Litchfield County Auctions’ May 4 Modernism, Asian and European art and antiques sale was a great success, according to the auction house, led by Modern art and Asian antiques.
The sale began with the excitement of online bidding and continued with the added element of Litchfield’s annual preview party. Conducted in the evening on April 28, the preview drew many local buyers, dealers and auctiongoers looking to get a first glimpse of what was in the auction and what was going to be available in the tag sale that opened the next day, along with the exhibition. The tag sale continued until auction day.
The online auction received bids from prospective buyers all over the world. In all, the sale grossed more than $730,000, including the tag sale. A total of 859 lots were sold in the auction for a sell-through rate of 80 percent. Buyers hailed from 33 different US states, and internationally from Argentina, Austria, Australia, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Luxembourg, Peru, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
The top lot was “Red” by Hermann Nitsch, a work executed in spilled red paint and possibly blood on canvas, a medium for which Nitsch is famous. Carrying an estimate of $12/18,000, it sold for $22,320. Eduardo Mac Entyre’s “Variacion de Ju Tara Sobre Violeta,” a 1968 acrylic, brought $15,600, and a large oil on canvas by Arbit Blatas, “View of Venice at Night,” realized $15,000. Oil on canvas works by Sarah Grilo and Enrico Donati sold, respectively, at $12,180 and $10,500.
Other highlights include “Boats in a Harbor” by Feodor Zakharov (Russian American), which fetched $6,300, and “Two Ducks in a Pond” by Jean Dunand, which sold at the opening bid of $6,240.
In the Asian art section, a Chinese painting on silk of two maidens, Qing dynasty, estimated at $1/1,500, was a high seller at $9,420, followed by a Chinese porcelain brush pot, circa 1650, that garnered $7,200, and a finely painted two-panel screen by Kano Nuidononosuke Eino, (Japanese, 1631‱697) that went out at $5,580.
Items in the antiquities and ethnographic category were well received, with highlights including an ancient Egyptian limestone carving of the Ape of Thoth, late period, circa 600 BC, which sold for $7,338; an Oceanic polychrome painted carved ironwood mask that achieved $4,560; a Northwest Coast (Haida) ceremonial mask and a potlatch spoon at $4,320; a Mexican Colima dog, circa 100 BC′50 AD, at $3,960; and a New Guinea ceremonial wood seated figure that brought $3,720.
The top selling lot of furniture was a Maurice Jallot mahogany three-door side cabinet that realized $4,680, followed by a Phillip and Kelvin Laverne metal and wood coffee table from the collection of Sheila Nemazee and “Old Apple Farm” in Katonah, N.Y., that made $4,440, and an Eames for Herman Miller leather lounge chair and ottoman at $3,721. In addition, there were several rosewood credenzas by Knoll Associates selling for $4,020, $2,894, $2,760 and $2,653, all exceeding their estimates.
Modern decorative objects and lighting also sold well; the top lot, an Arredoluce Triennale three-arm floor lamp, brought $5,400.
Other decorative objects were well received and had a great deal of interest. An Art Nouveau bronze floor lamp, possibly Tiffany Studios, early Twentieth Century, sold for $10,020, and another Art Nouveau bronze table lamp changed hands at $2,880. A pair of Nineteenth Century Sevres gilt and luster cups and saucers achieved $7,920; a Nineteenth Century French nephrite paper knife mounted with gold and cabochon rubies made $4,920, and a Louis XVI gold etui, Paris, circa 1775‱787, fetched $4,200.
Across the board, silver sold strongly, including a set of Etruscan pattern Gorham sterling silver flatware, patented 1913, that brought $2,490, and a Fisher sterling silver four-piece service with plated tray that made $2,160.
Prices reported include the buyer’s premium.
The firm’s upcoming July sale will feature American furniture, folk art, decorations and paintings, European furniture and decorative arts, Old Master works and Nineteenth Century European paintings. For information, 860-567-4661 or www.LitchfieldCountyAuctions.com .
