$28,125
A Viennese enameled silver chess set received the highest overall bid at a Belle Epoque auction that Doyle New York conducted in September. The set’s gilded game board is decorated with faux pearls and amethyst glass at the corners. The board surface, which can be raised, covers storage space for the gem-set chess pieces, which have been cast as knights in armor. The set’s presale estimate price was $10,000 to $15,000.

Other highlights of the auction included the sale, for $21,250, of an 18-inch-tall bronze equestrian figure of Czar Nicholas II (the presale estimate was $3,000 to $5,000) and a circa 1900, 19-inch-tall, bronze, Parisian-made model of two charging buffaloes. It sold for $15,000 and had a presale estimate price of $800 to $1,200.

$107,550
A circa 1860 Navajo man’s wearing blanket made of handspun churro wool sold in September during the American Indian Art Auction conducting by Heritage Auctions of Dallas. The blanket, which had a presale estimate price of $75,000 to $95,000, displays a second-phase chief’s pattern (used in blankets woven between 1850 and 1880), which consists of a pair of narrow linear bars overlaying three striped panels. The blanket was given to Dr. Robert Morris Bertolet as payment for his services in the U.S. Army Medical Corps in the New Mexico territory in the late 1800s. Upon Dr. Bertolet’s death, in 1882, the blanket went to his brother, who eventually gave it to the grandparents of the person who sold it during the Heritage auction.

$89,625
A movie poster from the 1923 Paramount film Hollywood sold in July at Heritage Auctions’ Signature Vintage Movie Poster Auction. The silent film, which has an unknown actress, Hope Drown, in the leading role as a young girl who travels to Hollywood seeking fame and fortune, is notable for its cameos. The list of that era’s stars making brief appearances includes Mary Astor, William Boyd, Charlie Chaplin, Cecil B. DeMille, Douglas Fairbanks, Alan Hale, Mary Pickford, Zasu Pitts, Will Rogers, and Gloria Swanson. Perhaps the most poignant cameo is the one made by Fatty Arbuckle, whose career had been scuttled two years earlier by the scandal surrounding the death of actress Virginia Rappe. Arbuckle appears as an unemployed actor, looking forlorn as he stands in a casting line seeking work.

$325,769
A lot containing 12 consecutive vintages of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti assortments was the highest-priced item at an Acker Merrall & Condit wine auction in September in Hong Kong. The lot contained wines from the years 1990 through 2001. The latter was the last year that the estate released 12-bottle assortments.

Other highlights of the sale were a case of 1989 Château Pétrus that fetched $43,436 and six bottles of 1961 Château La Mission Haut-Brion that sold for $18,615.

Earlier in September, Acker Merrall & Condit, which is based in New York, conducted a sale at Gilt restaurant in Manhattan during which a 20-bottle vertical of Château d’Yquem, spanning the years 1934 through 1990, sold for $14,520.

$149,500
A circa 1912 Marklin fire pumper made in Germany garnered the highest price at a sale of Donald Kaufman’s collection of antique toys in September. The sale, which was conducted by Bertoia Auctions of Vineland, N.J, was the second in what could become a series of six or seven auctions of Kaufman’s toys.

Kaufman is the cofounder of the defunct KB Toys store chain. Before the first auction, which Bertoia conducted in March, he had more than 7,000 antique toys in his collection.

The fire pumper is powered by steam and is one of only five that are known to still exist. The toy’s presale estimate price was $40,000 to $50,000.

Another highlight from the auction was the sale of a 1930s-era, German-made Tippco tin motorcycle with Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse as its riders. The toy motorcycle came with its original packaging, which included a paper lithograph image of Disney’s easy-riding rodents. The toy sold for $71,300 and had a presale estimate price of $40,000 to $60,000.

$2.05 million
At Keeneland’s September Yearling Sale in Lexington, Ky., Storm ’n Indian was purchased for Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai and a major figure in the world of Thoroughbred racing and breeding. The horse was sired by Storm Cat and is the first foal of the mare Fleet Indian. During the 14-day event, Sheikh Mohammed, through his agent, John Ferguson, acquired 34 yearlings for a total of $14 million.

The sale attracted buyers from more than 30 countries, who collectively purchased 3,159 yearlings for a total of $192 million. Though impressive, that total was more than 40 percent less than last year’s sum of $328 million. The average price paid for a yearling decreased from $91,000 last year to $61,000 this year, a reflection, note Keeneland officials, of the worldwide economy.

$12,650
Pro basketball player Rudy Hackett proved more valuable than Michael Jordan, or at least his game jersey did. In September, during an auction conducted by Hunt Auctions of Exton, Pa., Hackett’s number 13 Spirits of St. Louis white home-game jersey from the 1975 ABA season received a high bid of $12,650. The jersey features the team name (in orange lettering) and its airplane emblem on the front and Hackett’s name on the back. Four ABA teams eventually joined the NBA, but the Spirits were among those that folded with the league after its second season, enhancing the Hackett jersey’s obscurity and its allure. The presale estimate price for the jersey was $1,000 to $2,000.

During the same auction, Jordan’s number 23 Chicago Bulls white home-game jersey from the 1992–93 season garnered a bid of $8,050. Its presale estimate price was $10,000 to $15,000. The jersey is autographed by Jordan, who led the Bulls to their third straight NBA title that year and was selected as the Finals MVP for the third consecutive year. An Upper Deck executive obtained the jersey directly from Jordan following the season. The gentleman was participating in a photo shoot with Jordan and earlier that day had played a brief game of one-on-one with the basketball star. He suggested that if he scored a basket, Jordan should give him the jersey. He didn’t score, but Jordan gave him the jersey anyway, and even autographed it for him.