The top lot in the sale was this 1972 tapestry attributed to Federico Aguilar Alcuaz (Filipino, 1932-2011) from a Northern Virginia collection that brought $11,495 from a trade buyer in Europe ($3/5,000).
Review by Madelia Hickman Ring, Photos Courtesy Oakridge Auction Gallery
ASHBURN, VA. – Oakridge Auction Gallery’s May 16 sale featured 458 lots of art, antiques and collectibles and was 82 percent sold by lot, with the sale total falling within estimate, according to the auction house. The sale headlined the first part of a large collection of Meissen porcelain figures that will be sold over multiple sales, Swarovski crystal sculptures and several automatons. Bidding was available via phone and absentee, and the sale was conducted live on two platforms: LiveAuctioneers and Invaluable.
Speaking after the sale, Oakridge’s press liaison, Katharina Biermann, waxed enthusiastic about the auction. “We were very pleased with the sale and had some very high-selling lots. While we didn’t have a preview, people could come in by appointment and we stepped up our media and took additional photos and videos of particular lots, which our bidders were happy to see.”
Leading the sale was a tapestry attributed to Federico Aguilar Alcuaz (Filipino, 1932-2011) which came from a Northern Virginia collection that had acquired it from the estate of an Embassy staff member though the paperwork was lost. A trade buyer in Europe acquired it for $11,495.
A modern Chinese teapot was a real sleeper, taking the second highest price when it sold for $4,537 to a private collector in the United States. When asked if it could be old, Biermann said they had examined it closely and assessed it to be modern, taking precautions to state so in the catalog. Two bidders may have thought otherwise.
Two singing bird automatons – interestingly consigned from different sellers – were among the top sellers in the sale. The higher selling example was attributed to Blaise Bontems (French, 1814-1893) and sold to an international private collector for $3,025. It came from a Boynton Beach, Fla., collection and was related to one also attributed to Bontems that Christie’s London had sold in September 2018 for approximately $5,700 ($2/3,000). One made by Karl Griesbaum (German, 1872-1941), featured a box with landscape scenes; it went to a trade buyer on the West Coast who snapped it up for $2,722.
“That was a shock…it took us all by surprise,” Biermann said about this modern Chinese teapot that brought $4,537 against a $200/300 estimate. Biermann said they had examined it carefully and were convinced it was not old.
Other notable lots included an all original Wurlitzer 1015 Bubbler jukebox from a Northern Virginia collection that was purchased by an American private collector for $3,630 ($3/5,000). A gilt and enamel annual dial clock that was probably French and consigned from a Leesburg, Va., collection more than doubled its high estimate, selling to a northern Virginia collector for $3,025 ($1/1,500). Heading a small selection of jewelry lots was a 14K gold lady’s braided mesh necklace that sold to an East Coast trade buyer for $2,722; among fine art lots, a batik painting depicting two fisherfolk by Seah Kim Joo, (Singapore, b 1939) surpassed its $500/800 estimate to bring $2,178.
Prices include buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house but may not include additional surcharges for method of payment or bidding.
Oakridge Auction Gallery’s next sale, “From Drawing Room to Battlefield: Fine Art & Antiques of the Eighteenth through Twenty-First Centuries,” will take place on June 27, at 10 am EST.
Oakridge Auction Gallery is at 44675 Cape Court, Suite 171. For information, 888-349-9910 or www.oakridgeauctiongallery.com.
