Bowl Inscribed Toscanini Top Lot at Doyle

Filed in Antiques, Auctions, Music by ewmiller on January 30, 2013 • 0 Comments

In some sense its nice when the lot you picked out of an auction turns out to be the top lot. That’s from an observer’s point only, however. Had I been bidding on the sterling silver two-handled presentation bowl with an inscription to Maestro Arturo Toscanini, I wouldn’t have been so excited to see the price climb out of the $4,000-$6,000 estimate range to reach $28,125 (including buyer’s premium).

That’s what the 1921 bowl brought at Doyle in New York today, however. More than 80 lots of property from the Collection of Arturo Toscanini met the hammer after being consigned by the the Estate of his Grandson, Walfredo Toscanini (the Maestro died in 1957).

Auction totals brought just under $200,000 against an estimate of $94,480-149,670.

Born in Parma, Italy, Toscanini was one of the world’s most prominent conductors of the 20th century. During his lifetime, he was music director at Milan’s La Scala, New York’s Metropolitan Opera and Philharmonic Orchestra, and finally, the first music director of the NBC Symphony Orchestra. Generations of Americans were introduced to classical music through his radio and television broadcasts and numerous recordings.

Whiting Sterling Silver Two-Handled Presentation Bowl Bearing inscription to Maestro Arturo Toscanini, 1921. Height 13 1/2 inches (34.3 cm), width 20 1/2 inches (52.1 cm), approximately 136 ounces. Doyle Auctions.

Tags: Doyle, silver, Toscanini

About the Author (Author Profile)

Eric Miller is a web publisher, writer and show promoter. Eric is the co-producer and promoter of the Dallas Vintage Clothing and Jewelry Show, 20th Century Vintage, the Texas Art Collector Show and Sale, Vintage Garage Chicago and other events. He also helped launch Antiques in Charlottesville in 2010. Eric's public relations work has resulted in placements in the Boston Globe, Maine Antiques Digest, Antiques and the Arts, Antique Trader, the New York Post and elsewhere. His articles have appeared in publications including San Francisco Downtown, InPittsburgh and The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Eric has interviewed notable architects, filmmakers and politicians including Steven Holl, Julian Schnabel and Congressman Walter Jones. Eric has a Graduate Certificate in Public Relations from NYU, a Masters in Urban Studies from the University of Akron and is author of a chapter on Ayn Rand’s life in New York in the book Literary Trips: Following in the Footsteps of Fame.