June 10th, 2024, Live Auction starting at 5:30
Collectors of Mid-Century and Contemporary furniture will delight in items from a gentleman’s home in Chester, CT to be offered at Winter Associates on June 10th. A signed Carlo Malnati (Italian 20th C.) dining table c.1975 with polychrome exotic wood and undulating rim top that rests on a pedestal base. Malnati designed each piece individually with as much thought for his furniture designs as for his drawings, oil paintings and sculptures. The table was part of a room’s furnishings that also featured Roche Bobois objects, including: an “Ivresse” marble top side table designed by Roberto Tapinassi & Maurizio Manzoni; "Drop Cocktail Table" designed by Gaetan Coulaud; and an “Equinoxe” carpet measuring 11’ x 8’ by Elizabeth Leriche, all once displayed in the same room a Samuel Cashwan 20” h. wooden sculpture purchased from James Graham & Sons, as well as 10” h. stoneware vase by Georges Ventrillion for Mougin Nancy that will also be in the sale.
Paintings and prints from the Chester collection will be auctioned including a striking Elizabeth Catlett 1990 lithograph “Dancing”. Catlett, an African-American woman born in 1915, used her print-making and sculpture to, in her own words, “present black people in their beauty and dignity for ourselves and others to understand and enjoy”[i], purposefully making art for people who were struggling with racism, oppression and gender inequality. Catlett discovered the Mexican printmaking method while traveling on a fellowship and eventually relocated to Mexico City in 1946 where she joined a circle artists including Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo, and David Siqueiros.
Twelve Georges Rodrigue signed silkscreens (the second half of a collection from a Massachusetts doctor, the first half performed well at Winter Associates’ May 5th Auction) will be part of the sale. Other boldly colored works offered are a pastoral scene by David Davidovich Burliuk and an oil on canvas by Haitian artist Frantz Zepherin of a stylized Mermaid surrounded by sea creatures. Zepherin’s work is a strong example of the vivid colors, intricate designs and spatial awareness associated with the island culture with African roots.
An unusual boxed collection of Pre-war Japanese silver salt and pepper shakers, many of them marked by Asahi Shoten, are presented in a custom fitted red lacquer box marked “K. Inouye” with lift lid and two drawers. The full relief silver objects are forms such as a well with buckets, Samuri helmet, Manji gates, sailboats, a rickshaw, etc. Some very fine silver objects were created in Japan pre-WWII, many with a higher silver standard than sterling, some of these pieces are marked 950. Other significant Asian lots to be sold at auction include a 20” h. Ming Dynasty cast iron sculpture of Kuan Yin; Qing Dynasty monumental pottery censer; two large oil on canvas paintings by 20th century artist Wang Kun, as well as a large number of metal, ivory and carved wood sculptures, pottery, textiles, woodblocks, other paintings, etc.
Two noteworthy sterling flatware services will be offered, an impressive 175 piece Durgin “Fairfax” set handsomely cased and retailed by J. E. Caldwell and a forty-nine piece set of Georg Jensons’s “Pyramid”. Other sterling includes a six piece Art Deco tea and coffee service by Towle; items by Tiffany & Co., Cartier. For those interested in objects de vertu are early boxes, the last offering from a New Haven collection, boasting a wide variety of English and Continental boxes in brass, silver, tortoiseshell, and ceramic. Particular items of interest include a pair of tortoiseshell domed writing etui cases with silver mounts and retractable pen, a 19th C. French wax stamp with unusual interchangeable tablets stored inside, and early brass boxes inlaid with mother of pearl and tortoiseshell.
Other items not mentioned above from fine homes and estates in Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island in this sale will include 17th-20th C. paintings including a 17th C. Dutch oil on board; 19th and 20th C. prints; Asian ceramics and textiles; Continental furniture and accessories including an 18th C. Spanish Colonial writing desk; jewelry; Oriental carpets, etc.
The June 10th auction will be live at the Plainville CT gallery starting at 5:30pm and is also available on Invaluable and LiveAuctioneers. Winter Associates’ auction catalog is available online at www.AuctionsAppraisers.com as of Friday, May, 31st. Winter Associates, Inc. is located in central Connecticut at 21 Cooke Street in Plainville, CT. Previews are Friday, June 7th from 12:00 – 4:00 p.m.; Sunday, June 9th from 2:00 – 4:00 p.m.; and on Monday, June 10th from 12:00 – 5:00 p.m. Previewers are welcome at other times, please call to schedule an appointment. (860) 793-0288.
Absentee bids can be submitted prior to the sale and bidders are welcome to actively bid during the sale online or by phone bid. Pickup will be by appointment only, please call the office and we will do our best to accommodate you.
[i] https://www.moma.org/collection/works/88189