PANAMA CITY, Fla. – Items from the estate of Norma Godwin of Panama City – collections and quality items gathered over the course of several generations by Mrs. Godwin, her husband and her parents – will be the main attraction at a live and internet estates auction scheduled for Saturday, October 28th, by The Specialists of the South, Inc., at the firm’s Panama City gallery.

The auction will begin promptly at 8 am Central time, with previews the week of auction, from 9 am to 4 pm, and on auction day from 7 am until the start of sale at 8. For those unable to attend in person, online bidding will be provided by LiveAuctioneers.com and Invaluable.com. Phone and absentee bids will also be taken. The gallery is located at 544 East 6th Street in Panama City.

Many of the items in the Godwin estate belonged to Norma’s parents. Nicholas, her father, was born in Italy in 1898 and arrived in the U.S. in 1916. Her mother was born in the U.S. to Italian parents who arrived in the U.S. just prior to her birth. Nicholas was an architectural sculptor who had an artistic eye and impeccable taste. He loved browsing the antiques shops and buying items.

Bidders will be treated to a broad and eclectic mix of merchandise, to include lighted ceramic harlequin sculptures by Otello Roso for San Polo, European and Victorian furniture, classical and modern artwork, Capodimonte porcelain pieces, Meissen figurines, fine mid-century linens (mostly from Italy), Fostoria American glassware, cow creamers and much more.

Two lots with intriguing back-stories are an unusual and delicate American drop-front antique desk with pull-drawer and brass pierce gallery, reported by Mrs. Godwin to have been possibly once owned by the American politician Daniel Webster; and two chairs from a 14-piece bedroom set in the Italianate style, circa 1890s, once owned by Mrs. Meriwether Post, the previous owner of the Hope Diamond.

Other individual lots of note will include an Arts & Crafts desk with the Bear Guaranteed tag, an Art Deco chandelier with outstanding amber shield shades, a sterling silver tea and coffee set, a sterling flatware set in the Modern Victorian pattern, a vintage Shannock loom, a Gothic ornate carved chest, and Forget-Me-Nots decorated china by Haviland, in the Montmery pattern.

There are four of the very colorful, whimsical harlequin lighted glass sculptures in the auction. They will be sold as individual lots. All were purchased in Italy during the last century and all four are different, with each one standing about 25 inches tall. The adorable glass sculptures serve a dual purpose, as an interior design statement and as a lamp. They are highly collectible.

The furniture category comprises a wide variety of pieces, all purchased in the U.S. and mostly in Washington, D.C., where the Godwins once lived. Items include a beautifully carved, long (about 5 feet) buffet table and top that raises for backing and opens to become a dining table; a fine French chest, with four drawers and glove boxes, and ten hand-painted porcelain tiles (no two alike); a vintage John Widdicomb dining room set and furniture pieces by Henredon. Also up for bid will be an Oriental apothecary chest, 20 inches by 18 inches, with 24 beautiful wooden drawers that swing open to reveal little box compartments.

Artwork will be led by a painting in the manner of Antonio Canaletto (It., 1697-1763), depicting a 14th century castle in Maggione, Italy, site of the castle, purchased in Italy; a bronze sculpture of Joan of Arc shown on horseback, artist signed; a mid-to-late 19th century Station of the Cross Parian white bisque porcelain plaque display, framed, about three feet in height, bas relief; and a beautifully framed painting of a rocky seashore by the American artist William Lester Stevens (Mass., 1888-1969).

Capodimonte porcelain is wildly popular among collectors, and Mrs. Godwin is offering several figurines that her father bought over time, years ago. These will include a huge set of Richard Ginori china, a belly dancer and street musicians. A Meissen piece will be a woman holding a globe while seated alongside a steed, representing Europe from the Four Continents series. Also sold will be a large German-made porcelain after-the-hunt picnic scene that shows people conversing; large porcelain bird figurines; an Italian ceramic depiction of a nude woman sleeping in a chair by Victor Bertolotti; and cloisonné pieces.

Also sold will be 14 pieces of one-of-a-kind Venetian crystal stemware, purchased in Italy and Maitland-Smith stoneware bowls. Mrs. Godwin’s cow creamer collection has about 120 pieces. Kitchen collectibles (from other estates) will feature Fire-King and Pyrex, vintage stand mixers and other items. Vintage bottles, popular with collectors, will also be sold.

As mentioned, the fine linens were mostly acquired in Italy, around the 1950s. Included in the selection will be three really nice tablecloths, napkins, placemats and doilies. Some were made by hand, while others were machine-made. One piece in particular is quite beautiful: it’s a linen tablecloth, with the figures Mars and Venus embroidered right into the fabric, along with their names.

Also up for bid will be estate and costume jewelry; chess sets (including an Arthur E. Cox Modernist set from 1962); English collectible teapots; a collection of sterling silver souvenir spoons (to be sold in multiples of four or five spoons per lot), including one showing Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee Celebration, 1837-1897 (brass); and some Orientalia, to include nice painted panels that are suitable for wall hanging.

Militaria items will come under the gavel, mostly handed down to Ms. Godwin by her father-in-law, Marine Brig. Gen. Edward Alexander Montgomery, to include a World War II Japanese military sword; his dress sword offered with information on his career and medals from the Emil Buehler Naval Aviation Library National Museum of Naval Aviation; a nickel silver plate charger (20 inches diameter), engraved and presented to Brig. Gen. Montgomery upon his departure from service in Hawaii in 1960; a Civil War-era sword; a Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee steel engraving; and some Civil War prints.

Finally, the auction will also feature fur coats (to include a full-length mink coat, stoles and several fox and mink full-pelt neck pieces), beautiful amber cut to clear girandoles, a late 19th century Patek Philippe pocket watch with engraving to a doctor, a decorative Victorian-era brass fender set of three standing panels that could go in front of a fireplace, a gorgeous crystal chandelier and candle wall sconces that are electrified, give off light and are loaded with pretty crystals.

The Specialists of the South, Inc. has been serving the Panama City community for more than 35 years. The company specializes in a broad range of services, to include estate auctions, furniture refurbishing, interior decoration, personal property appraisals and business liquidation services. It has been named the Small Business of the Month by the Bay County Chamber of Commerce.

The Specialists of the South, Inc., is always accepting quality consignments for future sales. To consign an item, estate or collection, you may call them at (850) 785-2577, or you may e-mail them at contact@sospcfl.com. To learn more, or to register for the October 28th auction, log on to either www.SpecialistsoftheSouth.com or www.PanamaCityAuctions.com. Updates are posted often.

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