Commissioned by Howard and Eunice Gelb, this five-piece silver tea and coffee service by Ubaldo Vitali was a replica of Vitali’s service for the Newark Museum’s 75th anniversary; this example was titled “Newark Museum Anniversary Set #1” and was won by a phone bidder for $45,000, the highest price of the sale ($50/70,000).
Review by Kiersten Busch
DALLAS — Heritage Auctions conducted its Fine Silver & Objects of Vertu Signature Auction on November 13, offering 281 lots from six different prominent collections across the US, including the Ruth Nelkin collection, the estate of Toni Chapman Brinker and the collection of Leah Gordon, among others. In total, the sale earned $1,192,930.
Leading the sale was a five-piece silver tea and coffee service, including a tray, by Ubaldo Vitali, which served up a $45,000 finish. The 1985 set weighed a collective 371.73 troy ounces, was marked “U.Vitali, Sterling” and had an inscription that read “Newark Museum Anniversary Set #1.” According to catalog notes, Vitali was initially commissioned by the Newark Museum’s curator, Ulysses G. Dietz, to “create a silver tea set that reflected the museum’s forward-looking ethos and Vitali’s concept of ‘functional sculpture’” for the museum’s 75th anniversary. This lot, however, was the second set made by request of Howard and Eunice Gelb, who attended the 75th anniversary event. According to the auction catalog, “the only significant difference between two sets is the tray: the original, in the Newark Museum’s collection, has a black synthetic bottom, while this later example is made entirely of silver, adding even more reflective surfaces.”
Made by J.C. Moore & Son for Tiffany & Co., circa 1870, this silver water pitcher depicted the marriage of Poseidon and Amphitrite. Collectively, it weighed 64.75 troy ounces and was monogrammed “CAB;” it swam to $42,500.
Fans of Classical Greek motifs could appreciate a J.C. Moore and Son silver water pitcher depicting the marriage of Poseidon, Greek god of the sea, and the Nereid Amphitrite, which earned the second highest price of the sale. Made for Tiffany & Co., the pitcher was modeled in New York circa 1870 and had both a French import mark and one reading “Tiffany & Co., 2339, M, Quality 925-1000, M, Union Square;” it was also monogrammed with the initials “CAB.” Weighing 64.75 troy ounces, the Classical pitcher swam to $42,500.
Leading flatware, and earning the third-highest price of the sale, was a 234-piece, acid-etched silver flatware service for 12 from Tiffany & Co. In the Lap-Over-Edge pattern, the service was designed in New York in 1880, and contained “M, Tiffany & Co. Sterling, Pat 1880” marks to the longest pieces. The lot was designed with various flora and fauna motifs in mind, including seaweed, spiders, lily of the valley, gooseberries, apples, dragonflies and many others. There were a few unique pieces included in the lot, such as a gumbo spoon, grapefruit and egg spoons, a poached egg server, a leaf-form pastry server, a lobster pick and a letter opener etched with frogs. The service set the table for $37,500.
Flatware was led by a 234-piece acid-etched silver flatware service for 12 from Tiffany & Co., in the Lap-Over-Edge pattern. Designed in 1880, the weighable silver was 318.39 troy ounces total and set the table for $37,500, the third highest price of the sale ($30/40,000).
Hailing from Yokohama, Japan, was a six-piece Arthur & Bond silver dragon-form tea and coffee set, which flew to $27,500. Made in the Twentieth Century, the set contained a teapot, a water kettle, a coffee pot, a creamer, a covered sugar bowl and a waste bowl. The tallest item of the set, the teapot, was marked “Arthur & Bond, Yokohama, Sterling.”
Prices quoted include buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For information, 214-528-3500 or www.ha.com.
