Sporadic showers did not dampen bidder enthusiasm for style, elegance and whimsy at the Selkirk Spring Eclectic Auction. On March 12, bidders left with treasures ranging from fine art and figurines to furniture.
Buyers competed vigorously for the signed still life acrylic painting, featuring a vase of flowers, by Lois Marilou Jones. Born in 1905 and trained at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts of Boston, Jones is recognized as an icon of the Harlem Renaissance, a respected college professor, an artist ambassador and an international expert on culture. The painting sold for $3,600.
In keeping with the promise of Spring, a superb French bronze, "The Awakening of Nature" by Maurice Joseph Constant, drew competitive bidding. The 37.5-inch female figure, seemed to levitate in a euphoric pose, crossed the auction block at $1,560.
The elegant figure of Guan Yin, Goddess of Mercy, continues to command keen interest from collectors. The 13-inch carved, full-body Baltic amber figure, carrying beads and elevated on a lotus base, brought $1,188.
An impressive and heavily carved walnut cabinet, more than seven feet tall, with elaborate brass hardware, represented the Art Nouveau movement that swept through the arts and architecture in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Selling for $1,200, the cabinet found a new home in one of the many stately St. Louis mansions dating to that period.
A more contemporary pair of slipper chairs by Edward Wormley for Dunbar with blue upholstered backs and seats raised on square tapering legs brought $1,800.
Whimsy named its price from an astute collector with the winning the bid for a Dresden monkey orchestra. These 12 delightful figures playing musical instruments, which were featured on the cover of the color auction brochure and each had the blue Dresden mark, fetched $1,320.
The playful cast iron doorstop depicting a goose nibbling at the ear of a young pup was marked "copyright 1924 by AM Greenblatt, Boston, Mass #11." It brought $1,000.
Happy children sharing a sweet treat, as depicted on the Ward's Cake tin litho store display case, met with enthusiastic bidding that stopped at $1,063.
Sterling silver performed well and included a Towle sterling silver dinner service in the Contour pattern with an approximate total weight of 88.9 ounces; an Oneida After Glow pattern sterling silver flatware service for 12 with an approximate total weight of 79.6 ounces; and an International sterling silver flatware service for 12 in the Wedgwood pattern with an approximate total weight of 77.1 ounces. They brought $1,750; 1,063 and $1,500, respectively.
Selkirk’s Spring Gallery Auction will be held on Saturday, May 21, followed by a Summer Eclectic Auction on Saturday, July 16, and its Fall Gallery Auction on Saturday, September 24.
For further information, call 314-696-9041 or visit www.selkirkauctions.com.