Nothing short of spectacular, this Baccarat chandelier crystal Zenith 36-light chandelier, a model that retails for $119,000, turned out to be a good buy for a New York City bidder when it hit the high price of $24,000. Measuring 67 by 51 inches, Baccarat describes its Zenith model as “a truly dazzling decorative piece.” It was the top lot in the sale.
Review by W.A. Demers
FREEHOLD, N.Y. — In Carlsen Gallery’s Collector’s Collections auction on June 2, a spectacular Baccarat chandelier hit the high price of $24,000, won by a New York City buyer. The crystal Zenith 36-light chandelier measuring 67 by 51 inches gave a diamond-like sparkle, a hallmark of its maker. Baccarat describes its Zenith model as, “a truly dazzling decorative piece,” that regardless of scale “has a central column of cut crystal that resourcefully masks all functional cables. The wealth of ornamentation is enthralling, festooned with chiseled prisms, sparkling pendants and Baccarat’s signature single red octagonal crystal hung discreetly.” Handmade in France, the chandelier retails for $119,000.
This was a diverse auction with 350 lots on offer, including 100 military lots from a single-owner collection. Sale total was $299,000 with a sell-through rate of nearly 99 percent. The number of registered bidders, including internet bidders was 1,100.
Furniture highlights included an Eighteenth Century Boston Queen Anne red walnut highboy. Circa 1760 with original brasses, its condition was deemed “exceptional,” and that was enough to push the bidding on the 84-5/8-inch-high case piece to $10,000.
Also carrying the “exceptional” adjective was a cherry Chippendale secretary, in this case the superlative relating to its interior and fluted quarter columns. It left the gallery at $6,000.
Fetching $3,600 was a Mohawk Valley paint-decorated blanket chest. With a shoe foot and all original, it measured 18½ by 43 by 17 inches.
Fetching $3,600 was a Mohawk Valley paint-decorated blanket chest. With a shoe foot and all original, it measured 18½ by 43 by 17 inches.
And is there an estate antiques sale today that does not include a baby grand piano? Here, the Carlsens divested one of their consignors of a 1924 Steinway Model “L” baby grand piano. With ebonized case and characterized as in excellent condition it went out at $5,600.
Sterling silver lots performed well. A Cartier sterling silver coffee and tea service, including tray and weighing approximately 283.5 troy ounces sold for $7,800.
An Eighteenth Century pair of long spoons by Paul Revere and bearing the silversmith’s touchmark were 9-1/8 inches long and were bid to $4,7688.
Fine art highlights included a portrait of Native American “Abdih–Hiddisch,” a Minatarre chief, posed holding an ax, in an aquatint engraving by Carl Bodmer. Published by Ackerman and bearing the Bodmer blind stamp, the circa 1839-42 engraving measured 30 by 23½ by 1¾ inches and finished at $5,000. Bodmer (Swiss, 1809-1893) was a landscape artist and illustrator known for his depictions of the American West and Native Americans, which gave Europeans a glimpse into the era’s Native American cultures.
A 9-by-12-inch oil on canvas by Anton Otto Fischer titled “Clipper Ship on Open Seas” earned $3,000.
In addition, a 9-by-12-inch oil on canvas by Anton Otto Fischer (German-American, 1882-1962) titled “Clipper Ship on Open Seas” earned $3,000.
Sculptures in both marble and bronze were notable. An Erastus Dow Palmer marble bust of a peasant girl, signed Palmer and standing 19 inches tall, commanded $9,300. If the Palmer surname sounds familiar, it should. Eratus Dow Palmer, who worked in Albany, N.Y., was the father of Walter Launt Palmer, the American Impressionist painter whose works had many qualities of the Hudson River School.
Also in marble was a Neoclassical bust of “Venezia” by Larkin Goldsmith Mead (American, 1835-1910), and it found a buyer at $7,813. An American sculptor who worked in a Neoclassical style, Mead followed the Nineteenth Century trend among sculptors to create idealized representations of geographic sites, be they cities, countries or continents. The “Venezia” allegorical bust is thought perhaps to be a wedding portrait: Mead met his wife in Venice, but the bust, 25½ inches tall, can also be seen as a tribute to the city traditionally known as the Bride of the Sea. The bust’s tiara is of beads and a central scallop shell that features a small gondola. Her textured sea-foam bodice from which she emerges could stand for Venice’s maritime setting.
Bronze sculptures included an egret signed “Frederic Deschamps”, 1900, cast at the Pierre Bingen Foundry, 24¾ inches tall selling for $3,600.
Bronze sculptures included an egret signed Frederic Deschamps, 1900, cast at the Pierre Bingen Foundry, 24¾ inches tall selling for $3,600, and a rooster, also signed by the French artist and cast at the Pierre Bingen Foundry, 1898, 35 inches tall, at $3,300.
The same amount was recorded for a Civil War cavalry trooper full field gear shell jacket, regulation issue from the Schuylkill Arsenal. A Civil War kepi of First Lieutenant Charles O’Neill, 12th Connecticut Infantry, 2nd Corps / 3rd Division, also realized $3,300.
Prices given include the buyer’s premium as stated by the auction house. Carlsen Gallery will host an important anniversary auction in September, date to be announced. For more information, 518-634-2466 or www.carlsengallery.com.
