BLOOMFIELD, N.J. – A Collectors’ Passion Auction featuring a broad and diverse group of curated treasures from prominent estates and private collections will be held on Wednesday, September 18th, by Nye & Company Auctioneers, online and in the Bloomfield gallery at 20 Beach Street. The sale will start promptly at 10 am Eastern. About 700 lots will come up for bid.

The sale will be highlighted by Part II of the Myrna and Bernard Posner collection of silver and objets de vertu; a large selection of George Nakashima furniture being offered for the first time since it was purchased in the 1960s; several pieces of Americana from the estate of Eric Martin Wunsch; items from the estate of Alice Whitney Lorillard; and a private Ohio collection.

Objects of note include rare 18th century cast-iron firebacks and stove plates; a beautifully inlaid mahogany Federal serpentine sideboard, made in Baltimore between 1800 and 1820; a labeled William Fiske dressing mirror; monumental girandole mirrors; and a cast bronze sculpture by Leonard Baskin (American, 1922-2000), titled Holocaust and signed and numbered (“4/10”).

The fine art category will also feature two large-scale paintings by John Thomas Serres (British, 1759-1825), depicting the Battle of the Saintes, pitting the English Navy against the French, during the day and at sunset. Serres enjoyed great success. He exhibited extensively at the Royal Academy and was the maritime painter to King George III.

Jean-Baptiste Corot (French, 1796-1875) will be represented in the sale with a captivating oil on canvas on panel painting titled Prairies sur le bord de la scarpe, pres Arras. Corot was a pivotal figure in landscape painting as well as a printmaker in etching. His vast output simultaneously references the Neo-Classical tradition and anticipates the plein-air innovations of Impressionism.

Also up for bid will be a whimsical painted polyester sculpture by Niki de Saint-Phalle (French, 1930-2002), titled Juggler Vase (2000), signed, editioned and numbered. De Saint Phalle was a sculptor, painter and filmmaker, one of the few female monumental sculptors. Other artists in the auction will include Thomas Sully (American, 1783-1872) and Jerome Kirk (American, b. 1923).

The furniture pieces by George Nakashima (American, 1905-1990) feature a set of six walnut conoid dining chairs and a walnut low table with free-form edge. Both are from the 1960s. Nakashima was an American woodworker, architect and furniture maker. He was a leading innovator of 20th century furniture design and a father of the American craft movement.

Nakashima frequently established close relationships with his earliest patrons and even wrote their names on the boards personally selected for the furniture forms they were to become. Many pieces being sold from the collection and estates of Elayne and Monroe Weinstein indicate this collective and personal touch.

Other furniture in the auction will include a Chippendale mahogany block-front slant-front desk (Mass., circa 1760-1780); and a Chippendale walnut and figured maple chest over drawers (Pennsylvania, circa 1760-1790). Silver pieces will feature a Tiffany sterling silver coffee pot in the Mooresque pattern, designed by Edward C. Moore and made by John C. Moore for Tiffany; and an Indian silver enameled and jeweled spice box, Rajasthan, made in the mid-19th century.

Starting in the 1950's, Bernard and Myrna Posner had an avid interest in sterling silver and works of art. Their taste ranged from pieces that were American and British to ones that were Chinese, Australian and Southeast Asian. Their silver collection consisted of objects that crossed all time periods and varied from decorative objects to utilitarian pieces. Some of it was bought overseas.

Nye & Company Auctioneers recently launched its new updated website (nyeandcompany.com). It allows clients to bid directly on the site, simplifying and streamlining the process. The site also offers more access to the bidders, with online forms and pre-formatted inquiry forms. Of course, clients are still able to use the popular platforms LiveAuctioneers.com and Invaluable.com. The full catalog can be viewed now, on the new website. Phone and absentee bids will be accepted.

Catalog online viewing and pre-bidding is already underway and will continue on up to auction day. Folks can still preview and bid on and during auction day. In-person previews will be held on weekdays, Sept. 9-13, from 10-4 Eastern time, and on Sunday, Sept. 15, from noon to 4 pm.

John Nye had a long and fruitful career at Sotheby’s before he and his wife, Kathleen, acquired Dawson’s in 2003 and started Dawson & Nye. With the move to Bloomfield seven years later, they renamed the business to Nye & Company (Auctioneers, Appraisers, Antiques). The firm is nationwide, but the vast bulk of the business comes from trusts and estates in the tri-state area.

For more information about Nye & Company Auctioneers and the Collectors’ Passion Auction slated for Wednesday, September 18th, visit www.nyeandcompany.com. The color catalog can be seen now at www.nyeandcompany.com, www.LiveAuctioneers.com and www.Invaluable.com.

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