SKINNER AMERICANA AUCTION
BOSTON, Mass. - October 23, 2006
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www.skinnerinc.com - Skinner, one of the nation's leading auction houses, will host a two-day auction of American furniture and decorative arts on Saturday, November 4th and Sunday, November 5th. The first of the two sessions will begin at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 4th, and will feature the personal Americana collection of Denny L. and Patty Tracey, material lovingly acquired over a 25-year period. The Sunday session will begin at 11:00 a.m., and will be marked by outstanding painted furniture and a wonderful selection of folk art, as well as a fine selection of paintings, scrimshawed items, and early pottery, among other highlights. The two days combined offer more than 1200 lots, and cater to tastes for a wide range of historical and artistic legacies and collecting interests.
The Americana Collection of Denny L. and Patty Tracey – Saturday Session
There has already been great interest in the Tracey Americana collection. Quality of color, condition, and form characterizes the objects, and there is an undeniable warmth and soulfulness to the collection as a whole. While the Tracey collection features furniture, paintings and a wide selection of decorative arts, it reflects an overall love of miniatures, mirrors, stone fruit, boxes, and other smalls.
Boxes
The Saturday and Sunday sessions together feature perhaps the nicest group of painted boxes that Skinner has ever offered, both in color and design. Highlights from the Tracey collection include a wide variety of painted boxes, including a group of oval stained and painted Shaker boxes in assorted sizes, all in remarkable condition, with fresh colors, and original surface (lots 91-101, est. $2/250 to $1/1,500). Selections also include a small early 19th century paint decorated dome-top trinket box attributed to the "compass decorator" of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania (lot 78, est. $4/6,000). Similar examples of this maker's work can be found in the collections of the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Winterthur Museum in Delaware. A wonderful early 19th century brown-painted cherry pipe box (lot 1, est. $4/6,000), and a group of wallpaper boxes in a nice variety of forms also will be featured.
Decorative Arts
Additional offerings range from naïve paintings to hooked rugs, and from Odd Fellows offerings to pen wipes, among others. Examples include a charming Portrait of Maria Emma Woodfin of Tupelo, Mississippi (lot 71, est. $8/12,000), showing the child holding a flower and vine, standing next to her pet dog, and a cat creeping along the top of a wall behind her. A brief history of Maria written and signed by her grandson is affixed to the reverse. Paintings also feature a charming 19th century watercolor, View of a House Beside a River, painted on a 3 by 4 ½ inch card (lot 140, est. $8/1,200).
Highlights also include a beautiful wool and cotton urn of flowers hooked rug (lot 90, est. $3/4,000), and two extraordinary 19th century Odd Fellows pieces: a carved and painted wooden heart and hand staff (lot 177, est. $3/5,000), and a rare painted wooden hourglass (lot 179, est. $1,5/2,000). An extensive selection of late 19th/early 20th century pen wipes will delight collectors, with examples including a wonderful rabbit figural example (lot 195, est. $4/600). The array of decorative arts with animal motifs also includes a 19th century portrait of a yellow cat (lot 2, est. $2,5/3,500), three carved and painted wooden penguin figures attributed to Charles Hart of Gloucester, Mass. (lots 109-111, est. from $8/1,200 to $1/1,500) and a cotton hooked picture mat with penguins (lot 123, est. $1,2/1,500).
Weathervanes, stoneware, a nice group of redware, miniatures, carved animals, tin banks, and a variety of make-do pottery items round out the smalls.
Paint Decorated Furniture
Paint decorated furniture from the Tracey collection offers a wide and wonderful range of selections, from a lovely early 19th century poplar dower chest (lot 70, est. $10/15,000), to a glazed corner cupboard with original surface, probably from Snyder County, Pennsylvania, c. 1820-40 (lot 21, est. $6/8,000), to an 18th century New England child's pine painted chest over drawer (lot 26, est. $3/5,000). Also offered is an early 19th century brown-painted yellow pine and punched tin pie safe from a plantation house in the Southeast (lot 89, est. $8/12,000).
American Furniture & Decorative Arts – Sunday Session
Furniture
Highlights from Sunday’s furniture include a painted and decorated poplar black unicorn chest, inscribed “Bern, Berks County [Pennsylvania], Adam Minnich 1796” that descended in a North Shore Massachusetts family (lot 700, est. $25/35,000). The 1810 census lists an Adam Menick (born between 1765 and 1784) living in Bern Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania. A hitherto unknown example of a rare form, the piece is in a remarkable state of preservation, and promises to draw significant attention. A second dower chest in the sale, c. 1815, probably decorated by a member of the Kriebel family in the vicinity of Pennsburg, Pennsylvania, descended from original Schwenkfelder immigrants to a previous owner (lot 419, est. $20/30,000).
Lot 571 is a Salem, Massachusetts Queen Anne tiger maple high chest of drawers, with an old label inside the bottom drawer of the upper case that reads, “Maple Highboy or Chest is the property of Kathleen Leonard” (lot 571, est. $50/75,000). Says department director Stephen Fletcher of the piece, “It’s a beautiful Queen Anne highboy: the form is perfect, it’s in very good condition, and its brasses are original. One of the most striking things about it is the consistent tiger maple throughout. This cabinetmaker went to great lengths to select the lumber for it.”
Additional highlights include a Chippendale cherry carved chest-on-chest from New London County, Connecticut (lot 516, est. $75/125,000), consigned by a southern family, which exhibits unusually fine detail and carving. Also offered are an several inlaid Pembroke tables, and an extensive selection of Federal furniture, including a mahogany inlaid card table with original finish, from the Moffett-Ladd House in Portsmouth, New Hampshire (lot 518, est. $4/6,000), and a paint decorated game board candlestand (lot 414, est. $4/6,000).
Chinese School Depiction of Liberty
Among the most unusual offerings in the sale is a 19th century Chinese School reverse painting on glass depiction of LIBERTY, descended in a Rhode Island family and unknown to the market (lot 514, est. $40/60,000). Artists and propagandists in the late 18th and early 19th centuries often drew from a standard set of images, figures, and symbols chosen for their connections to revolutionary ideology and republican values. In fact, it is almost impossible to find any image created during the American or French Revolutions that does not contain several of these icons. This particular work represents an example of how artists were able to integrate many of these symbols into a single, allegorical image. Here, we see Lady Liberty as Hebe, the goddess of youth, dressed in a flowing Classical robe, giving sustenance to the American eagle descending from the heavens with an approving sunburst blessing his wings. At her feet are additional symbols of the era’s revolutionary sentiments: a royal garter, a key, chains and a broken scepter, signifying the destruction of the tyrannical bonds that once had given the British monarchy power over the Americans. Behind her is the port of Boston, home of the legendary Tea Party and the target of the “Intolerable Acts.” Towering above the entire image is the American flag, with fifteen stars (this was the case between 1794 and 1818), attached to a pole topped by the liberty cap that appears in almost all contemporary revolutionary images.
Marine Paintings
A number of excellent marine paintings grace the sale, the finest of which is Portrait of the Clipper Ship GAME COCK attributed to James E. Buttersworth (lot 529, est. $50/75,000), that comes to the sale through direct descent in the family of Captain Daniel Bacon, owner of the vessel depicted. The Game Cock was an extreme clipper ship designed by the famous naval architect Samuel Pook and built by Samuel Hall in East Boston for Daniel C. Bacon. The vessel was launched on December 21, 1850. Captain Bacon was one of Boston’s leading sea captains and a very successful merchant. This painting of the Game Cock shares the same compositional and stylistic manner Buttersworth used in his other well-known paintings of clipper ships such as the Westward Ho, Great Republic, Water Witch, and Dreadnaught.
Also offered are several works by Antonio Jacobsen, including the beautiful Portrait of an American Ship (lot 460, est. $20/30,000). Additional examples include the companion paintings, Portrait of the Screw Pilot Boat “New York” and Portrait of the Screw Pilot Boat “New Jersey” (lots 461 and 462 respectively, est. $20/30,000 each), as well as Portrait of the Screw Steamer “Mississippi” and Portrait of the Clipper Ship “Game Cock” of Boston (lots 851 and 852, est. $15/18,000 and $20/25,000 respectively), the latter through direct descent in the family of Captain Daniel Bacon, owner of the vessel.
Portraiture and Other Paintings
Portraiture in the auction features several truly beautiful examples. These include Portrait of George Whitefield Wales attributed to Joseph Whiting Stock (lot 732, est. $40/60,000). This gentle, beautiful portrait of a boy with his dog has not been shown or exhibited for generations. Kept in a closet, it has retained the rich colors of its palette, and its condition is remarkable. Also significant is the Early Portrait of Frances Elizabeth Swift (nee Chase), Falmouth’s Poetess “Fanny Fales” by Zedekiah Belknap (lot 630, $8/12,000). Extensive biographical information about the subject is included in the auction catalogue, including the following quotation from her autobiography: “In a chamber of the cottage an easel was one day set up and our portraits were painted by a traveling artist by the name of Belknap. Henry (her brother) was tied in a chair to keep him quiet. They were not bad likenesses, taken on board, but the poor man was fond of his cups and saw red and blue devils while he was painting.” Accompanying the lot is a book of her poems published in Boston in 1853 entitled Voices of the Heart, a book entitled “Rhymes of Falmouth” including the “Legend of Long Pond,” by Mrs. Frances E. Swift copyright 1894; two photos: one of Frances dated 1894, as well as one of her husband, George, taken in1894; a copy of her autobiography which she captioned “Outlines of My Life,” which includes copies of other photos of her, and finally, the genealogy of the descendants of Elijah Swift. Additional portraits include an untouched Portrait of Sea Captain Bartlett Mayhew attributed to Frederick Mayhew of Martha’s Vineyard and Ohio, descended in the family of the sitter to the consignor (lot 530, est. $40/60,000).
Paintings also feature Farm Scene attributed to Joseph H. Hidley (lot 663, est. $8/12,000), which has already attracted significant interest. Joseph H. Hidley was an itinerant artist, likely self-taught, who eked out a meager livelihood working a variety of jobs to support his wife and family, in addition to his painting. He was born in 1830, in Greenbush, New York, and of four siblings, was the only surviving child when his father died just before his fourth birthday. He lived with relatives and his mother until he married Caroline Danforth in 1853 and settled in Poestenkill, New York. They had six children, but only three survived infancy. Along with townscapes and landscapes, he did religious paintings, taxidermy arrangements, fireboards, decorative under window panels, and a few portraits. He died of consumption in 1872 at the age of 42.
Decorative Arts
Some wonderful weather vanes will be offered, including a late 19th/early 20th century molded copper gilded "Hamburg" rooster weather vane, possibly made by L. W. Cushing & Sons of Waltham, Mass., or Puritan Iron Works of Boston (lot 585, est. $20/25,000). Also included is a
Hackney horse weather vane Lady Seaton signed "EVG MORAHAN" on the base (lot 690, est. $10/15,000). According to a plaque accompanying the weather vane, "This weather vane sat atop an 8,000 square foot Massachusetts carriage house owned by industrialist William Henry Moore. The weather vane was fashioned after Moore's favorite prize-winning mare, Lady Seaton."
An extensive selection of scrimshawed items offers bidders wonderful opportunities, led by an elaborately engraved whale's tooth from the second quarter of the 19th century (lot 442, est. $8/12,000), other 19th century teeth, and a variety of other whale bone and ivory forms. Many of these offerings were part of a Massachusetts private collection, and have not been seen on the market for decades. Additional highlights include a veritable flock of eagles, led by a large late 18th/early 19th century carved wooden eagle with a 54 ½ inch wingspan, found in Bucksport, Maine, with breaks in the polychrome paint revealing the original gilded surface (lot 464, est. $8/12,000). Other eagles include a large 19th century carved and painted spreadwing wooden eagle spanning 71 ½ inches (lot 593, est. $8/12,000).
Clocks
The sale features a variety of fine clocks, including a mahogany cased Massachusetts shelf clock by Aaron Willard of Boston, c. 1790 (lot 485, est. $60/80,000), of particular interest as a very early example by the maker. Important offerings also feature a Federal mahogany dwarf clock by Joshua Wilder of Hingham, Massachusetts, c. 1825 (lot 594, est. $50/80,000), an unusually fine example of a miniature tall clock, with case and dial in very good condition. Others include a good looking “Banjo”clock attributed to Aaron Willard, Jr., of Boston, c. 1815 (lot 484, est. $9/12,000), and examples by New England clockmakers David Wood, Simon Willard, Caleb Wheaton & Son, and John Taber, among others.
Additional Highlights
Additional offerings in the sale include a large group of American needlework, highlighted by a memorial/Adams family register sampler “Wrought by Lucy Adams Aed 12,” of Lunenburg, Worcester County, Mass., “Wrought in 1819” (lot 469, est. $2,5/3,500). The work is remarkably fresh, and in excellent condition. Pottery features wonderful selections of redware, creamware, and pearlware, including a canary glazed transfer decorated Lafayette/Washington child’s mug (lot 499, est. $7/900), and a Washington transfer decorated child’s pearlware mug (lot 500, est. $6/800).
Previews and Special Event
Previews for the auction will be 12 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, November 1st, 12 to 5 p.m. Thursday, November 2nd and Friday, November 3rd, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, November 4th, and 8 to 10 a.m. Sunday, November 5th. On Wednesday, November 1st, Skinner invites the public to attend a gallery walk, featuring Stephen Fletcher and Martha Hamilton, who will discuss highlights of the upcoming auction. Reservations are limited for the event, which will begin with a reception at 5:30 p.m. followed by the walk at 6:30 p.m. Those interested in attending should R.S.V.P. to 617-350-5400.
Catalogue Information
Illustrated catalogue #2337 is available by mail for $32 ($39 for foreign requests) from the subscription department at 978-779-6241 x240. It is also available at the gallery for $29. Prices realized will be available at www.skinnerinc.com during and after the sale. For more information on the auction, auction preview times, and the gallery walks, visit Skinner's website at www.skinnerinc.com. Skinner's site also allows users to view all lots in the auctions, leave bids, and order catalogues online.
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About Skinner
Skinner, Inc. is one of the nation’s leading auction houses for antiques and fine art and the only major auction house headquartered in New England. With expertise in over 20 specialty collecting areas, Skinner draws the interest of buyers from all over the world and its auctions regularly achieve world record prices. Skinner provides a broad range of auction and appraisal services, and it is widely regarded as one of the most trusted names in the auction business. Skinner’s appraisal experts regularly appear on the PBS-TV series,
Antiques Roadshow, and its specialty departments include American Furniture & Decorative Arts, Paintings & Prints, English & Continental Furniture & Decorations, Fine Ceramics, Jewelry, Couture, 20th Century Furniture & Decorative Arts, Fine Musical Instruments, Asian Art, Fine Judaica, Toys, Dolls & Collectibles, Science & Technology, Oriental Rugs & Carpets, American Indian & Ethnographic Art, and Discovery. Skinner galleries are located in Boston and Bolton, Mass. For more information on upcoming auctions and events, visit Skinner's web site
www.skinnerinc.com.
