HINGHAM, MASS. — A very rare Nantucket curlew decoy by Charles Coffin set an auction record for any Nantucket decoy when it topped Copley’s July 23 sale, bringing $108,000 in spite of having a replaced bill. The 294-lot sale included 122 lots of sporting art and books plus more than 170 lots of decoys. Artwork was led by Ogden M. Pleissner’s 1940 watercolor “Quail Hunting,” which sold for $37,200. Finishing within the top grossing six lots, which collectively earned nearly $375,000, were two carvings by Elmer Crowell, one by Joe Lincoln and other outstanding decoys. Included in the sale were a variety of miniatures and decorative carvings, fish decoys, prints, oil paintings, watercolors and etchings, as well as a wide assortment of working decoys from various parts of the country.

A full report will follow.