There are rarities and then there are items so singular they have no comparisons. A more than 40-pound gold ingot from the 1857 wreck of the SS Central America checked all the boxes for rarities and realized a staggering $2.14 million when Heritage sold it April 30-May 4. Another scarce object was a Japanese tin friction Atom Jet racer, which Milestone sold for nearly $50,000. For other things that were more plentiful, read on in this week’s auction highlights.
Hockney Lithograph Splashes Away Competition At Doyle
NEW YORK CITY — With a sale total that surpassed expectations, Doyle’s May 1 Prints & Multiples auction offered 144 varied lots. Leading the sale at $121,150 was David Hockney’s (b 1937) “Lithographic Water Made of Lines, Crayon and Blue Wash,” consigned from the estate of a Beverly Hills, Calif., artist. The color lithograph was printed on TGL handmade paper by publisher Tyler Graphics (Bedford Village, New York City) and was numbered 14/48. It had additional provenance to New York City-based André Emmerich Gallery and Nancy Hoffman Gallery. For information, 212-427-2730 or www.doyle.com.
Hungarian Boatmen Painting Sails High At Merrill’s
WILLISTON, VT. — Merrill’s Auctioneers & Appraisers’ May 2 sale was chock full with Americana from various local collections and estates but the top lot of the day — earning $15,340 — was a painting of river boatmen by Joseph / Jozsef Bato (Hungarian, 1888-1966). Dated “1912” and executed in oil on canvas measuring 31 by 40 inches, the painting was part of a selection of Continental works that blended well with the Country American theme. Estimated at $1,5/2,500, it saw competition on the phones and online, finally selling to a phone bidder. For information, 802-878-2625 or www.merrillsauction.com.
Bordelon Decoys Find New Home On Charles Street
SANDWICH, MASS. — Jim Parker put nearly 400 lots in Charles Street Auction’s May 3 Spring sale, which was subtitled Decoy, Americana and Harleys. One of the top lots of the day was a pair of Gadwall decoys made in Hopedale, La., in 1997 by Wheldon Bordelon, Jr, (1943-1999). The pair of hollow 15¼-inch decoys, which he described as both “outstanding,” “extremely fine” sold to a buyer on Cape Cod for $1,830. For information, 508-209-4512 or www.charlesstreetauctions.com.
Ingot Goes For Gold At Heritage
DALLAS — Serious collectors know a must-have treasure when they see one, and that was the exactly what happened when a massive Justh & Hunter gold ingot crossed the auction block at Heritage Auctions’ April 30-May 4 CSNS US Coins Signature Auction. The last of 60 bids drove the final result for the ingot to $2.14 million to lead the event. The ingot that led the US Coins event, from the Marcello and Luciano collection, is a behemoth, measuring 218 mm (nearly 8.6 inches) and weighing in 649.15 ounces, or just over 40½ pounds. The ingot was just one of four lots in the event that each topped $1 million. It is the second-largest ingot from the SS Central America that ever has been brought to auction. For information, www.ha.com or 214-528-3500.
All-Original Atom Jet Racer Zooms To Top At Milestone
WILLOUGHBY, OHIO — May 3 saw 815 lots of Japanese robots, windups, battery operated toys, cast iron toys, pressed steel toys and more cross the block at Milestone Auctions’ Premier Spring Vintage Toy Sale. Driving away with the top price of $49,200 was a rare, all-original and complete Japanese tin friction Atom Jet Racer. The 27-inch-long car included a full-body driver under a tin and celluloid canopy as well as its “almost impossible to find original box,” according to catalog notes. The box itself was also in great shape. For information, 440-527-8060 or www.milestoneauctions.com.
Winter Landscape Heats Things Up In Rockport
ROCKPORT, MASS. — The annual Rockport Art Association & Museum’s art auction — featuring more than 200 lots on May 3 — was led at $15,000 by Emile Gruppé’s (1896-1978) “Winter, Vermont,” a 40-by-50-inch oil on canvas that was signed but not dated. It was one of nine works by the artist in the auction, which resulted in 90 percent sold. For information, 978-546-6604 or www.rockportartassn.org.
Stickley & Grueby Collaboration Stands Up At Kaminski
BEVERLY, MASS. — A rare Gustav Stickley tabouret stand with a dark green Grueby center tile stood to attention in Kaminski Auctions’ May Estates Auction on May 4. The piece had an early Stickley joiner’s compass mark and was in original finish. With provenance to a Lynn, Mass., collection, the 22-inch-high stand, measuring 17 inches square, sold to a phone buyer for $19,200 — well beyond its $3,500 high estimate. For information, www.kaminskiauctions.com or 978-927-2223.
B&D Bidders Take Tea From Meissen Service
WESTMINSTER, MD. — B&D Auctions’ Easter Monday auction, which concluded on April 21, was led at $1,033 by an antique Meissen porcelain tea service. Made in Germany in the late Nineteenth Century, the service was comprised of a tea pot, cream pitcher and covered sugar bowl and featured hand-painted enamel flower-basket-pattern decoration with gilding. For information, 410-871-3080 or www.bdauctions.com.
Signed Sinatra Book Finds Its Voice At CT River Book Auction
GLASTONBURY, CONN. — With dry weather and good attendance by in-house and absentee bidders, Connecticut River Book Auction’s May 2 sale saw more than 100 lots with advance bids that were executed during the auction, shared owner Tom Gullotta. The sale was led by “a book that had received little attention prior to the event”: The Voice by E.J. Kahn, which was about singer Frank Sinatra. Signed by Kahn and including a long, dated inscription by Sinatra to a fan, the book sold in-house for the top price of $748. For information, www.ctriverbookauction.com or 860-908-8067.
