REPAUPO, N.J. – A beautiful Moorish bronze jeweled fire screen, attributed to Tiffany Studios and featuring rope twisted brass with insert art glass and stones, sold for $60,000 at a Sunday-Monday estates sale held May 18-19 by S & S Auction, Inc., in the firm’s gallery at 62 Repaupo Station Road. The fire screen, 27 ½ inches tall by 35 ½ inches wide, was the top lot of the sale.

The May 18 session consisted of 430 lots of antiques, artwork and decorative accessories. May 19 featured 460 lots of 19th and 20th century Modern and Design pieces. The Tiffany fire screen sold on May 18, to a Baltimore collector, who was perhaps impressed with the lot’s provenance (it was descended from a Baltimore family with ties to Hecht’s, the Baltimore department store).

Overall, the auction grossed a little more than $800,000, which pleased Glenn Sweeney of S & S Auction, Inc. “We expected the Saturday session to do well because of the quality that had been consigned,” he said. “Sunday was a nice surprise and showed me that better examples of antique furniture are still in demand. We had a wide variety of pieces, in many of the styles and periods.”

About 400 people attended the event live over the course of the two days (no small feat in this internet age). Online bidding was facilitated by LiveAuctioneers.com, attracting 562 registered bidders on May 18th and 442 registered bidders on May 19th. Phone bidding was very brisk both days and absentee bids were also recorded. About 2,500 uncataloged lots also came up for bid.

Following are additional highlights from the May 18 session. All prices quoted include a 20 percent buyer’s premium.

A pair of lots posted identical selling prices of $15,600. The first was a monumental pair of 19th century gilt French mirrors, fashioned from carved wood and gesso and standing 97 inches tall by 53 inches wide. The second was an 18th century Dutch burl walnut tall case clock, marked Gerrit Knip & Zoon of Amsterdam and in very good condition, impressive at 102 inches tall.

A
Jansen French commode, ebonized with bronze boulle and gilt bronze mounts, in very good condition and an example of the finest quality, rose to $8,400; while an unsigned and unframed (but visually arresting) oil on board painting of a woman seated at a piano with a child, titled The Piano Lesson, 16 ½ inches tall by 12 inches wide, went to a determined bidder for $8,100.

A patinated and gilt bronze French figural clock, signed “A. Calmels” by the French sculptor Celestin Anatole Calmels (1822-1906), went for $6,900; and a gorgeous French gilt wood panel featuring a 12-inch Sevres porcelain plaque with a hand-painted portrait of the Duchess of Devonshire (signed “Ullman”), with 12 surrounding 3-inch Sevres porcelains, made $4,800.

Following are additional highlights from the May 19 session. All prices quoted include a 20 percent buyer’s premium.

A Danish rosewood tambour (sliding shutter) door sideboard, 31 ¾ inches tall by 78 ¾ inches wide and in good condition, commanded $4,500 despite the fact that it was missing two interior drawers; and a Modern queen-size Lucite canopy bed, crystal clear and in good shape save for some crazing in the Lucite, measuring 84 inches tall by 85 inches wide, topped out at $2,400.

An oval Arne Vodder Danish rosewood dining table, missing some mounting screws for the legs but still in overall very good condition, 28 ½ inches tall by 78 inches wide (with a pair of 19 ½ inch wide boards) changed hands for $2,760; and a Johannes Andersen Smile teakwood coffee table, showing some wear to the finish on top but in otherwise good condition, rose to $2,160.

A set of six Hans Wegner teakwood sawbuck chairs exhibiting some light wear to the finish but in overall good shape went for $3,000; a pair of Eames (for Herman Miller) black leather aluminum chairs, in very good condition, hammered for $2,280; and a two-piece Borg Mogensen leather parlor set, in only fair condition, with wear to the leather and finish, still made $2,400.

S&S Auction, Inc., has another major Sunday-Monday sale planned, for July 27-28. Sunday's session will featured antiques, art and decorative accessories, while Monday will showcase 20th century Modern and Design. Cataloged sessions will begin at 1 p.m. S & S Auctions holds bi-weekly sales every other Monday and typically conducts two major cataloged auctions per year.

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 July 27th-28th auction, please log on to www.ssauction.com. Updates are posted to their website frequently.

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