Brooke Astor Auction–Revisited

I thought I’d revisit the Brooke Astor auction which just wrapped up, and show you the estimate and then the actual hammer price. The auction raised more than twice what was expected – $18.8 million - although there is some conjecture that the estimates were set low so that regardless of what things sold for, it would look like a raging success.

First up, the Haseltine Pig. I received an e-mail this afternoon about this pig, apparently Herbert Haseltine and Buddy Marshall were second cousins which is, no doubt, how she came to possess this piece of sculpture - they were both great-grandchildren of Charles Marshall, head of the Black Ball Line between NYC and Liverpool…

HERBERT HASELTINE 1877 - 1962
MIDDLE-WHITE SOW: WHARFEDALE ROYAL LADY
ESTIMATE $10,000-15,000 USD  SOLD: $43,750

A FRENCH GOLD AND DIAMOND-SET BLONDE TORTOISESHELL CIGARETTE CASE, MAKER'S MARK JD A FLOWER BETWEEN,
EARLY 20TH CENTURY
ESTIMATE: $700-900 USD  SOLD: $6,250

A CHINESE EXPORT SILVER, ENAMEL AND JADE PAGODA-FORM TABLE CLOCK
FIRST HALF 20TH CENTURY
ESTIMATE $500-700 USD  SOLD: $12,500

SET OF THIRTY-FOUR FORNASETTI STOVIGLIE PORCELAIN 'MALACHITE'-GROUND PLATES 1955 
ESTIMATE $1,500-2,500 USD  SOLD: $9,275

A PAIR OF REGENCY STYLE CREAM AND GREEN PAINTED PAGODA-FORM STANDING BOOKCASES
ESTIMATE 2,000-3,000 USD  SOLD: $12,500

SIR CECIL BEATON 1904-1980 PORTRAIT OF BROOKE ASTOR
ESTIMATE 2,000-4,000 USD  SOLD: $11,250

A LARGE GROUP OF CERAMIC OR ENAMEL BOXES AND COVERS 20TH CENTURY  67 pieces.
ESTIMATE 800-1,200 USD SOLD: $6,825

A SUITE OF 18 KARAT GOLD, PLATINUM, DIAMOND AND ONYX JEWELRY,
VAN CLEEF & ARPELS, NEW YORK, CIRCA 1970
ESTIMATE 10,000-15,000 USD  SOLD: $65,000

Some of the pieces went WAY above their estimates, like this one:

or this one:

But this was the big winner of the auction:

Here’s the link to the catalogue so you can browse through and see what things were hammered down for. Everyone loved Mrs. Astor, and the money raised is going to her favourite charities, ones which she supported for years, so it’s all good.

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