Absentee Bidder Wins Top Banjo Clock in Upstate New York Auction

MT MORRIS, N.Y.

:Cottone Auctions' first fine art and antiques sale of the year saw competitive bidding, with much phone action and a full house as well as online participation.

Early on, a Tiffany & Co. enamel singing bird box realized $12,100, which was quickly followed by a rare emerald Deldare charger at $6,380. A marble bust of a young lady by T. Ball brought $27,500, selling to a Connecticut collector. Bidding on a rare signed Steuben lamp was feverish with much interest from the floor, several phones and online bidding. A phone bidder from Las Vegas won the lamp, which brought $17,600.

A German double portrait vase was hammered down at $10,340 to a New York City phone bidder, while a Rookwood floor vase sold for $7,040. Complementing the fine porcelains and ceramics was a selection of bronzes from the private collection of Dr Jung from Syracuse, N.Y. Leading the group was a Moreau sculpture of a young lady bringing $16,500, followed by a finely detailed bronze Indian by Henri Pli, which sold to a Californian collector for $14,850.

The top lot in the sale was an example of an Aaron Willard banjo clock bringing $63,800 from an absentee bidder.

Cottone offered a number of period pieces of artwork by both American and European artist. An extremely fine miniature portrait on ivory by John Peale drew much interest and was sold for $28,600. Other offerings by American artists also performed well.

Winter landscapes by Carl Peters and Emile Gruppe brought $12,100 and $11,200, respectively, while an unsigned Nineteenth Century painting of Niagara Falls found in an estate in Lockport, N.Y., fetched $7,920. Much interest was generated by a landscape scene near Vorheesville, N.Y., by George King, which sold to a New York City phone bidder for $14,300. A signed and dated pencil drawing of "the residence of John Hyney, March 19, 1891" by Fritz Vogt finished at $13,200.

Leading the European offerings was a portrait on a mahogany panel of a young woman by French painter Eisman Semenowsky, which ended at $20,350, while a large oil on canvas interior scene by German artist Edmund Herger ended at $16,500.

Among the period furnishings that were offered was a set of six side chairs and one armchair made by Duncan Phyfe that realized $27,500. A highly carved and inlaid Victorian walnut bed fetched $13,420. An ebonized Victorian easel brought $6,820, while a carved walnut example reached $5,830. A Hepplewhite tea caddy received much attention from the floor and the phones to finish at $7,150.

Some other notable items were a rare Civil War album containing 97 Civil War cartes de visite, which opened at double its low estimate of $5,000 and finished at $18,700. A group of 49 stereo cards owned by Col John C. Bigelow of the 134th Illinois Infantry set the tone for the Civil War album by bringing $12,650. An early Philadelphia target rifle sold for $12,650, while a Cheyenne beaded pipe bag brought $9,350.

A rare presentation railroad lantern, given to William Mitchell, conductor of the Kennebunkport-Portland Railroad, was masterfully engraved with a floral cartouche and an early steam locomotive. The piece was from the Barnes estate in Pennsylvania, and sold to a phone bidder from the Midwest for $11,550. A decorated Thomas Haig stoneware chicken feeder scratched out $4,510, while a large scrimshaw tusk with polychrome decoration of a young lady on both sides realized $4,950.

Prices reported include 12 percent buyer's premium.