Notable sales in our February 5, 2021 issue lead with a portrait featuring dancer Harriet Hoctor en pointe by American artist Abram Poole that crossed the block at more than 30 times its high estimate. Bidders weren’t playing around at Cottone Auctions when they pushed the final gavel to more than $40,000 for an Oriental Bru Jne No. 7 doll. Antique mechanical and coin-op musical instruments, fine American furniture and sought-after art will have you looking up the next auction in your town and beyond.
Harriet Hoctor Dances Circles Again At Skinner
MARLBOROUGH, MASS. – A portrait featuring dancer Harriet Hoctor en pointe by American artist Abram Poole (1882-1961) sold for $62,500 above a $2,000 high estimate at Skinner’s January 22 Fine Paintings & Sculpture sale. The oil on canvas measured 72½ by 38 inches and featured a 13-inch tear to the upper right. The house noted in its lot description that in the absence of formal ballet dance companies in the early Twentieth Century, Hoctor appeared in ballet numbers in vaudeville, musical comedy and film. A circa 1927 photo of her appears on the cover of a 1980 issue of Dance Scope Magazine, where she appears to be wearing the same dress as the present painting. For information, www.skinnerinc.com or 617-350-5400.
Fancy Yellow Diamond Stars For Kodner
DANIA BEACH, FLA. – With a fancy yellow diamond weighing 11.25 carats at center, a platinum and 18K yellow gold ring soared to $114,950 at Kodner Galleries’ January 20 sale. The center yellow diamond measured SI2 clarity and was flanked by two trillion cut diamonds totaling another 3.46 carats with G-H color and SI1 clarity. The lot came with a GIA certificate and was the top offering at the firm’s sale, which tallied 302 lots of jewelry, fine art and collectibles. For information, www.kodner.com or 954-925-2550.
‘Band-In-A-Box’ Leads Museum-Quality Collection At Nathan Auction
MANCHESTER VILLAGE, VT. – The Robert B.K. Dewar mechanical music box and wind instrument auction by Nathan Auction & Real Estate that closed on January 18 featured a choice lineup of museum-quality examples of rare antique mechanical and coin-op musical instruments, as well as an unusual selection of woodwind instruments. Topping the sale was a working Imhof and Mukle Orchestrion, Vohrenbach, Germany, in an oak and gilded molding case (shown), which sold for $27,060. It had been professionally restored to museum quality by Roberts Musical Restorations of Delan, Fla., and came with eight rolls. Also doing well were a Mills Violano at $23,370 and an Eroica three-disc player cranking to $12,300. For information, 802-362-3194 or www.nathanre.com.
Vintage Royal Holiday Greeting Stands Out In Benefit Shop Sale
MOUNT KISCO, N.Y. – Provenance, connection with royalty and a wide range of antiques sourced from around the world were the hallmarks of a specialty two-day auction that the Benefit Shop Foundation hosted January 20-21. The auction featured the estate of the late Janine Spaner Metz, who was social secretary to the Duchess of Windsor from 1962 to 1972 and lived with the Duke and Duchess of Windsor in their Manhattan penthouse. A vintage signed photograph of the duke and duchess was the standout of the sale. Of the historical objects, it gained the most attention and sold for $2,048. The royal holiday greeting was enclosed in a wooden and gold tone frame and behind the glass was a black and white photograph of both the duke and duchess. Underneath the photo, pencil and ink signature “Merry Christmas, 1963” and both signatures were beneath the greetings. For information, www.thebenefitshop.org or 914-864-0707.
Bru Doll Baby Steps To Lead At Cottone
GENESEO, N.Y. – An Oriental Bru Jne No. 7 doll that was described in the catalog as “rare” was the hands-down favorite at Cottone Auctions’ January 21 348-lot Antiques and Design sale. Consigned from a private collection in Rochester, N.Y., the doll stood 20 inches tall. According to Matt Cottone, it was a very rare doll in excellent condition that warranted an estimate of $15/25,000. It sold to an American buyer, bidding on the phone, for $46,800. For information, 585-243-1000 or www.cottoneauctions.com.
William And Mary Highboy Stands Out During Eldred’s Cabin Fever Sale
EAST DENNIS, MASS. – The top price realized across Eldred’s two-day Cabin Fever Auction on January 21-22 was $10,000, which went to an Eighteenth Century New England William and Mary walnut and walnut veneer highboy that had been estimated at $1,2/1,800. According to Bill Bourne, head of Eldred’s Americana department, “while a lot of William and Mary pieces are a bit clunky, this one was nicely sized and proportioned.” It sold to an online bidder who prevailed against an underbidder on the phone. For information, www.eldreds.com or 508-385-3116.
SM Avery Marine Painting Sails To Lead At Winter Associates
PLAINVILLE, CONN. – Two works by Sally Michel (Avery) (American, 1902-2003) were the top two lots at Winter Associates’ January 18 auction of fine and decorative arts, Asian and Native American works of art, jewelry, books and ephemera. Both had been consigned by a local client who handles family estates. “Sails,” done in oil on panel in 1966, depicted three sailboats on calm water and blew past its $5/7,000 estimate to sell to a New York trade buyer, bidding on the phone, for $16,800. The other Avery work sold to a trade buyer in Texas on the phone for $15,600; it depicted a horse jumping. For information, www.auctionsappraisers.com or 860-793-0288.
Luxury & Designer Names Overflowed At Mooney’s
FREEHOLD, N.Y. – Six pieces of Chanel jewelry went above the $700 high estimate to take $5,412 in Mooney’s Auction’s January 18 sale. The lot comprised four sets of earrings, a brooch and a bracelet. Not far behind was a group of six Chanel leather purses, which sold for $4,797. The auction house said the 411-lot sale was consigned from one Midtown Manhattan estate. The offering was loaded with designer names including Prada, Versace, Hermes and more as it spanned jewelry, couture and other fashion accessories. For information, 518-634-230 or www.mooneysauction.com.
Olbinski Surrealist Work Sits Top For Hess
ST PETERSBURG, FLA. – A surrealist painting by Rafal Olbinski titled “Superiority of Consequences” made its way to the fore at Hess Fine Auctions’ January 23 sale when it sold for $20,060. The acrylic on canvas measured 36½ by 34 inches and featured an exhibition label for the 2008-2009 exhibition “Rafal Olbinski: New Dreams of Old Values” at the Julie Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art at Auburn University. For information, www.hessfineauctions.com or 727-896-0623.
