Gold, Diamonds and Sterling Silver Bring In the High Bids: Toomey & Co’s Jewelry, Silver & Objects of Vertu Sale

by Kate Nixon

 

Rings and jewelry made of yellow gold sold for thousands, rings featuring three diamonds also brought in multiple bids, and an impressive amount of The Kalo Shop silver lots were sold to the highest bidder during Sunday’s Jewelry, Silver & Objects of Vertu sale. Toomey & Co. Auctioneers offered an impressive amount of The Kalo Shop silver as well as works from Robert Riddle Jarvie, Gorham Manufacturing, Peer Smed, Mary Catherine Knight and more in an auction of over 565 lots.

This curated auction represented the Arts and Crafts style through featured lots from two very important collections: The Collection of Governor Jim Thompson and The Paul & Terry Somerson Collection of 20th and 21st Century Metalwork and Jewelry. The sale included over 100 match safes / vestas from The Collection of Governor Jim Thompson, the longest-serving governor of Illinois; as well as works from Gorham Mfg Co. and Battin & Co from Thompson’s sizable Art & Design collection. The Collection of Paul Somerson, the tech journalist and author turned collector, and his wife Terry accumulated the largest private collection of American Arts and Crafts metalwork and jewelry to-date; over 200 lots from the Somerson Collection were contributed to this auction.

One item of interest, a rare silver and copper beetle brooch with stylized wings from John Adams Comstock Jr. and noted for its appearance in Rosalie Berberian’s Creating Beauty: Jewelry and Enamels of the American Arts & Crafts Movement book and its place in the Paul and Terry Somerson collection, sold for $1,875 sailing past the high estimate of $1,200.

Final auction highlights include a silver tall trumpet Kalo Shop vase (sold for $3,375), a silver chased snowdrop vase from John H. Petty for Arthur Stone (sold for $5,625), an Arthur King yellow gold 46.68 carat emerald and diamond bracelet (sold for $3,380), an Edwardian yellow gold and european cut three- diamond ring (sold for $5,625), a pair of platinum diamond and emerald earrings (sold for $5,000), an 18K yellow gold demi-parure necklace and bracelet set (sold for $3,750) — and finally an Art Deco style three-diamond ring that sold for 11,250.

The Art Deco ring was described as “a platinum and Old European cut diamond ring” with the central diamond weighing 2.24 carats, flanked by two diamonds weighing 2.56 carats and 2.24 carats.

 

 

Our items of note: (all items from the The Paul & Terry Somerson Collection of 20th and 21st Century Metalwork and Jewelry) :

 

Lot 1

The Kalo Shop pendant necklace
Chicago, Illinois
sterling silver, blister pearl
stamped marks
pendant: 1 3/4″w x 2 1/8″h; chain: 17 3/8″l

Estimate $2,000-3,000

Sold for: $2,000

 

 

Lot 48

The Kalo Shop white gold and 5.71 carat aquamarine ring
Chicago, Illinois
14K white gold, 16 x 14 x 10 mm aquamarine, stamped marks
6.6 dwts
size: 8 3/4; face: 9/16″w x 5/8″h

 

Estimate $800-1,200

Sold for: $1,187

 

Lot 75

The Kalo Shop tall trumpet vase, #K313
Chicago, Illinois
sterling silver
stamped marks
5″dia x 18″h

Estimate $2,000-3,000

Sold for: $3,375

 

 

Lot 144

The Kalo Shop gold ring
Chicago, Illinois
14K tri-color gold
stamped marks
8.7 dwts
size: 6 3/4

Estimate $500-700

Sold for: $468

 

Lot 197

John Adams Comstock Jr. (1883-1970) beetle brooch with stylized wings
Evanston, Illinois / East Aurora, New York / Santa Rosa, California
silver, copper, jewel beetle, enamel, stamped mark
extremely rare example by Comstock, showing his entomological interest
2 3/16″w x 1 3/8″h

Literature:
Berberian, Rosalie, Creating Beauty: Jewelry and Enamels of the American Arts & Crafts Movement, Schiffer Publishing, 2019, p. 234

Estimate $800-1,200

Sold for: $1,875

 

Lot 264

Peer Smed (1878-1943)
Calla Lily salad serving set: fork and spoon
Brooklyn, New York
sterling silver
stamped marks
fork: 2 5/16″w x 9 3/8″l

Estimate $600-800

Sold for: $1,690

 

On December 8, Art & Design with Tradition & Innovation will conclude the 2019 schedule for Toomey & Co. Auctioneers. Altogether, nearly 600 lots will be up for bid, with prominent material drawn from the categories of painting, sculpture, decorative art, pottery, furniture, lighting, and more. Consignments are currently invited for upcoming auctions. Photos of items may be sent to [email protected]. For more information on past and upcoming auctions or to request an estimate, please visit toomeyco.com.

 

About Toomey & Co. Auctioneers

Toomey & Co. Auctioneers holds several carefully curated auctions each year. Departments include: Fine Art, Early 20th Century Design, Modern Design, Fine Furniture & Decorative Arts, Silver & Objects of Vertu, and Fine Jewelry & Timepieces.

Located on the western border of Chicago in Oak Park, Illinois, Toomey & Co. is surrounded by a vibrant arts community as well as Prairie School architecture by Frank Lloyd Wright, William Eugene Drummond, George Washington Maher, and Marion Mahony Griffin.