I.M. Chait Gallery

Lot 48: Henan Resist Glazed Vase
Nice Chinese Henan ware of probable antiquity and attractive design. The vase stands 11" high -- impressive. The floral design was archived by use of a resist (probably wax) that exposed the body of the ware when the brown glaze was flowed over the surface of the vase.

Lot 62: Rose Medallion Serving Plate
Rose medallion wares in recent years have sold for less than they did even five years ago. Part of the problem seems to be the massive importation of modern, cheap, and inferior rose medallion porcelain. So here is an opportunity to acquire an old and a large platter that may not bring its intrinsic worth at auction. It is elaborately decorated with courtship scenes. See also lots 186 and 187 for other examples of old Rose Medallion.

Lot 99: 18th Century Export Cup and Saucer
Yes, this is an elegant 18th century Chinese export cup and saucer in the famille rose pattern. This is a classic!

Lot 103: Carved Hardwood Guanyin
This majestic and elegant piece of hardwood carving represents Guanyin seated on rocks among waves in the "royal ease" posture. It is not clear how old this carving is, but old or new it looks attractive.

Lot 350: TWO SCULPTURES BY FRANÇOIS SICARD
A nice piece of portrait sculpture in cement that has good documentation about the sitter, Suzanne Sicard, wife of Post-impressionist painter Pierre Sicard. There is loss to the nose -- but with help from a sculpture restorer this can be corrected with ease as there is enough of the nose left to manage a reasonable guess about its original appearance.

Gray's Auctioneers

Lot 13: A vintage white enameled New Process gas oven.
I cannot resist repeating the story that when my mother installed a gas stove like this one in my grandmother's home (replacing her cast iron coal stove) Nana was incensed. She had been away in California for a few weeks and returned to find what she observed was "poison" gas introduced into her home. She learned to live with the newfangled gas stove, While she no longer needing to split kindling to start the fire, the gas stove always seemed to her, a dangerous intrusion.

Lot 45: An American oak arm chair.
In Baltimore, c. 1900, the Bagbee Furniture Company made good use of steaming and bending wood and impressing it with decorative motifs that looked like hand carving. This chair looks like a Bagbee product.

Lot 54: A white metal bird cage on stand.
I love quirky bird cages. This is certainly one of that species.

Lot 130: A 19th century Victorian Eastlake walnut folding side chair attributed...
George Hunzinger was a furniture manufacturer who took out patents to protect his interest in elaborately turned chairs. Indeed, this might be one of his. He often stamped his name and patent date on the side of turnings.

Lot 131: An Eastlake combination rocking/high chair.
Here is a patent child's chair that can be transformed from a rocker to a high chair and thence to a stroller with wheels. They were produced in quantity at Heywood/Wakefield in Gardner, MA. after about the year 1875. Note the Wicker Rocker of Heywood Wakefield in Lot 138. That example is a classic rocker for screened porch furniture.

Eldred's

Lot 40: INLAID IRON SHIN NO MARU-GATA TSUBA With openwork and brasswork chrysa...
Collecting Tsuba is a cultivated taste. This article is a hand guard to slip onto a Japanese sword blade. There are many Tsuba offered in this auction -- enough to begin an instant collection. I select this example because its chrysanthemum design speaks eloquently of Japanese affection for this design motif emblematic of an era. For variety consider lots 8, 14, 37 and 71. Much ingenuity and craft skills are evident in these Tsuba. Note that Lot 71 is carved of wood!

Lot 213: IMPORTANT OGATA KENZAN POTTERY DISH In square form with grape leaf des...
This very early and important Ogata Kenzan pottery dish comes with a thermoluminescent document to confirm its date. This is a test which burns a tiny sample to determine how much cosmic energy has been absorbed by the pottery since its original firing. The firing drove off all cosmic energy and started the clock at zero so the steady return of energy can be calculated to document the date when the object was made.

Lot 278: KANO SCHOOL TWO-PANEL SCREEN A crane and pine tree at a river''s edge....
Poetic would be the word to describe this two-panel screen of the 1870s depicting a crane behind a pine tree at a river's edge. I could live with this screen with pleasure. Yet there are many others in this auction that deserve consideration. For example, see Lots 220, 272 and 273.

Lot 323: BRONZE FIGURE Depicting a young woman carrying a sickle and a teapot. ...
Bronze sculpture made in nineteenth century Japan is often intensely realistic. This example seems to me to be especially well detailed. I wonder what the young woman was supposed to hold in her right hand.

Lot 324: CAST IRON TETSUBIN In tree stump form with scroll and fret medallion o...
Japanese cast iron of the nineteenth century appeals to me because often it is beautifully wrought. This example of a cast iron Testsubin seems wonderfully detailed with images.

William Bunch Auctions & Appraisals

Lot 20: Photographic print of mountain landscape with Psalm 19:1 plaque. 30" ...
I have no idea when this photo was taken, by whom or where. But it is a dramatic image, attractively framed.

Lot 46: Meade 10" LX200GPS telescope on tripod base.
Look at the night sky this month at 12:30 am on the 27th of August to see Mars at a mere 34,65M miles from the earth. This is the closest it will be until the year 2287-- or beyond our lifetimes. Here is a 10" telescope on tripod base that might help. However, I am told that Mars will look like a second moon in the sky! Better order a swift delivery from the auction in order to receive it by the 27th.

Lot 146: Green marble pedestal. 13" square x 42" high.
Marble pedestals are always useful for those who own sculpture. I like the classic shape of this example.

Lot 147: Black round top marble pedestal. 14" diameter x 43" high.
Should you miss buying the previous marble pedestal, here is another backup.

Lot 20: PAUL JACOULET The Geisha, Kiyoka. Tokyo.
In this print a Japanese Geisha is pictured looking at another print by Paul Jacoulet. The image is beautifully rendered by carver Kentaro Maeda and printer Tetsunosuke Honda.

Lot 35: PAUL JACOULET The Green Caterpillar.
Meditative and humorous at the same time, this print, published on 25 November, 1936, is in excellent condition.

Lot 52: PAUL JACOULET Snowy Night.
Boldly patterned, this wood block print depicts a black sky with falling snow and a figure with a lantern and a hat making his way on that "Snowy Night."

Lot 58: PAUL JACOULET Jade Lady.
The "Jade Lady" of this print is Chinese. On February 2, 1940 this print was made by the carver Kentaro Maeda and printer Yoshizo Onotera, as noted on the lower right margin of the print.

Lot 64: PAUL JACOULET The Master Potter.
I like this print because the image captures the meditative aspect of decorating pottery with designs that are precisely controlled but not mechanical.

Lot 498: IKUSEI From the Russo-Japanese War, depicting the destruction of the R...
It is amazing how adaptive Japanese artists were in depicting events involving the Russo-Japanese War. This dynamic print shows the destruction of the Russian flagship by a Japanese harbor mine.

Lot 570: KAWASE HASUI "Fudo Temple in Meguro, Tokyo." Depicting a figure outsid...
I've admired this image of a print showing the Fudo Temple in Meguro, Tokyo before. It is a dynamic composition involving sunlight and shadows on steps and dramatic architectural features. Just beyond the temple a cherry tree seems to be in bloom. I was in Japan when the cherry trees were in bloom -- magnificent! Many folks spend the night under blooming trees watching the light of the moon through the cherry blossoms while celebrating the event in good company and with drink. That was an experience to remember!

Lot 584: HIROSHI YOSHIDA "Misty Day in Nikko." Marked with jizuri seal. Pencil ...
This wood block image of a "Misty day in Nikko" recalls for me a visit my wife and I paid to this Shinto Shrine. We were guided by a monk named Abbe' who blessed or cleansed us at the bronze tombs of the Tokogawa Shoguns. Thereafter we entered into sacred spaces of the Shrine where a sense of mystery overwhelmed -- much like the mysterious and monumental image of this print.

Lot 593: HIROSHI YOSHIDA "Evening After Rain". 1926. Signed and titled in penci...
Tonal simplicity at its best is rendered in this print of 1926 by Hiroshi Yoshida. Its title is: "Evening After Rain."

Lot 599: HIROSHI YOSHIDA "Calm Wind." Marked with jizuri seal. Printed title. P...
Hiroshi Yoshida made this stunning image in 1937. It is called "Calm Wind" -- a very painterly print.

Lot 806: WOOD NETSUKE Attributed to Minkoku. In the form of a woman and her chi...
The former owner of this wooden netsuke was William Sturgis Bigelow who came from Boston and spent much time in Japan, adapting to Japanese life and culture. The collections of Japanese art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston is rich in part because of Bigelow's collecting. Look to other works in this auction with Bigelow provenance.

Lot 807: WOOD NETSUKE Depicting a woman beating cloth. Signed "Miwa." Ex Collec...
It always amazes me how the best netsuke artists ingeniously compress so much expression and detail into such small sculpture. This one is especially admirable.

Lot 823: WOOD NETSUKE By Joju. In the form of a hunter trapped by a badger. Sig...
Here is a role reversal-- the hunter trapped by a badger! Nicely carved.

Lot 901: GOLD LACQUER CASED SET OF SEVEN KOGO ON A THREE-FOOTED STAND Hexagonal...
Beautiful lacquer work in many different forms is offered in this auction. Here is a superb set of seven kogo on a three-footed stand made in the early 19th century and owned by Thomas G. Appleton of Boston.

Lot 1169: BRONZE FIGURE In the form of a monkey wearing a vest and examining an ...
Wonderfully detailed is this bronze sculpture of a monkey wearing a vest and examining an inro and monkey-formed netsuke. This is the work of an early 20th century Japanese sculptor.

Lyon & Turnbull

Lot 120: Nicholson, William
Twelve color plates are included in this work of 1898. They are by William Nicholson who made exceptionally dramatic graphic designs.

Lot 124: Rackham, Arthur & Barrie, J.M.
The illustrations of Arthur Rackham are always appealing. This is not the only work offered with images by Rackham in this sale. Look for the others and make your own choice.

Lot 139: Chaucer, Geoffrey
Imagine the opportunity to acquire the works of Geoffrey Chaucer printed in London in 1561! Do you own a sixteenth century book with woodcut illustrations? If not, here is an opportunity to stake your claim. Read the entry and decide if the light soiling, and other signs of age will prevent you from acquiring such a treasure.

Lot 187: Stevenson, Robert Louis
A first edition of 'Treasure Island' by Robert Louis Stevenson, must surely become a collector's treasure. This book was published in London by Cassell & Co., 1883.

Lot 346: Scottish binding
Magnificently tooled is this binding for the Holy Bible printed in Edinburgh, 1746.

Lot 360: Jackson, William Henry [attributed to]
William Henry Jackson was one of the greatest of early photographers in the American West. This mammoth-plate albumen print (about 53x41 cm) is attributed to Jackson. It pictures Old Faithful in the Yellowstone c. 1880.

Lot 402: Kane, Paul
Here is an important publication for those who collect early accounts of exploration on the north American continent. Paul Kane made very early images of North American Indians with careful observation about their ornament and clothing.

Lot 404: Melville, Herman
Here is a first edition book written by Herman Melville -- his narrative of four months residence among the natives of a valley of the Marquesas Islands -- London, John Murray, 1846. Those who collect early American literature should consider this.