Maine Antique Digest May 2015

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Maine Antique Digest, May 2015 23-C
- SHOW -
☞
This year’s Washington Winter
Show of antiques and fine art
marked the 60th anniversary of
the event. The show was held Janu-
ary 9-11 at the Katzen Arts Center at
American University in Washington,
D.C. Over the years, the show has had
its ups and downs and has experienced
several changes of venue, but it now
appears to have found its home.
The show is committed to its support
of three well-established Washington
charities: the founders board of St.
John’s Community Services; THEARC
(Town Hall Education Arts Recreation
Campus); and the Bishop John T.
Walker School for Boys.
The theme of this year’s event was
“Ports of Call” and celebrated the rela-
tionship of the greater Washington,
D.C., area with its maritime history.
The loan exhibit was more specific.
Vessels of Victory used the play on
words to focus on the ways in which
ships have influenced history and on
the prized rewards offered as acknowl-
edgement of various maritime achieve-
ments. The exhibit displayed various
cups, urns, and other trophies awarded
to captains and crews for success in
battle and speed under sail.
The high point of the exhibit was the
America’s Cup. Nicknamed the “Auld
Mug,” the cup was originally called
the “100 Guinea Cup.” The silver jug
was renamed for the original winning
vessel in the 1851 race around the Isle
of Wight. It was donated to the New
York Yacht Club and then made avail-
able as the award for “…a perpetual
challenge…for friendly competition
among nations.” The America’s Cup
is currently in possession of the United
States (the Golden Gate Yacht Club),
winner of the 2013 challenge. Mem-
bers of current cup holder team and
defenders, Oracle Team USA, were in
attendance, as was renowned yachts-
man Gary Jobson, a member of Ted
Turner’s 1977 winning team.
The Washington Winter Show seems
to be growing stronger year over year.
Show manager and promoter Karen
DiSaia has gathered together 45 exhib-
itors who represent an excellent variety
of tastes and consistently high quality
merchandise. There is traditional coun-
try Americana, fine art and ceramics,
mid-century modern, and funky chic.
There is something for everyone.
The show committees arranged an
excellent variety of sidebar lectures,
tours, and panel discussions for those
who wished to delve deeper into the
antiques experience.
For additional information, see the
(860) 908-0076.
Washington, D.C.
The 60th Washington Winter Show—a Winner
by Walter C. Newman
There is
something
for everyone.
Janice Paull of Portimao, Portugal specializes in
English ironstone china and 19th-century European
ceramics. The large tureen by Hicks & Meigh dates
from the first half of the 19th century. It was priced
at $3000. The large vase on the top shelf, left, circa
1820, was tagged $700. The ornate covered urn-form
piece on the top shelf, right, circa 1895, was priced at
$1500. The inkstand was $900, and the three vases in
the center on the top shelf are Mason’s ironstone and
were $2500.
This grouping was in the booth of
W. M. Schwind, Jr. Antiques and Fine Art,
Yarmouth, Maine. The miniature Hep-
plewhite chest is constructed of mahog-
any with oak and deal secondary woods
and accents. It was priced at $4200. The
low walnut Pennsylvania Chippendale
chest dates 1760-70 and features a rect-
angular top with a molded edge, four
graduated drawers, and fluted quar-
ter columns. It was marked $4800. The
circa 1820 portrait is $3800. The sitter and artist are unknown. The embroidered
silk purse is English and dates circa 1770. One side features an intricately stitched
strawberry plant with various insects; the other side has an apple tree, birds, and
a hunter. The purse is mounted in a double-sided frame and was tagged $5500.
The object of consideration here is not the crock being
held by John H. Rogers. Rather, it is the oval-shaped
wooden collar atop the crock. Rogers was a first-time
exhibitor at this show and trades as John H. Rogers
American Country Furniture & Accessories, Elkins,
New Hampshire. Rogers identified the object as a “lip
extender.” It is essentially a makeshift funnel with a
groove cut on the underside so that it rests over the
mouth of a crock. The presumption is that with the
extender in place, dry grain or meal could be poured
into the crock with less spillage than might other-
wise be the case. This utilitarian device is fashioned
from walnut burl and measures approximately 12"
in diameter. The price was $2500.
Here is a great piece of country furni-
ture of the South. The green-painted
corner cupboard is from North Car-
olina and was in the booth of dealer
Christopher Jones of Alexandria,
Virginia. Jones trades under his own
name and specializes in American
antiques and folk and fine art. The
1790-1810 cupboard features a single
12-pane upper door with a single dou-
ble-fielded panel door below. It was
tagged $22,000. The “Tabak” jar on
the lowest shelf was priced at $1450.
The small decorated box on the third
shelf was $395, and the six-sided car-
rier with bail handle and folk decora-
tion on the top shelf was $695.
This desk was in the booth of Bill Beck of Beck’s Antiques & Books, Fredericks-
burg, Virginia. Beck stated that the desk came through the estate of Robert Golds-
borough (1779-1839) of Myrtle Grove, Talbot County, on Maryland’s Eastern
Shore. Goldsborough was an influential political figure of his day and was elected
as a United States senator on two different occasions. The mahogany desk, circa
1770, appears to be a tall side table with faux drawer when closed. When open,
seven document drawers and eight pigeonholes are revealed. The desk was priced
at $6800. The circa 1790 inkstand is Spanish and was $795.
Here is an example of
fine art at its finest.
Houses in a Wood is
by Alix Aymé (French,
1894-1989). The scene
depicts several tiny
houses seemingly lost
within the vivid reds
and golds of the pol-
ished lacquer and gold
leaf on wooden panel.
The painting measures
18½" x 29 5/8", sight
size. It was featured
in the booth of John
Copenhaver and Joel
Fletcher of Fletcher/
Copenhaver Fine
Art, Fredericksburg,
Virginia. This painting
will be included in the
Alix Aymé catalogue
raisonné currently in
preparation. The price
of these houses in the
wood was $32,000.