Ahlers & Ogletree’s New Year’s Signature Estates Auction, Jan. 15th-16th

Atlanta, GA — Ahlers & Ogletree, the Atlanta-based auction powerhouse, will dive right into 2025 with a two-day New Year’s Signature Estates auction on Wednesday and Thursday, January 15th and 16th. The auction is loaded with an extraordinary array of items that include an impressive selection of Asian art, timeless 19th century furniture, fine and decorative arts and collectible sports memorabilia. In all, close to 800 premier lots will cross the auction block, starting promptly at 10am Eastern time both days, online and live in the Ahlers & Ogletree gallery located at 1788 Ellsworth Industrial Boulevard NW in Atlanta.

Asian Art Highlights

Online bidding will be available at bid.AandOauctions.com, as well as LiveAuctioneers.com and Invaluable.com. Telephone and absentee bids will also be accepted. January 15th features many fine Asian items, led by a pair of polychrome-painted standing arhats on integral lotus pedestals, likely from the Ming Dynasty, both 49 inches tall. The youthful Ananda wears layered flowing robes, with hands joined in a gesture of devotion. Kasyapa, the elder figure, clasps his hands at the chest, with surfaces painted in colorful tones (est. $8,000-$16,000).

Another noteworthy Asian lot from Day 1 is a Chinese, Qing Dynasty, polychrome painted seated Guanyin Bodhisattva with a calm facial expression, 48 inches tall, resting in a royal ease pose on a rocky base. The right leg pendent and the left leg bent with the left hand resting on the shin, the right hand raised in Shuni Mudra, dressed in flowing robes with a beaded necklace (est. $6,000-$8,000). January 16th will showcase an array of fine art from many established estates.

Online Bidding Available

One is an untitled (Figures at Work) watercolor on paper by Charles Henry Demuth (American, 1883-1935), circa 1934, signed and dated to the lower right “C. Demuth ‘34”, with a Strathmore Student blind stamp to the lower left. The 11 inch by 15 inch work (paper, less frame) should finish at $5,000-$7,000. The other is a circa 1945 gouache on paper by Athos Rudolfo Menaboni (Italian/American, 1895-1990), titled Mourning Dove. The 38 ¼ inch by 28 ¾ inch (paper, less frame) painting is signed lower left and titled lower center.

It is accompanied by a handwritten letter from the consignor, detailing his personal encounter with Menaboni, and an authentication on verso (est. 4,000-$8,000). Day 2 will feature a selection of exquisite Tiffany lots, to include an early 20th century Favrile bronze mounted pottery vase, 6 ½ inches in height. Having a mossy green glaze over a bulbous earthenware vase and silvered copper scroll and foliate decorated mount. It’s incised interconnected “LCT”, “B.P. 367”, “L.C. Tiffany – Favrile Bronze Pottery” to the underside (est. $3,000-$5,000).

Italian Masterpieces

Returning to Session 1, a 19th-century French parcel ebonized bureau Mazarin kneehole desk in the Louis XIV taste features shell veneer boulle work with figural, floral, and arabesque brass inlay, seven drawers, and a fall-front compartment. It rests on baluster legs with a stretcher on bun feet, remains unmarked, and was acquired from Sotheby’s in the 1970s. The desk is expected to hammer for $5,000-$10,000. A monumental, untitled (The Virgin and Christ Child with St. Augustine or St. Ambrose and St. Francis) Italian School oil on canvas painting, rendered 19th century or earlier, unsigned and measuring a stout 68 ¾ inches by 54 ¼ inches (canvas, less frame), should make $4,000-$6,000.

A 20th century 8-panel partial run (panels 1, 5, 6, 17, 18, 19, 20) of Hindustan hand-blocked scenic wallpaper by Zuber et Cie (French, founded 1797), depicting a lush romanticized Indian landscape, unmarked, the largest section 60 ½ inches by 138 ¼ inches and the smaller section 60 ½ inches by 56 ½ inches, from a 1,265-wooden block scene carved in 1807, should command $4,000-$6,000.

Fine Art & Rare Collectibles

A contemporary composition parcel gilt center table in the Baroque taste, possibly Continental, features a circular tessellated abalone and mixed stone pietra dura top inlaid with precious or semi-precious stones. Three winged female figures support the table on C-form legs, with a floral-filled urn at the center. The table rises on disc feet, and the top measures 48 inches in diameter. The estimate ranges from $3,000 to $5,000. A Lalique (French, founded 1888) limited-edition Poseidon crystal vase, 11 ¾ inches tall, with green seahorse figural handles and rising bubbles, signed and numbered “05” of 99, accompanied by paperwork, the original box, foam and Lalique tying ribbon, should achieve $4,000-$6,000.

Back over to Session 2, where a palatial Victorian mahogany and glass display case made in America or England in the late 19th or early 20th century, with a shaped cornice over a dentil frieze supported on a glass body, 101 ½ inches tall by 124 inches deep, has an estimate of $2,000-$4,000. In the sports memorabilia category, an official National League baseball signed on the sweet spot circa 1942-1946 by Joe Gordon (1915-1978), a Hall of Fame member class of 2009, the ball certified in 2023 by JSA, housed in a plastic presentation holder, should garner $3,000-$5,000. An untitled (Maritime Scene) oil on canvas marine painting by Lemuel Eldred (Mass., 1848-1921), signed lower right and 9 inches by 12 inches (canvas, less frame), should sell for $1,500-$3,000.

Antique Handwoven Rug

A 20th-century, hand-woven Indian Heriz rug features a floral design with a center medallion in blue, red, tan, brown, and green, and an indigo center field. The rug measures 20 feet long by 19 feet 3 inches wide and remains unsigned. The estimate is $1,500-$3,000. A preview will take place on Monday, January 13th, and Tuesday, January 14th, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern time at the Ahlers & Ogletree gallery. No appointment is necessary.

The public is invited. To learn more about Ahlers & Ogletree and the two-day New Year’s Signature Estates auction on Wednesday and Thursday, January 15th and 16th, online and live in the Atlanta. Georgia gallery starting at 10am Eastern time both days, please visit www.aandoauctions.com. Updates are posted frequently. You can also follow Ahlers & Ogletree on social media, at Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook.