Auction action in Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES – Auctioneers generally exercise caution when antique dealers want to auction off their inventory because dealers, understandably, want to protect their interests and often demand high reserves. If any reservations were in place when Andrew Jones Auctions donated Part I of the John Nelson Collection on October 24, the sale results suggest they were unimportant. The 271 lots offered successfully crossed the block and the sale more than doubled its estimate to $ 1.6 million.

The sale was somewhat different as the dealership passed away in mid-June. He was a staple of the Los Angeles antiques and design scene for over 50 years, specializing in European furniture and furnishings, Chinese porcelain, paintings, sculptures, antiques, and Grand Tour items. Its reputation has sparked interest in sales around the world; the prices achieved testify to his eye.

“I am more than delighted that the sale has gone as fantastically as it did,” said Andrew Jones, President and CEO of the company. “A telephone bidder at the auction said, ‘I bet John is looking up from the sky with a big smile.’ I can’t imagine a better result than this. Jones noted that he was especially happy to have done so well for a dealer he had known for years and considered a friend.

Nelson’s marbles did wonders, with a pair of nearly life-size marble dogs, on gray marble plinths, winning the “Best in Show” award. A buyer in London outlived bidders in the US and Europe to win them for $ 62,500. The second highest honor was awarded to a young person’s 18th or 19th century continental white marble torso, which a Los Angeles decorator wrested from global competition, for $ 35,000. Two Roman marble lion head reliefs that turned out to be probably ancient were sub-auctioned by an international antique dealer, who lost $ 23,750 to a collector in the Los Angeles area.

Bronzes were also popular with buyers, especially those of the Grand Tour variety. A large mid-19th century Italian patinated bronze bust of King Nicomedes on a giallo marble plinth nearly quadrupled its high estimate and sold for $ 10,625. Two 19th century Italian patinated bronze figurines each brought in $ 9,375; one was a copy of the Spinario, the other a model of the Runner of Herculaneum.

Almost half of the sale was in furniture, with Continental paired works attracting particularly strong results. A New York decorator had to shell out $ 30,000 to beat international competition on a pair of late 18th or early 19th century Italian half-moon consoles, gilded and painted white, with trays in coralline breccia marble. Of similar age and origin, a pair of gilded wood and cobalt glass pier mirrors fetched $ 27,500 from a Los Angeles decorator, while a pair of George II gilded wood pier mirrors, possibly Irish, reflected their quality in the price of $ 22,500 achieved. A pair of Louis XVI style side cabinets in gilded bronze and gilt and scarlet lacquered amaranth and thuja, made and marked by Jean Louis Benjamin Gros of Paris in the third quarter of the 19th century, had marble tops Spanish brocatelle and were traded at $ 27,500.

Fine arts made up about a quarter of the sale with the category headed by a painting of two dogs tied up after Joseph Urbain Melin (French, 1814-1886), one of four works in the artist’s sale. It was sold to a New York decorator for $ 25,000; the others sold more modestly, $ 10,000 or $ 11,250. A collector in the southern United States acquired two, a collector in Los Angeles acquired the fourth.

A painting by a disciple of Jacob Bogdani (Dutch Hungarian, 1660-1724) featured a composition filled with lush flowers, birds, and a monkey; it climbed to $ 21,250, while a group of four scenes of 18th or 19th century Italian cappriccio closed at $ 15,000.

Jones thought the Nelson collection would take over a year to sell; The second part is scheduled for December 12.

The prices indicated include the buyer’s premium. For more information, 213-748-8008 or www.andrewjonesauctions.com.

“Best in Show” and the first lot of the sale. A buyer in London will give this almost pair of 19th century Italian Carrara marble dogs a new home, for $ 62,500 ($ 15 / $ 25,000).

A designer in the Los Angeles area beat underbidders around the world, paying $ 35,000 for this eighteenth- or nineteenth-century Continental white marble torso of a youngster ($ 000).

International interest was strong in Continental furniture, but a New York decorator prevailed, carrying a pair (only one shown here) of gilded and white painted neoclassical Italian consoles with 30,000 breccia corallina-veneered marble tops. $ ($ 15 / $ 25,000).

This pair of 80-inch tall Italian Rococo gilded wood pier mirrors were dated to the mid-18th century and featured cobalt glass elements. They were sold to a Los Angeles decorator for $ 27,500 ($ 10/15,000).

“Dog lovers did not approve of tether,” said Andrew Jones, but this did not seem to have an impact on the result as this portrait of two dogs, after Joseph Urbain Melin (French, 1814- 1886) brought $ 25,000 from a decorator to New York City. This is one of four works attributed to the artist in the sale (000 $).

It can be difficult to judge with precision the age of the Marbles and the house has covered its bets, cataloging these two Roman marble lion head reliefs as “maybe” ancient; the interest in them was such that after the sale they thought they probably were. A private collector in Los Angeles, sub-auctioned by an international antique dealer, paid $ 23,750 for both ($ 000).

The large size (66 inches by 51½ inches), abundant flowers, birds and a monkey in the lower left corner of this floral still life by a disciple of Jacob Bogdani (Hungarian Dutch, 1660-1724) was enough to overcome some condition issues. It brought in $ 21,250 from a commercial buyer in Texas ($ 3 / 5,000).

Made in the style of Maison Baguès, a pair (only one shown here) of 18th-century gilt bronze and French cut-glass 18-light chandeliers brightened up the sale, making $ 20,000 from a New York decorator (8 / $ 12,000).