Ahlers & Ogletree's Auctions July 17-18 Featured Historical Documents, Americana, Asian Works Of Art

By Author: Jamia Berry
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A consulate appointment signed by President Abraham Lincoln brought $12,100 and a group of nine pieces of Chinese carved nephrite jade with six wooden stands realized $9,680 in two days of auctions held July 17th (Historical Documents, Books & Americana) and July 18th (Asian Works of Art) by Ahlers & Ogletree. The online-only auctions combined to gross a robust $321,997.

The Historical Documents, Books & Americana auction featured 354 lots of letters, signatures and ephemera from 42 U.S. Presidents; documents and pamphlets relating to the founding of America, the Revolutionary War and the American Civil War; a collection of Duck Stamp prints deaccessioned from the Morris Museum in Augusta, Ga.; and an important Southern historical documents collection.

The Asian Works of Art sale, the next day, contained 189 lots of Chinese and Japanese ceramics; works on paper; works in stone, wood and bronze; a selection of fine Chinese Export pieces; and a collection of Southeast Asian masks. Both the Lincoln- signed consulate appointment and the group of Chinese carved nephrite pieces sold above their high estimates ...
... and were the top lots of their session.

Most of the higher-dollar items came on July 17th. The consulate appointment, dated April 18, 1863, was signed by Lincoln using a dip pen. It also bore the signature of U.S. Secretary of State William Seward, and was accompanied by a JSA (James Spence Authentication). The document recognized Johannes Schumacher as the ‘consul for the Free Hanse of Bremen’, at the consulate office in Boston.

Following are additional highlights from the auction, at which internet bidding was facilitated by Bid.AandOAuctions.com, LiveAuctioneers.com and Invaluable.com. Both sales were online-only, so there were no in-gallery bidders. There were also no phone or absentee bids submitted. All prices quoted include a 21 percent buyer’s premium.

Two of the July 17 session’s big surprises came in the form of a 1946 luncheon notice from the city of Westminster, England, given in honor of Winston Churchill and signed by him, nicely framed and with a photo of Churchill ($4,538, against a high estimate of $800); and a letter handwritten and signed by Ronald Reagan, framed in a gold toned frame matted together with a photo of Reagan and a piece of memorabilia from his presidential campaign in Raleigh, N.C. ($3,328, against a high estimate of $400).

Several strands of George Washington's hair, a piece of cloth from his personally worn vest, and an informative placard, framed in a glass covered silver tone frame matted with a large printed picture of Washington and a printed reproduction cut signature, finished at $2,420; while several strands of Abraham Lincoln’s hair, a small swatch of cloth from a piece of the flag used during his funeral train ride, a large printed picture of Lincoln, and a printed reproduction cut signature hit $1,815.

A captain’s plaque from the World War II battleship USS Missouri, dated Sept. 2, 1945 and marking the location of the Japanese surrender, removed from the ship when President Reagan formed the retrofitted 600-ship navy in 1984, achieved $4,538. Also, 1936 Berlin Olympic Games scrapbook containing a Jugend Ehrendienst sleeve triangle patch in blue with Olympic rings above 'Jugend Ehrendienst' in yellow, plus five pencil autographs from various Olympic athletes, fetched $2,722.

Moving on to Day 2, the top lot of nine pieces of carved jadeite and nephrite jade with six stands included a dog with a puppy, a raven with cherries, a rat with grapes, a duck, a carp, a cat with a kitten, a tiger and two dark green belt buckles with low relief horses. The jade ranged in color from cream to celadon to a dark green. The group easily blew past its pre-sale estimate of $400-$600.

A Japanese six-panel byobu screen made in the manner of Soga Chokuan (Japanese ca. 1596-1615), with tethered hawks (or falcons), paint on paper adhered to a gold paper background, unsigned, each panel 55 inches tall by 19 ½ inches wide, rose to $3,025. Also, a Japanese, Azuchi-Momoyama period (or possibly early Endo period) Wakizashi sword and saya with paperwork, the bo-hi fuller and manuki man-made symbols made from copper with gold and silver highlights, reached $1,452.

A group of six pieces of Chinese carved jadeite and nephrite jade, the jadeite carvings depicting two boys and a scholar all in cream to pale celadon colors, the nephrite jade carvings depicting two boys and peaches, all in pale celadon, unsigned, settled at $3,025. Also, a Chinese carved blanc de chine Hu vase, having a leiwen band above a meandering lotus band on a diapered ground, the underside having an impressed six-character Qianlong seal style mark, 12 inches tall, hammered for $1,452.

A pair of Chinese rose Mandarin porcelain vases, now mounted as lamps, circa 1830, each having applied Buddhist guardian lion handles and salamanders, enamel decorations with birds, butterflies, flowers and reserves with court figures, sold for $2,178; while a pair of Chinese yellow ground fishbowls, the exterior of each decorated with vases holding lotus blossoms, coins, and chimes, all on a yellow ground, the interior having a lotus pond with pairs of ducks and dragonflies, hit $1,210.

Next up for Ahlers & Ogletree will be more back-to-back auctions, on September 12th (featuring the estate of Gregory Crawford) and 13th (featuring the estate of Diane McCluskey; and October 2nd and 3rd, which will see a fall two-day auction. Watch the website for details as auction dates approach.

To learn more about Ahlers & Ogletree and their calendar of upcoming auction events on September 12th and 13th and October 2nd and 3rd, please visit www.aandoauctions.com. Updates are posted often. You can also follow Ahlers & Ogletree through social media on Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook.