GLEN COVE, N.Y. – Sal Trupiano, president of Roland Auctions NY, knows the antiques business well. He spent four decades as an antiques dealer, but like so many of his contemporaries, saw antique sales shifting online. He closed down his antiques store three years ago and had barely begun his search for other opportunities when Roland’s owners, Billy and Robert Roland, offered him his present position.
How was it like to segue from being an antiques dealer to working in auctions?
I am turning 60 this year and have been in the antique business for 40 years as a dealer, so my experience has always been buying at auction and selling to the public. I have been friends with Billy and Robert close to 40 years and a client of theirs for that many years. When Billy heard I was going to close the business, he offered me a job to help run Roland Auctions, and that’s how I got into it.
You sell across the board, but are there particular collecting categories Roland is best known for?
In general, we sell mostly traditional-style antiques from the 18th and 19th centuries. We do try to find more 20th-century antiques and collectibles because at this time, the 20th-century art and antiques are more valuable than things even older. The 20th-century period is the most popular right now, but we can’t really choose what we’re going to get from estates. Sometimes we get great 20th-century stuff and sometimes we get very good things from the 18th century. Because we’re taking households, we will get everything from furniture to art, silver and jewelry so we sell everything that is used to decorate the home and couture and high-end things from a Hermes bag to Cartier or Van Cleef & Arpels jewelry.
How has the business reacted to the pandemic?
The auction business has been very good. It’s a combination of two things: the economy has been pretty good and I think that Covid had an effect on home decorating. People were at home more, working from home and not going out as much because of Covid and realizing they could redecorate and buy at auction. To our surprise, business skyrocketed after Covid.
What buying trends are you seeing?
My favorite style of antiques is traditional furniture from the 18th and 19th centuries, and that period was really depressed for years, probably at least five years. What I have seen, which I think is great, is a resurgence of some interest in the traditional styles like Queen Anne and Louis XV and Louis XVI. The whole rage for the last few years has been Mid-century Modern but I see it turning around with antiques. There has been more demand for fine pieces from the 18th and 19th centuries. Revenues are going up because a piece that was selling for $500 a year ago is maybe selling for $700 or $800 now, so there’s definitely appreciation in price for antiques.
Roland’s number of sales held per year, particularly single-owner auctions, has also increased.
Yes, generally our main auction is every four weeks on a Saturday, so we’ve been having 13 sales a year. We have had some special second sales during the month, probably three or four times in the last year, because there was just so much stuff coming in. We had certain collections that warranted having a special sale, so we did a second auction that particular month. We have been offering more lots and it’s been a very hectic schedule and exhausting, but it’s a good problem to have.
What’s the finest or most interesting piece you have sold at Roland?
It’s hard to pick a particular item. What really surprises us the most are Chinese porcelains. It’s such a special market where few experts in that field know the difference between a $30,000 vase and a $3,000 vase. We have been surprised with some very high prices from Chinese porcelain pieces that we grossly underestimated, so those have been the most interesting in terms of price results. The other thing I would say is we had a lot of very nice 18th-century English furniture from a New Jersey estate. This particular collector was very wealthy and bought very expensive pieces at Christie’s and Sotheby’s in New York and London. During the last year, we have probably sold more than 100 pieces from his collection in three or four different auctions. They did very, very well so we were very happy about that. It also showed that good things — even if they are 18th-century English furniture, which people are saying is out of vogue — were still bringing respectable prices.
What is a typical day on the job like for you?
A typical day is looking at pictures people email of things they want to sell, and once in a while getting a picture that you are very excited about and you want to go see it as soon as possible. The other part is cataloging items for the upcoming auction and then the general management of the business: placing ads, marketing and overseeing the gallery and showroom.
Do you get to do any house calls?
Robert and Billy Roland do most of them, but I do some. For an antiques dealer or auctioneer, the discovery is half the fun and then when you sell it, it’s the other half.
To contact Sal Trupiano or to discuss a future consignment to Roland Auctions NY, call 212.260.2000 or 516.759.9400. Click to visit Roland Auctions NY online.
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