Tiffany & Co. enameled silver circus set worth $26K at auction

BEVERLY, Mass. – Kaminski Auctions of Beverly, Mass., closed out 2011 with a successful two-day evening pre-New Years Eve auction.

The first lot of the night set the tone of the evening as a bronze horse sculpture on a wooden base with marble inlay, after Leonardo da Vinci, rose to $15,500 with five phone lines to Italy, and lively Internet bidding.

The piece, from a Madison Avenue gallery bankruptcy, was one of several from the gallery that topped all pre-auction estimates (the phone lines to Italy were busy all evening as the same five bidders vied for all lots with Italian provenance from the Madison Avenue gallery). A bronze and lead ancient Roman water spout in the shape of a lioness and labeled Giovanni Pisano estimated at $200 to $300 sold for $6,500, while an ancient alabaster Roman head of a woman with the same estimate sold for $5,500.

Get 26 issues of Antique Trader magazine for just $26! Each issue is packed with valuable pricing data, informative features and expert opinions!
Learn about Antique Trader magazine!

Seventeen (17) piece, Tiffany & Company circus set, enameled silver, by Moore, approximately 190 Troy ounces, largest piece is 13 inches high. From the Robert Peterson Estate, San Diego, Calif. $30,420, inclusive of buyer’s premium. Photo courtesy Kaminski Auctions.

A Neapolitan Madonna and child reliquary, in painted terracotta sold for $6,500, while an antique Madonna and child with St. John the Baptist, oil on canvas after Botticelli sold for $5,500.

The top lot of the sale, however, was a Tiffany & Co. circus set of enameled silver from the Robert Peterson estate of San Diego, Calif., that reached a hammer price of $26,000. The set contained 17 wonderfully detailed circus animals and performers with the largest being 13 inches high.

Everyone anxiously watched as a 1906 Model 7 Holsman horseless carriage, a two cylinder Highwheeler, sold for $20,000 to a lucky bidder in Australia. It will be the only Holsman in a private collection in the country as the only other is in an Australian museum. The Holsman was advertised with the motto “High Wheels Travel All Roads Because All Roads Are Made To Be Traveled By High Wheels.”

“The Holsman Model 7’s body and motor were in remarkably good condition, with some repair needed to the seat. The rope drive has been upgraded with an automatic oiler at the time of manufacture and the paint is believed to be original,” auctioneer Frank Kaminski stated. “These vehicles are very rare and do not come to market often – you can imagine any classic car collector or car museum would love to have one of these remarkable vehicles in their collection.”

1906 Holsman horseless carriage Model 7 two-cylinder Highwheeler, body and motor in good condition, some repair needed to seat, rope drive (rope is missing) upgraded with automatic oiler at time of manufacture, paint believed to be original. $23,400, inclusive of buyer’s premium.

Several Russian paintings did particularly well in the sale. A forest scene, oil on canvas by Konstantin Kryzhitsky (Russian 1858-1922) from a private collection in Dallas estimated at $6,000 to $8,000 sold for $21,000. While another landscape, oil on wood by Feodor Vailyev (Russian 1850-1873) sold for $14,000. A view of Amalfi by Georgi Lapchin (Russian/French) oil on canvas sold for $5000.

A landscape painting by Jean Baptiste-Camille Corot (French 1796-1875) from the estate of Broadway and Hollywood director Rouben Mamoulian (1897-1987) sold at the high auction estimate of $20,000.

Two Brian Coole paintings, oil on panel the first a scene of “Boston Harbor” in luminous light and the second of “Gloucester Harbor” each brought a hammer price of $3,250.

The second half of the Copley sale, along with a Chinese collection, will be sold along with their January Estate sale scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 21-22, 2012, starting at 11 a.m. at their auction gallery at 117 Elliot Street, Beverly, Mass.

For more information on Kaminski Auctions call 978-927-2223.

Konstantin Kryzhitsky (Russian, 1858-1911), forest, oil on canvas, signed lower right, 41″ x 27 1/4″ (sight), 47 1/2″ x 33 1/2″ (frame). From private collection in Dallas $24,570, inclusive of buyer’s premium.