DALLAS, TX.- Heritage Auctions Fine Silver & Objects of Vertu sales totaled more than $1.4 million in 2018.

“We have been fortunate to see extraordinary works in silver this year, and to have clients seeking this level of design and craftsmanship,” Heritage Auctions Director of Fine Silver & Objects of Vertu Karen Rigdon said. "The success of these auctions makes us very optimistic about the future of silver and vertu at Heritage Auctions.”

Competitive bidders pursued a Yossi Swed Partial Gilt Silver Ship-Form Menorah with Display Case, 1992-93 until it finally closed at $30,000 to claim top-lot honors in an October 15 auction. Whimsy and surprises abound as elaborate mechanical workings turn the ship into a centerpiece for the Hanukkah celebration.

Two pair of silver candelabra by Danish silver manufacturer Georg Jensen in the Pomegranate pattern prompted multiple bids. One finished at $15,000, while the post-1945 example brought $12,500.

Frenzied bidding by nearly two dozen clients sparked a surge of interest in a Pair of Tane Orfebres Partial Gilt Silver Five-Light Figural Candelabra, Mexico City, circa 1950, which crushed the pre-auction estimate of $800-1,200 to close at $11,562.50. From the Estate of Colletta Ray McMillian in Houston, the pair features four leafed arms emerging from a standard of intertwining dolphins on a rectangular fluted base with gilt foliate detail and scrolled feet.

Multiple bidders chased a Two-Piece Gorham Narragansett Pattern Silver Salad Serving Set, designed in 1878 until it doubled its high pre-auction estimate, closing at $30,000 to lead the April 24 auction that totaled $666,608. Measuring 11-1/4 inches long, the fork and spoon set, with shell-form bowl and tines is densely applied with sea kale, shells, crabs and other aquatic motifs.

Twelve Paul Storr George III Silver Soup Plates, London, England, 1805 prompted competitive bidding from multiple bidders before hammering at $27,500. The 10-3/4-inch-diameter plates feature a traditional Storr design with rim of shell and foliate motif alternating with gadrooning.

A Six-Piece Gorham Martelé Silver Tea and Coffee Service, Providence, Rhode Island, circa 1917 also drew competitive bids before finishing at $25,000. The Gorham archives indicates that the pieces in this lot – a group that includes a hot water kettle and stand, a coffee pot, a teapot, a covered sugar container, a creamer and a tray – originally were part of a seven-piece set that included a wastebowl.

Numerous bidders pursued a Pair of Robert Hennell II Silver Wine Coolers, London, England, 1821 until it ultimately brought $23,125. The campana-form coolers have an everted fluted lip, a removable collar with grape bunch and vine motif, removable silver-plated bucket wells, bodies with twist gadrooning, waists with acanthus and foliate motifs in high relief and a rounded bass with layered shell motif.

Other top lots included, but were not limited to:

· A Yossi Swed Partial Gilt Silver Galleon-Form Seder Set and Display Case, 20th century: $15,000

· A Yossi Swed Partial Gilt Silver Megillah Esther, 20th century: $13,750

· A Yossi Swed Partial Gilt Silver Etrog Box on Stand, 20th century: $12,500

· A Pair of Georg Jensen Pomegranate Pattern No. 324 Silver Two-Light Candelabra, designed 1919, manufactured post-1945: $11,250

· A Large Alejandro Gomez and Rafael Tapia Mexican Leopard Opal and Silver Bust of the Aztec Warrior Cuauhtémoc, 20th century: $11,250

· A Large Japanese Export Silver Figural Dragon Coffee Pot, possibly by the Konoike workshop, Meiji Period, circa 1868-1912: $10,625

· A Gorham Mfg. Co. Aesthetic Movement Partial Gilt Silver and Mixed Metals Two-Handled Cup with Applied Decoration, Providence, Rhode Island, 1882: $10,000

· A Russian Silver Loving Cup with Original Fitted Case, 1st Silver and Gilding Artel, St. Petersburg, 1909-1913, retailed by Fabergé: $10,000

· An Eighty-Six-Piece Georg Jensen Bernadotte Pattern Silver Flatware Service for Twelve, Copenhagen, Denmark, designed 1939, manufactured post-1945: $10,000