Bringing the top price in the sale was this 1986 Fleer Michael Jordan #57 PSA Gem Mint 10 basketball card that soared to $76,700, selling to a private collector in Tennessee ($25/35,000).
Review by Madelia Hickman Ring, Photos Courtesy Cottone Auctions
GENESEO, N.Y. – Cottone Auctions’ May 16 online sale featuring 301 lots of art and antiques was more than 97 percent sold by lot and realized a total of approximately $650,000. Pandemic-era restrictions were in place, so buyers had to cope with by-appointment previews and bidding by phones and absentee bids, or via one of the three online platforms Cottone utilizes: LiveAuctioneers, Invaluable or Cottone’s dedicated platform.
“We were very pleased with the sale,” Matt Cottone said. “We had excellent participation and all of the technology we were able to utilize worked really well. We had new bidders to the sale and more than 2,000 registered bidders online.”
The first lot of Cottone Auctions’ May 16 Online Art & Antiques sale was a 1986 Fleer Michael Jordan #57 PSA basketeball card in gem mint 10 condition; it set the high mark for the sale when it flew past its $25/35,000 estimate to realize $76,700, more than three times its low estimate. According to the auction house, the card of one of basketball’s most famous players during his rookie year featured a boldly colored sharp picture perfectly centered and rated a grade of 10, one of only 315 such cards receiving such a grade. The timing of the sale of the card was propitious, coming on the recent release of the Michael Jordan documentary The Last Dance. The card had been consigned by a Buffalo seller who has a long relationship with Cottone and sold to a private collector in Tennessee.
Following the excitement of the basketball card, Tiffany lamps brought additional light to the sale. Cottone Auctions frequently offers works by Tiffany Studios, and this sale was no different, with a total of 18 lots from two different collections, of which seven were lamps. “We had lots of participation from both retail and private collectors,” Cottone said, describing the offerings. A tulip lamp with “beautiful blues” sold to a private collector in New England for $49,560, a Florida collector snapped up a daffodil lamp for $44,840 and a private collector in California paid $22,420 for a bronze and glass prism lamp.
A Southern collector sold several pieces of Stickley furniture, which featured an early Gustav Stickley bookcase that brought $8,850, an early Gustav Stickley dining table that realized $5,192 and a Gustav Stickley sideboard that finished at $3,068.
Cottone Auctions often sells works deaccessioned by the Strong Museum of Art, and those offerings were led by a rare George Washington Presidential fan that was snapped up for $8,496. Also featured were 17 lots of Steuben glass, the majority of which were consigned from a Corning, N.Y.,-area collection. Topping those lots was a butterfly girl sculpture that made $8,555. A Flemish verdure tapestry and Heriz rug each realized $12,095. The top price paid for a jewelry lot was $5,310.
Cottone Auctions’ next sale will take place June 17-18 and features an eclectic mix of objects, showcasing an estate featuring pre-Columbian and Native American works of art, Tiffany lamps and contemporary prints and more.
Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house.
Cottone Auctions is at 120 Court Street. For information, www.cottoneauctions.com or 585-243-1000.
