“That was gorgeous, really gorgeous,” Sal Trupiano said of the top lot in the sale, this five-piece Napoleon III gilt-bronze and Sevres porcelain mantel clock garniture set that had a movement stamped “J. Lefebvre Fils, Paris.” It sold to a trade buyer in the New York City area for $7,500 ($9/12,000).
Review by Madelia Hickman Ring, Catalog Photos Courtesy Roland Auctions
GLEN COVE, N.Y. – When antiques dealer Albert Yagoubzadeh decided to retire, he turned to Roland Auctions, which offered him a dedicated single-owner sale to move about 1,000 items. The initial installment of nearly 400 lots was offered on June 10; the sale of mostly unreserved lots achieved a total of about $135,000.
“The sale did OK. We thought it was a good situation to try the single-owner format because he has so much inventory. One thing we find in the auction business – there are a lot of older dealers who are not computer savvy and who can’t compete with selling online because it’s the new way of doing business. A lot of older dealers who can’t grasp that have decided to get out. The sale was great because it gave some clients some really good deals, and we had a lot of international exposure and interest, which the internet affords,” said auction house president, Sal Trupiano. He noted that interior decorators were prominent among the private collectors and trade buyers bidding in the auction.
The top price was $7,500 for a late Nineteenth Century five-piece Napoleon III Sevres and dore bronze clock garniture set featuring a clock, a pair of covered urns and a pair of five-light candelabra. The movement of the clock was stamped “J. Lefebvre Fils, Paris;” according to the catalog, garnitures were made more frequently in three pieces rather than five so it was a larger than usual group. Trupiano said a dealer in the New York City area was the top bidder.
This 1970 Rolex SA750 oyster perpetual superlative chronometer watch in 18K gold was of small size and retained its original leather-bound box and certificate. It finished at $6,875 ($8/10,000).
A small-sized 18K gold Rolex SA watch oyster perpetual superlative chronometer, circa 1970, brought $6,875, the second highest price in the sale. Rolex has seen a production backlog of nearly a year because of the pandemic and consumers determined to own one, have for quite some time resorted to buying them online rather than waiting months for a new watch. Trupiano said the watch, which measured 30mm, might have been made for a boy or young man but was a size that also appealed to women.
Three antique Etruscan black figure pottery vases were offered consecutively and all at estimates between $1,000 and $2,000. The last of the group to cross the block was an amphora and did the best, securing $5,000; a jug finished at $1,500, just ahead of $1,375 for a vase. Each were offered without a date and sold as is.
Carpets and rugs were a prominent component, with more than 100 on offer. An early Twentieth Century Imperial Kirman carpet that measured 9 by 13 feet was the largest example and fetched the largest price: $3,438. It was followed closely by an 8-by-10¼-foot turquoise Kashan at $2,500 and a 5½-by-8¼-foot Persian Nain carpet that made $1,750. Trupiano said that one bidder from Australia purchased two of the carpets, underscoring the global reach and interest the sale captured.
The best price realized by one of three Etruscan black-figure pottery vessels was this amphora that closed at $5,000 ($1,2/2,000).
The auction offered relatively few Asian works, many of which Trupiano said were bought by buyers in Asia. Topping the category was an antique Chinese circular claw bowl with Tang dynasty palette glazed dot decoration on three short paw-form feet. Estimated at just $400/600, it finished at $3,750. A Chinese carpet that measured almost 9 by 12 feet and dated to the second half of the Nineteenth Century closed out at $2,500, while a Sancai glazed ceramic figure of a recumbent Buddha – accompanied by a thermoluminescence test certifying that it dated to the Tang dynasty (618-907 CE) – finished at $688.
Silver was led by a pierced sterling bowl with single swing handle by Tiffany & Co., that fell a little short of estimate and brought $3,125. A pair of decorative European silver peacocks, late Nineteenth or early Twentieth Century, stood 9 inches high and measured 18 inches long, were attributed to Germany or Holland; bidders gave chase, with one bagging the birds for $2,250.
Roland Auctions will offer the second installment of works from Yagoubzadeh’s collection in October; a specific date has not yet been set.
Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For information, www.rolandauctions.com or 212-260-2000.
