The top lot of the auction was this David Webb 18K gold and rock crystal monkey sculpture from the Nina Silberstein collection, which climbed to $212,500.
Review & Onsite Photos by Andrea Valluzzo
WINDSOR, CONN. — Kicking off the New Year in high style, Nadeau’s Auction Gallery recorded its greatest sale total to date, realizing $3.5 million. The January 1-2 auction, a New Years tradition for more than 30 years, featured over 700 lots of choice items across the board, ranging from fine and decorative art, furniture, silver, jewelry, lighting and more.
“We felt very good about the whole auction,” said auctioneer Ed Nadeau. “Prices were very strong, including on furniture. We were happy with rugs, art, jewelry and think everything did very well overall.”
“This was our largest sale to date,” he explained, noting that their New Year’s sale usually brings in the $2 million range, and this auction went well beyond the high estimate. On January 1, about 40 people got up early to attend the action in house, but most of the bidding was on the phones and online bidding platforms. About 12,000 to 14,000 people registered to bid, he added.
The patriarch of a family business, Nadeau was especially gratified to not only have his children working during the auction but his four grandchildren also fulfilling key roles. Gavin, 14, was helping call bids here and there, while his twin sister, Annie, was working the internet desk. Zach, 15, and E.J., 17, were busy taking phone bids.
Ed Nadeau calls for bids during the first session of the auction.
The auction opened up with an oval Meissen cooler that sold within estimate at $2,000, and the action soon moved from china and glassware to furniture.
Furniture was especially strong, and leading the category was a choice piece attributed to Claude-Charles Saunier in the form of a Louis XVI mahogany and gilt-bronze mounted commode, circa 1785. Crossing the block early in the first session, the commode went out at $26,250 to an in-house bidder, who was on the phone and appeared to be bidding for another party. It had a rectangular tan-colored marble or granite top above two frieze drawers and two long drawers finely mounted with gilt-bronze inlay. A fine example of late Eighteenth Century Parisian cabinetry, it previously sold at Christie’s in 2002.
The top lot of the auction came halfway through the second session when a highly anticipated David Webb 18K gold and rock crystal monkey sculpture hit the block. Webb is well known for his whimsical animal-themed jewelry and objet d’art designs. This sculpture, featuring playful monkeys climbing up the rock crystal and set on a textured 18K gold base, is comparable to a monkey and turtle obelisk that was in “A Walk in the Woods,” Webb’s first-in house exhibition in New York City back in 2022.
A standout in the furniture category was this circa 1785 Louis XVI mahogany and gilt-bronze mounted commode, 34 by 45 by 22 inches, attributed to Claude-Charles Saunier (French, 1735-1807) that took $26,250.
The aesthetics of the sculptre were pleasing, but it was provenance that made it desirable and drove bidding to $212,500. The climbing monkeys headlined a small and highly curated selection from the estate of the late Nina Silberstein, former CEO of the David Webb brand, a personal friend of the designer and the first woman to run a major jewelry company in the US. Webb designed this piece especially for her. In all, six Webb items were offered from her estate that together brought just under $400,000; each performed solidly within or above estimate. They included an 18K gold and malachite desk clock at $75,000, an 18K gold and Baccarat crystal frog figurine at $56,250, an 18K gold and crystal penguin at $40,625, a pair of ivory and cabochon hippos at $10,625 and a set of three vermeiled silver fruit sculptures attributed to Webb at $1,500. One avid collector, bidding on the phone, purchased both the monkey sculpture and the desk clock.
Interestingly, the Webb lots weren’t originally slated to come to Nadeau’s. Nadeau said they had made a deal to buy everything from the estate, but these objects had been set aside. So, he made a proposal to the family to add them to the deal. The family apparently was quite satisfied with the proposal and acquiesced.
The next highest price of the day, $118,750, was earned by a complete set of 12 Chinese Export School gouache trade paintings illustrating the full cycle of porcelain production and export in Canton. The vibrant and detailed pictures depicted the preparing of the clay, kiln firing, glazing, decorating workshops, packing, river transport and merchant compounds. Executed on European paper, these scenes represented the early Nineteeth Century Canton export painting tradition preceding the later Tingqua and Sunqua workshops.
This rare complete set of 12 gouache Chinese Export School pictures, illustrating the full cycle of porcelain production and export in Canton, attained $118,750.
Several Connecticut estates fed into the auction and chief among them was the Southport, Conn., estate of publishing CEO John L. Hughes, who helmed William Morrow and Hearst Trade Book Group from the 1960s-80s. Offerings in this selection reflected his keen eye for fine items, and several placed among the auction’s top ten.
A highlight was a pencil portrait by John Singer Sargent of his nephew Jean Louis Ormond that performed above estimate at $62,500. In the family lineage for Hughes is an Ormond, so this sketch being of a relative explained its place in his collection. The portrait evinced Sargent’s disciplined line and his skill at modulating subtle tones. It came out of a group of informal portraits the artist created while summering at Switzerland’s Simpton Pass circa 1909-11.
Jewelry is always popular with buyers, and examples from the Hughes estate were led by a necklace with a single strand of 55 natural saltwater pearls that more than doubled its high estimate to attain $71,875. Other pieces included a 2.76-carat yellow diamond and 18 white gold engagement ring ($37,500) and a platinum, diamond and carved emerald pendant that soared past its $2/4,000 estimate to bring $35,000.
The Hughes jewelry collection was led by this single strand of 55 natural saltwater pearls that more than doubled its high estimate to attain $71,875.
Nadeau’s has long excelled at sussing out high-value goods from area estates and a Simsbury, Conn., estate was the source of two fine Tiffany Studios table lamps in desirable patterns. A Turtleback Tile lamp, known for its rich peacock coloration, realized $53,125 while a 23-inch-tall Pansy table lamp, prized for the depth and luminosity of its floral shade, made $46,875.
Another bright spot in the auction was a George III cut-glass nine-light chandelier, attributed to William Parker, which brought $32,500. Having sweeping cut-crystal arms and a deeply faceted central stem, the chandelier was outfitted with pendant teardrop prisms, beaded swags and scalloped bobeches. It measured 50 inches tall and had a 32-inch diameter.
The auction was diverse, running the gamut from art to furniture, decorative arts to lighting and more. Among fine carpets that attracted much interest was a late Nineteenth Century Oushak carpet from Western Anatolia, measuring 14 feet 6 inches by 20 feet. Fetching $37,500, the carpet boasted a muted gray field enhanced with vibrant terracotta, apricot and saffron motifs in a warm palette well suited to both traditional and modern homes. Also fetching the same price was a handwoven Persian Sultanabad carpet, late Nineteenth Century, featuring an ivory ground complemented with an allover design of stylized palmettes, rosettes and serrated leaves bordered by floral motifs.
Many standouts went well over estimate, especially fine art. Aptly timed for this holiday sale was a 1959 painting by Guy Carleton Wiggins, which earned $31,250. Typical of his beloved winter cityscapes, “Christmastime,” a 12-by-16-inch atmospheric oil on board depicted hansom cabs and bundled-up figures making their way down snow-covered streets opposite Central Park. It was originally acquired directly from the artist.
Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For more information, www.nadeausauction.com or 860-246-2444.
