On Friday, September 14th, Weschler's Capital Collections Estate Auction commenced the 2012-2013 season on a high note. With competitive bidding in the gallery, on the phones and on the Internet, the auction totaled over $950,000 in sales with 79% selling by lot.

The morning began with a selection of fine jewelry, coins & watches featuring our cover lot, a Cartier retro choker length tested 18-karat yellow-gold, citrine and diamond necklace-brooch which brought $48,000; a Cartier semi-precious stone and diamond dinner ring sold above estimate for $11,400, and three platinum solitaire diamond rings realized $21,240, $20,400 and $11,400 respectively.

A Russian silver and silver-gilt icon of Christ the Pantocrator, by Orest Kurlyukov, Moscow, 1896, led the silver offerings and sold above estimate at $13,200 to an International buyer. Additional highlights include a Continental Renaissance style sterling gilt mounted cut glass ewer, possibly Italian, late 19th century which sold above estimate for $2,160 and a German rococo style silver six-piece coffee and tea service with tray, Karl Sohnlein & Sohne, Hanau, first quarter 20th century, which realized $6,000.

Chinese art continues to remain strong in the market. Standouts from the Friday sale featured a Chinese blue and white and iron-red glazed bowl, 19th century or later, sold for $8,610; a Chinese gilt bronze enamel and celadon hardstone mounted cloisonné enamel vase, 19th century or later, fetched $ 7,800; and a pair of Chinese cloisonné enamel floor vases sold for $3,840.

Standouts among the English & Continental decorative arts included a Meissen figural group of Diana in a chariot, 1860-1924, which sold above estimate at $7,200; a group of three Vienna-type portrait plates, early 20th century, realized $5,280; a Continental baroque style giltwood mirror, circa 1900 ($4,800); a Meissen 'Blue Onion' ninety-piece dinner service, 1860-1924 ($3,600); and a Royal Crown Derby 'Derby Japan' fourty-eight-piece dinner service, circa 1960s ($3,120).

Nearly quadrupling its pre-sale estimate among the 20th century decorative arts, was a Charles Eames rosewood lounge chair and ottoman, manufactured by Mobilier International, Paris, circa 1975, realizing $4,720. Additional highlights included a fine selection of cameo glass perfume bottles. Selling above estimate at $3,600 was an English yellow and white lay down perfume bottle, retailed by Howell & James Limited, London, late 19th century, and a silver-mounted yellow and white perfume bottle ($1,560) attributed to Thomas Webb with the silver mounts by William Thomas Wright & Frederick Davis, London, 1886.

Fine art highlights concluded the Friday sale featuring a stunning View of Niagara Falls, oil on canvas by John P. Beaumont (American fl. 1831-1876) selling for $18,000; an Antonio Nicolo Gasparo Jacobsen (American 1850-1921), Full Rigged Clipper 'Herald' and Steam Yacht 'New York', oil on panel, fetched $14,400; a vibrant oil on canvas View of the Grand Canal and the Doges Palace, unsigned, Manner of William James (British 19th century), sold for $10,800; and an oil on canvas by French artist Constantine Kluge (1912-2003), Le Pont Marie, realized $10,200.

Other notable lots included three volumes of the History of the Indian Tribes of North America, with biographical sketches and anecdotes of the principal chiefs by Thomas L. McKenney and James Hall, which sold below estimate at $37,200;  a Steinway & Sons 'Louis XVI' style gilt gesso mounted mahogany semi-concert grand piano which sold above estimate for $27,600; and a bronze sculpture by Vasily Grachev (Russian 1831-1905), Couple Riding in a Horse-Drawn Carriage, with phone and internet bidding driving the sale price above estimate to $11,400.

The next Capital Collections Estate Auction will be held November 16th with a consignment deadline of September 28th. We invite you to contact us for auction-value estimates of a single item or an entire collection. For more information, please contact us at 202-628-1281 or email info@weschlers.com.