Notable prices recently achieved at various United States auction houses, compiled by Antiques and The Arts Weekly staff and correspondents. All prices include buyer’s premium.
Alvar Aalto Paimio Artek Chair Rises
To $2,040 At Capo Auction
LONG ISLAND CITY, N.Y. – An Alvar Aalto Paimio armchair by Artek (also known as Chair 41), strolled past its $1/1,500 estimate to reach $2,040 at Capo Auction’s February 15 sale. With galleries just over the 59th Street Bridge from Manhattan, brothers Robert and Larry Berman offer eclectic auctions monthly. Offered amid the fine art, jewelry and antique furniture, from one of Capo’s strongest categories, the Midcentury Modern black lacquered chair with bentwood back and seat, on a bent birch frame, was just one of several pieces that attracted bidders in the gallery and online. For information, www.capoauctionnyc.com or 718-433-3710.
Tenor Sax Plays To $6,875
At Bruneau & Co.
CRANSTON, R.I. – A 1958 Henri Selmer Parks Mark VI tenor saxophone sold for $6,875 at Bruneau & Co.’s February 25 sale of the musical instrument collection of Lawrence David Clark. The sax’s horn was decorated with etched floral design to the bell. The sale offered more than 250 lots and featured an assemblage brimming with names like Gibson, Martin, Hofner, Selmer, Conn and more. Clark was a prominent Manhattan attorney and multi-instrumentalist who passed away in New York City in April 2016 at the age of 72. For information, 401-533-9980 or www.bruneauandco.com.
Diamond Beats Back Weapons
At Maltz Militaria Sale
CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. – Stronger than the trove of antique firearms, swords, uniforms and assorted militaria that anchored Maltz Auctions’ February 16 sale, a 3.81-carat diamond engagement ring was victorious in capturing bidders’ hearts, selling for $42,750. All was not lost, however, as an antique South-Asian sword with scabbard brought $5,175. For information, 516-349-7022 or www.maltzauctions.com.
Colt Rifle Fires Over High Estimate
At White’s
MIDDLEBORO, MASS. – Early in a March 12 sale at White’s Auctions, a Colt 40-44 sling strap Burgess lever-action rifle attained $5,600, well over its $1,5/2,500 estimate. Another standout, which ended up being the top lot of the sale, was a Tiffany table lamp in the Acorn pattern that made $5,800. For more information, www.whitesauctions.com or 508-947-9281.
Woodstock Ephemera Performs Well
At EstateOfMind Auction
MIDDLETOWN, N.Y. – Howard and Pat Mills’ personal collection of Woodstock Venture’s correspondence and ephemera brought $8,555, far exceeding its $100-$1,000 estimate, at a March 4 EstateOfMind auction. The collection includes two original contracts signed by Jon Roberts, president of Woodstock Ventures, dated May 23, 1969, newspaper articles and opposition legal notices from the town of Wallkill, N.Y. A gem was a newspaper clipping (perhaps a letter to the editor) that read in part, “Certain people of Wallkill decided to try to run us out of town before we even got there. They were afraid. Of what, we don’t know. We’re not even sure they know. But anyway, to avoid a hassle, we moved our festival to White Lake, Town of Bethel…” For information, www.estateofmind.biz or 845-386-4403.
Throne Chair Rules Roost
At Direct Auction Galleries
CHICAGO, ILL. – Direct Auction Galleries’ January 24 auction “provided a nice mix of items for both dealers and collectors,” said John R. Modica, a second-generation auctioneer, who, with his cousin John S. Modica, owns and operates this Chicago auction house that was family founded in 1962. As befitting its royal stature, the top lot was a carved Victorian throne chair with lion’s heads and griffons that attained $2,645. Rounding out the realm of treasures in the sale were a stamped Cartier 18K gold bracelet accompanied by its box for $3,738, a Chinese green and white jade carving of two pea pods, 3Â inches long, at $2,070 and a 12-by-24-foot Persian Sarouk rug for $2,013. For information, 773-465-3300 or www.directauction.com.
$12,000 Wins Gilt Mantel Clock
At Royal Antiques
PASADENA, CALIF. – A star lot in Royal Antiques’ February 9 auction was a Louis XVI-style gilt-bronze figural mantel clock, Lemerle-Charpentier, late Nineteenth Century, earning $12,000. The circular white enameled dial having black Roman and Arabic numerals, signed “Lemerle-Charpentier Bronziers Paris, 8 rue Charlot,” was set within an urn-form case surmounted by a finial in the form of cupid holding bow, supported by two female attendants. The piece measures 31Â by 15 inches. For information, www.royalauctiongallery.com or 626-765-6511.
Tiffany Student Lamp Achieves $7,613
At Dirk Soulis
LONE JACK, MO. – Amid a collection of Nineteenth and Twentieth Century lighting offered at Dirk Soulis Auctions’ estate sale on February 4, an early Tiffany Studios patinated bronze student lamp made the top grade, finishing at $7,613. The lamp featured a central standard supporting a cylindrical fuel canister on one side decorated by applied Etruscan-style twisted and coiled bronze wire and an arm extending to the burner with beaded wire coil on the other side, the leaded shade signed “Tiffany Studios New York 1568.” For information, 816-697-3830 or www.dirksoulisauctions.com.
Bronze Family Takes $7,500 To Lead
Potomack Auction
ALEXANDRIA, VA. – In the Potomack Company’s February 28 auction featuring works from the sculptor Retha Walden Gambaro’s studio along with other estates, a standout in the headline grouping was Gambaro’s (Native American, Creek, 1917-2013) patinated bronze sculpture “Family,” from the “Attitudes Of Prayer” series. Realizing $7,500, the piece is inscribed “How great, how wondrous, the bonds.” It measured 34 by 46 by 20 inches. For information, www.potomackcompany.com or 703-684-4550.
Bronze Falconer Flies To $7,200
At Wiederseim Associates
GLENMOORE, PENN. – Wiederseim Associates’ Presidents’ Day Weekend antiques auction on February 18 saw a large Emile Coriolan Hippolyte Guillemin (French, 1841-1907) standing bronze of an Indian falconer returning from a gazelle hunt finish at $7,200. The piece measures 44 inches tall and has a 12-inch diameter. For information, www.wiederseim.com or 610-827-1910.
Early Asian Photos Top
Eldred’s Winter Market
EAST DENNIS, MASS. – Eldred’s Winter Market Auction February 17-18 was led by a lot comprising assorted photographs of China and Southeast Asia from the early Twentieth Century that fetched $6,875. Owned by Stanley Charles Nott, the photographs were contained within albums and boxes and featured images of landscapes, Chinese Buddhist temple carvings in the caves of Longmen, temples around Hunan Province, the Angkor Wat temple complex, museum pieces and more. For information, www.eldreds.com or 508-385-3116.
