Pieces of the collection were sold at Sotheby’s yesterday, bringing in about $1.72 million, said Darrell Rocha, a Sotheby’s spokesman.
Some of the pieces that did not sell are being negotiated under private sale postauction, said the Rev. Arthur Lavoie of First Parish. Mostly everything was sold individually, unless it was part of a pair or a set.
“It was difficult for the congregation to [sell the silver], but we have a $5 million restoration project for our building,’’ Lavoie said.
“It wasn’t part of the ongoing life of the congregation the way our building is. After much discussion, we took on the difficult task of using these pieces of our history to fund our future.’’
The highest-selling item in the collection - a pair of standing cups once belonging to William Stoughton, 17th-century Massachusetts governor - sold for $1.08 million, Rocha said.
“Some of the pieces are from the earliest silversmiths in the colonies in the 17th century,’’ Lavoie said.
He said 20 percent of the money earned from the auction will go toward the church’s endowment, with the rest going to the restoration project, which includes installing an elevator and a new heating system and replacing some of the building’s wooden frame.
While the church building dates back to the 1800s, Lavoie said, the First Parish Church congregation is the oldest in Boston, dating to the early 1600s.
The congregation hopes to raise the rest of the money needed through grant writing and other services.
“We never expected to get the full extent of the money through the auction,’’ Lavoie said.
