A diverse array of items shattered their sales estimates at Thomaston Place Auction Galleries’ May 31⁊une 1 auction due to aggressive bidding from a worldwide audience, with pieces of Russian silver leading the show. Other high performing categories included Oriental antiques, fine art paintings and coins.
Sought-after Russian silver items included a gilded silver and enameled kovsh made by Feodor Ruckert that attained $85,250 and a plique-a-jour, cloisonné and enameled box by Antip Ivanovich Kuzmichev, bringing $6,325. A Japanese cloisonné tray by Namikawa Sosuke sold for $33,000, and a set of four Twentieth Century Chinese rosewood armchairs with porcelain panels realized $6,875.
Thomaston Place president and auctioneer Kaja Veilleux said, “We found both the kovsh and the cloisonné tray in local homes where the owners were using them as utilitarian objects. While we were very conservative about their sales potential, we recognized their great craftsmanship and knew they would appeal to many collectors and museums.”
Many pieces of fine art also generated strong prices, including an oil on cradled panel floral still life painting by Dutch artist Henriette G. Knip (1783‱842) that sold for $30,800 and a small oil on ivory painting of a man in Greek military dress that brought $25,300.
An oil on canvas painting, “A Night at the Circus,” by Spanish artist Emilio Grau Sala fetched $40,700, and a small oil on board by Frank A. Bicknell, “Souvenir of Bolton, CT,” sold for $11,000.
More than 140 lots of coins were offered, with many of the US silver and gold pieces exceeding their high estimates. As a whole, the coin lots were five percent above high estimate.
Other strong performers were two Nineteenth Century musical instruments that included a cornet and a concertina made by C. Jeffries, bringing $8,800; a pair of Tiffany Art Nouveau urn-form table lamps that sold for $10,725; and a Native American Hopi terracotta pot that left the block for $9,625.
Rounding out the auction were two Nineteenth Century carved shore bird decoys in the manner of Hingham, Mass., maker Elisha Burr that sold for $7,150, a circa 1927 silver plate cocktail shaker by Meriden in the form of a lighthouse at $4,400 and a cast iron classical revival woman’s bust architectural fragment that sold for $3,410. Additionally, a 1991 Porsche 911 Carrera sold to benefit the Portland Symphony Orchestra attained $23,650, well above its $10/15,000 estimate.
All prices reported include the ten percent buyer’s premium. For more information, www.thomastonauction.com or 207-354-8141.
