* At the June 7 sale of American furniture and decorative art at Skinner in Boston the top lot was an 18th century Chippendale carved mahogany block-front slant-lid desk from Boston that sold for $71,100 (estimate $40,000-60,000). Other top sales included the 1947 Kentucky Derby gold winner’s trophy and mint julep cup that brought $59,250 (estimate $60,000-80,000), a circa 1840 folk portrait of a husband and wife that brought $50,363 (estimate $8,000-15,000), and a portrait of eight-year old Joseph Archibald Logan by Matthew Harris Jouett that sold for $34,365 (estimate $10,000-15,000).
* The June 8 evening sale of Russian art at Sotheby’s London totaled £7.9 million with 17 of 27 lots sold. The top lot was The Village Fair by Boris Mikhailovich Kustodiev that sold for £2.8 million (estimate £1-1.5 million)-an auction record for the artist. Records were also set with Isaak Izrailevich Brodsky’s Nanny with Children that sold for £937,250 (estimate £300,000-500,000), and Konstantin Yakovlevich Kryzhitsky’s Landscape that sold for £289,250 (estimate £60,000-80,000).
* The sale of Russian art at Christie’s London on June 9 totaled over £4 million with 128 of 198 lots sold. The top lot was A Finnish village. Roofs by Vasilii Shukhaev that sold for £690,850 (£300,000-500,000). The next highest prices realized were both paintings by Ivan Aivazovsky that sold for £421,250 (estimate £250,000-350,000), and £337,250 (estimate £350,000-450,000).
* On June 9 the sale of European furniture, sculpture, ceramics, and oriental carpets at Christie’s New York totaled just under $2.7 million. The top lot was 17th century Anatolian carpet that sold for $206,500 ($10,000-15,000). Other noteworthy sales included a burnished gold and biscuit porcelain centerpiece from the Beauharnais service that brought $110,500 (estimate $40,000-60,000), a pair of Louis XV ormolu candlesticks that brought $74,500 (estimate $30,000-50,000), and a circa 1720 oak console reportedly from the collection of George J. Gould that brought $35,000 (estimate $5,000-8,000).
* On June 9 the sale of books and manuscripts at Sotheby’s New York totaled $1.5 million. The top lot was a copy of the first “Poor Richard’s” almanac from 1733 (one of only three known examples) that sold for $566,500 (estimate $100,000-150,000).
* The sale of watches at Christie’s New York on June 10 totaled $5.6 million with 330 of 364 lots sold. The top lot was a white gold, with diamonds, gems, and rock crystal, mystery clock depicting polar bears and an iceberg by Cartier that sold for $326,500 (estimate $200,000-300,000).
* The June 10 sale of carpets at Sotheby’s New York totaled $1.3 million. The top lot was a circa 1890 Bakshaish carpet that sold for $68,500 (estimate $60,000-80,000).
* On June 10 the sale of Russian works of art, Fabergé, and icons at Sotheby’s London totaled £4.6 million with 97 of 146 lots sold. The top lot was a pair of imperial porcelain vases from 1848 made by the Imperial Porcelain Manufactory that sold for £2.6 million (estimate 1.2-1.8 million). Other top lots included an icon of the Virgin Mary that sold for £133,250 (estimate £15,000-20,000), and an icon of Saint Anna and the Mother of God that sold for £115,200 (estimate £6,000-8,000). A silver gilt and cloisonné enamel tazza (estimate £40,000-60,000) and tea set (£15,000-20,000) each sold for £115,200.
* The June 10 day sale of Russian paintings at Sotheby’s London totaled £4.1 million with 101 of 156 lots sold. The top lot was Konstantin Somov’s Portrait of a lady that sold for £289,250 (estimate £30,000-50,000).
* American paintings were sold at Heritage in Dallas on June 10 and June 11. The top lot was Martin Johnson Heade’s Sunset over the Marsh from the collection of the Honorable Paul H. Buchanan, Jr. that sold for $537,750 (estimate $300,000-500,000). Other top sales were Cherokee Roses on a Purple Cloth by Heade that sold for $507,875 (estimate $100,000-150,000), Hummingbirds and Their Nest also by Heade that sold for $310,700 (estimate $100,000-150,000), and Winter in the Country, A Cold Morning by George Henry Durrie that sold for $448,125 (estimate $300,000-500,000).
* The June 11 sale of jewels at Christie’s New York totaled $11.3 million with 167 of 184 lots sold. The top lot was a 6.29 carat pear-shaped blue diamond that sold for $3.5 million (estimate $3.3-5.5 million).
* The “Splendid Ceremonies” sale of fête books from the collection of Paul and Marianne Gourary at Christie’s New York today (June 12) totaled over $3.4 million. The top lot was one of six German Schembart book from about 1540 that sold for $158,500 (estimate $80,000-120,000); a second book from the same set sold for $128,500 (estimate $25,000-35,000). Other top lots were a first edition Balet comique de la Royne… that sold for $128,500 (estimate $60,000-80,000), a Russian book of the coronation of Empress Elizabeth (estimate $30,000-40,000), and a series of woodcut broadsheets depicting Charles V’s arrival in Bologna before the coronation of Pope Clement VII as Holy Roman Emperor (estimate $30,000-40,000) that each sold for $98,500.
* The sale of 20th century design at Sotheby’s New York today (June 12) totaled $3.7 million. The top lot was a Tiffany Studios “Trumpet Creeper” table lamp that sold for $362,500 (estimate $300,000-500,000). Other noteworthy lots were Shiro Kuramata’s “Miss Blanche” chair from 1988 that sold for $194,500 (estimate $150,000-200,000), Jean Royeré’s “Sphere” coffee table that sold for $92,500 (estimate $40,000-60,000), and a chandelier by Paavo Tynell that sold for $59,375 (estimate $15,000-20,000).
