The highest price of the sale went to this 14K yellow gold double curb link necklace from the Heckman collection. Weighing 84.1 grams, the necklace earned $5,024 ($3/4,000).
Review by Kiersten Busch
POUND RIDGE, N.Y. — On February 7, Butterscotch Auction conducted a 212-lot auction of various Art Deco and vintage jewelry, perfume bottles, art glass and book form objects from the collection of Lynn and Bruce Heckman, along with additional lots from various other estates. With a 90 percent sell-through rate, the sale totaled $123,160.
“This was an online-only sale, which, for us, is still something of a special occasion,” said Brendan B. Ryan, appraiser and auctioneer at Butterscotch. “Back in November we had been consigned the estate of the late Lynn Heckman, a psychiatrist and pioneering woman in medicine, who was a very active and avid collector of smaller objects — perfume bottles, heart-shaped objects, book-shaped boxes, among other things. Her collection of book-shaped boxes had been given to — and exhibited in — the Watson Library at the Metropolitan Museum [in New York City] last year. It was a large consignment and something that really needed to be sold in its own sale, so we did just that, sprinkling in a few items from other owners here and there.”
The Heckmans, prominent contributors to the Met, recently had their collection displayed at the Museum, including the top lot of the sale, a 14K gold double curb link necklace, which will adorn the neck of a private local bidder for $5,024, surpassing its $3/4,000 estimate. The chunky yellow gold necklace was 16½ inches long and had a 14K mark on its hidden box clasp.
This lot of 21 pieces of vintage ladies jewelry came from the Heckman collection. Surpassing its $100/300 estimate, the assorted lot took home a $3,302 finish.
Jewelry continued to be popular with bidders, with a mixed lot of vintage ladies’ bracelets, necklaces, rings, earrings and pendants earning the second-highest price of the sale. Also from the Heckman collection, the 21-piece lot far surpassed its $100/300 estimate to achieve a sparkling $3,302, heading to a bidder in San Francisco, Calif.
Additional jewelry highlights from the Heckman collection included a pair of antique 14K gold pendant earrings with faceted pink stones which dangled at $3,048 and a three-piece set of Georg Jensen moonstone and sterling silver jewelry — including a necklace, pendant earrings and clip earrings, all marked “Denmark” — which earned $2,477.
A pair of carved Valentine baskets, “probably sailor art” according to the auction catalog, collected a $3,125 finish against a $100/300 estimate, sailing to a bidder from Massachusetts. The larger of the two baskets was marked “Salem” and decorated with a whale and floral bouquet, while the smaller basket was dedicated “to my love” on its front and also had a flower bouquet design.
While they were not Valentine-related, love was still in the air when a set of 13 wooden snuff boxes and other small items crossed the block, surpassing the high end of their $100/300 estimate by more than four times. Ten of the 13 were snuff boxes shaped like hearts, with one featuring the initials “A.E.A.” and another inlaid with mother-of-pearl. The additional three items in the lot included a handmade miniature white picture frame in the shape of a heart, as well as two snuff boxes in the shape of fireplace bellows: one with the dedication “to my love” and the other with the initials “MLC” carved to its base. The lot was bid to $1,397, going home with a bidder from Connecticut.
This lot of 12 small mostly heart-shaped snuff boxes and one white heart-shaped miniature picture frame from the Heckman collection earned a loving $1,397 ($100/300).
A lot of 14 small perfume bottles from the Heckman collection went to a Connecticut bidder for $1,270. The group included a cylindrical engine-turned enamel and gilt-plate bottle, two silver-overlay bottles with floral designs and six bottles with guilloche-type enamel, among others. They also came from the Heckman collection.
Books of all forms and functions also attracted bidders’ attention, with a copy of Jacques Lassaigne’s Douze Contemporains (Paris: Editions d’Art du Lion, 1959) flipping to $1,952, won by a Massachusetts bidder. The French book was a portfolio of lithographs printed by Daniel Jacomet; this particular example contained 13 lithographs, with several duplicates, including Braque’s “A Varengeville,” Derain’s “Paysage a l’arbre bleu” and Vlamnick’s “Paysage d’Ile-de-France.” However, it was missing prints by Picasso and Leger.
Additionally, a lot of five English silver book-form vinaigrettes from the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century closed their covers for just over the high end of their $500-$1,000 estimate, selling to a Massachusetts bidder for $1,250.
An American folk art inlaid case clock from the early Nineteenth Century chimed at $1,952, won by a bidder in Massachusetts. The clock, which descended through a distinguished Westchester, N.Y., family, had a broken arch with inlaid birds, fluted columns and shaped bracket feet and measured 93 inches high.
Standing at 93 inches high, this early Nineteenth Century American folk art inlaid tall case clock descended through a distinguished Westchester, N.Y., family; it chimed at $1,952 ($200/400).
Another buyer in Massachusetts was also the winner — at $2,032 — of an early Nineteenth Century Gustavian bow-front painted chest with provenance to the Aline Elwes McDonnell Trust. The black-painted chest featured decoration such as a sprig of flowers and lion heads and stood on scroll feet with carved acanthus leaf decorations. According to catalog notes, the chest appeared to be original throughout, including its hardware and decoration.
Rolling out for more than double its high estimate was a Nain Persian silk carpet which will head to a bidder from New Delhi, India, for $1,397. The 9-foot-long rug was characterized by its very fine silk weave, was dated to the late Twentieth Century and featured medallion decoration within an indigo field. It had provenance to the collection of a prominent Armonk, N.Y., doctor.
“We were very pleased with the overall outcome and saw a great deal of competition among bidders across the board,” Ryan concluded.
Butterscotch’s next sale will take place on March 23, and will include 42 additional lots from the Heckman collection, along with a selection of fine and decorative arts. Prices quoted include buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For further information, 914-764-4609 or www.butterscotchauction.com.
