Warm Reception for Wine Cooler at Christie's

NEW YORK CITY

:Important English Furniture, including a collection from a New York townhouse, totaled $7,886,480 at Christie's on Friday, April 15. The auction was 73 percent sold by lot, 83 percent by dollar.

The surprising top lot, estimated at $20/40,000, was a Regency gilt-lacquered brass wine cooler, possibly by William Bullock, circa 1810, which brought, according to Melissa Gagen, head of the firm's European furniture department, "the most unpredictable result."

"Sold by the Glenbow Museum in Alberta," she stated, "collectors found [the cooler] fascinating for its uniqueness and untouched, original condition." The lot garnered $430,400 from a private US buyer.

A George II gilt-bronze-mounted mahogany dressing table, attributed to Wright and Elwick, circa 1740, fetched $228,000, and a George III sycamore, rosewood and marquetry commode, circa 1775, sold for $216,000. Both were purchased by the UK trade.

All prices quoted include buyers premium.

A full report will appear in a future issue of Antiques and The Arts Weekly.