Maine Antique Digest, April 2017

Maine Antique Digest, April 2017 33-E

AUCTION -

33-E

consignment source. All but one sold, at prices

ranging from $1125 to $4250.

While the reviewer’s favorite was the airy

polychromed and stenciled Philadelphia Grecian

couch that sold for $3750, NOAG’s American

furniture expert, Thomas Halverson, most

admired the clean-lined New York box sofa that

brought $4250. Although it was not the highest-

priced expression of the form, since it did not

have ormolu capitals and feet on the columns,

“It had fabulous veneers,” Halverson said. “The

wood selection was incredible, suggesting that

it was from one of the premier cabinetmakers,

possibly Duncan Phyfe. The construction on the

underside was also consistent with that of Phyfe.

It was elegantly simple. That could very well have

been from his shop, but it’s difficult to prove.”

A thorny puzzler was presented by a near-pair

of brass-inlaid mahogany console or sofa tables,

1825-50, that sold for $16,250 (est. $4000/7000).

The form is closely associated with pianoforte

bases, and one of the slightly differing examples

seems to have been prepared to receive the

musical works before its adaptation as a table. In

the catalog they are attributed to the Philadelphia

workshop of Joseph Barry, known for making

similarly carved and inlaid pieces.

Halverson said after the sale, “That pair of

brass-inlaid tables was exceptional. They’re a

bit of a conundrum because they clearly relate

to pianofortes. One may have already had some

of the parts made to assemble into a piano, but

I’m convinced that they were never completed as

pianos; the production was probably diverted to

the form they are. They were made in the same

workshop at the same time. The most logical

explanation, although it’s surely speculation, is

that they had diverted the production from that of

a pianoforte to that of a table.”

For more information, contact NOAG at (504)

566-1849 or view past and future catalogs at

(www.neworleansauction.com

No sale is complete without

a block of 20th-century

furniture and fine art.

The sculptural walnut

Conoid dining chair by

Nakashima, 35¼" high,

was not marked but

brought $4000 (est.

$1500/2500).

Alabama potter Mary Kirk Kelley (1918-2013)

created amazingly realistic ceramic vegetables

and some fruit as well. Ten lots of her work

were offered early in the sale; this red cabbage

tureen and covered bowl sold for $1750.

More lots of marvelous

mannequins from the Flatt

collection were offered in this

sale. Companionable but silent,

this 38½" high English artist’s

lay figure of pine with fully

articulated joints brought a

strong $7500 (est. $1200/1800).

Although it was the least flashy of the Classical sofas on the block, this

circa 1825 New York mahogany box sofa with carefully chosen veneers

brought the highest price, $4250 (est. $1200/1800).

This pair of 15¾" high sterling silver figural vase

stands, now without the glass trumpet vases, was

made in the third quarter of the 19th century

by William Bogert & Co. for David Austin &

Sons on Fifth Avenue in New York City; the lot

brought $1625. (Marked for the same maker and

retailer and with identical tripod bases, a pair of

9" high silver compotes on stands brought $3900

at Skinner in April 2013.)

No drawing room is complete

without a good concert harp.

This mid-19th-century example

by R. & L. Lewis, New York, 68½"

high, was handsomely decorated

with contrasting ebonized and gilt

surfaces and a Gothic column capital

with relief figures. Having 47 strings

and eight pedals, it was a good buy for

$3750, although years of harp lessons

may add to the cost.

Three vases from the Dod Stewart collection

illustrate the range of styles and innovative

designs created at the Shearwater Pottery

in Ocean Springs, Mississippi. The 10"

high “Lizards” vase (above left), thrown

by Peter Anderson and decorated by

Walter Inglis Anderson, sold for $8125

(est. $3000/5000). The 11½" high cast

and carved “Sea, Earth and Sky”

glazed vase (above right), also a joint

project of the two brothers, brought

$5000 (est. $2500/4000). The 9¼" high

“Tennis” vase (right), cast and glazed by

Peter and carved by Walter, brought $4750

(est. $4000/7000).

There must be a special gallery in furniture

heaven for 19th-century hall chairs, which

are often more sculpture than seating. Not

meant for lounging, they are often most

affordable. This Rococo Revival laminated

rosewood example with its elaborately

carved open back sold for $593.