Trending categories in American decorative arts and sterling silver continued in this week’s auction roundup, with a few surprises. An early painted yellow stand bid to success at Farrin County and William Smith sold a pair of decoy root-head geese. Sterling silver stayed strong, especially that of Georg Jensen, in Capsule’s and World Auction Gallery’s winter sales. Read on for more top lots.
One-Drawer Stand Goes Boldly At Farrin Country Auctions
RANDOLPH, MAINE — Farrin’s Country Auctions hosted a two-day event that included Americana on January 21 and a sportsman’s sale on January 22. On the sale’s first day, a yellow one-drawer stand brought $12,800. The early piece featured a back splash in bold mustard paint with vibrant green vines and floral decoration. Chasing after it was a 36-inch-long, early sheet metal horse weathervane with nice form and braces and a good surface, which finished at $9,600. For information, 207-582-1455 or www.farrinsauctions.com.
Internet Bidders Prevail For Top Lots At George Cole Auction
RED HOOK, N.Y. — More than 470 lots of antique and estate merchandise hand-picked from the Hudson Valley region, crossed the block on January 21 in George Cole’s auction. “Nice crowd, had fun Saturday night,” said the auctioneer of the eponymous company, “but the best three performing lots went to Internet bidders.” These included a primitive French Nineteenth Century 15-drawer painted cabinet at $3,810; a pair of circa 1890 mahogany armchairs with carved eagles heads on their arms, and legs and hairy claw and ball feet reaching $3,179; and a pair of oak doors with beveled glass from the Desmond estate of Poughkeepsie, N.Y., closing at $1,397. For information, 845-758-9114 or www.georgecoleauctions.com.
Jack-O-Lantern Candy Container Is A Sweet Treat At Davies Auctions
BROOKSTON, IND. — Some eight more months until Halloween, but bidders at Davies Auctions’ January 23 estate and Americana antiques sale jumped on the opportunity to win a vintage Halloween candy container featuring jack-o-lanterns positioned like a wheelbarrow. They drove it from a $200/400 estimate to a final price of $5,290. At 8 inches tall and 9½ inches long, the candy container had provenance the late Sally Siegrist. In addition to Halloween, Christmas and Easter collectibles, the overall sale included early American country furniture, country accessories, oil paintings, stoneware and primitives. For information, 765-449-4515 or email dougdavies1@earthlink.net.
Figural Bag Face Bags Top Price At Garth’s
COLUMBUS, OHIO — Garth’s Auctioneers & Appraisers’ January 21 Fine Rugs and Carpets auction offered nearly 150 lots, including the Urbana, Ill., collection of Tammy and Randy Roberts. Topping the sale and earning $2,875 was a 1-foot-9-inch by 1-foot-10-inch Northwest Persian Shahsavan bagface that dated to circa 1890. Estimated at $250/400, the lot attracted multiple left bids and bidders on three online platforms. In the end, it sold to an overseas buyer, bidding online. For information, 740-362-4771 or www.garths.com.
Mid-Hudson Bidders Chase Gothic-Style Relic Box
NEW WINDSOR, N.Y. — A rare auction find — a Gothic Revival gilt-bronze relic box that dated to 1850-90 — was one of the top lots in Mid-Hudson Auction Galleries’ January 21 estate sale. Featuring a hinged roof top with pierced roof rail, bas relief decorations, snail-form feet and bail handles to either side, the wood-lined, 9¼-inch-high box was accompanied by an extensive 1972 German language article regarding an exhibition on these boxes at the Metropolitan Museum. Estimated at $800-$1,200, the box sold to a private collector for $938. It was the top lot in 460-lot sale that also included the contents of a Cold Spring antiques store. For information, 914-882-7356 or www.midhudsongalleries.com.
Flatware Caps Capsule’s Winter Jubilee Auction
NEW YORK CITY — Capping Capsule Auctions’ Winter Jubilee sale on January 19 was an assembled sterling silver flatware service from a Rye, N.Y., collection that earned $2,875 against a $3/4,000 estimate. The lot weighed approximately 4,780 grams and was primarily in the Prelude pattern by International Silver Co, but also included pieces by Tiffany & Co, Whiting Co, Georg Jensen, Gorham, Rogers, Lunt & Bowlen and some Mexican silver utensils. For information, 212-353-2277 or www.capsuleauctions.com.
Large Wolf Kahn Painting Leads At David Killen Gallery
NEW YORK CITY — David Killen Gallery offered the Jonathan Levine collection of art, donated to the Leffel School in Hartsdale, N.Y., on January 29. Among the highlights was a large painting by Wolf Kahn, “Yellow Field,” which found a buyer at $48,000. The Leffell School is a K-12 independent Jewish day school founded in 1966 and originally named the Solomon Schechter School of Westchester, N.Y., under the leadership of Rabbi Max and Leah Gelb. Additional works from this collection will be auctioned over the months of February and March. For information, 646-590-2788 or www.davidkillengallery.com.
Root-Head Goose Decoys Fly High For William Smith
PLAINFIELD, N.H. — William Smith Auctions’ January 25 Live Sportsman Auction featured more than 300 lots of antique, vintage and modern firearms as well as a collection of decoys and taxidermy animals. Estimated at $500/800, a pair of antique root head goose decoys, 22 inches long and labeled “Big Ike O’Neal Stacy, North Carolina 1910” flew to $3,125 to a buyer bidding online despite shrinkage, splitting and paint wear. For information, 603-675-2549 or www.wsmithauction.com.
Georg Jensen Scroll Flatware Rolls Up High Price
EAST MEADOW, N.Y. — In the January 29 “Outstanding Mid-Winter Auction” conducted by World Auction Gallery, a 90-piece lot of Georg Jensen sterling silver flatware, in the Scroll pattern, earned top-lot honors when it brought $7,800 from a phone bidder against an estimate of $2/3,000. It was the highest of approximately 600 lots that also included paintings, glass, porcelain, jewelry, bronzes and fans, among other things. For information, 516-307-8180 or www.worldauctiongallery.com.
