Large group of Paul Revere silver graces Heritage May 20 sale
Paul Revere 10in silver tankard, estimated at $50,000-$70,000
DALLAS – Nine lots from the Donald G. Partrick Collection by the famed American Silversmith Paul Revere Jr., highlight Heritage Auctions’ Fine Silver & Objects of Vertu auction on May 20. Absentee and Internet live bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.
This staggering number of Paul Revere silver lots ranges from a single teaspoon dated 1770 and estimated at $4,000-$6,000; two sets of six spoons made in the 1790s, estimated at $20,000-$30,000 for each set; a 10in tankard, estimated at $50,000-$70,000; two pairs of sugar tongs, each estimated at $8,000-$12,000; and a 15in-plus silver ladle, estimated at $15,000-$20,000.
Group shot of several pieces of Paul Revere silver in the May 20 auction
“Following 2020 with our strongest fine silver auctions to date, we offer an unprecedented number of exceptional collections in our May 20 sale,” said Karen Rigdon, Director of Fine Silver and Decorative Arts at Heritage Auctions. “It has been a privilege to work with these extraordinary collections and the collectors who carefully curated and enjoyed these works.”
Paul Revere pair of silver sugar tongs, estimated at $8,000-$12,000
Among American silver presented is the John and Maggie Olson collection of Aesthetic Movement silver. Mr. Olson is well known to collectors through his articles for the Silver Magazine and The Magazine Antiques. Heritage is honored to present the couple’s vast Tiffany & Co. Lap-Over-Edge service in a series of seven lots.
Paul Revere 15in-plus silver ladle, estimated at $15,000-$20,000
Designed by Charles T. Grosjean, Lap-Over-Edge is one of Tiffany & Company’s most fanciful and complex multi-motif patterns. The handles, which vary in form, unify the service with edges that are turned toward the back, and occasionally to the front, giving the pattern its name. The decoration, done by hand, includes etching, engraving, chasing, and occasionally applied or inlaid ornament. On each piece in a given set, the decoration differs so that the motifs on the knives differ from forks, and so on. Many of the motifs continue from front to back, where some are roughly hand-engraved with the motif name. Then, upon close inspection, one will also see that those of the same motif are not identically executed, but that the hand of the craftsman is evident to each piece.
Paul Revere set of six spoons, estimated at $20,000-$30,000
On offer is Dr. James Young’s collection of Georg Jensen silver, which focuses on early production and iconic modernists designs by the silversmithy. The selection is laid out by the designer is a presentation of both hollowware and jewelry. Young’s interest in silver began as a child. He grew up in a small farming community in Arkansas, where his grandmother set the table daily with sterling silver flatware. Young’s mother found this frivolous, while Young was drawn in, finding the incorporation of the sterling silver into daily life memorable, and for him formative as he developed an eye for finer things. Young’s collection begins with designs by Georg Jensen highlighted by am extraordinary covered bowl and underplate, estimated at $30,000-$50,000, and his well-loved bonbonniere with hardstone, estimated at $5,000-$7,000.
Gorham barrel-form silver ice bucket with spoon, estimated at $12,000-$18,000
The auction segues to modernist works including a No. 1088B Splash 18K gold necklace designed by Henning Koppel in both gold (estimated at $5,000-$7,000) and silver (estimated at $1,000-$1,500) and a Georg Jensen No. 1302 Car Crash silver tray designed by Verner Panton, to name just a few items within the 90-lot selection, and the 21 designers represented.
Graziella Laffi silver floor vase, estimated at $10,000-$15,000
Additional highlights include, but are not limited to a Gorham barrel-form silver ice bucket with spoon, Providence, Rhode Island, 1872, festooned with icicles and set on an iceberg with pierced shell-form ice spoon with crossed harpoons and rope handle and polar bear, which carries an estimate of $12,000-$18,000; a Tiffany & Co. mixed metal aquatic themed water pitcher, with applied copper and silver swimming fish among etched dragonfly, snail, and etched and applied seagrass, estimated at $30,000-$50,000; and an 1815 Paul Storr Regency silver tea urn, London, estimated at $15,000-$25,000.
The wide range of objects of vertu in the May 20 auction includes a Pierre LeClere gold snuff box, Paris, 1786-1787, estimated at $3,000-$5,000, and silver artworks by Graziella Laffi, such as a massive circa-1970 Graziella Laffi silver floor vase, estimated at $10,000-$15,000.
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