Estate sale for kings

From the Louis XVI-style gilt bronze floor torcheres to the French inlaid mahogany bowfront corner cupboards, everything must go.

Some 300 pieces from the estate of Harbor Island resident and philanthropist Elizabeth Colyear Vincent are to be sold off to the highest bidder next month by a Los Angeles auction house. The items range from works of sculpture to pristine pieces of European furniture and a Victorian matched silver gilt dessert service for 18.

The auction will provide a rare glimpse at the contents that filled the home of one of Newport’s super rich.

Vincent spent more than 30 years living on Harbor Island in an 11,000-square-foot home, which had nine bedrooms and a dozen bathrooms. Vincent died Feb. 1 at age 94. Her Southern colonial-style mansion at 24 Harbor Island was sold for $23 million to Bill Gross, co-founder of the Newport Beach-based Pacific Investment Management Co.

“When you have a single-owner auction, it generally creates a great deal of interest, because people like learning about this person and their life,” said Andrew Jones, Los Angeles director of European Furniture and Decorative Arts at Bonhams & Butterfields, the auction house handling the sale.

“This whole sale reflects that idea of looking inside somebody’s life — it’s really very personal,” he said.

Colyear Vincent had lived at her Harbor Island estate since 1976, where she surrounded herself with things of beauty, including an extensive collection of orchids she cared for in a large greenhouse on the grounds.

Colyear Vincent had an eye for all things Baroque, bronze gilt and porcelain.

“The flavor of the sale is that of the French decorative arts of the 19th century,” Jones said. “There’s a good selection of German porcelain. The focus of her tastes seemed to focus on the second half of the 19th century — it’s a very formal look.”

The marquee lot of the Nov. 8 Bonhams & Butterfields auction is a pair of Louis XVI-style gilt bronze floor torcheres from the late 19th century whose value is estimated between $25,000 and $35,000. The 18 light torcheres, each with an urn draped in swags issuing a multitude of scrolling candle arms, measure 7 1/2 feet tall.

There’s also a Napoleon III gilt bronze and porcelain table valued at $12,000 to $18,000, and an imposing pair of Regence-style gilt bronze 18-light floor lamps worth an estimated $20,000 to $30,000.

Other notable items being placed on the auction block include: a Louis XV-style gilt bronze mounted marble-topped mahogany center table by noted cabinet maker Francois Linke, valued at $7,000 to $9,000; and a Louis XV-style gilt bronze mounted marquetry side cupboard by Emmanuel-Joseph Zwiener, valued at $15,000 to $20,000.

The sale is expected to generate buzz among international private collectors, interior decorators and antiques dealers, Jones said.

“She just furnished her house with things she loved,” Jones said. “Back then, she would have been able to purchase these things for not so much as a song. Antiques weren’t as fashionable back then, and she was buying with a great eye for quality, and probably on a quite decent budget for the time.”

Auction Highlights

 A Venetian acid etched and colored glass mirror from the late 19th or early 20th century measured at 68 inches by 36 inches with an estimated worth of $5,000 to $7,000.

 A pair of Napoleon III carved gilt wood and gesso pier mirrors from the third quarter of the 19th century valued at $12,000 to $18,000. The mirrors are 116 inches by 47 inches.

 A pair of 33-inch tall, turn-of-the century Vienna style porcelain covered urns valued at $3,000 to $5,000.