Baccarat crystal elephant, other rare items fetch high prices at Victoria auction

 

A Baccarat crystal and bronze elephant liqueur candy crafted in France more than 140 years ago fetched $120,000 at auction Tuesday night.

A Baccarat crystal and bronze elephant liqueur candy crafted in France more than 140 years ago fetched $120,000 at auction Tuesday night.

The rare piece once owned by American industrialist George Westinghouse was expected to sell for between $50,000 and $100,000, but sold for more despite minor condition issues, said Peter Boyle, owner of Victoria-based Lind's Auctions and Appraisals.

Boyle said an American bought the Baccarat piece during the online auction and will likely spend another $50,000 restoring it. The two-foot-tall, 80-pound elephant had a small piece of its truck broken off, but the inch-long section was included in the sale.바카라사이트

Boyle believes the piece is based on a similar Baccarat elephant created either for the World’s Fair in Paris in 1878 or shortly after that event, around 1880. Baccarat is a French luxury brand and manufacturer of crystal dating back to 1764.

The elephant would have been a special order, he said. The liqueur candy holds four decanters. The top section of the elephant’s palanquin or covered litter with its bottles can be lifted out and replaced with a monogrammed Baccarat vase, which was included in the offering.

The design on the vase ­features two intertwined “Wis” for Westinghouse and Walker — Westinghouse’s wife was Marguerite Deerskin Walker. Boyle said a symbol below ­represents Deerskin Park in ­Massachusetts, where the ­couple had a summer residence.

Boyle believes the elephant was a wedding gift or special present exchanged between George and Marguerite.

Westinghouse, who died in 1914, was a pioneer in ­engineering and electricity and held more than 300 patents.