(3) Italian Majolica Glazed Table Items

Lot description

(lot of 3) Italian majolica table articles, 20th c., including: (1) 'testa di moro' jardiniere, signed Alessi (Giacomo Alessi, Caltagirone, 20th c.), sculpted as a woman of the Orient, adorned with pierced tiara and acanthus laurels, approx 10.5"h, 7.75"w, 8.25"d; (1) covered butter dish, attributed to Horchow Harvest, retailed by Neiman Marcus, vegetables grouped into the form of a pig, the oval underplate with impasto foliates, approx 3.75"h, 8 3/8"w, 5 1/8"d; (1) recumbent lion, seated upon platform base, decorated with lemon branch motifs on white crackle glaze ground, interior marked Made in Italy, approx 5.25"h, 5 5/8"w, 3.25"d; 8.5lbs total Provenance: From the estate of Connie Todd (Constance Clare Todd, Austin, Texas, 1941-2024). For many years, Connie Todd was the personal assistant to prominent Austin-based book publisher, photographer, and author Bill Wittliff (William Dale Wittliff, American, active in Austin, Texas, 1940-2019). Bill Wittliff wrote celebrated screenplays such as "Lonesome Dove" (1982), "Legends of the Fall" (1994), and "Barbarosa" (2000), and founded the regionally-oriented publishing company, Encino Press, with his wife Sally in 1963. Connie Todd later served as the founding director of the Wittliff Collections at Texas State University from 1997-2010, transforming it into an internationally-acclaimed collection through noteworthy acquisitions such as the Cormac McCarthy archive. After retiring from Texas State, Connie Todd spent time traveling the world with friends and family.