Leading the sale at $1,216 was a redware jardinière by Clement Massier, which came with a matching pedestal; together they stood 40 inches tall ($100/800).
Review by Kiersten Busch
HATFIELD, MASS. — Kimballs Auction and Estate Services started November with its antiques auction on November 3, which offered 425 lots of jewelry, fine art, Italian faience, Midcentury Modern pottery, Staffordshire, books, ephemera, toys and more from a variety of regional estates.
Leading the sale was a Clement Massier redware jardinière and its matching pedestal, which sat pretty for $1,216. The jardinière itself, green in color, was decorated with a fleur de lis motif, while its pedestal contained what was most likely a griffin — a winged lion-like creature. With its pedestal, the work measured 40 inches tall.
Achieving the same price of $1,216 was a large bronze Tiffany Studios clock. The piece was decorated with Delftware panels on its face and sides, in the pottery form’s signature white and blue glaze. The clock was also marked “Tiffany & Co., New-York” and came with a set of clock keys; it measured 13½ inches tall.
Jewelry was popular with bidders, with much of what was offered sold in groups of two or more items per lot; some even came in tubs or buckets containing a large selection of costume rings, necklaces, bracelets and earrings. Three of the top six lots also came from the jewelry category. The second highest price of the sale went to an antique 14K gold bracelet from the Georgian period. The bracelet was set with six oval-shaped jade stones and had a clasp with the initials “MK” engraved on the back. The 37.5-gram bracelet was fitted around its new owner’s wrist for $832.
The second-highest price of the sale went to this 37.5-gram, 14K gold bracelet with six jade stones, which dated back to the Georgian period; it closed its latch at $832 ($100/800).
The tenth lot of the day was also jewelry, this time a set of two ring bands that earned $640. One band was thick and smoothed out, while the other had a strip of braided metal running through its center. Both were identified as 14K gold through markings engraved into their interiors. Collectively, they weighed 13.9 grams.
Other gold jewelry did well, with a 9K gold bangle bracelet heading to its new owner for the same price as the two gold bands: $640. Along with a few other unidentified markings, the bracelet was marked “375” and weighed 22.5 grams.
Fine art was led by a 1961 artist’s proof by Dutch painter Karel Appel, which earned $768 after 11 bids back and forth. The abstract mixed media work was matted and housed in a black frame, which brought its total measurements to 27½ by 27½. It was signed “Appel 61” and “epreuve d’artiste” (artist’s proof) in pencil in its lower righthand corner. Appel, according to Artnet.com, was born in Amsterdam and studied at the Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten; he took his inspiration for his figurative abstract works from a combination of children’s artwork and rejecting sophisticated and aesthetic tastes.
This artist’s proof of an abstract work by Karel Appel (Dutch, 1921-2006) was completed in 1961 and was signed and labeled in pencil on its bottom righthand corner; it earned $768 ($100/800).
Two Italian works of art and sculpture were among the highest prices of the sale, with a two-sided Italian giltwood shield flying to $544. The shield, painted gold, was carved with multiple sets of wings, which incased a portrait of an unidentified male icon in its center. The work measured 24 inches high and 22 inches wide.
A set of three Italian art pottery pieces also secured a $544 finish after 15 bids back and forth. The tallest of the three, a glazed yellow owl vase, had a label for Rosenthal Netter, an Italian potter, on its underside. The other two, a smiling lion and a round bird, were either unmarked, or not marked clearly enough for note in the auction catalog.
Three lots of assorted antique sewing tools crossed the block, with two earning the sixth and seventh highest totals of the sale, respectively. A group of 11 needle holders — including designs with a smiling moon, three dual-colored hearts, two figural scenes, a leaf, a portrait of a woman and child, a needlepoint bird and two abstract designs made from patterned fabric — earned $608. Sold directly after the needle holders for $576 was a lot of nine antique pincushions. Designs included a pincushion with a woman’s portrait, a box with “To The Loveliest” printed on its top, a decorative white square, a traditional tomato, a gray wreath with an American flag bow, a small fabric heart, a plaid duck, an American folk art-style heart and a stack of three rounded velvet shapes in different colors.
This group of 11 assorted antique needle holders sewed their way to $608 ($100/800).
Numismatics bidding in the sale had their pick from three separate lots of coin-related items, including two lots of Nineteenth Century coins and one coin bank. The set of coins containing a Columbian half dollar, along with various quarters, dimes and nickels led the category, cashing in at $512. The other set of coins, this one, including a few pennies as well, went for $128, while the Spinaround “Plan-It” coin bank spun to $64.
One of the most unique lots of the sale was a Number 92 edition of the Silver Age DC comic House of Secrets, which, according to DC’s website, featured the first appearance of Swamp Thing, and included contributions from writers and artists Len Wein, Bernie Wrightson and Jim Aparo, among others. The website also espoused that House of Secrets “[set] the groundwork for classic DC Universe horror stories for years to come;” this volume set the standard at $576.
Prices quoted include buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For information, www.kimballsauction.com or 413-549-8300.
