Information below is the lot/description information from our Spring Estates Auction, April 21 & 22, 2012. Descriptions listed below are NOT guaranteed accurate. Call 1-800-467-5329 for general information on Neal Auction Company. Follow the catalogue link to order our beautifully illustrated catalogue.

1. A Pair of Regency Ebonized and Gilt-Decorated Armchairs, early 19th c., tablet crest, scroll arms, caned seat on molded seat rail, on turned tapered legs, refreshed ebonization and gilt. $800/1200

2. A George III Mahogany Canterbury, c. 1790, four divided compartments, skirt fitted with drawer, square legs, brass ferrules, casters, height 20 1/2 in., width 20 in., depth 13 in. $700/1000
Provenance: Thomas Livingston Antiques, San Francisco, CA, 1994.

3. An Antique Italian Carved Walnut Cupboard, 18th c., the whole with raised panels; dentil molded top above a center frieze drawer over two doors flanked by guilloche panels, molded base, bracket feet, height 43 1/2 in., width 53 1/2 in., depth 15 in. $600/900

4. A Pair of Directoire Carved Fruitwood Side Chairs, early 19th c., rectangular back with lyre splat, conforming seat rail, square tapered legs, H stretchers, attractively upholstered. $1000/1500
Provenance: Henry Stern, New Orleans.

5. A Pair of Regency Sheffield Plate Candlesticks, early 19th c., tapered standard with beribboned swags, molded circular base, one stamped W705, height 9 1/2 in. $200/400
Provenance: Robert Schwartz Gallery, Philadelphia.

6. A Charles II Silver Repoussé Tastevin, four marks on edge of rim, 1661 date letter, maker's mark unknown, two wirework scroll handles, repoussé and punchwork motifs of the period on sides and bottom, marked, monogrammed, height 1 1/2 in., width 5 1/4 in. $150/250

7. A Georgian Silver Encrier, unmarked, probably late 18th c., oblong pierced stand with bright cut engraving and armorial raised on fluted supports; the quill holder and bottle holder with conforming decoration, secured by wire pins on underside; height 3 1/8 in., width 8 3/4 in., depth 4 5/8 in., weight 17.75 troy ozs. $500/700

8. An Edward VII Sterling Silver Teapot, Martin Hall & Co., Birmingham, 1904, in the Art Nouveau taste, ebonized wood handle and finial, height 5 1/2 in., length 10 3/4 in., weight 17.90 troy ozs. $400/600

9. A Large Regency Sheffield Plate Tea Urn, early 19th c., lobed cover with floral finial, bulbous body, rectangular plinth, bun feet, acanthus decorated C scroll handles with ring mounts, retains heating element, height 17 in. $600/800

10. John Butler Yeats (Irish, 1871-1957) Autograph Letter Illustrated and Signed, dated August 1906, from Cashlauna Shelmiddy, Strete, near Dartmouth, South Devon; to Lady Gregory regarding September travel arrangements to Coole Park, illustrated with a sketch of two figures riding a donkey, sight 9 1/4 in. x 7 in., presented in a two-sided frame. $1000/1500
Provenance: The Oriel Gallery, Dublin Ireland, c. 1996.
Note: Irish painter and illustrator, John Butler Yeats, was the son of John Butler Yeats, a successful portrait painter, and younger brother of the distinguished Irish poet, William Butler Yeats.
Isabella Augusta, Lady Gregory (1852-1932), was an Irish dramatist and folklorist. With William Butler Yeats and Edward Martyn, she co-founded the Irish Literary Theatre and the Abbey Theatre, and wrote numerous short works for both companies. Lady Gregory is primarily remembered for her work behind the Irish Literary Revival. Her home at Coole Park, County Galway, served as an important meeting place for leading Revival figures.
Gregory's only child, Robert Gregory, was killed while serving as a pilot during the First World War, an event that inspired William B. Yeats's poems: "An Irish Airman Foresees His Death," "In Memory of Major Robert Gregory," and "Shepherd and Goatherd."
The letter reads:
August 15 1906
Dear Lady Gregory,
Thank you very much for asking us for the first 3 weeks in September. I wish very much we could be there by the first week. But I think I ought to go some where and paint a little first. As I wont be able to get away from here till nearly the last few days of August. So I thought we would go straight away to some where in Connemara some place near the sea and then come on to Coole for the second and third weeks of September if you will have us.
I am sorry I cannot have my speckled cloth. It was good of you to try and get it and so I thank you all the same.
I should like very much to tour about Ireland as an advance agent or any kind of agent at all. But there would be no funds for an agentess as well unless we both went about on one little donkey and Jack could do some Bill hasting (?).
With kind regards [illegible]
and to Robert
[illegible] sincerely
JACK B. YEATS

11. A Pair of French Gilt Bronze Figural Lamps, marked "L.V.E. Robert", each figural standard in the form of a Classically draped maiden carrying a bowl on a noir marble pedestal, overall height 31 1/2 in. $800/1200

12. A Patinated Bronze Figural Fountainhead, 19th c., in the form of a dolphin masque, height 13 in., width 12 3/8 in., depth 5 in. $700/900

13. A Pair of Classically-Inspired Antique Bronzes, Musician and Bagpiper, after Jean-Louis Grégoire (1840-1890), on rouge marble bases, ensemble height 16 in. $1000/1500

14. A Good Bronze Figure of Cupid Tying His Bow, after Charles-Gabinele-Sauvage Lemire (1741-1827), height 13 1/2 in., width 8 1/2 in. $800/1200

15. A Very Fine Antique White Marble Figure, Nymph of Flowers, in the manner of Pittaluga of Carrara (Italian, active c. 1915), height 31 in. $1200/1800

16. A Louis XVI Carved Giltwood Mirror, c. 1790 and later, the floral crest centered by a roundel panel painted with a portrait of a beauty, rectangular later mirror plate, leaf carved sides, later gilt surface. $800/1200

17. A William IV Carved Mahogany Writing Table, c. 1820, galleried top above two drawers, reeded tapered legs, brass cuffs, casters, height 31 in., width 46 in., depth 24 1/2 in. $700/1000

18. A Good Antique Black Tôle Peinte Tray, early 19th c., with polychrome figural scene, finely painted floral and fruited border, gilt highlights, on conforming later stand with chamfered legs, height 18 1/8 in., width 30 3/4 in., depth 22 3/8 in. $700/1000
Provenance: Stair & Co., New York, 1979.

19. An Antique George III Carved Mahogany Architect's Desk, 19th c., adjustable top, inset tooled leather writing surface, frieze with opposed drawers, bracketed chamfered legs, height 31 1/2 in., width 28 in., depth 24 1/2 in. $700/1000

20. An Antique Continental Parquetry and Marquetry Bouillotte Table, probably Northern Italy or Southern Germany, circular top, conforming skirt with candle slide, square tapered legs, casters, height 27 1/2 in., diameter 15 in. $1000/1500

21. German School, early 19th c., "Mother" and "Daughter", pair of pastels on paper, unsigned, period handwritten and Sotheby's Chicago labels en verso, each sight 15 1/2 in. x 12 1/2 in., framed. $800/1200

22. Claude Marion the Younger (French, 18th c.), "A Parisien or Ile-de-France Gateway to a Ducal Property", 1771, ink, grisaille wash and watercolor on paper watermarked with fleur-de-lis in crowned cartouche, and with countermark of "D & C" Blaum" as papermakers, inscribed "Marion fils en 1771" at lower center, 18 1/2 in. x 26 1/8 in. $1000/1500

23. School or Follower of Claude Joseph Vernet (French, 1714-1789), "Shipwreck on the South Italian Coast", grisaille watercolor on laid paper, watermarked with the classic "CCC" of standard Venetian 18th c. paper, unsigned, 13 3/4 in. x 19 in., in a modern mat with attribution, title and size in pencil en verso of mat and again on drawing. $2000/3000
Provenance: James R. Lamantia, Jr., New Orleans and New York.
Note: This superb drawing is very close to the magnificent "Shipwreck" of 1772 by Vernet at the National Gallery of Art in Washington (acc. no. 2000.22.1.), showing in reverse the same ships at sea and foundering on rocks, the same radiant sun, the same castellated shore, and very similar figures. A sometimes over-regular idiosyncrasy in the draftsmanship, however, suggests that this example is perhaps more likely to be a version of Vernesque elements by a contemporary or even slightly posthumous hand.

24. Follower of Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres (French, 1780-1867), "Portrait of a Man, Facing Right", mid-19th c., black chalk on cream-colored paper with ruled border, pierced along left edge, with faint but untranslatable watermark, unsigned, but initialed within bottom of image "J [or JA?]"; and inscribed in a 20th c. hand in pencil at bottom of mount, "Ingres—Esquisse d'album", 5 x 3 7/8 in., in a mid-20th c. mount. $800/1200
Provenance: Probably H. R. Stirlin, Saint-Prez, Switzerland (sold by him, 1960); definitely art market, Rome, 1961; purchased there by James R. Lamantia Jr., New Orleans and New York.
Note: Despite its optimistic mount inscription, this “album page” is smaller than the standard small paper that Ingres habitually used. Two clues as to the identity of its author are offered (first) by the very clear initial “J” (or “JA”, if the second letter is not merely an accident of the shading) that is prominently worked into the bottom of the image itself; and (second) by the personal style of the artist. Two plausible candidates for the technique of drawing, a generation apart—but still well within the range of Ingres’ long lifetime—are Pierre-Jean David d’Angers (1788-1856), whose ink study for his 1826 portrait medallion of Ingres exhibits a closely comparable style (Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University); and Charles-François Sellier (1830-1882), whose Standing Male Nude of c. 1850 has a head almost identical to this, in pose, coiffure, physiognomy, expression, medium, and technique (Shepherd Gallery, New York, spring exhibition 1987, no. 113). Indeed the resemblance to Sellier’s head is so very striking that one would not hesitate to ascribe this sheet to him, were it not for the non-conforming initial(s) inscribed within the bottom of this image. There is always the possibility, however, that such were inserted by the same writer who applied the apocryphal “Ingres” ascription to the mount; it may have been hoped by that writer that they might perhaps be taken to abbreviate Ingres’ given names, “J[ean-]A[uguste]”—though Ingres apparently never once signed himself this way. The identity of the 20th c. collector who inscribed the apocryphal name on the mount, at any rate, can be established without reasonable doubt as H. R. Stirlin of Switzerland, whose handwriting on an Ingres drawing of Lucien Bonaparte (that Stirlin owned from 1928 to 1960) precisely matches the inscription on this mount (1999 exhibition, no. 38); Stirlin also sold his authentic Ingres drawing (as well as this one?) exactly one year before Lamantia bought this related sheet in Rome.
References: Gary Tinterow and Philip Conisbee, eds., with drawings entries by Hans Naef, Portraits by Ingres: Image of an Epoch, New York, 1999, pp. 158-160, no. 38; p. 548, fig. 335 (David d’Angers at the Fogg), and passim; Elisabeth and Robert Kashey, French 19th C. Drawings…, New York, 1987, no. 113 (Sellier).

25. Italian School, late 18th c., "Partial Elevation and Section of a Church Nave", graphite on paper, inscribed in Spanish (?) en verso, 6 1/8 in. x 8 3/4 in., matted. $300/500

26. A Russian Orthodox Icon of the Prophet Elijah, 19th c., tempera on wood panel, central seated figure surrounded by scenes of his life, Christ enthroned above, pencil inscription in Cyrillic en verso, 12 3/8 in. x 10 1/8 in. $800/1200
Provenance: A La Vieille Russie Inc., New York, NY, 1996.

27. A Russian Orthodox Icon of the Madonna and Child, 19th c., tempera on wood panel, elaborate repoussé copper riza with cloisonné embellishments, 12 3/4 in. x 10 5/8 in. $1000/1500

28. A Greek Orthodox Icon of St. John the Baptist, 19th c., tempera on wood panel, surrounded by scenes of his life, God the Father above, 12 1/2 in. x 10 1/2 in. $800/1200
Provenance: A La Vieille Russie Inc., New York, NY, 1996.

29. An Antique Russian Orthodox Icon of Christ, tempera on wood panel, gilt riza, inscriptions in Cyrillic, 10 5/8 in. x 9 in. $500/700

30. Continental School, late 18th/early 19th c., "A Courtly Equestrian Couple Below a Castle, in an Extensive River Landscape", oil on canvas, unsigned, 32 3/4 in. x 60 3/4 in., in a simple antique frame with 1961 English auction label en verso. $3000/5000

31. Continental School, late 18th/early 19th c., "Portrait of a Lady Ready for the Hunt", oil on canvas, unsigned, 22 1/2 in x 18 3/4 in. $600/800
Provenance: Speed Lamkin, Monroe, LA.

32. Probably Italian School, late 17th/18th c., "An Antique Philosopher or Rabbi Holding an Instrument and Contemplating a Brazier of Embers", oil on canvas, unsigned, 53 in. x 37 in., in a later frame. $2500/3500

33. An Antique Grand Tour Lekythos Pottery Figure, in the Attic black-figure style, reserve of two classically draped figures and a pegasus figure, height 6 in. $300/500

34. A Set of Eight Darte Frères Gilt and Polychrome Porcelain Cabinet Plates, c. 1820, stamped in red "Darte Pal. Royal No. 21", each reserved with a different flowering plant, diameter 9 in. $1500/2500

35. A Set of Eight Darte Frères Gilt and Polychrome Porcelain Cabinet Plates, c. 1820, stamped in red "Darte Pal. Royal No. 21", each reserved with a different flowering plant, diameter 9 in. $1500/2500

36. A Paris Porcelain Gilt and Polychrome Tea Service, 19th c., marked "Ed. Honoré/A Paris", consisting of a teapot, covered sugar, creamer and ten cups with saucers, each with apple green ground and floral reserve, teapot height 5 1/2 in. (13 pcs). $500/800

37. An Anglo-Indian Carved Mahogany Center Table, 19th c., probably Calcutta, attributed to B.W. Lazarus or J.M. Edmond, variegated white marble top above pierced scrolling skirt, acanthus-carved tripodal support centered by an urn finial, scrolled feet, height 29 in., diameter 44 1/2 in. $800/1200

38. A Benchmade Regency-Style Library Step, Smith & Watson, New York, turned post, four radial steps, conforming base, height 65 3/4 in., width 20 1/2 in., depth 20 1/2 in. $700/1000
Provenance: Lewis Graeber III & Associates, Jackson, MS.

39. A Benchmade Regency-Style Mahogany Bookstand, Smith & Watson, New York, adjustable book rest over two shelves, ring turned supports, brass ferrules, casters, height 38 in., with 27 in., depth 14 in. $400/600
Provenance: Lewis Graeber III & Associates, Jackson, MS.

40. A Set of Chinoiserie Black Lacquered, Hardstone and Gilt Quartetto Tables, each with figural scene under glass top, decorated skirt, square legs, height 26 1/2 in., width 20 1/2 in., depth 15 1/2 in. $200/400

41. An American Renaissance Inlaid, Bronze-Mounted, Gilt-Incised and Ebonized Cherrywood Music Cabinet, c. 1865, New York, lyre-mounted arched crest, beaded frieze, the door with marquetry bucolic scene, interior shelves and compartments, incised waist molding above a drawer, bronze-mounted capitals, turned fluted legs, incurvate stretcher shelf. $2000/3000
Note: Music cabinets such as the lot offered here were universally important in well-appointed parlors of 19th century America. The materials, proportions and distinctive supports of this cabinet relate closely to those on a New York example conserved by the Munson Williams Proctor Institute (acc. 92.40).
Reference: D'Ambrosio. Masterpieces of American Furniture from the Munson Williams Proctor Institute. pp. 104-105, fig. 35.

42. Two American Egyptian Revival Bronze-Mounted Gilt-Decorated Rosewood Chairs, late 19th c., one with upholstered rolled crest flanked by mounted Egyptian heads, incised stiles, shell carved seat rail, tapered, fluted legs, the other conforming chair with a rectangular upholstered back. $800/1200
Note: The mounts on these chairs are identical to those on a walnut gentleman's armchair illustrated in Dubrow. Styles of American Furniture 1860-1960. p. 56.

43. V. Varillaz (French, 19th c.), "Portrait of Napoleon", 1839, oil on canvas, signed and dated center right, 23 7/8 in. x 19 3/4 in., in a period Empire-style giltwood frame. $4000/6000
Note: Napoleon is depicted here wearing the Legion d'Honneur Grande Croix, the Order de la Couronne en Fer, and probably the Grande Croix du Triomphe. The main church of Roscoff, France also houses a work by Varillaz.

44. Circle of Jacques Antoine Vallin (French, 1760-1831), "River Landscape with Women Bathing", gouache on paper laid on canvas, unsigned, 28 3/4 in. x 23 1/2 in., unframed. $3000/5000

45. French School, 19th c., Follower of Jean-Marc Nattier (French, 1685-1766), "Portrait of Comtesse de Brac" after Jean-Marc Nattier's 1741 "Comtesse de Brac en Aurore" now at the Detroit Institute of Arts, oil on canvas, unsigned 16 3/4 in. x 13 3/8 in., inscribed "CME" on stretcher, unframed. $3000/5000
Reference: Xavier Salmon in the catalog of the exhibition Jean-Marc Nattier 1685-1766, Musée national de Châteaux de Versailles et de Trianon, 1999-2000, under entry 29 (Madame la Comtesse de Brac en Aurore), pp. 132 (listed in the notes as one of the replicas).

46. French School, 18th c., "Putti on a Cloud Playfully Writing Allegory of Literature", grisaille oil on canvas, 21 3/4 in. x 31 1/4 in., later framed. $800/1200

47. A Continental Gilt Bronze-Mounted Bisque Porcelain Plaque of Napoleon, early 19th c., fine engine-turned decoration enclosing the relief-modeled classical portrait, diameter 6 1/8 in. $300/500

48. A Paris Porcelain Gilt and Polychrome Campagna Vase, mid-19th c., floral decoration, loop and masque handles, molded plinth base, paw feet, height 9 5/8 in. $300/500

49. A Pair of Paris Porcelain Gilt and Polychrome Vases, c. 1855, yellow ground, reserved with Classical faces in black oval frames surrounded by black and gilt foliation, height 13 1/4 in., diameter 6 1/2 in. $500/700

50. A Pair of Patinated Bronze Recumbent Lions, after those modeled by Antonio Canova (Italian, 1757-1822) for the tomb of Pope Clement XIII in St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican City, Rome, rectangular plinth, ball feet, height 11 in., width 8 in., length 21 in. $2000/3000

51. An Antique French Classical-Style Gilt Bronze-Mounted Marble Pedestal, c. 1890, revolving top, mounted with musical trophée, egg and dart and acanthine borders, tapered square column, stepped base, height 44 in., width 14 1/4 in., depth 14 1/4 in. $700/1000

52. A Set of Napoleon III Gilt Bronze Figural Chenets, c. 1870, with cherubs sitting amongst foliate scroll standards, height 21 1/2 in., width 52 in., depth 6 in. $700/1000

53. A Pair of Antique Italian Lacca Povera Panels, 19th c., "a la chinois", wood panels, molding enclosing genre scenes with figures and birds in a landscape, presented in carved, limed oak frames, height 36 1/2 in., width 44 1/2 in., depth 2 1/2 in. $1500/2500

54. A Pair of Regency Gilt Bronze and Cut Crystal Two-Light Candelabra, early 19th c., each with vasiform standard surmounted by foliate finial and prism hung pierced collar, scrolled arms with conforming collars, square base, ball feet, height 14 1/4 in. $600/800

55. A William IV Carved Mahogany Armchair, c. 1835, tablet crest terminating in lobed "ears", scrolled reeded, bellflower carved arms, molded seat rail, turned reeded legs. $500/700

56. A Regency Inlaid Mahogany Sofa Table, 19th c., crossbanded top with drop leaves, single drawer and faux drawer on each side, trestle supports, sabre legs, brass feet, casters, height 28 5/8 in., width 51 1/2 in., depth 25 1/2 in. $700/1000

57. A George III Carved Mahogany Sofa, c. 1780-1785, serpentine arched crest rail, curved uprights; on square, tapering fluted legs, rosette blocked feet, height 36 1/2 in., width 68 in., depth 33 in. $1000/2000

58. A Large William IV Mahogany Partner's Desk, c. 1835, inset tooled leather top, frieze with three paneled drawers on each side, turned and reeded tapered legs, casters, height 32 in., length 84 in., width 53 in. $4000/6000

59. Sir John Edward Poynter, P. R. A. (British, 1836-1919), Study for 'Thrown' Drapery, probably for a painting of Andromeda of 1872, graphite with black and white chalk, on green prepared wove paper, unsigned, but with studio stamp in the form of the artist's monogrammed initials lower right, 13 15/16 in. x 9 7/8 in., in a modern mount, extensively inscribed. $800/1200
Provenance: Colnaghi's, London, 1961; James R. Lamantia, New Orleans and New York.
Note: This drawing is inscribed on the mount "Study of 'Thrown' Drapery—painting Captive Andromache." But the very famous painting of Captive Andromache (the widowed wife of Prince Hector of Troy) is not actually by Poynter, who is certainly the author of this stunning sheet. It is rather the acknowledged masterpiece of Frederic, Lord Leighton (1830-1896): it was painted in 1888, and is now at the Manchester City Art Gallery. More than a decade and a half earlier—in 1872/79—the increasingly prominent Poynter (though the younger of the two artists, and already deeply influenced by those of Leighton's paintings which he had seen in Rome in 1853-54) had been commissioned by Edward Montagu Stuart Granville, 3rd Baron and 1st Earl of Wharncliffe, to produce four large canvases to decorate his billiard room at Wortley Hall in Yorkshire (all now unfortunately destroyed). One of these is Medievalizing in content, but the other three are classical; and it must have been the Perseus Rescuing Andromeda (of 1872) among these, to which a member of Colnaghi's evidently meant to refer—apparently only orally—when he told Lamantia the origin of this splendid sheet. Those classical paintings for Wortley Hall did in fact incorporate the actively fluttering draperies and frieze-like arrangements of Leighton's mature works (prefiguring those of the latter's confusingly-named Andromache of sixteen years later); and indeed the windy sea-coast setting of Poynter's lost Andromeda is in actual fact more likely as a context for this drawing's magisterial wind-blown swirl than the elegiac quietness of Leighton's great painting of 1888. In any event, the Wortley paintings did earn for Poynter his election as a member of the Royal Academy in 1876; he became Director of the National Gallery from 1894 to 1904, and President of the R. A. from 1896 to 1918. He was also knighted in 1896, and created a baronet in 1902; he is buried in St. Paul's Cathedral.
References: Alison Inglis, "Poynter," Grove Dictionary of Art, Jane Turner, ed., London, 1996, 34 vols., vol. 25, pp. 406-407; Stephen Jones, "Leighton," ibid., vol. 19, pp. 103-104.

60. English School, late 19th c., "Architectural Detail", 1881, black chalk on paper, initialed and dated lower left, sheet 28 in. x 12 1/2 in., matted and framed. $400/600

61. Robert Isaac Cruickshank (English, 1789-1856), "Hunting Flamingos", ink and wash on paper, signed lower right, sight 3 3/8 in. x 5 1/4 in., matted and framed. $700/900

62. Jean-Baptiste Frenet (French, 1814-1889), "Standing Male Nude", c. 1834, black chalk, studio stamp lower left, 20 in. x 10 1/4 in., matted. $400/600

63. Jean-Baptiste Frenet (French, 1814-1889), "Standing Male Nude", c. 1834, black chalk, studio stamp lower right, sheet 24 3/4 in. x 9 3/4 in., unframed. $400/600

64. Attributed to Sir Peter Lely (Dutch, working in England, 1618-1680), "Seated Male Figure Looking to His Right", 1666, black chalk with white highlights (the latter applied selectively to drapery modeling and anatomy), on prepared brown wove paper without watermark, unsigned, but inscribed en verso "2 may 1666"; 22 7/8 x 15 3/4 in., colored in later purplish-white paint (apparently on original paper) in a 1 1/2 /2-inch inverted L-shaped strip extending approx. 20 in. along left edge, ending in a similar 4 1/2 in.-long strip horizontally along edge of triangular repair at upper left. $1000/1500
Provenance: James R. Lamantia Jr., New Orleans and New York.
Note: This unusually large, powerful, and impressive drawing is dated on its verso in English; and the evident contemporaneity of that inscription is proven by its close similarity to the date of "1666" written at the bottom of the Ashmolean Museum's portrait drawing of John Aubrey, by Lely's almost exact contemporary William Faithorne (1616-1691). It happens that 1666 is the very year that Lely inaugurated his most celebrated series of portraits, the Admirals (or flag-officers who had served under the Duke of York at the Battle of Lowestoft, 1665), now in the National Maritime Museum at Greenwich. There is no evidence that this is indeed one of Lely's standard "posture drawings" that were offered to sitters, as aids to the selection of their attitudes in his portraits; but its style, technique and materials are intimately close to theirs—though this sheet is in fact unusual in showing at least parts of an entire figure, arranged in a pose that is manifestly more informal than either those of a studio pattern book, or probably than those others which were made for a sitter's retention (in very large numbers, and widely diverse types, principally by Lely himself). Lely, who grew up in The Hague and was trained at Haarlem, came to London in the early 1640s and in 1661-62 became a naturalized British subject, as well as First Painter to the King (that is Charles II, who was restored to the throne after the English Civil War in 1660). Entirely by his own hand, Lely produced many hundreds of paintings of the raffish worthies of the Restoration; with the help of the large army of assistants whom he employed, the number of his studio works and replicas rises into the thousands. He became enormously rich, and used most of his income to acquire works of art: he owned some twenty-five capital paintings by his great predecessor Van Dyck, and also (according to the catalogue of a 1682 sale after his death) pictures and sculptures by such preeminent artists as Veronese, Correggio, Holbein, Claude Lorrain, and Bernini. His roughly 10,000 prints and drawings constituted probably the finest collection assembled to that time (it was catalogued in 1688 and 1694); the drawings included sheets by Leonardo, Raphael, Giulio, Polidoro, Parmigianino (some 100 studies), Primaticcio, Barocci, the Zuccari, the Carracci, and Rubens. The present sheet was thought by James Lamantia to bear some affinity to life studies by Guercino (1591-1666), and indeed the latter's Reclining Nude Youth of 1618/19 in the Royal Library at Windsor Castle (inv. no. 01227, MS inv. A. 125)—as well as in three other nearly identical "academy drawings," in Malibu, Saint Louis, and Genoa—are all similarly rendered in black and white chalk on brown paper close to the shade and size of this drawing. But the Guercino full-figure "academies" are discernibly different in the minutiae of their handling, in precisely those respects in which this figure is most characteristic of Lely and his circle. So the label in English on this sheet (which does not simply record Guercino's death, since he died at Bologna on 22 December 1666) tends to confirm its production by—or in the studio of—Peter Lely, who might very well have used as a model one of the drawings by Guercino that he may himself have owned.
References: John Woodward, Tudor and Stuart Drawings, London, 1951, pp. 30-35, 49-52, pls. 34-50; Sir Ellis Waterhouse, Painting in Britain, 1530 to 1790, Harmondsworth, 1969, esp. ch. 6, "The Age of Lely;" Oliver Millar, "Lely," Grove Dictionary of Art, Jane Turner, ed., London, 1996, 34 vols., vol. 19, pp. 119-125; Nicholas Turner, Guercino: Drawings from Windsor Castle, Washington, 1991, pp. 30-32, no. 6.

65. Cecil Beaton (English, 1904-1980), "Theatre Set Design", watercolor and pastel on paper, signed lower right, sight 14 in. x 18 in., unframed. $800/1200

66. Attributed to Samuel De Wilde (British, 1751-1832), "Portrait of Charles Harley", graphite on cardstock, inscribed en verso, 10 1/2 in. x 8 1/4 in., matted. $300/500

67. British School, 19th c., "Allegorical Scene", 1827, pencil on cardstock, pencil dated and dedicated lower right, poem in pencil lower center, sheet 6 3/4 in. x 7 3/8 in., matted. $300/500
Provenance: Acquired in Dublin, 1981.

68. A Good Antique Aesthetic Giltwood Frame; together with an antique engraving of "Roman Procession with Prancing Nubians", print sight 23 1/4 in. x 34 1/4 in., exterior frame 42 1/2 in. x 53 3/4 in. $500/700

69. [French Old Master Engravings], a bound book containing various engravings, extracted from the following: Jean Cotelle (1607-1676), Livre de Divers Ornemens pour Plafonds, with 18 double-page plates; Nicolas Loire (1624-1679), Plafons a la Moderne, with 4 plates; and Jean Le Pautre (1638-1713), Grands Alcoves a la Romaine, with 10 plates; together with 15 loose engravings of vases and designs from Le Pautre, Percenet and Delafosse, all plates approx. 10 1/2 in. x 8 1/2 in. or larger, total of 47. $600/900

70. A Pair of Fine Coalport Porcelain Vases, early 19th c., deep cobalt ground decorated with gilt leaves, scrolled handles, reserves painted with floral still lifes, one including fruit, the reverse gilded and displaying a stylized urn flanked by cornucopiae, spreading socle, plinth base, height 14 3/4 in., width 8 in., depth 5 1/2 in. $2000/3000

71. A Pair of Spode Gilt and Polychrome Porcelain "Imari" Pattern Sauce Tureens, mid-19th c., marked with red pattern number 1409; squat round baluster forms with stylized dolphin masque handles, leaf and berry finials, on dished underplates, tureen height 5 in., width 5 3/4 in., tray diameter 7 1/8 in. $600/900

72. A Chinese Export Canton Famille Rose Punch Bowl, late 19th/20th c., U-form body raised on a short foot ring, decorated throughout with alternating figural and bird-and-flower panels on a gilt ground strewn with butterflies and scrolling vine, height 6 in., diameter 14 5/8 in. Note: Restoration to rim. $500/700
Provenance: Estate of Irene S. Chandler (1916-2010), New Orleans, LA.

73. A Pair of Chinese Export Blue and White Porcelain Foliate Rim Dishes, probably 17th/18th c., each well with a large roundel enclosing flowering plants, encircled by pendant ruyi heads around the cavetto and a diaper band along the rim, the first base with an Artemisia leaf mark, the second with a four-character Kangxi mark, height 1 3/8 in., diameter 10 7/8 in. and 11 in. respectively. $300/500
Provenance: Estate of Harry T. Howard III, New Orleans, LA.

74. A Chinese Export Famille Rose Decorated Blue and White Porcelain Basket, 18/19th c., reticulated oval body with flared rim applied with upright flange handles, enameled to the well with children playing outside a stately country home, height 3 3/4 in., width 7 3/4 in., depth 6 5/8 in. $500/700

75. A Pair of French Bronze Plaques of Amorous Couples, each monogrammed "JGE", with mounting holes at each corner, height 10 3/4 in., width 7 7/8 in. $200/400

76. An English Gothic Revival Tortoiseshell Cigar Case, mid-19th c., delicately carved with church spires and rose windows against textured backgrounds, silvered metal catch and monogram plaque, length 5 1/4 in. $300/500

77. An English Leather Shot Bucket, base marked B.H.&G. Ltd/12-1942, decorated with coat of arms, carrying handles, height 15 3/4 in. $150/250

78. Withdrawn

79. A Set of Twelve Silverplate Service Plates, marked "Royal Castle Sheffield EP" on reverse, circular with gadrooned rim and engraved anchor crests, diameter 12 1/4 in. $800/1200

80. A French Gilt Bronze Bouillotte Lamp, late 19th c., swan finial, columnar standard issuing three scrolled arms, black tôle peinte shade, electrified, height 25 1/4 in., diameter 13. $500/700

81. A George III Mahogany Serpentine Chest, c. 1790, four graduated drawers, shaped base, flared French feet, height 32 7/8 in., width 42 1/4 in., depth 23 1/4 in. $2000/3000

82. A George III Mahogany Bureau Bookcase, late 18th c., triangular pediment, octagonal glazed doors, adjustable shelves, slant front opening to a fitted interior, two drawers over three graduated drawers, molded plinth, shaped bracket feet, height 89 5/8 in., width 38 7/8 in., depth 22 5/8 in. $4000/6000

83. An Edwardian Inlaid Satinwood Breakfront Bookcase, c. 1910, of Neoclassical inspiration, in two parts; upper case with serpentine crest surmounted by finials, three glazed doors below; lower case with three frieze drawers above three doors, blocked feet, height 89 in., width 57 1/2 in., depth 18 in. $2500/3500

84. A Fine Regency Carved Rosewood Work Table, c. 1815, drop-leaf top, two fitted drawers, reeded columnar uprights, incurvate stretcher, on reeded spherical feet, brass casters, height 29 1/2 in., width 18 in., depth 18 1/4 in. $1500/2500

85. A Continental Gothic Carved, Gilded and Polychromed Armchair, probably mid-19th c., spired crest with busts, reticulated back with Renaissance inspired figures, scrolled arms terminating in grotesques, trapezoidal plank seat, molded blocked legs, H stretcher, the whole with original paint decoration, height 48 in. $800/1200
Note: Purchased from an heir to the R.H. Macy estate.

86. An English Regency Carved Giltwood and Ebonized Overmantel Mirror, early 19th c., blocked cornice, spherule-mounted cavetto, ebonized frieze with palmettes, sphinx head and reeded pilasters, height 39 1/2 in., width 52 1/2 in. $1200/1800

87. A Louis Philippe Gilt and Patinated Bronze Shelf Clock, c. 1840, surmounted by a Greek kylix, mounted with reliefs of an eagle attacking a serpent and a sword and olive branch trophée, height 12 in., width 6 1/2 in., depth 4 in. $600/900

88. An Associated Pair of Louis XVI-Style Giltwood Mirrors, each having an agrarian crest, beaded and bellflower border, later mirror plates, height 62 in., width 28 1/2 in. $1000/1500

89. William Barrett Brodie, R.S.A., (English, 1815-1881), "Bust of Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone (1809-1898)", 1868, marble, inscribed "Wm. Brodie, R.S.A., sc. 1868.", height 28 in., width 18 in. depth 9 1/2 in. $1000/1500

90. A Louis XVI-Style Gilt Bronze and Cut Glass Four-Light Hall Lantern, the corona over scrolling supports, hung with swags, monopodia candlearms flanking the frosted glass shade, height 27 in., diameter 18 in. $600/900

91. An American or English Gilt Lacquered Bronze Sinumbra Lamp, 19th c., floral and foliate standard, flared base with applied acanthus, period cut and etched glass shade, prism hung, electrified, overall height 35 1/4 in. $1500/2500
Note: The foliate decoration in this example relates to an advertisement for the British firm Messenger & Sons. In many cases makers in major American centers, such as New York and Philadelphia, incorporated designs from such advertisements in their own products.
Illustration: Gowitt, Gerald, 19th Century Elegant Lighting, p. 147.

92. A Provinçial Carved Fruitwood Console in the Louis XV Taste, 18th c., later molded marble top above a shaped skirt centered with acanthus cartouche and scrolling leaves, cabriole legs ending in hoof feet, height 31 in., width 43 1/2 in., depth 25 in. $1500/2500

93. A Louis XVI Bronze-Mounted Kingwood and Marquetry Commode, later marble top above two drawers, serpentine case with scalloped skirt, cabriole legs with bronze sabots, height 33 1/2 in., width 50 in., depth 25 in. $1000/2000

94. A William IV Carved Oak Sarcophagus-Form Cellarette, 19th c., interior fitted for twenty-one bottles, scroll feet, height 22 1/2 in., width 46 in., depth 24 in. $1000/1500

95. A Late Regency Carved Rosewood Méridienne, c. 1830, shaped back, scrolled arms, blocked seat rail, turned and carved tapered legs, brass ferrules, casters, height 32 in., width 55 in., depth 26 1/2 in. $1200/1800

96. Guillaume Seignac (French, 1870-1924), "Portrait of a Gentleman with a Beard", 1906, oil on canvas, signed and dated upper left, 18 in. x 15 1/2 in., in a fine period giltwood frame. $3000/5000
Provenance: Acquired from Waterhouse & Dodd, London.

97. Flemish School, 19th c., "Classical Male Nude", black and white chalk on light grey prepared wove paper, unsigned, 18 1/8 in. x 24 1/4 in., unframed. $600/800

98. Attributed to Jan Baptist Weenix (Dutch, 1621-1663), "Cavalier Mounting a Step", black chalk with white highlighting on blue prepared paper, unsigned, 12 1/4 in. x 7 in., unframed. $600/800

99. Sir William Chambers (English, 1726-1796), Desseins des Edifices, Meubles, Habits, Machines, et Ustenciles des Chinois, 1757, printed by J. Haberlorn, to be sold by the author and Millar & Nourse, London, folio (20 1/2 in. x 14 1/4 in.), original boards, restored spine and corners, title and 19 pgs. of text in French, with 21 engravings, some colored, of Chinese houses, furniture, utensils, porcelain, boats, dress, etc. $1800/2500
Provenance: First pastedown with ex-libris from Conde de Sucena, the last pastedown with an old Portuguese auction label for the library of Silva Amado.
Note: Chambers was one of the most highly regarded architects of his time. Between 1757 and 1762 he erected several neo-Roman temples and a number of Turkish and Chinese-inspired buildings at Kew, including the now-celebrated pagoda.