Knaths Cubist Work Talks Turkey In Provincetown Sale

PROVINCETOWN, MASS. – Provincetown Art Association and Museum (PAAM) conducts an annual consignment auction as a fundraising event, featuring artwork by deceased artists who lived, studied or worked on Cape Cod. On September 23, auctioneer and Provincetown art expert James R. Bakker offered about 100 lots to a crowd of buyers both at the gallery and online and via phones. The highest priced lot of the day was an oil on canvas by Karl (Otto) Knaths (1891-1971), an early Modernist who worked within the Cubist idiom. His “Turkey in the Straw,” 42‚¼ by 40‚¼ inches, came to the podium with an $8/12,000 estimate but climbed to finish at $19,200. For information, www.paam.org or 508-487-1750.

Italian Renaissance Old Masters And American Colonial Currency Find Their Worth

FREEVILLE, N.Y. – The September 10 sale at Worth Auctions featured a broad range of art and antiques, with particular focus on Italian Renaissance works on paper and votive sculpture. These included pen and ink drawings attributed to Ventura Salimbeni, such as “Judgement of Solomon,” Sixteenth-Seventeenth Century, which was bid to $3,250. The sale also featured colonial American currency, designer Midcentury Modern furnishings, fine and costume jewelry, Judaica metalwork, autographs and more. For information, www.worthauctions.com or 607-279-0607.

Platinum Timepiece Leads The Way At Stanley J. Paine Auctioneers

NEWTON, MASS. – A Vacheron Constantin “Excellence Platine Traditionnelle” brought down the house at Stanley J. Paine Auctioneers on September 23, a jewelry and luxury watches sale, as it brought $49,500. The watch was from a limited series of 100 and featured a platinum case and dials. For information, www.paineauctioneersonline.com or 617-731-4455.

Sharp Bidding Takes R.H. Ruana Blade At Morphy’s Sale

DENVER, PENN. – An R.H. Ruana custom Bowie knife achieved top lot status in Morphy Auctions’ September 22 premier knives sale, piercing through the estimate to take $12,700. The knife featured a 14‚¼-inch blade with a bright brass back clip and original leather sheaf. Three other Ruana blades rounded out the top four lots in the sale, signifying a strong push in the secondary market for the contemporary maker based out of Montana. For information, www.morphyauctions.com or 877-968-8880.

Connecticut Highboy Towers Over Copake Auction

COPAKE, N.Y. – An eastern Connecticut highboy attracted a good deal of attention at Copake Auction Inc’s September 23 sale as it brought $11,895 against a $1,200 high estimate. The 53‚½-inch-tall piece of curly maple furniture dated to the Eighteenth Century in the Queen Anne style. For information, www.copakeauction.com or 518-329-1142.

Mochaware Mug Slams Down At Heckler

WOODSTOCK VALLEY, CONN. – At 5-7/8 inches high and colored in an off-white body with a mottled blue, brown and tan decoration, a mochaware mug topped Norman C. Heckler & Co.’s September 23 live auction with a $1,404 result. The sale achieved a 97.2 percent sell-through rate as 142 lots crossed the block. For information, www.hecklerauction.com or 860-974-1634.

Bird’s-Eye View Of Santa Barbara Takes Flight

SAN FRANCISCO – A rare lithographed bird’s-eye view of Santa Barbara, Calif., 1877, surrounded by vignettes of residences and public building, sold for $6,000 on September 21 at PBA Galleries’ cartography and Americana sale. A color lithographed view of Portland, Ore., issued in 1890, was also quite rare and pulled in $3,000. For information, 415-989-7224 or www.pbagalleries.com.

Pair Of Chinese Ming-Style Horseshoe Chairs Bring $32,500

PHILADELPHIA – In a wide-ranging auction of Asian art and ethnographic artifacts on September 24 at Material Culture, a pair of Chinese Ming-style horseshoe chairs brought $32,500, the high price of the day. Also performing well were a Chinese silk embroidered robe, early Twentieth Century, at $16,250; an antique Chinese hardwood, stone and inlay throne chair at $11,875; and a Sino-Tibetan bronze Buddha going out at $10,000. For information, 215-438-4700 or www.materialculture.com.

Roald Dahl And Stephen King Lead Book Auction

FREEVILLE, N.Y. – The September 9 sale at National Book Auctions featured a wide array of books and ephemera, with particular focus on children’s literature and modern firsts. A signed first edition of Roald Dahl’s Boy brought $1,187 against a high estimate of $500, and a signed first edition of Stephen King’s IT brought $1,000 against a high estimate of $400, likely due to renewed curiosity surrounding the release of the major motion picture adaptation. The sale also featured Colonial American pamphlets, vintage science fiction pulp magazines, cased ambrotype portraits, illustration art and vellum volumes dating back to the early Seventeenth Century. For information, www.worthauctions.com or 607-279-0607.

Mint ‘Big Dog’ Chopper Zooms To $5,000 At Iroquois Auctions

WEST MONROE, N.Y. – On September 23-24, Iroquois Auctions of Brewerton, N.Y., and perfect late summer weather conspired to draw between 300 and 400 people to the firm’s large estates auction. Said owner Gerald A. Petro, “It has taken more than a year of collecting only the best antiques from local estates to culminate in this marathon large estates auction.” The top item across the block was a mint estate running customized 2007 “Big Dog” chopper motorcycle with 8,339 miles. Robust bidding propelled it to $5,000. Also offered was a signed Andy Warhol print, “Speed Skater,” which along with a letter of authenticity brought $3,960. For information, 315-668-2346.