| Press Contact: | Stuart Slavid, Director | Catherine Riedel, Director |
| European Furniture & Decorative Arts | Marketing & Public Relations | |
| Skinner, Inc | Skinner, Inc | |
|
978-779-6241 ext. 306 |
978-779-6241 x231 |
EUROPEAN FURNITURE & DECORATIVE ARTS
AT SKINNER APRIL 24TH
BOSTON, Mass. - May 9, 2004 – www.skinnerinc.com - Skinner's April 24th auction of European furniture and decorative arts provided buyers a broad range of offerings, highlighted by a particularly interesting selection of American and European silver. Highlights included an especially fine and unusual seven-piece Gorham Martelé tea and coffee service (lot 491) that sold for a healthy $47,000.
American and European Silver
Silver performed extremely well overall, with additional highlights in American silver including a set of twelve Dominick & Haff sterling service plates in a fitted mahogany case (lot 471) that sold for $8,813, and a large mid-20th century Old Newbury Crafters sterling and enamel accented punch bowl and undertray (lot 502) that brought $7,638. Lot 497, a Towle Silversmiths presentation six-piece sterling tea and coffee service sold to benefit the Acquisitions Fund of the Danforth Museum of Art in Framingham, Massachusetts garnered $4,700, and the following lot, a Gorham sterling six-piece tea and coffee service with silver plated tray, sold for the same amount. Lot 504, a Gorham sterling "Fountainebleau" partial flatware service, realized $4,700.
Continental selections included lot 68, a pair of Continental Renaissance Revival silver and rock crystal candlesticks that went for $7,050, and a Georg Jensen sterling center bowl (lot 455) that sold for $4,406. English silver was led by a pair of George II silver gilt tea caddies in a fitted case, made by John Swift in London in 1754 (lot 371), that sold for $6,169. Twenty-four Irish Elizabeth II silver water goblets (lot 423) realized $4,406, and a second set of twenty-four (lot 425) brought $3,290. Additional highlights included a provincial Georgian silver sauce boat (lot 401) that sold for $2,820, a pair of George III silver candlesticks (lot 375) that brought $2,585, and six small German sterling and ivory mounted courtier figures (lot 447) that brought $3,819. A George III silver salver by John Carter (lot 378) reached $2,350, and two Russian silver and enamel vessels realized the same amount.
Furniture
Furniture in the sale was led by an American Renaissance Revival gilt-bronze mounted marquetry inlaid ebonized side cabinet (lot 80) and an 18th century Welsh oak dresser (lot 101), each of which reached $9,400. Additional selections included lot 126, a fine William IV rosewood tilt-top dining table that brought $6,463, and lot 141, a set of ten late 19th century Hepplewhite-style inlaid mahogany side chairs that sold for $4,994. Other sets of chairs included lot 7, a pair of Queen Anne burl walnut side chairs that brought $4,406; lot 57, a set of eight Hepplewhite-style carved mahogany dining chairs that realized $4,113; and lot 170, a pair of George III mahogany side chairs that reached $2,375. A George III mahogany chest of drawers (lot 6) sold for $4,113, an English Regency-style inlaid mahogany double pedestal dining table (lot 184) went for $3,819, an early 18th century Queen Anne crossbanded walnut lowboy (lot 156) brought $3,055, and a George III/Chippendale carved mahogany piecrust tilt-top tripod table with birdcage support (lot 424) sold for $2,468.
Decorative Arts
Decorative arts covered a broad span of styles and forms. Examples included lot 54, a Cesar Ceribelli patinated bronze bust of a Renaissance lady on a stand that soared to $9,400. Other bronzes included
a large figure of a chevalier on horseback with a serving girl, by the French artist Adrien-Etienne Gaudez (lot 232), that sold for $6,463, a patinated bronze, ivory, and green onyx figure of a Valkyrie (lot 311) that sold well above expectations for $8,225, an early 20th-century Austrian cold-painted figural "Arabian" boudoir lamp (lot 152) that realized $5,875, and a figure of a pair of ducks by Ferdinand Pautrot (lot 274) that brought $3,173. A pair of bronze elephant head bookends by B. Johnson (lot 266) realized $2,233.
Other highlights included a late 19th/early 20th-century Vienna decorated porcelain mantel urn and stand (lot 286) that sold for $5,581, a large early 20th-century "Sevres" porcelain and ormolu mounted floor vase (lot 345) that sold for $4,406, and four late 19th/early 20th-century Meissen porcelain putti Motto figures (lot 352) that brought well above estimate at $4,230. An 18-piece Derby porcelain botanical decorated dessert service (lot 4) went for $3,525, and an early 20th century Bergman cold painted "Naughty" bronze miniature trunk formed as a miniature steamer trunk (lot 194) sold for $3,408.
Paintings in the sale include lot 10, a 19th-century Continental School full-length portrait of a gentleman in armor with a dress helmet, that realized $4,406, and a portrait of a gentleman in armor standing within a landscape, painted in the manner of Jan Mytens, from the Higgins Armory Museum in Worcester, Massachusetts (lot 198), that reached $4,406. In a different vein, an unsigned Madonna and Child in the manner of Rossello di Jacopo Franchi from the Museum sold for $3,173, and a 17th-century style Continental School portrait of "Phillipus Colonnae…" (lot 18) brought $2,938.
Additional Highlights
The auction also included selected clocks and garnitures. Among them was a Louis XVI-style porcelain and gilt-bronze three-piece clock garniture (lot 208) that sold for $6,463, a large late 19th/early 20th-century walnut wall timepiece (lot 338) that brought $2,585, and a French Empire mahogany and ormolu mounted mantel clock by Raingo Freres of Paris (lot 76) that reached $2,468. Additional highlights included two 17th/18th-century Flemish tapestry fragment panels (lot 322) that sold for $4,700; four Louis Vuitton trunks, led by lot 255 that sold for $3,525; a mid- to late 19th-century chinoiserie decorated red painted octagonal tole tray (lot 25) that sold for $3,290; and a German Renaissance Michael Mann-style polished steel rectangular lock box (lot 325) that went for $2,233.
Auction Information
Prices realized at the April 24th auction are available at www.skinnerinc.com. Consignments are currently being accepted for Skinner's next auction featuring English and Continental furniture and decorations, which will be held in July 2004. For more information, call 978-779-6241, or visit www.skinnerinc.com. Skinner's site also allows users to view all lots in the auctions, leave bids, and order catalogues online.
Note to Editors: Photos available upon request. Contact Catherine Riedel at 978-779-6241 x 231.
About Skinner:With galleries in Boston and Bolton, Mass., Skinner is a full-service auctioneer and appraiser of antiques and fine art. Regularly seen on the PBS series, Antiques Roadshow, Skinner is one of the nation’s leading auction houses. Skinner conducts auctions year-round and has received world-record prices for many pieces sold at auction. Departments include American Furniture & Decorative Arts, Paintings & Prints, English & Continental Furniture & Decorations, Fine Ceramics, Jewelry, Couture, 20th Century Furniture & Decorative Arts, Fine Musical Instruments, Asian Art, Fine Judaica, Toys, Dolls & Collectibles, Science & Technology, Oriental Rugs & Carpets, American Indian & Ethnographica, and Discovery. For more information on upcoming auctions, visit Skinner’s web site www.skinnerinc.com.