$1.2 Million for Skinner English & Contintental Offerings
Boston, MA - Skinner/Boston held a highly successful auction of English and Continental furniture and decorations on April 17, grossing more than $1.2 million and selling over 85% of the lots offered.
Gracing the decorative offerings in the auction was a magnificent gold and enamel box, dating to the late 18th/early 19th century. Bearing 22kt marks for London, 1795-96, and French petite garantie mark for 1819-38, the box was a stunning example of the art of enameling, with the top, sides, and even the underside of the box bearing beautifully colored florals, landscape scenes, tools, instruments and arms. The interior of the lid bore an enameled depiction of a city, probably Istanbul, and its harbor. The exterior of the lid was set with seed pearls in a depiction of an Ottoman tugras, likely that of Mahmud II (1808-39). Both the age and the workmanship of the box contributed to its appeal, and it sold far above estimate for $40,250.
The sale also featured a George III giltwood open armchair attributed to Thomas Chippendale, a piece virtually identical to a suite of furniture currently in the Queen’s Collection at Windsor Castle. Drawing interest before the auction, the chair then drew stiff competition on the block, fetching a top bid of $25,300. Other highlights in furniture included a rectangular Morris & Co. mahogany and inlay dining table with ebony and holly foliate inlay, designed by George Jack, circa 1890. Estimated at $3/5,000, this impressive table sold to a telephone bidder for $19,550. An unassuming sleeper from the same period was an Aesthetic Movement mahogany Thebes stool, that sold for $3,450. An early 19th century Regency rosewood, part ebonized, and brass inlaid writing table sold for $11,500, and a mid-18th century Italian Rococo walnut and burl walnut games table realized $10,925.
The first section of the sale featured over 200 lots of English, Continental and American silver. Several pieces descended in the Harriman family, founders of the Union Pacific Railroad, and without exception, these sold well above estimate. They included a pair of 18th century Irish two-handled cups that fetched $5,463, a lot of three 18th century British silver items that together realized $5,750, and a pair of mid 18th century Irish cups with covers from Dublin that garnered $5,175. Highlights from other collections included an English George III silver soup tureen, London, 1819, that sold for $7,475. A substantial (over a foot high, and 17 inches long) English George IV presentation tureen, date marked 1821, created by Rebecca Emes and Edward Barnard, sold high for $8,625, and a set of Tiffany & Co. "English King" pattern flatware service more than tripled expectation, selling for $10,925.
The sale also included an array of ceramics, clocks, paintings, rugs, glassware, and bronzes. Highlights included an extensive Coalport china dinner service that garnered $12,650, a pair of George III 18² celestial and terrestrial table globes selling for $11,500, and a pair of late 19th century Continental carved ivory figures of a Renaissance lady and a gentleman that also sold for $11,500. KPM plaques featuring a variety of subjects were led by an example after the Rembrandt painting "Rembrandt and Saskia in the Scene of the Prodigal Son in the Tavern," that sold for $10,350. For collectors of Meissen, there were several tableware items and many figural groups, including a wine maker group that tripled its estimate, selling for $5,175.
Skinner’s next auction of English and Continental furniture and decorations will be held on July 17 in Boston. For further information, telephone (978) 779-6241, or fax (978) 779-5144.