PHILADELPHIA – Kamelot Auction House opened the fall auction season on Thursday, Sept. 20, with an engaging two-day sale that featured over 900 lots of decorative arts, fine art, rugs and 20th century designer furnishings and lighting. LiveAuctioneers.com provided Internet live bidding.

The first day of the sale presented a variety of fine art and decorative arts items to which bidders responded with great enthusiasm. Surpassing its presale estimate of $1,000-$2,000, a fine and rare antique Chinese carved rhinoceros horn featuring a tiger with captured prey resting on its original carved wood stand (lot 1) sold for $10,000 to a buyer in Spain. Leading the fine art selection was an Itzchak (Isaac) Tarkay oil painting titled La Fiance (lot 282) that brought $6,800 and a large Olaf Carl Seltzer oil painting of a lion and lioness (lot 245) that brought $5,700. The top lot of the day was a Madoura limited edition (69/150) Picasso polychrome clay pot or vase, circa 1953, which sold for a whopping $30,000 (lot 102). Also impressive was lot 286, a Picasso painted and glazed framed earthenware plate that brought $8,300.

Continental furniture finished off day one of the sale and lot 392, an antique Louis Vuitton trunk, lead the group selling for more than $5,000.

Day two of the sale was met with continued success and featured a plethora of mid-century modern furniture and lighting. Among these, highlights include lot 818, a set of eight 20th century Robsjohn Gibbings dining chairs having stylized spindle backs and upholstered seats that brought $6,000 and lot 806, a rare Aldo Tura parchment covered bar cabinet, which brought over $6,000. Lot 767, a stylish set of six mid-century modern bronze-finished iron chairs having collar-form backs and suede upholstery over cushion seats also brought an impress $8,300. Selling for over $13,000, the most prized piece of the day was a George Nakashima free-edge walnut coffee table accompanied by original drawings signed by Nakashima himself circa 1977.

Presented with estimates of $1,000-$2,000, lot 451, a matched pair of white marble and dore bronze satyr sconces, circa 1900, soared to a final selling price of $12,000. Lot 85, a 19th century cobalt blue porcelain and dore bronze French lyre clock with crystal dial sold for $8,100, and likewise, lot 89, a red marble and dore bronze French mantel clock signed by Andre Boisseau “Le Crepuscule” also brought a hefty $8,100. Other highlights include a unique Renaissance-style bronze inkwell, circa 1900, selling for $6,000 (lot 213); an Asian pottery statue, circa 1900, selling for $7,000 (lot 351); and a pair of hand- painted porcelain lamps signed ”F. Holz,” circa 1880, selling for $7,500 (lot 398).

Friday’s strong sales continued well into the afternoon, culminating with the fine arts category and the presentation of lot 508, a signed oil painting by California artist Edgar Alwin Payne titled Waterfront Sotto Marina. With estimates of only $3,000-$5,000, the painting shattered expectations as it climbed to a final winning bid of $84,000, achieving the auction’s highest selling price.

Lot 497, a beautiful signed oil painting by New York artist Ivan Gregorewitch Olinsky continued to surpass estimates with a final selling price of $20,000, along with lot 526, an abstract piece by artist Helen Franken Thaler, which brought $17,000. Other highlights included an oil painting by New York artist John Koch that brought $8,700 (lot 500) and an oil painting by Spanish artist Jose Rico Y Cejudo that sold to a bidder in Spain for $8,400 (lot 496).

Day two of the sale was met with continued success and featured antique and mid-century furniture and lighting including a selection of highly sought after Jansen and Phillip Lloyd Powell pieces. Among these, a stamped and numbered Jansen Regency-style ebonized and gilt decorated server, circa 1940, realized $18,000 against an estimate of $4,000-$6,000 (lot 647). Lot 793, a Phillip Lloyd Powell walnut chest of drawers sold for $9,000, and lot 796, a Phillip Lloyd Powell sculptural walnut lounge chair with shaped back and arms, achieved $6,000. Other highlights include a 19th century F. Conchon Fabricant Geneve cylinder music box that brought $9,000 (lot 1058) and a pair of Italian mid-century modern lounge chairs having upholstered back and arms supported on bronze and wood frame that also brought $9,000 (lot 816).

For more information or to inquire about consigning, contact Kamelot Auction House at 215-438-6990.

Click here to view the fully illustrated catalog for this sale, complete with prices realized.

ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE