Date: Fri 08-May-1998

Publication: Ant

Author: DAVIDS

Quick Words:

Cold

Full Text:

Cold Spring Postsale

w/cuts

BEACON, N.Y. -- A New York Empire sideboard and a Pembroke table, consigned to

Cold Spring Galleries' most recent sale with barely enough time to advertise

the pieces, became the highlight of the April 13 auction.

The two pieces had been consigned from a local home so close to the auction's

date, according to auctioneer Neil Vaughn, that there was no time to get them

photographed for an advertisement and barely enough time to get them printed

in the text of the final ad.

Word spread quickly, however, of the two outstanding examples and numerous

interested parties were among those in the standing-room-only crowd, along

with several phone bidders.

The sideboard was described as being a rare form with bronze capitals on the

columns, a back splash and interior mirror. Rumor amongst those examining the

piece during the preview was that there was a strong possibility that the

sideboard could be attributed to the workshop of Phyfe.

Vaughn opened the lot at $2,000 with three phone bidders on the line. A flurry

of bids immediately followed. Bidding moved in $250 increments with a final

bid of $11,000 coming from a local furniture collector who bid by telephone.

The early inlaid Pembroke table also did well with several bidders getting

into the action as the piece was being hammered down at $5,500.

The top lot of the sale was a huge walnut and burl regulator clock that had

hung in a New Jersey furniture store for the past 30-plus years. The unsigned

clock, which measured more than seven feet in length, had a pinwheel movement.

It caused some concern among the American purists because of the possibility

of it being European. The walnut case was definitely of American origin,

according to Vaughn, and it sold after active bidding to the trade for

$12,650.

One item that attracted a great deal of pre-sale interest was an 11-piece set

of cast-iron lawn furniture. The set, in stag horn form, had been the subject

of numerous calls from around the country, a direct result of its profound

Western flair or Adirondack appeal. During preview, however, bidders learned

that the sets were still being produced, although these pieces were termed as

being "older."

"Word got out during preview that you can still get this stuff," commented

Vaughn. "They are still manufacturing it. It was a great set, and was

definitely an older set," he said. Others in the gallery shared Vaughn's

sentiments. The lot was bid to $5,610.

Another of Vaughn's finds was a group of paintings he rescued from a trip to

the dumpster. Discovered in the basement of a newspaper building in Warwick,

N.Y., were five paintings by D.C. Grosse. "They were in a basement which

flooded every year, and they had so much silt on them that you couldn't even

tell they were paintings. They looked like blank canvases," commented Vaughn

after the auction. The astute auctioneer gave each of the paintings a sponge

bath and discovered four landscapes and a seascape by the desirable artist.

Prices on the various pieces ranged from $385 to $2,475.

Other items of interest included an L&JG Stickley hexagonal dining table,

which was hammered down at $6,050; an Eighteenth Century Dutch marquetry

dresser with desk drawer, $3,850; a landscape painting signed Sword, $3,300;

and a bronze chandelier with crystal drops, $1,650.

A Gothic armchair was sold after a prolonged bidding battle. It fetched

$2,200, while a Gothic bench realized $825. A pair of marble-top iron consoles

with mirrors brought $935, an Eighteenth Century carved chest of drawers also

went out at $935, an oak library table took $1,760, and a nice Chesterfield

sofa sold for $990.

A set of nine enameled goblets went for $990; a pair for bronze sconces,

$1,430; and a pair of Art Deco bronze wall dividers in a corn stalk motif,

$2,090.

Prices include the 10 percent buyer's premium charged. For information,

contact Cold Spring Galleries, 344 Main Street, Beacon, N.Y. 12508,

914/831-6800.

The next auction at Cold Spring will be a general sale on May 11.

A benefit Memorial Day auction will be May 25. A portion of the proceeds will

benefit roof restoration work at the art center housed in the Howland Center.

The building is an intact William Morris Hunt designed home that is basically

in original condition. Cold Spring is currently accepting donations of

furniture and accessories for the auction, with the proceeds being forwarded

to the Howland Center under the name of the donor.

-David S. Smith