Auction house Casa de Memoria is set to put under the hammer over 170 lots for its upcoming sale, dubbed “Age of Exploration: East meets West II” on Sept. 7.
“This is our 17th auction over the last three years and we are pleased that our breathe of offerings are making it to homes around the country,” notes marketing manager Camille Lhuillier. “We make collecting items of heritage and uniqueness within reach of budding connoisseurs.”
According to officials, “Age of Exploration: East meets West II” is about fascination for orientalia and intricate detail.
For Italian furniture, a 19th-century chiffonier used to store bric-a-brac or clothing, with inlay and mythical figures is among the highlighted lots for Auction 17.
Among the paintings and prints up for auction, a Picasso-Salinas lithograph dated January 1969, provides an opportunity for the cubist collector. The creation of this piece led to what became known as Pablo Picasso’s famous 29 “Portraits Imaginaires”—including the Spanish artist’s rendition of Shakespeare, mustachioed Musketeers, among others. Collaborating with French-born, Egypt-based artist Laurent Marcel Salinas (1913-2010) to do the lithography, Picasso finalized details with his own soft signature.
Also part of the upcoming auction’s highlights is an untitled but signed “LVNA” portrait depicting an “Indio Igorote” in profile holding a stick and wearing an earring and teeth necklace.
As in every Casa de Memoria auction, woodwork, especially inlaid with bone and ivory, is a must-consider item. Also from the 19th century, a French wooden trinket box done in Neo-Gothic style and decorated in opulent relief of eclectic foliage and animalia—a favorite subject of the period—is set to go under the hammer.
Religious iconography for the September auction includes 42-centimeter Santo Niño from the 19th century. The ivory sculpture of Child Jesus in “Montañesino” is represented holding a long staff with a cross on its end, with his feet on a cushion.
The aforementioned pieces and more will be available for viewing beginning August 20 until Sept. 6 at Palacio de Memoria, 95 Roxas Boulevard, Brgy. Tambo, Parañaque City. The catalog will be available online at www.casadememoria.com.