CRANSTON, RI.- A live and online Fall Fine Art & Antiques auction packed with 533 lots of fine art, Asian arts, furniture and more is slated for Saturday, October 31st, at 10 am Eastern time by Bruneau & Co. Auctioneers. Limited in-house seating is by appointment only, just for active bidders in the Bruneau & Co. gallery at 63 Fourth Avenue. To reserve a seat, call 401-533-9980.

The live, in-house bidding will involve mask requirements, social distancing and other COVID-19 protocols, per strict CDC and Rhode Island state guidelines. Otherwise, folks can bid online via LiveAuctioneers.com, Invaluable.com, Bidsquare.com, bidLIVE.Bruneauandco.com and the mobile app “Bruneau & Co.” on iTunes or GooglePlay. Phone and absentee bids also accepted.

“This auction is literally packed,” said Bruneau & Co. president Kevin Bruneau. “It’s one of our largest antique catalogs ever, with well over 500 lots in total. The sale certainly offers something for everyone. My favorite piece is the doughnut sign. It’s a rare bird for serious sign collectors.”

He's referring to the Downyflake Doughnuts porcelain storefront sign, made circa 1940 and a hard-to-find piece of Boston history and advertising collecting. Impressive at 10 feet 10 inches long, the sign is made from individually rolled iron letters mounted to an iron C-channel support reading “Downyflake Doughnuts”. Founded in 1931, there were 36 franchised Downyflake Doughnut shops in eastern Massachusetts until 1965. The sign should command $800-$1,200.

“I couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate Halloween than with an auction,” said Travis Landry, a Bruneau & Co. auctioneer. One of my favorite things about Asian arts is you never truly know the value of something. It’s the category with the most wild cards. It’ll be interesting to see what the cider jug and large Republic Period vase sell for. Both are excellent examples.”




The 18th or 19th century Chinese Export famille rose porcelain cider jug, 15 ½ inches tall and 10 inches in diameter, is decorated with a hunting scene in a central cartouche, surrounded by flowers, gilded tendril designs and two cartouches of European landscape scenes towards the mouth. The lid is topped with a flower shaped finial and orange Fitzhugh accents throughout. The jug’s bottom rosewood base shows a Sotheby's tag (est. $1,500-$2,500).

The 20th century Chinese Republic Period vase is baluster form, decorated with applied dragons and foo beast handles over images of a phoenix and dragon behind large roses with calligraphy and chop marks to the back. The 23 ¾ inch tall vase, from the collection of an Uxbridge, Massachusetts gentleman, is expected to change hands for $200-$300.

The fine art category is plentiful and includes these paintings by noted, listed artists:

• A watercolor on paper by George Copeland Ault (N.Y./Ohio/England, 1891-1948), titled White and Yellow: Provincetown, an architectural depiction of white houses in a neighborhood on Cape Cod, 10 ¼ inches by 14 inches (sight) signed “Burnett” and with two Rockport Art Association labels fixed on verso (est. $1,500-$2,500).

• An oil on canvas portrait of a young maiden dressed in red, feeding two lambs at her sides, by Eugene Joseph Lejeune (French, 1818-1897), signed “Eug. Lejeune” lower right-hand corner, 15 ½ inches by 11 ½ inches (sight, less frame), with an original label from Roger King Gallery of Fine Art on verso (est. $1,000-$1,500).

• A fine oil on board Impressionist windblown coastal seascape by Walter Brightwell, Jr. (Maine, 1919-2005), depicting a blonde woman standing on a rockery with waves crashing around her and staring out to sea, 14 inches by 30 inches (board size, less frame), signed “Brightwell” in corner (est. 1,000-$1,500).

One other item worth mentioning is a circa 1940 game of chance slot machine, made in America, a one-cent cigarette trade stimulator with a wood veneer case, 18 inches tall by 11 inches wide and made from wood and metal, having mechanicals numbered “JR 1608”, an interior with label “18962” and wood case impressed “137” (est. $600-$900).