The adjective “flashy” could describe a good number of this week’s auction highlights, from a $26,400 jewel-encrusted monstrance from a Carmelite Monastery to a 14K gold, ruby and diamond pendant, made by Tiffany & Co that rose to $2,560 for SJ Auctioneers. Michaan’s put a 3.8-carat diamond ring on the hand of a buyer that splashed out $20,910 for the bauble while another Bay Area, Calif., auction highlight dazzled with a pair of Chinese jade and hardstone inlaid lacquer panels that brought $34,650.
Sacred Items From Carmelite Monastery In Kaminski Sale Reveal Ceremonial Culture
DANVERS, MASS. — Kaminski Auctions conducted a unique onsite auction event on August 17, showcasing the contents, garden ornaments and stunning stained glass windows of the monastery of the Carmelite Nuns in Danvers. Established in 1958, the Danvers monastery chapel is now permanently closed, and this auction marked a rare opportunity to acquire items that once held sacred significance within its walls. A 24-inch-tall jewel-encrusted French gilt brass monstrance led the sale, reaching $26,400, won by a bidder in the audience. For information, 978-927-2223 or www.kaminskiauctions.com.
Uncut Test Prints Cut Top Price In Heritage’s Trading Card Auction
DALLAS — A Magic: The Gathering/Pokémon uncut sheet of Wizards of the Coast test prints authenticated by CGC that had a white back sold for $275,000 to top Heritage’s Trading Card Games Signature Auction. Fascination in this lot grew in part from the fact that it includes cards from two of the world’s most popular games on a single sheet. The first four rows feature foil test prints of Lightning Dragon, the first foil card released by Wizards of the Coast until 2023, and Drifting Meadow, which did not have a foil release until early 2023. The final row at the bottom features five copies of the Blastoise Prototype Pokémon card. Also part of the appeal is the fact that the back of the sheet is entirely white, while test print sheets like these are usually printed with Magic: The Gathering card backings. For information, 214-528-3500 or www.ha.com.
Clars Bidder Trades Hard Cash For Hardstone Panels
OAKLAND, CALIF. — A pair of Chinese jade and hardstone inlaid lacquer panels that measured 29¼ by 41¼ inches and dated to the late Eighteenth or early Nineteenth Century was the top seller in Clars’ August 16 auction of jewelry, furniture, art and Asian works of art. Previously auctioned at San Francisco’s Butterfield & Butterfield auction in May 1992, the pair achieved $34,650 against an estimate of $10/15,000. A representative confirmed the buyer was a private US collector. It led a 752-lot sale that followed by an 811-lot warehouse auction on August 17. For information, 510-428-0100 or www.clars.com.
Tiffany & Co. Pendant Sparkles At SJ Auctioneers
NEW YORK CITY — SJ Auctioneers conducted its Black Americana, jewelry, silver and toys auction on August 18, offering just over 300 lots from artists, designers and manufacturers such as Tiffany & Co., Dominick & Haff, Reed & Barton, Lionel, Nintendo, Matchbox and many more. Leading the sale was a diamond and ruby convertible pendant by Tiffany & Co. The midcentury piece was hallmarked as 14K gold, centered by a ruby and diamond cluster with “accents of vivid red rubies and sparkling diamonds throughout,” according to the auction catalog. Measuring 1½ inches in diameter, it was signed “Tiffany & Co.” on the pin stem and hand numbered on the reverse. An estate collector had the lucky bid, pinning the pendant for $2,560. For information, 646-450-7553 or www.sjauctioneers.com.
3.8-Carat Diamond Ring Finishes On Top At Michaan’s Gallery Sale
ALAMEDA, CALIF. — Michaan’s Auctions’ latest gallery auction came to a close on August 16. The Bay Area auction firm saw a strong sell-through rate among popular departments, most notably furniture and decoration, with the acquisition of a large collector’s significant private collection of Native American baskets and ephemera from various Native tribes. Along with the Native American artifacts, the jewelry department bid farewell to a spectacular 3.8-carat oval cut diamond and platinum ring (shown), which, accompanied by a GIA report, rose to $20,910. For information, 510-227-2505 or www.michaans.com.
‘Lady Liberty’ Ala Roy Lichtenstein Lights The Way At The Popular Pioneer
RUTLAND, VT. — Roy Lichtenstein’s 1982 screen print of the Statue of Liberty sold for $20,000 at the Popular Pioneer auction house on August 19. While many of the artist’s Pop art subjects parodied comic strips, this work which was titled “I Love Liberty,” is straightforwardly patriotic even while it employs Lichtenstein’s flat color style. It was published by the artist and People for the American Way, Washington, DC. For information, www.thepopularpioneer.com or 802-353-8825.
Rare Monumental Minton Majolica Ewer Pours It On At Strawser Auction
WOLCOTTVILLE, IND. — The third and final auction dedicated to the majolica collection of Edward Flower (1929-2022) and his wife Marilyn (1930-2017) was conducted on August 20, online and live at the Strawser Auction Group gallery. A monumental circa 1865 Minton majolica Renaissance Revival ewer on a stand designed by Hughes Protat and painted by Thomas Kirby, the only known painted example, was expected to hit $6/9,000 but did much better finishing at $24,200. The monumental ewer had a panel of hand-painted putti in clouds to the center, with a seated cherub and dolphin on fluted shoulders and an arched handle formed as conjoined serpents supported by cherubs and an entwined serpent above a circular base. For information, 260-854-2859, 260-336-2204 (cell) or www.strawserauctions.com.
Bryan Hunt Sculpture Makes A Splash At Helmuth Stone
SARASOTA, FLA. — Helmuth Stone Gallery conducted a 336-lot auction of fine art and antiques on August 18. Measuring 107 inches tall, Bryan Hunt’s (American, b 1947) monumental bronze sculpture titled “Axial Falls” earned top-lot honors. With a rich golden patina, the signed, dated and numbered waterfall sculpture came from the Zenith Insurance Headquarters in Sarasota and sold to an online private collector for $18,125 ($15/30,000). For information, www.helmuthstone.com or 941-260-9703.
Mermaid Carving Makes Splash At Eldred’s
HANOVER, MASS. — A 15-inch-long carved and polychromed wooden mermaid, cataloged as Continental and from the early Twentieth Century, was one of two lots to share top-lot honors in Eldred’s Vintage Goods auction. Estimated at $400/600 and noted to have old repairs and damage, the unusual piece depicted a maiden holding a shield. It elicited interest high enough to finish at $1,792, the same price realized for a set of five Twentieth Century Windsor-style chairs bowback side chairs made by D.R. Dimes. It was the highest price realized in the 292-lot sale, which took place on August 21. For information, 508-385-3116 or www.eldreds.com.
