PHILADELPHIA – An April 24 auction of garden antiques hosted by Kamelot Auctions proved to be its most successful specialty sale to date. The company has produced an annual sale of garden architecture and decoration since 2006, with Internet live bidding through LiveAuctioneers.com.
The auction opened promptly at 10 a.m. to a full house, with many participants remaining onsite and engaged for the entire nine-hour procession of more than 700 lots. Huge walls of trellis and faux-finished panels arranged around a variety of flooring created dramatic backdrops for groupings of wrought-iron furniture, planters filled with topiaries and layered moss, and fountains with running water. Iron and bronze chandeliers and lanterns were suspended from ceilings 20 feet high, and stained-glass windows were staged to catch natural light streaming into Kamelot’s immense vintage warehouse.
Bidders responded to the collection with enthusiasm from the very first lot onward. Lot #1 consisted of a circa-1920 carved Vicenza stone figure of a bagpipe musician standing 44½ inches high. Presented with estimates of $1,000 to $1,500, it sold in just a few short minutes for over $5,600. Soon afterward, a circa-1860 life-size carved marble garden statue of a young woman watering flowers sold to a private Philadelphia estate for $10,500. Later, a Virginia phone bidder won an elegant antique marble fountain with three-tiered basins rising 12 feet high, for $7,200. All prices quoted are inclusive of 20% buyer’s premium.
Many lots far exceeded expectations. Modestly estimated at $200 to $400 per panel, three marble bas-reliefs brought well over $1,000 apiece, selling together as one lot for $4,300. In another instance, two carved marble lions on rectangular plinths sold to a New England dealer for $7,200, more than double the high estimate for this lot.
A pair of large carved marble lidded urns displaying pineapple forms and carved swags were offered with estimates between $800 and $1,200, but sold easily for a total of $3,600, just prior to a carved travertine marble bench with similar estimates that sold for $3,800.
These results all occurred before the sale even reached lot #100. But, rather than dissipating, the energy in the room continued to mount. The mood in the auction house grew notably more intense as the auction progressed past a monumental antique cast-iron Fiske urn, which sold for $5,000.
A group of mushroom-shape antique English staddle stones estimated at around $1,500 sold to a West Coast buyer for $5,000; and a pair of nicely weathered antique garden spheres estimated between $600 and $900 each sold for a combined $4,000, going to an established Philadelphia area decorator.
Lot #145, a pair of antique Continental garden urns, was poised to steal the show. The neoclassical circa-1850 cast-lead urns, with rams’ heads and Vitruvian scrolls, bore a high estimate of $6,000, but a British garden antiques dealer based in the United States outbid all competitors to win the lot with a price tag of $14,000.
A monumental statue of Pallas Athena with a high estimate of $1500 sold to another British buyer, this one overseas, for just under $8,000; and a near-pair of Italian carved marble wall fountains in the form of satyr busts sold to a private collector in France for $10,500.
While carved marble appeared to be the material of choice, the auction generated strong sales in all garden-related categories including decorative furnishings, ironwork and bronze items. A very large-scale silver gilt Italian pillow mirror was soon off to France after selling for $5,500 against a presale high estimate of $1,500; and a group of antique French arch-topped transom windows sold for $4,300.
A pair of Victorian jeweled stained-glass windows opened at $800 but sold for more than $4,000; and a pair of grand bronze Renaissance style andirons achieved $4,500.
A great example of a circa-1910 Oscar Bach bronze and iron conservatory table with molded marble top circa 1910 sailed past its estimate of $3,000 to $5,000 and has gone to a private residence in Montana for $12,000.
Kamelot Auctions’ next sale will be held on June 12 and will feature some garden items along more diverse categories of furniture and decorative arts. As always, Internet live bidding will be provided by LiveAuctioneers.com.
For additional information, call Kamelot Auctions at 215-438-6990 or visit the company online at www.kamelotauctions.com.
Click here to view the fully illustrated catalog for this sale, complete with prices realized.
ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE
