Handcrafted Americana Brings The Charm

Charming handmade items are featured in this week’s expertly curated Americana auction. From tramp art boxes to collectible bird decoys, wooden frames to vintage gameboards, there are treasures galore found in this collection filled with unique origins and histories.

Following the motto “Waste Not, Want Not,” home crafters once made hooked rugs from rags and fabric remnants, useful items which have since become valued as folk art. A fine example that depicts a trotting horse will pace this auction. In excellent condition, the rug has been professionally cleaned and mounted for hanging.

Hooked rug, 1920s, professionally cleaned and mounted for hanging, 22 x 40 in. Estimate: $800-$900. Jasper52 image

 

Another hooked rug in the auction has a nautical theme and pictures a tall ship under a full sail. Also cleaned and mounted for hanging, it has a $400-$500 estimate.

Immigrants to America practiced their carving skills on cigar boxes and other discarded wood in what is commonly called Tramp Art. A fine example is a rather large and elaborately chipped-carved clock case, which is dated 1919 in large numerals across the crest. The inner compartment is accessed through a door on the front.

Tramp art clock case, chip carved, embellished with hearts, a horseshoe and inset rounds, dated 1919, 15 x 17.5 x 6.5 in. Estimate: $300-$400. Jasper52 image

 

Another 20th-century carving features an American eagle, its wings spread, and grasping an arrow. The carved pine plaque is ready to be hung above a mantel.

American eagle carving, 20th century, pine, approximately 23 x 8 in. Estimate: $150-200. Jasper52 image

 

While not necessarily carved by Americans, stone fruit is an attractive handmade collectible. Lifelike and nearly life-size pieces of fruit were carved from stone and carefully painted, mostly by Italian artisans. Nine pieces of 1930s stone fruit in the auction are certain to be hotly contested.

Collection of vintage stone fruit, carved stone, 1930s. Estimate: $200-$300. Jasper52 image

 

As hard as stone is a sewer tile that is nearly a foot tall. Novelties and ornamental items like it were sometimes made in potteries where the primary products were sewer tile and pipe.

Sewer tile dog, Ohio origin, 1920s, 11 1/2 x 7 x 5 in. Estimate: $700-$800. Jasper52 image

 

Collectible advertising in the auction includes a wooden three-dimensional sign listing a variety of Heinz Soups, which was originally a fixture in a 1950s luncheonette.

Heinz Soups café sign, wood, 1950s, 27 x 13 in. Estimate: $300-$400. Jasper52 image

 

View the full collection of Americana and take a trip down memory lane here.

6 Fascinating Facts About Cats in Japanese Art

It’s hard to dispute the global popularity of cats, whether you fancy them or not. From museums to memes, they are represented in ancient Japanese art and contemporary communications. That’s quite a narration for the four-legged creatures who reportedly first took up residence in Japan around 500 A.D. The cats were brought on as crew members of ships departing China for Japan, charged with the task of protecting religious documents against destruction by mice. Obviously, their missions as mousers runs deep.

Upon arriving in Japan, it didn’t take long for felines to establish a revered presence within ancient Japanese culture. However, even as celebrated as they were, according to Japanese folklore, cats were also viewed by some as devious and perhaps possessing of darker traits. Nevertheless, one thing is certain, the presence of felines in Japanese art is extensive, and dates back centuries. With that, here are 6 intriguing facts about cats in Japanese art.

  1. One of the masters of ukiyo-e woodblock art of the 17th century, Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1797-1861), was reportedly a serious fan of felines, often sharing his living space with multiple cats at any given time. In fact, it is said that he kept a record of the cats that died, and treated the passing of each with a great symbolic reverence.

    Ukiyo-e woodblock art, “Cats of the Tokaido Road Triptych” by Utagawa Kuniyoshi. Sold for $1,100. Jasper52 image

  2. Another centuries-old applauded feline of Japanese art and culture is the Maneki Neko. Immediately recognizable for its raised and welcoming paw, the Maneki Neko (commonly referred to as Fortune Cat or Lucky Cat) is said to bear multiple telling symbols. For example, if the Maneki Neko bears calico colors, which is a traditional shading, it is said to hold the most potential for luck. You might also notice, the raised paw of a Maneki Neko figurine could be either the left or the right paw. Either way, the symbolism is positive, and is said to be a gesture of beckoning wealth and luck.
  3. In 1979, Japan issued a commemorative postage stamp featuring the painting “Black Cat,” circa 1910, created by Meiji-period painter Hishida Shunso (formal name was Hishida Miyoji) during a period of only five days. Interestingly, Shunso’s portrait also appeared on a postage stamp, as part of Japan’s Famous Japanese Personalities series in 1951.

    An image of the painting done by Shunso in 1910, and the postage stamp featuring the image, issued in 1979. ArtHistoryProject.com images

  4. One of the most heralded modern exhibitions featuring cats in Japanese artwork was the “Life of Cats: Selections From the Hiraki Ukiyo-e Collection.” The exhibition was presented in 2015 by the Japan Society Gallery in New York. Nearly 90 examples of Japanese art, in various mediums, was included in the exhibition.
  5. The presence of cats in Japanese art isn’t limited to sweet and small. Big cats also appear in artwork dating back centuries. One of the largest and most diverse collections of Japanese art in the world can be found at The Cleveland Museum of Art. The collection boasts 1,950 pieces, including the impressive six-panel ink on paper work titled “Dragon and Tiger” by 16th century Japanese and Zen monk Sesson Shukei.

    “Dragon and Tiger” six-panel folding screen ink on paper, 16th century, by Sesson Shukei. The Cleveland Museum of Art image

     

  6. Cats are also beloved characters within the storylines and art of modern-day manga – comics created in Japan. For instance, the character Minako Aino, in the wildly popular “Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon” manga of the late 20th century, is accompanied by her talking guardian and advisor, a white cat named Artemis. The manga is the vision of Japanese artist and writer Nako Takeuchi (1967). The illustrations and largely female-led cast of characters went on to influence the development of Magical Girl manga and anime.

Be it centuries-old ukiyo-e woodblock art or modern-day manga and anime art, the reverence for felines is a common thread within the art culture of Japan. Whether it’s because of their supposed mystical properties, elegant and mysterious characteristics, or something else altogether, the fascination with felines in Japanese art and society is alive and well.

 

A Collection of Photographers’ Favorite Subjects

Many of the foremost photographers of the 20th century and their favorite subjects are featured in this unique collection of photogravures. Bidders in this week’s auction will be mesmerized by the surrealistic images by Man Ray or a poignant portrait by Yousuf Karsh. Below are a few of the standout images from the collection.

Trolley, New Orleans, perhaps the most famous of Robert Frank’s photographs from his seminal book The Americans, is estimated at $600-$800. The image was printed in 1958, the year The Americans was published.

Robert Frank, ‘Trolley, New Orleans,’ vintage sheet-fed gravure, printed in 1958 in France, 7.5 x 5 in. Estimate: $600-$800. Jasper52 image

 

From the same era, but miles apart in subject matter, is a bewitching portrait of actress Audrey Hepburn by Yousuf Karsh. Time magazine called Karsh (1908-2002) one of the great photographers of the 20th century, as did the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the latter noting the “distinct style in his theatrical lighting.”

Yousuf Karsh, ‘Audrey Hepburn,’ vintage sheet-fed gravure, printed in 1959 in the Netherlands, 9 x 11.5 in. Estimate: $150-$200. Jasper52 image

 

Indeed, people stand out in this auction. Another fine example is a couple sunbathing on air mattresses in a lake as a pair of ducks paddle by. The tranquil image is by French photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson, who specialized in humanistic photography. He was one of the first prominent users of 35 mm film, which enabled him to become a master of candid photography. The print titled The Lake of Zurich (1955) is estimated at $200-$300.

Henri Cartier-Bresson, ‘The Lake of Zurich,’ sheet-fed copper plate gravure, printed by Draeger, France, 9 x 13in. Estimate: $200-$300. Jasper52 image

 

Margaret Bourke-White (1904-1971) was an American photographer who recorded many “firsts” on her resume: the first foreign photographer permitted to take pictures of the Soviet five-year plan, the first American female ware photojournalist, and the photographer to shoot the first Life magazine. During the mid-1930s, Bourke-White, like Dorothea Lange, photographed drought victims of the Dust Bowl. One of those images is titled Hamilton, Alabama, a portrait of a weathered woman behind a horse-drawn plow.

Margaret Bourke-White, ‘Hamilton, Alabama,’ vintage sheet-fed gravure, printed in USA, 1937, 6 x 9 in. Estimate: $150-$250. Jasper52 image

 

Bill Brandt was a British photographer and photojournalist. Born in Germany, Brandt moved to England, where he became known for his images of British society for such magazines as Lilliput. Offered in this auction, is The Boy, a copper plate gravure printed in 1937.

Bill Brant, ‘The Boy,’ sheet-fed copper plate gravure, printed by Neogravure, France 1937, 8 x12 in. Estimate: $250-$500. Jasper52 image

 

Four gravures by Man Ray (1890-1976) are in the auction including an early printing of Photogramme (1930). Born Emmanuel Radnitzky, Man Ray was a photographer, painter, and filmmaker, who was the only American to play a major role in both the Dada and surrealist movements. A photogram is a photographic image made without a camera by placing objects directly onto the surface of a light-sensitive material such as photographic paper and then exposing it to light.

Man Ray, ‘Photogramme,’ sheet-fed gravure, printed by Neogravure Co., France, 1930, 7.5 x 9.5 in. Estimate: $300-$500. Jasper52 image

 

View the full collection of stunning images here.