John W. Charlton opened his business in New York under the name of J.W.Charlton in 1909, later changing to Charlton & Co when Robert S. Chapin became his partner. In the 1920s, branches were open in Palm Beach and in Paris. In 1934, another partner Grant A. Peacock acquired ownership of the company, changing the name to his own. Charlton was known for creating some of the most important jewels of the Art Deco period, with an impressive client list equalling those of the biggest jewellery firms.
ASPREY & CO. LTD. (founded 1781) London, UK
Important Natural Ruby Gem Set 18K Gold Cardinal Bird Sculpture 1980
Finely chased and chiseled 18K yellow and white gold realistically rendered sculpture of a Cardinal bird set with
85+ carats (approx.) of natural gem quality oval and round cut Burmese rubies (GIA certificate) further heightened with enamel eyes and blackened gold face plumage details, the 18K gold and natural ruby cardinal sets atop a natural Amethyst crystal “mountain rock” with a tooled and gilt (script mark) on the leather under-pad.
Marks: A & Co. (in a quatrefoil), Crown mark, 750 (gold standard mark) Lion’s head (London assay mark) “F” date mark for 1980, tooled and gilt Asprey (script mark) on the leather under-pad
Provenance: Privately commissioned by the Sultan of Brunei’s younger brother, Prince Jefri Bolkiah who also later became the owner of Asprey & Co in the 1995. This rare sculptural 18K gold and natural ruby Cardinal was handmade by the finest jewelers and work masters in the workshop of the London Asprey & Co. located above the flagship store at 167 New Bond Street.
H: 3 ¾” x L: 5 3/4” x W: 1 ½”(Cardinal only)
H: 6” x W: 6 ¾” x D: 5 ¾” (with Cardinal atop natural Amethyst crystal rock)
As one might guess, a large part of the animal symbolism of the cardinal comes from the brilliant red color of the males. In fact, its name is derived from the royal red vestments worn by Catholic cardinals. This shock of red, especially against the stark backdrop of winter snow, is a magnificent sight. The male cardinal reminds us passion, warmth and vibrancy is available to us – even under the cloak of Winter’s grey clouds. Interestingly, the more bold and bright his color is, the more successful the cardinal will be at prolonging his lineage. Dull colored male cardinals are less likely to mate successfully than bright colored ones. True to the fire of his color, the crimson cardinal has got some major spunk. He will aggressively defend his territory, and fight attackers with ferocity. Indeed, they have been known to fight ghost males (their reflections) in mirrors for hours on end. Both male and female give us glorious songs. Along with peeps and pips and warbles, the tuned ear can also hear “cheer, cheer, cheer!” Very appropriate to the animal symbolism of cardinals, because they are a delight to both eyes and ears. The cardinal makes a fantastic animal totem. It reminds us to hold ourselves with pride, not ego pride but rather the cardinal asks us to stand a little taller, be a bit more regal and step into our natural confidence as if we were born to lead with grace and nobility. Those who attract the cardinal as their totem are naturally energetic, love life, and happily help others where and when they can!
Marcus & Co Art Nouveau pendant necklace, Handwrought 18 K yellow gold set with a large cabochon natural emerald center stone (approx. 30+ carats TW, G.I.A. certificate, moderate clarity enhancement, 18.30 x 18.20 x 12.20mm) surrounded by green enamel details with gold looping bezel mounts and platinum topped diamond side details set with 43 diamonds (approx. 6 carats TW), cabochon emerald pendant drop (approx. 15 carats TW) with a green enamel and gold capped top, elaborate looping 18K yellow gold chain, signed, c. 1900
EDWARD HALD (1883-1980) Sweden
ORREFORS GLASWERKS Sweden
Covered crystal jar c. 1930
Blown clear crystal with applied black glass foot: blown clear crystal lid with applied black glass finial.
For more information and related illustrations see: Orrefors Glass (New York: Alastair Duncan, Publishers, Inc., 1970); Scandinavian Modern 1880-1980 , David Revere McFadden
H: 6 3/8″ x Dia: 6 1/2″
ALEXANDRE NOLL (1890-1970) France
Covered box c. 1930
Mahogany with ebony peg details and 1 ¼ inch thick Saint-Gobain glass.
Marks: ANoll
Provenance: Private Collection New York, Galerie de Beyrie Paris, Odile Noll (A. Noll’s daughter), Alexandre Noll Estate
For more information see: Alexandre Noll, Olivier Jean-Elie, Pierre Passebon (Paris:Edition du Regard, 1999); Alexandre Noll: Les Matres de L’ Art Decoratif Contemporain, Collection dirigée par R. Moutard-Uldry edited by (Geneve: Pierre Cailler, 1954); Le Mobilier du Xxe Siécle: Dictionnaire des
Créateurs, Pierre Kjellberg (Paris: Les Éditons de l’Amateur, 1994) p. 455-456.
H: 2 1/2″ x D: 5 3/8″ x W: 8″
SHOWA PERIOD (1926-1989) Japan
Occasional table c.1930
Water-worn ebonized cypress with a prominent grain pattern on four splayed legs
H: 12 ½” x W 29” x L: 41 ½”
CHARLES CATTEAU (1880-1966)
BOCH FRERES KERAMIS La Louviere Belgium
Tulip vase c. 1930
Glazed earthenware
Marks: “Keramis” Made in Belgium , D. 2524 B, 945
H: 10 1/4″ x D: 6 1/2″
Charles Catteau could be regarded as one of the most versatile ceramic artists of his generation, especially for the style of Art Deco. Catteau advanced the forms, techniques and decoration of modern ceramics, creating an exceptionally original, new and decorative genre.
Hired as a ceramic decorator in Ecole Nationale de Sèvres from 1903 to 1904, he began producing designs that were rather traditional, based on the observation of nature, and showing the influence of Japonisme, characterized by pure lines and meticulous details. From 1904 to 1906, he worked in Nymphenburg Porzellan Manufaktur near Munich, a factory specializing in new hand painting procedures under a slip, as well as Art Nouveau.
In 1907 he finally moved to Louvière in Belgium where he was promoted to head of the decoration department at Boch Freres Keramis at the age of 27. This is where most of his exceptional talent came to the fore especially during the period between the two World Wars. Influenced by the great creative art movements of the time (Africanism, Japonisme, Cubism, Abstraction) and his observation of nature gave him inspiration for his designs, with the integration of plants, stylized animals and geometric motifs. The international avant-garde movements were also an influence leading to his use of purely abstract, geometric designs and intense colors. Charles Catteau was incredibly resourceful and explored various harmonies of form, techniques, designs, colors, shades, topics, variants and influences. In this way Catteau became a representative par excellence of Art Deco designs, giving it his personal touch. He was instrumental in introducing technical innovations during the 20’s and 30’s to aid mass production of ceramic products and expand availability of affordable products. During difficult times in Europe, he created vivid, colorful, original and uplifting ceramic wares.
Charles Cotteau motto was “Art for All” and he also taught decorative painting at the School of Industrial in Louvière. In 1925 he obtained international recognition in the exhibition of Decorative Arts in Paris. which helped raise the profile of Boch Freres. He remained at the company until he retired to Nice in 1946 .
Marcel Kammerer (1878-1959) Austria
Gebrüder Thonet Vienna
Pedestal with four-ball shelf, circa 1905.
Ebonized beech.
Marks: Thonet (original paper label).
For more information on Thonet see: Thonet Bentwood & Other Furniture, Christopher Wilk introd. (New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1980) (reprint of the original 1904 catalogue); Casa Thonet, Storia dei mobili in legno curvato, Giovanna Massobrio, Paolo Portoghesi(Roma: Editori Laterza, 1980); Against the Grain: Bentwood Furniture from the Collection of Fern and Manfred Steinfeld, Ghenete Zelleke, Eva B. Ottilinger and Nina Stritzler (Chicago: The Art Institute of Chicago, 1993).
H: 46 3/4”
D top: 12”
D base: 13 1/2”
Shelf: 9 3/4″ x 10”
Price: $14,000
AMÉDÉE DE CARANZA (active 1875-1914) (b. Turkey / active France)
COPILLET ET CIE Noyon
Nasturtium vase 1903-1906
Blown glass with floral & foliate luster decoration handpainted on a muted iridescent ground.
Signed: A. de CARANZA (on the side near base)
Marks: Copillet et Cie, Noyon, 842 (twice)
For more information and related illustrations: European Art Glass (New York: Ray & Lee Grover, Charles E. Tuttle Publishers, Inc., 1970) pp. 69, 94-96; L’Art Du Verre En France 1860-1914, Janine Bloch-Dermant (Edita Denoel, 1974) pp. 36-37; Glass: Art Nouveau to Art Deco, Victor Arwas (New York: Abrams, 1987) pp. 56-58; L’Europe de L’Art Verrier, des Precurseurs de l’Art Nouveau a l’Art Actuel 1850-1990, Giuseppe Cappa (Liège: Mardaga, 1991) pp. 72-74.
H: 10″
Copillet, H.A. Thomas Henri Alfred Copillet was originally a printer, and produced a local newspaper in Paris. When he moved his works to 13 Fauburg de Paris he acquired a kiln in the process, and thus in 1903 was began a new glass works. His designers were Amedee de Caranza and Edouard de Neuville. They produced a whole range of Art Nouveau glassware, many with a dark iridescent finish. They also produced opaline glass, and glass panels for use in church windows. The company went bankrupt in 1906, although the new management (Lefevre and Lhomme) kept a little of the production going for a while, the factory was destroyed during the First World War.
JAPANESE MEIJI PERIOD (1868-1912) Japan
“Koi” covered box c.1900
Cloisonné with silver wire and wireless orange enamel with silver foil backing and cobalt blue enameled background with silver foil and enameled underside, red woven silk interior.
Original wood hinged box with padded cotton interior, attached paper label of an unidentified artist cipher (see box cover).
Dimensions of wood box:
H: 3 5/8″ x W: 5 3/4″ x D: 4 3/4″
Raymond Subes (1893-1970), France.
Coffee table, circa 1935.
Wrought iron, beige, ecru, and dark brown Afghanistan jasper top.
Related work illustrated: R. Subes, Ferronnerie Moderne (Paris: Editions Vincent, Fréal et Cie., n.d. [c. 1937]).
For more information see: Art Deco, Victor Arwas, (New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1980) p. 305; Encyclopedia of Art Deco, ed. Alastair Duncan, (New York: E.P. Dutton, 1988.) p. 152, 167.
H: 19 1/3” x D: 35 1/2”
Price: $38,000
During the 1930s, Raymond Subes became one of the foremost designers of wrought iron in his native Paris. Subes studied at the Ecole Boulle and the Ecole des Arts Décoratifs before going to work for Emile Robert, a leading ironwork designer. He later became the artistic director of Borderel et Robert. At this venerable firm he created iron grills and doors for architectural commissions, many of which may still be seen all over Paris. His work was exhibited at the Paris 1925 Exhibition of Decorative Arts and he designed the wrought ironwork for the ill-fated ocean liner the Normandie. Subes’ early work was ornate and naturalistic, but gradually became more geometric and linear. This Art Deco table is a particularly lyrical example of his mature style, with its gracefully scrolling iron legs.
MARION FALLER USA
HOLLIS FRAMPTON USA
Apple Advancing 1975
Signed: 782. Apple advancing [var. “Northern Spy”] from “Sixteen Studies from Vegetable Locomotion,” 1975 by Marion Faller & Hollis Frampton) on back of photograph; Marion Faller Hollis Frampton (in script on the bottom of the back of the photograph)
H: 10 7/8” x W: 13 7/8” (unframed)
H: 15 3/16 “ x W: 20 15/16” (framed)
CHARLES GREBER France
“Chameleons” vase c. 1905
Stoneware with crystalline-structure glaze in creamy white beige and blue tones with floral motifs and three full scale chameleons perched on the edge.
Marks: C. Greber (incised script)
H: 6 1/4″ x Dia: 7 1/2″
The potter-sculptor has awakened Darwin’s theory of evolution with this vase and has furthermore humanized these reptiles with an amusing sense of cameraderie.
GEORGE WASHINGTON MAHER (1864-1926) USA
Rockledge “Man’s chest of drawers” for E.L. King (unique) 1911-12
Original vintage cream/white painted surface (some losses to the top surface) on hardwood structure with original bronze drawer pulls (natural patina)
Provenance: Ernest & Grace King, henceforth descended through the King family; Private Collection, Wisconsin from Hollander Auction Gallery, Milwaukee WI (1982); Private Collection, New York
Illustrated: The Western Architect, “Geo. W. Maher, a democrat in Architecture” (March 1914, n. p. – for a period photograph showing this model in situ in the master bedroom), Prairie School Architecture: Studies from “The Western Architect” H. Allen Brooks (Toronto, 1975, p. 179).
H: 71” x W: 44 ¾” x D: 26 ¼”
(Gift to The Wolfsonian-FIU, Miami Beach, FL)
Information and other examples from the Maher / Rockledge commission can be found in the following books and publications: The Art that is Life: The Arts and Crafts Movement in America, 1875-1920, ed. Wendy Kaplan, (Boston: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Little, Brown and Company, 1987), pp. 396-400,The Ideal Home: The History of Twentieth Century American Craft, 1900-1920, Janet Kardon (New York: Abrams, 1993) cover illus. and p. 205; Geo. W. Maher Quarterly, Oct.-Dec., 1992, pp. 1, 16, 17; Arts, December, 1995, The Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis, Minn. cover and back cover.
Examples of artworks from Rockledge are in the permanent collections of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, NY, The Brooklyn Museum of Art, The Newark Museum, The Baltimore Museum of Art, The Minneapolis Institute of Arts, The Milwaukee Art Museum, The Wolfsonian, Miami Beach, FL, The Boston Museum of Fine Arts, the Houston Museum of Fine Arts, the Dallas Museum of Art and the St. Louis Art Museum.
In 1912 George Washington Maher designed Rockledge, a summer residence near Homer, Minnesota, for E.L. King. Sited just beneath a cliff along the Mississippi River, Rockledge is considered the finest residence of Maher’s career and a perfect example of his motif-rhythm theory of architectural design.
***Please note that the chest in the period illustration (as the pairing on view) is the woman’s version chest of drawers, which is slightly smaller and has the open segmental arched top. This chest can now be found in the collection of the Milwaukee Art Museum. On the other hand the man’s chest of drawers is a larger piece of furniture and has the segmental arch contained within the overall rectangular form of the back support. As a further note, the rocker is now in the permanent collection of the Detroit Institute of Art, courtesy of Historical Design Inc.