Top lot honors were achieved in three-, four-, five- and six-figure prices at auction recently, proving that auctions can be affordable to buyers in every budget. At the wholly affordable end of the spectrum was a $488 Sylvan oil on board scene at SJD Auctions and $2,250 for a two-shelf lot of glass and ceramics at JMW Auctions. The middle range saw $15,000 realized by Pook & Pook for miscellaneous glass with a D-Day flown flag bringing $73,800 at Milestone. At the priciest end were a LeBron James rookie card, a Chinese incense box and a Japanese woodblock print. For details on what soared and why, read on…
Collection Of Miscellaneous Glass Drives Competition At Pook & Pook
DOWNINGTOWN, PENN. — Pook & Pook’s June 26-27 decorative arts auction included furniture, collectibles, textiles, Native American and ethnographic artifacts and fine art. Leading the sale was an assorted collection of glass. This collection comprised three variform aquamarine bottles, a pair of conjoined bottles, a wicker-wrapped flask, a pair of 8-inch-high candlesticks and a 6¾-inch-high contemporary blown glass lily pad sugar bowl, probably Clevenger, with chicken finial. Together, the glassware shot past their estimated $100/200 to finish at $15,000. For information, www.pookandpook.com or 610-269-4040.
Hokusai’s Ryukyu Series Woodblocks Cap Heritage’s Nelkin Collection Auction
DALLAS — The complete series of eight works titled “Eight Views of the Ryukyu Islands” (Ryukyu Hakkei), circa 1832, by Katsushika Hokusai, sold for $156,250 to lead Heritage’s Signature auction of Japanese woodblock prints from the Nelkin Collection, Part I on June 27. The series was created to commemorate the Ryukyu tribute mission’s arrival in Edo in November 1832. The Ryukyu Kingdom, founded in 1429, expanded its territory and enjoyed a unique cultural independence for 450 years. Considered a foreign country by many Japanese, Ryukyu and its mission’s parades into the Japanese mainland were exhilarating events for locals. Hokusai did not visit the Ryukyu islands personally but instead based his prints on a collection of Ryukyu topographical illustrations created by Zhou Huang, a Chinese envoy who visited Ryukyu and Japan in 1756. For information, 214-528-3500 or www.ha.com.
US Navy D-Day Flown Flag Flies To Top Of Milestone Sale
WILLOUGHBY, OHIO — Milestone Auctions proudly presented its Premier military auction on June 29 with a sale featuring more than 650 lots of military items from the Revolutionary War to modern war. Leading the day, appropriately, as the calendar moved toward July 4, was a World War II US Navy LCI-538 D-Day-flown 48-star flag, which flew to $73,800. The historically important flag was part of a grouping and was flown during the invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944, during the first wave at Omaha Beach. The flag was souvenired by Motor Machinist’s Mate First Class Frank Ralph Maratea, who was aboard the ship during the invasion. The bunting of the flag says it’s an Ensign number 10 measuring 34 inches wide by 68 inches with fraying to the fly. For information, www.milestoneauctions.com or 440-527-8060.
Civil War Sword Used By New York Battalion Cuts It In Andrews & Andrews Sale
NORTHPORT, MAINE — A highlight from the June 22 Andrews & Andrews estate auction at the Blue Goose Center was a Civil War sword used by the 1st Battalion of the New York State Naval Militia having “SNY” cut into the basket. It sold for $5,060. For information, www.andrewsandandrews.com or 207-338-1386.
Limited Edition LeBron James Rookie Trading Card Shoots Winning Basket At Lelands
MATAWAN, N.J. — A 2003-04 LeBron James autographed Basketball Rookie Patch Parallel from the Upper Deck Exquisite Collection led Lelands Auctions’ 2024 Summer Classic Auction. Released on June 4, 2004, this card, numbered “#08/23” was part of a set of just 23 cards, paralleling James’ jersey number, making it a very rare collectible. There has only been one other example of this card graded by Beckett Grading Services (BGS) since July of 2020. This specific example was given an encapsulated BGS score of NM+ (Near Mint) 7.5, with an auto grade of 10. The auto was done in blue, on a white background beneath a two-color swatch. The card had additional BGS sub-grades of 9.5 for centering, 7.5 for edges, 7 for corners and 7.5 for surface. Purchased on eBay by the consignor in November 2004, for $3,000, the rare card skyrocketed past that price 20 years later to achieve $351,029. For more information, 732-290-8000 or www.lelands.com.
Chippendale Chest Draws Bids At Americana Auctions
REHOBOTH, MASS. — On June 30, more than 500 lots were presented by Americana Auctions in its Excellent & Diverse Estates auction. Heading the sale with a $8,640 result that exceeded its $3/5,000 estimate was a circa 1780 Boston Chippendale four-drawer chest made of Santo Dominican mahogany. Featuring checkered inlay, its original ogee bracket feet, old but not original round brasses with stars and stripes and a later finish, the serpentine-front piece came to auction from an estate on Martha’s Vineyard, Mass. For information, 508-771-1722 or www.americana-auction.com.
Incense Box Scorches Tremont Estimate
SUDBURY, MASS. — Of the approximately 425 lots Tremont Auctions sold in its annual spring Asian arts and antiques sale on June 30, a porcelain incense box bearing a Yung Cheng mark (1722-1735) and cataloged as of the period earned a surprising $390,400. The 2¼-inch-diameter box, which was decorated with butterflies and flowers, had been estimated at just $500/700. A representative for the auction house reported that it sold to an international buyer. For information, 617-795-1678 or www.tremontauctions.com.
Stone Ridge Porcelain And Glass Wins For JMW
KINGSTON, N.Y. — An assorted lot of porcelain and glassware — two shelves worth — from a six-generation Stone Ridge, N.Y., farmhouse, sold for $2,250 to earn top-lot honors in JMW Auction Service’s June 28 396-lot sale. Including Asian porcelains, dish sets and glassware, the lot was described as a “great lot for online seller or dealer to sort out…a lot there” and carried an estimate of $400/600. For information, 845-389-1933 or www.jmwauction.com.
Oil On Board Sylvan Scene Makes Impression At SJD Auction
AMENIA, N.Y. — SJD Auctions’ most notable lot in its July 2 auction will be heading to a buyer in Darien, Conn. It was a signed Impressionist oil on board painting by Zaza (Meuli) Milieu, (American, b 1892) depicting a sylvan scene of mother and daughter out for a twilight stroll. It sold for $488. For information, 845-489-7408.
