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Maine Antique Digest, April 2017 3-C
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AUCTION -
Case Antiques, Knoxville, Tennessee
“C” Is for Collections
by Karla Klein Albertson
Photos courtesy Case Antiques
C
ollectors know what they are looking
for—a chance to acquire outstanding
examples from an extraordinary
collection. For those interested in southern
furniture, regional paintings, and Outsider
art, the Case Antiques auction on January 21
was a perfect opportunity, as almost 950 lots
crossed the block in a single day. Energizing
the crowd was the presence of material from
the living estate of Nashville collectors
Dr. Benjamin H. Caldwell Jr. and his wife,
Gertrude Sharp Caldwell. Visitors to the
Kramers’ Heart of Country Antiques Show,
presented for many years at the Opryland
Hotel, will remember Caldwell’s cheerful
presence on the floor, where he walked,
talked, and pointed out show highlights.
Caldwell is best known for his 1989
volume on
Tennessee Silversmiths
, part of
the Frank L. Horton Series, published by
the Museum of Early Southern Decorative
Arts (MESDA), and pieces from his personal
collection are on view at MESDAinWinston-
Salem, North Carolina. But the couple were
omnivorous and far-sighted collectors in
numerous categories ranging from 18th- and
19th-century American and English antiques
to 20th-century Outsider art. BrunkAuctions,
based in Asheville, North Carolina, held a
major sale of treasures from the Caldwell
Collection on May 20 and 21, 2006, at Belle
Meade Plantation in Nashville. This January,
collectors once again had an opportunity to
bid on pieces from the Caldwells’ superb
selection; five of the top ten lots were from
their collection.
Before the sale, John Case noted, “These
were the things that they held onto when they
had that earlier sale; these were the things
that they never intended to sell. Now there’s
a need, with their moving to smaller quarters.
That desk-and-bookcase was featured in the
Art of Tennessee
exhibition at the Frist Center
for the Visual Arts [2003-04] and in
The
Art and Mystery of Tennessee Furniture
by
Derita Coleman Williams and Nathan Harsh
[Tennessee Historical Society, 1988]. All of
this furniture has been extensively exhibited
and illustrated. The cellaret, an example
of a very rare Tennessee form, is also well
“That’s where the
excitement in the market
is right now.”
This 15¾" high stoneware two-
handled jar with relief decoration,
attributed to the Hedgecough
Pottery, Putnam County, Middle
Tennessee, 1890s to late 1930s, sold
for $10,384 (est. $3000/3500). Pottery
specialist John Case said before the
sale, “Those examples are extremely
desirable, but they’re almost always
damaged. This one is pristine, so for
collectors of Tennessee pottery, this
is an example to trade up to. That lot
should get considerable play because
it’s really considered an iconic
form.”
The Nursing Supervisor
, 13½"
high, circa 1950, by Tennessee
self-taught sculptor William
Edmondson (1874-1951) was
the top lot of the Caldwell
collection and the January
sale at $129,800.
From the same Knoxville collection as the
Hedgecough Pottery jar, a 16¼" high stoneware
monument base attributed to Charles Decker
of the Keystone Pottery in Chucky Valley,
Tennessee, sold for $1298. This form is often used
as a grave marker.
Strong prices were realized for an anonymous
retired sculptor’s Pablo Picasso ceramics from the
Madoura Pottery. From left to right:
Visage Aux
Cercles
sold for $7308;
Centaur Au Visages
, $10,148;
and
Yan Barbu
, $7080. The dish with figures (above
Yan Barbu
) brought $2016.