The Curator’s Eye present, for private sale, a choice offering of imminently collectible items. As part of its continuous online exhibition of the finest art and antiques from distinguished dealers across the globe, The Curator’s Eye (www.CuratorsEye.com) offers noteworthy objects ranging from American folk art carving to South American silver.
American Folk Trade Carving: Admiral George Dewey
A trade figure carving of Admiral George Dewey, created circa 1898 in New York City, leads the American folk art. This piece, attributed to the shop of Samuel Anderson Robb (1851-1928), is the one of two recorded trade figures depicting Admiral George Dewey. The other is known only from a circa 1911 photograph of the front of a shop on Third Avenue in New York City. This striking and rare carving was formerly in the collections of Helena Penrose, folk art dealer, and the Atwater Kent Museum.
African Power Figure: Yombe People
Coming out of Africa is a power figure nkisi with feathers and embedded magical materials from the Yombe People of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Angola, or Congo (Zaire). This piece is a magnificent and powerful work of art. The face is expressive, covered in a black tar-like substance yet maintaining clear facial features and reflective, original glass eyes. The body is carefully crafted and stands proudly upright, embodying great power and presence. Small details, such as the toes, the bulbous head crown of feathers, and the carved musculature of legs, rear, and upper back all provide balance to the enormously important magical abdomen which projects from the figural form. This is a superb, important figure for the most discerning of collectors was exhibited at the Indianapolis Museum of Art, where it underwent CT scanning that revealed the embedded magical objects.
American History: Jackie Robinson Inscribed Postcard
Also available is a signed postcard featuring Jackie Robinson, the first African American Major League Baseball (MLB) player of the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line when he debuted with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. As the first black man to openly play in the major leagues since the 1880s, he was instrumental in bringing an end to racial segregation in professional baseball. This is an excellent signed and inscribed postcard portrait by Jackie Robinson getting out of the dugout. A nice, romantic portrait of the great American hero, signed in ballpoint pen and in excellent condition.
Chinese Porcelain Panels: Cheng Yiting
From the other side of the globe is a set of four porcelain panels by the Chinese artist Cheng Yiting (1895-1948). The artist was one of the famous Eight Friends of Zhushan, under Master Pan Taoyu, who defined the Jungdezhen porcelain genre. Each panel is signed by Cheng Yiting, and these fine masterpieces depict the four seasons framed in select rosewood inlaid with mother of pearl. They are accompanied by written authentication by a senior researcher from the National Museum of China in Beijing who examined the works in person.
Brazilian Silver: Pineapple Sweets Cup
A rare and extraordinary piece of South American silver rounds out the offering of eclectic art and antiques. This extraordinary standing pineapple cup and cover, probably from 19th century Bahia, Brazil, comprises a life-sized and naturalistically rendered pineapple fruit that sits in a nest of leaves. The silver pineapple emulates the surface of a real pineapple, but the precise intended use of this item is unclear. Probably it was designed to as a whimsical sweets holder. It might also have held dried mate leaves or perhaps sugar for use with mate. Many of the silver articles produced in Brazil for local use, as a display of wealth, followed European forms, and throughout the colonial period, silver items were imported from Portugal which were copied locally. But other forms evolved too, and many incorporated local fauna and flora and were often associated with the storing, preparation and drinking of the beverage mate.
The Curator’s Eye is the distinctive online platform for the finest art and antiques from distinguished dealers around the world. To view more exceptional items from a wide variety of categories, visit www.CuratorsEye.com