America’s 250th birthday was rung in by various auction houses across the nation, with an 1860 Abraham Lincoln Wide Awakes silk parade banner sold by Heritage for $106,250 patriotically leading the diverse selections. Also popular this week were Chinese export wares, including a pair of porcelain candlesticks with red lotus blossom and geometric motifs that burned bright at Tremont for $105,400, as well as a pair of modern lacquer cabinets that sold well at Hayloft for $1,792. As always, fine art also attracted bidders nationwide, with Birger Sandzén’s “The Great Pike’s Peak” climbing to $83,996 at Soulis, while “Jeremy Proctor, 6 July 2001” celebrated Pride Month in PBA Galleries’ LGBTQ+ art auction, earning $5,313. For these highlights and others, keep reading.
Hayloft Bidders Chase Chinese Cabinets
BRONX, N.Y. — Hayloft Auctions’ most recent monthly fine and decorative arts sale was conducted as an online-only sale exclusively on Hayloft’s website on June 15. It attracted more than 250 registered bidders and achieved strong results, performing at 115 percent of its estimate. Leading the sale was a pair of modern Chinese lacquer cabinets that sold for a total of $1,792. For information, www.hayloftauctions.com or 929-303-3266.
1964 Chevrolet Pickup Truck Drives Off With Win At Michaan’s
ALAMEDA, CALIF. — A mixed bag of 437 lots crossed the block during Michaan’s June Gallery Auction, which was conducted on the 19th. Driving off the block for the sale-high price of $22,680 was a 1964 Chevrolet C10 2-DR pickup truck. The 170-horsepower vehicle had a white exterior, red and white vinyl interior and only 79,152 miles logged on its odometer. For information, www.michaans.com or 510-740-0220.
Chinese Porcelain Candlesticks Snuff Out Estimate At Tremont
SUDBURY, MASS. — Tremont Auctions conducted its Annual Spring Asian Arts & Antiques sale, which included 527 lots of Chinese porcelains and jade carvings, Japanese ceramics and metalworks, textiles, furniture and more, on June 21. Far surpassing an estimate of $600/800 to achieve the sale-high price of $105,400 was a pair of Chinese porcelain candlesticks from the late Nineteenth Century, decorated in iron-red lotus blossoms and geometric patterns. Each was sold with a fitted wooden stand. For information, www.tremontauctions.com or 617-795-1678.
Wide Awakes Banner Leads Ackerman Collection At Heritage
DALLAS — On June 23-24, Heritage Auctions conducted its auction of The Donald Ackerman Collection of Lincolniana Americana & Political, offering just under 400 lots and totaling $1,272,375. An “important” 1860 Lincoln Wide Awakes silk parade banner from Western New York earned the highest price, crossing the block for $106,250. Reading “Clarence / Lincoln / Wide Awakes. / Presented by the Ladies.” in gilt lettering, indicating that the banner was crafted by the Ladies of the Clarence Club, the banner also included other classic Lincoln campaign imagery such as an axe, maul and wedge. For information, www.ha.com or 214-528-3500.
Buyers Put A Ring On It At Auction Barn
NEW MILFORD, CONN. — A platinum, diamond and citrine ring was a standout when it tied for top-lot status June 22 at The Auction Barn. It more than tripled its high estimate to sell to a Connecticut buyer for $4,160. The auctioneers found the ring when they were sorting a box of costume jewelry from an area home; the estate was delighted with the results it brought. For information, www.theauctionbarnct.com or 860-799-0608.
Bachardy Nude Tops PBA’s Auction Of LGBTQ Works
BERKELEY, CALIF. — Leading PBA Galleries’ June 25 auction that included more than 350 lots of LGBTQ+ art, literature, photography and erotica, items related to Beats and the counterculture and political posters was a 2001 watercolor painting by Don Bachardy (American, b 1934). Titled “Jeremy Proctor, 6 July 2001,” the painting was a donation by the artist to the GLBT Historical Society gala and auction in 2002. Measuring 25 by 33 inches in the artist’s frame, the painting was bid to $5,313 ($5/8,000). For information, www.pbagalleries.com or 415-989-2665.
Diamond Bracelet Sparkles At Sloans & Kenyon
CHEVY CHASE, MD. — A signed Cartier platinum and diamond flexible-link strap bracelet achieved $90,880 at Sloans & Kenyon June 25. Having a gently tapering strap adorned with a row of 59 emerald-cut diamonds flanked by two rows of 74 brilliant cut diamonds, the bracelet had a total diamond weight of 44.98 carats. For information, www.sloansandkenyon.com or 301-634-2330.
Music Box Plays At Litchfield Auctions
LITCHFIELD, CONN. — Hitting all the right notes in Litchfield Auctions’ June 24 Summer Antiques & Estates Auction was a Swiss inlaid rosewood cylinder music box that attained $4,160 ($500/800). Attributed to Ducommun Girod, the Nineteenth Century box measured 5½ inches tall by 17 inches long by 7¼ inches deep. For information, www.litchfieldauctions.com or 860-567-4661.
Sandzén Mountain Landscape Climbs To Top At Soulis
LONE JACK, MO. — Soulis Auctions’ 28th Annual Spring Art Auction included 245 lots of hand-picked pieces, including traditional academic works, modernist and abstract painting, regionalist works, prints, bronze sculpture, Western and Native American art and fresh offerings direct from several artist estates. Leading the selection was a 1923 painting of “The Great Pike’s Peak” by Birger Sandzén (Kansas, 1871-1954). Though this work, number 747, was cataloged as “Not for Sale,” it made its way to a collection in Salina, Kan., after remaining in the Sandzén-Greenough family for some time and ultimately sold at Soulis for $83,996 ($40/50,000). For information, www.soulisauctions.com or 816-697-3830.
