If you want it, you’ll probably find it at the annual Synagogue Auction.
With hundreds of items on sale or up for bids, and price tags ranging from $1 well into the thousands, the Antiques, Art and Collectibles Auction has become one of the most popular events on St. Thomas’s winter social calendar, drawing a mix of people as eclectic as the merchandise and services it offers.
This year the Hebrew Congregation’s signature fundraiser is being held at the MCM Center at Antilles School, starting at 10 a.m. Sunday, Feb. 9.
Some make it an all-day affair. Passion Fruit Chefs will be on hand to offer wine, champagne, breakfast and lunch for sale.
As in the past, the live and silent auctions will showcase beautifully crafted antique furniture collected from around the Caribbean and, this year, Danish-made pieces made from West Indies mahogany.
Philip Sturm, who has been in charge of furniture shopping “ever since the beginning” of the Synagogue Auction 15 years ago, said this year he brought several pieces from Trinidad, some from Martinique and some from Barbados. He’s particularly excited about a rare, four-poster bed in mahogany he found in Curacao; it dates to about 1830. Among many other items, there’s a small cedar armoire, circa 1880; a pitch-pine wagonette, or food cart “full of charm,” from the late 1800s; an 1860s sideboard with carved back splash; and an art deco set of two chairs and loveseat from the 1930s.
Karen Warhol put her fashion expertise to work selecting jewelry and accessories for the event and said she came up with a bevy of “one of a kind” pieces. Animal motifs are popular right now, so expect to see lots of it. There’ll be pearls, silver, Swarovski crystal, and lots of coral.
“I have people asking me for large jewelry” so she made sure to include a lot of that.
The auction has also benefitted from donations of quality jewelry and designer items and high end household goods from some long-time residents who recently moved off-island, organizers say.
“This year we have a lot of really nice things,” said Becky Tunick, who volunteers on the sale tables in the so-called flea market portion of the auction. There are no fewer than four sets of china, shelves of glassware, some antique oil lanterns, original art work, loads of books and “we always have tons of kitchen things.” One table is devoted to kids, and will be filled with stuffed animals, toys and games.
The live auction will include 40 items; besides the antique furniture, there’s an etching by the St. Thomas-born impressionist Camille Pissarro, and paintings by more recent local artists including Shansi Miller and Tony Romano. In the more practical realm, there are solar panels and self-defense classes.
Another 300 items will grace the silent auction, among them numerous resort and restaurant packages.
Admission is $10. Anyone who can’t attend but wants to join the bidding anyway, or who’d like to learn about shipping arrangements, can call 1-340-774-4312. More information is available on-line at www.synagogue.vi.
Proceeds from the auction go to the upkeep of the synagogue, the oldest in continual use under the U.S. flag and the second oldest, after one in Curacao, in the Western Hemisphere. It was built in 1833.
A National Historic Landmark, the synagogue is a favorite stop for tourists of all faiths, visiting downtown Charlotte Amalie. It attracts about 12,000 visitors a year, said Rabbi Shimon Moch. There is no admission and the congregation is proud to welcome them. But, “it’s expensive to keep it up.”
“We have a contractor who’s virtually on call to handle the many large and small problems that crop up,” said Penny Feurezeig, past president of the Synagogue and chairman of the auction committee. “When it rains hard, we have drainage and flooding problems. The roof needs regular repairs. We had a bad leak behind the ark where the Torahs are housed, and we still haven’t figured out a permanent fix to prevent moisture from getting into that area … and that doesn’t even begin to take into account the major renovations being undertaken with the old mahogany pews and other furniture.”
Last year the auction – the congregation’s only fundraiser – raised $75,000 Feuerzeig said. The hope is to do at least as well this time.
