Clarke Auction Gallery’s April 6 sale turned up the volume somewhat on what Ronan “Ron” Clarke, the firm’s founder and owner, had characterized as a quiet start to this season’s sales in February and March. “The gallery was packed to the gills, with about 120 paddles. The trade was there as well as retail, and they were buying,” said Clarke. The diverse sale featured more than 400 lots, comprising antique and Twentieth Century furniture, Tiffany, Oriental rugs, silver and signed Twentieth Century art glass, among others.
There was some fine art as well, but Clarke was saving the best offerings for his highly anticipated, twice yearly fine art auction in May. “It was a strong sale, with a great load of items, and there were some bargains to be had as well,” said the auctioneer.
As expected from presale interest, a pair of dore bronze figural candelabra, part of a Tiffany collection from a Riverdale, N.Y., estate, led the sale, easily topping its $3/5,000 presale estimate to finish at $8,225. Exhibiting excellent quality and great gilt color, the 28-inch candelabra featuring gracefully dancing and entwined female figures rested upon 2-inch bases.
A local house call turned up the sale’s next high flier, according to Clarke. “I went to this lady’s house, and she really had nothing spectacular but this vase,” recalled the auctioneer. The Royal Vienna porcelain vase decorated with muses and putti had been converted into a lamp and was hand signed by the artist, Goerner. Estimated $800․1,200 but realizing $7,050, the lot went to the trade, “making the consignor quite happy,” added Clarke.
Selling at $5,288, a massive octagonal dining table that had been made for John D. Rockefeller was among the heaviest hitters in the furniture category. It had been the bank table and centerpiece for the flagship Chase bank in New York City in happier days, but recently had languished inside a storage unit in the Hamptons. That apparently did not harm what Clarke described as a “great golden patina.” Probably cherry, the brass-trimmed table measured 8 feet in diameter, with each section coming in at 32 inches by 29 inches high.
“Furniture had been a slow category before,” said Clarke. “It was nice to see it picking up again.”
Other furniture highlights included an Eighteenth Century Italian slant front desk, which also sold for $5,288. With inlaid veneers and a nautical battle scene, the rare desk had come from a New Rochelle, N.Y., estate.
Breakfronts, china cabinets and secretaries, while underperforming their presale estimates, still helped to bolster the category. A centennial piece, a Sheraton-style American china cabinet that had come out of a Fifth Avenue apartment, had nice old glass, went out at $2,232, while a Twentieth Century mahogany breakfront with inlay and signed Irwin neared its high estimate at $1,880. A Hill of London crown glass china cabinet/secretary from a Bedford Hills, N.Y., home reached $1,410.
Two Kittinger lots did well, with a Queen Anne-style upholstered loveseat going for $2,333 and an upholstered sofa bringing $940.
A couple of other notable lots in the furniture category were a mahogany banded twin-pedestal dining table at $1,998 and a set of ten Biedermeier-style dining chairs at $1,880.
Lighting up the lamps offering were a Pairpoint reverse painted glass lamp signed Durand and a Tiffany Studios Nautilus lamp with a dolphin base. The Pairpoint, which brought $2,939, was approximately 24½ inches high with a 177/8-inch diameter shade. The Tiffany Studios lamp went to $2,116 despite a small hole on the shade. It was 14 inches high.
A matching set of four mirrored back and beaded sconces took $2,350, while a midcentury multi-crystal chandelier, possibly Kosta, fetched $999.
Silver also shone at the sale. An 800 silver enameled and ivory box, possibly Russian and devoid of any dings, featured ivory sections and an ivory eagle on the lid. It sold for more than triple its high presale estimate at $1,998. A sterling Victorian centerpiece made $940, while an 800 silver and bejeweled box decorated with putti also tripled its high presale estimate, going out at $999.
It was the so-so of times for silver flatware, with one lot of 800 silver flatware, approximately 176 pieces, totaling $1,116, and a 91-piece set of Tiffany sterling flatware in a box settling in just above its low estimate at $3,290.
And now the one that got away. A savvy bidder pounced while others snoozed, taking home a walnut brown Steinway Model M grand piano for $5,288. It had been estimated at $6/9,000.
Prices reported include the 17½ percent buyer’s premium. For information, 914-833-8336 or www.clarkeny.com .
