ATLANTA, Ga. – An ambitious New Year’s Signature Estates Auction packed with about 1,100 diverse and high-quality lots of merchandise, pulled from prominent area estates and collections, will be held Saturday and Sunday, January 3rd and 4th, by Ahlers & Ogletree, in the firm’s gallery located at 715 Miami Circle (Suite 210) in Atlanta, beginning at 11 a.m. Eastern time both days.

The auction will feature original artworks ranging from 17th century Old Masters to 20th century Cuban painters, rare highly collectible Chinese and other Asian objects, European and American period furniture pieces, estate jewelry items, art glass, Persian rugs, sterling silver, chandeliers and lighting, pottery and decorative accessories. Doors will open at 10 a.m. on both auction days.

Highlights will include Russian enamel pieces (two Faberge Workmaster silver and enamel eggs by Mikhail Perkhin, a pair of Faberge cufflinks and a brooch pin), a large collection of desirable Jaeger-Le Coultre clocks, a large collection of unframed 18th and 19th century Chinese scroll paintings, three fine tapestries (two French, one 18th century Continental) and miniature portraits.

Also offered will be a collection of around 40 fine antique canes, all from one collector (some sterling-mounted, some ivory, some figural), a collection of engravings (mostly British), three Grant Wood limited-edition lithographs, a collection of Chinese pottery, Mid-Century Modern furniture, 18th and 19th century leather-bound books and Chinese-influenced chinoiserie furniture.

“We always strive to make our New Year’s Estates Auction the strongest sale of the year, and I believe the incredible mix of merchandise in this sale, in so many diverse categories, will result in a potential record-breaker for us,” said Robert Ahlers of Ahlers & Ogletree. “The inventory here is strictly high-end, with something from just about every decorating category imaginable.”

The Asian objects category will be led by three polychrome pottery sculptural lots, all from the Tang Dynasty (circa 618-907 AD) and all previously housed at the Michael C. Carlos Museum at Emory University in Atlanta, Ga. One depicts a horse and female rider figurine, one is of a tall nude man with a stoic expression and one is of a woman holding a bird in the palm of her hand. Also sold will be a group of three 18th century hand-painted enamel Chinese Canton snuff boxes.

European art will feature an oil on wood panel by Johann Georg Meyer von Bremen (Germ., 1813-1886), titled Queen Victoria and Attendant; a 17th century Old Master pastoral drawing by Dutch artist Paulus Potter (1625-1654), titled Herd of Walking Cattle; and an oil on copper work attributed to Thomas Gainsborough (Br., 1727-1788), titled Landscape During Storm, unsigned.

Paintings by American artists will be led by a pair of works by William Aiken Walker (S.C./Md., 1838-1921), both of them oil on wood panel, one titled Male Sharecropper and the other Female Cotton Picker. Each measures 13 ¼ inches by 9 ¼ inches, unframed. Also sold will be a signed oil on canvas work by Homer Dodge Martin (N.Y./Minn., 1836-1897) titled Coast of Normandy.

The Cuban artists in the sale include Wifredo Lam (1902-1982) and Mariano Rodriguez (1912-1990). Lam’s work is an untitled, signed 1963 mixed media drawing depicting an abstract female figure with animal-like, foliate ornamentation. Rodriguez’s work, signed and untitled, is a 1983 oil on canvas painting of clustered figures standing in a brightly colored, muted landscape.

Fans of art glass will be treated to two outstanding Italian creations. One is a mid-20th century Fulvio Bianconi (for Venini) Pezzato Stoccolma fused patchwork modern art glass vase with polychrome colors, 7 ¾ inches tall. The other is a rare Ermanno Nazon (It., b. 1928) applied art glass figural table vase for Mazzega (Murano, It.) after a design by Pablo Picasso, 16 inches tall.

Other vases will feature a large and lovely matched pair of French 19th century Leboeuf Milliet & Company porcelain handled vases (or urns), both 16 inches tall and decorated with grapevines and fall colored foliage on cream ground; and a tall French bronze table vase by Edgar William Brandt (1880-1960), with round lip and cascading seaweed motif, circa 1910, 19 ¾ inches tall.

Persian rugs bound to astound will include a fine, hand-woven Isfahan rug by the master carpet artist Sadegh Seirafian (d. 1940), titled The Love Garden and depicting natural birds and flowers on an ivory field, artist signed in English and Farsi; and Persian Kashan Mohtasaham figural rug made of hand-knotted Manchester wool and silk, 225 knots per square inch, made circa 1920s.

Searching for silver and gold? The auction will include a Reed & Barton (Am., Taunton, Mass., circa 1950s) four-piece sterling tea set (tray, teapot, creamer, sugar dish) in the Stratford pattern, weighing 103.6 troy ounces; and an early 20th century Elkington & Co. (Birmingham, Eng.) 9 kt. rose gold on copper circa 1929 Seaton Pippin Challenge Cup horse trophy totaling 468.5 grams.

Sculptures will include two limited-edition bronze creations by Erte' (Romain de Tirtoff, Russia and France, 1892-1990). One, titled Moonlight (circa 1985) is 17 ¾ inches tall; the other, titled In the Evening (circa 1980), is 20 inches tall. Both depict an Art Deco-style standing female in a green gown, decorated with gold feathers. Also sold will be an unsigned carved marble figural sculpture after Pierre Julien (Fr., 1731-1804), Amalthea & the Goat of Jupiter, 56 ¾ inches tall.

A monumental and ornate wall mirror with gold overlay on a carved wood frame, overall 93 inches by 74 ½ inches and made by Claudio Cappelletti, the son of C. G. Cappelletti (Milan, It.), will come up for bid, as will a pair of ornate water gilt wood armchairs with rococo-style S scroll, also by Cappelletti. Also sold will be a pair of large gilt bronze figural andirons (chenets) made in Italy during the 19th century, 33 ¼ inches tall, with satyr, cupid, cherubs and dolphins.

Rounding out just some of the many expected top lots of the auction will be a 15-volume set of books by Oscar Wilde (Ir., 1840-1900), with 14 volumes published in London and one in Paris; a fine and unusual Edwardian Sheraton Revival-style mahogany and polychrome-painted Carlton House desk from the 19th century, heavily carved and decorated; and a figured tulip wood small turned bowl (or “donut form” bowl), by Ed Moulthrop (Ga., 1916-2003), 6 ½ inches in diameter.

For those unable to attend, internet bidding will be facilitated by Invaluable.com, Bidsquare.com and LiveAuctioneers.com. Bidders wishing to participate online should register with their platform of choice up to 24 hours prior to auction. Phone and absentee bids will also be accepted.

Previews will be held Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 20-21, from 10-4; and Monday through Friday, Dec. 22-26 and Dec. 29-Jan. 2, from 10-6 (closed Dec. 24-25). A preview party, with wine and hors d’oeuvres, will be held Tuesday, Dec. 30, from 6-9 p.m. The gallery will be open on New Year’s Eve, Dec. 30, from 10-3; and on New Year’s Day, Jan. 1, from 2-6 p.m. for champagne.

Phone and absentee bids will be taken up to 24 hours prior to sale. Inquiries regarding bidding or the auction may be made via e-mail (bids@aandoauctions.com) or by phone, at (404) 869-2478. Individuals wishing to place absentee bids may now do so online, at www.AndOAuctions.com.

Ahlers & Ogletree is a multi-faceted, family-owned business that spans the antiques, estate sale, wholesale, liquidation, auction and related industries. Ahlers & Ogletree is always seeking quality consignments for future auctions. To consign an item, an estate or a collection, you may call them at (404) 869-2478; or, you can e-mail them at consignments@aandoauctions.com.

To learn more about Ahlers & Ogletree and the Jan. 3-4 New Year’s Signature Estates Auction, please visit www.AandOAuctions.com.
30 -