Art Market Italy: Auctions in Italy

Both auction houses hold minor sales at the end of January. The appointment at San Carlo Aste is on Jan. 31 with the sale of Antiques, Paintings, Watches and Jewels. The catalog includes 500 lots, which are going to be auctioned in a unique session (starting at 3:30 pm, Italian time). Estimates range between €100 and €5,000. The offer is large and varied. One of the highlights among the furniture is a coin cabinet from the end of the 17th century in ebonized wood and tortoise, carrying a painting in the middle of the piece of furniture. Among the paintings, there is an oil on canvas done by Alessandro Lupo at the end of the 19th century. Entitled Marina a Noli, the painting represents a sea-landscape in Liguria with fishermen dragging a boat onto the beach. It is an unusual subject for Lupo, who is best-known for his representations of market scenes. Starting price is €4,000. There are also some ancient earthenware jars that are particularly interesting. Among these is a group of objects of the 4th-5th century from southern Italy coming from an important Swiss collection.

The sale includes also a rare collection of jewels once owned by Enrico Cirio, a famous jeweler of Turin in the 1950s-1960s, who served royal families, Hollywood stars and VIPs. In particular there is a group of 10 bracelets that are very hard to find.

Among the watches are a Vacheron & Constantin from the 1930s and a group of Patek Philippes from the 1940s-1950s, which are seldom found all together.

After warming up the public with this sale, the following appointment at San Carlo Aste will be on Feb. 9 with Old Timers and Supercars. The location of the sale will be the historic Fiat factory at the so-called Lingotto in Turin. The catalog will include one of the last cars owned by the famous Gianni Agnelli, Italian industrialist and principal shareholder of Fiat, who died in 2003.

Il Ponte in Milan holds a series of sales dedicated to the Interiors Decoration: Furniture, Paintings, Objects, Books and Etchings, Watches. The sale begins Jan. 29 and goes until Feb. 1 (from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Italian time). The location of the sales is the branch of the auction house in Via Pitteri. Offered are more than 2,000 lots, with estimates ranging between few hundred euros to several thousand eruros.

Among the highlights of this sale there are numerous pieces of furniture such as lot 1096, an overturning table in walnut and brier root from the 18th century (estimate €2,000-€2,500); lot 1738, a commode in walnut from the 17th century (estimate €2,200-€2,500); and lot 1442, a large closet in brier root.

Collectors looking for paintings should pay attention to two artworks from northern Italy from the 18th century. One represents a child with red cloak, estimated €3,000-€3,200, and the other one represents a gentlemen with yellow outfit, estimated €3,800-€4,000. Among the ancient paintings is an oil on board representing a Madonna with Child, estimated €6,000-€7,000, while for collectors of modern art there are two paintings by Nino Aimone, an artist from Turin who has been quite overlooked, even though he has exhibited twice at the Venice Biennial and once at the Quadriennale in Rome. On offer there are a large still life with objects and lamps from 1959 with an estimate of €450-€500, and an abstract painting dated 1953 with an estimate of €350-€400.

(1 euro = $1.35 U.S.)

All images courtesy San Carlo Aste, Turin