The top lot on the sale’s second day was a Latin American painting by Eligio Pichardo. “Abstract Figure,” signed lower right, sold for $28,800 to a buyer in the Dominican Republic, against all internet competition.
Review by W.A. Demers; Photos Courtesy Nye & Co
BLOOMFIELD, N.J. — Nye & Company Auctioneers conducted a two-day sale on June 14-15, featuring a selection of silver and jewelry, as well as a selection of fine art and prints. The Chic and Antique Estate Treasures auction featured around 800 lots and was conducted online. Said company founder and owner John Nye, “Most of the participation was online against some steady telephone bidding, particularly on Day 1.”
A mix of fine and decorative arts, Day 1 featured a variety of collectible categories but was strongest in sterling silver, gold jewelry and Midcentury Modern design. The day was led by a set of Tiffany & Co sterling silver Bamboo pattern flatware, which sold for $7,680. There were no monograms on the 1961 pattern set, which included a service for eight, two ladles, one cold fork/serving fork and one serving spoon.
A run of choice gold jewelry highlights on the first day included two yellow gold World Tour charm bracelets going out at $6,250. Unmarked, 10K and 14K, the bracelets had an approximate weight of 113.09 dwt.
A set of Tiffany & Company sterling silver Bamboo pattern flatware from 1961, service for eight, led the sale’s first day, selling for $7,680.
Someone liked a collection of 10K school and college rings that toted up $5,760. The lot was a mélange of rings, cufflinks and fragments, some unmarked, and the collection had an approximate weight of 138.33 dwt, including hardstones.
Fetching $5,440 was a French gold 20 franc Roosters coin bracelet. With a length of 7 inches, the bracelet contained six Republic Francis gold coins, dated from 1910 to 1914, each coin containing 1,867 ounces actual gold weight. The coins’ obverse featured a bust of France’s national symbol, Marianne, designed by J.C. Chaplain, and the reverse bore a rendition of “le coq gaulois,” the Gallic rooster, which is the unofficial symbol of France.
Vintage accessories buffs pushed a lot that included 14K yellow gold lighter to $3,750. It sold together with five 14K yellow gold band rings, a 14K money clip, three 14K tie clips, a 14K charm on a 14K bracelet, a pair of 18K gold cufflinks, one 14K cufflink and two gold bangles, one marked 12K.
A collection of 10K school and college rings, augmented by cufflinks and fragments, drew bidder interest and earned $5,760.
Evoking the refrain of “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” a lot comprising five 14K gold rings was bid to $3,125, and bringing the same amount were six pairs of 14K yellow gold earrings.
Furniture on Day 1 was led by two Mies van der Rohe for Knoll Barcelona chairs realizing $4,480.
Day 2 was dominated by fine art, especially a selection of Modern and contemporary works. Highlights included two Keith Haring (American, 1958-1990) chalk subway drawings featuring “Mother and Child” and “See no Evil” — representations of the graffiti art movement that would later lead to Haring’s rise as one of the most important Pop art artists in New York City. “See No Evil,” removed/rescued from the New York City subway by the consignor, a private New York collector, when he was an art student in the early 1980s, dated from about 1983-85. From the 77th Street subway station in Harlem, the 44-by-30-inch drawing with some tears and losses sold for $9,375. “Mother & Child,” similarly rescued from the 77th Street subway at Harlem, was bid to $7,500.
Keith Haring’s “Mother & Child,” similarly rescued from the 77th Street subway at Harlem, was bid to $7,500.
Top honors for the day went to a Latin American painting by Eligio Pichardo, (Dominican, 1929-1984), “Abstract Figure,” signed lower right. It sold for $28,800 to a buyer in the Dominican Republic, against all internet competition. Working in Santo Domingo and New York City, Pichardo produced Expressionist and Abstract Expressionist works. The second-highest-selling artwork on the second day was a work by the Indian artist Jamini Roy (1887-1972). In 1954 Roy was honored by the Indian government with the prestigious Padma Bhushan award. His artwork can be found in many private and public collections, including the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. The tempera on card painting in the auction was done circa 1920-30 and featured an image of a woman in a pink sari and left the gallery at $9,375. The consignor bought the painting more than 20 years ago at an estate sale from a woman whose mother or grandmother lived in Kolkata, formerly Calcutta, India. She acquired the painting there in the 1960s.
Two oils on board by Cecil C. Bell (American, 1906-1970) crossed the block in succession. One, titled “El Curve” and depicting a busy street scene beneath the elevated railway, was signed upper right and measured overall 30¼ by 38¼ inches. It found a buyer at $7,040. “Leaving the Slip,” an oil on board of a ferry powering away from a pier, was overall 30¼ by 38¼ inches and left the podium for $4,160. Bell was a Seattle, Wash., native who later moved to Staten Island, N.Y. New York City afforded him great inspiration and subject matter for his work, which largely portrayed the city and its people. If his work was similar to that of John Sloan, it’s because he studied at the Art Students League with the Ashcan School artist.
The Brooklyn Bridge loomed ghostly against the New York City skyline and crumbling wharf in an oil on canvas by Junius Allen. Signed lower right, the painting had a sketchbook attached to the back of it and commanded $3,125.
A Keith Haring marker drawing of a UFO, rendered in red and black marker on paper, signed and dated 1987, and spun out at $4,160. Attributed to Austrian artist Egon Schiele (1890-1918), a watercolor and pencil on paper of a reclining nude was signed and dated 1915 and teased out $3,438.
The Brooklyn Bridge loomed ghostly against the New York City skyline and crumbling wharf in an oil on canvas by Junius Allen (American, 1898-1962). Signed lower right, the painting had the sketchbook attached to the back of it and commanded $3,125.
Prices given include the buyer’s premium as stated by the auction house. “Our next Estate Treasures auction is July 26-27, ‘The Eye of the Decorator,’ featuring a single-owner New Jersey private collection and a large amount of modern Georgetti furniture, much of it brand new,” said Nye. For more information, www.nyeandcompany.com or 973-984-6900.
