REPAUPO, N.J. – A rare and magnificent Black Forest hall rack featuring a life-size carved dog, an 1824 Robert Gainsford sterling figural-handled wine cooler, an Emile Galle crystal vase with blue and green veins and signed by Galle for Nancy, and a lovely Chinese dragon carved étagère are just a few of the items bidders will be competing for at S & S Auctions, Inc., Nov. 16th-17th.

The Sunday-Monday auction will be held in S & S Auctions’ gallery at 62 Repaupo Station Road in Repaupo. Start times both days will be 1 p.m. Eastern time, but on Nov. 16th a discovery sale featuring around 2,000 uncataloged lots will be held from 8 a.m. until the start of the cataloged auction at 1 p.m.. Online bidding will be provided by LiveAuctioneers.com and Invaluable.com.

Headlining the two-day cataloged auction will be the estate of a prominent, deceased physician from Ventnor, N.J., and a retired auctioneer from northern New Jersey. Items from other estates will also be featured. Both days will be packed with Asian objects (from both headliner estates), upscale antiques, wonderful art glass, furniture items, porcelain, Oriental rugs, fine art and more.

In all, more than 750 lots will cross the auction block over the course of the two days. “To have such a large mix of outstanding merchandise in one sale presents an unusual opportunity for anyone with discerning taste to appoint their home or stock their store with truly quality items,” said Glenn Sweeney of S & S Auctions, Inc. “I encourage everyone to plan to attend this sale.”

The Sunday, Nov. 2 session will contain items from the two featured estates. Certain to attract keen bidder interest is the fine and rare Black Forest hall tree, exceedingly rare due to the life-size carved 30-inch dog. “I haven’t seen a Black Forest hall tree with a carved dog in 30 years,” Sweeney remarked. The piece, large and stately at 84 inches tall, should garner $10,000-$15,000.

It isn’t the only Black Forest lot in the auction. Also offered will be a pair of 19th century Black Forest walnut plaques with carved stags, fox, rabbit, birds and foliage. The plaques, 39 inches tall by 24 inches wide, are expected to fetch $3,000-$4,000. Black Forest ware – 19th century Swiss carvings of forest animals, trees, branches and leaves – are highly coveted as collectibles.

An antique gilt carved center table with pietra dura top, 31 ½ inches tall and 33 inches in diameter, should realize $8,000-$12,000. Pietra dura (Italian for “hard stone”) is a decorative technique in which precious or semi-precious stones are inlaid into the marble or other soft stone. The table up for bid is a fine example of pietra dura inlay, having lapis, quartz and other stones.

Three lots should fetch $4,000-$6,000. The first is the 1824 sterling silver wine cooler with figural handles and gold gilding made by Robert Gainsford of Sheffield, England. The cooler boasts finely detailed chase decoration and is 10 ½ inches tall. The second is the antique Chinese carved étagère with carved dragons, applied ivory figures and pagoda top, 84 ½ inches tall.

The third is a pair of antique 27-inch French cobalt vases with finely cast gilt bronze mounts and porcelain vase inserts. Another vase to watch is the Emile Galle (Fr., 1846-1904) etched art glass vase, signed Emile Galle for Nancy (possibly Daum Nancy). The vase (est. $2,000-$3,000) is clear with blue and green veins and is etched with a goddess riding a dolphin and two maidens.

Lamps and lighting will feature a matched pair of figural spelter (zinc treated to look like bronze) lamps with flame glass shades, 52 inches tall to the top of the shade (est. $2,000-$3,000); and a pair of exceptionally fine antique pate sur pate (a porcelain technique that results in a semi-transparent milky decoration) table lamps, mounted with female figures (est, $1,000-$1,500).

A pair of 19th century 28-inch-tall, finely cast gilt bronze candelabra with maidens and putti, on a rouge marble base and signed A. Carrier, is expected to hammer for $2,000-$3,000. Also, a pair of antique French figural gilt bronze chenets (French andirons), cast bronze with cherubs, dolphins and allegorical figures, 31 ½ inches tall, is expected to change hands for $2,000-$3,000.

The Sunday session will also feature bronze, silver, Oriental rugs, Moser glass, collections of Asian and Schmieg & Kotzian furniture, and art glass, to include Tiffany, Steuben and Durand.

The Monday session will be packed with more than 400 lots of antiques, furniture, glass, porcelain and decorative items from multiple estates and local homes. Highlights will include a harbor scene painting by Otis Cook, a Chronos & Amour figural bronze clock, five Western art paintings by Laurence Campbell, a Henry Mitchell bronze plaque, bronzes, silver and lighting.

Previews will be held on Friday, Nov. 14th, from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m.; Saturday, Nov. 15th, from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m.; and Sunday, Nov. 16th, from 11 a.m. until the first gavel falls at 1 p.m. in the afternoon. In addition to live and internet bidding, phone and absentee bids will also be taken.

Established in 1972, S&S Auction, Inc., is conveniently located in southern New Jersey, at exit 14 off Interstate 295, just minutes from the New Jersey Turnpike, Philadelphia bridges and the Philadelphia airport. Each auction features over 6,000 pieces of furniture, chandeliers, glassware, art, 18th /19th /20th century American, Continental and Victorian furniture and Modern Design.

S&S Auction, Inc., is always accepting quality consignments for future auctions. To consign an item, an estate or a collection, you may call them at (856) 467-3778, or you can e-mail them at info@ssauction.com. To learn more about S & S Auction, Inc., and the upcoming Nov. 16th-17th auction (Sunday-Monday), starting at 1 p.m. (EST) both days, please visit www.ssauction.com.

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