Antonin Mercie’s “Gloria Victis,” 42 inches tall, brought the highest price of the sale and sold to an online bidder for $18,750 ($2/4,000).
Review by Madelia Hickman Ring, Photos Courtesy Carlsen Gallery
FREEHOLD, N.Y. – Carlsen Gallery’s June 5 Live Estate Sale offered 368 lots of varied general estate property; more than 97 percent sold with a sale total of about $350,000. Noted collections included the Goshen, N.Y., estate of Nino and Mary Novellino, who provided sculptures, props and set pieces for Broadway, movie and television productions. Speaking after the sale, Russ Carlsen said the estate contributed significantly to the sale, “more than 100 lots.” Additionally, he noted that he thought “the sale was full of surprises, with a number of things far exceeding their high estimates.”
The top lot in the sale checked both boxes, meaning that it was from the Novellino estate and one that surpassed expectations. Achieving $18,750 was a 42-inch-tall bronze titled “Gloria Victis” by Antonin Mercie (French, 1845-1911). Estimated at $2/4,000, the dramatic winged figural group inspired competitive bidding and it ultimately sold to an online bidder.
A 67-inch-tall Duffner & Kimberly bronze floor lamp with stained glass shade with an unsigned base achieved the second highest price of the day: $15,600 from a buyer in the Midwest. It was not from the Novellino estate but rather from what Carlsen described as a “mountain top collector.”
These two Meissen figurines were from the Novellino estate. They found a new home in California, with a buyer who took them to $7,200 ($1/3,000).
Rounding out the top three prices at $15,600 was a Nineteenth Century gilded bronze figural clock that depicted Poseidon flanked by mermaids. Measuring 30 by 30 inches, the clock was from the Novellino estate and sold to a buyer in Poland, well ahead of its $2/4,000 estimate.
Nearly all of the bisque and bronze sculptural works were from the Novellino estate, including a 29-inch bronze by Adolphe Itasse (French, 1830-1893). Titled “The Winning Love,” it was based on a painting by William Adolphe Bouguereau (French / Italian, 1825-1905) and stood on a 42-inch-tall composition pedestal. Estimated at $3/5,000, it rose to $7,800 from a buyer in New York City. A pair of nearly life-size maiden statues, signed Albert-Ernest De Carrier-Belleuse (French, 1824-1887), also sold to a buyer from New York, for $6,600.
Other works from Novellino that performed notably was a group of two large Meissen figurines, each about 21 inches tall, that sold to a buyer in California for $7,200 and an Eighteenth or Nineteenth Century articulated life-size Santos cage doll mannequin realized $3,900.
A longtime collector of Carlsen’s consigned this Nineteenth Century Gilman Joslin floor globe with an estimate of $500-$1,500. It spun to $6,600.
Carlsen said he was happily surprised with the results for two terrestrial globes, both of which came to sale from a longtime collector in New Jersey. The Nineteenth Century floor model example by Gilman Joslin of Boston made $6,600, while the other, a table top “Lorinos” globe made $3,000. One sold to a buyer in Albany, N.Y., the other sold to a buyer in the Carolinas.
Auctions at Carlsen Gallery usually include American furniture and this sale was no exception. An Eighteenth Century tall case clock by David Wood of Newburyport, Mass., sold to a Maine collector for $6,900. It was the only thing Carlsen got from the sellers, two twenty-somethings in the military who had inherited it from their uncle, a collector. At $6,000, a figured mahogany slant-lid desk with an interior decorated with three shells and attributed to the Goddard-Townsend cabinetmakers of Newport, R.I., circa 1770, might be considered a good deal considering expectations were between $5/10,000. Also from Rhode Island, a diminutive inlaid Hepplewhite sideboard found a ready home with a trade buyer for $6,000.
Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house.
Carlsen Gallery’s next catalog sale will take place in September.
For more information, 518-634-2466, info@carlsengallery.com or www.carlsengallery.com.
