S. Kirk & Son seven-piece monogrammed repoussé tea and coffee service that led the auction within its $3/5,000 estimate at $4,290.
Review by Z.G. Burnett; Images Courtesy of Litchfield County Auctions
LITCHFIELD, CONN. — On July 25, Litchfield County Auctions hosted the fourth and final session of Seymour Stein collection, offering Art Deco design, advertising and more, with select additions from other consignors. Stein, an American music executive and industry, passed away in April 2023. As with the previous installments, each of almost 400 lots in this auction was part of Stein’s eclectic, high-quality collection of mostly Nineteenth and Twentieth Century American and European decorative arts. Along with the US and UK, bidders hailed from 16 other countries from Europe to Australia. The auction totaled $148,000 with a 92 percent sell-through rate.
The top lot of this auction could not have been any less Art Deco, a sterling silver tea repoussé service from S. Kirk & Son, Baltimore, Md. The service included a teapot, coffee pot, covered sugar bowl, creamer, waste bowl and tea strainer; these weighed .96 ozt, excluding the tray. Each piece was profusely decorated with many different kinds of flowers on their surfaces or edges, and the group was in overall very good condition with just a few loose joints and one missing pin. Kirk was known for its elaborate repoussé work, which was inspired by East India silversmithing and is still sometimes known as “Baltimore silver.” The set sold to a domestic buyer who bid on Live Auctioneers from Pacific Northwest for $4,290.
Second in the sale was a set of three leaded glass windows with an Egyptian motif, mounted as light boxes, for $3,900. Although these were not dated, the design is in keeping with the Egyptomania trend that collided with Art Deco design in the early Twentieth Century. Next in this category was a pair of Art Deco iron gate brackets by V. Ranchoux, impressed with his stamp, “Ferronnier, St Etienne.” Ranchoux is also known for his technical manual Le Forgeron (The Blacksmith), published circa 1920 and reprinted in many French editions. The brackets were bid to $3,120, and were matched in price by a group lot of eight white glass Art Deco lighting fixtures. These had no maker’s marks or accompanying information, but were a striking group in very good condition.
At 62¼ inches high, this pair of iron gate brackets from V. Ranchoux closed at $3,120 ($300/500).
One of the few lots of Asian art matched the Egyptian-motif windows at $3,900, a set of Chinese carved mother-of-pearl gaming chips bought by an online bidder. Made in the Nineteenth Century, each delicate chip was engraved with the monogram “CWL,” and some were damaged. In addition to the monograms, the chips were decorated in relief with animals, insects and motifs of people, and each had pierced floriate decorations around the edge.
Two somewhat unusual lots also did well. From the estate of Ethan F. Parker, Lakeville, Conn., was a Unitron Astro 220 camera, telescope motor and three cassettes in their original boxes for $3,770. Eight other telescopes and related lots from the Parker collection were offered during the auction. Another atypical lot was a 1926 Spalding baseball trophy from the Stein collection. It was granted to the Elizabeth Recreational Commission of the Standard Oil Company by the Industrial Baseball League. The trophy showed tarnishing from age and repairs, but still sold for $3,640 to a bidder from the state of Georgia.
The only top lot that was not from the Stein collection was this Unitron Astro camera and telescope motor set that was bid to $3,700 ($200/300).
The only work of fine art in the top lots was an oil on canvas painting of a circus performer and a monkey, accompanied by a grinning clown and a group of other male circus members in the background. The painting was indistinctly signed verso “E. Westerland Miller,” who is otherwise unknown. Despite some staining, the portrait achieved $2,990.
Prices are quoted with buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. Litchfield’s Summer Onsite Tag Sale will occur on August 25-26 at 425 Bantam Road. For more information, www.litchfieldcountyauctions.com or 860-567-4461.
