Date: Fri 02-Apr-1999

Publication: Ant

Author: JUDIR

Quick Words:

Weschlers

Full Text:

Weschlers American And European Furniture Sale

with 3 cuts

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The first lot offered in Weschler's American and European

Furniture and Decorative Arts Sale on February 6 set the tone for the entire

event. An enthusiastic audience brought the bidding up to $3,565 on a

needlepoint Aubusson pattern rug with an initial estimate of $1/1,500.

Spirited bidding brought over estimate prices for a large Kashmir rug, which

reached $1,725; a Nineteenth Century Serapi rug which garnered $12,650; a

Tabriz, which sold for $8,050; and for a big, red-ground Sarouk, which rang up

$11,050.

American decorations included an 1843 classical brass and cut glass Astral

lamp, which sold for $925. Nautical items went well, two American painted

dioramas of ships went for $747.50, and an early Twentieth Century diorama of

the ship Annie brought $862.50, all above estimate.

An oil on canvas by N. Arvion, "Autumn River Landscape," sold for a surprising

$1,955, nearly three times its estimate.

Mirrors were popular. A classical style giltwood convex mirror of the late

Nineteenth Century sold at $2,300. A circa 1860, three-piece Victorian Rococo

R evival walnut three-piece bedroom suite inspired $8,050; a Federal figured

maple dressing table, circa 1825, sold for $1,610, twice the estimate; and a

Federal painted pine fireplace mantel was hotly contested and reached a price

of $4,100, nearly four times its estimate.

Chippendale was popular. A Chippendale style mahogany piecrust tilt-top tripod

tea table went for $4,255, and a Chippendale cherry flat-top

secretary-bookcase from Pennsylvania, circa 1780, sold for $13,800.

Silver was very strong overall. One of the early lots, a pair of Durgin

sterling "Peacock" bonbonnieres inspired a high bid of $862.50. Anything by

Tiffany incited interest. A pair of Tiffany & Co weighted sterling silver

candlesticks brought $1,495, and a set of Tiffany & Co sterling covered

dishes, New York, 1875-1891, sold for $9,200.

Silver opened the European sale. Some notable lots were a George VI silver

five piece tea and coffee service, which sold for $2,990, and a set of four

Victorian silver pierced footed bowls, London 1895, which brought $3,565 --

well above the high estimate.

An oil on canvas, "Street Scene in Constantinople," by Salvatore Salla, went

way above an estimate of $600/800 for $2,070. A Louis XV style giltwood

"Vernis Martin decorated vitrine-music cabinet, circa 1900, pulled down

$1,380. A pair of Louis XV style parcel gilt and cream painted mirrors sold

for $1,955.

Among furniture, an Italian Baroque style walnut side cabinet sold for $2,185;

a George III style satinwood inlaid mahogany three-pedestal dining table went

over the estimate of $2/3,000 to $5,750; and a George III style satinwood

inlaid mahogany bowfront sideboard sold well above estimate for $4,370.

Tall case clocks included a George III inlaid mahogany tall case clock leading

the prices with a top bid of $6,900. A George III style brass mounted mahogany

marine stick barometer-thermometer went over double the estimate at $1,380, as

did a George III style satinwood inlaid mahogany stick barometer-thermometer,

which sold for $1,495.

A pair of George II style cutlery urns brought down $3,565. Two French

Aubusson hunting tapestries from the Nineteenth Century went for $9,775 and

$7,475 respectively. A French gilt-brass and white marble calendar mantel

clock with an auction value of $3/5,000, more than doubled its high estimate

of $5,000, bringing $12,650.

Among the many china offerings, a Herend 104-piece dinner service in the

"Rothschild Bird" pattern brought $5,750. In a group of Meissen, a pair of

Meissen figures of a gentleman and a lady musician sold for $3,450. Four Derby

large cans from the Robert Bloor period, 1806-1848, were popular with bidders

and sold for $1,495 over an estimate of $500/700.