Fine Art Society cast of Charles Sargeant Jagger’s Maquette for The Driver, estimated at $20,000-$40,000 at Doyle.
1. Charles Sargeant Jagger maquette
On September 13, Doyle New York will offer property from the estate of Donald D MacDermid and his landmark Greek Revival home, the 1826 Charles Daniels House in Chester, Connecticut. The proceeds of the sale will benefit The American School in Switzerland, where MacDermid attended from 1961.
Something of an anglophile and with many friends in London, works by several British artists are represented in the collection.
Estimated $20,000-$40,000 is a posthumous cast of Charles Sargeant Jagger’s celebrated Maquette for The Driver, a figure that appears in the Royal Artillery Memorial on Hyde Park Corner. Made in 1921-25, the monument features a model howitzer in stone surrounded by four soldiers in bronze, including The Driver standing with arms outstretched.
The maquette’s presence in the collection reflected Donald MacDermid’s family history. His uncle and namesake, Lt. Donald R. MacDermid was killed in action fighting for the British in France.
This 2ft 10in cast is numbered 6/10 from an edition created by The Fine Art Society, London.
View the catalogue entry for this Charles Sargeant Jagger maquette on liveauctioneers.com.
2. Jean Metzinger portrait
Femmes Aux Cartes by Jean Metzinger, estimated at $100,000-$200,000 at J Garrett Auctioneers.
Femmes Aux Cartes is characteristic of the later work of Jean Metzinger (1883-1956). The artist, once the public face of Cubism, had begun to loosen his strict adherence to the movement in the 1920s, choosing instead to focus on stylised female subjects. The artist's wife Suzanne Phocas, whom he married in 1929, is thought to be the model for many of these pictures.
This 2ft 5in x 2ft (74 x 61cm) oil on canvas, probably painted in the early 1930s, has a series of labels on the back including one recording its sale from Les Ateliers Paris to the Edgardo Acosta Gallery in Beverly Hills and another for its last outing at auction in May 1996 at Sotheby’s in New York.
It comes for sale at J Garrett Auctioneers in Texas on September 10, estimated at $100,000-$200,000.
View the catalogue entry for this Jean Metzinger portrait on liveauctioneers.com.
3. French bronze and enamel vases
Leading the Autumn's Arrival Auction at Akiba Galleries in Florida on September 12 is a spectacular pair of French bronze and enamel vases of a type shown at the 1878 Paris Exposition Universelle.
The 2ft 1in pair on polished slate bases combine the talents of two giants of late 19th century French decorative arts, the Parisian foundry of Ferdinand Barbedienne (1810-92) and the pioneering furniture designer Édouard Lièvre (1828-86).
Typical of Lièvre’s love of the fantastical and Japanese style decoration in particular, vases of this kind adorned Barbedienne's prize-winning stand at the 1878 Expo. A single vase was engraved and illustrated on page 153 of the Art Journal exhibition catalogue, The Illustrated Catalogue of the Paris International Exhibition, 1878.
As the headline lot at Akiba Galleries, they have broad expectations of $20,000-$80,000.
Lièvre, who had begun life as an illustrator, first collaborated with Barbedienne at the 1878 Paris Exposition Universelle. After becoming disillusioned that his designs were often failing to be manufactured in sufficient quantities, he instead worked on a bespoke commission for Albert Vieillard (d.1895), the director of Bordeaux's ceramics factory. The neo-Japanese furniture he created includes the celebrated Cabinet Japonais, now in the Musée d'Orsay.
View the catalogue entry for these French bronze and enamel vases on liveauctioneers.com.
4. Pierre Jeanneret armchairs
In 1950, the Swiss artist, architect and designer Pierre Jeanneret (1896-1967) joined his cousin Charles-Édouard Jeanneret (who assumed the pseudonym Le Corbusier) to create a new capital of Punjab.
The Chandigarh project involved much of the civic architecture, 14 different types of mass housing plus furniture for some of the public buildings.
The teak, cane and fabric armchairs Jeanneret created in France for the Punjab University, Chandigarh in c.1955 have become classics of mid-century design.
This pair, with a provenance to the university, comes for sale at Billings’ auction of Modern Art & Design on September 16. The estimate is $12,000-$15,000.
View the catalogue entry for these Pierre Jeanneret armchairs on liveauctioneers.com.
5. Chinese jade jar
A Chinese jade jar and cover mounted in silver by Edward Farmer, estimated at $1000-$2000 at DuMouchelles.
DuMouchelles' September 14-15 auction in Detroit includes two Chinese jades that come by family descent from the estate of Fred and Bertha Fisher. Fred Fisher (1878-1941) and his brothers formed Fisher Body Corporation which later became a division of General Motors.
The two Qing or Republican era hardstones both carry mounts by Edward Farmer (1872-1942), the New York dealer who specialised in Chinese works of art, as well as European antiques. He is best remembered for the decorative lamps and desk accessories he fashioned from Chinese hardstone carvings and porcelains.
Pictured here is a 6in (15cm) silver-mounted jar and cover carved in relief with running stag and crane in landscape that is estimated at $1,000-$2,000. Another Farmer creation, a jar in a celadon and lavender stone standing 17in high on a carved giltwood mount has expectations of $10,000-$20,000.
View the catalogue entry for this Chinese jade jar on liveauctioneers.com.
