12/06 Rago Arts sale

We drove out to Lambertville this morning to preview today's Estates sale at  Rago Arts... we didn't bother to stick around for the auction, because (1) we would be hard pressed to fit another object, small or large, into our little house, and (2) we assumed the large (for the auction house) number of quality 19th century furniture items would draw deep-pocketed bidders (which would price us out of the running). After a tasty lunch in Kingston, I am already back home and just watched the last of the furniture sell through the miracle of "the Tubes" and eBay Live Auctions. The furniture highlights, with the occasional thought by m'self:

A pair of Aesethtic Movement brass objects both doubled their high estimates. Lot 166, an iconic Bradley and Hubbard stand with Longwy tile inserts in very good condition sold for $3000 (est. $800-1200). Lot 106, an unattributed Brass jewel Casket, also sold for $3000, estimate $1000-1500. IMO, it should be attributed to the Charles Parker Company of Meriden, CT, as there is a closely related jewel casket illustrated on page 47 of A Brass Menagerie: Metalwork of the Aesthetic Movement.

Lot 144. a Neo-Grec sofa with Pottier and Stymus attribution was very nice. Mr. ThePeacockRoom thought the upholstery wasn't horrible; I did. I though it should have sold for more than $400, but it didn't. (The estimate was $800-1200.)

Lot 134, a maple Faux Bamboo bed with dresser, sold for $2000, the low end of the $2000-3000 estimate. The two pieces were en suite, rather than an assembled grouping of maple faux bamboo offered as a set, as is so often seen.

Lot 160 was a strange little grouping, consisting of "VICTORIAN FURNITURE Bamboo whatnot together with a miniature Tramp Art mirrored tall chest and an ebonized aesthetic style hanging curio."  I would have been interested in the small hanging shelf with gilt and painted inserts, even though it had some damage, but I wasn't going to bid on a lot of 3 things, 2 of which I have no use for. $700 for the lot, the estimate was $1000-1500.

Lot 199, a Japanesque ebonized "center hall table" with a stone insert top. The ebonized base was beautifully carved and finished. The onyx or alabaster insert was "floating" (no wood top beneath it) and since it was translucent, "someone" remarked that it would be interesting to have lights underneath the top, to make it glow. Someone more sensible was the high bidder, at $2000 (the low estimate).

Lot 239, a pair of Hunzinger chairs with exquisitely executed upholstery and absolutely gorgeous finish on the wood, sold for $6000, far less than the estimated $8000-12000. If whomever upholstered them will please come to my house, we have plenty of work for you!

There were a number of lots with Herter Brothers attributions.  Lot 117 was a petite rosewood cabinet, rosewood with marquetry in a classical design and faux bamboo legs and embellishments. It had some slight damage (noted in the auction listing). Sold for $4750, near the high estimate of $3000-5000. Lot 121 was a set of 10 rosewood dining chairs. They weren't to my taste (too French), and the bright! red! tartan plaid! upholstery (with double welting!) was even less so. They would look very at home in one of those tartan-plaid rooms at Balmoral Castle, though. $6000 (the low estimate), which seems like a very reasonable price for a long set of chairs that are fit for a Queen who really likes plaid.

Continuing the "Herter" lots... Lot 123 was a diminutive rosewood Renaissance Revival chair, very closely related to the "sewing chair" with pictured on page 146 of "the Herter book," from the Lockwood-Matthews Mansion in Norwalk, CT.  The chair offered at auction has a fully upholstered seat, while both the Lockwood-Matthews chair and a similar chair in a c. 1870 photograph of the drawing room of the J. Pierpont Morgan house have marquetry seat rails. Perhaps a marquetry rail lies beneath the modern upholstery? The upholstery in question was attractive, but the proportions of the chair suffered from the absence of fringe below the seat back. The price for an almost iconic Herter chair, even one with some damage? $4000, the high end of the $3000-4000 estimate.

The final Herter-attributed lot was Lot 120, a three-piece bedroom suite, consisting of bed, dresser, and chair. It was cataloged with the notation that "This set is similar to Herter Brothers bedroom at the Metropolitan Museum, New York." Sigh. Both suites are ebonized with marquetry. Other than that, they aren't particularly alike. The Met's bedroom suite (which "lives" in the Luce Foundation visible storage gallery) is catalog #s 210 and 211 in 19th Century America: Furniture and Decorative Arts; the desk is the cover photo of "the Herter Book." Or for an easier comparision, see the bed in Rare Victorian's blog post on his visit to the Philadelphia Museum of Art; that bed is nearly identical to the one in the Met. And not similar to the set auctioned today. </rant>

The suite at auction had significant wear to the foot board and there seemed to be a structural issue with the elevated drawers flanking the mirror. The finish on the chair was "pretty beat up," to be blunt, and wasn't great on the other pieces. The dresser also did not have the nicely finished drawer interiors of top-quality late 19th century case pieces. The hammer price for the suite was $32500, against an estimate of $40000-60000.

A two-piece bedroom suite with Herter attribution (half-tester bed and dresser) was sold a year ago at Alderfers in eastern PA... It also had some condition issues: the tester appeared to have been cut down, and the superstructure of the dresser had spent some time separated from the base, in both cases probably to accommodate a low ceiling. But that set had started out with some advantages,  in the form of custom metal mounts, a marble insert in the dresser top, and drawer interiors that were finely finished in bird's-eye maple. The 2-piece suite sold for $5000. And I'm not sure what that says about the market, if anything.

One of the two pieces of furniture we were most interested in was Lot 240 "KIMBALL & KABUS Japanesque style curiosity cabinet". This cabinet (or one identical) was exhibited at Modernism in New York City in the late 1980s, and at that time was attributed to Pottier and Stymus. It (or its twin) was on the market again several years ago. We are familiar with another cabinet we believe to be from the same shop (whatever it may be) and wanted to take advantage of an opportunity to "kick some tires," so to speak. The carving, and in particular the entwined briar rose in the cove, is breathtaking. Sold for $2500; estimate $5000-7000. I call that a bargain...

Finally, the sole piece of English Aesthetic furniture in the sale, Lot 135 "Edwardian Etagere". I have a fondness for late 19th century English furniture "in the Japanese style," and while this may well date from the turn of the century, it is just as likely to date from two decades earlier. This really was a lovely little case piece, and it hadn't suffered much abuse... a few nicks and gouges, the top (of the cabinet) was worn or sanded down, and had been refinished, the gilt accents may have been touched up and the painted door panels were worn. The estimate of $1000-1500 was very reasonable. I was tempted, while in the gallery, to suggest leaving a bid in the amount of the low estimate, but was deterred by thoughts of "where would we PUT it?" and "why bother, it will sell for more than that..." It sold for a heartbreaking pittance: $550.

Though I suppose it could be worse... we could have left a bid, and found that it sold for $1010.  :'(

"(1) we would be hard pressed to fit another object, small or large, into our little house, and (2) we assumed the large (for the auction house) number of quality 19th century furniture items would draw deep-pocketed bidders (which would price us out of the running). "

1. It sounds like Mr & Mrs TPR need to sell some pieces to make way for new acquisitions. This is why every piece i own is for sale, after all, its only furniture.

2. I am regularly beat like a drum at auction by deep pocketed bidders however, "of course the game is rigged but, if you dont play, you cant win!"

TPR,

Thank you for posting your analysis on the Rago sale here.  I had been "watching" the lots via Ebay leading up to the sale since the location is not too far away from me, but did not attend.

The Hunzingers in lot 239 have been selling stronger than this result in past auctions elsewhere (and with lesser upholstery), but that was prior to the financial meltdown.  I'll be posting a blog post on another instance of these chairs currently priced at $1,825 as I write this.

I considered bidding on lot 126 which was one of those strange "what do we do with these items" marriage of mismatched leftovers.  You can often get lots such as those for the price of one of the items - keep the best one - and sell the other two.  You get the one you kept essentially for free.  This "collection" went for $950.  I think in this case, I would have sold them all, separately.

Lot 118 was a center table by Kilian brothers, for sure, since it can be seen in their ca. 1870 catalog.  It appeared to be in good shape and went for $2k.

I watched the little Herter chair (lot 123) with anticipation, tempted to place a bid.  $4,000 for an "almost iconic chair" as you say, seems a bargain and I knew that it might be my only chance to own what I feel is likely Herter.

I feel that the bedroom set attribution to Herter was gratuitous and I tried a few times during the week to do some cursory visual research on it but didn't reach any conclusions on other maker possibilities.  I, like you, felt the "like the set in the museum" notation was lame, due to the lack of similarity.  Ebonization and Aesthetic floral inlay do not make a Herter.  I had asked them to look for the presence of a "Herter Bros." brand, but they told me that it did not have one.  The bidding was strange on this set - 1 bid - from what I could see real-time during the sale, for $32,500 by a floor bidder.  I don't recall that number being the starting price that was suggested and there was no competitive bidding.  Maybe someone left an absentee bid or the house enforced a reserve.

I feel the brass stands were "under-ranged" based on how they generally perform and they both brought $3k.  As an aside, there is one that resembles Bradley & Hubbard designs in need of a major cleaning coming up for sale with a $100-$300 presale estimate.

Thanks again, enjoyed your first-hand story.