Leading the sale at $30,720 was this Russian silver-gilt cloisonné enamel partial tea set by Gustav Klingert, Moscow, 1892 ($15/25,000).

Review by Carly Timpson

NEW YORK CITY — Doyle conducted the 211-lot auction of furniture and decorative arts from The Collection of Lucille Coleman, a New York collector and philanthropist, on September 9. According to Doyle representatives, the sale “attracted spirited bidding from both sides of the Atlantic. The sale marked the first in a series of auctions that will showcase the exceptional taste of the esteemed New York collector and philanthropist celebrated for her generosity, style and civic engagement.” In total, the sale saw 510 registered bidders from the US and abroad, and it realized $465,760 with a sell-through rate of 86 percent.

Furniture and decorative arts specialist Jan Willem van Haaren shared, “Overall, the sale was good, with strong bids especially for smaller French furniture. French furniture isn’t the easiest, but smaller items do well because they are easier to transport, and especially because there are international bidders from France and the European continent.” He continued, “There’s a big demand for Baccarat and porcelain services, especially because retail is high. The trends favor luxury items like Baccarat and Limoges, not even a whole set, just because they’re luxury. Also, French and English furniture and smaller items like clocks, bronzes and candlesticks as well as dinnerware, flatware, silver and glassware. I will say that overall the market isn’t easy right now, but this was a highly curated sale with great, strong provenance and people rely on that.”

Standing 7-1/16 inches tall, this Twentieth Century Russian gilt bronze and malachite tazza had a diameter of 9¾ inches and realized $3,200 ($1,2/1,800).

Marking the sale’s highest price at $30,720 was a Russian silver-gilt and cloisonné enamel partial tea service by Gustav Klingert that passed its $15/25,000 estimate. Doyle’s “Auction Highlights” posted after the sale noted, “Gustav Klingert was a prominent silversmith and enameler working in Moscow prior to the Russian Revolution of 1917. Much of Klingert’s work, which was made for export, was retailed by Tiffany & Company in New York and was popular with American buyers. Such large sets of matching tea glass holders rarely appear on the auction market.” Dated to 1892, this service included 12 tea glass holders, a covered sugar bowl and sugar tongs, all enameled with geometric motifs and scrolling foliage on a gilt stippled ground.

As Van Haaren noted, silver was a prominent collecting category with several of the top lots representing that descriptor. Achieving $12,160 was a sterling silver tea and coffee service, sharing a French origin like many of Coleman’s furniture items. With the maker’s marks of Henri Lapparra and L.G., Paris, the Twentieth Century service included a teapot, coffee pot, covered sugar bowl, waste bowl, kettle on stand and a two-handed tray. Todd Sell, Doyle’s silver specialist, noted, “The French silver tea and coffee service was another beautiful set, but appeals to a more traditional buying pool which continues to get smaller. Dining rooms with sideboards covered in silver are growing scarce today as we tend to live so much less formally than in the past. This tea service will be a fantastic centerpiece to the new owner’s dining room though, and it will be a great conversation starter for admiring guests!”

A dozen Tiffany & Company sterling silver chargers, made circa 1907-38, brought $10,880. “They were really lovely with that classic border of shields and swags. It’s a sign of the market that silver by good makers, and that fits well with contemporary living, still has a good following and preformed well at auction,” commented Sell.

About 90 pieces made up this Twentieth Century Limoges gilt and polychrome-painted porcelain dinner service that was taken more than 14 times its high estimate to achieve $10,240 ($500/700).

Items by those desirable luxury makers included a Limoges gilt and polychrome-painted porcelain dinner service that rose above its $700 high estimate to achieve $10,240 and a set of 30 colorful Harcourt Rhine wine glasses by Baccarat that went out for $3,200 against a $900 high estimate.

Furniture, particularly French examples, also saw great success at auction. Leading the selection was a circa 1760 Louis XV ormolu-mounted tulipwood, kingwood and amaranth parquetry secrétaire à abattant, or drop-front secretary, by Jacques van Oostenrijk (called Dautriche) that had a molded breche d’alep marble top. The piece had provenance to a 2007 Doyle auction, and finished this time around for $15,360, the sale’s second-highest price.

A Louis XV/XVI transitional ormolu-mounted kingwood, tulipwood and parquetry commode made circa 1765 and stamped “C. Saunier / JME” three times for French maître Claude-Charles Saunier achieved the sale’s third-highest price at $12,800.

Stamped “C. Saunier / JME” three times, this ormolu-mounted Louis XV/XVI transitional commode by Claude-Charles Saunier (French, 1735-1807), circa 1765, tulipwood, kingwood and parquetry, 35 inches high by 51 inches wide by 22½ inches deep, brought $12,800 ($15/25,000).

According to the auction catalog, Coleman’s collecting interests were vast and included “a remarkable group of Asian works of art.” Additional auctions will feature the majority of this collection, though several decorative Asian pieces were featured in this sale, including bronze sculptures, jade carvings and porcelain. Twenty-eight Sino-Tibetan and Chinese-style bronze sculptures were offered in four lots, all of which topped the Asian works of art category. The selection was led at $4,480 by a group of seven figures from the Twentieth Century and earlier. This lot comprised a seated gilt bronze figure of Jambhala, a Ming-style gilt bronze figure of Shakyamuni, a gilt bronze figure of seated Tara, three seated bodhisattvas (two gilt bronze) and a Seventeenth Century Chinese bronze figure of a standing Daoist guardian deity.

Additionally, there were some Asian silver lots that showed the strong overlap in Coleman’s collection. A group of seven modern Indian and Asian silver boxes was estimated at $1,5/2,500 but finished at $7,040 and three Twentieth Century Burmese silver bowls had the same estimate and earned $5,440. Sell explained, “The Colemans had really wonderful Asian art, and these bowls had a huge amount of interest presale from bidders across three continents. The market for Asian silver is really strong as buyers appreciate the craftsmanship but also know that the silver value should help these to keep their value!”

Additional selections from the Coleman collection will be featured in the following upcoming auctions: Prints & Multiples (October 23), Important European & American Art (November 12), Rare Books, Autographs & Maps (November 25) and Fine Art: Nineteenth Century & Early Modernism (December 9).

Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For information, www.doyle.com or 212-427-2730.