Time was of the essence at the 3,500 lot sale at S&S Auction’s late summer sale. Not only did the auction run from 8 am to 8 pm, with no fewer than four auctioneers presiding at once, but the top lots were timepieces. A French pedestal clock with three bronze cherubs was highly sought after. The case had parquetry panel sides and bronze mounts with a classical mask. It sold for $17,600 to a buyer who S&S manager Glenn Sweeney said buys only the best examples of what he sees.
A second clock, a turn of the Twentieth Century Parisian example by LeRoy & Cie, with the movement by the London firm of J.J. Elliott, drew $15,400 from a New England dealer.
Bidders were in abundance with 488 registered live bidders and another 140 on the Internet. While the bidding raged on in several different areas at once in what Sweeney described as “controlled chaos,” only some 200 lots were cataloged and those represented the highlights of the sale.
A choice 35-inch pair of famille rose palace vases is going home to China for $11,500.
Continental material brought pleasing results to the auction house. An Eighteenth Century Italian commode with parquetry sold on the Internet to an Italian buyer for $6,325. The lot description stated clearly that the piece was in good structural condition but needed restoration. An Italian library table carved lavishly with eagles and maidens went to a Maryland collector for $3,300. A large (76 inches tall) and impressive pair of French trumeau mirrors was also desirable and brought $5,500.
A Nineteenth Century English rosewood server brought $2,200. While two American Empire pier tables of interest included a rosewood example with a white marble top and columns that was thought to have been a New York piece, and which sold for $7,150. A smaller stenciled example had a games table top and dominant gilt carving and it brought $3,575.
A Venetian mirrored desk made in the 1940s, perhaps by Jansen, realized a solid $6,050. A paint decorated commode in the Venetian manner went for $2,200.
Furniture in the Adam style was especially desirable. A Nineteenth Century Adam-style curio cabinet with delicate classical painted imagery brought $6,325. A paint decorated Adam-style bombe commode was $4,950 and a pair of Adam-style beds with paint decoration, sold for $3,080. A most unusual and very handy Nineteenth Century Adam-style satinwood and paint decorated cellaret and games cabinet had it all: a top that opened to a felt game surface above two compartments, one for the consumption of liquor and the other for the use of tobacco; a drawer for games and cards above pullout cribbage and chess boards. It was a very good buy at $1,540.
An eight-piece French-style marble top bedroom set realized a strong $4,675.
A Georgian style settee upholstered in needlework from the 1930s went to a collector for $3,300 and a Victorian parlor cabinet with porcelain plaques of willows drew attention that garnered $2,200.
A 12-foot Baker banquet table realized $3,025 and an oak sideboard with a curio cabinet top realized $3,740.
A pair of 31-inch bronze sconces sold for $4,625 and a pair of dainty French Empire style sconces with ram’s heads that was made in the 1950s sold for $1,150. A decorative pair of gilt metal palm trees that stood 20 inches high sold for $990.
An English breakfront brought $4,400. Also English, a pair of sterling bowls by London maker Paul Storr that each weighed 28 ounces came from an area estate and sold to a dealer for $3,850. A sterling sugar and creamer with a tray by Steiff brought $1,650.
An Impressionist spring landscape with a seated woman with a child by New Jersey painter George J. Stengel fetched $4,950. A Nineteenth Century oil on canvas portrait of a charming dark haired young woman, “Young Lady of Frascatti” by August Riedel sold to an Italian buyer on the Internet for $3,850. The 40-by-50-inch painting had been exhibited at the 1892 Worlds Fair.
A 62-inch white marble garden angel was an eminently respectable $3,300.
Musical instruments included a Victorian piano by Steinway & Sons that needed some restoration and sold $4,950 and a large carved and gilt harp from the Rudolph Wurlitzer Co., that fetched $3,575 from a collector.
Someone’s well-executed project from the 1940s was of interest: A 54-inch remote control model of the Queen Mary with exceptional detail was $1,870.
All prices quoted reflect the ten percent buyer’s premium. For information, 856-467-3778 or www.ssauction.com.
