One of the major pieces of furniture in the sale was this serpentine chest of drawers, property from an American private collector, Massachusetts, circa 1760‱780, measuring 32¾ inches high, 34 inches wide and 20¾ inches deep. It is of figured crotch mahogany with boldly carved ball and claw feet and spur returns. Bidding opened at $40,000, against a $50/80,000 estimate, and it sold to a phone bidder for $117,800 with the buyer’s premium.

A selection of 291 objects of furniture, folk art, paintings and decorative arts was sold by Keno Auctions on Tuesday, January 22, and it was a “solid success,” according to Leigh Keno, president and owner of the firm. “We had a few disappointments, but in the end the sale totaled $2.3 million and was 86 percent sold to 164 buyers,” Leigh said. He added the final tally fell right in between the presale high/low estimate.

Two of the movers in the sale are pictured here and a complete review of the auction will be in a forthcoming issue of Antiques and The Arts Weekly.

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It did not appear as if much attention was given to six carved wood and painted Alice in Wonderland figures that were placed in a semicircle on a table in the exhibition area. The tallest figure measured 17½ inches and included the Mad Hatter, Frog Footman, the March Hare, White Rabbit and, of course, Alice. The figures were American, circa 1900, signed Augustes Davies (1867‱951), and carried an estimate of $5/8,000. When the carvings came up, interest grew rapidly and paddles flew in the air, phone bids were taken, and they finished at $39,680 with premium.