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CHINESE FAMILLE ROSE BOYS VASE FROM THE REGAL COLLECTION SELLS FOR $361,000 AT DOYLE NEW YORK'S ASIAN WORKS OF ART SALE ON MARCH 18, 2008
Strong International Competition for Almost 200 Lots Collected by Two Generations of the Regal Family
Sale Totaled $1,700,700 -- Well Over the Pre-Sale Estimate of $770,200-1,134,600
Doyle New York held an auction of Asian Works of Art on Tuesday, March 18, 2008. The sale showcased the arts of China, Japan, Korea and Southeast Asia dating from the Neolithic Period through the 20th century. Offerings included pottery and porcelain, jade, scholar's objects, bronzes, screens and paintings. A special section of the sale was devoted to The Regal Collection, which was assembling over the course of 115 years by two generations of the Regal Family of Pennsylvania.
Highlighting the sale was a rare Chinese Famille Rose Boys Vase from The Regal Collection that achieved $361,000 after several minutes of competitive bidding. The competition for this lot eventually dwindled to two determined bidders from Hong Kong, one on the telephone and one in the salesroom, and the vase was purchased by the latter.
The salesroom was filled to capacity with an audience that was overwhelmingly Asian, which offered strong competition against absentee bidders, Internet bidders and telephone bidders from a number of countries. In all, the sale totaled a very strong $1,700,700, well over the pre-sale estimate of $770,200-1,134,600, with 82% sold by lot and 93% by vale.
THE REGAL COLLECTION
Doyle New York is honored to offer at auction The Regal Collection of Chinese Porcelain. This extraordinary collection represents over a century of acquisitions by two generations of the Regal family of Pennsylvania. The Regal Collection was begun in the late 19th century by Arthur F. Regal and his wife, Florence de Guise Regal. A prosperous couple during America's Gilded Age, the Regals and their six children led charmed lives of affluence, comfort and privilege. A successful businessman, Arthur Regal owned business colleges in Butler, Pennsylvania and Akron, Ohio. His heiress wife, Florence, was an avid collector and connoisseur of Chinese porcelain.
Florence Regal instilled her great love of Chinese porcelain in her fifth child, Vernon R. Regal. As a child, Vernon would accompany Florence in her rounds of antique shops, auctions and estate sales. Vernon Regal was fond of pointing out that many of the pieces in the Regal Collection were formerly in the collections of such prominent American families as the Morgans, Mellons, Depuys and Fricks, as well as the Carnegie Museum. In 1958, Pittsburgh's Carnegie Museum held a landmark sale to raise funds for a new copper roof. Vernon was an active buyer during this rare deaccession (see lots 2096 and 2097).
Descended from 17th century German pioneers in Pennsylvania, Vernon Regal (1910-2007) was a genuine Renaissance man. From an early age, he was an accomplished musician with noteworthy talent on the piano and organ. He was also a trained artist, and conserved a number of works of art in the family's collection. His true love, however, was his profound appreciation of Chinese porcelain, which he inherited from his mother.
During the mid-20th century, the Regal Collection was displayed in Vernon's imposing mansion in Pittsburgh. Period photographs reveal elegant interiors reminiscent of the great Fifth Avenue homes of New York's Industrial Age tycoons. In 1960, Vernon moved with the Collection to the more rural setting of Elm Farm, a vast manor house in Valencia, Pennsylvania. It was here that the Regal Collection continued to grow under Vernon's loving care and astute management until his death at the age of 97 in 2007.
The March 18, 2008 sale of the Regal Collection provides collectors of Chinese porcelain with a rare opportunity to acquire fine examples of 18th and 19th century wares, entirely fresh to the market, collected over the course of 115 years by two generations of gifted connoisseurs.
Images from Top:
Vernon R. Regal's residence, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Arthur F. Regal and Florence de Guise Regal with their sons, Vernon R. Regal is on the far right
Florence de Guise Regal
Vernon R. Regal with the family Rolls Royce, 1930s
Vernon R. Regal's residence, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
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NEXT ASIAN WORKS OF ART AUCTION
September 2008
CONSIGNMENTS ARE CURRENTLY BEING ACCEPTED
To have your property evaluated for possible consignment in the September 2008 Asian Works of Art auction, please contact: Marley Rabstenek, 212-427-4141, ext. 299, Asian@DoyleNewYork.com
CATALOGUE
Subscriptions Department, 212-427-4141, ext. 257, subscriptions@DoyleNewYork.com
View the March 18, 2008 auction catalogue
MEDIA CONTACT
Louis LeB. Webre, Vice President, Marketing and Media, 212-427-4141, ext 232, louis@DoyleNewYork.com
Images and interviews are available upon request.
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