March Auction Block
By • March 11, 2025 0 37
This month’s Auction Block features a Stickley dining table, a grasshopper vase, a 40-year-old bottle of whisky, a necessaire (tea caddy) and a Helen Frankenthaler painting that sold for $2.1 million.
Weschler’s
Mahogany Extension Dining Table
Estimate: $300–$500
Sold for: $1,700
This Stickley dining table sold for a little over four times its estimated value in Weschler’s Metro online auction on Feb. 18. The mahogany piece, which includes two leaves, measures 30 by 105 by 46 inches when fully extended.
Doyle
Delphin Massier Majolica Grasshopper Vase
Estimate: $7,000–$10,000
Sold for: $8,960
Part of a Doyle at Home auction, this whimsical vase is believed to have been created in 1890 by French ceramicist Delphin Massier. Known for their vibrant color palette, the Massier family (Delphin, his brother Clement and his cousin Jerome) worked in a style that bridged Art Nouveau and Victorian majolica pottery.
Bonhams
Hibiki Whisky
Sold for: $30,000
Still in its original wooden case, decorated with maki-e, mother-of-pearl inlay and gold lacquer, this Kagami Crystal bottle of 40-year-old Hibiki whiskey, the oldest and rarest, comes with a commemorative booklet. The outer box, made of a dozen Japanese wood varieties, is said to represent the bond between nature and its human and animal inhabitants.
Christie’s
“Concerto” by Helen Frankenthaler
Estimate: $500,000–$700,000
Sold for: $2,107,000
This acrylic on canvas by American abstractionist Helen Frankenthaler (1928-2011), a major contributor to postwar painting, was acquired by its present owner from the John Berggruen Gallery in San Francisco. It is signed “Frankenthaler” on the lower left corner and signed and dated “Frankenthaler 1982” on the reverse.
The Potomack Company
18K Gold-Mounted Chinese Blanc-de-Chine and French Porcelain Necessaire
Estimate: $8,000–$12,000
Sold for: $80,000
This necessaire from the private collection of Junius Spencer Morgan (1867-1932), by descent to John and Caroline Morgan Macomber, sold for about seven times its estimated value. The interior, lined in red velvet, is fitted for porcelain tea wares. It includes a mid-18th century Japanese lacquer tray. The saucers, and possibly the sugar bowl cover, are attributed to Saint-Cloud porcelain, c. 1730-50.
