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Maine Antique Digest, March 2015 29-B
- AUCTIONS -
This monumental Hugo Lonitz exhibi-
tion jardinière, circa 1880, modeled as a
leaf-covered tree trunk supporting three
barrel-stave flower pots, with a large
fantail turkey on the base, is the largest
piece of Lonitz known. It sold to a Texas
collector in the salesroom for $31,200 (est.
$40,000/60,000). She was thrilled that it
came with a shipping box. Strawser.
This Krause majolica giraffe decanter,
circa 1890, modeled as a giraffe wear-
ing a checked tailcoat with a red cravat,
a stiff white collar, and a top hat, sold on
line for $8100 (est. $1500/2000). It was
a record price for the form. Strawser.
This large
Minton majolica
plant trough, circa
1870, with a cobalt
body with a high-
relief frieze of putti,
caryatids, and lion
masks joined by
festoons,
14"
x
24"
x 16½", sold on the phone for $15,000
(est. $12,000/18,000). Freeman’s.
This 13-piece German majolica zoomorphic kitchen canister set, circa 1900, sold for $10,800 (est.
$3000/5000) on the phone. The mother duck “Oil” canister stands over her kitchen staff with their
contents written across their bellies. It may be the only set to survive. Strawser.
This very rare Wedgwood majolica
wicker pattern cheese keeper, deco-
rated in French-blue basket weave pan-
els framed with brown straps and a ring
handle, all bound in green crisscross
ribbons, sold on the Internet for $1860
(est. $400/600). It is rare. Strawser.
Left: The large German majolica owl
wizard cookie jar, circa 1890, the owl’s
head surmounted with an oil funnel
hat as the lid, 13" high
overall, sold for
$2200. Right: an Old Moravian (Aus-
trian) majolica tobacco jar, modeled
as a wise owl, in the 19th-century style
of Martin Brothers, Chelsea, London,
sold for $4320. Solis-Cohen photo.
Strawser.
This rare and amusing Rafael Bordalo
Pinheiro majolica teapot and cover, “The
English Lady,” circa 1880, sold for $1260
(est. $500/800). It depicts Queen Victoria
with her nose in the air and a bee in her
bonnet, and it is a good example of Bordalo
Pinheiro’s humor. A milk jug and sugar
bowl by Bordalo Pinheiro (not shown)—
the milk jug recognizable as British Prime
Minister Benjamin Disraeli—sold for $330
(est. $500/800). A sugar bowl in the form
of a ruddy-cheeked man grinning and
wearing a brown cap sold for $720 (est.
$500/800). All went to an Internet bidder.
Strawser.
A previously unrecorded Minton five-
tier turquoise oyster server, circa 1865,
with a handle of entwined fish, sold
for $12,000 (est. $5000/10,000) on line.
There are very few five-tier oyster serv-
ers; other Minton oyster servers have
four tiers. Strawser.
This Wedgwood Aesthetic Movement “St.
Louis” pattern six-well oyster plate decorated in
a Japanesque style, with alternating turquoise
and cobalt wells, each decorated with prunus
blossoms and the circular well with overlapping
shells, sold for $1920 (est. $1500/2000). One of
a similar pattern at the Karmason sale sold for
$2100. Strawser.
This 9" oyster plate has six cobalt-blue
wells separated by seaweed and a cen-
tral well surrounded by conch shells. It
brought $1080 (est. $500/800). Not shown,
the same pattern in yellow sold for $3240
(est. $1500/2500), and another in laven-
der sold for $3480 (est. $2000/3000). One
in pink sold for $1080 (est. $500/800), and
one in green made $1200 (est. $600/900).
Strawser.
This rare Hugo Lonitz fox and
duck fern holder, modeled as
a sawn tree trunk supported
by branches and adorned
with fern leaves, with a fox at
each end spying on two unsus-
pecting mallard ducks,
and with a turquoise
interior, 5½" high x 16"
wide, sold to a collec-
tor in the salesroom for
$7800 (est. $10,000/15,000).
Strawser.
This elegant Hugo Lonitz majolica
swan centerpiece, with a turquoise
interior, the only known example
with an open back, sold to a col-
lector in the room for $3360 (est.
$4000/6000). Strawser.