Date: Fri 26-Jun-1998

Publication: Ant

Author: SHIRLE

Quick Words:

Jacksons-May-Auction

Full Text:

Jackson's May Auction Sets Record/LM

(W/7 Cuts)

CEDAR FALLS, IA. -- If, as they say, variety is the spice of life, then there

was certainly plenty of spice to go around at Jackson's May 23 and 24 auction

of paintings, art glass, decorative arts, icons and Native American objects.

The 1,300 lot catalogued auction featured two important collections from Des

Moines, Iowa, and two important estates including the Russian art and antiques

collection from the estate of Erik Pio Brimson of St Louis, Missouri.

Jackson's Cedar Falls, Iowa, gallery saw a standing-room-only gathering due to

the more than 400 registered bidders, which made for a flurry of activity two

days running.

The highlight of the sale was an oil painting by Iowa artist Marvin Cone

(1891-1964). The 18 by 20 inch canvas titled "Stone Fruit" opened at $45,000

and moved quickly between an in-house bidder and the phone with the hammer

dropping at $57,750 (including premium) thereby setting a new world record

auction price for a work by Cone.

Day one began with a small offering of various decorative arts including ivory

and sterling, which all sold well. However, bidding really heated up when

"Theseus Slaying the Minotar," a bronze by French sculptor Antoine Bayre,

(1795-1875) hit the block with an opening bid of $8,000, rapidly moving to its

final destination of $12,075 (including premium). Following the Bayre was a 29

inch bronze of two lovers by Italian sculptor Luca Madrassi that sold to a

Kansas collector for $4,025. That was followed by an 18 inch bronze titled

"Spring" by French artist Mathurin Moreau. It sold for $4,887.50 to a happy

Arkansas collector seated in the front row. A Victorian bronze, "Dying

Gladiator," unmarked and 14 inches in length, sold to an in-house bidder for

$2,185 and a small bronze by Ukrainian sculptor Leonid Possen (1849-1921) went

to a Kansas City couple for $1,840. A beautiful pair of Louis XVI gilt-bronze

seven light candelabra went to a California collector for $3,162, a Napoleon

III gilt-bronze figural clock garniture went to the trade for $3,220 and a 26

inch alabaster Continental bust of a young woman sold for $2,000.

Some of the many furniture highlights include a Victorian walnut Renaissance

revival three-section bookcase that sold for $11,500 to an elated local buyer

who had been admiring and measuring the piece for the whole week prior to the

auction. A large and impressive Louis XVI style gilt molded plaster pier

mirror measuring 45 by 89 inches also sold locally finishing at $2,300. A

turn-of-the-century walnut case polyphone upright music box went to a Chicago

collector for $5,175. A plain oak curved glass china did $1,092, an

interesting Nineteenth Century carved figural chair in the Moorish motif sold

for $1,092. A walnut Victorian cylinder rolltop desk needing a little TLC went

to a New York collector for $2,587, and a marble-top walnut Victorian parlor

table did $805.

Other decorative arts worth mentioning include a 29 inch unmarked parlor lamp

converted to electric with an interesting faux micro mosaic shade and body

decorated with lions. It went to a Missouri collector for $2,070. A pair of

matching kerosene banquet lamps with green Loetz shades sold for $747. A 40

inch Eastlake Victorian ebonized pedestal went to the phone for $805. An

unusual Art Nouveau ivory and bronze mounted clock measuring 18 inches sold to

a Minneapolis collector for $1,150. An 18 inch Chinese cloisonne censor, circa

1900, went to a Puerto Rico collector for $2,012. A six inch Japanese

cloisonne vase sold to a local collector for $632, and a molded plaster vanity

mirror with angel decor sold for $747.

Paintings were up next. CEO of Jackson's, James L. Jackson, took to the podium

announcing the first painting, an 18 by 13 inch oil on canvas by French artist

Edouard Cortes (1882-1969). Bidding opened at $8,000 and bounced back and

forth between six phone bidders finishing at $18,975, almost $7,000 over the

high estimate. Other paintings that followed include a 21 by 17 inch oil on

canvas landscape attributed to British artist Julius C. Ibbetson that sold to

the phone for $2,587. An oil on canvas nude by Polish artist Anton Kozakiewcz,

measuring 26 by 18 inches, went to a New York agent bidding for a Polish

buyer. It sold for $5,175. A 20 by 30 inch oil by German artist Julius K. Rose

(1828-1911), depicting an Alpine River landscape, sold for $3,737. A 28 by 36

inch oil on canvas harvest scene attributed to British artist Francis Wheatly

sold to an in-house bidder for $2,300. A large 36 by 53 inch canvas by French

artist Albert Lorieux finished at $3,737.

A charming 20 by 24 inch oil by French artist Pierre Joseph Toussaint, "En

Goutant Les Cerise" (Tasting Cherries), came in at $4,600, and an 11 by 15

inch indistinguishably signed Barbizon School oil attracted strong interest

selling for $1,840. The Marvin Cone oil on canvas, "Stone fruit," sold next,

finishing at the new record setting price of $57,750. Gordon Fennell around

1937 acquired the painting directly from the artist. Fennell was a well-known

Iowa business leader and early supporter of Cone. When Fennell died in 1986

the painting went to Chicago where it was auctioned at Leslie Hindman (now

Sotheby's) for $33,000. It sold to actor Ken Kercheval, a well-known

regionalist art collector. It returned to Iowa for sale at Jackson's and was

purchased at this auction by a private Iowa collector.

Russian icons from the Erik Pio Brinson estate, St Louis, Missouri, followed

the first offering of paintings and attracted wide interest with numerous

bidders flying in especially for the sale. Most of the icons offered fell into

the circa 1700-1915 category with active bidding on each lot. A 10 by 12 inch

Kazan Mother of God icon with silver and enamel riza, dated 1893, sold for

$6,440 to an in-house bidder competing with heavy phone bidding. An unusual

icon of St Demetrius and St George, measuring 10« by 12« inches with a

silverplated metal riza, came in at $3,737. A very fine 11 by 13 inch Kazan

Mother of God icon with a beautiful silver-gilt riza, hallmarked Moscow and

dated 1781, sold to the phone for $6,440.

Other painting highlights from day one include an oval oil on canvas portrait

of a young woman by Belgian artist Henri De Caisne (1799-1841) that sold for

$3,565. A watercolor on paper by Italian artist Enrico Coleman (1846-1911)

sold to a British phone bidder for $3,565. A 27 by 29 inch landscape by German

painter Udo Peters (1894-1964) inspired four German phone bidders to battle it

out. The winning bid was $4,025. A 24 by 30 inch oil on board of a woman by

Iowa artist Alma Held (1889-1988) sold for $1,610.

All the phone lines were busy for "Clearing Winter Storm," a gelatin silver

print photo by Ansel Adams (1902-1984). The 15 by 19 inch black and white

photograph of Yosemite National Park opened at $7,000 and hurriedly reached

its final bid of $11,787, selling to a California collector. The only other

photograph offered was a seven by nine inch silver print of a Nautilus Shell

shot by Edward Weston (1886-1958) and printed by Cole Weston. It sold to an

in-house bidder for $1,035.

Day one finished with a small offering of Russian silver and enamel along with

more icons decorative arts and furniture. Highlights include an eight inch

silver-gilt and enamel bowl by the famous Russian silver master Fyodor Ruckert

(supplier to Faberge) with handles in the form of bear heads set with ruby

eyes. The lot opened at $6,000, and saw fierce phone bidding and floor bidding

with the hammer finally dropping at $9,487. An enameled Nicholas II Coronation

"Blood Cup" sold to the phone for $1,840.

Day two featured art glass, porcelain, art pottery and Native American

objects. An offering of French cameo glass was first to sell with strong

prices across the board with the exception of three of four passed lots. The

first lot offered was a 9.5 inch Daum Nancy two-handled cameo vase on a molted

amber and red ground that sold to an in-house bidder for $3,162. An 18 inch

Daum Nancy cameo vase in green on a satin molted ground sold to the same

bidder for $3,335. A 13.5 inch Daum Nancy cameo boudoir lamp cut with florals

in red, green, blue and gray on a vitrified ground went to a San Francisco

collector for $8,625. A 9.5 inch Muller cameo vase was strong at $3,910.

Victorian art glass was next with a 20 inch diameter hanging parlor lamp with

a cranberry inverted thumbprint shade leading the way at $1,150. A cranberry

bride's basket with swirled ribs and fluted white rim in a quad plated holder

sold for $690. A Bohemian art glass vase in blue cut back to white with gold

decoration did $1,265. A crown Milanom crackers jar sold to an in-house bidder

for $862. An unusual small green amberina serving set consisting of six footed

cups and a footed tureen sold for $1,035 and a seven inch Wavecrest dresser

box sold for $402.

Porcelain and art pottery sold next with a pair of 17.5 inch Nippon bolted

urns in blue and gold (one repaired). It sold to a New Jersey buyer for

$8,680. A decorated 15 inch Nippon two handled vase sold for $1,380. A

matching pair of undecorated 19 inch Continental gilt-bronze mounted porcelain

urns sold for $1,955. A pair of late Nineteenth Century, 24 inch Sevres-style

gilt bronze mounted porcelain urns decorated with court scenes, sold to a

California collector for $7,820. A large Sevres-style gilt bronze mounted

platter with an Eighteenth Century courting scene finished at $2,300 and a

pair of Sevres-style dresser boxes with Romantic scenes sold to a San

Francisco collector for $2,300. A pair of 21 inch Nineteenth Century Italian

urns in blue majolica with minor losses and old repairs sold to an in-house

bidder for $1,380. And a 147-piece set of "Empress Dresden Flowers" by

Schumann Bavaria sold for $4,600, finishing up the porcelain.

Notable lots in the art pottery offering are a Weller "Knifewood" tobacco jar

that sold for $920. A 20 inch Cambridge floor vase, decorated underglaze with

a Bengal tiger, brought $1,092 even though there were some serious chips on

the base and lifting glaze. A 7.5 inch early Van Briggle vase, with embossed

decoration of poppies and pods with no discernible mark but probably pre-1910,

sold for $920.

The last group of items to sell was Native American, the majority being from

the collection of Bruce Longstreet, Des Moines, Iowa. Longstreen began

collecting in the 1970s around the time he and his wife began to winter in the

Southwest. While the majority of items were contemporary, there were a number

of fine early examples of Native American beadwork, weaving and pottery. An

Eastern Sioux beaded child's vest sold for $1,035. A pair of Sioux beaded hide

moccasins, circa 1890, with lazy stitch beadwork also did $1,035. A miniature

Sioux beaded saddlebag sold for $920. A fine Navajo Germantown blanket

measuring 80 by 50 inches sold to an in-house bidder for $9,200. A ten inch in

diameter Acoma water jar, circa 1930, made $431.

Jackson was quite pleased with the sales outcome. "Total sales were well over

our projected low estimate coming in at just over $900,000 in gross sales," he

said.

For information, 319/277-2256.