Leading the sale was this vintage Goyard steamer trunk. Beneath its flip-top lid is a toiletry compartment and a hinged door opens to reveal five pull-out drawers. Measuring 40 by 21¼ inches, the trunk earned $15,990 ($8/10,000).
Review by Carly Timpson; Photos Courtesy Nest Egg Auctions
PLANTSVILLE, CONN. — Nest Egg Auctions closed out 2023 and welcomed the new year with its annual Gala New Year’s Auction conducted on December 30. The sale consisted of 312 offerings, including fine and decorative arts, furniture, jewelry, timepieces, ethnographic objects and collectibles. Nest Egg bidders took a liking to jewelry, as seven of the top 10 lots came from this category. Overall, the sale saw participation from 2,231 bidders, garnered a 95 percent sell-through rate and realized $233,000. Nest Egg owner and auctioneer, Ryan Brechlin shared, “It was an excellent way to end the year. We’re always so happy to have our longtime consignors work with us to put this annual auction together. It’s always nice to see our regular buyers in person, raising their bid cards with a smile.”
The leading lot of the sale was an early Twentieth Century Goyard steamer trunk. Configured with a toiletry tray and five pull-out drawers, the trunk scored well above its estimate, achieving $15,990. “The Goyard trunk sold for an incredible price, to an international buyer. We’re very happy with the result,” noted Brechlin The flip-top cover, hinged door and sides of the trunk are finished with the famous Goyard chevron-patterned canvas. This particular style with fitted drawers is hard to come by and may have been custom-made for its original owner whose identifying initial stamps had been painted over.
The seven lots following the steamer trunk were all jewelry or watches. The top in the category, a pair of Art Deco Egyptian-revival 22K gold wrap bracelets, snuck off to a buyer for $5,842 against an estimated $8/12,000. The two bracelets in the form of snakes, with rose-cut diamonds on the heads and tails, each have vibrant red ruby eyes and highly detailed scales etched along the bodies. The serpentine bracelets feature hallmarks, including a gold purity mark likely from Cairo, Egypt, and another that is a date mark for 1938-40.
One of two circa 1938-40 Egyptian-revival serpent wrap bracelets. The 22K gold bracelets, decorated with diamonds and two ruby eyes, made $5,842 ($8/12,000).
Just behind the snake bracelets and selling within its estimated range was a gold necklace-bracelet combination. The combination set can either be worn together as a 24-inch necklace or as two pieces — an 8-inch bracelet and a 16-inch necklace. Hallmarks indicate that the 18K gold jewelry piece was likely made in Italy. The thick chain, featuring oval female cameos, was bought for $5,535 ($4/6,000).
Another 18K gold piece, this one a cuff bracelet made by Anton Frühauf, realized $4,920 ($3/5,000). The gold bracelet was decorated with turquoise enamel and raised gold accents which could be said to resemble islands in water or, more abstractly, colored tree bark. Frühauf was an Austrian/Italian jewelry designer, cartoonist and painter. According to Hofer Antikschmuck, “As a goldsmith, Frühauf saw himself as an artist who wanted to produce wearable works of art… Frühauf became an influential master of his craft beginning in the 1950s… Frühauf’s goldsmith work is characterized by a vivid surface, highlighted by gemstones or enameling. He drew inspiration from nature, people and the environment. He used abstracted leaves and tree bark in the form of rings and pendants, along with archaic-looking pieces of jewelry with depictions reminiscent of geometric-abstract sculptures and paintings.”
Finishing for $4,612 was a gold chain necklace with a tetradrachm coin pendant. The coin features the profile of Alexander the Great as Herakles on the front, while the reverse depicts Zeus seated on a backless throne and holding an eagle in his extended right hand. The presumed replica coin is encased in a gold frame, studded with three diamonds and a large emerald. The regal pendant is displayed on a custom 18-inch double-chain necklace.
An 18-inch gold double-chain necklace with a tetradrachm coin pendant featuring the profile of Alexander the Great, studded with three diamonds and a large emerald, earned $4,612 ($4/6,000).
Shying away from its estimated $5/10,000 was an antique white gold and silver necklace with more than 100 old European and rose-cut diamonds. This sparkling floral necklace, which features repeating patterns of double-leaf shapes with small diamonds and larger round diamonds, is thought to be from the late Nineteenth or early Twentieth Century. While its realized price of $4,612 may not be what the sellers had hoped, the buyer got lucky as only a few of the smallest stones near the clasp were missing.
Another white gold necklace, this one had a vivid orange citrine pendant on a thick oval link chain. The citrine stone is encased in a diamond-studded embellished pendant. Each of the chain’s links shines with small diamonds, amounting to 5 CTW in total throughout the necklace. Hallmarked “HC,” Nest Egg identified the 16-inch-long necklace as being by Hans Cullman. It sold comfortably within its estimated window, achieving $4,305 ($3/6,000).
The top timepiece of the sale was a 1930s Rolex Oyster Perpetual wristwatch. This classic waterproof Rolex model is often referred to as a “Bubbleback” due to its rounded and protruding case back. The watch features Roman numeral indices, blued sword hands, a second’s chronograph and an expanding riveted Rolex Oyster bracelet. The vintage watch showed signs of age but still earned $4,612 ($2/4,000).
The Series 1943 $1,000 Federal Reserve Note has a portrait of Grover Cleveland on the face and cashed out at $4,305 ($2/3,000).
Numismatists, or collectors of currency, also had their fair share of desirable lots to bid on. The top finisher in this category was a rare $1,000 Federal Reserve Note — a denomination primarily used to transfer money between banks. The Series 1943, as this one was, has a portrait of Grover Cleveland on the face and, on the rear, a relatively plain decorative geometric border surrounding the text that reads “The United States of America” and “one thousand dollars.” As these bills were not designed for public use, it was rare for a common citizen to get a hold of one. In 1945, due to the increasing favorability of electronic transactions, production of these notes was terminated and Federal Reserve Banks began to destroy those received. Rated in very fine condition, this alluring banknote cashed out for $4,305 ($2/3,000).
For those interested in currency and luxury goods, an 18K gold lady’s Corum watch offered the best of both worlds. The dial and case back of this watch is a “Liberty Head” series five-dollar gold coin from 1900. The dial shows the coin’s reverse, a half-eagle design, and the case back displays an unobstructed view of the coin’s titular face. Situated in the center of the coin, above the date and surrounded by 13 stars, the female profile is depicted wearing a coronet incised “Liberty.” Other notable details of the quartz-movement watch include a diamond-faceted crown, a gold mesh bracelet and an “America’s Cup” engraved clasp. The watch found a buyer at $2,952 ($1,5/2,500).
A lady’s Omega Constellation watch also made its mark, selling to an online buyer for $3,690 ($1,5/3,500). Encased in 18K yellow gold and with a fluted bezel crystal, the watch has a gold dial and stick markers. Barring the minimal nicks and rubs expected from gentle wear, it was a “superb and hard-to-find watch in ready-to-wear condition.”
An online buyer took home this 18K yellow gold lady’s Omega Constellation watch and original Omega bracelet for $3,690 ($1,5/3,500).
An impressive collection of Civil War medals, ribbons and ephemera piqued the interest of an online bidder who took the lot home for $2,952. The more than 330 items in the collection were primarily from Connecticut-based units and organizations. Most of the items were organized in binders or display cases, but some were offered in unsorted bins. Despite the expected variance due to the size of the collection, the lot as a whole was well-kept and in good condition.
One of the most surprising results of the auction was the $3,567 realized for an unidentified wood-carved sculpture that Nest Egg cataloged as “Charity.” Aptly named, the sculpture depicts a destitute male figure sitting at the bottom of stairs reaching up towards a woman who is descending to make an offering. A metal stamp on the sculpture’s base has unknown maker’s marks but depicts an outline of Italy. At 28 inches wide and 26 inches tall, the deep wood carving weighed 35 pounds.
Two paintings also saw positive results. The first, reaching the high end of its estimate, was an oil painting of mountain laurel by Rhode Island/Connecticut artist Robert H. Nisbet. Crossing the block for $2,952, the painting was in a wooden gilt frame that measured 35 by 30 inches ($1/3,000). The other was also an oil painting by a Connecticut artist. Signed “NA Moore 1868,” the waterfront landscape by Nelson Augustus Moore earned $2,583 ($1/2,000).
Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. Nest Egg Auctions’ Nineteenth & Twentieth Century Art & Design auction will be March 27. For information, www.nesteggauctions.com.
