Herd of Elephants Steals the Show at Skinner's

While the furniture of Charles Rohlfs has been basking in the glow of a recent exhibition and catalog, the blue-and-white crackleware plates, bowls and serving pieces produced at the Dedham Pottery from 1896 until 1943 has patiently stood in the shadows.

On Saturday, however, when actress and director Penny Marshall offered a portion of her collection of Dedham pottery at Skinner's 20th Century Decorative Arts auction, a herd of elephants turned the auction house into the movie set for Jumanji.

Her collection of Dedham started off nervously, as three sets of standard dinner plates decorated with the familiar Dedham rabbits either failed to make their reserve or fell short of their pre-sale estimates. Serving pieces featuring the Dedham rabbits soon fared a little better, but a rare owl plate soared past its pre-sale estimate of $300-$500 to sell for $1,304 (all prices include the buyer's premium), proving that Dedham collectors were in the crowd.

But when an elephant serving platter (pictured, est. $600-$700) sold for $1,715, the stage was set for a dramatic stampede. Over the course of the next eight lots, 44 elephant decorated bowls, plates, pitchers and serving pieces with a combined pre-sale estimate of just $3,200 were hammered down for a total of $15,007.

Not to be outdone, however, two collectors of rare turtle decorated Dedham crackleware battled for eight serving pieces (pictured), pushing the bidding past their pre-sale estimate of $700-$900 until one finally was able to leave with the set of turtles for $5,036.

Art pottery by Newcomb College, Grueby and Marblehead, though limited in number, proved capable of selling within their pre-sale estimates. A 4" green Grueby vase hand-decorated with broad ribbed leaves (est. $800-$1,200) sold for $2,607. It was followed by a 9" green molded Wheatley vase that could not find interest in its estimated $2,500-$3,500 range and left the stage unsold, demonstrating, perhaps, that Wheatley might still be considered "poor man's Grueby."

As for the rare Charles Rohlfs' desk, it came into the sale with an ambitious pre-sale estimate of $40,000-$60,000, considering it had been refinished. As evidenced by other recent Arts & Crafts auctions, furniture collectors at those stratospheric levels are savvy buyers, demanding more than just "the look." Design and craftsmanship are always critical, but without an original finish even a rare example of Arts & Crafts will find the going tough at those levels, which explains why this example failed to meet the consignor's reserve.

For a complete listing of the results of Skinner's most recent 20th Century Decorative Arts sale, please go to http://www.skinnerinc.com.

- Bruce Johnson