The summer rode out this week at auction with flair to spare. A beaded Cree saddle charged alongside a Back to the Future VHS. Other bidders cooled down with seaside-inspired jewelry and sterling-sprigged flatware designed by Georg Jensen. Read on for more hot buys.
Strong Results For Bronze Foo Dogs, A Birthday Treat For Jeff Burchard
ST PETERSBURG, FLA. — In an after-auction blog by Adam Shown, Burchard Galleries’ August 20 estate antiques, fine art and jewelry auction was described as a special affair. Stepping from the podium, owner Jeffrey Burchard was presented with a birthday cupcake and serenaded with a resounding Florida rendition of “Happy Birthday” from the audience and staff in recognition of his impending 74th birthday. Jeff, who has been in the auction business since 1973, has overseen hundreds of sales with no signs of stopping anytime soon. His wide range of knowledge and skill on the block helped the auction reach total sales of more than $350,000 after a marathon seven-hour auction. The auction’s main first-half highlight was a bidding war on a pair of palatial lost-wax bronze foo dogs, which realized a whopping price of $16,500 to a round of applause. For information, 727-821-1167 or www.burchardgalleries.com.
Doyle Bidders Charmed By Russian Pierrot Doll
NEW YORK CITY — Earning $15,120 and more than six times its high estimate in Doyle’s August 24 “Doyle at Home” auction was a 14-inch-tall cloth and bead doll by Marie Vassilieff (Russian, 1884-1957). The seated figure, wearing a black ruff collar and accompanied by a black base, had been previously sold at Piasa Paris on May 10, 2005. The doll beat out nearly 275 other lots in a sale that included paintings, furniture and decorative arts. For information, 212-427-2730 or www.doyle.com.
Sea Life 14K Gold Bracelet Dazzles Eldred’s Bidders
EAST DENNIS, MASS. — A 14K gold bracelet that measured 7½ inches and weighed 38.51 dwt was one of the top seller’s in Eldred’s 159-lot Jewelry + Timepieces Auction on August 17. Featuring fish, dolphin, starfish, turtles, sharks, swordfish and crabs, the bracelet had a large fold-over box clasp and showed no obvious signs of wear. It will sport the wrist of its new owner, who paid $4,480 for it, an increase over its $1,5/2,500 estimate. For information, 508-385-3116 or www.eldreds.com.
Heritage Buyer Goes Back To The Future
DALLAS — A 1986 Back To The Future VHS home video, graded 9.2 by CGC and with an A+ seal sold for $10,000 in Heritage Auctions’ Summer VHS and Home Entertainment Showcase Auction on August 25. Star Wars, Superman and A Nightmare On Elm Street were other movie franchises that scored big in the sale, which earned $125,262 at the bidding box office, with nearly 180 lots on offer. For information, 214-528-3500 or www.ha.com.
Haring’s ‘Silence = Death’ Print Leads LGBTQ+ Auction At Swann
NEW YORK CITY — The top lot in Swann Auction Galleries’ August 17 sale of LGBTQ+ Art, Material Culture & History was Keith Haring’s (American, 1958-1990) “Silence = Death,” a color screenprint published in 1989 by George Mulder Fine Arts, NYC for the Arts Outreach Fund for AIDS. The limited edition — numbered 152/200 — was described as a very good impression with strong colors, and bidders agreed, taking it to $81,250 from an estimate of $30/40,000. For information, 212-254-4710 or www.swanngalleries.com.
Jensen Flatware Service Blossoms At Freeman’s
PHILADELPHIA — An 86-piece sterling silver flatware service for 12 by Georg Jensen, in the Blossom pattern, was one of the top lots in Freeman’s Art and Design sale on August 23. Though the pattern was designed in 1919, the set dated to the late Twentieth Century and was accompanied by its original flatware chest, which bore Jensen’s 667 Fifth Avenue address label. Estimated at $6/8,000, it found a new home for $32,760. For information, 267-414-1261 or www.freemansauction.com.
Cree Beaded Saddle Pad Rides High For New Frontier
LOVELAND, COLO. — Topping the 297-lot New Frontier Western Auction on August 26 was a Cree beaded pad saddle that displayed detailed floral pattern comprised of many bold colors of beads, and beaded tassels on a nicely patinaed canvas pad, with leather rigging strap. Bidders chased the Native American artifact from an estimate of $1,6/2,500 to $21,900. For information, 913-406-8057 or www.newfrontiershow.com.
Early Coverlet Spreads Out Sales At Roberson’s
PINE BUSH, N.Y. — Roberson’s Auctions conducted an Eclectic Antiques Auction on August 26 with more than 400 lots of Americana and antiques. An intriguing top lot was an early double cloth coverlet, loomed and signed by “Harry Tyler NYS” for Adaline Brown in 1839. Showing a tree and picket fence bordering a snowflake pattern, the corners also showed Tyler’s trademark Lions. The coverlet was in very good condition with only minor restoration and damage, and it was sold to an in-house bidder for $1,920 ($1,5/2,000). Another notable lot was a possible “burn baby” gravy boat incised by George Ohr that was bought by a bidder in the tri-state area for $1,188 ($1/1,500). For information, 845-744-3388 or www.robersonsauctions.com.
Roland’s August Auction Produces Patek Philippe
GLEN COVE, N.Y. — The two-day August 2023 auction at Roland Auctions NY on August 25 and 26 brought more than 1,000 lots to the podium, including fine art and furnishings in all mediums, designer accessories and jewelry. The top lot came from the second session, an 18K Patek Philippe Fancy Scroll lugs watch that grew from a $2/3,000 estimate to $46,875. In good working condition, the wristwatch came with a gilt stamped black leather strap and an 18K gold Patek Philippe tang clasp. For information, 212-260-2000 or www.rolandauctions.com.
