CRANSTON, R.I. – Palace-size antique Persian wool carpets and oil on canvas paintings by Italian artists shared top lot honors at a 373-lot Estate Antiques & Fine Art Auction held January 26th by Bruneau & Co. Auctioneers, online and in the gallery at 63 Fourth Avenue in Cranston. A 200-lot live pre-sale, at 10 am, with no online bidding, preceded the main auction at 12 noon.

“It was exciting to see the non-stop bidding on the Oriental rugs, proving the market is strong,” said Bruneau & Co. president and auctioneer Kevin Bruneau. “It was also good to see a nice collection of contemporary photography sell with a lot of local interest. Overall, a great sale.”

The auction’s top lot was circa 1920 Persian Bidjar carpet/rug, which sold for $12,500. The wool textile, measuring a stout 24 feet 9 inches by 14 feet 11 inches, boasted a blue ground with an overall floral and tendril pattern within vibrant floral borders and green coloring throughout the field. The carpet had been deaccessioned from the Kendall Whaling Museum in Sharon, Mass.

Another Persian rug that did well was the circa 1890 Bidjar wool carpet that changed hands for $5,000. The 19 feet 4 inches by 11 feet 3 inches rug wasn’t as large as the one just described, but it was just as beautiful, featuring a central red medallion within a navy-blue field and having an intricate floral design within wide stylized borders. It came out of an estate on Cape Cod, Mass.

“Paintings were by far my favorite part of the sale,” remarked Travis Landry, a Bruneau & Co. specialist and auctioneer, adding, “It was fulfilling to see the Gaetano Pompa, the Old Masters and the Frantisek Reichenthal painting perform so well. I can’t wait for the next similar auction.”

The modernist abstract oil on canvas by Gaetano Pompa (Italian, 1933-1998) realized $6,250. Titled The Kitchen Door, the painting depicted two abstracted figures divided by a door with colorful forms throughout. The work, which came out of the estate of David Rockefeller (1915-2017) measured 15 ½ inches by 19 ¾ inches in the frame and was signed and dated (“1960”).

The Cubist-modernist oil on canvas by Frantisek Reichenthal (Slovakian-American, 1895-1971), depicting a woman holding a bird in a vibrant color palette, went for $4,688. Housed in a 22 inch by 15 inch frame, the painting was artist signed lower right. Reichenthal is regarded as one of the most influential Eastern European modern artists, having painted and taught with Marc Chagall.

An 18th century Italian rococo Old Master oil on canvas painting, done around 1750, garnered $6,875. The Neoclassical work depicted a divine beauty seated in a gold chariot pulled by doves with three cherubs and greyhounds tending to a tired hunter. The painting, which had been professionally restored and relined, was unframed and measured 34 ¼ inches by 30 ¾ inches.

Following are additional highlights from the sale. Online bidding was by LiveAuctioneers.com, bidLIVE.Bruneauandco.com, Bidsquare.com and Invaluable.com, plus the mobile app “Bruneau & Co.” on iTunes and GooglePlay. All prices quoted in this story include the buyer’s premium.

Soda vending machines – especially Coca-Cola machines – continue to be wildly popular with collectors (and for guys looking to outfit their man-caves). A 1959 model CS-72 Cavalier ten-cent Coke machine, with a 72-bottle and 17-chilled bottle capacity, left the room for $2,812. The machine, nicely restored and in good working condition, was 58 inches tall by 25 inches wide.

An Italian Lino Tagliapietra Murano Incalmo glass vase, produced in collaboration with Maria Angelin, 9 ½ inches tall, hit $2,000. The robust form vase with a rounded rim was decorated with a banded black stripe pattern and numbered (#5 of 100). It was dated (“1984”) and signed to the underside, “Tagliapietra / Angelin by F31 Murano”. It retained the original Oggetti Glass sticker.

A fine old European carved oak coffer chest, made around 1650 and boasting wonderful wear and character, went to a determined bidder for $2,000. The three-board top over four carved gothic panels chest with the original iron escutcheon had issues, such as no lock, worm holes, repair to the feet and a missing return on the lid moulding. But none of these deterred bidders.

Bruneau & Co. Auctioneers’ next event will be an in-house, live-only DiscoverIT Auction, with no online bidding, slated for Friday, February 8th, at 6 pm Eastern time. Absentee and phone bids will be accepted. A preview will be held the day of auction, starting at 3 pm. Watch the website for the next Estate Antiques & Fine Art Auction, plus other events, at www.bruneauandco.com.

To learn more about Bruneau & Co. Auctioneers, visit www.bruneauandco.com. Updates are posted frequently. To contact the company via e-mail, use info@bruneauandco.com. Or, you can phone them at 401-533-9980. The firm is always accepting quality consignments for future sales.

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