Boston Collects

BOSTON, MA –Doyle’s Boston location hosted its fourth auction in almost exactly one calendar year on June 7, consisting of 225 lots in a variety of categories. The sale totaled nearly $333,000 with premium, and was 86% sold by lot. Like the sale itself, highlights were across categories, including strong prices in American and European Furniture, Modern Design, Silver, Prints, Ceramics, and American Folk Art. A preview was held over a four-day period prior to the sale and by appointment as well. Bidders participated in person at Doyle’s Boston saleroom, where the sale was handled by auctioneers Chris Barber and Kathryn Craig, via phone bids and absentee bids, and by live bidding through Doyle.com. As per usual, Live Auctioneers and Invaluable also listed the sale and made it available for bidding. Participation was strong from all platforms, and the roster of registered bidders showed good local Massachusetts interest as well.

Furniture

Leading the way in the furniture category were a Burl Veneer Reniform Desk by Holland & Sons of London, of impeccable quality, made around 1860, which brought $12,160 against a $3,000-5,000 estimate, and a William and Mary Walnut High Chest of Drawers from early 18th century Massachusetts, which attracted a lot of attention prior to the auction and sold for $10,880.

Folk Art

A fine and small example of house portraiture by Fritz Vogt carrying an estimate of $8,000-12,000 garnered a number of bids, finally going to a bidder on the phone for $14,080. Vogt is known for his recognizably straightforward and precise depictions of farmhouses in New York and Pennsylvania. The family had owned this work, depicting the homestead of Mr. and Mrs. Edward Lynk of Cherry Valley, New York, since its completion in 1895, and it likely benefited from its strong private provenance. Many good examples of American folk objects from the estate of Kenneth Sausville, a well-known New York collector, performed well. These included a blue-painted and carved crooked knife ($1536) and a shadowbox diorama of Provincetown Harbor ($2880), both from a New York home.

Silver/Porcelain

A popular sterling silver flatware service led the silver offerings in the sale—in Jensen’s Pyramid Pattern, comprising 195 pieces, including 18 serving utensils—to $14,080. Other highlights included a 4-piece Gorham Martele Coffee Service at $4,800 and two additional well-recognized flatware services: the Fanueil pattern by Tiffany ($3,840) and Gorham’s Versailles ($5,120).

We offered a collection of Worcester porcelain in the "Bengal Tiger" pattern as four separate lots, which attracted strong competition and brought in a total of $11,104. Another small ceramic collection, comprising English slip-decorated wares sold in seven lots, totaled $6,944.

Prints

There were also strengths in the prints section, with the Alexander Calder screenprint Pinwheels and Pyramids bringing $4,480 and two lots of early botanical prints by German botanist and apothecary Basilius Besler, comprising 8 well-framed examples overall, which totaled $13,440.

Doyle’s Boston Gallery has now grossed nearly $1.1 million in sales over the past 12 months and looks forward to its next scheduled sale in late September.

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