The top lot of day two, and the sale as a whole, was this Fabergé silver-gilt and guilloché enamel desk clock, 4½ inches in diameter, which bore the mark of St Petersburg workmaster Mikhail Perkhin; it ticked far past its $15/25,000 estimate, chiming for $143,750.
Review by Kiersten Busch
BEVERLY, MASS. — Two days and more than 1,000 lots made up Kaminski Auctions’ April Estates Auction, conducted April 18-19. Day one of the sale highlighted property from the historic Second Congregational Church of Beverly, Mass., while day two’s featured collection was that of the late Thomas Nicholson (Palm Beach, Fla., and Stratham, N.H).
The first day was led by several lots of silver, still popular in auctions due to its value. The highest price, $52,500, went to a 1797 silver ribbed flagon stamped “Revere,” for Paul Revere, to the right of the handle under its lip. The 9-inch-tall flagon weighed approximately 20.9 troy ounces and was consigned from the Second Congregational Church of Beverly. It was followed in price at $16,125 by a 1760 sterling flagon with a round, tapered base stamped “SM” for maker Samuel Minott which was also inscribed “The Second Church in Beverly 1760” on its bottom. Also earning attention was a silver tankard inscribed “Bequeathed to the second Church of Christ in Beverly by Josiah Batchelder Esquire who died Decem. 10, 1809,” which poured out for $11,125, the third-highest price of the day.
Sterling silver also made an appearance in the form of a 119-piece International flatware set in the Rhapsody pattern, which weighed approximately 120 troy ounces and was consigned from a Palm Beach, Fla., estate. It surpassed its $3/5,000 estimate, realizing $7,125.
Setting the table for $7,125 was this 119-piece sterling silver flatware service by International in the Rhapsody pattern, approximately 120 troy ounces, which outperformed its $3/5,000 estimate.
Circling back to property consigned from the Second Congregational Church, two sets of Schulmerich handbells with bell tables sold in quick succession, earning $5,000 and $3,750, respectively. The first set contained octaves one to three, while the second had octave four.
Just under 50 lots of Chinese export material crossed the block on day one, led by a Chinese blue-and-white bowl on a stand from a Palm Beach estate. The bowl was 14 inches in diameter and was bid to $3,750 against a conservative $400/600 estimate.
“Le Chien de Beatriz,” an oil on canvas work by contemporary Bolivian artist Graciela Rodo Boulanger, led fine art at $2,625. Consigned from a Lexington, Mass., collection, the work, depicting a young girl holding her dog, was signed and dated “1983” lower right and far surpassed its $500/700 estimate. Boulanger was represented by one additional painting, “Movement Largo,” an oil on board dated “1990” which contained a personal inscription on its reverse. With provenance to the same collection as “Le Chien de Beatriz,” this work also sold above estimate for $2,250.
Barking for $2,625 was “Le Chien de Beatriz” by Graciela Rodo Boulanger (Bolivian, b 1935), 1983, oil on canvas, 30 by 26¼ inches ($500/700).
The top lot, sold on day two from the Nicholson collection, was a Fabergé silver-gilt and guilloché enamel desk clock bearing the mark of St Petersburg workmaster Mikhail Perkhin, best known for his oversight of the Imperial Easter Eggs. The clock, which measured 4½ inches in diameter, had a circular face was surrounded by a yellow border and four additional circular designs. It far surpassed its $15/25,000 expectations, ticking to the high price of $143,750.
Chinese export material was also popular on day two, with a Qing dynasty jade seated Guanyin or Bodhisattva figure also consigned from the Nicholson collection earning the second highest price of the sale at $88,750. Another Qing dynasty treasure, a bronze Buddha with a clay core and remnants of gilt, sold far above its $2/3,000 estimate at $13,750.
Just under ten lots of Tiffany wares — from lamps to bowls to picture frames and more — crossed the block within or above estimate, ranging in price from $594 for six pieces of Tiffany & Company sterling to $45,000 for a Tiffany Studios lamp base in the pineapple with four leaf legs design. The base, signed “Tiffany New York” on its bottom, was paired with a Tiffany-style gold iridescent pulled feather shade.
Inscribed “Katherine Sumner from Uncle James and Aunt Jenny, June 1881” and designed by Edward Chandler Moore, this Tiffany & Company sterling silver Japonisme center bowl, 15¾ inches in diameter, was bid past its $10/20,000 estimate to make $40,000.
Also selling among the top prices of the day was a Tiffany sterling Japonisme center bowl designed by Edward Chandler Moore, which doubled its $20,000 high estimate, making $40,000. The bowl had a mixed metal hammered face with vermeil bee, dragonfly and naturalistic plant decorations. It was inscribed “Katherine Sumner from Uncle James and Aunt Jenny, June 1881”; Sumner was the wife of Baron Charles Lawrence of Kingsgate, England, and the niece of Jenny and James W. Gerard, Jr, a New York Democratic party politician and lawyer.
Furniture was led by a pair of Georgian yellow marble-topped console tables with carved upright wooden eagles as their bases. Also from the Nicholson estate, the pair flew past their $10/15,000 estimate to perch at $22,500. Following at $5,313 was a vintage Roche Bobois four-piece sectional sofa and ottoman in blue velvet which came with all of its original labels.
Emile Albert Gruppé’s “Gray Day Gloucester Harbor” led fine art selections at $17,500. The oil on canvas was signed lower right and had provenance to a Newburyport, Mass., collection. Also selling well was “Mao” a print of Mao Zedong after Andy Warhol ($9,375) and “Blizzard on 5th Ave,” an oil on board by Guy Wiggins consigned from a London estate ($5,938).
Kaminski’s May Estates Auction will take place May 16-17. Prices quoted include buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For information, 978-927-2223 or www.kaminskiauctions.com
