SAN ANTONIO, Texas — Single-owner collections can be double-edged swords for auction houses. The collection may contain incredible highlights but be dominated by standard-result items, or the collection may be so eclectic that finding a buying audience is nearly impossible.

Neither was the case with the Margaret and Fred Schellenberg collection of Mexican folk and religious art, a major contributor to the Hecho in Mexico event at Vogt Auction Texas on October 28. The vast majority of the auction’s 688 lots sold above or within estimate, with 100% sell-through according to published results at LiveAuctioneers.

A top earner was an 18th-century retablo, or religious icon, by Joseph de Paez (1720-1790) featuring El Senor Aposentillo, where Jesus Christ was imprisoned at the home of Caiaphas. The oil on copper measuring 8.5 by 11in was estimated at $3,000-$5,000 but surprised by hammering at $8,000 and selling for $10,000 with buyer’s premium.

A hand-carved throne chair created for the 1926 opening of the Aztec Theater in San Antonio produced expected numbers. Created by German immigrant Johannes Scholze, the Mayan Revival design chair hammered at its low estimate of $5,000 and sold for $6,250 with buyer’s premium.

Mexican artisans are known for their work in silver, produced in great quantities from local mines. This large-well Taxco silver punch bowl features two toucans and came from the estate of a Mexico City cardiologist. It hammered at $3,250 and sold for $4,062 with buyer’s premium against a $500-$800 estimate.

A five-piece rabbit (or conejo) band by Jose Gonzalez Mendez from the Schellenberg collection hit all the right notes, hammering for $1,000 and selling for $1,250 with buyer’s premium, blowing out the modest $200-$400 estimate.