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Maine Antique Digest, March 2015 9-B
- AUCTION -
A mahogany tester bed with tall col-
umns, carved in rope spirals, acanthus,
and pineapples (122" high), probably
made in Louisiana, sold for $23,900
to a buyer on the floor. The bed was
once owned by noted Louisiana collec-
tor Dr. George Crozat and had been
included in Neal’s sale of the contents
of Houmas House in 2003. Photo cour-
tesy Neal Auction Company.
A decorative French mirror
large enough to dominate a room
(89¼" high) sold on Sunday for
$5227.50.
Screening the phone bank, an attractive Federal
chest in mahogany with satinwood inlay brought
$3883.75.
Art director Emory Nolan and inventory coordinator
Stephen Dewey manned the computer terminals, which
play an increasingly important role in competitive
bidding.
A copy of the ambitious 1971-72 Amsterdam
reprint of Audubon’s
The Birds of America
,
435 offset color lithograph plates, stored
in an oak flat file storage case, brought
$22,705, after a contest between bidders on
the phone. Photos courtesy Neal Auction
Company.
Newcomb Pottery collectors had
a wealth of material to choose
from, and competition was stiff.
A 1904 high-glaze vase decorated
with incised alamanda blossoms
by Mary Givens Sheerer sold for
$20,740. Not shown, a 1909 vase
with tulips modeled in low relief
by Marie de Hoa LeBlanc brought
$15,535, and a 1915 vase with
pastel Louisiana irises by Alma
Mason sold for $19,120.
Photo
courtesy Neal Auction Company.
Furniture by Philip and Kelvin
LaVerne has performed well at south-
ern auctions this year. Two (one shown)
1960s Chan coffee tables of bronze
and pewter, 53" wide, from the Son-
neborn estate brought $6273.75 each
on the opening day of the sale. Photo
courtesy Neal Auction Company.
A North Carolina sleeper in a Deep South
sale, this simple walnut chest of four grad-
uated drawers was made around 1810 in
Davidson County, North Carolina, and had
once been in the inventory of dealer Robert
M. Hicklin Jr. of Spartanburg, South Caro-
lina. A prolonged phone battle took the case
piece to $15,535 (est. $2000/3000).
Photo
courtesy Neal Auction Company.
Louisiana Creole furniture is a rarity
and is highly sought after by regional
furniture collectors. This early 19th-cen-
tury cherrywood armoire, which had
descended in a New Orleans family, went
for $21,510 to a phone bidder competing
against other phones and the floor. The
molded cornice has a cartouche inlay
with the letter “B.” Photo courtesy Neal
Auction Company.
Along the top of this 1803 hand-colored
aquatint with engraving, the eagle’s
banner reads, “Under my wings every
thing prospers.” The title on the lower
border states that this is “AView of New
Orleans taken from the Plantation of
Marigny,” as depicted by painter John
L. Boqueta de Woiseri, active in Amer-
ica 1797-1815. Not only has he captured
the fields and ship-filled waters of a port
city, he recorded the important build-
ings at its center—the Cabildo, the Presbytere, and St. Louis Cathedral—at the time of the Louisiana
Purchase. Neal had auctioned this lot before in a deal that was not completed, but the charming scene
brought even more this time when it sold to a determined phone bidder for $21,510 (est. $1500/2500).
Photo courtesy Neal Auction Company.
On the basis of comparanda, this
American Gothic walnut bookcase
was attributed to the Philadel-
phia workshop of Crawford Rid-
dell, whose Journeymen Cabinet
Makers shop was active in the
mid-19th century; it was pre-
viously owned by antiquarian
Joseph Sorger of that city. The
bookcase has a raised legend on
the top frieze: “Poetry Religion
Metaphysics Oratory Drama and
Music.” It sold for $13,145. Photo
courtesy Neal Auction Company.
Only one treasure among significant offerings of silver
by southern makers, this basketweave pattern coin silver
sweetmeat basket was marked by Emile Profilet (1801-
1868), who was active in Natchez 1823-68. Phone bid-
ding went past its $4000/6000 estimate to a final price of
$9858.75. Photo courtesy Neal Auction Company.