Consigned from a local Copake, N.Y., estate, this two handled Chinese cloisonné vase was dated to 1917 and poured out at $7,813, the highest price of both sales ($100/200).
Review by Kiersten Busch
COPAKE, N.Y. — Copake Auction kicked off Easter weekend celebrations with two sales: April 18th’s Garden Outdoor Patio Auction, and April 19th’s Estate Auction. Collectively, the two sales saw 1,160 lots cross the block, totaling $115,000 for the first sale and $227,000 for the second; each had a sell-through rate of 99 percent.
Seth Fallon, one of Copake’s owners, commented, “Both sales did exceptionally well. There was lots of participation and we sold items worldwide!” The world “worldwide” certainly rang true, as Fallon confirmed that the firm “sold to 30 different states and 10 different countries.”
Garden Outdoor Patio Auction
“Most of the garden items were consigned from a Canadian customer who brought the stuff here,” said Fallon of the lots from the Garden Outdoor Patio Auction. “We have done a lot of business with them; it was part of their antique business, which they are retiring from.”
Two Asian bronze pagodas took the top spot, earning $4,063. It was the highest-priced of three lots including pagodas, followed at $1,000 by a sheet metal pair and ending, at $250, with two cast stone forms: one a dragon and the other a small pagoda.
The highest price of the Garden Outdoor Patio Auction went to this lot of two Asian bronze pagodas, which earned $4,063 ($200/400).
Eight lots of fences crossed the block, ranging in price from $88 to $3,625. The former was achieved by a pair of Victorian wrought iron sections with a gate, while the latter was earned by 20 interlocking wrought iron sections, each measuring 26 inches high and 48 inches wide.
Urns of all shapes and sizes were popular with bidders, led by a pair of two-piece cast iron garden urns with lion motifs, which roared past their $500/700 estimate to make $3,375. Of the 24 urn lots offered, only three others were bid to prices at or exceeding $1,000: a pair of two-piece cast iron urns ($1,875), a painted white cast iron pair on bird bases ($1,375) and an 18-inch-diameter cast iron pair on bases ($1,000).
If bidders were looking for a furry or feathered friend to watch over their garden, 13 different metal sculptures were on offer, ranging in price from $50 for an owl garden sculpture to $3,000 for a pair of bronze sitting lions. Two separate pairs of cast metal herons flew to new homes for $2,075 and $688, respectively, while other aviary figures, such as a cast iron sculpture of geese ($688) and a cast iron billed bird ($531), also migrated to new owners. Sculptures of man’s best friend also seemed to attract bidders, with a pair of bronze whippets running to $2,125, a pair of cast iron spaniels barking at $688 and another whippet, this one painted cast iron, sitting pretty at $156.
This 10-piece set of faux bamboo chairs grew past their $100/200 estimate to achieve $2,750.
A set of 10 aluminum faux bamboo chairs led a group of 51 lots of chairs, earning more than 10 times their $100/200 estimate at $2,750. The other 50 lots ranged in price from $13 to $1,125, assuring that a collector of any experience level or budget would be able to walk home with something for their collection. The high price, achieved by a Francois Carre armchair and settee two-piece set in the sunburst style, was the highest earning of three lots of furniture by the French designer. The other two, both sets of four sunburst style armchairs, earned $750 each.
John Salterini, another furniture designer, also had three lots of chairs in the sale, led by a pair of red wire “peacock” style chairs, which were bid to $375. They were followed by a pair of black peacock style chairs and a group of two chairs — one a rocker and another a side chair — in the radar style, both of which sat at $219.
The range of chairs was very diverse, including in the material each lot was made from. A pair of Nineteenth Century cast iron armchairs ($500) led a group of eight of the same material, while a pair of wrought iron “spine” chairs ($500) and a pair of poured stone garden chairs ($113) also exchanged hands.
All 10 of the garden fountains offered in the sale were sold, with prices ranging from $75 for a poured stone example with lion masks, to $1,875 for a pair of 74-inch-high bronze cranes who spout water from their mouths. A few other animal-form fountains crossed the block, including a singular bronze crane ($1,875) and a bronze fish ($406). Figural statues were also well represented. A cast iron wall fountain with a Neoclassical motif on its front ($1,063), a cast metal fountain depicting “young Bacchus on a barrel” with an illegible signature ($531), a 28-inch-high angel ($469), a bronze fountain of Mark Twain’s character Huckleberry Finn ($281) and a cast lead “Pan Piper” fountain ($250) all found new homes.
Flying to $1,875 was this 74-inch-tall fountain in the shape of a pair of bronze cranes ($500/700).
Estate Auction
The April 19th auction was topped by a Chinese cloisonné vase, which sold to a Chinese buyer for $7,813. The two-handled vase had enameled dragon decorations and was signed and dated on its underside “June 17, 1917.” It was the highest priced lot of six items of Chinese origin, which also included another decorated piece, this one a trade painted trunk which closed its lid for $281. Two Chinese export tables were also included in the grouping — one a rectangular tray table and the other an oval tray table — which stood tall at $531 and $188, respectively.
The second-highest price in the sale, $6,250, went to a Nineteenth Century white marble bust of a man in the Classical style; it came from a Poughkeepsie, N.Y., estate and will remain in the state with New York City dealer. The bust led a group of four more marble sculptures, with prices ranging from $219 for a statue of a young girl to $438 for a pair of Nineteenth Century French Classical Grand Tour marble and bronze tabletop busts of the twin Roman gods Apollo and Diana. Another bust was also offered, depicting a lady with a hat, which sold for $375.
Switching gears to furniture, 31 lots of chairs were led by a set of eight ladderback tape seat chairs, which made more than 23 times their $100/150 estimate at $3,500. Prices on the rest of the 30 lots of chairs ranged from $25 for both a vintage upholstered chair and a lot of four early Nineteenth Century chairs, to $750 for a set of six Hitchcock chairs. Matching sets were well represented, with four additional examples crossing the block. These included a set of eight New England ladderback splint seat chairs ($375), a set of five Nineteenth Century Classical mahogany chairs with a non-matching armchair ($281), a set of four Hepplewhite shield back side chairs ($250) and a set of six Queen Anne-style dining chairs with slip seats and carved motifs at the tops of their splats ($100).
A New York City gallery won this room size Aubusson rug, 8 feet 10 inches by 12 feet, for $5,938 ($75-$100).
Far surpassing its $75-$100 estimate was a room size Aubusson rug consigned from a Millbrook, N.Y., estate, which rolled out to $5,938 to lead a group of 20 carpets from all over the world. The other 20 ranged in price from $25 for a lot of three rugs, one Turkish, to $813 for a 15-foot-5-inch-long Oriental rug runner. While there was a good amount of Oriental and Middle Eastern rugs on offer, the sale also featured two Native American rugs rolling up at $344 and $188, as well as a Navajo rug runner bid to $188. There were also two floral patterned hooked rugs, which hooked $219 and $188 finishes, as well as a braided rug, which tied the knot at $50.
Folk art and signage were also well represented, with 16 signs hanging up for prices ranging from $50 for a vintage tin Marlboro sign to $3,500 for a Nineteenth Century store sign for a “Book Store.” The latter was painted a deep blue with gold lettering, measured 13 feet 1 inch long and was snapped up by a local resident for their second home. The second-highest price in the group went to a two-sided, enameled “Berkshires” sign from a Copake Lake estate, which depicted a black pig grazing on grass; it was bought by a local buyer for $3,250.
A 24-inch-high half-moon trade sign led a group of five examples, earning more than six times the high end of its $50-$100 estimate at $625. It was followed by a painted and carved wooden sign labeled “La Taberna Caballo Blanco” ($188), a red “Antiques” sign with a pointing hand ($156), a carved wooden arm with a fist ($156) and a “Yonge Street, Ltd.,” painted wooden sign from the Nineteenth Century ($125).
Folk artist Mary Michael Shelley (American, b 1950) was the creative mind behind this carved wooden folk art panel of a farm scene, 36 by 26 inches framed, which earned $3,125 ($300/400).
Twenty-five lots of folk art found new homes during the sale, beginning with a carved wooden panel consigned from a Copake Lake estate by American folk artist Mary Michael Shelley, which depicted a farm scene with cows, chickens, pigs, ducks and a cat. Measuring 36 by 26 inches in its frame, the work was bid to $3,125 by a Southern collector. A menagerie of folk art animals were corralled into new pastures, including a lot of several wooden, metal, bronze and French ceramic pigs ($438); a contemporary mixed media folk art sheep ($313), two carved deer heads with real antlers ($250 and $219) and a painted wooden goose carving on a log base ($250).
Copake Auction’s next sale will take place on May 31. Prices quoted include buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For information, 518-641-1935 or www.copakeauction.com.
