Auction Highlights

A Chinese export silver tea and coffee service decorated with a repoussé design of writhing dragons in confrontation and stamped WC, indicating the studio of 1850-1900 Hong Kong silversmith Wing Chung, was a highlight in Clars’ July 12-13 sale. It climbed to a winning bid of $5,700 through LiveAuctioneers.

Neal Auction’s July 12-13 Summer Estate Auction contained one of the most unusual items offered through LiveAuctioneers in recent memory – an Edwardian jockey armchair. Dating to around 1900 and labeled W. & T. Avery, London & Birmingham, the substantially crafted oak, leather and painted cast-iron chair featured a seat suspended above a frame with a balance mechanism for the weighing-in of horseracing jockeys. It crossed the finish line at $12,250, claimed by a LiveAuctioneers bidder.

With provenance through the Estate of John Ringling North, this 1830-1846 coin-silver monteith (punch bowl with indented rim for placement of cups) was probably the work of Samuel Kirk of Baltimore. Entered in Brunk’s July 12-13 auction of 18th and 19th century antiques and decorative art, it sold through LiveAuctioneers for $5,760.

An intriguing oil-on-canvas painting in the manner of Vincent van Gogh (Dutch, 1853-1890) titled Tree by the River was entered in Trinity International Auctions’ July 20 sale. The artwork was accompanied by an important letter from Professor Henry A. DePhillips stating that an analysis of the pigments revealed they were consistent with those of the palette of van Gogh. The 17 inch by 20 inch painting estimated at $12,000-$15,000 attracted 26 bids, eventually selling online for $49,000.

LiveAuctioneers recorded more than 50,000 visitors and well over 78,000 hits to Jackson’s International’s electronic catalog for their July 15-16 European, American and Russian Works sale. In all, 136 lots sold online, including a large and impressive (20½ inch by 51 inch) 19th-century iconostasis. Comprised of five rows with 15 arched gilt panels featuring religious paintings of Eastern European style, the coveted artwork surpassed its estimate to sell for $15,925.

Garth’s saleroom was alive with the sound of music on July 25-26, as the Ohio-based company conducted an 823-lot auction of fine art and antiques, Asian, Continental and decorative accessories. A highly anticipated entry was a Steinway & Sons 67-inch-long Model M grand piano in mahogany case. Superbly hand-crafted in 1918, it reached its auction crescendo through LiveAuctioneers at $9,800.

A LiveAuctioneers bidder will be traveling in style after purchasing the No. 1 Internet lot in Burchard Galleries’ July 27 auction of estate antiques, fine art and jewelry. A vintage Louis Vuitton flat-top trunk with original LV interior label was an imposing presence that spoke of many luxurious passages, with provenance through internationally known perfume collector Gildas Conan. Standing 21½ inches tall by 24 inches wide by 15 inches deep, the stylish wardrobe trunk attracted 891 visitors to the LiveAuctioneers electronic catalog before realizing $9,900 – nearly twice its high estimate.

In Heritage Auctions’ July-August Baltimore U.S. Coin Sale, held Aug. 3, a 1999 $100 1-ounce Platinum Eagle deep-cameo coin featuring the Statue of Liberty on obverse and a soaring eagle on reverse led the 145 lots that sold online, with a strong winning bid of $4,800