Aguilar sterling service hits $41,400 at Leland Little sale A 72-piece sterling silver service, made by Mexican silversmith Hector Aguilar in the "Aztec" motif, sold for $41,400 at a multi-estate sale held Dec. 6-7 by Leland Little Auction & Estate Sales, Ltd.
(Hillsborough, N.C.) - A beautiful 72-piece sterling silver service (circa 1948-1955) by the renowned Mexican silversmith Hector Aguilar, in the “Aztec” motif, sold for $41,400 at a two-day, four-session multi-estate sale, dubbed the “Historic Hillsborough Auction,” by Leland Little Auction & Estate Sales, Ltd. The sale was held at the firm's spacious showroom, located at 246 South Nash Street.
Aguilar's shop, Taller Borda, was known for its high-quality and well-designed sterling silver flatware, hollowware, jewelry and other objects. The service sold was large and rare, with the incised bands, scrolls and applied beads that exemplified Aguilar's bold eye for design. It was also a superlative example of mid-20th century Mexican silver. It was the top seller of the nearly 1,000 lots put up for bid.
“This was the biggest grossing sale to date for our company, and a wonderful way to conclude the year,” said Leland Little of Leland Little Auction & Estate Sales, Ltd. “We continue to attract national and international interest in our collections, and will continue what has been a successful partnership with LiveAuctioneers.com for online bidding. We anticipate more great sales in 2009.”
Speaking of online bidding, more than 1,000 bidders registered through LiveAuctioneers.com, while around 900 pre-absentee and phone bids were recorded prior to the sale. The in-house crowd was respectable -- about 200 people on Saturday, Dec. 6, and between 75 and 100 people on Sunday, Dec. 7. It was the fourth and final quarterly cataloged auction of the year. The next one will be in March.
Following are additional highlights. All prices quoted include a 15 percent buyer's premium.
Spectacular period furniture pieces were offered in abundance. The stars of the category were a rare North Carolina paint decorated Rowan County blanket chest (circa 1800), from the Yadkin River area and having a six board poplar case with dove-tailed construction ($36,800); and a pair of classical card tables (Philadelphia, circa 1820-1830), having mahogany veneers with gilt decoration ($13,800).
A late 18th-century Southern walnut corner cupboard made in Piedmont, N.C., with one-piece form and Southern yellow pine secondary, brought $5,463; a 19th-century French country trestle table with three-board burled hardwood rectangular top supported by two shaped legs realized $4,830; and a 19th-century birch and walnut Southern sugar chest with hinged lid and bread board ends made $3,795.
Fine art, a staple at many Leland Little Auction & Estate Sales, Ltd., quarterly cataloged sales, commanded prices that were within the estimates and, in some cases, beyond. Highlights included:
A signed pastel on silk work by Elizabeth O'Neill Verner (S.C., 1883-1979), titled Jamie ($28,750).
A signed oil on canvas by Emile Gruppe (Mass./Fla., 1896-1978), titled Winter Brook ($18,400).
A signed oil on canvas by Harry Berman (Penn., 1900-1932), titled Pennsylvania Hills ($5,520).
An untitled canine rendering by Roy Dean de Forest (American, 1930-2007), signed ($2,645).
Sculptures were also offered. Two works deserve mention here. They are:
A bronze figure of a nude male youth by William Hirsch (S.C., 1905-82), dated 1940 ($7,475).
