Music Is Sweet At Grogan's Sale

DEDHAM, MASS.

:The Italian picture "Motif Dalmate" by Zoran Anton Music, who died recently, was the star attraction at Grogan & Company's December 4 sale when it drew $115,000 from an Internet bidder. Auctioneer Michael B. Grogan said after the sale that the oil on canvas came to him after he sold Music's "Paesaggio Dalmata" last April.

While the Music was not a record, the $86,250 that Nancy Maybin Ferguson's colorful "Friends Meet Friends" drew from a dealer was triple that of any prior price for her paintings. The picture was probably painted in Provincetown where Ferguson, one of the Philadelphia Ten, worked and studied in for many summers.

A beautifully carved and polychrome wood cigar store Indian from about 1850 went to the trade for $54,625.

Bidding on a nine-inch Peking glass vase in canary yellow opened at $6,000 against the estimated $1/1,500 and was busy between the floor and the phone, closing at $50,600.

The vase was among 155 lots that came from a Beacon Hill collector who worked in the antiques business and whose gatherings were indeed choice. Their prices reflected their desirability. A Chinese carved jade urn-form vessel on stand in mottled white and amber striated jade fetched $8,855.

An Eighteenth Century figured walnut secretary bookcase was originally cataloged as George II but was later determined to be possibly of Italian origin. A phone bidder was happy to have the 94-inch secretary at $37,375 against the estimated $5/7,000.

A late Eighteenth or early Nineteenth Century Continental marquetry bombe cabinet with giltwood on the cornice and the base brought $25,300. The imposing piece was 100 inches tall.

An extensive group of leather bound books attracted $8,812 and another library of about 450 leather bound books that came from another consignor realized $11,500.

Paintings from the same Beacon Hill collection also got a warm reception. The highlight of the collection was a Florentine landscape with figures by Giuseppe Gherardi and dated 1851 that realized $37,375 against an estimated $3/5,000.

Furniture, accessories and paintings from other consignors were equally coveted, particularly items of Continental origin. A number of Italian buyers bid by phone for some desirable pieces, driving the prices to healthy levels.

A Nineteenth Century George III triple pedestal mahogany dining table that extended to 145 inches realized $26,450 and a Georgian mahogany Carlton House desk took $6,900.

Bidding on a stylish pair of Louis XVI corner cabinets with marble tops and ormolu mounts in a red lacquered chinoiserie opened at the high estimate of $3,000 and raced to $14,950.

An Eighteenth Century Continental carved and painted figure of the Virgin Mary and Baby Jesus sold for $13,225.

A Sixteenth or Seventeenth Century Italian carved fruitwood two-door cabinet brought $10,350 and a Sixteenth Century Italian cassone that was carved and painted drew $8,050.

A pair of vases from Sevres had elaborate ormolu mounts and was decorated with an amorous couple and landscapes on a royal blue ground. The pair fetched $14,950.

Two works by Twentieth Century Spanish artist Esteban Vicente drew exceptional interest. The circa 1960 oil on canvas "163" brought $20,700 and a circa 1965 mixed media collage that was sold with an abstract aquatint by the artist was $21,850. Both lots were estimated at $2/3,000. Two oil on canvas paintings by Claude Venard, "Le Remorguer Gris (No. 49)" and "Nu au Fond Rouge (No. 95) brought $9,200 against the estimated $1,5/2,500.

American pictures held their own. The Nineteenth Century picture signed and entitled on the stretcher, "Near Stoddard, New Hampshire, T. Doughty" realized $12,650 and "Mountain Lake" signed A.T. Bricher and dated 1858 drew $10,925.

A pair of George III silver chamber sticks and snuffers made in London in 1829 by Rebecca Emes and Edward Barnard, bearing the mark for Paul Storrs, sold for $9,775.

Carpet standouts included a circa 1900 Turkish Oushak that realized $19,550 and a Persian Kirman from about 1880, $10,925.

All prices quoted reflect the 15 percent buyer's premium. For information, 781-461-9500 or www.grogan.co