: Auction buyers seem to have shaken off the recession blues,
according to Stair Galleries, whose recent sale saw steady strong
bidding in the room and from absentee bidders as well as periodic
bursts of lively phone bidding.
The action pushed the September 6 sale's total more than $230,000
over the high estimate. Of the 498 lots offered, only 18 went
unsold. With 360 eager participants, many lots sold well over
estimate, with a few taking forays into the stratosphere.
English furniture flew off the block at the auction, which was
appropriate since Colin Stair, president of the company, is the
fourth generation of a family steeped in this category of the
antiques trade. His great-grandfather, Arthur C. Stair, founded
Stair & Andrew, in London in 1912, and specialized in
first-rate English furniture.
Pair of Chippendale carved giltwood mirrors, $31,050.
His grandfather, Alastair A. Stair, was president of Stair
& Co. in New York City from 1935 until he sold the business in
1985. His shop was well-known as the premier place to purchase
English antiques in the United States.
Three outstanding lots came from one consignor who made his
fortuitous purchases in London, circa 1958. A set of ten mahogany
chairs from The Rt Hon the Viscount Downe at Wykeham Abbey,
Yorkshire ($10/15,000) sold to the trade for $66,125; three
George III painted and parcel-gilt armchairs ($3/5,000) sold to a
private buyer for $19,550; and a pair of Chippendale carved
giltwood mirrors ($7/9,000) made $31,050.
Other notable George III items included a cellerette on later
stand, which brought $3,335 and a pair of tea caddies in the form
of cutlery urns, which made $1,610 against a $3/500 estimate.
Regency-style chandelier, $12,650.
Regency period pieces also fared well. A dainty work table
($700/1,000) made $2,300; a sofa table ($2/$4,000) fetched $7,188;
and a pair of bookcases sold at $8,625. A pair of Regency
candelabra more than quadrupled their high estimate to sell at
$5,175 and a Regency-style chandelier surpassed its $2/4,000
estimate to sell for $12,650.
French and Continental pieces were also popular with bidders. A
Louis XVI giltwood mirror sold for $3,450 and a pair of Italian
giltwood mirrors with etched plates fetched $5,750. Four Louis
XVI chairs brought $2,415. An armada chest with an amazingly
intricate working lock mechanism topped out at $5,175. Also
selling at $5,175, more than three times its high estimate, was a
handsome Italian neoclassical bureau plat. An interesting German
carved oak saint estimated at $800/1,200 made $5,463.
Although the American furniture section was small, the sale
attracted enough interest to catapult a Pennsylvania armchair to
$14,375, well past its $1/1,500 estimate, even though one leg
appeared to have been replaced. A late Federal mahogany sewing
table made $2,300.
This child's dress, found in a local service group's donation
bin, was purchased for $4,600 by The Metropolitan Museum of
Art.
Another popular category was silver, with a Tiffany tureen
fetching $8,625 against a $2/4,000 estimate. A pair of wine coolers
sold for $1,840; a magnificent large oval centerpiece with marks
for Comyn's, 1907, brought $5,750, and a superb 350-piece silver
canteen by Garrard & Co. sold to a Connecticut family for
$21,850 .
Other miscellaneous highlights in the sale included an ivory
table screen for $8,625; a pair of giltwood pineapples for $1,150
and an eight-fold Japanese hunting screen that made $4,313
against a $150 to $250 estimate.
Perhaps the best story in the sale involved a lovely child's
dress. When the local ladies hospital auxiliary found it in their
donation bin, they thought it looked quite old and contacted
Stair. Stair then contacted textile expert Titi Halle of Cora
Ginsburg LLC, who confirmed that the dress was indeed old. The
auction house offered to sell it at no commission for the
auxiliary. The dress swept past its $5/700 estimate and was
hammered down for $4,600, going to The Metropolitan Museum of
Art.
Prices quoted include a 15 percent buyer's premium.
