MERIDIEN, CONN.- Some of the best art and antiques from CT estates will be featured at Nest Egg’s Spring Art and Antiques Auction on Saturday, May 5 beginning at 2 p.m. Eastern time.

Customers attending the 240-lot sale will find an eclectic selection of beautiful and unusual items, all fresh-to-market.

“We like to think of this auction as a prerequisite for the spring show at Brimfield,” said auctioneer Ryan Brechlin.

A Sol LeWitt painted aluminum sculpture will be offered for its first time. The thirty-eight inch, seven-pointed star rises into a flat topped pyramid. Originally intended for the Structures exhibition in New York’s City Hall Park, only five of the eight sculptures were installed from 1989-1990. This particular piece is owned by Michael Hayes; friend, neighbor and fabricator for Sol LeWitt for many years. The sculpture carries a pre-sale estimate of $30,000-$50,000 and is sold with a certificate of authenticity from the Estate of Sol LeWitt. “We are thrilled to bring a large and beautiful piece of Modern Art like this to market,” said Mr. Brechlin “With the right buyers, the price could really soar above the pre-sale estimate”.

Supporting the modern art category in the May 5 sale will be a selection of originals, prints, and multiples. Lithographs from Red Grooms ($300-$600), a Watercolor by Samson Flexor ($500-$1,000) and an Oil on Canvas nude by New York Artist Abraham S. Baylinson ($1,000-$2,000).

Along with items discovered in a jam-packed West Haven CT Estate, Nest Egg Auctions May 5 sale will also feature a strong collection of incredible, hand-crafted pipes, Tobacco Humidors and other smoking related items. “Some of these hand-carved meerschaum pipes are over 200 years old.” Stated Auctioneer Ryan Brechlin.

An Austrian Regimental meerschaum and silver mounted pipe bowl is expected to bring between $500 and $1,000. A rare carved blackamoor head humidor with ivory teeth and shell eyes could top $1,000 as well. Together with a cigar label collection, cigarette cards, majolica humidors and accessories the whole collection of tobacciana could bring between $10,000 and $20,000 at auction.

Rare pieces of Danish and American silver will be brought to the auction block as well on May 5. A Sterling Silver Octopus-form Chatelaine made by Gorham Silversmiths in the late 19th Century will be sold and could be the best example known. “Only two other examples of this rare chatelaine could be found and they are both in museums,” said Mr. Brechlin. “The example in this sale is in better condition and is more complete than any for which records are available.” A hand-wrought silver and ivory centerpiece by Danish silversmith Just Andersen will cross the block. With a pre-sale estimate of $1,000-$2,000 the staff at Nest Egg Auctions is expecting a lot of international interest. Mr. Andersen was a silversmith, jeweler and creator of Disko Metal. He worked in Copenhagen and had showrooms in Germany, New York, and Los Angeles.

Also featured in the May 5 auction is a very large archive of early Connecticut papers, photographs and ephemera from the Pratt family of Old Saybrook. This rare archive consists of hundreds of postal history, land, slavery, religious and local history documents. Many photos, books, sermons and notes come along with the lot estimated at $1,000-$2,000.

For the music lover, a fine and rare 1901 Steinway Model “O” grand piano will be sold as well. ($5,000-$10,000).