Tag Archives: Asian arts

Paintings by B. Prabha (1933-2001) and Maqbool Fida Husain (1915-2011) will be Part of Bruneau & Co.’s Nov. 15th Auction

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Cranston, RI, USA, November 2, 2021 -/DailyVoice/- Paintings by the renowned Indian artists Maqbool Fida Husain (1915-2011) and B. Prabha (1933-2001) fared so well in past Bruneau & Co. Auctioneers sales, the pair will be back for an encore in the upcoming Estate Fine Art & Antique Auction slated for Monday, November 15th, online-only, starting at 6 pm Eastern time. Over 325 lots will come up for bid.

In September, a dynamic oil on canvas Cubist painting by Husain, depicting a rider on the back of a wild horse, sold for $43,750. Prior to that, in March 2020, an equestrian-themed watercolor on paper by Husain realized $16,250. In that same auction, a figural oil on canvas by B. Prabha, titled Woman with a Pear Basket, brought $11,875. Prices quoted included the buyer’s premium.

In the November 15th auction, the B. Prabha painting titled Indian Women Painting, depicting six Indian women with their hair tied back and long limbs, walking through a village, 30 ½ inches by 77 ½ inches, has an estimate of $15,000-$20,000. The work is signed by Prabha’s agent, Nayana Sarmalkar. Prabha entered the art world when few Indian women were involved professionally, and worked on more than 50 exhibitions, both inside and outside of India.

The Husain painting is a Cubist figural watercolor depicting a man and woman in bright polychromatic outfits on the back of a white horse. Housed in a 33 inch by 27 inch frame, the painting should reach $10,000-$15,000. It comes with a certificate of authenticity. Dubbed “the Picasso of India,” Husain started off painting billboard signs in India but quickly developed his own style by blending together folk, tribal, and mythological arts.

The Estate Fine Art & Antique Auction will feature fine items pulled from prominent estates and collections across New England, to include artwork, decorative arts, collectibles and Asian arts. “This will be the last fine art and antique auction of the year, rounding out with some amazing Indian artwork and looking forward to what we find in the New Year,” said Travis Landry, an auctioneer with Bruneau & Co. Auctioneers.

Kevin Bruneau, Bruneau & Co’s president and an auctioneer, added, “The sale consists of several local estates, including a longtime friend’s that features the whimsical statues that everyone gives a high-five to in the gallery.” He was referring to the pair of life-size figural kinetic metal sculptures – one male and one female, comprised of painted metal rods, one six feet tall and the other 80 inches tall. They should hammer for $800-$1,200.

Lots 1, 2 and 3 are bound to get paddles wagging right away. They are circus sideshow banners, led by Lot 1, titled That Strange Creature Obby Dobby Alive by Fred G. Johnson (American, 1892-1990), considered the best sideshow circus banner artist in history. The banner, measuring 7 feet 10 inches by 9 feet 7 inches, features a large, colorfully painted iguana in a jungle setting. The banner carries a rather modest estimate of $2,000-$3,000.

Lots 2, by Jay Meah (American, b. 1937), is titled Fish Girl Devil’s Child and depicts a blonde mermaid to the top half and a devil baby to the bottom half. The 7-foot-8-inch by 9-foot-7-inch banner is signed, “Meah Studios Weeki-Wachee, Fla.” lower right. It has an estimate of $2,000-$3,000. Meah has works in the Smithsonian and the Barnum Museum.

Lot 3, by Florida artist Jay Sigler, consists of four banners that will be sold as one lot (estimate: $2,000-$3,000). They are titled Children of Forgotten Fathers, The World’s Strangest Babies; Addict Babies (depicting a baby and a syringe); Two-Headed Baby (shown in a crib); and Human Frog Baby Twins. The Addict Babies banner is signed “J. Sigler Tampa” lower right. The group comes out of a Burrillville, Rhode Island estate.

A late 19th/early 20th century Malles Goyard large rectangular French steamer trunk that opens to one removable tray with two lidded compartments and one open compartment next to one clothing basket set into a large removable basket over a second removable basket, should bring $2,500-$3,500. The trunk is marked, “Malles Goyard 233 Rue Saint Honore Paris Monte Carlo Biarritz” on a metal tag and “Goyard” on the top of the lid.

A 19th century Swiss (or Austrian) enameled automaton music box, the top of the box decorated with women and sheep beside a lake with landscape cartouches to each side, and the interior of the box having a Viennese movement and red feathered bird that chirps and moves side to side, 2 inches tall and 4 ¼ inches wide, should sell for $2,000-$3,000.

Also up for bid will be a US 1925 Saint Gaudens $20 gold coin, graded NGC MS 62, housed in a case (estimate: $1,000-$2,000); and a Japanese “Thousand Faces” porcelain censer, from the late 19th or early 20th century (estimate: $600-$900). The censer boasts a figural three-toed dragon finial mounted to an ornate gilt and tendril lid over a footed censer decorated with a plethora of people, nicely supported by three figural bamboo feet.

Internet bidding will be facilitated by LiveAuctioneers.com, Invaluable.com, Bidsquare.com, bidLIVE.Bruneauandco.com and the mobile app “Bruneau & Co.” on iTunes or GooglePlay. To learn more about Bruneau & Co. Auctioneers and the Estate Fine Art & Antique Auction on Monday, November 15th, please visit www.bruneauandco.com. Updates are posted frequently.

About Bruneau & Co. Auctioneers:
Bruneau & Co. Auctioneers is always accepting quality consignments for future auctions, with commissions as low as zero percent. Now would be a perfect time to clean out your attic. To contact Bruneau & Co. Auctioneers about consigning a single piece or an entire collection, you may send an e-mail to info@bruneauandco.com. Or, you can phone them at 401-533-9980. To learn more about Bruneau & Co. Auctioneers please visit www.bruneauandco.com.

Artworks by Indian Artists Ram Kumar (1924-2018) and Jehangir Sabavala (1922-2011) will be Sold Online, August 19th

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Cranston, RI, USA, August 6, 2021 -/DailyVoice/- An oil on canvas painting by Ram Kumar (India, 1924-2018) and a male figural nude drawing by Jehangir Sabavala (India/France, 1922-2011) will headline an online-only Summer Antiques & Fine Art estate auction slated for Thursday, August 19th, by Bruneau & Co. Auctioneers, beginning promptly at 6 pm Eastern time. Over 400 quality lots will come under the gavel.

The catalog is packed with paintings, decorative arts, furniture, jewelry, silver, Asian arts and collectibles, pulled from prominent estates and collections across New England. Internet bidding will be available on multiple platforms: LiveAuctioneers.com, Invaluable.com, Bidsquare.com, bidLIVE.Bruneauandco.com and the mobile app “Bruneau & Co.” on iTunes or GooglePlay.

“These online auctions have become a fixture for us throughout COVID-19,” said Travis Landry, a Bruneau & Co. auctioneer and the firm’s Director of Pop Culture. “Even though everyone is bidding from the comfort of their homes, it is a great learning experience for all involved to see antiques and collectibles, their value and how the market has changed throughout the last year.”

Kevin Bruneau, the company’s president and owner, added, “It’s very exciting to see this assemblage of items from New England collections. From the Indian artists to Jean Charlot and the amazing collection of mineral specimens, there is something for all collectors being offered.”

With a pre-sale estimate of $25,000-$35,000, the abstract architectural oil painting by India’s Ram Kumar is the sale’s expected top lot. Part of the artist’s Beneras series, the work depicts brown buildings against a vibrant blue sky from the opposite side of a river. It’s signed and dated (“Ram Kumar 07”) on verso and measures 36 inches by 24 inches (the canvas, minus the frame).

Kumar was a prolific artist and one of the most important abstract painters of modern India. He studied at the Sarada Ukil School of Art in New Delhi before traveling to Paris to study art under Andre Lhote and Fernard Leger. In 1969, Kumar traveled to the United States and Mexico on a Rockefeller Scholarship. Kumar’s career has been highlighted by numerous solo exhibitions and retrospectives. His work is highly prized by collectors.

The nude drawing by Jehangir Sabavala (India/France,1922-2011) depicts a sculpted male figure with soft facial features and thick curly hair. The graphite on paper work is signed and dated (“Sabavala Paris ‘48”) lower left corner, and measures 28 ½ inches by 12 ½ inches (sight, less frame). It’s from a collector in Texas and was purchased directly from the artist by the present owner’s father in Mumbai in the 1960s (estimate: $6,000-$9,000).

Sabavala was born to an affluent Parsi family, earning a diploma in art at Mumbai’s Sir J. J. School of Art in 1944. From there, Sabavala studied at the Heatherley School of Fine Art, Academie Andre Lhote, Academie Julian and the Academie de la Grande Chaumiere.

An original oil painting by Jean Charlot (Hawaii/Calif./Mexico, 1898-1979) is a whimsical figural illustration depicting three small, round-faced children wearing glasses and straw hats in an oval-shaped forested world, surrounded by colorful birds. The work is inscribed, signed and dated (“For H.F.D., Jean Charlot 1945”) and is housed in a 36 inch by 56 inch frame (estimate: $7,000-$10,000).

Charlot was born in France and studied at the Ecole de Beaux Arts in Paris. After WWI, he moved to Mexico, where he befriended Diego Rivera, David Alfaro Siqueiros and Jose Orozco, establishing himself within the Mexico City art scene. In 1947, he moved his family to Colorado to become head of the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center Art School. He then moved again, to Hawaii, where he continued to teach at the University of Hawaii.

A large and ornate 19th century French figural cartel wall clock, the largest and highest-quality cartel clock Bruneau & Co. has ever offered, 32 ½ inches tall by 21 inches wide, carries a pre-sale estimate of $3,000-$5,000. The clock boasts a white face with Roman numeral numbering and is housed in a gilded bronze case decorated with acanthus leaves framing a bare breasted woman feeding birds while a putto reaches towards a rooster.

Rounding out just a few of the sale’s expected star lots, a natural Colombian trapiche emerald, unpolished with a vibrant green coloration, weighing 25.5 grams, should bring $3,000-$5,000. The stone comes directly from the collection of a Smithfield, R.I. estate.

Previews of all individual items will be available by appointment only, the week of auction. To schedule an appointment, call 401-533-9980; or, send an email to info@bruneauandco.com. The gallery is located at 63 Fourth Avenue in Cranston. All COVID-19 protocols will be enforced.

To learn more about Bruneau & Co. Auctioneers and the Estates Fine Art & Antique auction planned for Thursday, August 19th, please visit www.bruneauandco.com. Updates posted often