Top lot status was awarded to this Chippendale mahogany blockfront chest of drawers, 36½ inches wide, which was probably made in Boston circa 1760; it closed its drawers for $46,875 ($30/50,000).
Review by Kiersten Busch
SAVANNAH, GA. — After two days and 1,096 lots, Everard Auctions & Appraisals’ June Southern Estates and Collections auction came to a close. The sale was conducted from June 17-18. “The sale did very well, with active bidding throughout the two days. Our bidding pool is about 80 percent private buyers,” said president Amanda Everard. “We were pleased with the results.” After the gavel’s last strike, the sale tallied $676,920.
Day one saw the highest price, which went to a Chippendale mahogany blockfront chest of drawers, probably made in Boston circa 1760. According to the consignor, a private collector from Savannah, “the chest was purchased from Israel Sack in the 1990s for $95,000.” It sold to another private collector for $46,875, landing near the high end of its $30/50,000 estimate. Another Chippendale chest of drawers, this one made of cherrywood in the Eighteenth Century, changed hands for $688.
Four lots of furniture deaccessioned from the Telfair Museums in Savannah also found new homes, led by a pair of George III-style girandole mirrors from the Nineteenth Century, which reflected a $4,063 finish. Each of the two mirrors had an oval mirror plate and were positioned on top of two candle arms, swags and bellflowers; they were both surmounted by urns. The additional deaccessioned lots, all from the Nineteenth Century, included a George III-style giltwood overmantel mirror ($1,125), a pair of English deportment chairs ($219) and an English mixed wood and leather open armchair ($88).
“The Pallino” by James Lacasse (Arizona, Twentieth/Twenty-First Century), 2005, bronze, 6 feet 1½ inches high, signed “J. Lacasse,” numbered “1/1,” juggled a $9,375 finish ($2,5/4,000).
Bronzes attracted bidders, with 15 lots crossing the block. Prices ranged from $113 for a mid Nineteenth Century Astral lamp, to $9,375 for “The Pallino” by James Lacasse. The latter, signed “J. Lacasse,” was made in 2005 and numbered “1/1.” It depicted a jester juggling colored balls while balancing on a geometric form. “In my sculpture, I attempt to reflect on the essence of what makes us human,” explained a quote from the artist’s website. “My sculpture aspires to make light of, and give insight into, this curious world.”
Twenty-nine lots from the Betty Ann Mandus-Lane revocable trust were led by “The Oasis,” a 6-foot-10-inch-high by 10-foot-long hammered silver screen from the late Twentieth Century after French artist Edgar Brandt’s work of the same name, which was exhibited in 1925 at the Paris Exhibition. The 36-gauge sterling silver designs were hand-pounded over hand carved teak wood; it folded shut for $43,750.
A few works by — or after — Salvador Dalí from the Mandus-Lane trust also found new homes. “Royal Insect/Metamorphosis,” a 1974 color lithograph by Dalí on four sheets of Arches paper, buzzed right past its $2/3,000 estimate to achieve $4,375. Pencil signed and numbered “AP 13/50,” the lithograph was printed in Grapholith, France, and published by Jacques Carpentier. Two tarot card-inspired lithographs after Dalí, “Six of Swords” and “Renaissance (Ten of Coins)” sold separately for $688 and $625, respectively. Two other works after Dalí, “Gala Nude” and “Abraham Lincoln,” were paired together in the same lot but did not sell.
A local Savannah collector followed the path to $6,875 for this hand-drawn map of Isle of Hope, Ga., by John McKinnon, 22-3/8 by 28-1/8 inches framed, which was completed in January of 1800 ($1/1,500).
Bidders were led to the block by 12 lots of maps which all sold, ranging in price from $113 for a map of the coast of French Florida by Jacques Nicolas Bellin (French, 1703-1772), to $6,875 for a map of Isle of Hope, Ga., by John McKinnon. Hand-drawn in 1800, the McKinnon map included an inscription in the lower right quadrant, explaining that the map was “a true representation of a resurvey by me [McKinnon] in January 1800 of a tract of land situated on the north end of the Isle of Hope in the county of Chatham originally granted to Ann Parker.” Another typed label included in the lot described a 1755 council chamber and its attendees in Savannah, which related to the Parker family mentioned in McKinnon’s handwritten description.
The second day of the sale saw jewelry attract a lot of bidder attention, with 45 lots selling at prices as high as $15,000, which was earned by an 18K yellow gold, multi-colored sapphire and diamond necklace that found a new home with a private collector. Marked “Oscar Friedman” on its clasp, the necklace interspersed oval-cut multi-colored sapphires with round, brilliant-cut diamonds.
Property from the Mandus-Lane revocable trust made a return on day two, with 24 lots of Asian art and vintage fashion finding new homes. The selection was led by a pair of large — 29½-inch-tall — stone temple lions, which leapt past their $1,5/2,500 estimate to achieve $8,125. Each lion had a scaled body, tiger’s eye stone eyes and rested on white stone arched and carved bases. A pair of Chinese jade cranes from the Twentieth Century also did well, flying to $5,313.
This pair of Chinese white and green jade cranes were cataloged as “monumental” because of their size — 63 inches high; they flapped their wings to $5,313 ($6/8,000).
Eighty-six lots from the estate of the late Judge Joel M. Flaum (Chicago), changed hands for prices ranging from $13 to $625. The latter was earned by the serigraph “Interior Scene” by Thomas McKnight (b 1941), which depicted a seating area by an open window with a garden and birds. Flaum, a former US Court of Appeals Judge, was a “self-described ‘picker’” who collected the work of early and mid Twentieth Century Chicago and Illinois artists, World War I posters, presidential memorabilia and mementos of his judicial and military careers.
Silver and objects of vertu earned some of the highest prices of the second day, including a seven-piece sterling silver tea and coffee service by Tiffany & Company, which was won for $5,313 by a private collector. Made in the Twentieth Century, the service comprised a tea pot, coffee pot, chocolate pot, hot water kettle on stand, cream, sugar and waste bowls. Five additional Tiffany lots sold, ranging in price from $375 for a sterling silver salver, to $5,000 for a pair of sterling lidded tureens made circa 1900-10.
Everard’s next auction will take place in October. Prices quoted include buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For information, 912-231-1376 or www.everard.com.
