Leonard Joel

A painting by one of China’s leading water colourists of his day has top billing at Leonard Joel’s forthcoming Asian Art, Classic Furniture & Objects auction from 11am Sunday October 16 at 333 Malvern Road, South Yarra.

Featured on the auction catalogue front cover, the ink and colour on paper Morning Glory and Chicks is by self-taught artist Qi Baishi (1863-1957) and carries an estimate of $170,000-$200,000.

Fred and Anna Maria Agar originally met in 1961 in New York while she was visiting on holiday and fell madly in love.

So strong was the connection between the two former Hungarian refugees that Fred not only proposed but, by the end of the year, moved to Melbourne so they could marry.

Anna came to Australia in 1950 as a child and grew up travelling with her parents throughout regional Victoria and New South Wales visiting rabbiters for the family’s pet food business.

A stunning Van Cleef & Arpels diamond cocktail earrings and brooch set is the highlight of Leonard Joel’s spring Fine Jewels auction from 6pm Monday September 5 at 333 Malvern Road, South Yarra.

Purchased during an overseas holiday, the set was worn to many formal functions and always attracted attention – often becoming the “jewellery talking piece” of the evening.

This is not surprising as Van Cleef & Arpels has always been associated with sumptuous jewellery design matched by exacting workmanship.

Works by 1960s fashion photographer Henry Talbot – who currently has an exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria – will be among some of the more appealing photographs in Leonard Joel’s forthcoming Specialist Prints & Photography auction from 11.30am Thursday August 11 at 333 Malvern Road, South Yarra.

Leonard Joel holds four specialist print auctions each year and this sale features works by other fashion photographers from the same period including Bruno Benini, Rennie Ellis and Wolfgang Sievers.

Part two of artist David Bromley and his fashion designer wife Yuge’s collections will be auctioned from 12pm Sunday July 31 at 39 East Street, Daylesford.

Collection two is wide ranging and in many cases off beat – and once again demonstrates their diverse collecting life together.

“Our intention is to bring magic into the everyday,” writes David Bromley in the catalogue introduction.

“What rules our world is our mutual obsession for collecting, decorating and injecting engaging narratives into spatial context.”

Artist David Bromley and his fashion designer wife Yuge are auctioning their collections in Prahran and Daylesford on site over two successive Sundays through Leonard Joel.

The first collection will be auctioned from 12pm Sunday July 24 at 280 Chapel Street, Prahran and comprises an eclectic range of items of personal significance that have reflected their shared journey through married life.

Two significant estates are part of Leonard Joel’s forthcoming Jewels & Objets D’Art auction from 6pm Monday June 27 at the NCJWA Hall, 11 Queen Street, Woollahra in Sydney.

One of the estates belonged to Hungarian-born Vera Salgo who spent her time residing in both Australia and Monaco.

Well travelled, it took her many years attending auction houses and haunting dealer premises to amass her collection, which features mainly decorative arts that incorporates a European (mainly Hungarian) art component – an interesting and curious mixture of portraits and landscapes.

A rare design pure silk superfine qum rug containing bas-relief images of Achamenian kings is among many scarce examples from Afghanistan and neighbouring Middle East countries as part of a specialist rug auction from 2pm Thursday June 16 at Leonard Joel 333 Malvern Road, South Yarra.

The rugs are a real find for any auction goer looking to adorn the floor or wall of their home with these ancient examples of intricate craftsmanship.

Items from the estate of jeweller Andree Elizabeth Shiel will be a major drawcard at Leonard Joel’s forthcoming jewellery auction from 6pm Monday June 6 at 333 Malvern Road, South Yarra.

Shiel undertook her jewellery training during the late 1970s and early 1980s at Sir John Cass College in London – at the time one of the premier London institutes for the study of art, architecture, jewellery and design.

On completion of her studies, Shiel established a range of contacts with jewellers and suppliers in Hatton Garden.

The collection of an impressive Malvern corner store that has become a mecca for decorators and vintage collectors will go under the hammer from 12pm Sunday June 5 at Leonard Joel 333 Malvern Road, South Yarra as the business relocates to new Hawthorn showrooms.

The store, Warehouse 8 Interiors, is just up the road from the auction house and is owned by Pamela Ashton-Rickardt and Mathew Matheou.