For families, trustees, attorneys and family offices settling a Port Royal home: a private walk-through, a written evaluation of the contents, and — for the pieces that deserve it — placement with the right international sale. Discreet, documented, by appointment.
the gallery wall
Port Royal is twenty minutes from our shop on Shirley Street and a long way from an ordinary estate. The homes along Gordon Drive, Galleon, Rum Row, Gin Lane and the Fort Charles waterfront were furnished by people who collected seriously, often for decades and often with advice — and when one is settled, the contents deserve the same care as the real estate. That is the job we do here, and it is a different job from clearing a condo.
Slower. We go room by room with a camera and a notebook, and the first thing we produce is not an offer but a written evaluation: what is in the house, what it is, and — piece by piece — whether it belongs with us, on consignment, at a regional sale, or with a specialist department at an international house. Fine art, important silver, period furniture, Asian works of art, rugs, clocks, decorative arts and collections are each looked at on their own terms. Where a piece needs a certified appraisal — for estate tax, insurance or a charitable gift — we say so and refer an independent, credentialed appraiser rather than guess. Evaluations vs. appraisals.
Then we manage the plan: submissions and negotiations with auction houses, condition reports, insured packing and shipping, consignment of the pieces that suit our floor, purchase of what the family would rather simply sell, donation and clean-out for the rest, and a record of everything for the estate file. One point of contact, from the first visit to the last settlement. How auction placement works.
We don't discuss whose house a piece came from, we don't advertise our auction relationships, and we don't put signs in yards. Pieces can be catalogued as "property of a Naples collector" or "from a Southwest Florida estate." Visits are by appointment, our vehicles are unmarked, and we're accustomed to working through the family's attorney, trustee, family office or house manager rather than the family directly, if that's preferred. Nothing about our process is public, which in Port Royal is usually the point.
Many Port Royal houses are sold to be replaced, and closings are unforgiving: the contents have to be gone, and the buyer doesn't want the furniture. We build the plan backwards from the closing — the pieces that need months at auction go first; the general contents are purchased and removed to schedule; and the house is empty on the day, with the paperwork done.
Paintings and works on paper by listed artists; sterling and Continental silver of the serious kind — Georgian, early American, French, Jensen; period and fine reproduction furniture; Chinese export and Japanese works of art; important rugs; bronzes, clocks and boxes; wine, books and maps; and collections assembled with knowledge. Also, in every house, ordinary things that we'll price honestly. Jewelry, watches and gold are handled by our sister shop at the same address, Naples Estate Jewelry, privately and in the same visit.
Aqualane Shores, Old Naples and the Gulf Shore Boulevard towers are the same trip. See Old Naples, Park Shore, or all the areas we cover.
The same four steps we use for every estate — with the drive, the gate and the building's rules already factored in.
Where the home is in Port Royal, roughly what's in it, and any dates that matter — a closing, a lease end, a flight home.
We come to the house, free of charge. Out of state? We can work from photographs, or with a neighbor, realtor or attorney who holds the keys.
What's there, what it's likely worth, and your options for each piece — buyout, consignment, auction, keep, or donate. The routes compared
Pickup, paperwork, gate and building coordination, auction submissions and payment — with a record for the estate file.
Yes, and often we do. We're used to reporting to a trustee, an attorney or a house manager rather than the family, and to providing the written documentation an estate of this size requires.
We choose by the piece — the right specialist department at the right house, regional or international — and we'll explain exactly why we recommend a particular sale. We don't publish our relationships, and you'll see the house's terms before anything is consigned.
No — an appraiser shouldn't also be a buyer. We'll refer an independent, credentialed appraiser, help prepare the pieces and documentation, and handle the sale of the contents once the appraisal is done.
By appointment only, unmarked vehicles, no signage, no discussion of provenance beyond what you approve, and anonymous cataloguing at auction if you prefer. Ask us anything else you need in writing.
For the house to be empty, yes. Pieces that belong at auction may sell after the closing — they'll be in our care or the house's by then — and everything else is purchased, consigned, donated or cleared before the date.
We buy single pieces and entire estates — antiques, silver, art, and furniture. Honest evaluations, free of charge and free of pressure.