The interested and the curious collectively held their breath prior to the two-day sale on October 4 and 5 at Grogan and Company where bidding was robust. It all made for a strong sale, and decorative arts prevailed. Speaking after the sale, auctioneer Michael B. Grogan said he was pleased by the foot traffic through the gallery, a harbinger of strong interest.
A Nineteenth Century Russian icon depicting a red-robed Madonna and child, was the highlight when it sold to a Russian buyer for $24,000. It was marked “MP” and “OV.” The icon came from the Buffalo, N.Y., estate of Charlotte Albright, who was the daughter of photographer Charlotte Spaulding Albright and the granddaughter of John J. Albright, founder of what is now the Albright Knox Art Gallery.
The highlight of paintings across the block came from the Albright estate. It was an oil on panel landscape with a country road at sunset by Theodore Rousseau that sold for $14,950. Laura Coombs Hills’ miniature watercolor on ivory portrait of Charlotte Spaulding Albright sold for $9,200. The lot included a beaded headdress and two photographs, one of which pictured the sitter wearing the headdress.
The Italian oil on panel “Terrace View, Genoa, Italy,” by Fausto Zonaro was of interest and sold for $8,050 to an Italian buyer on the phone. A Nineteenth Century tropical South or Central American landscape attributed to Norton Bush inspired confidence and nearly doubled the high estimate at $5,750.
A French picture, “La Rue des Toiles a Bourges” by Charles Meryon, sold for $2,530 against the estimated $600․800. Among a selection of etchings by James E. Allen, a lot that included “Sky Riders” and “Up Above the World” sold for $5,750, and “The Builders” realized $3,738. The color lithograph “Mauve de la Lune” by Joan Miro was $4,200, and a James McNeil Whistler lithograph transfer, “Little Slips, Lyme Regis,” drew $3,450.
A framed miniature portrait on ivory of John Paul Jones drew $5,463.
A Nineteenth Century gilt and patinated figure of a goddess with a headdress and holding a torchere by Emile Coriolan Hippolyte Guillemin went to the New York trade for $26,450. The figure came from the estate of Claire Golant, a Newton, Mass., collector dealer known for her discernment. Also from the Golant estate was a Twentieth Century carved white marble figure of a child seated on a pillow that realized $14,950. It was signed indistinctly, dated and inscribed “Roma 1905” and rested on a classical fluted pedestal decorated with ormolu ribbons and garlands.
An impressive Art Nouveau six-light lamp on a marble base sold for $18,400. The lamp comprised the bronze figure of a woman holding aloft a vine with six bunches of green glass grapes, which were the lights. It went to a very pleased local collector.
A compelling Art Nouveau figural mixed metal and pottery vase bearing the stamp of the Garanti foundry in Paris sold below estimate at $5,463, representing a very good buy.
Porcelain from the Golant estate attracted much scrutiny and vigorous bidding. A Sevres-style covered vase with gilt decoration and a painted decoration of a courting couple in a landscape on a cobalt ground sold on the phone for $14,375. The vase was signed A. Maglin. The same phone buyer paid $10,925 for a 37-inch Sevres-style covered vase with gilt mounts and also decorated with an image of a courting couple in a landscape on a cobalt ground that was signed J. Pascault, Sevres.
A 39-inch Sevres-style Napoleonic vase with gilt decoration and ormolu mounts was dated 1805 and signed H. Desprez, Sevres; it went to another buyer for $14,375. It was decorated with a Napoleonic image and the lid was inscribed Austerlitz.
A three-piece Sevres-style garniture comprising a pair of 21-inch covered vases and a footed bowl painted with scenes after Watteau sold for $13,200. The urns were decorated with landscapes with courting couples on a cobalt ground with gilt decoration and Bacchus-form ormolu mounts.
A selection of Meissen figures with blue crossed swords, marks from the Golant estate, was well received. An 11-piece monkey band realized $6,613, and a Nineteenth Century figural group of a mother and two children was $4,313 from the same buyer on the phone.
A lot of four Meissen cabinet plates from another collection had reticulated rims and gilt decoration on a cobalt ground and were decorated with scenes of peasants engaged in various tasks. They went for $8,338 to the same buyer who also paid $2,875 for a single Meissen cabinet plate with a painted reserve of Psyche and Cupid with gilt decoration on a cobalt ground.
A pair of 32-inch continental majolica seated figures of a woman holding a fan and a man with a guitar realized $1,840 from a bidder in the gallery. A KPM plaque painted with a scene of two women on a beach and signed A. Delobbe went to a phone bidder for $8,338.
English Georgian furniture was of interest and brought sound money. A Georgian carved giltwood console table with a carved winged eagle and a marble top sold for $11,500, and a Georgian carved giltwood clock with a plump rooster finial and stamped Hutchinson, Norwich, went on the phone for $8,050.
An early Nineteenth Century 104½-inch Georgian mahogany breakfront realized $7,763, and an 80-inch Georgian mahogany tall case clock by George Lindsay, royal watch and clock maker to George III, sold for $4,600.
A pair of 7½-inch Italian polychrome faience double gourd form vases from the Albright collection attracted $2,588, and a continental polychromed terracotta figure of a female saint from the same collection fetched $1,840.
A highly regarded continental pair of walnut serpentine side cabinets with inlay did not disappoint and sold for $16,100 against the estimated $700․1,000.
A Northern Italian walnut cassone that was made in the Fifteenth Century had pierced metal medallions and a fitted interior with inlay and bone studding. It carried an estimate of $2/3,000 and went to the New York trade on the phone for $12,650.
Continental objects from the Albright collection attested to a fine eye. An Eighteenth Century continental walnut fall front table cabinet with extensive ivory inlay drew $15,525, while a carved example with marquetry inlay was $5,463. A 44-inch early Eighteenth Century Italian carved walnut side cabinet sold for $12,075. A Jacobean carved walnut side table with one drawer was estimated at $300․500, but was desirable and fetched $2,875.
A continental giltwood mirror with beveled glass realized $4,888, and a Dutch Queen Anne wall mirror with etched and beveled glass went for $3,450. A pair of Nineteenth Century continental rococo-style carved and giltwood mirrors was also $3,450.
Another area of interest was a selection of small carved birds by A.E. Crowell. A miniature shell drake fetched $1,955, and a lot comprising a 4-inch red head and a blue bill was $1,725. A 4-inch gold duck was $1,610, and a 5¾-inch black duck was also $1,610.
A lot of five carved and painted ducks, the largest of which was 5½ inches, was estimated at $300․500 and fetched $2,875 on the phone.
A 75-inch Chinese Export captain’s day bed with a caned seat that lifts to reveal three storage drawers attracted $5,750.
A five-piece Japanese Export silver tea and coffee service in a flowering iris pattern with a matching tray realized $8,400, while a group of five Russian silver spoons sold for $3,450.
That perennial favorite, Louis Vuitton, was hot: A set of seven suitcases with another Vuitton suitcase and a Goyard trunk sold for $9,200, and a Vuitton steamer trunk brought $7,475, while a lot of six pieces of Vuitton soft-sided luggage was $1,920.
All prices quoted include the 15 percent buyer’s premium. For information, 781-461-9500 or www.groganco.com .
