ATLANTA, Ga. – Two 17th century portraits of British nobility painted by English artist John Hayls realized $14,160, a pair of palatial European 20th century Bohemian-style dore bronze mounted crystal floor urns fetched $12,980, and a large hand-blown Murano glass sculptural charger (or disc) by Lino Tagliapietra (It., b. 1934), done circa 1987, brought $7,670 at auction.

They were just a few of the nearly 900 lots that came up for bid on March 5th and 6th at a Spring Estates Auction held by Ahlers & Ogletree, in the firm’s gallery located at 715 Miami Circle in Atlanta. Quality merchandise from prominent local estates and collections came under the gavel in a sale that grossed about $580,000. The portraits John Hayls were the sale’s top-achieving lot.

One depicted “Michael Warton Esq., Son in Law of John first Lord Poulett,” the other “Susanna daughter of John first Lord Poulett and Wife of Michael Warton Esq. of Beverly in Yorkshire.” Both were formal paintings, of British nobility from the period. Each was housed in a fine carved and gilt wood frame and measured 53 inches by 42 ½ inches. John Hayls lived from 1600-1679.

The Bohemian-style dore bronze mounted cobalt cut to clear crystal floor urns were truly palatial – each one standing a majestic 63 inches tall – with a dome-shaped panel cut finial over a berried laurel dore bronze neck mounted to each side with foliate scrolling and Greek key handles. Both featured lovely “Deer in the Woods” engraved scenes that were signed by the artist, but illegibly.

The hand-blown Murano glass sculptural charger by Lino Tagliapietra, entitled Saturno, was #23 out of a limited-edition of 100 made. It measured 25 inches tall by 23 ½ inches wide and was internally decorated, having a concentric form with white and black conforming spirals on colorless glass. It was raised on an enameled iron stand and was signed, dated and numbered.

The two-day auction was packed with original artwork, antiques, furniture, lighting, mirrors, fine estate jewelry pieces, hand-woven rugs and carpets, collectibles, art glass and crystal, sculpture, Russian silver and enamel, Georg Jensen sterling silver, porcelain, Japanese woodblock prints, Chinese porcelain, pottery and other decorative arts, modern and contemporary art and design.

About 300 people attended the sale in person over the course of the two days. Online bidding featured 7,436 bidders on LiveAuctioneers.com, 1,830 bidders on Invaluable.com, 138 bidders on BidSquare.com and 180 bidders on the Ahlers & Ogletree website and mobile app. Also, just over 450 absentee and phone bids were made on behalf of 60 bidders over the two-day period.

Following are additional highlights from the auction. All prices quoted include an 18 percent buyer’s premium.

A patinated and partially polished bronze artwork by the Spanish surrealist master Salvador Dali (1904-1989), titled Nobility of Time, #81 of 350, 23 ¼ inches tall, showing a melting clock atop a tree trunk with an angel and a female nude, fetched $6,785. The Asian category was led by a pair of 20th century Chinese rose medallion decorated porcelain vases with hidden calligraphic marks, each one standing about 17 inches tall and boasting hand-painted figural enamels that hit $2,950.

A circa-1775 George III satinwood marquetry inlaid demilune (half-round) console, made in England after a design by Robert Adam, beautiful and heavily carved, changed hands for $5,015. It was previously sold at Sotheby’s in London in 1989 and Sotheby’s in New York City in 1998. Also, a Georgian mahogany and satinwood inlaid eight-drawer mule chest, probably made in Lancashire, England in the late 18th or early 19th century, 41 ¼ inches tall, commanded $1,534.

Staying with furniture, a 19th century Swedish serpentine chest of drawers (or a three-drawer commode), with a dark brown painted and shaped top above three long, undulating pull-out drawers, with weathered patination and a French-style grey painted exterior, finished at $3,540; while a matched pair of 19th century Italian-made, hand-painted bombe form bedside commodes, each having a simulated marble serpentine molded top over a conforming case, garnered $3,245.

Jesus Rafael Soto (1923-2005) was active and lived in Venezuela and France. He was one of the most prominent representatives of the Op Art-Kinetic Art movements, and his work exuded high energy, often using metal. Sold was a painted metal on wood relief sculpture, signed by Soto and numbered (64/175), titled Homenaje al Humano ($8,260); and a silkscreen on Plexiglas with metal rods titled Tes azules y negras (1979), signed and numbered and 19 ¾ inches tall ($7,080).

An oil on canvas by the Hungarian-American artist Marcel Vertes (1895-1961), titled Swan Family, an impressionist work depicting two adult white swans and a baby swan floating on blue water, signed, breezed to $1,652; and an oil on canvas by Andre Gisson (Am., 1921-2003), titled Figures By a Lake, showing a woman and a child in an outdoor setting, signed, garnered $1,180.

Fans of silver were treated to an Art Nouveau-style sterling silver nappy (or bowl) with double scrolling handle by Harald Nielsen (1892-1977), for Georg Jensen (Danish, founded 1904), made circa 1945-1977 and weighing 13.85 troy ounces ($1,652); and a 43-piece set of silverplate flatware made circa 1963-1983 by the French silversmith Christofle (founded in 1830), in the Louis XIII style “Cluny” pattern, and each with a slightly beveled fiddle-head handle ($1,416).

The auction held some happy surprises, as many lots sailed past their high estimates. A classical-style carved marble sculpture of Hercules, artist unknown, likely made in Italy, 19th century, sold for $7,670 on an estimate of $3,000-$5,000. And a circa 1920s or ‘30s Italian collection of 36 dried flower specimens in one large frame that was supposed to bring $1,000 to $2,000 ended up realizing $3,245. Each specimen was set behind its own pane of glass, within a wooden border.

An oil on canvas by the French-born American artist Christian Schussele (1824-1879), titled Children with Dog and Pigeons on Stoop (1865), signed and dated lower left, 46 inches by 39 inches and framed, finished at $6,490 against an estimate of $2,000-$4,000. Also, an acrylic on canvas by the Brazilian artist Fernando de Jesus Oliveira (aka Ferjo, b. 1946), titled Museum Staircase with Fish and Strawberry, surpassed its $1,000-$1,500 estimate to hammer for $2,950.

A fine, hand-woven Persian room-size rug (6 feet 9 inches by 10 feet 5 inches), expected to sell for $1,000-$2,000, instead fetched $3,835, as bidders were wowed by its animal and floral motif, with deer, rabbits and birds. Also, a Chinese 20th century porcelain jar (or urn), with a cobalt blue underglaze decoration on white ground depicting a seascape with ducks swimming amid willow trees and lotus plants, 13 ¼ inches tall, defied its estimate of $600-$800 by finishing at $2,655.

Ahlers & Ogletree’s next big auction is planned for the weekend of April 30-May 1. Featured will be 1,200 lots of 17th-19th century furniture and antiquities, medieval ecclesiastical icons and carvings, a collection of Continental stained glass, significant estate coin and sterling silver items, 1860 Bien edition James J. Audubon ornithological prints, St. Ives bronze sculptures, important Chinese bronze Buddhas, a Taikan Yokoyama Mt. Fuji scroll painting, and a J. J. Elliott for Tiffany tall case clock. Watch the website for details, at www.AandOauctions.com.

Ahlers & Ogletree is a multi-faceted, family-owned business that spans the antiques, estate sale, wholesale, liquidation, auction and related industries. Ahlers & Ogletree is always seeking quality consignments for future auctions. To consign an item, an estate or a collection, you may call them at 404-869-2478; or, you can send them an e-mail, at consign@AandOauctions.com.

To learn more about Ahlers & Ogletree and the upcoming two-day sale planned for April 30th and May 1st in Atlanta, please visit www.AandOauctions.com. For social media, folks can also go to twitter @ ahlersogletree, and IG (Instagram) @ ahlersogletree. Updates are posted frequently.

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