Lambertville, NJ: The Rago Arts and Auction Center will hold a Great Estates on Friday, September 11 at 10 a.m.  The sale features 749 lots of American, English and Continental furniture and decorative arts; art and furnishings from China, Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia, as well as from the Middle East, Oceania and Africa; ephemera; rare books; textiles; militaria; prints and maps; and American Indian art. The Great Estates auction is preceded on September 10 by a live, online only auction of Asian art held exclusively on Bidsquare.com at 10 a.m., and a live auction of stamps, coins and currency which begins at 3pm.

Great Estates (lots 2001-2744): Friday, September 11 at 10 a.m.

The Great Estates sale includes a broad selection of Asian art and furnishings, decorative arts and textiles: a pair of Chinese porcelain garden seats; a Chinese export Famille Rose cider jug; a pair of Chinese Huanghuali side tables; a pair of Chinese hardstone table screens; an ink on paper attributed to Chinese artist Fu Baoshi and work from Hiroshi Yoshida. There is American and European fine art: Lord Templetown by Lai Fong; Sloop Albert G. Lawson attributed to Thomas H. Willis; Marie-Jeanne à La Crête-à-Pierrot by Philome Obin, and works by William Trost Richards; Circle of Gerrit Van Honthorst; Tadeusz Ajdukiewicz; and George Herzog. Posters feature Tompkins' Real Wild West and Louise Balthy Alcazar d'Été by Jules Cheret. Among the sculpture and bronzes: The Spear Thrower by Emily Winthrop Miles; The New Generation by Karl Skoog; The Tiger Hunt by Franz Bergman; works by Jean-Jacques Caffieri; and Artemy Ober-Arthur Lavrentievich. There is Americana: Victorian crazy quilts; a rooster weathervane; a thirty-six star American flag quilt from the Civil War era; a carved wood Statue of Liberty; and an Amish bars quilt and American furniture: a Chippendale mahogany chest on chest and chairs; a Pennsylvania grain-painted step-back cupboard; a Renaissance Revival mahogany bookcase; and a Victorian bedroom set attributed to Pottier and Stymus. Furniture by Robert Whitley features a walnut credenza; a side table; walking sticks; and an architect's table. Continental Furniture includes an Italian ebonized vitrine cabinet; an Elizabethan oak canopy bed; and a George III mahogany secretary bookcase. A French bronze jeweled owl lamp is a highlight of the lighting selection. Glass includes a Tiffany studios Favrile glass vase; a Tiffany Studios lamp; and a sterling overlay ruby glass vase. The selection of clocks is notable for a Chippendale mahogany automaton tall case clock; a Sevres style and porcelain clock garniture; an Empire gilt-bronze mantel clock; an Art Deco bronze clock; a George II style japanned tall case clock; and a German Renaissance Revival walnut tall case clock. A collection of steins includes Bismarck porcelain character steins; a German Naval Reserve Regimental stein; bowling pin figural steins; German character steins; and Mettlach plaques depicting German drinking scenes. Among the lots of silver: is a Tiffany & Co. Chrysanthemum sterling flatware service; a Judgenstil silver demitasse set; four Gorham Narangansett open salts and spoons; a Georg Jensen sterling mini ice bucket with tongs; a Russian silver mounted cut glass kovsh; and Russian enameled silver demitasse spoons. Rugs and Textiles include a Persian pictorial rug; Farahan Sarouk Oriental area rugs; a Chinese Art Deco room size rug; a room size Aubusson carpet; and crewel embroidery bed hangings. Books and Ephemera feature a Walt Whitman Memento Mori and two Joseph Maclise medical volumes.  Among the notable militaria is a War of 1812 Powderhorn; and an Eagle Pommel Naval officer's sword. Also among the highlights: a steer horn chair and an Orthoceras slab featuring seventy-five polished specimens from the Sahara Desert, Devonian Period.

Auction Exhibition/Preview

• September 5–8, 12–5:00 pm or by appointment. Closed Monday, September 7 for Labor Day. September 9, 12 noon–7:00 pm. Doors open September 10 and 11 at 9:00 am.
• Open House with Guest Speaker Stephen Perloff, founder and editor of The Photo Review. Tuesday, September 8. The auction house opens at noon, reception at 5 pm, lecture at 6 pm. RSVP: 609.397.9374 ext. 119 or raac@ragoarts.com.
• Rago’s is located midway between New York City and Philadelphia. Directions online at ragoarts.com.
• Telephone/absentee/online bidding available at www.ragoarts.com and www.bidsquare.com for those unable to attend.

Catalogues

• Online at ragoarts.com as of August 20.
• Catalogues are $20. Available by calling 609.397.9374 or emailing a request to info@ragoarts.com.  

SELECT HIGHLIGHTS

Lot 2332: Pair of Chinese Huanghuali side tables, $2,500-4,500

Lot 2359: Fu Baoshi (Chinese, 1904-1965) (Attr.), Untitled, $20,000-30,000

Lot 2106: Thirty-six star American flag quilt, Civil War era, $1,000-1,500

Lot 2118: Carved wood Statue of Liberty, $5,000-7,000

Lot 2578: Philome Obin (Haitian, 1892-1986), Marie-Jeanne à La Crête-à-Pierrot, $1,000-1,500

Lot 2149: William Trost Richards (American, 1833-1905), Untitled, $3,000-5,000

Lot 2249: Jean-Jacques Caffieri (French, 1725-1792), Depicting a river god, $10,000-15,000

Lot 2644: Franz Bergman (Austrian, 1838-1894), The Tiger Hunt, $7,000-10,000

Lot 2175, Pennsylvania grain-painted stepback cupboard. $3,000-5,000

Lot 2200: Pottier and Stymus (Attr.) Victorian bedroom set, $3,000-5,000

Lot 2199: Steer horn chair, $1,000-1,500

Lot 2380: Italian ebonized vitrine cabinet, $8,000-12,000

Lot 2135: Chippendale mahogany automaton tall case clock, $20,000-30,000

Lot 2539: Empire gilt-bronze mantel clock, $3,000-5,000

Lot 2202: Bismarck porcelain character steins, $500-700

Lot 2256: Tiffany & Co. Chrysanthemum sterling flatware service, $6,000-8,000

Lot 2307: Russian silver mounted cut glass kovsh, $6,000-9,000

Lot 2626: Tiffany studios Favrile glass vase, $1,800-2,400

Lot 2637: KPM porcelain plaque, $5,000-7,000

Lot 2309: Persian pictorial rug, $600-800

Lot 2739: Joseph Maclise medical volumes, $500-700

NOTES FOR THE EDITOR

• High-resolution images available.

• Rago is a leading U.S. auction house with $30 million in annual sales. It serves thousands of sellers and buyers yearly with a singular blend of global reach, personal service and competitive commissions for single pieces, collections and estates. Rago holds auctions of 20th/21st c. design, fine art, decorative arts, furnishings, jewelry, Asian, militaria, coins and currency, silver, historic ephemera, and ethnographic property. Rago also provides a range of appraisal services conducted by USPAP (Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice) compliant appraisers, performed to the highest standards set by the IRS, insurers and the Appraisers Association of America. Rago is located in New Jersey, midway between New York City and Philadelphia.

• Consignments invited for all of Rago’s Auctions. Please call 609.397.9374 or email info@ragoarts.com.

END OF PRESS RELEASE