By Audrey Levine, Staff Writer
Collectors and history enthusiasts alike are being offered the chance to “shop like an heiress” with two separate auctions that encourage buyers to purchase a piece of furniture or clothing once handpicked by Doris Duke.
The Doris Duke Estate will hold two separate two-day auctions to sell its European furniture, decorative items, carpets, lighting, draperies, automobiles and clothing, most of which is from the 17th through 20th centuries.
”The items run the real breadth of quality, diversity and price,” said Karen Kessler, public relations consultant to the Doris Duke Foundation. “There is a lot of excitement for this.”
The first auction will be held tomorrow (Friday) and Saturday, beginning at 10 a.m., at the Charles A. Whitaker Auction Company in New Hope, and the second will be held Saturday and Sunday, also beginning at 10 a.m., at the Morristown Armory, in Morristown.
According to Ms. Kessler, all the items in the Doris Duke Estate were inventoried beginning in 2001, and kept until a plan could be set in place for the future of Duke Farms.
”It was all kept until we had a strong strategic focus of what the farm will be in the future,” she said. The foundation recently received approval from the township to begin its environmental education program and make changes to the farm to allow it to be more accessible for residents and guests. “But the items are no longer part of the future of Duke Farms, and they are better off shared with the public.”
The previews before the auctions will be arranged to simulate a walking tour of the main residence at Duke Farms, with the items placed around the rooms just as they were when Ms. Duke was alive, Ms. Kessler said.
The auction in New Hope, auction house owner Charles Whitaker said, will feature clothing and textiles from the Duke estate.
”It is not just going to be bulks of fabric, but also remnants of curtains, upholstery fabric, quilts and lace,” he said. “There will be early 18th and 19th century fabrics, wall hangings and an eight-foot square beaded table covering.”
These materials, which will be sold on Friday Mr. Whitaker said, are not just items buyers can use to make clothes and materials, but are also readymade curtains and wall-hangings, among other pieces.
On Saturday, Mr. Whitaker said, he will be auctioning off clothing, furs, accessories and evening wear items.
”These items are from all over the world, and you can tell they are good quality,” he said. “Ms. Duke shopped across the board and had her own kind of style.”
According to Mr. Whitaker, prospective buyers should come to the auction with an open mind about the pieces which come from all over the world, including couture houses in Paris, department stores in the United States and small custom boutiques in Rome.
”Buyers should decide on the value of pieces and try to look at everything,” he said. “You shouldn’t just say you want one or two things because you might get blown out.”
For Mr. Whitaker, whose auction house specializes in clothing and textiles, he is used to handling the items from “important estates,” such as Ms. Duke’s. He said his house has held auctions with pieces belonging to other high-profile families, such as the Vanderbilts and others.
”We handle these kinds of items quite frequently, lots of museum pieces,” he said.
Still, Mr. Whitaker said he is encouraging people to not think they cannot afford anything because there will definitely be some bargains available for shoppers.
”We will probably sell more than 1,500 lots in the two days,” he said.
Previews for Mr. Whitaker’s auction will be held today (Thursday) from noon until 6 p.m., and from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. prior to the sales on Friday and Saturday.
The second auction, arranged by Millea Bros. Ltd. Auctions & Appraisals, will focus primarily on furniture, decorative art, ceramics and paintings. On Saturday, according to auction company co-owner Michael Millea, Asian items from China, Japan and South East Asia will be sold.
”We will also have books, with many 18th and 19th century leather bound books, and some with author signatures,” he said. “Some of the books have hand colored engravings from the 19th century. There are also some rare reference sets.”
On Sunday, Mr. Millea said, he will be selling European and English/American furniture, art and garden sculptures, as well as four cars a Jaguar, two Cadillacs and a Jeep Grand Wagoneer.
”From a collecting point of view, these items have been in the Duke family for maybe 100 years,” he said. “This is as fresh as it gets because the items were privately owned for so long.”
Mr. Millea said his auction company specializes in selling furniture items and fresh estate goods, and he is excited to be able to auction off items that had been tucked away with the Duke estate, and are now being shown to the public.
”These are treasures that (suddenly) appear and it’s exciting,” he said. “It is a unique opportunity for collectors and homeowners.”
With the kind of items he sells, Mr. Millea said, he only holds two auctions per year, and he is looking forward to having all the items available from the Duke Estate.
”Ms. Duke collected items from all over the world, and had the wealth to travel around the globe,” he said. “She collected from Europe and Asia.”
At this point, although pre-registering for the auction is not required, Mr. Millea said he has gotten a good response from people and expects a large number of prospective buyers to attend.
”We have more than 500 people registered online,” he said. “There should be quite a large pool of people.”
Mr. Millea said participants also have the option of putting in bids online and over the phone if they cannot attend the actual auction. He said there is the possibility of having hundreds of phone bids as well.
Previews for this auction will be held today (Thursday) from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. There will also be previews Saturday and Sunday beginning at 9 a.m.
According to Ms. Kessler, it is the hope of the estate that all the items in the auctions will be sold. The money will go to the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation for grants supporting performing arts, environmental conservation, medical research and the prevention of child maltreatment, as well as for preservation of the legacy of the Duke properties.
”So many people grew up with some kind of association to Duke Farms,” she said. “There is a heightened interest to own part of Duke Farms history.”

