Satisfied consignors go to Stuart Holman again

Last year, Chicago residents owning a Duhme sterling coffee set with a Cincinnati inscription found auctioneer Stuart Holman through his website. His auctions have included many Cincinnati sterling items over the years and their internet search connected them. They consigned the set and, pleased with the service and the price realized, contacted Holman again when they decided to move to Florida. Holman brought the contents of their Victorian lakefront home to Cincinnati and sold it at auction on January 4. At the heart of the sale was hand-painted porcelain and china. Richard Rendall, author of the recently released book, Hand Painted Porcelain Plates - 19th Century to Present, said it was "one of the finest collections of American Factory Decorated porcelain I have seen. It would appear almost all items were decorated by studio artists working for the Chicago studios at the turn of the century. The Chicago area was home to the American China Painting Movement." Overall, the quality of the work and the condition of the pieces were outstanding. The collection was swarmed during preview. The highlight was a Limoges vase, over 21in, with iris blossoms on an opalescent background, black and gold highlights, and two handles. This piece set the tone early in the day at $1,430, including a 10 percent buyer's premium. A cobalt blue Rosenthal four piece tea set with tray, decorated with grapes and signed, brought $440. Many other sets landed in the $250 to $450 range. Two oyster plates rose quickly to $495. Two hand painted Pickard plates went to an absentee bidder at $275 each. A nice charger sold for $495.

The hand-painted irises on this 21in Limoges vase looked almost life-like. The vase sold for $1,430.

A quality group of paintings did well. An 18 by 15in oil on canvas of a Venice canal scene by French artist Edmond L. DuPain, with excellent color and execution, topped the painting offering at $2,860. A farm scene by C. H. Davis, oil on board, 12 by 16in, went to a phone bidder for $1,210. Lover's Lane, by Louisville artist Maxwell Foster, oil on canvas, 6 by 13in, strolled away for $660. And a landscape by Edwin Burrit, oil on board, 10 by 15in, achieved $550, also over the phone.

A tiger oak bi-level china on paw feet with mirrored back sold for $1,595. Three other china cabinets landed between $990 and $1,100. A five-stack barrister's bookcase, unusual at 26in wide, raised long-distance interest and a final bid of $1,120. A set of eight ebonized dining chairs was very strong at $1,496. An Eastlake marble top sideboard with carved top reached $1,100. Holman hammered a unique pair of wrought-iron glass-topped cathedral offertories at $770.

Bidding was lively all day on the nice collection of clocks that came from the home. Topping the group was an Ansonia ring gold, $880. There were three Royal Bonn porcelain clocks, two with open escapement brought $825 a piece, and a smaller cobalt flow blue example wound up at $550. A Waterbury Halifax wall clock sold for $605.

A large slag glass table lamp went for $935. This oversized example featured a fretwork landscape over six glass panels of mottled blue water and caramel sky. $605 was bid for a hand-painted Gone With the Wind lamp. A Loetz Victorian hanging light fixture with elegant oval globe of purple and blue iridescent glass and filigree work, found in the attic and probably original to the home, reached $575.

One of two Royal Bonn porcelain case clocks that brought $825.

Other items of interest in the sale included a Clementson flow blue platter, $495, and a decorated cranberry pickle castor, $495. Auctioneer Stuart Holman noted that interest in the hand painted china collection was the strongest he had seen, and that bidding was lively from start to finish. Contact: (513) 531-5100