Press Release

Brooklyn, NY, USA, May 18, 2024 -- Items ranging from a rare Tiffany & Company gilt sterling silver rose centerpiece bowl (or potpourri) to a 1960 Popeye pocket watch in fine working condition are just the start of what bidders will be treated to in SJ Auctioneers’ online-only Collectibles, Toys, Jewelry, Décor & More auction slated for Sunday, May 26th, starting promptly at 6 pm Eastern.

The catalog contains 216 lots of fine jewelry items, sterling silver, vintage trains and toys, and collectibles. The artists, designers and silversmiths will include names such as Cartier, Tiffany & Company, Dominick & Haff, Jose Hess, Emile Delaire, Gorham, Movito, Reed & Barton, Watson, Wallace, William B. Kerr, Sackermann, Hessenberg & Co., Italian Vetreria Murano, Arte, American Flyer, Lionel, Nintendo, Tootsie Toy, Buddy L, Matchbox, Lesne and others.

The Tiffany & Company gilt sterling silver rose centerpiece bowl is beautifully adorned with a finial, two lions and with a pierced, geometric design, standing on 4 clawed feet. It was made in the mid-20th century in Italy and measures 13 inches from handle to handle by 11 ½ inches in depth. It weighs 121.5 troy ounces and bears hallmarks. The estimate is $4,900-$7,000.

Popeye is enormously popular with collectors and SJ Auctioneers has featured many Popeye items in past sales. The working 1960 pocket watch has an estimate of $300-$750. In honor of Popeye's 75th anniversary, the Empire State Building in New York City illuminated its notable tower lights green the weekend of January 16–18, 2004, as a tribute to the icon's love of spinach.

Because of their beauty and valuable high silver content, sterling flatware sets should finish in the sale’s list of top achievers. These include two Tiffany & Co. sets in the King Sterling pattern, both in chests and neither one with a monogram. The 84-piece dinner-size service has a pre-sale estimate of $8,500-$14,000; while the 36-piece service is expected to command $4,500-$6,000.

On a smaller scale is a Georg Jensen three-piece sterling pattern bar flatware set with the original box, including a caviar shovel, a tea caddy spreader and two-tine cold cuts fork (est. $350-$500).

Silver dishes and bowls are expected to attract keen bidder interest. A few examples are these:

- An 1850 English pair of sterling silver, multi-lobed, covered vegetable dishes by John Samuel Hunt (assistant to P. Storr), adorned with curvilinear natural motifs in exquisite design, weighing 97 troy ounces and bearing maker’s hallmarks (est. $3,800-$4,500).

- A Ford & Tupper sterling silver tureen (or covered bowl) from 1871, with highly detailed and realistic deer motifs adorning the sides and cover of the tureen, 11 inches tall and weighing 48 troy ounces, with hallmarks and monograms (est. $2,800-$3,800).

- A Gorham sterling silver antique flower-decorated footed serving bowl, 18 ¼ inches in diameter, weighing 46.9 troy ounces, with a dent in one of the legs (est. $2,850-$3,200).

Sterling silver can take on many forms, not just dishes, bowls and flatware. Examples include an assortment of 11 Italian silver miniature cars with exquisite details and movable parts and a total weight of 44 troy ounces, each car bearing a hallmark (est. $3,500-$4,400); and a sterling silver peacock figurine with ruby eyes and moving wings, weighing 145 grams (est. $1,000-$1,250).

To learn more about SJ Auctioneers and the online-only Collectibles, Toys, Jewelry, Décor & More auction slated for Sunday, May 26th, starting promptly at 6 pm Eastern time, visit www.sjauctioneers.com. Updates are posted often.

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