A Steinway & Sons New York grand piano, model L, serial number 429905, 1972, with ebonized finish was the sale’s top lot, going out at $10,625.
Review by W.A. Demers, Photos Courtesy Auctions at Showplace
NEW YORK CITY – On June 19, Auctions at Showplace presented 280 lots of fine and decorative arts directly from estates of the New York City and metropolitan area, including a Russian Order of Saint Vladimir ice cup, a Steinway & Sons grand piano and Christian Liaigre furniture. A wide array of silver, porcelain, glass, jewelry, paintings and more also featured in the sale.
Leading the sale was a Steinway & Sons New York grand piano, model L, serial number 429905, 1972, with an ebonized finish. Removed from an estate at 180 East End Avenue, it sold for $10,625.
A Christian Liaigre modern minimalist cerused oak circular table on four rectangular patinated metal-mounted oak legs performed well, finishing at $10,000. Property from an Upper East Side townhouse, its top was stamped “CL/CL” to the underside and it measured 31 by 55 inches.
A Christian Liaigre modern minimalist cerused oak circular table came out of an Upper East Side townhouse and sold for $10,000.
From the same consignor, the table was followed by a set of four Christian Liagre modern minimalist cerused oak side chairs, with square open backs and seats upholstered in jasper green leather selling for $5,937. Each chair bore a “Christian Liaigre” label to its underside.
Fetching $9,375 was an Edward Wormley-attributed American Midcentury Modern fliptop console in solid walnut, which expanded to a generous dining table, the rectangular top opening to a dining surface above an extending mechanism on four splayed legs terminating in conforming brass cuffs.
A vintage Corum 1896 US $20 22K coin encased in 18K yellow gold, quartz man’s watch with a genuine crocodile strap and original Corum gold-tone buckle clocked in at $7,500. It featured a 35mm case with diamond crown.
Fine art included a collection of paintings and sculpture spanning centuries. A leading work was a French Empire period oil on canvas painting by Louis Innocent Goubaud (Italian/Belgian, 1780-1847) that realized $5,625. The piece portrayed a nobleman astronomer of the Napoleonic era wearing a jabot, seals and a jacket with an oak-leaf embroidered collar, his arm resting on a side table with a book titled Astronomie as he sat in a finely detailed Neoclassical chair. The 39¾-by-29¾-inch painting was signed to lower left and dated 1805 and was housed in a giltwood frame.
A vintage Corum 1896 US $20 22K coin encased in an 18K yellow gold, quartz man’s watch found a buyer at $7,500.
For silver seekers there was a monumental silverplated tabernacle, surmounted by a silverplated cross with a brass figure of Christ, above a cast and chased Golgotha surmounting a dome above the main portion of the tabernacle, with eight finials of wheat and grapes representing the body and blood of Christ. The tabernacle was decorated with the Chi Rho symbol and “Ego Veritas Sum” (I am the Truth), and its interior was lined with cream silk. The Order of the Mass had been mounted upon the pedestal, most likely used for Mass. Removed from a collection in Mount Kisco, N.Y., it was bid to $5,000.
Finally, a Russian imperial period porcelain covered ice cup from the Order of Saint Vladimir service by the Gardner Factory, Verbilki, 1783-1785, took $5,000. Bearing factory marks in blue underglaze to its base, it was based on an earlier model for the Berlin service given to Catherine II of Russia by Frederick the Great in 1772. Standing 4¼ inches high, it was painted with the red and black sash of the order centering the star of the order, its handle molded and painted in imitation of a branch, the domed lid similarly decorated with the order’s red and black sash centering a gilt blossom.
Prices given include the buyer’s premium as stated by the auction house. For information, www.nyshowplace.com or 212-633-6063.
