Auction Highlights
An 11¾-inch Chinese Guangxu monochrome flambé-glaze vase that was entered in Green Valley’s June 28 auction features a baluster form with tubular ears. Topping the 458 lots in this sale that were purchased through LiveAuctioneers, the elegant vessel carrying a presale estimate $100-$150 achieved a remarkable $8,400.
Coming from a San Antonio, Texas estate, this fine W.S. Wooton patent American Renaissance Revival desk dates to around 1874. Featuring a well-carved walnut case with secondary bird’s-eye maple wood, and with a desirable fall-front writing surface, it drew 543 visitors to Austin Auction Co.’s online catalog, selling on June 28 through LiveAuctioneers for $9,440.
A varied array of antiques, art and jewelry headlined Burchard Galleries’ June 22 Estate Auction, with an oil-on-canvas painting by Piero Ruggeri (Italian, b. 1930-) leading the 133 lots that sold through Live Auctioneers. Titled La Lampade and depicting a grouping of lamps in dramatic shades of red, the 44 inch by 38 inch artwork had been entered in the sale with a $400-$600 estimate. Aggressive Internet bidding pushed the final selling price online to $13,800.
More than 35,000 people visited the LiveAuctioneers catalog for Cowan’s June 21 Summer Americana sale, which had a 26.2 percent Internet sell-through rate. Among the items purchased online was an S.B. Terry balance-wheel, open-escapement calendar shelf clock with a painted-wood dial. The 26.3-inch timepiece ticked to a closing price of $10,200.
Dirk Soulis Auctions held a Spring Fine Arts sale on June 20-21, attracting more than 62,000 hits to their LiveAuctioneers online catalog. Over the two days, more than 30 percent of the merchandise was purchased via the Internet. Among the highlights was an 1831 George III baluster-form silver tankard, hallmarked and weighing 860 grams, which handily exceeded its estimate to sell through LiveAuctioneers for $8,050.
This stunning pair of 70-inch-tall gilt-bronze cloisonné crane candleholders was a highlight of Dallas Auction Galleries’ June 18 Antiques & Fine Art sale. Richly embellished in red, blue and green enamel, the bird forms estimated at $4,000-$6,000 validated the popularity of chinoiserie in today’s marketplace by selling for $49,000 through LiveAuctioneers.
In Dallas Auction Galleries’ June 18 Antiques & Fine Art sale, a very fine pair of Chinese bronze and cloisonné lions with gilt-bronze accents, 18½ inches high by 21 inches, smashed through the $6,000-$8,000 presale estimate to sell through LiveAuctioneers for $49,000.
