Date: Fri 27-Feb-1998

Publication: Ant

Author: JUDIR

Quick Words:

Doyle

Full Text:

English And Continental Furniture Tops 2 Million At Doyle Galleries

NEW YORK CITY -- William Doyle Galleries' auction of English and Continental

furniture and decorations on January 28 totalled $2.08 million. The overall

selling rate was 91 percent, with 77 percent of all lots achieving prices

within or above the pre-sale estimates.

Contributing to the success of the sale was the estate of Zayde B. Rennolds of

Quaker Hill, N.Y. Assembled at the turn of the century, the collection was

comprised of tapestries, Italian Baroque furniture and decorations, as well as

several English pieces, such as a set of 18 George II style carved mahogany

dining chairs that sold to an anonymous telephone bidder for $57,500 (est

$30/50,000).

Prices achieved for Italian Baroque walnut furniture included $14,950 (est

$6/9,000) earned for a refectory table, $17,250 (est $4/6,000) achieved for a

red-Japanned slant-front desk, and the $13,800 (est $1/1,500) attained for an

occasional table.

Telephone bidders from Europe competed for Italian decorative items in the

Renaissance style, such as a pair of bronze seven-light candelabra that

brought $21,850 (est $6/9,000) and a circular glazed terra-cotta relief in the

style of the Della Robbia workshop, depicting the Madonna and the Christ Child

within a wreath of fruits and foliage, that fetched $18,400 (est $8/12,000).

Totals for several Sixteenth Century Flemish Biblical tapestries with a

Rennolds provenance included $27,600 (est $12/18,000) achieved for one from

the story of Moses and $17,250 (est $12/18,000) paid by a private collector

for another depicting a maiden in her garden being attended by her servants.

English and Continental furniture and decorations from a variety of other

estates and private owners found favor with mostly European buyers. A

Nineteenth Century Anglo-Indian carved rosewood armchair sold to a European

dealer for $34,500 (est $4/6,000), while a Regency inlaid mahogany writing

desk, circa 1820, doubled the pre-sale estimate at $18,400 (est $5/7,000).

Italian walnut furniture in variety of styles included a Baroque credenza that

fetched $24,150 (est $4/6,000), a Rococo inlaid desk that realized $20,700

(est $6/9,000) and a Neo-classical inlaid armoire that attained $17,250 (est

$8/12,000).

Decorative works of art included a Regency giltwood and part ebonized convex

mirror, which reached $23,000 (est $4/6,000) and a pair of gilt-bronze mounted

bisque candlestick lamps, which garnered $48,875 (est $2/4,000). A Fifteenth

Century carved painted and parcel-gilt figure of the Virgin, possibly Flemish,

evoked spirited competition between the trade and a private collector, who

finally placed the successful bid of $23,000 (est $4/6,000).

The top lot among rugs and carpets was a late Nineteenth Century Amritsar

carpet from North India that doubled expectations at $68,500 (est $20/30,000).

A similar carpet commanded $29,900 (est $3/4,000).

The first lot of the sale, a late Fourteenth Century panel painting of the

Madonna and the Christ Child attributed to the Adriatic School, quadrupled the

pre-sale estimate at $26,450 (est $4/5,000). Overall, the Old Master Paintings

and drawings portion of the sale demonstrated the strength of the current

market as evidenced by the $21,850 (est $10/15,000) paid for "Flowers in an

Urn with a Relief of a Lion" in the manner of Jean-Baptiste Monnoyer and the

$17,250 (est $6/8,000) earned for an Eighteenth Century French School painting

entitled "Basket of Flowers at River's Edge.

For information, 212/427-4141.