Date: Fri 09-Apr-1999

Publication: Ant

Author: DONNAG

Quick Words:

Julia's

Full Text:

Spectacular Weathervane At Julia's

with 4 cuts

FAIRFIELD, ME. -- A rare, monumental Cushing & White fire engine weathervane

was the bell ringer among 900 lots at James D. Julia's winter antiques

auction.

The copper weathervane, with a nice verdigris patina, dated to 1875-1885 and

was estimated at $80/100,000, measuring 48" by 28", it featured two identical

horses pulling a four-wheel fire engine with a spirited driver and a fireman

holding on to the back, and was one of a few Cushing & White examples known to

exist with the double horse design. A Massachusetts dealer, Stephen Score, won

the vane for $222,500.

"It's always exciting when we have an opportunity to bring something like this

to the marketplace," said Jim Julia. "It's certainly one of the best

weathervanes I've seen in over 25 years of auctioneering. Something like this

is a great buy at any price."

Other top-sellers of the two-day sale, conducted February 27 and 28, included

in the furniture category a mahogany George III serpentine front sideboard

that just topped its estimate when it sold for $4,360, and a Queen Anne burl

walnut lowboy with old brasses and shaped apron that brought $2,875. A large,

two-part maple corner cupboard with minor restoration brought $2,012, while a

Chippendale cherry slant front desk fetched $2,012.

A group of Biedermeier furniture included an early Nineteenth Century

secretary with fine burl veneer, ornate ormolu accents, black columns, and a

secret drawer, as well as the traditional marquetry and inlaid decoration that

characterizes the Biedermeier style. This piece topped the estimated $4/6,000

when it sold for $7,762. A one door Biedermeier bookcase featuring a cathedral

style grill fetched $5,462, (est. $2,5/3,500), and an elegant Biedermeier

daybed with ebony trim and black upholstery brought $2,300.

Other Twentieth Century furniture included an imaginative French Art Deco game

table with a provenance that included the cruise ship Normandy. The table

featured inlaid wood decoration and four triangles that fold out from the

center and sold for $3,795 (est. $2/3,0 00). A Limbert Mission oak #1310

sideboard with burnt trademark topped its estimate when it went out at $3,910.

From the same group, a Limbert Mission oak #1376 server brought $2,760.

Among furnishings, carpets brought strong prices. At the top of the list, a

13'4" by 8'10" cobalt blue room size Sarouk in excellent condition soared past

the estimated $2,5/4,000 to sell for $8,337. Another large Sarouk in red,

blue, and ivory measured 18'9" by 8'8" and fetched a final price of $3,335.

Fine art offered spanned two centuries. Portraits from the Eighteenth and

Nineteenth Centuries included a large, restored Eighteenth Century oil on

canvas of a woman in a black dress in three-quarter view, believed to have

been painted by Ralph Earl, which fetched $2,300. From the Victorian era, an

oil on board portrait of a lady by William Aiken Walker was in a nice walnut

frame and sold for $4,600. Also from the Nineteenth Century was the top-seller

in fine art, a primitive pastel of a farmhouse in Rockport, Me. This example

of architectural folk art depicted a tidy house with outbuildings that are

still standing near Route 1. The 18«" by 26«" picture came on the block with

an estimate of $1,5/$2,500, but attracted a lot of attention and went for

$8,337.

A panoramic, pastoral landscape painting by Nelson Augustus Moore was signed

and presented in a gold gesso period frame (est. $800/1,200). The work,

depicting fields, pond, valley, grazing animals, and contented children, was

competed for by enthusiastic bidders who drove the final price to $6,670.

Some of the strongest sellers in fine art were Twentieth Century pieces by

well-known New England artists. Emile Gruppe's signed canvas entitled "Sponge

Boats" was in excellent condition and sold for $6,900. Gruppe's "Fall Birches"

was also highly desirable and topped the estimated $3/4,000 when it sold for

$5,750. A fine oil on canvas depicting a landscape in spring by William Lester

Stevens was done in western Massachusetts and sold for $4,600 against an

estimate of $3/4,000.

Other weathervanes offered included an iron running fox weathervane, which

measured 33 inches long and ran all the way to a final price of $6,900. A

copper racing horse and cast iron jockey weathervane from a Rhode Island

collection offered bidders an elegant example of this form, and fetched

$4,312. An A.L. Jewell & Co. copper eagle weathervane, with cast iron head and

feet, brought $4,025. A full bodied cow on a tubular rod came from a home in

Auburn, Me., and had been painted light beige over the copper and verdigris

beneath. It went out at $3,737.

Oddities grabbing strong prices included a large, bronze bat sconce with a 21

inch wing span, which garnered $4,370.

All prices quoted include a 15 percent buyer's premium.

An illustrated catalog with prices realized is available.

Julia's has recently announced a new Cyber Auction Division, which will

provide service to buyers and sellers. For information, 207/453-7125.