Fine and decorative arts are in the spotlight in this week’s Across The Block, but the top price was claimed by a British silver coin. The 1663 Charles II Silver Pattern “Petition” Crown made a world record when it sold by Heritage for $960,000. Another record was set for the sale of an early Van Briggle Despondency vase, which stretched to $100,200. Other notable art lots show the diversity of the category, including a Paul Sawyer oil landscape, an Italian Old Master illustration, a pair of emerald glass decanters and a porcelain horse from Herend. Read on for these stories and more.
Rare Jackie Robinson Card Trades Hands At Mid-Hudson
NEW WINDSOR, N.Y. — Of the 331 lots that made up the art, antiques, bronzes, rare sports and toy auction at Mid-Hudson Auction Galleries on January 20, a 1958 hand-cut Doyusha card, considered to be the rarest Jackie Robinson card in existence, sold for $22,500 to an advanced collector in Pennsylvania bidding on LiveAuctioneers. The card was produced after Robinson retired from the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1956 but played baseball in Japan, where it was immensely popular. The card, which came to Mid-Hudson from an Orange County collector, had a 1.5 PSA grading, is one of just eight cards known and it carried an estimate of $20/25,000. For more information, 914-882-7356 or www.midhudsongalleries.com.
Heritage Gets World Record Result For Petition Crown Coin
DALLAS — The second highest-graded “Petition” Crown sold for a record $960,000 to lead Heritage’s January 8 NYINC Platinum Session World & Ancient Coins Signature Auction to $12,154,981. The result, coupled with the $3,829,532 NYINC World Coins Signature Auction January 16-18, boosted the combined total of the events to $15,984,513. The result for the Charles II silver Pattern “Petition” Crown 1663, graded MS62 by NGC, smashed the previous world record for the coin, and was the most ever paid for any British silver coin. It was engraved by Thomas Simon, one of the most celebrated medalists and engravers of Seventeenth Century England. This magnificent example is one of fewer than 20 known examples — seven of which are housed in public institutions and museums. For information, www.ha.com or 214-528-3500.
Vibrant Green Glass Decanters Are A Win For Woody
DOUGLASS, KAN. — Woody Auction’s January 20 online sale consisted of more than 670 lots of porcelain, glass, bride’s baskets and other antiques. While porcelain was the main focus of the sale, a pair of Brilliant Period Cut Glass decanters attributed to Stevens & Williams finished as the top lot of the day. The two green cut to clear decanters were engraved with floral garland, scroll and tassel motifs and had pattern-engraved spiral stoppers. Each of the decanters measures 8¾ by 5½ inches and has a clear handle. Originating from a private Virginia collection, the pair is now headed to the West Coast with a collector who scored the set for $2,040. For information, www.woodyauction.com or 316-747-2694.
Italian Old Master Illustration Claims Bruneau’s Top Spot
CRANSTON, R.I. — Closing on January 22, Bruneau & Co Auctioneers’ Winter Fine & Decorative Art auction offered 438 lots of fine and decorative art, ethnographic art, rugs, fashion, pottery and silver, including coins. The top lot of the sale was a circa Eighteenth Century Italian Old Master illustration which stretched well above its $800-$1,200 to achieve $32,500. The image, depicting a bridge over a canal with a couple and a gondolier on the water came from the collection of a Newport, R.I., estate and was bought by a private collector in New York City. For information, www.bruneauandco.com or 401-533-9980.
Rago Gets Form Record For Van Briggle Vase
LAMBERTVILLE, N.J. — The top lot in David Rago’s Early Twentieth Century Design auction on January 18 was a rare and early 13½-inch-tall Despondency vase that earned $100,200, more than tripling its $20/30,000 estimate. Reached after the sale, Rago said while it wasn’t a record for Van Briggle pottery, it was a record for the form. He also confirmed that it was purchased by the Two Red Roses Foundation for display at the American Craftsman Museum. For information, 609-397-9374 or www.ragoarts.com.
Paul Sawyier Landscapes Incite Bidding Frenzy At Clars
OAKLAND, CALIF. — Two landscapes by Paul Sawyier (American, 1865-1917) sparked a battle between a few phone bidders at Clars Auctions’ January 19 sale of furniture, art, jewelry and Asian antiques. Not only did both lots sell well but they were the top two lots in the sale, with “Garden with Fountain” flowing to $49,125. A representative for the auction house noted the landscape scenes were painted during the artist’s time in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park, which are considered rare. The representative also confirmed that both Sawyiers were purchased by an online bidder. For information, 510-428-0100 or www.clars.com.
Herend Black Horse Figurine Rocks SJ Auctioneers’s Sale
BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Bidders worked to corral a rare Herend signed Black Horse Fishnet figurine that was being offered in SJ Auctioneers’ January 23 auction, with a successful buyer lassoing it for $832. The horse came in the Black Fishnet pattern and measured 5½ inches long by 4¾ inches tall. It was brand new with “no issues whatsoever,” said the catalog. Retail price is $710. Collectors like the wide variety of these figurines of brilliant white porcelain. The Herend trademark fishnet design decorates every statuette along with 24K gold accents. Horse poses include prancing and standing horses as well as foals and miniature horses and playful rocking horses. For information, 646-450-7553.
Peaceable Kingdom Cane Stakes A High Result For Nye
BLOOMFIELD, N.J. — Nye & Co presented nearly 800 lots in its Collectors’ Passion Auction January 24-25. Bidders were particularly passionate about a cane made by Alanson Porter Dean (1812-1888) that was profusely carved with polychrome decoration, quotations and figures from the prophecy of Isaiah. The 34-inch-long cane had provenance to a Philadelphia collector and the estate of Marjorie and Robert L. Hirschhorn as well as folk art dealer David Wheatcroft, who purchased it from Sotheby’s for $13,200 in 2004. Estimated at $3/5,000, it generated a lot of interest with online and phone bidders. A Midwest collector, underbid by the trade, won it for $23,750. For information, 973-984-6900 or www.nyeandcompany.com.
Cottone Bidders Light Up For Tiffany Lily Lamp
GENESEO, N.Y. — A ten-light Tiffany Studios Lily table lamp was the star of Cottone Auctions’ January 24 Art & Antiques auction. All 10 of the circa 1905 lamp’s iridescent Favrile Lily shades bore the “L.C.T.” maker’s etching. Despite having a badly damaged cord that needs replacement for functionality, the 20-inch lamp exceeded its $10/15,000 estimate to achieve $27,600. At the end of the sale, 99 percent of the sale’s 348 lots had successfully changed hands. For information, www.cottoneauctions.com or 585-243-1000.
