So this is the story of the cute little clock that got away…
Thankfully.
French brass lantern clock
Face with enameled numerals below oval medallion “JB Duchesne Paris”,
hours and seconds marked on dial, brass works, probably a 19th century copy of
18th century clock, 13-3/4 in. Door slightly bent, finials at top of case repaired, top
slightly loose (does not fit well), lacking key and pendulum
Estimate $200-400
Starting bid $100
I noticed this cute little clock at an Auction house that allows online bidding…
I’ve looked at Auction houses, tracked items, seen items often go below the estimate.
The night before the Auction, no bids had been made on it, and since it started very early
the next morning, I put in a low bid of $80, and set my alarm for 5 am. I had pretty much
finished my coffee, felt alert, and patiently waited for the lot to come up while I watched
the bidding, on line. I had made up my mind I would go as far as $180..or slightly higher.
I had done this once before, successfully, so I felt fairly confident. After your initial bid,
subsequent bids go up in set increments and I knew I could handle a couple counter bids
before we edged up to my limit. The lot came up, remember, I’m starting at $80.
A counter bid comes in. I quickly hit the “bid” button. But wait…it dawns on me that there
is something wrong with the number staring back at me. It doesn’t say my bid is $95
…it says $950. Rather than go through that long, boring process of bidding up,
an on site bidder had put down $900 as a first counter to my $80. Way outside the
estimate. And I had just countered him. I sat in stunned silence…probably for only
mere seconds, but it seemed like an eternity until a final bid of $1000 sailed in.
Seems to me the winner could have gotten away with this for about $800 less.
But don’t ask me, I’m no expert, and I’m sticking to Ebay.
Rumford Lantern clock
As usual, when something catches my eye, I start to do
some research and found many examples of 17th and 18th
century lantern clocks that the little French clock was
said to have been a copy of.
English brass lantern clock, with 6.5″ chapter ring, the floral engraved center
signed Richard Breckell Holmes Fecit, surmounted by triple engraved dolphin frets
and a bell, 15.5″ high
£ 1750
John Walker Fecit
A rare late 17th/early 18th century lantern clock, the 30 hour movement with a charming
early conversion to anchor escapement. It retains its original outside countwheel strike on a
single bell and the brass case has turned pillars and entwined dolphin frets. The exceptional dial is
engraved with foliage and a central Tudor rose and the maker’s name is engraved below XII. The
finely cut single steel hand is probably original and the hoop and spurs are also old.
*
So. I’m dying to know…does anyone else out there have a good auction story?
Pray tell….
This clock was a masterpiece !! Funny story about bidding
It has been some time since I have attended auction, well I take that back. The Nerman Museum here in Kansas city just had an Art Auction and two pieces I wanted went for very high prices.
I have been following varioius items on Christies, as you say, more out of curiosity than anything else. I am glad to hear someone else was tempted to bid on something they really really liked and wanted. I am scared to death of online bidding. Have you had any success at e-bay? I have had some, but only on smaller things like transferware dishes. kind regards —— great blog, by the way!
Hi Louise. I love Ebay. You decide what is the very most you would want to spend (if someone got it for $5 more, would you kick yourself?) and bid as late as you can. I place my bids in the last 10 seconds…or less. “Irrational exuberance” can really drive the price up if you bid too early. And if you lose…there will always be another one. The auction house was more intimidating…as illustrated above, one could REALLY get into trouble. It goes by so quickly that that extra zero totally caught me by surprise!
My favorite auction story…a few years ago, I was very into collecting flow blue china in the Conway pattern. I was creating a special pattern to put in my dining room, above my buffet – inspired by a picture in Henrietta Spencer Churchill’s book. I was on vacation in Laguna Beach, which throws things off from a time perspective – the auction was East coast location, East coast time. I had finally found the final piece I needed, on ebay – a very large, rare platter. So, I watched it, watched it, the prices kept going up. I set my max price in my mind, and palms sweating, I entered the price in the last 2 seconds of the auction. My internet connection was horrible at the beach house, so it took me a few minutes to figure out whether I won – and there was a good chance that the internet was down when I entered my bid. Finally, I got things up and running again, and was relieved to see that I was the winner – for less than what I had entered as my max! I had that plate arrangement in my dining room for years, then took it down, repainted, and had all of the plates sitting in my closet for a few years. Recently, I decided to pull them out again, and put them in my kitchen – the best place for plates, I think.
This story has put me in the mood for some ebay excitement!
I still get a little tightness in the chest when I’m doing that last second bid. My best was the 19th c French canopy chair in the last 2 seconds. VERY lucky. My earlier bid had been trumped and I managed to regroup in time. Ebay is a little like big game hunting…competitive, risky, alarming, and then there’s the trophy.
I have only done live auctions…if I want anything on ebay I hire the pros…my kids. They have been buying and selling on ebay since their early teens and really know the ropes. We have lots of great family stories, but the best one is when my older daughter was selling an antique care for her dad and he kept trying to interfere in the process second guessing her all the way–she stuck to her guns and ended up getting him much more than he was expecting. He generously let her have the extra $ to put in her after graduation travel fund. Some of the Villeroy & Boch plates on my post today were won in ebay…by my kids.
~Jermaine~
oops…that antique “care” was actually a CAR!
Back in the seventies, not far from me an auction was held at the home of an antique dealer who had not sold anything since the 1940’s. The home was historic…dating back to 1750. It was chock o block full of good early antiques…and there were at least a dozen fabulous samplers on the wall. I really wanted one so my husband said lets set our limit…..we knew it would be expensive so we decided to not bid any higher than $600 which was an awful lot of money for us back then. The first one sold for $6,000…..it turns out there were 4 museums represented in the audience and this first one sold to the Folk Art Museum….we were so naive back then! It did turn out well for us as it poured rain for 2 days and it was cold sitting out under the tents. We stuck it out and came away with some lovely authentic antiques that fit our pocketbooks! Good times!! 🙂 Laura
Oops….Ebay auctions! Got a few stories there too…but must dash to work! Be back later! 🙂
What a funny story! I would have been panicking! I have never done any auctioning other than ebay but I would love to go to one.
I love your blog. Your posts are always full of beautiful inspiration!