$22,230 was the highest price of the sale, awarded to this carved bone and marble chess set, 14¾ inches wide, which sold to a European phone bidder ($200/300).
Review by Kiersten Busch
WOODBURY, CONN. — Schwenke Auctioneers closed out its 2025 season with the firm’s November Fine Estates Auction, conducted on the 18th of the month. Just in time to secure unique gifts for the holiday season, the sale offered 343 lots consigned by estates and collectors from Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island.
The top lot was a carved bone and marble chess set, which far surpassed its $200/300 estimate thanks to a European phone bidder, who paid $22,320. The 14¾-inch-wide board came with a seemingly assembled set of red and white pieces.
A selection of jewelry earned high prices, led by a 17¼-inch-long green and 18K yellow gold necklace and bracelet set designed by David Webb. Both pieces consisted of a thick rope chain and lion’s mane clasps; the necklace was signed, while the bracelet was not. Just surpassing the low end of its $10/12,000 estimate, the set was secured for $10,625 by an internet bidder.
An 18K gold and diamond spray brooch was pinned down by another internet bidder for $8,750, more than doubling its $3/3,500 estimate. The en tremblant brooch contained approximately 1.65 carats of flat-back rose-cut diamonds and was signed with a French eagle head mark, which, according to catalog notes, “indicates a minimum of 750 (18K) gold.” A unique feature of the brooch was that it was able to be re-configured into three separate pieces for versatile use; the upper spray pulled away from the lower spray.
More than doubling its $3/3,500 estimate was this 18K gold and diamond spray brooch in the en tremblant style, 3¾ inches high, which sold to an internet bidder for $8,750.
Internet bidders continued to succeed in the jewelry category, as another internet bidder took home an Art Deco platinum, diamond and sapphire ring for $5,938 ($1,8/2,000). The ring was bezel-set with two 1-carat diamond-shaped diamons mounted on either side of a penel with 12 invisible-set synthetic sapphires.
A pair of 14K gold and diamond hoop earrings with a wavy design ($2,032); a Victorian 14K solid gold slide bracelet with engraved details, thin enamel work and a seed pearl center ($1,905); a 14K yellow gold bracelet with a double curb link signed “Indaerre Italy” ($1,651) and a Victorian 13K and 18K gold slide necklace with a tri-color pendant ($1,651) also found new homes.
Around 30 lots of oil on canvas paintings crossed the block. Garnering the most attention was “Portrait of Lady With A Fan” by Margaret Lindsay Williams, a prominent portrait painter in early Twentieth Century England. The full-length oil portrait was dated to 1931 and depicted a seated lady in a silk gown with a fan and a single white carnation at her feet. The work had previous provenance to The Perfect Touch in Chicago and was consigned from a Connecticut estate. It changed hands to an internet bidder for $10,000.
“Portrait of Lady With A Fan” by Margaret Lindsay Williams (British, 1888-1960), 1931, oil on canvas, 71 by 52¾ inches framed, sat pretty for $10,000, thanks to an internet bidder ($3/4,000).
Additional oil paintings that performed well included “Capriccio Landscape,” an “evocative fantasy riverscape” possibly of Rome or Carthage by an artist in the circle of J.M.W. Turner ($3,810); a portrait of Mary Churchill in the manner of Jonathan Richardson ($3,302); a portrait of Jonathan Churchill in the manner of Sir Godfrey Kneller ($2,159) and “The Omen,” a painting depicting a knight and a genie by Robert Ronald McIan (Scottish, 1803-1856) ($1,778).
Furniture was led at $4,128 by a pair of Regency carved and inlaid mahogany octagonal form cellarettes with sarcophagus lids, fitted interiors and carved paw feet. More Regency furniture made noise, such as a carved mahogany dining table with a “rare” accordion extension mechanism, which folded up for $3,429. The table had three original leaves, enabling it to stretch from 68 inches long to 144 inches long when fully extended. Also Regency-era and made of carved mahogany were a pair of caned curule-base stools with saddle-form seats. The stools’ intersecting curule-style bases had inset molded legs with applied roundels and button feet. The pair shot past their $700/900 estimate to achieve $1,905.
A partial Gorham flatware service in the Chantilly pattern headed the selection of sterling silver flatware at $2,413, just eclipsing its $1,9/2,000 estimate. Comprising 71 pieces, the set weighed approximately 65 troy ounces. Two additional partial Gorham sets followed after — a 49-piece example in the Norfolk-Villa pattern ($1,651) and a 29-piece example in the Buckingham pattern ($889).
With “distinctive and unusual” molded glass panels, this Tiffany Studios Acorn leaded glass lamp shade, 14 inches in diameter, attracted bidder attention, earning $4,128 ($5/6,000).
Other notable lots included a Tiffany Studios Acorn leaded glass lamp shade, which lit up for $4,128. The 14-inch-in-diameter shade had a vine border and “distinctive and unusual” molded glass panels, according to catalog notes.
A Chinese scroll painting on silk measured 67 by 23 inches in its frame and was signed with chop marks. Despite some toning and creasing, the work — which depicted two birds on a flowering tree branch — far surpassed its $300/400 estimate to make $1,397.
Also exceeding expectations was a Māori wahaika or patu (traditional combat club), which more than doubled its $400/600 estimate, selling for $1,397. The weapon was intricately carved, including a hei tiki figure (ornamental pendant), and had a rope-wrapped handle.
Schwenke’s February Fine Estates Auction will take place on February 17. Prices quoted include buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For information, 203-266-0323 or www.woodburyauction.com.
