Pair of Tiffany Favrile Tel el Amarna vases, $43,700.
One of a pair of Continental giltwood wall mirrors, $32,300.
Tel el Amarna Vases from the MIT Museum Bring $43,700 at Grogan
DEDHAM, MASS. – On December 2-3, Grogan & Company held its annual December auction, which included more than 600 lots of American, European and Russian decorative arts, Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century furniture, silver, paintings and Oriental rugs. The two-day auction comprising property from two prominent local estates and several private collections, was attended by more than 1,000 antique and fine art enthusiasts from around the world and netted more than $1.4 million.
The first session held on Sunday, December 2, featured the auction highlight, two vibrant yellow Tiffany Favrile Tel el Amarna vases from The MIT Museum. The two sold to a phone bidder for $43,700 (est $1/1,500) after a lengthy bidding war between several phone bidders.
Other decorative highlights included a pair of fine Continental cobalt blue glass and gilt bronze three-light wall sconces, from the estate of noted Beacon Hill collector Morris Bornstein. The sconces sold for $19,550, far exceeding their presale estimate of $2/3,000 and a group of three Russian figures of maidens from the same estate, soared to $8,900, well above their $1/1,500 presale estimate.
Additional highlights from the estate included a pair of fine Continental carved giltwood wall mirrors that sold to a private Boston collector for $32,300 ($10/15,000) and a fine Louis XVI-style fruitwood ormolu and porcelain mounted marble top console dessert that realized $28,750 ($5/7,000).
A pair of Louis XV-style rock crystal and gilt metal eight-light chandeliers brought $9,200 ($5/7,000) and an Italian Baroque serpentine front inlaid carved fruitwood commode sold to a European collector over the phone for $14,950 ($2/3,000). The sale also included two ornately carved mahogany mantels and five fine marble mantels including an Italian carved rouge marble mantel that sold for $7,475 ($4/6,000).
The second session of the auction held on Monday, December 3, offered a group of six pastels by noted Boston artist Laura Coombs Hills. The group, which sparked considerable interest and com-petitive bidding, originated from a prominent local estate and included “Little Bowl of Zinnias,” which sold for $21,850, exceeding its presale estimate of $3/5,000, and the “Trumpet Vine,” the largest of the collection, which sold for $20,700 ($10/15,000).
Other noted Boston painters represented included Arthur Clifton Goodwin with “Winter City View, Boston,” an oil on canvas that sold for $12,075 ($5/7,000) and an oil on canvas landscape by Frederick Mulhaupt that sold for $12,075 ($10/14,000). Toward the end of the fine art offerings, a Rhode Island scene by Molly Luce, “Mending the Nets, Little Compton,” sold to a private collector for $14,375 ($10/14,000).
The second session began with silver offerings including two pieces of Martele silver. A loving cup sold for $9,200 ($5/7,000) and an entrée dish brought $3,450 ($2/3,500).
One of the more unique rdf_Descriptions was a French tortoiseshell and bronze music box with a finely detailed feather bird with an ivory beak that delighted previewers with its song. The music box ($600/800) sold over the phone for $1,955.
The sale concluded with a selection of more than 50 estate carpets and tapestries, including a Heriz carpet, circa 1890, 17 by 11 feet, that sold for $8,625 ($6/9,000) and a Fereghan carpet, circa 1875, 16 by 11 feet, that sold for $8,912 ($8/12,000).
The last lot of the auction, a Louis XV-style carved giltwood and Aubusson tapestry three-panel screen, exceeded its estimate and realized $6,900 ($3/5,000).
