FLAT ROCK, N.C. — Among North Carolina auctioneers, Richard Hatch may hold the land speed selling record. He brags of bringing up and putting down 1,600 lots a day for his quarterly sales. For a nine-hour sale, that’s a sizzling 178 lots per hour. For his Nov. 17 sale, Hatch faced 940 lots and had them sold in 8 ½ hours. A 20-minute break in the momentum occurred when the Liveauctioneers bidding platform went down and the delay dropped his speed to 111 lots per hour.

Most of the merchandise in this pre-Thanksgiving sale were smalls – individual silver items, tea caddies, glassware, jewelry, pottery, figurines and art glass. Among the larger items were several early 20th century Oriental rugs, a few paintings and even fewer furniture lots.

The stars of the sale were jewelry – a Hatch staple – and old estate rugs.

The sale’s top lot was a shimmering stunner: a 21.82 carat amethyst flanked by two large round diamonds set in a 14-karat gold lady’s ring. The winning bid was $4,312 for a ring appraised for more than $16,000. Coming in second was a lady’s 7-inch bracelet with 50 pear-shaped rubies and numerous round diamonds. It appraised for $13,500 and sold for $2,300.

Fifty percent of the 33 rugs in the sale sold within presale estimate. That was true for the sale’s priciest rug – a room-size silk Tabriz with central medallion that brought $2,300. The second highest Oriental— a Heriz room-size rug — almost doubled its high estimate. Starting with a $300 opening bid from Liveauctioneers, it was hammered down at $1,955 on a $600/$900 estimate.

The only pottery lot in the sale’s top ten was a 7 ¾-inch Grueby vase with a faded matte green frogskin glaze and a leafy rim. It sold above estimate for $1,725. Hatch is the only North Carolina auctioneer who regularly includes Zsolnay pottery in his sales. This outing he had an antique Zsolnay miniature vase with flowers and fronds on a dark blue background. The mark was from 1913-1918 and it sold for $287.

During pre-sale bidding on Liveauctioneer, a 14-inch micro-mosaic and malachite table top took an early lead as the sale’s top lot. When it sold for $1,495 on a $2000/$4000 estimate, it dropped to seventh place on the sale’s Top Ten list. At the center of the table was an image of St. Peter’s Square. Surrounding the central scene were depictions of the Coliseum and seven other Roman architectural sites.

Hatch offered an 8 ½ by 14 ¾ inch Thomas Hart Benton print. Going to Church featured the devout walking or riding to a clapboard church with a smokestack poking out its side. The framed print was one of a series of similarly titled pencil sketches created by Benton in the 1940s. The print carried a modest $100/$200 estimate, which bidders elevated to $852.

Fore more information call (828) 696-3440 or visit www.richardhatchauctions.com