This Janus sofa by Edward Wormley for Dunbar led the sale at $13,640, surpassing the high end of its $3/5,000 estimate by more than two times.
Review by Kiersten Busch
SUDBURY, MASS. — On March 2, Tremont Auctions’ Winter Estate Art & Antiques auction brought forth 441 lots of gold and silver estate jewelry, sterling silver tableware, contemporary and antique paintings and prints, Midcentury furniture and décor, historical ephemera and books and more, with a sell-through rate of approximately 91 percent by lot.
Leading the sale was a Janus wide-angled sofa designed by Edward Wormley for Dunbar. The couch had ivory upholstery, complimented by mahogany legs and stretchers. With an estimate of $3/5,000, the sofa far exceeded expectations, finally resting for $13,640.
Twenty-three additional lots of furniture were sold, with prices ranging from $62 to $7,440. The highest price belonged to an 89-inch-tall Dutch marquetry tall case clock by Nicolaas Weylandt, made in Amsterdam circa 1740. The clock had a wood shaft pendulum, brass jacketed weights and a brass composite dial showing the moon phase, day and date.
Another well-performing piece was a lounge chair and ottoman by Charles and Ray Eames for Herman Miller from the late Twentieth Century, which just surpassed the high end of its $2/3,000 estimate. The chair and its accompanying ottoman were both made of rosewood laminate with black leather upholstery. Each bearing a label for Herman Miller, the pair swiveled to $3,720.
These two gold pins — one mounted with diamond and amethyst and the other with amethyst, topaz and emerald — weighed 17.5 grams in total and made more than 17 times their $200/300 estimate at $5,208.
Jewelry was well represented, with two gold pins leading the 140-lot category. The first pin, shaped like a heart, was made with diamond and amethyst and set in gold and silver. The second was made from white and yellow gold and had an amethyst, topaz and a central emerald in a floral design. The lot earned a sharp $5,208, surpassing its $200/300 estimate by more than 17 times.
An 18K gold necklace with multicolored topaz and amethyst stones of varying shapes also attracted bidders’ eyes, sparkling at $4,216. Its clasp, set with one small round diamond, was marked with “750,” an unidentied maker’s mark and its serial number.
Fine art took up more than a quarter of the lots during the sale, with 143 works offered. With prices ranging from $31 for a group of three watercolors by Herman Rose and John Neff to $3,224 for “Desert View,” a Grand Canyon landscape by Curt Walters, art was accessible to the newest buyer or the most experienced collector. Another notable painting from the sale was from a much wetter climate than “Desert View.” Ryan Black’s “Newbury at Dartmouth,” an oil on gesso board, depicted a rainy nighttime street scene in Boston, signed lower right, which earned a torrential $2,976.
Earning $2,976 against an $800-$1,200 estimate was the nighttime Boston street scene “Newbury at Dartmouth” by Ryan Black, oil on gesso board, 37½ by 37½ inches framed, signed lower right.
Australian artist, Melbourne Brindle (1904-1995), who had three paintings find new homes during the sale, continued the trend of Boston cityscapes. “Boston Back Bay Window,” which was exhibited in a Vose Gallery, Boston, show in 2007, earned the highest price of the three: $2,108. “Boston Bridge with Birdhouse” flew to $1,860, while “Window, Charles River Lagoon” captured $1,364.
Also strongly represented in the sale was Clifton Karhu (1927-2007), an American woodblock print artist who moved to Japan. All 29 lots of Karhu’s works sold, with a group of six woodblock prints of the Japanese city of Nara earning the highest price at $1,364. The lot included “Nara Temple,” “Nara Shrine,” “Nara Night,” “Nara Lanterns,” “Nara Snow” and “Nara Rain,” all of which were signed, titled and dated to 1984. The rest of Karhu’s works ranged in price from the $124 realized for “Ken,” a woodblock portrait of a Japanese man wearing a kimono, to $1,178 for “Synchrony I, II, III and IV,” a series of four prints depicting close ups of Japanese architecture.
Tremont’s next auction, Fine Art, Antiques & Asian Arts, will take place on March 30. Prices quoted include buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For information, 617-795-1678 or www.tremontauctions.com.
