Snatched up by a phone bidder for the sale-high price of $23,040 was this Tiffany Studios Nautilus table lamp with bronze tendril base, 14¾ inches tall ($5/7,000).
Review by Kiersten Busch
EAST DENNIS, MASS. — On May 7, Eldred’s saw 245 lots of art, furniture, decorative arts, rugs and various collectibles cross the block in the firm’s Modern Art + Design sale. “The sale total was $221,740, toward the top of the pre-sale estimate range. The sell-through rate was about 81 percent,” shared Cheryl Stewart, Eldred’s head of marketing.
She continued, “This was an online-only auction with live internet, phone and absentee bidding. There wasn’t an audience. There were 149 buyers and more than 250 registered bidders (these are people who bid with us on the phone or via absentee bid, plus successful online bidders).”
Owner Josh Eldred also commented on the sale, explaining, “We were very pleased with the results, especially on the two lamps and some of the artwork. Bidding was very active throughout the sale, reflecting the continued healthy marketplace for the right material.”
Speaking of the aforementioned lamps, earning more than three times its $5/7,000 estimate thanks to a phone bidder from New England was a Tiffany Studios Nautilus table lamp that earned the sale-high price of $23,040, whose bidding was “between a handful of phone bidders and online bidders,” according to Stewart. The 14¾-inch-tall lamp had a nautilus shell shade, bronze tendril base set with cabochons and was stamped to its base with the model number “#402.”
The “surprise of the sale” according to Cheryl Stewart was this reverse-painted glass table lamp by Handel, 18½ inches tall, which contained designs of a dragon, a green swirl pattern, yellow sun and geometric patterns. It was bid to $10,880 against a conservative $800-$1,200 estimate.
A Handel reverse-painted glass table lamp made in the early Twentieth Century in Meriden, Conn., was “The surprise of the sale,” explained Stewart. The 18½-inch-tall lamp, with a painted metal base in a coiled rope design and a shade with an elaborate dragon painted on its exterior, “Came from a local consignor and sold to an online bidder from Massachusetts. All competition was online — a very long bidding battle that started at $400 and climbed all the way to the final sale price!” Despite the shade and base being signed and numbered, Stewart “wasn’t able to find any other similar bases” but shared that an identical shade and base pair were sold at Cottone in 2014. “I don’t know for certain if this lamp is that one, but I’m guessing it may be.” Despite a conservative estimate of $800-$1,200, the lamp flicked on for $10,880, landing it within the top five prices of the sale.
Just about 100 works of art were offered in the sale, with Frank Stella’s “Aiolio” taking the lead, selling to a Florida collector bidding on LiveAuctioneers for $17,920, more than three times its $5,000 high estimate. The lithograph, screenprint, etching and aquatint printed in colors on TGL handmade paper was from the artist’s “Imaginary Places III” series, published in 1998 by Tyler Graphics, Ltd (Mount Kisco, N.Y.). It was signed and numbered “28/55.”
An abstract oil on canvas by Manabu Mabe realized more than seven times its $1/2,000 estimate, selling to a domestic online bidder for $14,080. Consigned by a New England collector, the work was signed and dated “Mabe 1961” to its lower left. “Competition was between phone and online bidders,” said Stewart. “This had a pretty conservative pre-sale estimate, and I think the sale price is in keeping with Mabe’s auction records.” She also noted that the painting had the most pre-sale bids of any work in the auction.
Manabu Mabe’s (Japanese Brazilian, 1924-1997) abstract oil on canvas, 1961, 23 by 27 inches framed, realized $14,080 thanks to a domestic online bidder ($1/2,000).
Additional works of art that performed well included “Figure Drawing 2,” a 1954 charcoal on paper work by Haynes Ownby ($5,760); “Chicago Jazz,” an oil on board by Puerto Rican-American artist Frank Diaz Escalet ($4,800); an untitled Modernist still life by contemporary Vietnamese artist Dang Xuan Hoa ($4,480); and “Tonal Poem,” an oil on canvas board work by Charles Green Shaw, which was countersigned and dated “1952” on the work’s reverse ($3,200).
Sculpture was led by “Dancing Lady,” a polished bronze by David Hostetler, which surpassed its $3/5,000 estimate at $6,400. The 36-inch-tall, 78.5-pound statue was signed “David Hostetler AP #1” to its base. Also surpassing estimates was a carved stone reclining female nude by Robert Laurent, which was stamped “Michael Oster Fine Art Madison Avenue New York” to its base and earned $1,280 ($600/900).
Several pieces of furniture earned high prices, such as a black leather and white oak lounge chair and ottoman by Charles and Ray Eames for Herman Miller, which bested the category at $4,480. The standard size chair and ottoman contained Herman Miller labels on their undersides. Chairs continued to be popular, with a set of six Hans J. Wegner CH23 side chairs selling above estimate for $2,816 ($1/2,000). Each chair was made from teak and had woven seats; they were also stamped and labeled on their undersides.
Straying away from chairs, a Brigham desk by Ralph Lauren earned the highest price for a table or desk at $2,688. The desk had a figured wooden top, most likely made of mahogany, and polished chrome sawhorse legs.
This Ralph Lauren Brigham desk, figured wood top, polished chrome sawhorse legs, 30¾ inches tall by 84 inches wide by 38 inches deep, set up for $2,688 ($1/1,500).
Sterling silver, still a staple in auctions due to its high value, appeared in the form of a “Space Elephant” plate designed by Salvador Dalí. Featuring an engraving of an abstract elephant-like creature, the 13¾-inch in diameter silver plate was numbered “32/1000” and stamped “925” to its reverse.
Just over 25 lots of fountain pens and fountain pen-related items found new homes during the sale, ranging in price from $90 for a lot containing the books Fountain Pens and Pencils: The Golden Age of Writing Instruments by George Fischler and Stuart Schneider and Fountain Pens of the World by Andreas Lambrou, to $3,712 for a limited edition Lorenzo de Medici fountain pen by Montblanc, in its display case. The latter, which honored the prominent patron of the Italian Renaissance, was the debut model in Montblanc’s Patron of Art series. The pen was an octagonal sterling silver mode with a medium 18K two-tone gold nib. It was initialed “HP” by the artist and was edition 3,010 of 4,810.
To conclude, Stewart shared, “Modern Art + Design is still a relatively new sales category for us, and we’re happy to see how much it has grown in just a few years. This sale had a nicely curated selection of pieces stretching from the turn of the Twentieth Century to today, and we are encouraged by how enthusiastically our clients embraced the variety and the spectrum of styles and mediums.”
Eldred’s will have its Fine & Decorative Art auction on June 11, followed by its Cape Cod Museum of Art Fundraiser Auction on June 19.
Prices quoted include buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For information, 508-385-3116 or www.eldreds.com.
