Michael Birch Paintings & Artwork for Sale | Michael Birch Art Value Price Guide

Nov. 08, 2024
HARALD HAYEN: KAPPA HEAD
Est: €800 - €1,500
HARALD HAYEN: KAPPA HEAD By Harald Hayen, unsigned Germany, c.1987 Finely carved from an antler coronet, the kappa’s face encompassed by the jagged base of the material, appearing like a wild mane. The inlaid eyes are drawn in crystal rod. Himotoshi bar to the back. HEIGHT 4.8 cm Condition: Excellent condition. Provenance: Ex-collection Heidi Haupt-Battaglia (1921-2019), Switzerland, purchased from Helmut Laudenbach on 18 December 1987. Literature comparison: Compare a closely related antler carving by the same artist of a Tengu face, illustrated in The Art & Life of Michael Birch, 2013, p. 76.
Galerie Zacke
Jan. 25, 2024
Michael Yahwak Signed Oil Painting Birch Trees
Est: $200 - $300
Michael Yahwak, American 1922-2006, Oil Painting on Board Entitled Sunlight on the Birches, In Period Carved Frame. Framed measures 37 inches x 31 inches, art measures 28 inches x 22 inches.
Greenwich Auction
Sep. 08, 2023
Ɏ MICHAEL BIRCH: A WALRUS IVORY NETSUKE OF A STYLIZED DARUMA
Est: €500 - €1,000
Ɏ MICHAEL BIRCH: A WALRUS IVORY NETSUKE OF A STYLIZED DARUMA By Michael Henry Birch (1926-2008), signed with artist’s initials ‘MHB’ 20th century Of crescent moon or c-shape, finely polished. The front side inlaid with shell and abalone depicting the nose and yawning mouth of a daruma in a stylized and subtly concealed manner. The backside with two himotoshi and the signature ‘MHB’ within a gold-inlaid rectangular reserve. LENGTH 4 cm Condition: Excellent condition with minimal wear. Provenance: Ex-collection Richard R. Silverman, sold to benefit Brandeis University. Richard R. Silverman (1932-2019) was a renowned Asian art collector with one of the largest private collections of netsuke outside of Japan. He lived in Tokyo between 1964 and 1979 and began to collect netsuke there in 1968. Since the 1970s, he wrote and lectured about netsuke and was an Asian art consultant for Christie’s, Sotheby’s, and Bonhams. His gift of 226 ceramic netsuke to the Toledo Museum of Art constitutes perhaps the largest public collection of these miniature clay sculptures in the world. After moving to California, Silverman became a member of the Far Eastern Art Council at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in 1984. In 1993, he joined LACMA’s Executive Board. He served on the board of directors for the International Society of Appraisers from 1986 to 1994 and served nine years as chair for the City of West Hollywood Fine Arts Commission. Richard Silverman was posthumously awarded the Order of the Rising Sun for his decades-long promotion of Japanese culture. This item contains ivory, rhinoceros horn, tortoise shell, and/or some types of tropical wood and is subject to CITES when exporting outside the EU. It is typically not possible to export such items outside of the EU, including to the UK. Therefore, after this item has the necessary trade certificate, it can only be shipped within the EU or picked up in our gallery in person.
Galerie Zacke
Jan. 20, 2023
MICHAEL BIRCH: THE MAGIC WHIRLPOOL WITH YIN-YANG SYMBOL
Est: €500 - €1,000
MICHAEL BIRCH: THE MAGIC WHIRLPOOL WITH YIN-YANG SYMBOL By Michael Henry Birch (1926-2008), signed with artist's initials 'MHB' England, 2000 Published: Birch, JKL (2013) The Art & Life of Michael Birch, p. 139. Exhibited & Illustrated: Netsuke Sculptures by Michael Henry Birch, I.N.S.C. Honolulu, 2004. Carved from hippopotamus incisor following the organic shape of the material, one side with a wave-like ridge forming a yin-yang symbol at the center, the reverse left uncarved. Small himotoshi to one side, signed 'MHB' within a gold-inlaid rectangular reserve. Janet Birch remarked the following: "When carving the […] pieces from the thin hollow end of the incisor, Michael left the crystal-hard enamel un-carved on the underside of each to denote the ripples on a sandy seabed beneath the waves". LENGTH 8.4 cm Condition: Excellent condition. Provenance: From the collection of Jonathan Birch, son of Michael Henry Birch.
Galerie Zacke
Jan. 20, 2023
MICHAEL BIRCH: BEAR REFLECTED ON ICE
Est: €700 - €1,400
MICHAEL BIRCH: BEAR REFLECTED ON ICE By Michael Henry Birch (1926-2008), signed with artist's initials 'MHB' England, 2003 Published: Birch, JKL (2013) The Art & Life of Michael Birch, p. 112. Carved from hippopotamus incisor, the eyes inlaid in black onyx. Depicting a stylized bear slipping on ice, its reflection visible beneath. Signed within a gold-inlaid tablet MHB. A remarkably clever and amusing composition. LENGTH 6.1 cm Condition: Excellent condition. Provenance: From the collection of Jonathan Birch, son of Michael Henry Birch.
Galerie Zacke
Dec. 02, 2022
MICHAEL BIRCH: THE MAGIC WHIRLPOOL WITH YIN-YANG SYMBOL
Est: €800 - €1,500
MICHAEL BIRCH: THE MAGIC WHIRLPOOL WITH YIN-YANG SYMBOL By Michael Henry Birch (1926-2008), signed with artist’s initials ‘MHB’ England, 2000 Published: Birch, JKL (2013) The Art & Life of Michael Birch, p. 139. Exhibited & Illustrated: Netsuke Sculptures by Michael Henry Birch, I.N.S.C. Honolulu, 2004. Carved from hippopotamus incisor following the organic shape of the material, one side with a wave-like ridge forming a yin-yang symbol at the center, the reverse left uncarved. Small himotoshi to one side, signed ‘MHB’ within a gold-inlaid rectangular reserve. Janet Birch remarked the following: “When carving the […] pieces from the thin hollow end of the incisor, Michael left the crystal-hard enamel un-carved on the underside of each to denote the ripples on a sandy seabed beneath the waves”. LENGTH 8.4 cm Condition: Excellent condition. Provenance: From the collection of Jonathan Birch, son of Michael Henry Birch.
Galerie Zacke
Dec. 02, 2022
MICHAEL BIRCH: PORTRAIT OF MY FATHER
Est: €800 - €1,500
MICHAEL BIRCH: PORTRAIT OF MY FATHER By Michael Henry Birch (1926-2008), signed with artist’s initials ‘MHB’ England, 1994 Published: Birch, JKL (2013) The Art & Life of Michael Birch, p. 41. Exhibited & Illustrated: The Carvings of Michael Henry Birch, N.K.C. New York, 1995. Michael Birch Netsuke Carver and Sculptor, National College of Art & Design, Dublin 1997. Tactiles by Michael Henry Birch, I.N.S.C Boston, 2001. The head of elongated pear shape, carved from hippopotamus incisor, the features finely detailed in an exaggerated manner with an aquiline nose, and smiling eyes below arched brows. The head inset in a wood stand of lobed form. Small himotoshi through the back and the signature ‘MHB’ within a gold-inlaid rectangular reserve. HEIGHT 9.2 cm Condition: Excellent condition with natural veining and age cracks. Provenance: From the collection of Jonathan Birch, son of Michael Henry Birch. Auction comparison: Compare a related netsuke of a samurai mask by Michael Birch, at Zacke, Fine Netsuke & Sagemono, 16 April 2021, Vienna, lot 251 ( sold for 1,138 EUR).
Galerie Zacke
Nov. 04, 2022
MICHAEL BIRCH: BROKEN COWRIE SHELL
Est: €800 - €1,500
MICHAEL BIRCH: BROKEN COWRIE SHELL By Michael Henry Birch (1926-2008), signed with artist’s initials ‘MHB’ 1980 Published: Birch, JKL (2013) The Art & Life of Michael Birch, p. 137. Exhibited: The Carvings of Michael Henry Birch, N.K.C, Los Angeles, 1981. Sotheby’s Bond St., London, 1994. The Carvings of Michael Henry Birch, I.N.S.C., Honolulu, 1997. Michael Birch Netsuke Carver and Sculptor National College of Art & Design, Dublin, 1997. Carved from whale tooth, the surface superbly polished. Signed within a gold-inlaid tablet MHB. Michael Birch remarks the following: “It’s very realistic but it’s not carved from shell. The infinitely subtle difference between the natural object and the object made by a human being, is barely perceptible. It’s that difference that becomes so vast once you have appreciated and understood that it was not produced by nature – it was produced by a human being. And that is the definition of art…For me there is something very dramatic about an object that is so realistic that I can fool the eye.” LENGTH 5.9 cm Condition: Excellent condition. Provenance: From the collection of Jonathan Birch, son of Michael Henry Birch.
Galerie Zacke
Nov. 04, 2022
MICHAEL BIRCH: TRUST ME (EVEN MOTIVATED GHOSTS DO IT)
Est: €1,500 - €3,000
MICHAEL BIRCH: TRUST ME (EVEN MOTIVATED GHOSTS DO IT) By Michael Henry Birch (1926-2008), signed with artist’s initials ‘MHB’ England, 2000 Published: Birch, JKL (2013) The Art & Life of Michael Birch, p. 43. Exhibited & Illustrated: Tactiles by Michael Henry Birch, I.N.S.C Boston, 2001. Carved from hippopotamus incisor, the eyes double inlaid in drawn crystal rod. Depicting a ghost emerging from ghastly flames and speaking with comically large hands in front of it, the well-carved bony fingers barely touching. Signed within a gold-inlaid tablet MHB. Michael Birch remarked the following: “Examples of wide-spread unconscious body language, a gesture frequently displayed by persons instinctively desiring to appear sincere, trustworthy, knowledgeable, relaxed, self-assured, unemotional and, among other things, at ease with the world. Alternatively, it can be a useful means of parking one’s hands in a neutral for a brief period, until they can be put to better use as an animated accompaniment to speech". Robert Kinsey has written the following about Michael Birch’s “Trust me” series: “Michael Birch netsuke pieces of “Trust me” are a strong statement of deep thinking of the artist. Many netsuke artists display their skill of carving and talent as true artists in the work that they produce. Michael does much more, he expresses his sense of humor as well as his deep thought into the science of body language”. HEIGHT 3 cm, LENGTH 5.2 cm Condition: Excellent condition. Provenance: From the collection of Jonathan Birch, son of Michael Henry Birch.
Galerie Zacke
Jan. 21, 2021
MICHAEL BIRCH: JUVENILE TANUKI
Est: €750 - €1,500
MICHAEL BIRCH: JUVENILE TANUKI By Michael Henry Birch (1926-2008), signed with artist’s initials ‘MHB’ c.1994 Published: Birch, JKL (2013) The Art & Life of Michael Birch, p. 69. Exhibited: Sotheby’s Bonds Street London, 1994. The Carvings of Michael Henry Birch, N.K.C., New York, 1995. Exhibited & Illustrated: Tactiles by Michael Henry Birch, I.N.S.C., Boston, 2001. Carved from dark-stained boxwood, the head carved from stag antler with the head stripes inlaid in lustrous black lacquer. The eyes are in drawn crystal rod. Signed on an inlaid gold plaque ‘MHB’. HEIGHT 2.8 cm, LENGTH 3.7 cm Condition: Excellent condition. Provenance: From the collection of Jonathan Birch, son of Michael Henry Birch.
Galerie Zacke