This rare pair of George II carved and exotic wood side chairs, early Eighteenth Century, is headed back to England, as it was the top lot at $40,325 selling to a UK phone bidder.
Review by Andrea Valluzzo
WOODBURY, CONN. — Like cream rises to the top, Schwenke Auctioneers’ Cinco de Mayo Fine Estates Auction on May 5 saw standout lots attract much interest and bring strong prices. The eclectic offering of more than 400 lots came from estates across Connecticut and as far as New Jersey to Rhode Island.
Auctioneer/owner Tom Schwenke noted that while traditional decorative arts can be challenging, “the auction was very well received with great interest in the top lots.”
The auction’s top lot was a pair of early Eighteenth Century George II carved exotic wood side chairs. The chairs sold for $40,325 to a phone bidder and had provenance to a Newport, R.I., estate. “They were made by an important English cabinetmaker and we had three phone bidders from England,” Schwenke said of the chairs. They featured a relief-carved scallop shell and floral raised crest tablet with a parrot splat above balloon seats and robustly carved claw and ball feet. The chairs were attributed to cabinetmaker Giles Grendey (b 1693), whose work is in the collection of museums like the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Jewelry offerings were sparse in this sale with only a few pieces on offer, but sparking high demand was a vintage Van Cleef & Arpels 18K gold, pearl and aventurine bead twist necklace. Made in 1962, the necklace came out of a New York City lady’s private collection and sold for $18,750 to an online buyer.
Sterling silver flatware sets continue to elicit high demand at auctions, a trend seen in the last few months, with no signs of slowing, coinciding with the gold and silver commodities market price spikes. In 1912, James Robinson established his eponymous business retailing antique silver in New York City. By the 1950s, his firm was selling decorative arts and jewelry, and eventually began producing hand-made silver as well. An extensive James Robinson sterling silver flatware service in the Queen Anne pattern sold to a phone bidder for $12,500. Coming out of a Connecticut collection, the service for 12 was housed in a wooden silver chest and bore hallmarks for London with varying dates, some made by CWF and retailed by James Robinson, and some by James Robinson makers. Another James Robinson sterling flatware service for 12 of similar mixed manufacture from antique to in house, sans the wooden case, brought $8,125, also going to a phone bidder.
The parade of sterling silver across the block continued with beverage sets. Crossing the block minutes into the auction was a three-piece Wiwen Nilsson tea set that made $2,875. Evincing a modern and streamlined aesthetic, the Swedish set had a reverse tapered and faceted design and comprised lidded and handled coffee pot, sugar and a handled creamer. No fewer than four sets were offered in the auction, and the best selling was a Gorham five-piece tea and coffee service that realized $3,750. The set was made up of a teapot, coffee pot, creamer, sugar and waste bowl.
Highlighting decorative arts were two animal sculptures by Katharine Ward Lane (Weems), who was known for her highly realistic animal artworks; several of her larger public art pieces are on view in New England, including at Harvard University and the New England Aquarium. Leading the offerings was a doe and fawn bronze grouping that was cast in 1927 at Roman Bronze Works. With provenance to the Graham Gallery, the deer brought $10,625 from an online buyer. Slightly smaller at just over 10 inches tall was a circa 1925 bronze of a baby African elephant from an edition of about ten from the Kunst Foundry in Brooklyn, N.Y., that took $6,875.
Bronzes by other artists also found favor with buyers as evidenced by a walking puma bronze by Charles Cary Rumsey (American, 1879-1922), that made $5,625. Measuring 5 inches tall by 15⅓ inches long and 4 inches deep, the bronze was signed “CC Rumsey” and “Roman Bronze Works NY.”
Decorative arts offerings also saw a signed Japanese enameled vase with overall floral enameling and bird decoration that sold for $4,687.
Rounding out the auction were an early Portuguese carved walnut cabinet in curly walnut timber with a thick top above two paneled doors that made $2,750 and an 18K yellow gold flat pill box by Tiffany & Company with a repoussé paisley design that sold for $2,500.
Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For information, www.woodburyauction.com or 203-266-0323.
