Auction Review: Leski Auctions, Melbourne, Australian & Historical, 25 May 2024

By Richard Brewster, on 28-May-2024

Highest price in the Leski Auctions Australian & Historical sale on May 25 was for a large brass medallion (Lot 722 ) with Monash’s profile and text in relief and listing the World War I military campaigns from 1914-1919. The medallion, which brought a staggering $52,000 against its $5000-$8000 catalogue estimate, was designed by Australian sculptor and medallist Dora Ohlfsen (1869-1948), who also created the 1916 Anzac medal as well as those for a range of prominent public figures and politicians, and struck in London.

<p>An Arthur Streeton painting of General Sir John Monash&rsquo;s 1918 French headquarters at La Cateau (lot 720) sold for $42,000 at the Leski sale. Streeton completed the painting after he visited the headquarters and then gifted it to Monash as a token of gratitude. &nbsp;The painting brought the second highest price of the Monash collection (comprising lots 703-776) that was a major highlight in an auction which included pottery, glass, silver, jewellery, furniture, art, maps, tribal artefacts and convict memorabilia among the offered items.</p>

An Arthur Streeton painting of General Sir John Monash’s 1918 French headquarters at La Cateau (lot 720) sold for $42,000 at the Leski sale. Streeton completed the painting after he visited the headquarters and then gifted it to Monash as a token of gratitude.  The painting brought the second highest price of the Monash collection (comprising lots 703-776) that was a major highlight in an auction which included pottery, glass, silver, jewellery, furniture, art, maps, tribal artefacts and convict memorabilia among the offered items.

General Monash (1865-1931) rose to prominence during World War I Gallipoli campaign and as the Australian Corps commander on France’s Western Front – at the time the largest Allied military contingent of the struggles against the Germans.

An autograph album (Lot 703 ) containing hundreds of tipped-in or written signatures with additional greeting or messages – a remarkable record of leading men and women of the late 19th and early 20th century – was knocked down for its high catalogue estimate of $20,000.

More than double the high catalogue estimate was a World War I officer’s collapsible cup with the words “Col. J. Monash” engraved on it (Lot 716 ) – selling for $11,000.

A couple of 1917 sketches by Monash – one of a northern French country scene (lot 718) and the other church ruins at Neuve Eglise (lot 719) – proved popular, respectively bringing above estimate figures of $3600 and $2400.

The intriguing Gasc’s metal locket French dictionary with the words “Smallest French & English Dictionary” embossed in gold (Lot 717 ) also sold above estimate for $1600.

Another excellent result was the artwork for the $100 John Monash polymer banknote (Lot 776 ), created in 1996 by artist Lyell Lance Dolan and presented to the family when the new note was released later that year. The artwork sold for $5500 against a $1000-$2000 catalogue estimate.

Various other items also fared well including a carved blackwood lidded pot with a plaque attributed to Monash from the Council of the Working Mens College on the base (Lot 770 ), that brought $1900 on a $300-$500 estimate, and a plaque presented to his daughter Bertha Bennett when the Australian Army ship John Monash was commissioned in 1965 (Lot 775 ) that sold for $1400 against its $200-$300 listing.

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About The Author

Richard Brewster has been writing about the antiques and art auction industry for almost 20 years, first in a regular weekly column for Fairfax's The Age newspaper and also in more recent times for his own website Australian Auction Review. With 45 years experience as a journalist and public relations consultant, in 1990 Richard established his own business Brewster & Associates in Melbourne, handling a wide range of clients in the building, financial, antiques and art auction industries.