Auction Highlights
A star lot in MV Auctions’ Aug. 26 Antiques auction was a circa-1795 Berthoud Paris repeater pocket watch. Its features include an automaton dial, gilt open face and verge fusée movement. Estimated at $3,000-$5,000, the elegant timepiece attracted an astonishing 649 visitors to the online auction catalog before selling through LiveAuctioneers for $6,600.
Unusual estate items in Dirk Soulis Auctions’ Aug. 25-26 Best of the Mid-West sale included an elaborately decorated, monumental Siamese palace gong. From the late 19th or early 20th century, the bronze gong on a carved gilt and red-lacquered stand is suspended from two ivory horns and carved with figural scenes from the Ramayama epic. It handily surpassed its estimate range to finish at $6,667.
In Tom Harris’ Aug. 25 sale of antiques and Orientalia, 210 visitors viewed this lot in LiveAuctioneers’ electronic catalog. The pale green jade bowl with three dragon-like creatures gripping the rim may measure a mere 2 inches tall, but it exceeded its $100-$300 estimate by quite a lofty margin, hammering $4,800.
Prints continue to show muscle in the marketplace. In SUSANIN’S Premiere 50 auction held Aug. 19, a Wassily Kandinsky (Russian, 1866-1914) unframed edition no. 2 abstract print led the online sales. Measuring 12 inches by 11 inches and artist-signed at the lower right, the print drew 29 bids before selling through LiveAuctioneers for $4,410 against an estimate of $100-$150.
Online buyers scoured Skinner’s August 13-14 auction catalog for “timely” buys and turned up some true American treasures. One of the sale’s standouts was a Chippendale birch-case 8-day model, 89 inches tall, with a painted iron dial signed Paul Rogers, Berwick (Maine). A LiveAuctioneers bidder prevailed at $11,637.50 against an estimate of $2,500-$3,500.
On Aug. 13 at Auction Gallery of the Palm Beaches, a 1985 Avinash Chandra (Indian, 1931-1991) oil on canvas titled Pahar Hill topped the Internet prices realized. The vibrant Impressionist-influenced work, 50 inches by 80 inches in a gilded French frame, attracted 215 online-catalog visitors before selling through LiveAuctioneers for $46,360.
It was clear sailing all the way in Kaminski’s Aug. 11 Spectacular Maritime Auction, with Internet results led by an exceptional model of the Steam Yacht Harvard. The 66-inch-tall model drew 83 visitors to the catalog on LiveAuctioneers’ Web site and sold for $6,600.
