An early Eighteenth Century Queen Anne tea table performed well at Litchfield County Auctions’ annual spring event. The table soared past all expectations, realizing $59,400.
The cherry table drew much speculation from dealers and collectors. Several interested buyers suggested that it might be a Litchfield County piece; however, it sold to an out-of-state dealer. On the other end of the spectrum, a whimsical and unusual ceramic sculpture of an owl by Pablo Picasso flew above its presale estimate of $20/30,000 to land in a French gallery for $46,800.
Sale totals reached $561,525 against an estimate of $375/575,000. A priced estate sale, featuring property from the same estates and collections, earned more than $30,000, bringing the sales’ total to about $600,000. Of the 557 lots, 468 were sold for a sell-through rate of 84 percent.
This was Litchfield County Auctions 12th sale on the auction Website iGavel, and Litchfield County Auctions remains very happy with the venue.
“The material in this auction was extraordinarily diverse, ranging from Civil War memorabilia to African carvings and from Japanese bronzes to Contemporary Indian and Polish paintings,” said Vice President Nicholas Thorn.
“By combining an exhibition in Litchfield with the reach ofthe Internet through iGavel, we were able to tap into the buyers nomatter where they were located.” Successful bidders were from 27states – including Hawaii – and across the globe in Australia,Belgium, Luxembourg, Italy, Germany, Canada and the UK.
Fine art standouts included an abstract composition ($4/6,000) by emerging artist Jan Tarasin. The painting attracted much attention and was a record sale for this postwar Polish artist at $22,200. Another strong price was on a landscape of Smiling Valley in Carmel, Calif., by American-born Abel Warshawsky ($5/8,000). The painting nearly quadrupled its high estimate to fetch $31,200.
Another rising star in the non-Western postwar and contemporary field is Indian artist Satish Gujral. His 1964 semiabstract painting entitled “Masses #2” ($5/8,000) hammered down at $44,400.
On a lighter note, several years ago, Litchfield County Auctions, Inc sold a painting by Puerto Rican artist Juan de Prey for a record price of $4,000-plus. Ever since then, the auction house has received a steady stream of art by de Prey on consignment. In this sale, a group of four paintings by the artist sold for $3,300.
Besides the tea table mentioned above, other furniture that did well included a Chippendale/Hepplewhite fret carved mahogany mirror, circa 1800. It was a decorative piece with a gilded urn top crest with flowers on wire stems, carved and gilded pediment with gilded floral sprays to sides, central gold and black eglomise panel depicting birds, and the mirror was surrounded by a carved and gilded edge. Estimated at $1,5/2,500, the mirror sold for $12,601. An American Rococo pierced and carved laminated rosewood settee, circa 1860, by J & JW Meeks bested its $2/4,000 estimate to close at $6,000.
Of the smaller items in the sale, a fine cased factoryengraved Gustave Young Colt pocket revolver, Nineteenth Century($12/18,000) seemed like a good buy at $7,200.
Silver highlights included a Tiffany & Co. sterling silver cake stand, Nineteenth/Twentieth Century, ($800-$1,200) sold for $2,400. Two Japanese bronze articulated figures, a polychromed crayfish and a katydid, sold for $3,960, and it was definitely tea time in Litchfield, as a group of eight various Chinese Export teapots, Eighteenth/Nineteenth Century, doubled its presale estimate of $1/1,500 to close at $3,438.
Complete sale results can be found at www.litchfieldcountyauctions.com. Prices include the 20 percent buyer’s premium. Litchfield County Auctions’ current sale ends June 28 on www.iGavel.com.
