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Franck Anelli Fine Art
Secretary Charles Topino (1742-1803), master in 1773 Transition period Oak, Breccia marble top, bronze and marquetry in rosewood, amaranth, holly, sycamore, lemonwood, stained woods and tobacco wood H 139 x W 92 x D 38 cm Stamped TOPINO and bearing the Jurande hallmark Transition period secretary in wardrobe stamped Charles TOPINO (1742-1803) and Jurande hallmark. Rectangular in shape, the front uprights with cut sides, the front legs arched, the hind legs straight, the oak frame, it opens with a drawer, two leaves and a flap revealing a compartmentalized interior of seven drawers and four compartments. Top of breccia marble from Aleppo. Inlaid decoration in rosewood, amaranth, holly, sycamore, lemon tree, stained wood, tobacco wood, drawing lattices on the uprights and the upper drawer, those of the latter, embellished with flowers, and trompe-l'oeil on the front and on the sides, a decoration of garlands of oval cartouches of stylised acanthus leaves uniting the panels of the toilet seat and the leaves, each also presenting, in the upper part, a leafy garland that can be found on the side panels. The latter are decorated with two gadrooned urns close to the flowered vases of the leaves. The toilet seat has a trompe-l'oeil perspective decoration, an orangery whose open shutters give a glimpse of a wooded landscape in the distance, a perspective accentuated by the checkerboard paving, also present on the leaves. Eight boxes of fruit trees are spread around a table on which are placed two flowered vases and under which is a watering can. The interior reveals six side drawers in three rows, inlaid with a floral vase pattern, as well as a central drawer. Stamped TOPINO and hallmark of Jurande Charles TOPINO received master in 1773 The art of marquetry The bronzes are discreet on our desk and this is intended to give pride of place to marquetry, qualified as wooden painting. If it is possible and tempting - rightly to link a cabinetmaker to his marquetry and this is regularly the case for Topino whose utensil marquetry inspired by the borders of Chinese Coromandel lacquer screens of the time is a characteristic of the artist - it turns out that the models circulated and that inlaid panels could be used by the same circle of cabinetmakers. If the vases, potiches, flowers, utensils reproduced, invented, associated, allow us to recognize Topino's art, it should be noted that the framing motif made up of oval reserves with quartefeuilles and spandrels can be found on secretaries, a chest of drawers and a dressing table stamped Jacques Bircklé. By this same cabinetmaker, a secretary also presents the same vases present on our furniture. Very similar marquetry panels. both in their compositions and in their frames can be found on a chest of drawers attributed to Jacques Bircklé, illustrated in the book by Pierre Kjellberg, who also defines the paving pattern as Bircklé's 'almost exclusiveness'. our secretary thus witnessed the circulation of drawn or engraved models.
Repetto Gallery
Lucio Fontana (Rosario, Argentina 1899-1968 Varese, Italy) Madonna col Bambino, 1953-1954 Glazed and painted terracotta: white, light blue and blue H 24.5 x W 13.5 x D 9 cm Signed on the reverse 'L. F.' Certificate of authenticity on photograph by Fondazione Lucio Fontana, n° 2543/1 Provenance: Galleria Blu, Milan; private collection, Gorle (2543/1) Literature: L. M. Barbero, 'Catalogo ragionato delle sculture ceramiche', Tomo I, p. 212, n° 53-54 FMA 1
Dalton Somaré
Slit drum, nedundu Uele Region, Northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo Early 20th century Wood with dark brown patina 52 x 122 cm Provenance: collection Monsieur H., (Agricultural Engineer), France, collected in situ before 1950; thence by descent; private collection, France; Sotheby’s, Paris, Arts d’Afrique et d’Océanie, 21 June 2017; private collection, New York
CKS Gallery
Jean Gabriel Domergue (Bordeaux 1889-1962 Paris) Grand Gala Oil on canvas 100 x 80 cm (unframed) 126 x 107 cm (framed) Signed, titled and inscribed 'A Madame G.' Inscriptions on the stretcher: A Jacky Grasseau 'Ce coin de la vie parisienne' Provenance: private collection Exhibition: Galerie Goya, 28 allées de Tourny, Bordeaux, Domergue n° 1
Dr. Nöth kunsthandel
Raoul Dufy (Le Havre 1877-1953 Forcalquier) Cérès au bord de la mer, 1928 Gouache on paper 49.5 x 63.5 cm Signed lower center Certificate of authenticity by Fanny Guillon-Laffaille This work will be published in the forthcoming catalogue raisonné des 4Aquarelles, gouaches and pastels' currently in preparation Provenance: Hartford, Wadsworth Atheneum 1959, n° 24; Fr. Gershwin Godowski collection, Sotheby´s New York, 12 May 1999, lot 373
Repetto Gallery
Christo (Gabrovo 1935-2020 New York) and Jeanne-Claude (Casablanca 1935-2009 New York) The Pont Neuf, Wrapped (Project for Paris), 1985 Graphite, charcoal pastel, wax crayon, fabric, photograph collage on cardboard mounted on a stretcher 144.5 x 165 cm Upper element: 38 x 165 cm Lower element 106.5 x 165 cm Signed, dated and titled lower on the upper element The artwork’s details have been reviewed and confirmed by the Foundation Christo and Jeanne-Claude Provenance: Michael Cullen, London; Deutsche Bank collection, Frankfurt (acquired from the above in 1985)
Dei Bardi Art
Daniel Mauch (Circle of) Saint Peter Upper Rhine, circa 1490 Walnut bust 39.2 x 49.5 x 26 cm (with base) Provenance: private Rhenish collection Literature: Antlitz des Mittelalters Mittelalterliche Bildwerke aus rheinischem Privatbesitz, ed. Reinhard Karrenbrock and Claudia Lichte, with technical studies by Michael Rief and Ulrike Villwock, Rottweil/Aachen, 1999, n° 33, pp. 108–110 Exhibitions: Dominikanerforum, Rottweil, 31 October 1999-6 January 2000; Suermondt-Ludwig-Museum, Aachen, 4 March-21 May 2000
Harold t’Kint de Roodenbeke
René Magritte (Lessines 1898-1967 Brussels) Lilith Original pencil drawing 14.6 x 9.8 cm Signed upper right Provenance: private collection, Paris Literature: Les Lèvres nues, 'Le cache sexe des anges', 1978, ill. p. 9; René Magritte, 'A lab of ideas', 8 may-4 september 2022, Nordiska Akvarellmuseet, Skarhamn, Sweden, n° 164, ill. p. 123; Xavier Canonne, René Magritte, La ligne de vie, 15 November 2025-22 February 2026, KMSKA, Antwerp, Belgium, ill. p. 103. Exhibitions: René Magritte, 'A lab of ideas', 8 May-4 September 2022, Nordiska Akvarellmuseet, Skarhamn, Sweden, n° 164, ill. p. 123; 'René Magritte, La ligne de vie', 15 November 2025-22 February 2026, KMSKA, Antwerp, Belgium, ill. p. 103 Lilith is a complex mythological figure, often regarded in Jewish tradition as Adam’s first wife before Eve, created from the same earth as him. Refusing to submit, she left Eden to become, according to myth, a demoness or succubus of the night, a symbol of rebellion, female independence and the storm. This composition is reminiscent of ‘The Rape – Le viol’, the famous drawing used to illustrate the cover of André Breton’s publication What is Surrealism?
Vagabond Antiques
Giocondo Albertolli (Bedano 1742-1839 Milan) (Attributed to) Milan, late 18th century Wall lights H 72 x W 45 x D 37 cm These elegant gilt-metal wall sconces are attributed to the Milanese architect, designer and ornamentist Giocondo Albertolli, one of the leading figures of Italian Neo-classicism. Their design closely relates to the engraved ornament published in Albertolli's celebrated pattern books, particularly Ornamenti Diversi (Milan, 1782), which played a central role in disseminating the new classical taste throughout Lombardy and Northern Italy. The sconces display many of the motifs associated with Albertolli's ornamental vocabulary, including scrolling acanthus brances, finely fluted candle sockets and radiating drip pans. Their unusually tall proportions and boldly projecting arms give them a distinctly sculptural character, creating a sense of movement and depth rarely encountered in wall lights of the period. The open voluted arms, enriched with naturalistic foliage, closely resemble a number of Albertolli's published designs for girandoles and wall lights. Born in Bedano, near Lugano, Albertolli settled in Milan in 1774 at the invitation of the architect Giuseppe Piermarini. As Professor of Ornament at the Brera Academy he exerted a profound influence on the decorative arts of Northern Italy, providing designs for architecture, furniture, metalwork and interior decoration. His published engravings became an important source for craftsmen working in the Neoclassical style throughout the late eighteenth century. The present sconces are attributed to Giocondo Albertolli and were almost certainly produced by craftsmen working within the circle of artists and decorators associated with him in late eighteenth century Milan. Their refined design and high quality of execution reflect the sophisticated decorative arts tradition that flourished in Lombardy during the Neoclassical period.
Caretto & Occhinegro
Jan Provoost (Mons 1465-1529 Bruges) Crucifixion with a view of the city of Bruges, circa 1512-1515 Oil on panel 31.5 x 25 cm Expertise by Peter van den Brink Active primarily in Bruges between the late 15th and early 16th centuries, Provoost centered his art on a formidable capacity for aesthetic synthesis, marked by highly intellectual nuances and an unmistakable solemn style capable of blending diverse influences, from Van Eyck to Antonello da Messina. A shining example of this is this small Calvary, where three modernly minimalist figures are arranged with skillful geometry against a meticulously detailed view of the city of Bruges stretching out behind them. While Provoost explored this subject in other versions, always incorporating detailed cities in the background, none features such a precise and topographical view of Bruges. Indeed, one can readily recognize the belfry of the Church of Our Lady, the now-lost architectural structure of the Jerusalem Chapel of Bruges (still intact at the time), and the tower of the city's town hall.
DIE GALERIE
Christian Dotremont (Tervuren, 1922-1979) Zyzzling aardvark, 1972 Indian ink on Japanese paper 98 x 61 cm Signed and dated lower right 'Dotremont 1972' Titled lower left 'Zyzzling aardvark' Provenance: private collection Exhibition: Pierre Alechinsky and his artist friends, DIE GALERIE, Frankfurt am Main, 2025
Dalton Somaré
Chokwe chair Angola, late 19th century Wood, metal, and leather H 68 x W 31 x D 38 cm Provenance: collection of Joyce and Donald Doyle, diamond mine directors for the Compagnie de la Forminière in the Belgian Congo in the 1920s. The majority of their collection was donated to the Princeton University Art Museum. Thence by descent to their daughter Suzanne "Sue" Miers, née Doyle (1922–2016), Africanist historian and professor at Ohio University. Thence by descent to her children Charles Miers and Caroline Farrington, New York Literature: Narrative Wisdom and African Arts (Exhibition catalogue), St. Louis Art Museum, 19 October-16 February, 2025, pp. 74, 75, 81 Exhibition: Narrative Wisdom and African Arts, St. Louis Art Museum, 19 October-16 February, 2025 This leather-seated chair belongs to a tradition of Chokwe seats of authority, commonly described as ngundja. Its refined decoration transforms a functional furnishing into a visual expression of chiefly prestige. Such seats formed part of a wider repertoire of objects associated with leadership, alongside ceremonial weapons, staffs and elaborately carved pipes. The combination of a backrest, a leather-covered seat and metal tacks reflects the adaptation of European furniture encountered through trade from the seventeenth century onward. Chokwe artists reworked these features within their own sculptural language, making the chair an expression of local political and spiritual values. At the centre of the back is a sculpted female face, which must be identified as Pwo. Pwo honours female ancestors and has particular significance within a society that traces descent through women. Her imagery also belongs to the wider world of masquerade and initiation. The lower stretchers carry small sculptural groups as musicians playing handheld drums and a slit drum, and a mounted pombeiro, or long-distance trader. It must be noted the unusual prominence of a female subject in these carved scenes. These scenes can be read within the broader Chokwe tradition of presenting ritual and everyday activities as aspects of the social world entrusted to a leader. Extremely sophisticated geometric carving and rows of metal studs enrich the back and supports, contrasting with the leather seat and the varied tones of the wood. The combination of carved figures, the monumentality of the composition and the rigour of the geometric decoration in high relief lend this sculpture the dignity and authority of a true throne.
Herwig Simons Fine Arts
Memento Mori Europe, 17th century Carved stone representing a laurel-crowned skull and bones H 28 x D 18 cm Provenance: previously in the collection of Christian de Bruyn, former chairman of the Royal Belgian Chamber of Art and Antique Dealers, now ROCAD; private collection, Paris An evocative and finely carved Memento Mori sculpture depicting a human skull crowned with a laurel wreath and accompanied by crossed bones. Executed in stone, the sculpture displays a richly weathered surface and a beautiful time-worn patina.
Galerie Berès
Fernand Léger (Argentan 1881-1955 Gif-sur-Yvette) 'Composition pour les Illuminations d'Arthur Rimbaud', 1949 Gouache and ink on paper 33 x 24 cm Monogrammed and dated lower right 'F.L.49' Certificate of authenticity by the Comité Fernand Léger Certificate of authenticity by Irus Hansma Provenance: private collection, Paris
Maurice Verbaet Collection (MVC)
Marcel Mariën (Antwerp 1920-1993 Brussels) La Mire, circa 1981-83 Gelatin silver print on paper 18 x 12.5 cm (unframed) 33 x 43 cm (framed) Edition 2/6 Even before meeting the Brussels surrealists at the age of 17, Marcel Mariën (1920-1993) had taken his first steps in photography, having begun an apprenticeship with a photographer in Hoboken at the age of 15. During the 1940s, he began to use photography to create images with the bodies of the women he loved, but it was mainly from the 1980s onwards that he made frequent use of it. The photograph La Mire highlights the remarkable effectiveness of his creations, which, whilst appearing simple, reveal a wealth of meanings the moment one takes a closer look. It also demonstrates the extent to which photography enables Mariën to explore in greater depth the themes he develops in his objects, collages and writings. Indeed, his entire body of work is a reflection on the status of art. In this respect, he builds upon not only the concerns of the surrealists but also those of Marcel Duchamp. The Mona Lisa, the quintessential masterpiece of Western painting, was notably appropriated by Duchamp, who drew a moustache on it and added the inscription ‘L.H.O.O.Q.’ (‘Elle a chaud au cul’ or ‘She’s got a hot arse’) in 1919. Mariën takes this provocative critique of the mythicization surrounding this artwork a step further. The pubic hair encapsulates the moustache and inscription. It emphasizes the distance between the real woman and the painted one, whose identity has been forgotten whilst her depiction has become ubiquitous. The title refers to ‘la mire’ – that is, the image shown on television when channels were off the air –, an ever-present image that nobody looks at, much like the Mona Lisa, of which we have seen so many reproductions that we can no longer truly appreciate the real painting. But it also implies that ‘elle la mire’, which means ‘she is gazing at her’: it echoes Duchamp’s inscription, which can also be read as ‘look’. Furthermore, it plays on the belief that the Mona Lisa follows viewers with her gaze. Mariën presents the Mona Lisa as looking intently at the sex of the flesh-and-blood woman lying in front of her – in a perspective reminiscent of L’Origine du monde by Courbet. Perhaps his photograph enables us to better understand the reason behind the Mona Lisa’s famous mischievous smile?
