Leonard Joel

Decorative arts is the subject of Leonard Joel’s first auction at its new Sydney premises in The Bond, Queen Street, Woollahra.

Built in 1870 and originally a Masonic Lodge, this historic building contains a ground floor gallery and space to host viewings, auctions and other events.

The decorative arts auction, from 6pm Tuesday October 23, includes several local and interstate collections – including rare and important 18^th century porcelain.

Leonard Joel’s first stand-alone Asian art auction contains a diverse selection of items spanning the entire Asian region designed to appeal to all comers and features six private Australian collections.

The sale starts at 6.30pm Monday October 8 at 333 Malvern Road, South Yarra and one of the collections belonged to the late Gerry Virtue and his wife Pamela who met in 1961 – two years after he spent six months on the hippie trail from Calcutta to London with a total budget of just 10 pounds.

Australian Rules football champion John Coleman’s Essendon match jumper he wore in 1953 is one of the major highlights of Leonard Joel’s collectables auction from 2pm Thursday September 27 at 333 Malvern Road, South Yarra.

Coleman (1928-1973) was a Victorian Football League (now the Australian Football League) star full-forward, kicking 537 goals in only 98 matches.

Known for his high-flying spectacular marks, Coleman won two premierships with Essendon (1949 and 1950) and was VFL leading goal kicker five times (1949-1953).

Not many schoolboys would forego their lunch money to start collecting model trains, cars and vintage toys.

More likely, they would buy lunch and then pester their parents for more funds to indulge their childhood passion.

But not Melbourne man Martin Bodinar. As a young boy, he haunted local garage sales, swap meets and markets to discover a new treasure – having often gone hungry to ensure he had enough money to bring the new item home.

As a result, he has amassed one of the largest and most diverse collections ever seen in Australia.

Intriguing furniture pieces, portrait miniatures and shadow and wax portraits are among some of the more impressive items at Leonard Joel’s forthcoming decorative arts auction from 6.30pm Monday September 17 at 333 Malvern Road, South Yarra.

The miniatures are part of the Neil Robertson collection, which includes many curious insights into 18^th and 19^th century romanticism and life in Great Britain and Europe.

Peaking in popularity in the mid-19^th century, portrait miniatures became a casualty of the advancing photographic technology.

Two works by iconic Spanish-French artist Pablo Picasso should boost auction goer numbers to Leonard Joel’s Specialist Prints auction from 6.30pm Wednesday September 19 at 333 Malvern Road, South Yarra.

The first of these is the famous Peintre Neo-Classique dans son Atelier (Neo-Classical Painter in his Studio).

One of the 20^th century’s most influential artists, Picasso etched the work in 1963 at Mas Notre Dame de View, a house in Mougins in the south of France where he and his wife Jacqueline moved to in June 1961 when the artist was 80 years old.

Leonard Joel’s Fine Art auction from 6.30pm Tuesday September 4 at 333 Malvern Road, South Yarra offer auction goers many affordable paintings from different periods of Australian art.

A scroll through the catalogue reveals many familiar names – Charles Blackman, John Brack, Hugh Sawrey, Penleigh and David Boyd, Robert Dickerson, Tim Storrier, Pro Hart, Walter Withers and James R Jackson to name but a few.

An eclectic range of fine jewels – a strong feature of the John Swanton collection – with a focus on enamels is a major highlight of Leonard Joel’s forthcoming jewellery auction from 6.30pm Monday September 3 at 333 Malvern Road, South Yarra.

Lot 105, an extremely rare Georgian hand painted miniature eye locket with a provenance that can be traced back to the Earl of Warwick, is typical of the fine quality of the collection.

The locket belonged to Sydney’s Anne Schofield Antiques and was purchased about 1970 from Christie’s of London.

Signed and framed Australian Rules football jumpers by Essendon champions Matthew Lloyd and James Hird are among a comprehensive range of sporting memorabilia being offered at a Leonard Joel online auction which finishes at 10am on Thursday August 16.

Other football items include framed photographs of Collingwood’s 1990 premiership team and Carlton’s ‘The Silvagni Dynasty’ featuring the number 1 guernsey worn by 20^th century father and son champions Serge and Stephen.

Italian furniture from major manufacturers such as Cassina, Poltrona Frau, B&B Italia and Artemide will comprise much of the latest Leonard Joel Modern Design auction from 6.30pm Monday July 30 at 333 Malvern Road, South Yarra.

Early pieces from such designers as Paolo Buffa and Silvo Cavatorta – including card tables, mirrored sideboards and marble credenzas – will be among the items on offer.