Signed Pairpoint table lamps, clocks, Asian material and cast iron garden furniture from a single Southeastern Massachusetts collection topped the eclectic offerings at Landry Auctions’ September 28 sale. The collection came to auction driven there by the antiques market’s ubiquitous downsizing †the collectors are headed to Florida. North Shore trade and retail buyers were out in force.
Auctioneer Peter Coccoluto said the collector’s house was so jam-packed that the large cache he and his staff hauled away to auction made little difference to the overall picture. The house is still packed. Over the years the owner had made a very careful gathering of Pairpoint lamps, seeking examples in as close as possible to factory condition and notable for their color and rarity. His efforts were rewarded, and Coccoluto said that the dozen examples that sold went to buyers, retail and trade, who will appreciate them. The 12 beauties were arranged and illuminated in a horseshoe formation and the effect was of a brilliant garden.
A Pairpoint hummingbird lamp with flowers against a grid design was signed on the base and sold on the phone for $3,895. A ribbed puffy shade with hummingbirds amid the orange and yellow flowers realized $2,760, while a Pairpoint puffy shade decorated with roses on a Mount Washington glass company base sold for $2,415.
Pairpoint lamps continued to please when a scenic table lamp depicting a fisherman went for $1,840; another scenic example with painted trees elicited $1,955; a lamp painted with a landscape and a body of water on a wooden urn-form base realized $1,840; one decorated with a landscape on a silvered base was $1,553; a table lamp with a blue paisley-like decoration sold for $2,070; and a pair of candlesticks fetched $403.
Not Pairpoint, but a green and yellow slag glass table lamp by Duffner and Kimberly brought $1,150.
Clocks from the same Southeastern Massachusetts collection garnered interest: A 31-inch Nineteenth Century figural mystery clock by an unknown maker attracted lots of interest and fetched $1,955. A large and handsome English walnut wall clock with a painted dial marked “Joyce/Whitechapel” realized $1,093.
Other clocks were eagerly snatched up: an early Nineteenth Century Connecticut pillar and scroll shelf clock by Bristol maker Ephraim Downes sold for $863; a 54-inch Flemish elm wall clock with a floral painted face and a brass ball finial realized $1,088; and a Nineteenth Century French gilt bronze figural clock sold for $805.
American and Continental furniture produced some noteworthy lots. A Pennsylvania cherry tall chest with ten drawers, three over two over five graduated drawers brought $3,680 from an absentee bidder. A family history was inscribed on the bottom of the center top drawer.
Bidding on a walnut drop leaf table opened at $2,200 and ended at $3,335. A tabletop bookcase with a double arch top was $1,495.
European furniture highlights included a large Victorian rosewood étagère with a rose marble top which was carved fancily and sold to the local trade for $3,450; an Eighteenth Century English Georgian gaming table from about 1760, which fetched $575; an Eighteenth Century Italian cassone had had some restoration and sold for $1,725; while a Continental, probably Italian, carved chest with ormolu mounts with three drawers elicited $1,150.
There was a group of Chinese items offered, such as a hardwood cabinet with two asymmetrical glazed doors, which was carved elaborately and sold for $920. A southern Chinese cabinet with a mother-of-pearl crest and multiple compartments fetched $1,840; a Chinese hardwood table with a gold and silver silk thread-embroidered top was carved ornately and realized $863; the companion Chinese armchair carved with a complex dragon brought $460. Both came from the collection of the consignor’s grandparents.
Much of the cast iron garden furniture came from the Southeastern Massachusetts collection and had been cleaned and painted and brought prices accordingly. Among the exceptions was a 62-inch classical figural bronze fountain with a young woman and a goat in fine green patina that sold for $2,875. After he pronounced the piece sold, auctioneer Coccoluto said the fountain had cost the Florida consignor $21,000, excluding the cost of installation. A nearly life-size stag attributed to Fiske had some losses, although the parts were present; it brought $575.
Many people really liked an aquatic garden set comprising a carved alabaster or similar material table on a double dolphin base and six companion stools. Most were reluctant to buy it considering the logistics and effort required to move it †it was exceptionally heavy †and it realized a comparatively modest $144.
A carved rose quartz rabbit with diamond and sapphire eyes attributed to Cartier sold for $863; a Continental bronze figure of a helmeted maiden brought $805, while a white marble figure of a maiden on a Victorian stand was $489.
An Eighteenth Century English silver tankard by London smith Humphrey Payne elicited $3,335; a four-piece American sterling teaset went to an absent bidder for $1,610. A Jack Shepherd Poole four-piece coffee and tea service based on an Eighteenth Century form was $1,265, and a repousse sterling chamber stick fetched $374 from the same buyer.
A Nineteenth Century Pennsylvania sampler with pine trees dating from about 1810 to 1820 was unsigned and set in a lemon gilt frame. It realized $1,150.
Japanese items included two Japanese cloisonné vases at $749; a Japanese brass planter from a Marblehead house was so heavy that it took two men to lift it, and it sold for $1,640. A Japanese pair of bronze vases elicited $460, a signed 4-inch Satsuma thousand faces vase brought $431, a Satsuma vase brought $230 and a Satsuma covered jar fetched $121. A collection of cloisonné included a desk set comprising a tray and two covered boxes that realized $345.
Three tray lots of assorted Rose Medallion porcelain pieces brought $1,380. An Eighteenth Century pair of Chinese chalk or clay rams attracted a degree of interest that belied the hammer price of $230.
A pretty Sandwich glass pipe with a 34-inch red, white and blue twist stem ending in a milky bowl smoked out $230, while two similar Sandwich glass candlesticks with white bases and blue tops brought $403.
The signed etching “The Burning Question,” a depiction by Marguerite Kirmse of two terriers gazing at a burning cigarette, attracted a lot of notice and realized $345, while a Rosa Bonheur sporting print of a dog from a local house was $230. A group of four silhouettes in a single frame brought $259.
An unusual pair of brass doorstops in the form of Punch and Judy fetched $431, and an unsigned pair of Art Deco bronze bookends sold for $374.
All prices quoted reflect the 15 percent buyer’s premium. For information, www.landryauctions.com or 978-768-6233.
