Auction Highlights
The British auction house Halls Fine Art struck paydirt with its very first sale using live Internet bidding. The surprise lot in their March 15 event was a superb 18th century Qing Dynasty carved jade goose, which had been entered with an $850-1,200 estimate. But worldwide exposure via LiveAuctioneers alerted Asian art buyers and elicited its true value. All 21 bids on the piece were lodged online, with the winner claiming the prize for a hefty $14,280.
A signed and dated (possibly 1870) wooded landscape with figures by George Inness (American, 1825-1894) was a top Internet lot in SUSANIN’S March 18 sale. A LiveAuctioneers bidder purchased the painting within its estimate range, for $18,375.
Craftsman Auctions’ March 11-12 sale blazed with Internet bids. Over the two days, 1,435 bidders participated online, purchasing 143 items for a total of $364,652. Among the items sold through LiveAuctioneers was a Tiffany Studios table lamp with a green leaded-glass geometric shade on a bronze urn base. It achieved $23,275.
A framed Leon Comerre (French, 1850-1916) oil on canvas painting titled The Serenade was one of the stars of DuMouchelles' March 10-12 auction. The finely executed 57½ square artwork sold via LiveAuctioneers for an astonishing $109,800.
Among the 312 lots sold via LiveAuctioneers in Sloans & Kenyon’s Feb. 3-5 Estate Catalog Auction was this René Louis Chrétien (French, 1867-1942) oil-on-canvas painting titled Le Poulet. The artist-signed, 35½ by 46in picture had been exhibited at The Paris Salon of 1902. Online, the lot was viewed 310 times before selling for $10,285.
A timely buy in Clars Auction Gallery’s Feb. 5 Estate Auction, this 17th century Dutch marquetry long-case clock with 8-day movement, brass dial and moon-phase indicator was purchased by a LiveAuctioneers bidder for $5,700.
On April 12 in Freeman’s Americana sale, a LiveAuctioneers bidder purchased this Colonial classic - an 8" silver tankard made by John Stuart (Providence, R.I., active circa 1735) - for $12,200. The tankard features a domed top with scrolled thumb-piece on a tapering body, displays three Stuart marks and is engraved W.T.F.
