‘Diversity’ sums up this week’s auction highlights, with few categories repeating themselves. Opfer bidders closed the book at nearly $15,000 on a Baltimore album quilt while a Porky Pig store display attracted some looney bidding at Bayside Auctions. Fox and Crane achieved bipartisan unity with a lot of Civil War tintypes of soldiers from both sides of the war. Looks may have been deceiving but the prices were anything but: Capsule achieved nearly $4,000 for a pair of Louis XVI style bookshelf-form cabinets. These and more were what bidders chased in some of the most recent auctions; read on for more.
Farrin’s Posts Highlights Of October 1 Auction
RANDOLPH, MAINE — Farrin’s Country Auctions conducts bi-monthly auctions at its auction gallery. It’s a family-operated business, actively pursuing individual items to buy as well as complete estates. Rusty Farrin provided some highlights from his October 1 auction. They included a Mobile Lubrication sign, $9,200; Mobile Marine Pegasus sign, $9,775; a small redware jug, $5,923, Shaker oval sieve box, $1,725; stoneware batter pitcher, $5,175; and a Swank stoneware pitcher (pictured), $13,800. For information, 207-582-1455 or www.farrinsauctions.com.
Baltimore Album Quilt Ends Up On Top At Opfer
TIMONIUM, MD. — Richard Opfer Auctioneering’s live online antiques and estate auction on October 5 was led by a Baltimore Album quilt top that was of 25 pieced and appliqued cotton squares. Dated February 14, 1862, it included the Washington Monument, US Frigate Cumberland, Liberty caps, shields, eagles, etc., and was signed by members of Rhinehart, Hamilton, Chanceaulme, Carlton, Sutton, Parlton, Montgomery families. The professionally conserved textile went out at $14,950. For information, www.opferauction.com or 410-252-5035.
Bidders At Bayside Auctions Go Looney Tunes For Porky Pig Display
ROCK HALL, MD. — Bayside Auctions’ October 7 toy and advertising auction was led by a large Warner Bros store display of Porky Pig, known for his signature line at the end of many shorts, “(stutter) that’s all, folks!” The life-size statue, selling for $1,680, was an extremely rare piece made exclusively by Warner Bros for use in stores and Six Flags theme parks. This fiberglass statue with a wooden base stood 52 inches tall, a rare piece that would be a must for any Looney Tunes collector. For more information, www.baysideauctions.com or 443-360-5431.
Black Artist/Activist’s Paintings Sell Well At Hudson Valley Auctioneers
BEACON, N.Y. — The October 9 sale at Hudson Valley Auctioneers was devoted entirely to the art of Marzette Watts, black activist, artist and jazz musician. “We sold 150 of his paintings, which were recently discovered,” said Theo de Haas, the firm’s general manager and junior partner. The top lot was an oil on canvas depicting abstract flower shapes in black and yellow, which sold for $5,625. This sale was posted on LiveAuctioneers with inhouse participation as well. For more information, 845-831-6800 or www.hudsonvalleyauctioneers.com.
Faux Book Cabinets Bring Top Dollar For Capsule
NEW YORK CITY — Capsule Auctions’ October 11 Great Estates and Asian Art sale, comprised of 224 lots, was topped at $3,770 by a pair of Louis XVI-style cabinets with faux book doors, that sold to a buyer bidding on LiveAuctioneers. Each of the cabinets had a marble top, brass gallery, wreath pulls, escutcheon and feet, along with tasseled keys. The cabinets came from a Fifth Avenue estate and had been estimated at $2/4,000. For information, 212-353-2277 or www.capsuleauctions.com.
Civil War-Era Photos Soar For Fox & Crane
SAUGERTIES, N.Y. — “This & That! Whimsical to the Macabre” was the title of the October 7 auction at Fox and Crane Online Auctions. An even 400 lots were presented, all online, with considerable interest for a lot early in the day: a group of five Civil War-era tintypes of both Confederate and Union soldiers. Described as “wrapped in fancy etched foil” and in as-found estate condition, the lot went from a $150/300 estimate to $1,200. For information, 845-234-0083 or www.foxandcraneauctions.com.
Kentucky Floor Vase Brings Strong Price In Maine Auction
THOMASTON, MAINE — An 18-inch-tall ovoid glazed pottery vase incised “Cornelison Pottery, since 1809, Bybee, Ky., Handmade” was a top seller in Thomaston Place Auction Galleries’ October 4 372-lot “Sustainable Joy” sale. Estimated at $200/300 and cataloged as having “a few exterior firing glaze pops,” undeterred bidders topped it off at $1,875. For information, 207-354-8141 or www.thomastonauction.com.
Taos Painter’s Portrait Earns High Marks At Old Kinderhook
VALATIE, N.Y. — The top lot in Old Kinderhook Auction Company’s “Ten Out Of Ten 2023” auction was “Woman in Blue” by Miguel Martinez (Taos, N.M., b 1951), which closed out at $3,625. Measuring 45½ by 35½ inches in its frame, the 1995 pastel on paper depicted a mysterious woman with an unreadable expression. It was the top lot of 833 that were offered on October 10 and had been estimated at $1/2,000. For information, 518-912-4747 or www.oldkinderhookauction.com.
Online Bids at Lark Mason Associates Favor Wang Qi Porcelain Plaques
NEW YORK CITY — A final price of $225,000 was posted by a pair of large Chinese enamel decorated porcelain plaques by Wang Qi (1884-1937), Republic period, each with a seal for Wang Qi, at Lark Mason Associates’ October 2 auction. In the early Republic period, Wang Qi was a celebrated porcelain artist, a respected literati figure and a central figure in the group of porcelain painters known as the Eight Friends of Zhushan, or Zhushan Bayou. The Eight Friends of Zhushan was most active in the late Nineteenth and early Twentieth Century and its members are regarded as some of the best porcelain painters from the Republic period. The group’s name refers to the Zhushan, or Pearl Hill, which was the highest point in the Imperial Porcelain Factory in Jingdezhen. For information, 212-289-5524 or www.larkmasonassociates.com.
