Their three-catalogue August auction series offered two private American collections of particular interest to UK and European buyers: the 602-lot Cora and Benjamin Ginsburg single-owner collection of textiles, furniture, paintings, glass, and ceramics on August 3, and the 108-lot Vincent Andrus collection of English, Continental and Chinese export porcelain split into two parts and included in their August 1-3 and August 16-17 sales.
Following the death of the respected and renowned collector and textile dealer Cora Ginsburg last December, the Ginsburg family decided to sell the contents of her Tarrytown, New York, home and selected items from her shop.
However, only a handful of textiles were included in the sale as the majority of her costume and textile holding will be offered at Sotheby’s Olympia in November and December.
There was enough quality blue and white Delft in the Cora Ginsburg collection to attract several of London’s major ceramics dealers, including Kensington Church Street’s Jonathan Horne. “It was nice to have a sale where there were more than two or three pieces to bid on,” said Mr Horne.
Although he purchased around 15 pieces from the Ginsburg collection, he was outpriced by a collector of miniatures in the room for one of the most unusual lots: a miniature blue and white Delft guglet, 63/4in (17cm) high, and wash bowl, inscribed Anna Maria Burrough October the 25, 1768.
“I thought it was an exceptional object,” said Mr Horne. “But it went further than I was expecting because of the collector in the room.” This previously unrecorded example had suffered some damage to its base. It fetched $12,000 (£7740).
The most expensive ceramic in this dispersal was a scroll and shell moulded Dutch Delft blue and white obelisk, Adrianus Kock, c.1710, 193/8in (50cm), initialled AK to the base. Like many entries in the sale, its modest $1000-1500 estimate did not reflect the price realised.
“Ron Bourgeault (Northeast Auctions auctioneer) feels strongly it is a mistake to put too high estimates because people are not encouraged to participate. We sell a lot of entries without reserves,” said Northeast Auctions specialist Mrs M.L. Coolidge.
The obelisk’s quality, provenance and large decorative appeal helped it find its market value and it sold to a European dealer for $13,000 (£8390).
Also of note was an attractive pair of Liverpool delft polychrome wall cornucopiae moulded with birds, a shell and flowers, c.1765, that brought $11,000 (£7100) while a large Liverpool delft punchbowl with Fazackerly-type decoration fetched $7000 (£4515).
A Bristol or London delft blue and white campana vase with lion’s mask handles, 1750-1760, was more of an interior decorator’s object than a dyed-in-the-wool delft collector’s must-have. A good size at 91/4in (23cm) and illustrated in the catalogue brimming with fresh-cut tulips, it was taken to $10,000 (£6450) against expectations of $1000-1500.
Buyers were found for all bar one lot of the Ginsburg collection, with the top entry a conversation piece of Lord Carnarvon and Lady Caroline Leigh by Bartholomew Dandridge (1691-1755). That brought $250,000 (£161,290) from a telephone buyer.
Similarly, a painting by the renowned China trade artist Sunqua, c.1850, was the highlight of the Vincent Andrus collection. It sold for $200,000 (£129,030).
Like the Ginsburgs, the late Vincent Andrus was a man of taste and also a curator of the American wing of New York’s Metropolitan Museum in the 1950s.
“The Ginsburgs and Vincent Andrus were real collectors and brought a certain sensibility to what they assembled. They worked in the profession for a living but these were the pieces they chose to live with,” said Mrs Coolidge. However, it was rumoured in the trade that many of the best pieces from Andrus’s collection were not included in the auction.
Nevertheless, buyers paid a premium for provenance, and a Staffordshire saltglazed stoneware famille-rose enamelled plate, c.1755, painted with a Chinaman suspended from a branch and previously in the collection of R. Soden Smith, fetched $12,000 (£7740). It was slightly chipped and was bought by a New York dealer in the room possibly bidding on behalf of a client.
Elsewhere, a Staffordshire saltglazed stoneware royal portrait mug c.1745, moulded with a moderately crisp portrait of George II, elicited a winning $9000 (£5805) bid. “It was an A rather than an A+ example,” said one London specialist dealer.
A Bristol or London delft polychrome cylindrical mug, c.1705-10, decoratively patterned with an iron-red, blue and green geometric design, left its $600-800 estimate standing when it was secured for a punchy $5500 (£3550), while the $4600 (£2970) bid for a pair of Bristol delft blue and white rectangular flower bricks, again reflected the lively market for fresh, reasonably estimated UK delft.
Vincent Andrus also collected Chinese export porcelain and China trade paintings. Of the Chinese export porcelain, a well-executed blue and white monteith, c.1690, was the top lot. Painted in good bright blue colours with alternating panels of birds and beasts on a floral ground, it was taken to $50,000 (£32,260) by a Paris dealer.
Including premium, the overall sale total for the three catalogues was in excess of $10m. (£6,451,610).
Getting the price right for the blue and white
USA: The reputation of Portsmouth-based Northeast Auctions (15% buyer’s premium) has predominantly been built on selling Americana, but this New Hampshire auction house hope to target greater numbers of UK and European collectors and dealers by including more European material in their five major annual sales.
