Maine Antique Digest April 2015

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22-D Maine Antique Digest, April 2015
- AUCTION -
Some other special pieces ofAmerican silver sold tomyste-
rious phone bidders. One bidder on the phone with Sotheby’s
Tierney paid $93,750 (est. $40,000/60,000) for a coffeepot
made by NewYork silversmith Myer Myers in 1760, without
a special family history. A coffeepot made in 1784 by Wilm-
ington silversmith Bancroft Woodcock of comparable qual-
ity sold for $62,500 (est. $50,000/80,000) to dealer James
Kilvington of Greenville, Delaware, demonstrating that
some of the highest quality silver was made outside the big
cities of Philadelphia, New York, and Boston. A punch bowl
made in Albany by Isaac Hutton, dated 1809, and presented
to the maker of the finest woolen cloth, sold for $40,625
(est. $10,000/15,000). In January 2004 at Christie’s, it sold
for $31,070.
Silver by Fletcher and Gardiner sold well over estimates
but well under what Ruth Nutt had paid for them. The hot
water urn that Ruth Nutt had lent to the Fletcher and Gar-
diner 2007-08 exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
and Winterthur sold for $56,250 (est. $12,000/18,000). A
tureen and cover Fletcher and Gardiner engraved with Dan-
iel Webster’s coat of arms went to the same phone bidder for
$59,375 (est. $30,000/50,000). There was a lot of bidding in
the salesroom and on the phones for a pair of silver sauce-
boats and stands, also in the Fletcher and Gardiner exhibi-
tion, and they went to a collector on the phone for $62,500
(est. $20,000/30,000).
Stiles Colwill, the designer, scholar, and cheerleader for
all things made or used in Baltimore, did his bidding from a
skybox. “I was bidding for so many clients I needed a desk to
spread out my papers, and Sotheby’s gave me one in a sky-
box where I could be on my phone with clients and call in
my bids,” said Colwill in the salesroom after the sale.
Colwill bought 17 lots. “I bought a Fletcher and Gardiner
presentation vase made for a Philadelphia wine merchant
for $2813; it was a bargain,” he said. Most of what Colwill
bought had a Baltimore history, and he said some was for
clients, some for himself, and some for Homewood, a his-
toric house on the Johns Hopkins University campus. “Ruth
Nutt and I used to stand in line together for the preview
of the Winter Show, and we both would make a beeline to
Jonathan Trace’s booth to see what he had for us,” he said.
A pair of silver candle snuffers made by John Walraven in
Baltimore, circa 1785, that Ruth Nutt bought from Trace
at the Winter Show cost Colwill $6250 (est. $1500/2500).
Another pair of snuffers by Samuel Kirk was his for $3438
(est. $800/1200). They had the crest of Gustav Lurman of
“Farmlands,” an important patron of Kirk. A silver salver
by Charles Boehme, Baltimore, 1795-1800, cost him $6250
(est. $4000/6000), a silver tea caddy by Thomas Warner,
Baltimore, was his for $7500 (est. $1200/1500), a covered
jug by Thomas and Andrew Warner cost him $3438 (est.
$2000/3000), and a pair of silver goblets by Thomas War-
ner was his for $2813 (est. $700/1000). A silver breakfast
teapot made by Standish Barry in Baltimore, 1790-95, for
Governor Charles Carnan Ridgely (1760-1829) of Hampton,
then the largest private house in America, was Colwill’s for
$10,000 (est. $3000/5000); he said it will go to Homewood.
He paid $12,500 (est. $3000/5000) for a silver salver by Har-
vey Lewis of Philadelphia, circa 1815, because it has the
arms of the Carroll family of Maryland, and it will also go
to Homewood, the house that Charles Carroll of Carrollton
offered as a wedding gift to his son in 1800.
For a client Colwill bought a silver tea urn with large lion
mask handles for $17,500 (est. $10,000/15,000). Colwill
went for the unusual. He bought a silver bidet in its mahog-
any stand made by Bailey & Kitchen in Philadelphia, circa
1835, for $4375 (est. $5000/8000) and for a client paid
$2500 (est. $400/800) for a silver straw, the top engraved “B
Hurd” in script but unmarked.
He bought a silver wine siphon for $5938 (est.
$1200/1500), outbidding James Kilvington. American wine
siphons are rare. This one, though unmarked, was said to
have been made in either Philadelphia or New York. Col-
will got a rare American silver wax jack made by Vincent
Laforme and retailed by Crosby & Foss, Boston, and dated
1879 for $4063. He said he bought a lot of wine labels for
whiskey, wine, and brandy by William Ball Jr. and one for
Madeira by Samuel Kirk, made in Baltimore 1840-50, for a
client and paid only $750 (est. $800/1200) for them, and in
the lot were two openwork labels for applejack and sherry.
He bought a New York silver wine coaster by William
Thomson, circa 1815, for $1250 (est. $1500/2500), saying it
was under the money!
That is how a seasoned collector approached what he
called a chance in a lifetime. Larry Berkovits, a coin dealer
from Long Island who is passionate about silver, thought this
would be a good time to add to his collection that he began
about eight years ago. He bought two dozen lots and said he
was sorry he did not buy more. He spent a long time at the
presale exhibition and bought carefully when he thought the
prices were reasonable. He got a Philadelphia sugar bowl
by John David, circa 1780, for $3125 (est. $5000/7000)
and a waste bowl by John David, circa 1785, for just $875
(est. $1200/1500). A drum-shaped teapot by Abraham
DuBois, Philadelphia, was his for $5313 (est. $5000/7000);
a covered cann by Daniel Van Voorhis cost him $1750 (est.
$2000/3000). A saucepan by Daniel Henchman, Boston,
circa 1760, was his for $4375 (est. $5000/7000). A New
York silver cup by Henricus Boelen II sold for $2375 (est.
$3000/5000). He said he really likes early silver and paid
$4375 (est. $3000/5000) for a cann by William Cowell, Jr.
AnAmerican silver bone holder, Bailey & Co., Phila-
delphia, 1850-60, marked on the handle with pseudo
hallmarks, 6½" long, 5 oz. 10 dwt., sold on the phone
for $1125 for (est. $600/800).
Pair of large presentation salvers, Samuel Kirk, Baltimore, dated 1845, on cast
scroll feet, engraved floral bands enclosing arms and an inscription reading
“Presented to William Ogilby, Esq. H. B.M.C. by the Citizens of Charleston,
South Carolina, 1845.” Ogilby’s papers are at the South Carolina Historical
Society. He wrote about the controversy of the accession of Texas as a slave
state. As British consul, he suspected southern politicians of fan-
ning anger against the abolitionist British government and
had to deal with the imprisonment of British subjects
of color who arrived in South Carolina. In 1845, he
requested retirement after 23 years of service. The
scale of these salvers, over 150 ounces of silver, con-
veys the regret with which the people of Charles-
ton saw him leave. They sold in the salesroom for
$37,500 (est. $25,000/35,000) to a woman who also
bought a punch bowl by John Ewan.
American punch bowl by John Ewan, retailed by Matthew Miller,
Charleston, South Carolina, dated 1828 engraved on four sides with a
“JM” in a wreath over “1828,” bouquets of rice, tobacco, and cotton plants,
male and female figures flanking folky engravings of a stack of cotton bags
above the word “Perseverance,” and a spreadwing eagle holding a banner
reading Nunc tempest est bibendum (Now is the time to drink). It is marked on the
base “J EWAN” in a serrated rectangle and “M Miller” in a serrated rectangle,
9½" in diameter, 30 oz. 10 dwt. It sold for $56,250 (est. $20,000/30,000) to the same
woman who bought the Ogilby presentation salvers. It is probably linked to what the South called the
“Tariff of Abominations,” passed in 1828 to protect northern businesses. The bill reduced the Amer-
ican market for British goods and the Brits reduced their import of American cotton. John Calhoun,
Andrew Jackson’s vice president, opposed the tariff.
Boston, circa 1745, and $13,750 for a teapot by Samuel
Edwards, Boston, circa 1760 (est. $15,000/$25,000).
“The engraving is just wonderful,” he said. A silver
cann by Samuel Burrill, Boston, circa 1730, cost him
$2500 (est. $1500/2000); Jonathan Trace was the
underbidder. Berkovits was often Trace’s underbidder.
Berkovits’s earliest piece was a porringer by Henricus
Boelen I, New York, circa 1690, and he paid $6250
for it (est. $4000/6000). “I may become a dealer one
day,” he said.
Most of the porringers in the sale went to Tim Mar-
tin of S.J. Shrubsole, who was the largest single buyer,
buying for clients and for stock. Ruth Nutt was never
his client. When asked if he bought a dozen porringers
so he could serve shrimp cocktail in them at a dinner
for 12, as one Park Avenue matron did, he said, “No, it
was just an opportunity to buy some first-rate silver.”
Martin said he thought there was just too much silver
offered for a small and quiet market. “I do not know if
it was brave or foolish, but it worked. The low buy-in
rate, less than ten percent, the large number of people
in the room, and a lot of interest in a lovely collection
was good to see.”
In addition to buying for museums that will
announce their purchases in time, Martin considers
one of his best buys a Peter Van Dyck, NewYork, circa
1720, 16" long basting spoon. It sold together with a
gold ring for $6875 (est. $6000/8000). Martin bought
it for stock. He said a Thomas Savage porringer was
another favorite. “It was beat up in a good way, used
and never repaired,” he said. He bought it for $10,000
(est. $3000/5000). He thought a Samuel Vernon por-
ringer was well worth $11,875 (est. $5000/7000).
Trace had bought it for Ruth Nutt at the Eddy Nichol-
son sale at Christie’s in 1995 for $17,250. A two-han-
dled cup by Vernon that descended in the Greene fam-
ily of Rhode Island cost him $34,375. When it sold to
Trace at Christie’s in June 1991, it cost $55,000 (est.
$12,000/18,000). Martin thought he stole the Philip
Syng, Jr. spout cup at $20,000 (est. $20,000/30,000).
The initials are those of Thomas Newbold and Edith
Coate; they married in 1724.
The trade and collectors left this sale happy. The
room was full; no one left until the sale was over.
Everyone seemed to have a list of lots to bid on, and
there was plenty to go around. While Shrubsole bought
most of the porringers, Trace bought most of the pep-
per pots. When asked why he bought so many pepper
pots, Trace said, “Because I like American silver made
before 1750; I like that early form.”
For more information, contact Sotheby’s (212) 606-
7160, Web site )
This bidet made by Bailey & Kitchen, Philadelphia,
circa 1835, fits into a mahogany stand.
Marked “Bailey & Kitchen” in
a rectangle on the bottom,
it is 16" long and
weighs 31 oz. 10
dwt. It sold on
the phone to Stiles
Colwill for $4375
(est. $5000/8000).
American silver drinking straw,
circa 1800, S-form with clip, top
engraved “B Hurd” in script,
apparently unmarked, 4¾" long,
sold on the phone to Stiles Colwill
for $2500 (est. $400/800).
An American silver agricultural prize punch
bowl, Isaac Hutton, Albany, the engraving signed
“G. Fairman del. et. sculp. Albany,” and dated
1809, is engraved on one side with the arms of
Albany, the other with the inscription “State Of
New York/ 8th March 1809/ By the Society for
the Promotion of Useful Arts To George Booth
of the County of Dutchess/ This Piece of Plate
Is Awarded/ pursuant to an Act of the Legisla-
ture passed 8th April 1808/ As A Premium/ for
the third best of the Specimens of Woolen Cloth
of family/ Manufacture produced from the sev-
eral Counties in this State/ the present year.”
It’s marked “Hutton” on the base and has two
pseudo hallmarks of birds. With a diameter of
7¾", it sold to a phone bidder for $40,625 (est.
$10,000/15,000). At Christie’s on January 15 and
16, 2004, identified as “Property of a Southern
Collector,” it sold for $31,070 to Robert Jackson
and Ann Gillooly for Ruth Nutt.
Silver presenta-
tion basket by
Fletcher and
G a r d i n e r,
Philadelphia,
1814, engraved
“From the Citizens of
Philadelphia to Commo-
dore Bainbridge” and “Con-
stitution” and “Java” with the numbers killed or wounded
on each ship, respectively 9 and 25 and 60 and 101. It is also
marked “F. & G.” and “PHILA” in rectangles. Weighing 50 oz.
5 dwt., it is 16" long and sold for $43,750 to a phone bidder,
underbid by dealer James Kochan in the salesroom.