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Philips Auctions first decorative arts sale for 2016 in February showed pleasing results for high quality items and those with good provenance.
Four Stuart Devlin silver creations – presented many years ago by the artist to the vendor (a close friend) – sold for $3000 including buyer’s premium, more than twice the low catalogue estimate.
The 84-year-old Geelong-born gold and silversmith is famous for winning the competition to design Australia’s decimal coinage...
The National Museum of Australia purchased the historically significant running singlet worn by 200-metre Australian silver medallist Peter Norman at the 1968 Mexico Olympic Games for $48,800 (including buyer’s premium) – against a presale estimate of $2500 – at Mossgreen’s sporting memorabilia auction on February 8.
Sporting memorabilia head Max Williamson was delighted the museum purchased the singlet because it was such significant moment in Olympic history and for the...
Pick of Philips Auctions December decorative arts sale was lot 88 – an exceptional rosewood, ivory and silk Cantonese screen estimated at $20,000-$40,000 – bought by a Chinese purchaser for $72,000 including buyers premium.
The top jewellery item – from the following Monday night auction – also was lot 88 (eight and its multiples are considered lucky numbers in China), bought by the successful bidder for $67,200.
Other jewellery items of note included 1970s cocktail earrings (...
Menzies final art auction for 2015 was characterised by sensational results for the almost completely unknown colonial painter, Thomas Balcombe (1810-1861).
The results underscore the enduring interest for early Australian depictions of Aboriginal life.
This included a top price for Lot 61 of $98,182 (including buyer’s premium) for a scene of an Aborigine fishing by torchlight painted in 1853.
The two small paintings and five drawings of variable quality were of equal...
Almost all of Marvin Hurnall’s unique collection of Australian pottery sold at auction on November 8 for $967,582 – more than twice the value anticipated by auction house Mossgreen.
The most expensive item was a glazed earthenware figure of a blue winged dragon (lot 214), which sold for $26,840 including buyer’s premium.
Other items of note included a Bendigo Pottery pair of large double handled glazed earthenware urns ($18,300, lot 69), Maude O’Reilly’s kookaburra figure with...
The recently unearthed original auctioneer’s copy (dated January 24, 1928) of the Yearling Sale Catalogue in New Zealand for the sale of Australian champion racehorse Phar Lap sold for a staggering $46,360 (including buyers premium) at Mossgreen’s auction on November 2.
A bright red chestnut standing a massive 17.1 hands, Phar Lap (1926-1932) dominated Australian racing of the era, winning 37 of his 51 races (including the 1930 Melbourne Cup) – and being placed second or third in five...
Three sets of 1930s vintage handmade silk lingerie selling for $1320 against a catalogue estimate of $50-$100 set the early auction trend for Philips Auctions October 25 decorative arts sale.
More than 210 registered bidders soon got into the buying mood as the hammer fell regularly on items that could only be regarded as somewhat unusual – even for an auction house.
An antique Chinese carved elephant tusk was typical of the results – selling for $6600 (on a $2000-$4000...
Emmanuel Phillips Fox work Moonrise sold for $36,600 including buyer’s premium at Leonard Joel’s Fine Art sale on Tuesday September 15.
Damien Hirst’s Souls I, II and IV was another notable result changing hands for $18,300.
Don Bradman’s 1936-37 Australian Test blazer from his first series as Australian captain sold by Mossgreen at auction for $122,000 on Monday September 7.
The 1936-37 Ashes series was notable for the fact that Bradman scored successive ducks and Australia lost the first two Tests.
He then scored two double centuries and a single century in the last three Tests to help forge a remarkable Australian win.
A Colombian emerald and diamond suite sold for $366,000 including buyer's premium at Leonard Joel’s jewellery auction on Monday September 14.
The 420mm long necklace features 13 clusters set with graduated cut emeralds totalling 51.14 carats surrounded by round, pear and marquise cut diamonds weighing in total 47.33 carats.
The emeralds in the drop earrings weigh 6.13 carats and the diamonds another 4.77 carats while the ring has a 6.94-carat emerald surrounded...
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