The highest price of day two, and the sale as a whole, went to this French marble figure of Venus d’Arles, after the antique housed in the Musée du Louvre, Paris. Standing at 6 feet 8 inches tall, the statue was bid to $34,060 ($10/15,000).
Review by Kiersten Busch
HUDSON, N.Y. — Three days and 858 lots made up Stair Galleries’ single-owner sale of property from the collection of Aso O. Tavitian (New York City and Stockbridge, Mass.), which was conducted March 19-21. Tavitian, who was born in Communist Bulgaria in 1940 and immigrated to New York City in 1961, was a business leader and philanthropist, heading organizations such as the software development company, SyncSort Inc., and the Tavitian Foundation, which gave scholarships to students of Bulgarian and Armenian descent and origin. His collection included English furniture, decorative arts, European sculpture and garden statuary, among others. With a near-perfect sell-through rate, the sale garnered $2,213,751 across the three days.
“We had immense interest from buyers around the globe and welcomed many new bidders, likely following the Tavitian sale at Sotheby’s,” explained president, Colin Stair. “Among the highlights was the section of garden statuary, and we were very pleased with the overall results. It was a monumental task to handle, photograph and move this property to the gallery for preview, and our buyers responded — showing up in person to view and bidding with us directly.”
Day one of the sale was dominated by the decorative arts, with all 180 lots in the category selling, with prices ranging from $262 for a Flemish carved boxwood figure of a sleeping putto, to the $23,580 earned for a Victorian era white-painted cast iron urn, which was attributed to the Handyside Foundry (Derby, England). This example appeared in the 1874 catalog of Andrew Handyside and was sold in the Garden Statuary from the Collection of Baron and Baroness Sweerts de Landas Wybourgh sale at Christie’s, South Kensington, in June 2013. The upper socle of the urn was cast with various portraits of famous scholars and poets: Milton, Shakespeare, Scott, Stephenson, Watt, Wellington, Nelson and Peel, to name a few.
Within the decorative arts category, 33 lots of silver and vertu crossed the block, including four sets of flatware, led by a 288-piece Christofle silver flatware service in the Marly pattern, which served up a $17,030 finish. A 161-piece Christofle service in the Marly pattern ($9,170), a 112-piece Gorham service in the Fairfax pattern ($4,258) and a seven-piece Russian basketweave travel flatware set ($1,572) also found new homes.
This 288-piece Christofle flatware service weighed 406 ounces and was in the Marly pattern. The set sold for $17,030 ($4/6,000).
Out of the 65 pieces of furniture offered on day one, 17 were rugs and carpets. The clear frontrunner of the group was a Polonaise-style silk rug with provenance to Keshishian Carpets, London. The carpet rolled out to $15,720, far surpassing its $800-$1,200 estimate. Additional rug offerings on day one ranged in price from $1,310 for a Persian Sarouk runner, to $7,205 for a 6-foot-2-inch-long Fereghan Sarouk rug.
The decorative arts once again drew bidders’ attention the most on day two, with 228 lots to pick from, the majority being sculptures and carvings or metal and woodwork, with each category boasting 106 and 107 lots, respectively. There were sculptures and carvings for collectors looking to spend at any price point, with a set of three French carved walnut relief panels selling for $197, while an Italian carved jardinière earned $31,440.
A French marble figure of Venus d’Arles previously sold by Christie’s, South Kensington, earned the highest price of all three days. Standing tall at $34,060, the sculpture was done after the antique prototype that resides in the Musée du Louvre, Paris. Additional carved figures that excelled past their estimates included a white marble model of Pandora after Cesare Fantacchiotti ($18,340) and a carved marble figure of a “scantily draped” and seated maiden ($5,895).
While there were 81 vases and vessels offered on day two, only 18 were made of glass. This small group was led by a pair of Boston & Sandwich Glass Company deep amethyst pressed glass vases, which shot past its $200/300 estimate to achieve $11,790. “These were a real learning experience for me,” shared Stair. “In spending time and speaking with collectors who came in to preview, I learned just how scarce they are.”
This pair of deep amethyst pressed glass vases by the Boston & Sandwich Glass Company, 13½ inches high each, had extensive provenance and shattered its $200/300 estimate to earn $11,790.
Rugs led the third day of the sale, with three of the nine on offer earning three of the top four highest prices. A Persian Sultanabad carpet won the day, rolling up for $17,030. The second- and fourth-highest prices of the day belonged to a Persian Heriz silk rug ($11,790) and a silk Persian Heriz prayer rug ($8,515) respecitvely.
Forty lots of porcelain and tableware found new homes on day three. A set of 12 boxed Elizabethan-style sycamore roundelays earned the highest price of the group, surpassing the high end of its $300/500 estimate by more than 20 times at $10,480.
Three dinner services crossed the block, led by a Limoges porcelain service in the Impératrice Empire pattern which was bid to $6,222. The 152-piece set included dinner, lunch, soup and side plates; teapots and coffee pots with their covers; teacups and demitasse and their saucers; cream jugs; and sugar bowls with covers. Another set, this one with 105 pieces, poured out for $4,585, while a Wedgwood porcelain service in the Bianca pattern realized $1,441.
Stair also shared some insight into the bidders from all three days: “Each day of the sale had over 1,000 bidders registered, with activity and interest consistent across all categories. Over 95 percent of winning bids came through Stair directly, either online through stairgalleries.com or through absentee, phone or floor bidding.”
“The top 20 successful bidders were primarily private collectors, mostly based along the East Coast and Midwest. We were happy to see institutions bidding with us as well,” Stair continued. “We saw a lot of interest from across the globe, with bidding happening from Los Angeles to Shanghai.” He also included that approximately 20 percent of buyers were new to Stair.
Stair’s next sale, The Fine Sale, will take place on April 24, while its next single-owner sale, River Ranch: The Collection of Carole Harris, will span June 17-19. Prices quoted include buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For information, 518-751-1000 or www.stairgalleries.com.
