This “Regatta Red” convertible Amphicar from the 1960s with a rear-mounted Triumph Herald four-cylinder 1147cc engine, was restored about 15 years ago but still needs a lot of work. It sold to an internet bidder for $23,940 ($30/50,000).
Review by Carly Timpson; Photos Courtesy Merrill’s Auctioneers
WILLISTON, VT. — Merrill’s Auctioneers and Appraisers’ December 13 decorative arts, advertising and toys auction offered more than 550 lots and resulted in a 96 percent sell-through rate. Among the offered lots were automobiles, porcelain, paintings, flatware, lamps, jewelry, timepieces, collectibles, rugs and furniture.
The standout performance of the day was that of a set of three Meissen porcelain vases which smashed their $200 high estimate to finish at $5,355. The lot included a pair of rich cobalt blue bud vases with hand-painted classical female figures and a white Chinese export-style vase with phoenix decorations and a silver banded rim. The two blue vases were 7½ inches tall and the white one was 5 inches tall. Merrill’s auctioneer Adam Demasi shared that the company’s experts had difficulty finding comparisons for the two cobalt vases and their rarity likely added to the draw of this lot.
The top lot of the sale was a 1960s Amphicar, designed to travel on land and in water. Originally sold in only four colors, this one was painted “Regatta Red” and had a rear-mounted Triumph Herald 1147cc four-cylinder engine. Though the car was fully restored about 15 years ago, it was left neglected in a barn ever since and will need another restoration. Its poor condition didn’t put a damper on interest, and it rolled off to an excited private buyer in Massachusetts for $23,940. Demasi commented that even though it was sold online, the buyer has already taken the car home to begin working on its restoration.
These Meissen porcelain vases sold well above their estimated $100/200 to realize $5,355. The cobalt blue vases measure 7½ inches tall and 3 inches in diameter. The white vase is 5 inches tall and 7 inches wide.
Finishing right behind the Amphicar was another automobile. This one, slightly more practical, was a 2015 Chrysler Town & Country minivan, equipped with a BraunAbility Handicap Access Ramp package. With only about 37,700 miles, the lucky buyer won the van for a respectable used-car price of $12,980.
Edward Hill’s (American, 1843-1923) circa 1880 “Forest Stream” oil painting achieved $6,300 and finished as the third highest lot of the sale. Coming from the estate of a locally well-known art collector, Dr Richard Morrison of Essex Junction, Vt., the painting shows dense, green and brown forest trees with a stream reflecting the same colors. In this work, Hill captures the stillness of the forest, carefully accented by the white crest as the water passes over mossy rocks.
Another painting that shows the juxtaposition between water and stillness is “Star Island, Isles of Shoals” by Warren Sheppard (American, 1858-1937). Sheppard’s painting depicts the whitecaps of waves crashing against large rocks in the foreground with a sailboat in the background. It slightly exceeded its estimate to sell for $4,095.
“Star Island, Isles of Shoals” by Warren Sheppard, oil on canvas, 30 by 26 inches framed, earned $4,095 ($2/4,000).
More works from Morrison’s estate were a pair of Meissen porcelain figurines by Johann Friedrich Eberlein (German, 1695-1749) titled “Taste” and “Smell” that would seem unusual if separate. The two come from Eberlein’s “Set of Senses” and each depicts a central female figure, a cherub and an animal to embody the sense they are said to represent. These Nineteenth Century figurines, measuring 7 by 10½ inches, sold together for $3,780.
Hermann David Salomon Corrodi’s (Italian, 1844-1905) oil on board painting, “A Balcony in Venice,” sold to a New York dealer for $2,898. The central figure in the work, a woman in a red dress, stands on a balcony above still water, surrounded by flowering green plants and friendly birds.
Housed in a cherry storage chest, a 141-piece set of Wallace “Grand Colonial” sterling silver flatware sold to an in-house bidder for $2,242. The set includes all the standard dining essentials plus several specialty pieces such as a lemon fork, a punch ladle and bowl, an olive fork, a cake server and a bon bon scoop.
All prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. Merrill’s will be conducting an auction of sporting, military and historical items in January. For information, www.merrillsauction.com or 802-878-2625.
