Susanna, Lot 20) estimated at $25,000—$35,000 sold for $48,000 IBP and was described in the catalogue as "having a look of scorn", no doubt looking over her shoulder at the fisherwoman Pescatrice (Lot 25 ) who stole the limelight, selling for $67,200 IBP.
Both figures were consigned by the late Charles Tichener, and had been in the Tichener family since the early 1920s, although acquired at separate auctions.
Susanna had a more illustrious provenance than her competitor due to her prior ownership by the late Melbourne publican Henry F. Young, founder of the Melbourne landmark hotel, Young & Jackson's, on the corner of Swanston and Flinders Street, Melbourne, and home of Chloe by French artist Jules-Joseph Lefebvre, and it was probably this that prompted the cataloguer to assign her a higher estimate.
According to Guy Cairnduff, head of Decorative Arts at Leonard Joel, both figures returned to the family, after spirited phone bidding.
However Susanna was not the highest estimated lot in the sale - that honour went to a three fold carved screen (Lot 120 ) by the Australian carver John Kendrick Blogg and estimated at $100,000-120,000. The screen had been purchased from Leonard Joel's Australian auction in 1988 for $30,000 and failed to find a new home on the night. The prior lot, an oak hall chair (Lot 119 ) by Robert Prenzel and Johann Treede, estimated at $20,000-25,000 also failed to find a buyer.
Good results were achieved for a pair of Grant Featherston R160 contour chairs and a stool, (Lot 174 ). Estimated at $6,000-10,000, they sold for $18,000 IBP.
A pair of Sevres vases (Lot 29 ) also sourced to the estate of the Young and Jackson's founder and then the Tichener estate, sold for $24,000 IBP, equivalent to their low estimate of $20,000 before buyers premium.
On the quirky side, an elephant foot humidor (Lot 273 ) with the makers mark for Coombes Company Ltd. Rangoon and estimated at $1,000 to $2,000 sold for $7,200 IBP, no doubt assisted by its almost pristine condition.
There was no buyer for the Black Forest bear hallstand (Lot 360 ) estimated at $8,500-10,500 and the oak Gothic musical longcase clock, estimated at $10,000-15,000 was let go for only $7,200 IBP.
There was little interest in collection of pot lids, also consigned by the estate of the late Charles Tichener who had brought them from England when the family migrated around 1918.
The pot lids were offered in groups of two to five lids in each lot in 45 consecutive lots, with estimates in the low hundreds for each lot. Only 19 of the 45 lots sold
Highest price was for a single pot lid depicting Belle Vue Tavern, Pegwell Bay (Lot 67 )which sold for $1,104 IBP.
Pot lids have been a traditional field for collectors, but one which is no longer in vogue. English 'Millers' and 'Lyle's' price guides of the 1980s illustrate pot lids with a typical price range of 200-400 pounds, with the occasional example selling for up to 1,000 pounds.
Overall the sale realised $601,000, with 238 of the 401 lots sold, giving a clearance rate of 60% by number. Leonard Joel's Decorative Arts Department has been extremely busy this year conducting two large in-house sales before this one, (compared with none in 2009) which may be the reason the sale did not appear as interesting as their usual offering.