Japanese Moriage Cloisonne Vase Fetches $92,000 at Cordier Antiques' Two Day Spring Auction On May 31 and June 1, Cordier Antiques & Fine Art held their Two Day Spring Antique & Fine Art Auction in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, across the Susquehanna River from Harrisburg. While Saturday’s offe
focused entirely on a single lot – and with good reason. The lot, a large and very fine signed moriage cloisonné vase, was by far the top lot of the entire two day sale. Decorated with finely executed raised green foliage and fruits on a white ground on a silver base and rim, the vase attracted a high level of interest from the moment the online catalog went live three weeks before the sale. Further research into the signature uncovered that the artist of the piece was Hattori Tadasboro (1897-1912), a well known cloisonné artist. The lot opened with a strong bid well above the conservative high estimate of $6,000 from the Internet with immediate response from the floor and phone. As the bidding climbed the Internet bidders quickly dropped out leaving the floor and six phone bidders to battle it out. Eventually it came down to a single international phone bidder and a New York City bidder in the room. Everyone was at attention as the bidding continued to escalate. While the phone bidder was a rigorous contender, it was the floor bidder who ultimately prevailed, winning the vase at a staggering $92,000. The result was met with applause in the room. David Cordier, owner of Cordier Antiques & Fine Art, noted “We had expected a strong price given the level of interest we received on the vase but this result far exceeded our expectations. The artist was the key element coupled with the vase’s size, quality and subject matter.”
Other decorative items of note included a brass mechanical singing bird music box ($2,500), a signed Japanese ivory okimoto of an immortal ($1,300), an Ando cloisonné vase with persimmons ($1,400), a bracket clock with Westminster chimes ($3,500) and a circa 1921 Gibson American Style A2 mandolin ($1,000). Ethnographic arts offered a variety of African, pre-Columbian and Native American pieces including a pre-Columbian polychrome bowl featuring male figures under a glyph band. The bowl, estimated at $750 to $1,000, realized $1,400 to an online bidder.
The sale concluded with a single owner Contemporary Western Art collection comprised largely of limited edition prints including thirty-five by well known Western artist Howard Terpning. Terpning prints and giclees on canvas comprised the top lots of this section including a giclee entitled “The Stragglers”. Number 79 out of an edition of 250, the print sold to the room just over high estimate at $3,250. Four others broke the $1,000 mark. The collection also included a large bronze of a covered wagon signed “R. Clark” for $900 and a painted elk robe that was an original prop from the movie “Last of the Dogmen”. The robe, handmade by John G. Arrasmith of Spotted Horse Reproductions, sold under estimate at $200.
For full results of the auction, please visit www.cordierantiques.com.
Cordier Antiques & Fine Art has been in the antiques business for twenty-five years and is located at 2151 Market Street in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania. The firm holds annual fall and spring multi-consignor catalog auctions as
