Neal Auction’s February 7 and 8 estates auction got off to a solid start with the first lot across the block, setting the tone for the auction where many of the choicest items trumped their estimates. Lot 1 was a Twentieth Century diorama of a Manhattan apartment, complete with furnishings and miniature Chinese ceramics, 16 by 31 by 20 inches, that sold above estimate for $528.
A pair of paintings by William Aiken Walker (South Carolina, 1838‱921, active New Orleans, 1876‱905) performed well above estimate, resulting in the sale’s top lot, Walker’s oil on board “Cotton Picker on a Mule,” which achieved $75,200, more than double its $25/35,000 estimate. The work will be included in John Fowler’s forthcoming catalogue raisonné on the artist. Walker’s “Cabin Scene, possibly Plaquemines Parish,” oil on artist board, fetched $37,600.
A triumvirate of paintings from New Orleans artist George Rodrigue (b 1944) sold well, led by “Honey Moon Glow,” which brought $34,075. “Goat with Oak: Traditional Series” made $18,800 and “Walking in the Bayou Teche: Traditional Series” realized $30,550, the latter representative of the artist’s early paintings.
Other fine art standouts included Franz Xaver Petter’s (Austrian, 1791‱866) “Still Life with Pink Roses,” bringing $10,800, and an oil on canvas by Anne Wilson Goldthwaite (Alabama, 1869‱944), “Young Woman in Pink,” at $7,931.
Selling just over its $12/18,000 estimate, a set of 12 Royal Crown Derby gilt and turquoise porcelain cabinet plates, puce mark, royal warrant and retailer mark for David Collamore, N.Y., date cypher for 1899, fetched $21,150.
Furniture offerings were led by an American classical gilt bronze mounted mahogany box sofa, early Nineteenth Century, probably New York, at $12,337. The sofa from noted New Orleans antiquarian James D. Didier was one of many lots in the sale to trace its provenance through New Orleans collectors.
Other furniture highlights included a rare pair of American Beaux Arts carved and parcel-gilt oak crystal cabinets, late Nineteenth Century, possibly Hale and Kilburn, Philadelphia, that went for $7,050, and an antique Napoleon III kingwood parquetry, Sèvres and bronze mounted table à ecrire, retaining brown tooled leather writing surface that brought $7,931.
Also offered were an American classical rosewood and brass-inlaid mahogany center table, circa 1825, possibly J.&J.W. Meeks, New York, bringing $7,343, and an American Federal mahogany tall post bedstead, early Nineteenth Century, probably Baltimore, at $6,462.
A decorative arts standout was a Dutch colonial tortoiseshell and silver mounted casket, late Eighteenth Century with incised openwork mounts and swing handles on ball feet that soared above its $1,5/2,500 estimate to realize $10,575.
Also tops in this category were a Tiffany sterling silver vintage motif ewer, by Moore, circa 1856‱859, with grapevine and grape leaf handle, which sold for $7,200, while another Tiffany & Co. standout was sterling silver flatware service for 12 in the Clinton pattern with provenance through M.S. Rau Antiques, New Orleans, crossing the block at $11,750.
Lighting highlights included an English gilt lacquered brass and bronze three-piece Argand lamp garniture, circa 1840, attributed to Messenger & Sons, London, that sold for $8,812, and a pair of gilt lacquered brass and bronze two-light Argand lamps, early Nineteenth Century, also attributed to Messenger, for $8,225. A pair of Louis XVI-style gilt bronze chandeliers, each with eight scrolling arms gathered by four seated putti, fetched $8,812.
Newcomb College art pottery stood out in the auction. A high glaze pitcher, circa 1900, decorated by Gertrude Roberts Smith with a curvilinear design reminiscent of brocade fabric in blue underglaze, went for $9,106, while a matte glaze vase, 1929, decorated by Sadie Irvine in the moon and moss motif in blue and green underglaze realized $6,462.
All prices reported include the buyer’s premium.
Neal Auction Company is at 4038 Magazine Street. For information, 504-899-5329 or www.nealauction.com.
