The top lot of the auction was this marble bas-relief from the studio of Antonio Rosselino that attained $37,200 ($5/15,000).
Review by Andrea Valluzzo
FREEHOLD, N.Y. — Carlsen Gallery’s June 7 auction saw good things across the board do well. Fine art and silver performed robustly, and even furniture, a category that can be difficult to sell lately, offered some standouts.
Auctioneer Russ Carlsen said the auction did well overall, totaling about $480,000. He commented that there were surprises throughout the sale on both sides of the equation — for pieces that soared over their estimates as well as pieces that did not perform as strongly as expected. “Smalls did very well as did silver, jewelry and coins. Fine period pieces of furniture are selling for a fraction of what they would have a few years ago, but overall we were very pleased. We had a very good audience and the only stumbling block was furniture,” he shared. Despite that proclamation, he noted there were a few pieces of furniture that performed solidly. A pair of Danish Modern chairs by Finn Juhl for Vodder sold for $5,375 ($500-$1,500) while a Hudson Valley kas in red gumwood that came out of a home in Coeymans, N.Y., went just over its $6,000 high estimate at $6,600. A small George III table for displaying silver realized $2,700, well past its $500-$1,000 estimate despite some fretwork restorations to the apron.
A standout among furniture was this Hudson Valley red gumwood kas from the Barent Pieterse Coeymans House in New York that took $6,600 ($4/6,000).
The top lot of the auction came less than two hours into the sale when a marble bas-relief from the studio of Antonio Rosselino (1427-1479) crossed the block. “This magnificent sculpture in a sensational Nineteenth Century frame is identical to the one in the collection of the Morgan Library & Museum,” Carlsen said. The work was typical of the Italian Renaissance sculptor’s “painting in relief” style where he cut into the stone using shallow incisions to create bas-reliefs. Depicting the Virgin Mary and child with cherubim, the sculpture attained $37,200 from a private collector, well over its $5/15,000 estimate. The buyer reportedly will be installing the marble into a memorial chapel dedicated to his late wife. Remaining traces of plaster indicate this sculpture was likely salvaged from a cathedral or a church. Carlsen said the firm is confident that the marble is from the same marble yard as the Morgan example. However, the frame would have been added long after than the work’s original’s creation date several hundred years earlier.
Other strong performers in the fine art category included an oil on canvas by Walter Launt Palmer, titled “Twilight,” that neared its high estimate at $11,400 and an oil on canvas winter landscape by William Lester Stevens, NA, that fetched $10,200, easily surpassing its $2/4,000 estimate.
The auction offerings were diverse, ranging from fine art to folk art. The latter came in a perennially-popular and desirable form: a Nineteenth Century carved and painted tobacconist figure in old surface. Attributed to Samuel Robb, the figure smoked its $1/3,000 estimate, going up to $16,800. Noting there was a typo in the catalog available to in-house attendees, the figure was erroneously given a $100/300 estimate but Carlsen said, “It doesn’t matter where you start, it’s where you end up.”
Shining bright was this 178-piece sterling silver flatware set by Gorham in the Chantilly pattern that went just over high estimate at $9,600 ($6/9,000).
Not surprisingly, silver flatware, serving pieces and coins continue to bring strong prices, and Carlsen had all three types crossing the block. A set of eight Gorham sterling silver dinner plates in the Maintenon pattern doubled its high estimate to take $13,750 while a 178-piece sterling silver flatware service, also Gorham, in the Chantilly pattern realized $9,600, just over its high estimate. A mid Nineteenth Century Neoclassical silver pedestal centerpiece, marked “coin” on the base, did well when it brought $2,700 ($1/1,500). A large selection of Washington head quarters, of varying dates and condition but all pre 1964, tallied up $6,600, well over its $2/3,000 estimate. Pre 1964 quarters were minted with 90 percent silver, unlike today’s copper-nickel alloy version, so the raw metal drives up prices far over the coin’s face value.
Bidding was highly competitive in the 360-lot auction, all the way to the end. The aforementioned pair of Danish chairs was the eighth-to-last lot. “We had serious action throughout the entire sale and mustered a pretty decent crowd. I was thankful to have a group of people in front of me and they were active all day,” Carlsen commented. He said there was an in-house crowd of about 80-90 people who took about a third of the auction offerings while online bidders took another third. Left bids and the phones accounted for the final portion of the sales.
Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For information, www.carlsengallery.com or 518-634-2466.
