Scottish Rite Art Treasure to Headline Don Presley's New Year's Auction

ORANGE, Calif., Dec. 28, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- A superb European sculpture unveiled at the Los Angeles Scottish Rite Cathedral on Christmas Day of 1913 is the centerpiece of Don Presley's Dec. 31-Jan. 1 New Year's Auction. The sale features 1,000 lots of antiques, Asian and other fine art, plus a bumper selection described by Presley as "a gallery of amusements."

The headliner – a Carrara marble grouping known variously as 'Paetus et Aria,' 'The Gaul Killing Himself and His Wife,' and 'The Galatian Suicide' – is a copy of the Hellenistic 3rd century B.C. original by Epignonos, ex Boncompagni Ludovisi Collection. In 1900, the Italian State purchased the original – and 103 other sculptures – from the royal Boncompagni Ludovisi family for ensconcement in the Pergamum Museo Nazionale at Palazzo Altemps.

A deaccession from the Scottish Rite Library & Museum, the antique copy of the famous Greek statue in Presley's sale – exact age unknown – comes with a written history from Masonic archives. In the post-Christmas 1913 "Bulletin to the Los Angeles Consistory," the 94-inch-tall statue is described as "one of the finest marbles in America, not unworthy of being the center of [the Cathedral's] collection." Estimate: $40,000-$75,000.

Presley's New Year's sale also features many top-quality ivory and Asian antiques. A pair of Chinese huanghuali chairs, estimate $15,000-$25,000, came from a Los Angeles residence. Auctioneer Don Presley said chairs of this type are scarce because the exotic hardwoods from which they were constructed are rarely found in pieces large enough for use in furniture.

"Huanghuali chairs were made for emperors and royalty," Presley said. "They can fetch high prices at auction."

Sterling silver, porcelains, pottery and approximately 200 antique clocks will be auctioned, including 40 European timepieces from a Beverly Hills collection, jewel-face and Tiffany clocks. Several 2-3 carat diamonds and a Rolex Daytona Model 16520 Oyster Perpetual man's wristwatch with Zenith movement add a fine edge to the sale.

Other top lots include an exquisite 19th-century French vitrine, a 3/4-size Butterfield parade stagecoach, two 1960s Vespa scooters and several items featured on the History Channel's Real Deal, which is taped at Presley's gallery. They include a 1957 Williams "Deluxe Baseball" pinball machine, a circa-1891 binnacle from the Spanish flagship Infanta Maria Teresa and a curious circa-1900 medical device called a "nebulizer."

Contact: 714-633-2437, www.donpresleyauction.com.

SOURCE Don Presley Auction