Two 12-inch-tall cobalt blue ground and gilt-accented Meissen pâte-sur-pâte porcelain urns lead the sale, realizing $19,500 ($4/8,000).
Review by Carly Timpson; Photos Courtesy William Bunch Auctions
CHADDS FORD, PENN. — The December 12 Fine & Decorative Arts sale conducted by William Bunch Auctions offered 535 lots of antiques, fine art, glass, china, silver, jewelry and porcelain. With 2,279 registered bidders, Bunch saw a 94 percent sell-through rate and closed the auction with a total realized of $298,280.
The star of the auction was a pair of Meissen porcelain lidded urns. Each cobalt blue ground urn had a white pâte-sur-pâte allegorical female form in an oval-shaped reserve. The urns were further decorated with white and gilt-accented serpentine handles. The leaf-decorated lids were also white with gilt accents and had a bud-shaped finial. With just one online bidder vying for them, the 12-inch-tall urns crossed the block for $19,500.
Another lot that saw a realized price double its estimate was a four-digit Delaware license plate. Number 3963 was a riveted plate with a solid blue base and yellow-gold numbers and lettering. Given the positioning of the state name and slogan, this plate was made between 1962 and 1968. The Delaware plate earned $14,600.
Finishing right behind the license plate was an oil painting by Emile A. Gruppe. The 30-by-26-inch Bahamian beach scene, “Andros Island,” achieved $12,300. The light blues and whites of the beach landscape are accented by brighter orange, red and green plants bordering the right side of the work.
“Andros Island” by Emile A. Gruppe, oil on canvas, 30 by 26 inches, achieved $12,300 ($4/6,000).
An oil on silk or fine canvas irworobongdo — a Korean folk painting, or “minhwa,” on a folding screen depicting the sun, moon and five mountain peaks — brought $8,500. This eight-panel wooden-framed screen was 140 inches wide in total and was likely made in the Nineteenth or early Twentieth Century.
Earning $7,900 was a six-piece floral repoussé coin silver tea set. The set, marked “S. Kirk & Son / 11 Oz,” consisted of a samovar, two teapots, a covered sugar bowl, a cream pitcher and a waste bowl. The highly decorated samovar, featuring two lion-head ring handles and a bird finial, measured 15 inches tall and was complete with the burner.
“Cindy” by Joseph H. Sulkowski (American, b 1951), an oil on panel portrait of a black poodle brought an impressive $6,700 against an estimated $1/2,000. Mounted in a gilt frame, the piece measured 18 by 15 inches and was affixed with a label from the William Secord Gallery in New York.
“Cindy” by Joseph H. Sulkowski, oil on panel, mounted in gilt frame, 18 by 15 inches, made $6,700 ($1/2,000)
A 2003 Cadillac Deville with a canvas top in the cashmere/shale colorway had just 33,490 miles and generated $5,500. The single-owner vehicle was in good condition, showing light normal wear for a 20-year-old vehicle.
One of the more surprising sales of the day was that of a Bidjar rug measuring 10 feet 10 inches by 18 feet 5 inches. With wear to its sides and central medallion as well as fraying at the edges, the rug was estimated to achieve $600 to $900. However, the Persian carpet soared past its estimate to achieve $4,600.
All prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For information, www.bunchauctions.com or 610-558-1800.
