NEW YORK, NY.- Lark Mason Associates achieved outstanding sales in a charged auction of Fine and Decorative Works of Art that concluded on July 7. Of the 209 lots sold, the top 10 lots approached a third of $1 million total.

An impressive Russian Silver and Silver-Plate Fabergé-Style Plique-à-Jour and Enamel Desk Set captured the uppermost price-point. So energetic was the bidding that the buying was lengthened by more than an hour, and 56 bidders eventually drove the grand total for the piece to just under $98,000, including buyer's premium.

Another Russian objet d'art, a Silvered Figural Commemorative Award dated 1856 and marked Vaillant, went for nearly $50,000 after the auction was extended for over an hour to accommodate determined bidding on the part of 42 buyers.

In addition, more than 70 bids competed for four lots of Chinese and other Asian works of art, including a oil-on-canvas titled Girl and Flowers by the contemporary Vietnamese-French artist Le Pho (1907-2001) that hauled in close to $21,000.

A long-established auctioneer in New York City, Lark Mason, the renowned author, appraiser and "Antiques Roadshow" expert, recently expanded his operations to include a division in New Braunfels, Texas, where the rich array of antique firearms that were part of the sale also aroused strong enthusiasm.

At the conclusion of the event, both the New York and Texas offices of Lark Mason Associates sold more than 81 percent of the fine and decorative art pieces on offer, well exceeding the typical performance for an auction. "I couldn't be more pleased," said Mason. "Fine furniture, Asian art, firearms-there was something for everyone, and the high prices are clear evidence that our sale was a smashing success!"