Beachwood, OH, USA, October 14, 2023 -- Wonderful creations by the Italian artist and designer Piero Fornasetti, pieces produced for the New York-based furniture manufacturer Brueton, paintings by American Pueblo artist Pablita Velarde and more will come up for bid in a Fine Art & Luxury Décor auction slated for Saturday, October 28th, by Neue Auctions, starting at 10 am Eastern time.
The group of pieces by Piero Fornasetti (Milan, Italy, 1913-1988), pulled from assorted private collections, begins with lot #1, a pair of “Tema e Variazioni” covered vases, each baluster form tapering toward the base and each decorated with a variation based on the Italian opera singer Lina Cavalieri’s face (est. $800-$1,200). The vases, 12 inches tall, are stamped and numbered.
A set of six Fornasetti “Rosoni” dishes, numbered 1-6 and printed in black and white, each with a different rosette and reserved on a gilt ground, 10 ¼ inches in diameter and having the original wire for wall hanging, should fetch $1,000-$2,000; and a set of six Fornasetti “Egocentrisimo” dishes, also numbered 1-6 and printed in black and white, each with a different graphic pattern on a white ground, also 10 ¼ inches diameter with hanging wire, has an estimate of $800-$1,200.
A J. Wade Beam for Brueton “Zephyr” table with a cylindrical chromed steel offset column, 21 inches by 50 inches by 17 ½ inches, is expected to change hands for $600-$1,000; while a Brueton chromed steel and granite “Anello” table with a circular black granite top raised on a chrome steel cylindrical base, 29 inches tall by 48 inches in diameter, should make $800-$1,200.
Four Brueton tubular chromed steel and leather armchairs, with square upholstered backs and seats on tubular chromed steel cantilevered bases, bearing Brueton tags, carries an estimate of $800-$1,200. Also, a Brueton tubular chromed steel mirror, having a pediment top enclosing a gilded sphere over a rectangular mirror plate, bearing the Brueton tag, should bring $400-$700.
Sporting art will be led by a gouache on paper painting by Arthur Burdette Frost (American, 1851-1928), titled “I’ve Played Thirteen!” (1898), signed and dated lower left and measuring 17 inches by 25 inches (image, minus frame). The work, originally published in Harper’s Weekly Journal on Sept. 17, 1898, is matted and framed and is expected to finish at $30,000-$40,000.
Other examples of sporting art include an oil on canvas by William Jacob Hays, Sr. (American, 1830-1875), titled “Flushing the Covey” (1858), signed and dated and with a canvas size of 41 ½ inches by 35 inches, less the frame (est. $6,000-$9,000); and an oil on canvas by Edouard Joseph Dantan (French, 1848-1897), titled “Pointers Flushing Out Pheasant”, signed lower left and inscribed and dedicated on verso, housed in a 22 inch by 25 ½ inch frame (est. $1,000-$2,000).
A bronze fountain with multi-color greenish-gold and brown patina by Edith Barretto Stevens Parsons (American 1878-1956), titled "Frog Baby " (1917), 40 inches tall, bearing the foundry mark for Roman Bronze Works (N.Y.), is estimated at $15,000-$20,000. Ms. Parsons created a series of garden sculptures for which she is best known, beginning with “Duck Baby,” a hit at the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition. Her work is on view at the Cleveland Museum of Art.
A rare Benjamin Harrison presidential campaign top hat lantern, circa 1888-1892, modeled in tin as a top hat, with cotton wick, rotating on a tin two-armed support and fitted on a later base for display, 15 inches tall, should bring $300-$500. Harrison was the 23rd U.S President and the grandson of William Henry Harrison, the 9th U.S. President. The image of the top hat became a symbol of Harrison himself, and top hats came to be known as "Ben Harrison Hats.”
Paintings by the noted Pueblo artist Pablita Velarde (born Tse Tsan, 1918-2006) include a 1941 gouache on paper titled “Santa Clara Dancer” (est. $400-$800); an acrylic on paper titled “Santa Clara Women and Children Selling Ceramic Wares” (est. $800-$1,200); a circa 1937-1939 acrylic on paper titled “Two Santa Clara Dancers” (est. $400-$800); and an untitled earth pigments on Masonite (est. 500-$1,000). All are artist signed and nicely framed.
There are other desirable pieces of Native American art in the sale, to include the following:
- A large, circa 1900 baluster form pottery jar in yellow slip, with an applied paper label stating, “Made by Nampeyo-Hopi”, decorated with pictographic designs in brown and burnished, 12 inches tall (est. $2,000-$4,000).
- An acrylic on board painting by Helen Hardin, Tsa-Sah-Wee-Eh (Santa Clara, 1943-1984), titled “Plumed Serpent of the Hopi”, signed and in a frame measuring 21 inches by 16 ¾ inches (est. $1,000-$2,000).
- A Pima tightly woven oval form basket with geometric designs around the form, and having x-form reeds woven around the top rim (est. $250-$450).
There are also Navajo woven carpets in the auction, including a wool rug, circa the 1930s, hand-woven with zig-zag designs, stylized geometrics and feathers in brown, tan, cream and red, 9 feet by 6 feet 4 inches (est. $1,000-$2,000); and a wool carpet with woven geometrics in tan, red, clack and cream and measuring 4 feet 9 ½ inches by 3 feet (est. $400-$700).
A Fornasetti lithographed tole umbrella stand, “Import-Export”, made in Milan in the 1960s and decorated with various shipping parcels and packages with tools to open them, 28 ½ inches tall, is expected to realize $800-$1,200; while a Fornasetti convex wall mirror in a circular black resin frame, printed with colorful butterflies centering a convex mirror plate, should bring $300-$500.
A group of 20 Fornasetti luster glazed ceramic tiles, titled “Themes and Variations”, each one 4 ¾ inches square as framed and depicting surrealist variations on the face of Lina Cavalieri, no longer in production, has an estimate of $800-$1,200. Also, a circa 1950-1960 rectangular sheet metal tray with polychromatic litho on crème-white, titled “Strumenti Musicali Su Musica,” signed in lower right corner with a Fornasetti paper label on the obverse, should hit $500-$800.
Internet bidding will be facilitated by the platforms LiveAuctioneers.com and Invaluable.com.
The auction will be clerked live on auction day, Oct. 28, by Neue Auctions team members. The catalog is up now and posted live on the two bidding sites. Phone bidding is available on select lots.
To learn more about Neue Auctions and the online Fine Art & Luxury Décor auction slated for Saturday, October 28th, by Neue Auctions, starting promptly at 10 am Eastern time, please visit www.neueauctions.com.
