Specialists kept the
estimate low, but bidders believed in this McCartan
bronze.
Sculpture
Headed for Scrap Heap Instead Brings $16,100 in Washington,
D.C.
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Weschler's recent auction of Twentieth Century
Decorative Works of Art was highlighted by the turnaround of a
sculpture originally slated to be sold for scrap metal. The
consignor wisely rescued the Edward McCartan bronze from an
inglorious fate, transporting "Fountain Figure of a Nymph
Drinking From a Shell" to the auction house and an ensuing
bidding war that drove the piece to $16,100.
Specialists kept the estimate to a conservative $2/3,000 because
of serious verdigris problems, but bidders on six phone lines and
others in the gallery appeared unfazed by the condition,
concentrating instead on the delicate Art Nouveau lines of the
nymph. The piece sold to a local collector after keen competition
from both the trade and other collectors.
Also strong was a Thomas Webb & Sons gem "ivory" cameo glass
vase from a Virginia collection. The vase featured a
Chinese-inspired design of jointed puppet figures within a lush
landscape of exotic flowers. A local collector picked up the vase
for $16,100, more than twice the pre-sale estimate. From the same
collection a group of Burmese vases attributed to Webb realized
$1,380, and a Wheeling Peach Blow Morgan vase brought $748.
Furniture form Gustav Stickley and George Nelson sold
consistently well. A Gustav Stickley oak rocker, model 323,
brought $2,500; an Arts and Crafts oak magazine stand, attributed
to Gustav Stickley, brought $1,610. From the George Nelson "Thin
Edge" series, a cabinet, circa 1955, brought $1,150; a pair of
Thin Edge nightstands made $920; and a second larger cabinet
brought $1,840.
Steuben glass, both clear and colored, proved popular with
bidders. A Steuben clear glass "Day & Night" sculpture
realized $1,495; a Carder Steuben intaglio-cut clear glass
charger, which had been reputedly purchased by the consignor from
the wife of the engraver, sold for $1,035, doubling the pre-sale
estimate; and an apple green Cluthra vase brought $1,150, selling
within estimate.
Tiffany lighting performed to expectations: a Tiffany Studios
bronze and glass table lamp brought $2,300, and a Tiffany Studios
floor lamp base also sold within estimate at $2,070.
In ceramics, a Rookwood vellum glaze landscape vase depicting a
wooded landscape in shades of blue, green and pink realized a
within-estimate $1,150. A Rozenburg glazed earthenware vase
decorated with stylized frogs sold above estimate to bring $978.
