Standard glaze portrait vase of a cocker spaniel brings $2,640 at Matthews Auctions A standard glaze portrait vase showing a beautifully rendered cocker spaniel sold for $2,640 on the last day of a three-day auction held Feb. 15-17 by Matthews Auctions, LLC, in Raymond, Illinois.
News-Antique.com - Feb 21,2013 - (RAYMOND, Ill.) – A standard glaze portrait vase showing a beautifully rendered cocker spaniel sold for $2,640 on the last day of a three-day auction held Feb. 15-17 by Matthews Auctions, LLC, based in Nokomis, Ill. The 13-inch vase, signed “M. Timberlake,” was in good condition, with no chips, cracks or repairs. It was the top achiever of the 1,200 lots up for bid.
The sale was conducted at the gallery of Pope Auction Center in Raymond, with whom Matthews Auctions often partners. Headlining the event was an exceptional group of antique toys and signs from the Joe Russell estate out of New York City. The toys in particular were of high quality and in excellent condition. A smaller New York toy collection was also offered.
The Feb. 15-16 sessions also featured many fine advertising and petroliana (gas station) signs – categories for which Matthews Auctions has become renowned in the industry over the years. But on Feb. 17, decorative arts took center stage. These consisted mainly of art pottery, early American pattern glass, Pickard china and other items. The portrait vase was in this group.
“Day three was a bit of a departure for us, and it may have taken some folks by surprise that we were offering decorative arts at all,” said Dan Matthews of Matthews Auctions. “But the items were very well received, and I want this to be a signal that we’re more than just gas station collectibles and advertising signs. That’s still our bread and butter but now we’re branching out.”
Around 70 people attended the auction live, while another 450 registered to bid online, through Proxibid.com. Many absentee bids were fielded, to go with a handful of phone bids. “It was a good sale, with robust bidding throughout,” Mr. Matthews said. “The crowd was mainly toy buyers, who were happy to be bidding on the mostly medium-to-upper quality merchandise.”
Following are additional highlights from the auction. All prices quoted include a 10 percent buyer’s premium.
Another portrait vase also did well in the Feb. 17 decorative arts session. That one was a Roseville Rozane vase, 14 ½ inches in height, showing a man wearing a hat and artist signed “A. Williams.” Like its cocker spaniel counterpart, this example was in great shape, with no chips, cracks or repairs. It was marked “Rozane RPCo” on the bottom and changed hands for $1,265.
Two pump plate signs took place and show honors for the auction. The first was a Husky Tri-Power porcelain pump plate sign with dog graphics, 12 inches by 12 inches, rated 8.9 out of 10 for condition, with strong gloss ($2,310). The other was a Pacer 400 porcelain pump plate sign with ethyl logo, 14 inches by 9 inches, with great color and gloss, rated a robust 9 ($1,815).
Two other lots managed to top the $1,000 mark. One was a Zerolene (“The Standard Oil for Motor Cars”) single-sided porcelain sign, 6 inches in diameter, with fabulous color and gloss, rated 8.9 and
