific animals, he christened these extremely imaginative works "Ses Bêtes" (his creatures). At Christie’s New York in December, a rare silver claret jug (c. 1907) sold to a European dealer for $688,000. "It’s an incredible whimsical creation," says Carina Villinger, a specialist in Christie’s 20th-century decorative arts and design department. —D.G.
9 Last Respects
As a young painter, Marsden Hartley went to Germany in 1913 and returned to the United States within a year after World War I began. "It was an intense period of creativity for him," says Patricia Junker, curator of American art at the Seattle Art Museum, which acquired "Painting No. 49, Berlin" (1914–15). The painting was among nearly a thousand other gifts to the museum by some 40 collectors in celebration of SAM’s 75th anniversary last May and the opening of its new building in downtown Seattle. The value of the painting, given by Barney Ebsworth, was estimated in the low to mid-seven figures by art-market sources. Although this and other related paintings include visual references to a young German officer whose death Hartley mourned, the artist offered little explanation of its striking, richly pictorial symbolic imagery of the imperial cavalry. Junker notes "about eight works refer specifically to this same young officer" for whom Hartley "felt a great affection. Although this painting is a symbolic portrait, it is such a powerful statement that it makes me weak in the knees," says Junker. "It is just an unforgettable work of art." —D.K.
10 Loosened Ties
It’s always harder on the parents when a young man or woman leaves home. Norman Rockwell’s "Breaking Home Ties" (1954) poignantly underscores this point. The classic work, which once graced the cover of The Saturday Evening Post, brought $15,416,000, a new world auction record for Rockwell, in November 2006 when it was sold at Sotheby’s New York. In a major book published about the artist in 1975, Norman Rockwell’s America, to which the auction catalogue also referred, author Christopher Finch wrote that "the period from the mid-’40s until the late ’50s was perhaps Rockwell’s time of greatest achievement." During this period, Finch observed, Rockwell "transcended the category of illustration" and produced "richly conceived, fully rounded works … of art." —D.K.
11 Fit for a Pharaoh
When a lot comes up for sale at auction, its image is usually displayed on a screen at the front of the salesroom. Not so for the final lot of the Judith H. Siegel collection of Castellani and Giuliano revivalist jewelry at Sotheby’s New York last December. All eyes were directed toward Lisa Hubbard, chairman of Sotheby’s jewelry department for the Americas and the sale’s auctioneer, who was wearing lot 153, a circa-1860 Egyptian revivalist scarab and micromosaic necklace. Together with a matching brooch, it sold for a record of $475,200 to Gregory Kuharic, a decorative and fine arts consultant, who purchased it for a client. The necklace was composed of 15 antique steatite and faience scarabs strung on a gold chain, the brooch centered by an ancient scarab carved with the baboon god and lotus flower. Both are rare examples in the Egyptian taste created by Castellani, a 19th-century Italian jeweler. "It was the piece to own," says Kuharic, "a consummate collaboration of historic style and superb workmanship." —D.G.
12 All Done by Hand
Because Massimiliano Soldani-Benzi’s "Pietà with Two Putti Angels" is rendered in terracotta, the mark of the artist is particularly conspicuous. "Unchanged by firing, the clay Pietà preserves the swiftly dragged strokes of [Soldani-Benzi’s] modeling tools and even his fingerprints, details that in a finished bronze would have been chiseled into sharp, linear patterns and polished to glowing surfaces," says Denise Allen, associate curator of The Frick Collection in New York, which was given the sculpture as a gift by the Quentin Foundation in October 2006. Soldani-Benzi was one of the most prolific bronze sculptors in early 18th-century Florence, where he was in the employ of Cosimo II de’ Medici. Yet, this work is, according to Allen, one of the artist’s few surviving figurative groups rendered in terracotta and "the only known example of this composition." Of the several versions of this subject Soldani-Benzi executed, this is the only one in which the Virgin is not included. The two emotive putti imbue the work with a "powerfully distilled emotional intensity," says Allen. Baroque sculptures of this caliber are valued in the low seven figures. —D.M.
13 The Eyes Have It
He has the sweetness and innocence of a choirboy, and his soulful, untroubled look is made even more angelic by the black clerical-like garb he wears. Amedeo Modigliani’s "Le fils du concierge," painted while the artist was living in the south of France in 1918, brought $31,096,000 at Sotheby’s New York in November 2006. The buyer was Doris Ammann, a prominent dealer from Zurich. The price was well above the high estimate of $18 million, and within striking distance of Modigliani’s auction record of $31,368,000, achieved at Sotheby’s New York in 2004. One of Modigliani’s most significant and accomplished male portraits, "Le fils du concierge" was completed at a time when he was becoming a painter of simple, unknown people. As opposed to the blank, almond-shaped eyes typical of most of his portraits, Modigliani painted the boy’s pupils and irises so that his "gaze directly confronts the viewer," says David Norman, a Sotheby’s executive vice president and worldwide co-chairman of Impressionist and Modern Art. "Inch for inch, it is one of the most exquisite of Modigliani’s figures and one of the most tender and sensitive portraits he ever made." —D.K.
14 Inspired Illumination
At first glance it resembles a Rolodex in full flutter, or a stylized plumed helmet. In actuality, the circa-1970 Proteo table lamp is one of the most visibly exciting creations by the protean Italian architect, artist and designer Gio Ponti (see page 147 of this issue). One of these rare pieces was sold last October at the International Art + Design Fair 1900–2006 in New York for $25,000. "It looks like it’s in a state of flux, as if it were about to change its form," notes Brian Kish, the New York dealer who sold the piece. "Its name was inspired by classical mythology and yet it is indebted to Italian Futurism. It’s a utilitarian artifact verging toward sculpture. Ponti was always coming up with these sort of remarkable things." —D.K.
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