CHARLESTON, S.C. — Timed to coincide with the Southeastern Wildlife Exposition in Charleston, Copley Fine Art’s February 15 auction was the company’s best Winter Sale yet, securing a record $3.4 million on 535 lots offered. Top honors went, at $210,000 including premium, to a graceful swan decoy with a swooping neck and the stamp of renowned collector William Mackey on its underside. The price for the circa 1920 sculpture set a new benchmark for Virginia carver Charles Birch (1867-1956). The Mackey-Birch Swan, as it is known, most recently belonged to Dr. Peter J. Muller Jr, the late Georgia veterinarian whose collection headlined the Copley event. “Bidders were energized and excited. Including various owners, we were 95 percent sold by lot,” said Copley chairman and chief executive officer Stephen B. O’Brien Jr.

Watch for a complete report in an upcoming issue of Antiques and The Arts Weekly.