The Bank of New Zealand Corporate Art Collection comes up for auction next month at Webb's Auckland. The catalogue is out now - click here to see those paintings and prices!
Webb's Auctions held a spectacular single owner collection of 110 scarce decorative Lalique glass pieces, resulting in a white glove sale (auction parlance for every piece sold). The collection belonged to Dr Jack C. Richards and was collected over a few decades. Many pieces surpassed their estimates, buoyed by international bidding. Some pieces creating new record prices. Hover over the images to see prices realised. The entire catalogue is available here.
Featuring a stylised Art Deco 'Three Faces of Eve' this lamp base sold at Webb's latest Estate sale this week. Previous white versions have sold in the region of $500-1500. Colourful ones have sold for more. The price includes buyers premium.
Crown Lynn Prices instagram account is a fantastic resource for up to date prices from Trade Me. Crown Lynn is still hot in the market, especially pieces such as those shown above, that are a bit different. The market loves quirky. At the same time large white pieces are still in demand as they work well in modern interiors. On the way up are the smaller colourful Ambrico pieces that are still available at the $30-50 mark. (Hover over the images for the prices realised)
When a lovely painterly artwork comes up for auction I like to look up its sales history to see where it has been and how much someone paid for it before. This can be a very interesting exercise for items such as the work shown above - a 'historical' [i.e. unfashionable] work that is not part of the contemporary art market 'bubble' we are experiencing at the moment.
This work entitled 'Red Slippers' is by a Dunedin born artist named James Fraser Scott (1877-1932). It first enters the market in 2014 where it is auctioned in Australia. It is lot 125 in an art sale at Davidson Auctions in Sydney. It sells for above the top estimate to realise AUD$1,600 (excl. BP). The estimate was AUD $800-1500. This may have been a dealer / punter with access and funds (and an eye) as it turns up at auction at International Art Centre 5 months later. In New Zealand it is now estimated at $3,000-5,000. It may have had a clean, as the work in the catalogue image is now a lot clearer, less yellow, although this could just be someone lifting the levels in their photograph. When I see this work it is up at Dunbar's early this month. This is the kind of work I love - painterly, loose brushstrokes, a not overly well known artist and the subject a woman doing her thing. The estimate in Dunbar's catalogue is $750-1,500 which is also something that got my attention. It also seemed affordable - another thing I like. The work sold for $4,000 + Buyers premium. I am not the buyer. This is less than its price 8 years ago (which is proof that a work doesn't always go up in value), but still a lot more than what it was estimated at. I hope it has found a home for a while. If you are interested in starting to buy art, it is a good idea to subscribe to a secondary database. See how an artist is doing on the market, or what your artwork of interest has sold for before and when. The Australian Art Sales Digest is a very comprehensive and easily searchable website. You can subscribe for around $40 a month. Website link here. The corporate art collection, consisting of 350 pieces, was put together under the stewardship of the late art dealer Peter McLeavey during the 1980s. Artists include all the big names such as McCahon, Fomison and Rita Angus. The collection will be auctioned by Webb's over two sales in September, after touring to Wellington and Christchurch. The funds will be used by BNZ to establish a foundation "to help accelerate the work organisations across New Zealand".
Cordy's March 2022 Antique Auction included a number of rare, early Crown Lynn items. Crown Lynn has been selling very well over the last few years, which you can witness any day on Trade Me or on the excellent instagram site @crown_lynn_prices But these pieces had the addition of early provenance direct to the Crown Lynn factory, which cast them into that other realm. Lot 38, A small black swan was estimated at $400-800, it sold for $4,200 (+ premium). A Wharetana Ashtray (Lot 34) sold for $3,800 (+ premium) against a $600-1000 estimate. And Lot 36, A rare hand-potted bowl in a black glaze was estimated at a generous $800-1600, it sold for $3,400 (+ premium). The seller's grandfather worked at the factory and I am sure they were very pleased with those amazing sales results.
The perennial favourite collecting area of Art Deco is still popular in the marketplace judging by Dunbar Sloane's latest sale. Unusually three Louis Wain animals (including a pig) were up for auction. The cat (as shown above) got the highest price selling for $12,000 plus premium. A cat planter sold two years ago at Webbs for just over $9,000 + BP.
A rare patterned Clarice Cliff (Queen of Art Deco pottery) vase also did well selling for $14,000. The other highlight from Dunbar's were a rare matched pair of Howard & Sons armchairs. These got a eye watering $23,000 plus premium. Once the upholstery is redone these are probably a $30,000 pair of chairs!
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Antique & ArtStories from New Zealand and over the seas Archives
November 2023
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