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Two 12-inch-tall cobalt blue ground and gilt-accented Meissen pâte-sur-pâte porcelain urns lead the sale, realizing $19,500 ($4/8,000).
Review by Carly Timpson; Photos Courtesy William Bunch Auctions
CHADDS FORD, PENN. — The December 12 Fine & Decorative Arts sale conducted by William Bunch Auctions offered 535 lots of antiques, fine art, glass, china, silver, jewelry and porcelain. With 2,279 registered bidders, Bunch saw a 94 percent sell-through rate and closed the auction with a total realized of $298,280.
The star of the auction was a pair of Meissen porcelain lidded urns. Each cobalt blue ground urn had a white pâte-sur-pâte allegorical female form in an oval-shaped reserve. The urns were further decorated with white and gilt-accented serpentine handles. The leaf-decorated lids were also white with gilt accents and had a bud-shaped finial. With just one online bidder vying for them, the 12-inch-tall urns crossed the block for $19,500.
Another lot that saw a realized price double its estimate was a four-digit Delaware license plate. Number 3963 was a riveted plate with a solid blue base and yellow-gold numbers and lettering. Given the positioning of the state name and slogan, this plate was made between 1962 and 1968. The Delaware plate earned $14,600.
Finishing right behind the license plate was an oil painting by Emile A. Gruppe. The 30-by-26-inch Bahamian beach scene, “Andros Island,” achieved $12,300. The light blues and whites of the beach landscape are accented by brighter orange, red and green plants bordering the right side of the work.
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“Andros Island” by Emile A. Gruppe, oil on canvas, 30 by 26 inches, achieved $12,300 ($4/6,000).
An oil on silk or fine canvas irworobongdo — a Korean folk painting, or “minhwa,” on a folding screen depicting the sun, moon and five mountain peaks — brought $8,500. This eight-panel wooden-framed screen was 140 inches wide in total and was likely made in the Nineteenth or early Twentieth Century.
Earning $7,900 was a six-piece floral repoussé coin silver tea set. The set, marked “S. Kirk & Son / 11 Oz,” consisted of a samovar, two teapots, a covered sugar bowl, a cream pitcher and a waste bowl. The highly decorated samovar, featuring two lion-head ring handles and a bird finial, measured 15 inches tall and was complete with the burner.
“Cindy” by Joseph H. Sulkowski (American, b 1951), an oil on panel portrait of a black poodle brought an impressive $6,700 against an estimated $1/2,000. Mounted in a gilt frame, the piece measured 18 by 15 inches and was affixed with a label from the William Secord Gallery in New York.
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“Cindy” by Joseph H. Sulkowski, oil on panel, mounted in gilt frame, 18 by 15 inches, made $6,700 ($1/2,000)
A 2003 Cadillac Deville with a canvas top in the cashmere/shale colorway had just 33,490 miles and generated $5,500. The single-owner vehicle was in good condition, showing light normal wear for a 20-year-old vehicle.
One of the more surprising sales of the day was that of a Bidjar rug measuring 10 feet 10 inches by 18 feet 5 inches. With wear to its sides and central medallion as well as fraying at the edges, the rug was estimated to achieve $600 to $900. However, the Persian carpet soared past its estimate to achieve $4,600.
All prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For information, www.bunchauctions.com or 610-558-1800.