Tying for top-lot status was this Reed & Barton Spanish Baroque sterling flatware set, 120 troy ounces, that attained $8,750.
Review by Andrea Valluzzo
BEACON. N.Y. — It’s little surprise to those following the market that gold and silver prices have been red hot of late, with 2025 going down in history as one of the best for precious metals in decades.
While some people may be buying at auctions as speculators, seeking out items based on the value of the metal, others are instead seeking out silver and gold objects for their intrinsic and aesthetic value. Whatever their intent, buyers were hot for two sterling silver flatware sets that tied for top-lot status at Hudson Valley Auctioneers.
Crossing the block a few hours into the sale was a large Wedgwood flatware service by International Sterling in its original case, that buyers drove to $8,750. The set comprised 24 dinner forks and knives, 12 lunch forks, 22 small spoons, 12 small soup spoons, 12 cocktail forks, 11 large soup spoons, 11 butter knives, 12 teaspoons, four small knives, two large spoons and three serving pieces.
A few minutes later, a Spanish Baroque set by Reed & Barton enticed bidders and achieved the same price. The large set included 11 dinner forks, 12 lunch forks, 34 small spoons, 8 sorbet spoons, 7 teaspoons, 16 large knives, 16 small knives and various serving pieces. Also attracting interest was a Towle sterling silver flatware set in the Cascade pattern, which went out at $5,000.
This image shows a detail of the Wedgwood flatware pattern by International Sterling, as a 130-troy-ounce service brought $8,750, the sale’s highest price.
Totaling about $300,000, this annual New Year’s Day sale is a longstanding tradition for Hudson Valley Auctioneers. Auctioneer Neil Vaughn confirmed that they have had an auction on January 1 every year since 1984.
“It always seems to be one of our better and more active sales with bidders; people are always very interested,” he said. “Our regular consignors even hold back items, thinking this is a good sale to put into.”
The auction was quite diverse, and highlights ran the gamut from art to musical instruments and midcentury furniture to jewelry and Asian art.
A high note in the sale was a 1965 Fender Precision Bass guitar, accompanied by a soft case, that earned $7,500.
This vintage Fender Precision Bass guitar, serial number L86540, dating to 1965 and measuring 45½ inches long, earned $7,500.
There is always a market for European bronzes, and a French Art Deco figure of a puma or lion jumping an antelope, signed “Francisque / Medaille d’Or” on its marble base, did well at $6,875.
Animalia-themed objects continued with a pair of bisque porcelain squirrel-form nut jars, signed “Mada” and stamped “Seugnot 28 rue du Bac, Paris,” which took $5,000. Standing 12⅜ inches tall, the whimsical squirrels were each holding a nut and their heads served as the lids.
The fine art category featured an oil on canvas painting depicting two ladies walking in woods, signed “Brownscombe” for Jennie Augusta Brownscombe (American, 1850-1936), that sold for $6,250. A founding member of the Art Students League, Brownscombe is best known for her scenes of colonial history done in a highly naturalistic and sentimental style.
This oil on canvas by Jennie Augusta Brownscombe (American, 1850-1936), 20⅝ by 17 inches, sold for $6,250.
A longtime client at the auction house, the late Arthur Gordon, formerly of Tarrytown, N.Y., was an avid Francophile and collector of material related to Napoleon Bonaparte and his wife Josephine, explained Vaughn. Even prior to his passing, the auction house had been helping to reduce Gordon’s collections located in multiple storage units for the last few years. Two collections of items relating to the pair were combined in this auction and nearly 50 lots were presented to buyers. The grouping was led by a 17¾-inch-tall carved marble bust of the French general and emperor, signed “Fr. Bossi 1808, Paris.” Also finding favor with buyers was a pair of paintings on porcelain with portraits of Napoleon and Josephine in gilt frames. Both lots fetched $937.
Rounding out the auction was a large signed gilt frame by Carrig-Rohane that brought $4,687 and a Charles Eames for Herman Miller rosewood and black leather chair and ottoman in gently used condition, that was a good buy at $3,125.
Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For information, www.hudsonvalleyauctioneers.com or 845-831-6800.
