Additional Sept. 16 session devoted to fine and rare books

Chinese 7-panel scroll dated 1230, tells the tale of Su Yuenan, a famed beauty and silk spinner, $2,500-$3,500. Quinn’s Auction Galleries image.

FALLS CHURCH, Va.- An exquisite early Chinese scroll is expected to be among the top performers in Quinn’s Saturday, Sept. 18 auction. The 507-lot sale Asian, fine and decorative art, with 19th-century French paintings, American bronzes and period furniture of the 17th to 20th centuries also among the highlights.

Following the success of Chinese fine art in their May sale, Quinn’s will offer in its Sept. 18 auction a scroll from the same estate, which tells the tale of famed beauty and silk spinner Su Yuenan. Poetry, words of adoration and views of silk weaving are painted on its seven panels, the earliest signed “Zhu Linjing” and dated 1230. It is expected to surpass its conservative estimate of $2,500-$3,500.

Henry Lesur, The Flower Vendor, mid-19th century, $2,500-$3,500. Quinn’s Auction Galleries image. Quinn’s Auction Galleries image.

Admirers of 19th-century French genre painting will appreciate The Flower Vendor by Henry Lesur, estimated between $2,500-$3,500. The scene is full of light and color, with the central subject being a richly dressed man scrutinizing a female flower merchant through his spectacles. In contrast, the 1929 bronze titled Pioneer Woman, by American sculptor Bryant Percy Baker ($3,000-$5,000), depicts a female figure striding forward confidently, clasping her son by the hand.

Four rare original oil paintings by renowned American railroad artist and historian Manville Burton Wakefield (1924-1975) that were discovered by Quinn’s experts during a recent estate appraisal will be offered in the Sept. 18 sale. The four artworks include The Mountain Railroad, Texas Round the Bend, The Mighty O&W Railroad and The Old Sap House.

The furniture highlights span the 17th to 20th centuries, with highlights including a late-17th to early 18th-century William and Mary burled walnut veneered highboy, $2,000-$3,000; and a Norwegian mid-century modern solid teak Bruksbo Mellemstrands bar cabinet, $800-$1,200.

On the Thursday prior to Quinn’s Asian, Fine & Decorative Art auction, the company’s rare books division, Waverly Auctions, will conduct 430-lot sale of fine and rare books. The Sept. 16 session will include catalogues raisonnes, antiquarian Japanese books dating from the 17th century, important travel volumes and classic children’s books for serious collectors.

Complete 9-volume Picasso Peintre-Graveur, compiled by Geiser and Brigitte Baer, $900-$1,200. Quinn’s Auction Galleries image.

A parade of catalogues raisonnes of American and European printmakers will cross the auction block, including the complete 9-volume Picasso Peintre-Graveur, compiled by Geiser and Brigitte Baer, which is expected to bring $900-$1,200. Another noteworthy group is from a Washington, D.C.-area collector who specialized in Japanese books dating from the 17th to 19th centuries, with a focus on the tea ceremony and floral arrangements. The collection also includes a handful of Hokusai manga and a modern printing of Hiroshige’s 56 Views of Tokaido Road ($180-$240).

An early travel publication, Ogilby’s China, is a two-volume set that deals with exploration and ethnography in 1673. Featuring marvelous plates, including 32 double-page engravings of landscapes and architecture, this masterwork is valued between $8,000-$12,000.

Equally stunning is the Hafs Qur’an, a hand painted jewel bound in dark brown leather and adorned with ornate gilt floral illuminations, $2,000-$3,000. While its transcriber and date are unknown, experts believe the manuscript is from mid-19th-century Ottoman Turkey.

From the collection of noted bibliophile Eric S. Quayle, comes a first edition of Robert Louis Stevenson’s A Child’s Garden of Verses, published in 1885 and originally owned by noted Scottish children’s author, R.M. Ballantyne. Appraised at $1,000-$1,500, this copy is accompanied by a letter from Ballantyne to his wife.

All forms of bidding will be available.  For additional information on Asian, fine or decorative art lots, contact Matthew Quinn at 703-532-5632, e-mail matthew.quinn@quinnsauction.com. For book or manuscript queries, call Anson Brown at 703-532-5632 or e-mail anson.brown@quinnsauction.com. Visit Quinn’s Auction Galleries online at www.quinnsauction.com.