Recent Acquisition of the Lichtenstein Princely Collections: Joachim Fries, Clockwork drinking vessel
Joachim Fries, Clockwork drinking vessel with Diana mounted on a stag. Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein.
Silver, cast, embossed, chased, engraved parcel-gilt, partial coloured cold-enamel decoration fully functional original spring-driven mechanism. height 34 cm, width 24,2 cm, depth 10,6 cm. Inv.-No. SI261.
This sculpture is not only a masterpiece of the goldsmith’s art but also an ingenious object of stately display and courtly banqueting ceremonial: it belongs to a group of automata featuring Diana, goddess of the chase, the bases of which concealed a clockwork mechanism that propelled the object across the dining table in a series of controlled movements. The guest in front of whom it came to a stop would then have to lift the stag with its rider from the base, remove the head of the animal with its antlers and drink from its body. As long as the animal’s body was still full, it was still relatively easy to drink from it, but the emptier it became, the greater the risk of spilling the remaining contents over one’s face and clothing – to the amusement of one’s dining companions.
It was in these automata that superb gold craftsmanship, a long sculptural tradition and well-developed clockwork technology came together in a felicitous synthesis. These small sculptures from Augsburg combine influences from very different quarters. While a great number of artworks imported from Italy arrived in the city, artists from Augsburg or master craftsmen working there also made the journey to Italy themselves, where they worked in some of the most important studios. Adrian de Fries (Adriaen de Vries) and Hans Reichle, for example, gained experience in the studio of Giambologna in Florence.
The “invention” of the composition of Diana mounted on a stag is attributed to the Augsburg goldsmith Matthias Walbaum (b. c. 1555 in Kiel, master goldsmith in Augsburg c. 1590, d. Augsburg), who d the first examples of such groups around the turn of the 17th century. Jakob I. Miller (b. c. 1550, master goldsmith in Augsburg before 1583, d. Augsburg 1618) and Joachim Fries produced their own variations of this type from around 1610.
Acquired in 2009 for the Princely Collections, this Diana automaton is notable for its original clockwork mechanism which is still in perfect working order: once the spring mechanism is wound and a release mechanism is actuated the object moves across the table after covering approximately 60 cm a swivelling steering wheel manoeuvres it into a right-angled turn, so that after changing direction four times the automaton has more or less covered a square.
Enamel & Rhinestone Elephant Brooch by Kenneth J. Lane. U.S.A. 1970's
Enamel & Rhinestone Elephant Brooch by Kenneth J. Lane. U.S.A. 1970's
Colorful figural Elephant costume brooch by Kenneth J. Lane. This whimsical interpretation of an Indian elephant has red, blue and green enamel & rhinestones on ears and trunk. There are blue cab eyes, pave white rhinestone ears and dangling pearl accents. It measures 3 1/4" x 2 1/4" and is marked KJL. Price $495
Dragonette LTD. 711 N. La Cienega Blvd. Los Angeles CA, 90069. Phone: 310-855-9091 - E-Mail: dragonette@mac.com
18K Gold Enamel Frog Brooch With Diamond & Ruby Eyes. Italy. 1960"s
18K Gold Enamel Frog Brooch With Diamond & Ruby Eyes. Italy. 1960"s
Beautifully executed whimsical frog brooch in 18K yellow gold finished in green enamel with diamond & ruby studded eyes. It measures 2" x 1 1/4" and is stamped: ITALY and 18K. Price $995
Dragonette LTD. 711 N. La Cienega Blvd. Los Angeles CA, 90069. Phone: 310-855-9091 - E-Mail: dragonette@mac.com
18K and Gemstone Chinese Foo Dog Brooch, USA, 1950's
18K and Gemstone Chinese Foo Dog Brooch, USA, 1950's
Fantastic Stylized Foo Dog Brooch. Cast and engraved Gold with diamonds, rubies and sapphires. Beautiful hand finishing to the gold. Price $5,000
Dragonette LTD. 711 N. La Cienega Blvd. Los Angeles CA, 90069. Phone: 310-855-9091 - E-Mail: dragonette@mac.com
Italy, 18th century. Farnese Hercules
Italy, 18th century. Farnese Hercules. photo Sotheby's
bronze. inscribed: ΕΛΥΚζΟΝ ΑΟΗΝΛΙΟº ΗΟΙΟΙ on front of rocky support; and bearing the inscription ANNO.1602 on front right side of plinth. height 28 3/4 in., 73 cm. Est. 30,000—40,000 USD. Lot Sold 68,500 USD
PROVENANCE: Heim Gallery, London
LITERATURE AND REFERENCES: Penny 1992, vol. II, no. 416
NOTE:
RELATED LITERATURE: Haskell and Penny, 1981, no. 46
The colossal antique marble figure of the Farnese Hercules, signed by Glycon and now in the Museo Nazionale, Naples, was first definitely recorded in 1556 when it was in the Palazzo Farnese. It was displayed in the first courtyard of the Palazzo until 1787 when it was taken to Carlo Albacini's studio for restoration and subsequently to Naples. The figure was greatly admired through the following centuries and in the 18th century both Zoffoli and Righetti, among other sculptors, produced bronze statuettes of the model.
Sotheby's. Important European Terracotta & Bronze Sculpture from the Arthur M. Sackler Collections. 29 Jan 10. New York www.sothebys.com
Christoph Amberger (Place unknow circa 1505 - 1561/2 Augsburg) Portrait of Hans Jakob Fugger, three-quarter length
Christoph Amberger (Place unknow circa 1505 - 1561/2 Augsburg) Portrait of Hans Jakob Fugger, three-quarter length, before a green drape. photo Sotheby's
oil on panel.
dated upper right: MDXLI (1541). 37 3/4 by 31 1/4 in.; 95.9 by 79.4 cm. Est. 200,000—300,000 USD. Lot Sold 1,202,500 USD
PROVENANCE: In the collection of the Princes Fugger, Babenhausen;
Probably in the collection of the Liechtenstein family, Castle Friedau, Österreich;
Graf von Trautmannsdorf, Castle Friedau, Österreich;
Gräfin Isbary, Vienna, circa 1927;
Thence by descent to her daughter, Princess Windischgrätz, until 1968;
With Frederick Mont Inc., New York, 1968;
Gift of the Michael J. Connell Foundation to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1968 (acc. no. M.68.33).
EXHIBITED: Los Angeles, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, A decade of collecting, 1965-1975, April 8-June 29, 1975, no. 57.
LITERATURE AND REFERENCES: Bulletin of the Los Angeles County Museum, Annual Report, 1967-1968, vol. XVIII, Nr. 3,4 (1969), pp.9-11;
H.J. Seldis, "Top Museum Acquisitions Span Styles, Centuries", in Los Angeles Times, January 19, 1969, p. 44, reproduced;
A decade of collecting, 1965-1975, exhibition catalogue, Los Angeles 1975, pp. 171-2, cat. no. 57, reproduced;
M. Young, "A Decade of Collecting. Los Angeles County Museum of Art", in Apollo, 101, 1975, p. 220, reproduced p. 222, plateVII;
K. Donahue, Los Angeles County Museum of Art Handbook, Los Angeles 1977, p. 68, reproduced;
K. Löcher, "Christoph Amberger", in Welt im Umbruch. Augsburg zwischen Renaissance und Barock, exhibition catalogue, Augsburg 1981, p, 145, reproduced, p. 146;
S. Schaefer, et al., European Painting and Sculpture in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Los Angeles, Los Angeles 1987, p. 12, reproduced;
K. Löcher, "Amberger, Christoph", in Künstler-Lexikon, vol. III, 1992, p. 123;
Katalog Munchen, 2000, p. 181, reproduced, p. 182;
A. Kranz, Christoph Amberger: Bildnismaler zu Augsburg, Bonn 2000, pp. 307-11, cat. no. 30, reproduced in color, plate 72;
N. Bulst and T. Lüttenberg, "Andreas Priever: Abbild oder Wunschbild? Bildnisse Christoph Ambergers im Spannungsfeld von Rechtsnorm und gesellschaftlichem Anspruch", in Saeculum, 53/I, 2002, p. 65.
NOTE: In 1968, Alfred Strange described this portrait as "... one of the most beautiful works of the full-blown Renaissance in Germany."1 It was painted in 1541 by Christoph Amberger, the leading painter in Augsburg at the time, and it almost certainly represents Hans Jakob Fugger, eldest son of Raimond Fugger and a member of the richest family in the Holy Roman Empire.2 The portrait's success lies in its fusion of German Renaissance and Italian Mannerist ideals, rising out of the tradition of Holbein and Dürer's great portraits of the early decades of the 16th century while looking too at the stylized aristocratic portraiture being developed by Pontormo and Bronzino who, at about the same time, were court painters in Florence to the Fuggers' great rivals, the Medici. Here, Fugger is depicted as the epitome of Renaissance man, impeccably dressed in a dark jacket in the Spanish style that was the height of fashion circa 1540, his hand resting above the hilt of his beautifully molded sword, and looking confidently, perhaps even arrogantly, into the distance.
In the same year Amberger painted the portrait of Hans Jakob's younger brother, Christoph (1520-1579), in similar guise, at the age of twenty, on a panel of near-identical dimensions (Munich, Alte Pinakothek; fig. 1). In this latter Christoph does indeed appear a few years younger than Hans Jakob in the present portrait and he shares with him a great physiognomic likeness. Christoph's portrait can be traced with certainty back to the Fugger family collection at Babenhausen3 and it seems very likely that these two portraits thus constituted a joint commission from Amberger to paint the two brothers in 1541 (of which more below). In the same year Raimond's middle son Georg (1518-1569) sat to Jakob Seisenegger, completing the trio of portraits, although it is not clear why Amberger was not asked to paint this portrait in addition to the other two.4
Hans Jakob married the seventeen year old Ursula von Harrach (d. 1554) in 1540. Ursula's likeness is recorded in an engraving by Dominicus Custos (after 1550 – 1612) of a now lost painting which however, on the basis of style, has been attributed to Seisenegger by Locher. Locher has suggested that the portrait was commissioned at the same time as the Los Angeles picture and may very well have been executed by Seisenegger as a pendant to it.5 Seisenegger had been invited to Augsburg in June 1540 on the occasion of Hans Jakob and Ursula's marriage and, through his portrait of Georg, we know he was still in the employ of the Fuggers in 1541, at the same time as Amberger, so this theory seems quite plausible. However, equally likely is that the set of portraits were commissioned by the brothers on their gaining commercial control of the Fugger trading company in 1541.
1. Bulletin of the Los Angeles County Museum, Annual Report, 1967-1968, vol. XVIII, Nr. 3,4 (1969), p. 9.
2. Around the time of this portrait their fortune was calculated at 63 million florins.
3. It was acquired in 1927 directly from the Fuggers of Babenhausen.
4. K. Locher, Jakob Seisenegger, 1962, pp. 87-88, no. 32. Of a fourth brother, Raimond the Younger, no extant portrait by either artist exists.
5. Private communication with the Museum in 1974. Reproduced in O. Fischel, Tizian (Klassiker der Kunst), vol. III, 1924, p. 286.
Sotheby's. Important Old Master Paintings and Sculpture. 28 Jan 10. New York www.sothebys.com
Lucio Fontana (1899-1968) Concetto spaziale, Teatrino & Concetto spaziale @ Christie"s London, 12 February 2010
Lucio Fontana (1899-1968) Concetto spaziale, Teatrino. Photo: Christie's Images Ltd 2010
waterpaint on canvas and lacquered wood, 43¼ x 43¼in. (110 x 110cm.). Executed in 1966. Est. £150,000 - £200,000
Provenance: Serge de Bloe, Brussels.
Galerie Bernard Cats, Brussels.
Anon. sale, Christie's New York, 16 November 2006, lot 144.
Acquired at the above sale by the present owner.
Literature: E. Crispolti, Lucio Fontana, Catalogue raisonné des peintures, sculptures et environments spatiaux rédigé, vol. II, Brussels 1974, no. 66 TE 13 (illustrated, p. 176).
E. Crispolti, Lucio Fontana, Catalogo Generale, vol. II, Milan 1986, no. 66 TE 13 (illustrated, p. 620).
E. Crispolti, Lucio Fontana, Catalogo ragionato di sculture, dipinti, ambientazioni, vol. II, no. 66 TE 13 (illustrated, p. 809).
Lucio Fontana (1899-1968) Concetto spaziale. Photo: Christie's Images Ltd 2010
Signed 'L. Fontana' (lower right); signed 'L. Fontana' (on the reverse), paper, 19 5/8 x 23 5/8in. (49.8 x 60cm.). Executed in 1962-63. Est. £20,000 - £30,000
Provenance : Private collection (acquired by the father of the present owner and thence by descent to the present owner).
Notes: This work is recorded in the Archivio Lucio Fontana, Milan, under number 1737/84.
Christie's. Post War and Contemporary Art Day Auction. 12 February 2010. London, King Street www.christies.com
Jessica Kagan Cushman: Drop Dead Chic jewelry
Scrimshaw Spider Cuff by Jessica Kagan Cushman
Flaunting a perilously captivating spider, this genuine scrimshaw spider cuff suggests equal parts Pop and Victoriana with the elegant touch of a beautiful entomological rendering. Made of fossilized mammoth ivory, this hand-inked, hand-finished piece flaunts all the delectable natural nuances that give scrimshaw its unique appeal. Measures 1 3/4" wide with a 1 1/4" opening. Price $2,650.00
Scrimshaw Fly Cuff by Jessica Kagan Cushman
Fascinating and fabulous, here's a fly you'll be slapping on your wrist with great regularity (and a guaranteed hit every time). This genuine scrimshaw cuff suggests the elegant touch of a beautiful entomological rendering. Made of fossilized mammoth ivory, it flaunts all the delectable natural nuances that give scrimshaw its unique appeal. Measures 1 3/4" wide with a 1 1/4" opening. Price $2,095.00
Scrimshaw Lion Cuff by Jessica Kagan Cushman
Flaunting a fierce flash of leonine pride, this genuine scrimshaw lion cuff suggests equal parts Pop and Victoriana. Made of fossilized mammoth ivory, this hand-inked, hand-finished piece flaunts all the delectable natural nuances that give scrimshaw its unique appeal. Measures 1 3/4" wide with a 1 1/4" opening. Price $2,650.00
Skull and Crossbones Cuff by Jessica Kagan Cushman
Drop-dead chic at its wittiest and most heartwarming, Jessica Kagan Cushman's divine skull & crossbones cuff makes a curiously life-affirming style statement, whether worn solo or as part of a spirited ensemble stack. Made of hand-poured resin, hand-inked and hand-finished, it was crafted to resemble real ivory scrimshaw, down to the natural variations that give scrimshaw its unique appeal. Measures 1 3/4" wide with a 1 1/4" opening. Price $170.00
Diamond Maltese Cross Cuff by Jessica Kagan Cushman
Strikingly executed in diamonds and sterling silver, a shimmering Maltese cross makes a charismatic, contrasting statement on a smooth ebony open-backed cuff. Price $3,400.00
Multi-Colored Tourmaline Cuff by Jessica Kagan Cushman
Tourmalines in different shapes and hues form a magical mineral medley atop a sleek ebony open-backed cuff. Stones set in 14K gold. Price $5,500.00
Diamond Skull Cuff by Jessica Kagan Cushman
In a striking display of drop-dead chic, a twinkling diamond cranium dazzles from its sterling silver setting atop an ebony-hued wood open-back cuff. Price 3,300.00
Crowned Skull Ring by Jessica Kagan Cushman
Magnificent, majestic and crowned with a spirited sterling crown, a bold brass skull makes a radiant statement on a most memorable ring. Price.$550.00
All available @ vivre
Philippe Bradshaw (1965-2005) Untitled (Mr. Tooth Series)
Philippe Bradshaw (1965-2005) Untitled (Mr. Tooth Series). Photo: Christie's Images Ltd 2010
anodized aluminium chains. 120 7/8 x 100 7/8 x ¾in. (307 x 256 x 1.9cm). Executed in 2002. Est. £15,000 - £20,000
Provenance: Acquired directly from the artist by the present owner in 2002.
Notes: 'We enjoy the cynical, the empty when we can overcome the icon, we enjoy being what we are: iconoclasts, breakers of images, in bondage' (Bradshaw, quoted in A. Dannatt, 'Philippe Bradshaw: Artist Whose Work Was 'Absolutely Mad,'' The Independent, 16 September 2005).
'The life of Philippe Bradshaw, like his work, demonstrated an eccentricity more extreme than that of the average English artist and there was perhaps a genuinely dangerous pitch to his recklessness, his f-you panache, which stood out even amongst the loud antics of his peers those fabled YBA's or "Young British Artists". None of this diminishes the genuine shock and loss of his untimely death aged 39, nor the manner of his going, his body having been found in the Seine' (A. Dannatt, 'Philippe Bradshaw: Artist Whose Work Was 'Absolutely Mad,'' The Independent, 16 September 2005).
Christie's. Post War and Contemporary Art Day Auction. 12 February 2010. London, King Street www.christies.com
A Qianlong mark and period saucer dish. 清代 Qing Dynasty, 乾隆 Qianlong Period (1736-1795)
A Qianlong mark and period saucer dish. 清代 Qing Dynasty, 乾隆 Qianlong Period (1736-1795) © 2000-2010 teadust.com
the shallow sides rising to an everted rim raised on a high ring foot. The exterior and interior are covered in a rich copper red glaze suffused with large craquelure. On some of the crackled lines copper has randomly migrated and fired a deeper hue creating an impromptu design. This unusual phenomenon occurs in the center of the dish and in the cavetto and on the reverse. The bottom of the dish is glazed white and in the center is a zhuanshu seal mark of the Qianlong Emperor in underglaze blue. Diameter: 7 1/8" (18.1cm). Condition: Excellent, dish is slightly warped, no chips, cracks or restoration. Price on application
Provenance: Vermeer & Griggs Collection No. 714
Vermeer & Griggs Asian Art 3705 New Macland Road, Suite 200-312, Powder Springs, Georgia 30127-1966. Tel: (770) 222-8529 - info@teadust.com or info@vermeer-griggs.
A Qianlong mark and period saucer dish (details). 清代 Qing Dynasty, 乾隆 Qianlong Period (1736-1795) © 2000-2010 teadust.com
