Maine Antique Digest April 2015

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Maine Antique Digest, April 2015 33-A
- AUCTION -
An ivory-handled walking stick with two maidens entwined fetched $467.50.
Thompson photo.
win, in some cases.
Cutting right to the chase means rushing to the end of the sale,
where sat some of the most anticipated works of art, including the
unsigned oil on canvas Portrait of Major General James Wolfe (50" x
40"), also titled erroneously Wolfe at Louisbourg. Wolfe is an import-
ant and sometimes rather divisive figure in Canadian history. In 1759,
he led the naval forces that finally succeeded in capturing Quebec City
for the British, marking the beginning of the end of the French regime
in North America. It is often seen as the progenitive moment of the
present Canada; of course, many French-speaking Canadians have an
altogether different take on Wolfe’s legacy. Regardless, he’s import-
ant, and this portrait is one of two, the other being in the National Por-
trait Gallery in London. A note in an inventory done by John Russell
reported that the painting had come from the estate of LordAtholstan
and was “possibly the original of one in the National Portrait Gallery.”
Where this notion came from, no one seemed to know. Peter Baker
pointed out that the fortress in the distance behindWolfe shows turrets
and towers, a considerably earlier form of defense than the low-lying
star-shaped Fortress of Louisbourg. After some spirited bidding, this
one sold for $29,700.
It may be of interest to note that most of the representations of
Wolfe should be considered, at best, fanciful, since they are based on
what must have been a rather brief and horrified glance by an artist
at the major general’s decomposing cadaver upon its arrival home in
England for burial after a lengthy trip across the Atlantic. The British
public considered Wolfe a national hero, so artistic imaginings of his
countenance were widespread. Not that it seems to matter today; in
2008, Bonhams sold a portrait of Wolfe for $600,000 and another in
2010 for $640,000. Bonhams sold a portrait of an officer by Thomas
Gainsborough, long thought to be the true (and for the record, the least
cadaverous) likeness of Wolfe, supposedly executed just prior to his
hopping on the boat to Quebec, for $226,827 on December 3, 2014.
Perhaps the most anticipated lot of the auction became its top-sell-
ing lot: Kingston from Fort Henry, a 19th-century oil on panel, 14½"
x 18½", featuring redcoats at leisure overlooking the bay and old town
of Kingston, Ontario, 0000000000000000000000000000000000by
D. Holloway. The final price of $36,300 came from a local private
collector, demonstrating yet again the tenacity of Kingstonians’ inter-
est in their material heritage—the kind of interest that makes the city
a Canadiana hub.
Bidders watched in anticipation as a pair of circa 1760 French
beechwood armchairs signed “L. Mayeux” came to the block. The
anticipation stemmed from a hypothesis floated by Russell that May-
eux had made the chairs in Canada, rather than France. If this were the
case, one could expect these chairs to sell for five or six figures. Under
the scrutiny of Canada’s top experts, the chairs managed just $3300,
which tends to suggest that, in spite of all of Russell’s research, they
are French in origin.
On the whole, French transferware fared poorly, with much of the
material simply passing and other pieces selling between $11 and $44.
There were exceptions: four pieces of English black transferware in
the “Canadian Sports” series did quite well—two plates (skaters) at
$1100 each, another (girl on toboggan) at $1210, and a lidless sugar
bowl (lacrosse players on one side and children sledding and a dog on
the other) for $1870.
Similarly, miniature bronzes were, for the most part, of decorative
interest only, garnering bids in the $50 to $200 range. However, a pair
of bronze sphinxes, 13" wide, earned $3850, and a pair of French
19th-century bronze figures of women with cornucopias, 30" tall,
done up respectfully as lamps, hammered down for $3850. Anumber
of gold estate items sold for solid prices, possibly for the worth of the
metal. One piece—a 20-22k gold reproduction Mixtec pendant—had
historical significance, having been given as a gift from the Mexican
government to Governor General Vanier (representative of the queen
in Canada 1959-67), then re-gifted to Dr. Wilder Penfield, noted med-
ical pioneer in brain research, and hence to his daughter-in-law. The
price paid was $4400 for the 4" long, 3.7-ounce gold pendant.
The end of the Russell legacy featured many things of consider-
able interest, ranging from a large canvas by noted Canadian painter
Harold Town ($28,600) to a small George II octagonal tea caddy with
ivory and silver and the Latin “MIHI COELUMPORTUS” (“Heaven
is my Haven”), which sold for $935. A mid-18th-century Dutch
copper tobacco box, chased with figural panels related to the tale of
Lazarus, fetched $385.
With everything so much in flux these days, it’s difficult to
say with any authority just what areas went strong or weak. Suf-
fice to say that for the many pieces that might have held senti-
mental value for the two owners, it is probably a good thing they
did not live to see it sell. Such are the times. It shaped out to be a
fairly balanced sale; when collectors were involved in bidding
and the quality pieces spoke for themselves, prices were solid while
dealers still seemed to win plenty of bids. Potter kept the pace moving
quickly, with the assistance of Brad Snider.
As for the tag sale, by some accounts it was very successful. Potter
reported that 75 people were on the doorstep of the Brenner/Russell
house prior to opening on Saturday, with people still showing up Sun-
day afternoon to haggle for the dregs. For security reasons, On Your
Behalf did not release the actual address until just prior to the sale, but
it didn’t seem to make much difference in the end. Motivated collec-
tors are hard to bottle up. Sources say the tag sale garnered approxi-
mately $40,000, with the Friday live auction netting about $215,000.
As said earlier, any discussion of Gerry Brenner with a connection
to antiques will almost always be overshadowed by his “formidable”
partner. Yes, it is only by the fortune of longevity that he outlived Rus-
sell and inherited the legacy. However, it is this “thoughtful, kind and
forgiving” man’s name on the ads and promotions for this sale of their
best and favourite things, which is fair enough.
For more information, contact Tim Potter Auctions at
), On Your Behalf
half.ca), or Thomas Quirk ).
An early 18th-century French sil-
ver porringer, 12" across, the plain
body set with leaf spray handles
and roughly inscribed “P.B.,” with a
mark that may indicate 1724, earned
$4180.
This 1951 oil on canvas titled
Cockfight Arena, 45" x 37", by
Canadian artist Harold Barling
Town (1924-1990) sold for $28,600.
A pair of 19th-cen-
tury French bronze
figures bearing cor-
nucopias, mounted
as lamps, on wooden
pedestals, 30" high,
fetched $3850.
An early 18th-century
English chinoiserie lac-
quered tall-case clock, 94"
high, by Samuel Smith,
Richmond, sold for $7700.
Apparently the Russell household
contained many exotic and esoteric
items, such as this framed montage of
tortoiseshell combs that sold for $660.
Three Thai bronze heads
of Buddha, together with
an Indian bronze minia-
ture of an attendant (2" to
3" high), sold for $330.
A late 19th-cen-
tury Caucasus
Shirvan sou-
mak weave
rug, 48" x 59",
with triple blue
medallion field
within three
border stripes,
sold for $1320.
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