Achieving the sale’s highest price, $44,400, was this rare late Nineteenth or early Twentieth Century Russian silver and hand painted icon, “Mother of God of Kazan,” by Dimitri Smirnov.
EAST MEADOW, N.Y. — On March 16, World Auction Gallery conducted their Exceptional Late Winter Estate Auction. With just under 600 lots of art and antiques including paintings by various listed artists, a large collection of antique ornate boxes, a variety of silver items, an assortment of Chinese and Japanese items, several Italian art glass pieces, a collection of Nineteenth Century oriental rugs and more, the auction was packed with items that attracted all types of bidders — from established collectors to first-time auction buyers.
With a great deal of interest in a variety of lots, there were several in-person, phone and absentee bidders — in addition to the thousands of online bidders that also registered to bid. The majority of these lots came from various estates and were offered without reserves allowing customers to find something at every price point.
The real star of the show, however, was the collection of more than 200 antique ornate boxes all from the estate of a Long Island, N.Y., private collector which included English, French and other examples. “This is believed to be the largest private collection of these boxes and is unlike anything that we have seen! We were pleased with the performance of this collection and are happy that each box will be going to a new home,” World Auction Gallery’s owner, Ben Nejat, explained. The boxes included writing desks, tea caddies, jewelry boxes, glove boxes, knife boxes and more. Most of the boxes were made of various woods including coromandel, teak, mahogany, thuya, walnut, oak and rosewood. Although, there were a few marble, silver, leather and other examples as well. These boxes sold for a vast range of prices: An antique English kingwood coffre fort with brass mounts was the highest selling of the collection with a realized price of $3,250, which well exceeded its $300/600 estimate. This highly decorated box featured three secret drawers that could only be seen after unlocking the box.
Closing for $3,250 was this antique English kingwood coffre fort with brass mounts and three secret drawers.
Leading the sale overall was a rare, antique Russian icon from either the late Nineteenth Century or the early Twentieth Century titled “Mother of God of Kazan” by Dimitri Smirnov. This silver and hand-painted icon shocked the in-person crowd by selling for $44,400 and exceeding its $15/30,000 estimate. Coming from a Long Island home, this item’s rarity, subject matter, age, quality and decorative elements explained the high volume of interest that it garnered.
Additionally, a category that attracted many bidders due to its high valued lots was fine jewelry. Earning the second-highest price of the day was an 18K gold necklace with sapphires and diamonds, which weighed a total of 59.7 pennyweights. This item sold for $21,600. The sapphires in this necklace totaled approximately 55 carats and the diamonds totaled approximately 30 carats as per the NYG certificate that came with it.
The interest did not stop there. Bidders continued to show up for fine jewelry lots as can be seen by the third-highest priced item sold. This 18K white gold ring with an extremely large unheated pink sapphire center stone and three diamonds on either side sold for $11,400. The ring’s total weight was 5.8 pennyweights. The sapphire was 10.29 carats, and the six diamonds totaled .80 of a carat.
A large collection of silver items including Judaica, English, Persian, continental and more examples were auctioned off as well. The silver items included flatware, vases, boxes, bowls, trays, cups, spice boxes and others. A Tiffany & Co., sterling silver flatware set stood out among the rest when it sold for $8,400. This 104 piece set came with service for 12 and included 8 serving utensils. Weighing approximately 187 troy ounces, excluding the knives and one of the serving utensils, the lot was in excellent condition.
Another notable sterling silver lot was a two-piece Mappin & Webb set that included a large reticulated bowl along with a large footed reticulated tray. The total weight of this lot was 85.5 troy ounces. Both items were fully hallmarked and there was a dedication on the bottom of the tray.
This 104 piece Tiffany & Co., sterling silver flatware set in the English King pattern, with the weighable silver totaling 187 troy ounces, brought $8,400.
A framed painting attributed to Russian artist Oleg Tselkov received bids from many different customers hoping to win. The acrylic on canvas was signed on the lower left and had a sight size of 30 by 30 inches. Selling for a total of $5,200, it will be going to a private European collector.
“Collegiate School” by Louise Nevelson went for a total price of $3,300 surpassing its $1/2,000 estimate. Coming from a Park Avenue penthouse in Manhattan, this tabletop sculpture is made of cast resin and mounted on smoked acrylic. It is also fully signed, dated “‘72” and numbered “55/150.”
An Orientalist painting by Italian artist Ettore Simonetti came in its original frame and was signed on the lower right. This oil on canvas painting depicted a town street scene with figures and it went out for $2,400.
As the auction continued, there were several lots of antique oriental rugs from the Nineteenth Century that came from the estate of a Long Island private collector and were originally purchased from Peter Pap Oriental Rugs Inc. These rugs varied in sizes and origin ranging from Persian to Turkmenistan to Central Asian. The highest-selling of this group was an antique Nineteenth Century Turkmenistan Yomut Chuval rug that sold for $1,440.
Rolling out for $1,440 was this Nineteenth Century Turkmenistan Yomut Chuval rug that was originally purchased from Peter Pap Oriental Rugs Inc.
The category that wrapped up the auction was that of Chinese and Japanese objects. From vases and covered jars to bowls and snuff bottles, there were many lots to choose from for collectors of Asian items. Leading this category was a pair of antique Japanese tapered vases from either the late Edo or early Meiji period that went for $2,400. Each of the signed vases depicted a man on a phoenix in the clouds on one side and a minogame turtle with fire on the other side.
“Overall, we were very happy with the outcome of Sunday’s auction. We had a lot of interest across the board and are already looking forward to our next sale,” Nejat concluded.
World Auction Gallery’s next auction will be held on Sunday, April 27, and will be posted online for previewing by Friday, April 11. All prices in include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For information, 516-307-8180, worldauctiongallery@gmail.com or www.worldauctiongallery.com.
