Rare Needlework to Highlight Skinner Auction of Americana October 29

Bolton, MA - October 11, 2001 – Skinner, Inc., a leading full-service auctioneer and appraiser of antiques and fine art, will hold an auction of American Furniture and Decorative Arts on October 28, 2001. The auction will begin at 10 a.m. in Skinner’s Bolton gallery, with previews held October 24 and 25, 12-5 p.m., October 26, 2-7, October 27, 12-5 p.m., and October 28, 8-9 am.

The rare wool and silk needlework sampler wrought by "Sally Jackson, 1771" is unusually large, brilliantly colored, in excellent condition, and includes elements which place it in the Boston Fishing Lady group: a leaping stag, a parrot, a duck, and strawberries, in a pastoral setting. It descended in the family of the consignor. Textiles also include a cotton-stuffed whitework coverlet made in Massachusetts in the late 18th/early 19th century, a piece of unusual accomplishment in the design and trapunto work, showing great contrast between the raised design and the minute work of the background.

Items of particular significance in American history include a Civil War Naval battle flag, c. 1863, a handsewn wool and cotton flag is stitched to a canvas heading which bears the inscription dates of battles. This flag was presented to the Union Lodge No. 31 of New London, Connecticut, on July 18, 1864, by Captain John F. Rodgers on behalf of the family of the late Captain George W. Rodgers, U.S. Navy, who under this flag commanded the Monitor Catskill during the fight, in the attack on Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor on April 7th, 1863, and upon Fort Wagner, July 10th, 11th, and 17th, and also on August 17th, 1863, where Captain Rodgers laid down his life in the defense of his country. Accompanying the lot is information regarding the history of the flag, as well as photographic copies of substantiating pages of the record of the Lodge in 1864 when the flag was donated.

Also featured is a mid-18th century engraved powder horn signed "Made by David Hoar in Cambridge," inscribed "Given to Stephen Dudley by his brother Joseph who died in his Majesties service in the 16th year of his age 1758." Massachusetts men fought for the British in the French and Indian War. Five thousand enlisted for the push into Canada, led by General Wolfe in 1758, the year of Joseph Dudley’s death.

The auction offers a fine selection of naďve portraiture, including images which have descended in the family. Highlights include three 1835 oil on canvas portraits by Ammi Phillips, a portrait painter who worked mainly in Connecticut and upstate New York. Other examples include two watercolor miniature portraits from the 1850s by itinerant painter James Sanford Ellsworth, that display the scalloped clouds and whimsical chairs so typical of his compositions. The subjects in these two portraits are a grandmother and her granddaughter, both of the Kibbe family of the Hartford, Connecticut area and Springfield, Massachusetts. Also noteworthy is an 1835 oil on canvas portrait of a Girl in a Red Dress, depicting a young child wearing a coral necklace holding a basket of fruit attributed to M.W. Hopkins (Milton Williams Hopkins), another itinerant artist who worked in upstate New York whose work is similar to that of Noah North (1809-1888). Both had a linear style and were ornamental painters. During the preparation of a Noah North exhibit, the discovery of a portrait almost identical bearing the signature "M.W. Hopkins" (17789-1844) was found. Both North and Hopkins seemed to be inspired by the work of Ammi Phillips (1788-1865), who worked in the same region and was prolific and well established.

The three Phillips portraits in their original frames include the portrait of "A Young Woman Wearing a Bonnet of Rioutous Ribbons and an Embroidered Organdy Collar," painted in Kent, Connecticut or the Amenia, New York area. This information together with the descriptioin "leaning toward a book on the table" was recorded in the publication: Fifty Years of American Portraiture – Revisiting Ammi Phillips published by the Museum of American Folk Art with contributions from Stacy Hollander and Mary Black, the Ammi Phillips scholar. The companion portrait, identically framed and also listed in the publication, depicts the "Portrait of A Gentleman Holding A Letter," also painted in Kent, Connecticut or the Amenia, New York area. This man holds a letter inscribed "M. Trumball." Family history indicates these were husband and wife and the third portrait in the Phillips group is a portrait of a young gentleman who was the brother of one of the other two sitters. All three portraits have remained in the family.

Highlights among the federal inlaid mahogany furniture include a Salem, Massachusetts chest with stringing outlining the top, drawers and feet, and a central fan inlaid drop; as well as a demi-lune five-legged table with a 14-rayed fan on the top and loop inlay on the legs, characteristic of the New York City cabinetmaker, William Whitehead. This piece descended in the family of Joseph Grinnell who moved to New York City in 1809 to pursue his mercantile interests, returning subsequently to New Bedford, Massachusetts. A reverse serpentine chest in excellent condition with a carved central fan pendant bears a chalk signature "J. Smith" together with an indistinct "Gilmanton" (New Hampshire). Another New Hampshire piece, a desk/bookcase in original surface, includes documents pertaining to the Gilman family, colonial leaders in Exeter, New Hampshire and original owners of this tiger maple grained case piece. The earliest piece of furniture being presented is a William and Mary japanned dressing table made in Boston between 1715 and 1725. The finest tall case clock is a cherry Roxbury-style case with a metal painted dial signed "Abel Stowell," a clock maker who worked both in Boston and Worcester, Massachusetts from 1800 to 1820.

A number of painted and decorated pieces in original surface are in this sale, including a chest over drawers in faux bois simulating mahogany, a banister-back red painted armchair with a gold carved crest, and a delicate "fancy" settee in original green paint with gold stencil decoration likely made in New York City and shipped to Charleston, South Carolina for use in the Miles Brewton House by the Mary and William Bull Pringle family whose descendants consigned the piece.

Game boards from the collection of Selby Shaver also highlight the sale. Skinner sold approximately 50 from the collection in its August 12 auction, and approximately 50 more will be offered on October 28, many of which are featured in the book, "The Art of the Game" by Tim Chambers (Mercantile/Image Press, Inc., West Boylston, Massachusetts, 2001),. These were acquired over a period of several decades, and include a wonderful variety of Parcheesi game boards and checkerboards, many of which are colorfully and imaginatively decorated. Some were created by professional sign painters; others with a more naďve quality were created by people in their homes, using available materials and colors.

Of significant importance are the 44 pieces of glazed pearlware and creamware, often called mochaware, from the distinguished collection of collector and author Jonathan Rickard. Jonathan Rickard encountered a display of mocha during an auction preview at Skinner in the late 1960s. He knew nothing about pottery but was intrigued by the incongruous aspect of the pots’ time period versus their modern, abstract decoration. With research, he found that little had been published on the subject and their obscurity made them even more tantalizing. Since 1972 he has pursued mocha – both pots and information – with the intention of building the most comprehensive study collection possible. As is the case with many collectors, he has refined the collection over the years. For a number of years the collection has hovered around 500 examples. In March, 2001, the first 51 pieces from the collection were sold at Skinner. Rickard continues to research, write and lecture on the subject. The primary text and major photography are complete for his book, MOCHA and Related Dipped Wares 1770-1939, to be published by the Antique Collectors’ Club in England. He co-authored a paper on this subject with Don Carpentier for the recently published Ceramics in America, published by the Chipstone Foundation.

Additional highlights in the auction include a collection of 30 well-documented small utilitarian Shaker objects, most of which came directly from Shaker communities many years ago, and a painted carved pine eagle attributed to Wilhelm Schimmel (1865-1890), the Cumberland Valley, Pennsylvania artist whose eagle carvings are so widely admired.

Illustrated catalog #2134 is available for $29 ($35 for foreign requests) from the subscription department at Skinner/Bolton. Prices realized will be available at www.skinnerinc.com following the sale. For more information, call 978-779-6241, or fax 978-779-5144.

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