- Advocate photo by SOPHIA GERMER
“I have $2,800 on the phone, now $3,000 in the room, I have $3,250 on the phone. Any advance on $3,250? $3,250 once, twice, we are all in, fair warning, sold at $3,250.”
Bidding was underway, and the opening item had just been sold at the New Orleans Auction Galleries’ sale of fine jewelry, furs and accessories.
The estimate for the 18-karat yellow gold, diamond and enamel strawberry pin was between $600 and $900, so the flurry of competitive bidding had bumped the price up considerably.
It was an auspicious opening for the Nov. 12 auction, which would go on to fetch $95,000 for a sapphire and diamond necklace and $72,500 for a lady’s gold and diamond Rolex, estimated to bring in only $25,000 to $40,000.
“Most bidders are disciplined not to overbid,” said Tessa Steinkamp, director of auctions at The New Orleans Auction Galleries. “However, if it’s something a number of people really want, the bidding can become explosive. Everyone gets caught up in the moment, and this fetches the best possible price for the seller.”
It’s a team effort to bring these items to buyers from all over the country, then to appraise, photograph and catalogue them all.
Three of the major players at the auction house are also auctioneers, but owner Susan Sarofim doesn’t partake.
“My voice is so high-pitched, I sound a bit like Minnie Mouse, so I leave the actual auctioneering to my staff,” Sarofim said.
But, make no mistake, she’s an integral part of the process, and you’ll find her at the phone bank at every auction, in their new headquarters on St. Joseph Street.
“We bought this building,” President Ashton Thomas said, “then set about building a third story, which was no small feat considering it had to pass muster with the Historic Districts Landmark Commission. Ultimately, we resolved everything and ended up with these all-encompassing clerestory windows, which let in magnificent natural light.”
“It’s a wonderful arena to showcase some very rare finds,” marketing and PR coordinator Taylor Eichenwald said.
The biggest sale in the business’ history? A Philadelphia highboy, a combined chest of drawers and wardrobe — sale price $800,000.
The New Orleans Auction Galleries’ Winter Estates Auction in December will include rococo revival to art deco furniture, Newcomb pottery, French/Louisiana paintings and much more.
Heading farther Uptown, the Neal Auction Co., on Magazine Street since 1984, is gearing up for its Louisiana Purchase Auction, a once-a-year affair, featuring this year’s Gaspar Cusachs Collection.
It contains a vast array of antiques and historical ephemera, including a historically important infantry snare drum and the Andrew Jackson Presentation Flag celebrating the victory at the Battle of New Orleans. Both are valued between $200,000 and $250,000.
“These are historical treasures exhibited by the Louisiana State Museum for over 100 years,” said Neal Alford, president of the Neal Auction Co. “This collection consists of 199 lots, which all have one provenance. These items were on loan to the museum, but were never accessioned through any legal document, so public notices were implemented to obtain information about the original owners. Eventually, a family came forward from this inquiry, who knew that their grandfather was one of the original owners.”
The December auction will contain a total of 1,200 items, to be auctioned off over a three-day period.
And there’s something for everyone. From a Salazar portrait of Daniel William Coxe from 1792, to an elaborately carved congressional desk, circa 1857.
And if historical memorabilia isn’t your thing, you’ll find former Louisiana Gov. Jimmie Davis’ tooled leather and sterling silver saddle and even a 2009 Super Bowl ring. It runs the gamut, from weapons to clocks, maps to sculpture.
“With the advent of technology, auctions have changed remarkably in the last two decades,” Alford said. “There’s a larger presence nationally, and the schematic has to do with many more inquiries from people outside this region.
“We get estate sales from Manhattan, and collectors in Los Angeles. We have a much bigger reach now. … and that’s good news for both buyers and sellers.”
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