ST. MICHAELS, MD.- It did not make any difference that the maker of the heron decoy was not known. At $192,000, it finished at more than three times its estimate. It was well-known otherwise in the decoy world, having been in the Mackey collection but retained by the family until now. It had been illustrated in several books, featured on the cover of Decoy Magazine, and exhibited by Mackey several times. Quite simply, in addition to its rarity, it was a remarkable piece of folk art. The sale included rarities by the most respected carvers, with five decoys selling for more than $100,000 and dozens more bringing five-figure prices. A shorebird decoy, also by an unknown maker, pictured by Adele Earnest on the cover of her book, Art of The Decoy, earned $33,600, and a fish carved by Oscar Peterson earned $114,000. Sporting art also did well. The Guyette and Deeter two-day sale, April 30-May 1, showed the increasing strength of the decoy market and grossed about $4,000,000.

A full report will follow.