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Maine Antique Digest, April 2017 5-C
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AUCTION -
This 94" high walnut East Tennessee desk-
and-bookcase sold for $17,110. It had been well
documented, published, and exhibited during its
time in the Caldwell collection. Dating to 1790-1810,
it was probably made in Knox County, Tennessee.
What appear to be the original brasses are stamped
with images of cotton bales, a ship, and the caduceus,
a symbol of the Roman god Mercury, who protected
merchants and transporters of goods.
An interesting property from a
Nashville collection, this bronze of
La Danseuse Nattova
, 29¾" high,
brought $16,520 (est. $5000/7000).
The figure was made by Serge
Yourievitch (1876-1969), who
was born into Russian nobility
but after the Russian Revolution
moved to France, where he
studied with Auguste Rodin and
became a successful sculptor;
Franklin Roosevelt and Thomas
Hardy were among his subjects.
Natacha Nattova (1905-1988) was
an avant-garde Russian ballerina
who became a stylish cabaret and
burlesque performer in the West;
photographs from the 1920s show
her wearing not much more than
she sports in the bronze.
This unusual narrow
cupboard with shelves,
61¼" x 12½" x 12½",
certainly had been
built to fit a particular
space. The top edge is
decorated with an inlaid
berry and vine frieze,
and the door contains
five single panes of glass.
Found in the Piney Flats
area of Sullivan County,
Tennessee, the case piece
brought $1888.
Well-known Tennessee artist Joseph Delaney (1904-1991) painted the New York cityscape
Around Henry Street, 1979
during his long midlife residence there. The large canvas (49¾" x
72"), which includes many New York City landmarks such as the Empire State Building and
the World Trade Center, sold for $14,490.
This 47" x 37" portrait
by an unknown artist of
two children with their
kitten was catalogued as
“possibly southern,” for it
had been in a Charleston,
South Carolina, collection
several owners back. The
sitters were charming,
and cats do rule, so it
more than doubled its
estimate to bring $8260.
Another sought-after southern form from
the Caldwell group was this 1812-15
Middle Tennessee cellaret or bottle case
of walnut and ash, 41" x 27" x 15¾",
attributed to Davidson County. The top
lifts to reveal the spirits within, and there is
one long drawer below. The form is related
to examples made in Gates County, North
Carolina, but lacks the mixing slides found
there. The rare artifact brought $17,110.
Painter Gilbert Gaul (1855-1919) was born in New Jersey but spent
stretches of time in Tennessee where he had inherited a farm. His
trips out west yielded a number of works with Native American
themes, such as this signed painting,
Indian Camp
, 17½" x 23½".
From the Caldwell collection, it sold for $10,856.
Arkansas-born artist Carroll Cloar (1913-1993) spent much of his career
living and working in Memphis, Tennessee. He often painted scenes drawn
from childhood memories, such as
The Watering Detail
, 23" x 34", which sold
for $22,420 to a local collector on the phone.