Shore Birds Take Flight At Schwenke Auctioneers February 27th Fine Estates Auction

Posted March 7th

Eight Carved Shore Birds Large Iron Rooster Weathervane & Directional Stand 1758495 Chinese Embroidered Silk Robe Bronze Imperial Standard Bushel Measure

Woodbury, CT – On Wednesday, February 27th Schwenke Auctioneers held its February Fine Estates Auction with an offering of over 400 lots of estate property which included a broad selection of Asian decorative arts, American, English and Continental furniture and decorative arts, folk art and American country furniture, early English & other sterling silver, jewelry, fine art, miscellaneous decorative arts, and estate oriental rugs. The auction was a live online sale with absentee and phone bidding, plus live internet bidding on multiple platforms including live bidding on the firm’s own software.

Several of the top lots were from an Old Lyme, Connecticut collection which auctioneer Tom Schwenke noted “were consigned just a few days before the posting deadline for the sale”. The top lot of the sale was a group of carved shore birds, including examples by Harry Shourds, which sold to one of six phone bidders for $7,800. From the same collection was a large painted sheet iron rooster weathervane on a directional stand which sold to another phone bidder against internet and phone competition, finally hammering at $4,270.

Several Chinese textiles were consigned by a Connecticut collector, and one of the group, a fine Chinese embroidered silk robe with floral roundels on an orange ground, with chrysanthemum and wave border, sold at $5,080 to an internet bidder.

Items from a Westchester County, New York estate, which had been in storage for several years, included a group of rare British bronze measures which performed well. A 19th Century brass imperial standard bushel measure of twin handled, drum shape and inscribed "Imperial Standard Bushel, County of Gloucester 1834, Bate, London" sold to an internet bidder at $4,575. A companion imperial brass standard peck measure of similar design, engraved "Imperial Peck/County of Cumberland/1857" knocked down at $2,680 to the same buyer.

A large oval ceramic platter, specially designed by Betty Woodman (American, 1930 - 2018), measuring 24 1/2" long, 10 1/2" wide, 1 3/4" deep, sold to an internet bidder at $3,500, against competition from absentee and other internet bidders.

Several estate oriental carpets were offered, and a large Persian room size rug in Serapi design sold for $3,175 to one of several interested internet bidders.

The firm’s next catalog auction will be a 10th anniversary sale on May 22, 2019. The sale will include several important collections featuring Asian, American and Continental decorative arts. Photos may be emailed to consign@woodburyauction.com or potential consignors may call 203-266-0323 to discuss consignments.