Date: Fri 30-Oct-1998

Publication: Ant

Author: DAVIDS

Quick Words:

Sotheby's

Full Text:

Sotheby's Americana Postsale

w/cuts

BY DAVID S. SMITH

NEW YORK CITY -- A record price paid at auction for a Federal sideboard was

established at Sotheby's during its Fine Americana auction on October 10.

From the 285 lots sold, the Saturday session grossed $3,082,972.

"We are pleased with today's results," commented Leslie Keno, director of

Sotheby's American furniture department.

The sale offered a total of 384 lots with just under 84 percent of those lots

selling.

The auction was diversified with a large assortment of furniture that ranged

from interesting pieces to superbly executed examples. A good selection of

accessories followed suit. The sale expressed its breadth early on as it began

with an assortment of outsider art offerings and then moved into an unusual

array from the collections of Frank Miele.

Lots that did well in the opening portion of the sale included two William

Hawkins paintings. "Buffalo Hunter," an enamel paint on Masonite, sold well

above the $10/12,000 presale estimate at $33,350, and another Hawkins work,

entitled "Red Deer," enamel paint and corn meal on Masonite, brought $9,200.

The top lots among the Miele offerings came from the extensive collection of

sewer tile lions. A large recumbent sewer tile lion in brown glaze with

incised face and mane, measuring just over three feet in length, did well. It

sold for $10,350, while a pair of lions, roughly 30 inches long, realized

$12,650.

As a more traditional fare of Americana crossed the block, the crowd seemed to

settle in for some serious business. The first important piece of furniture to

be offered was one of two impressive Federal sideboards. Lot 132, a mahogany

serpentine front sideboard with line inlay throughout and bellflower inlaid

legs, was attributed to New York cabinetmaker William Whitehead, circa 1795.

Estimated at $25/35,000, the sideboard did well at $48,875.

The other Federal sideboard would be offered just three lots shy from the

culmination of the sale and would not only post the top price of the day, but

would also establish a record price paid at auction for a Federal sideboard.

The satinwood inlaid and figured mahogany sideboard retained the original

label of Springfield, Mass., cabinetmaker William Lloyd and was catalogued by

Sotheby's as being a "masterpiece of American Federal period design."

The sideboard is one of 30 pieces of known, labeled furniture by Lloyd. Other

pieces are in numerous institutions, including a labeled card table in the

Connecticut Valley Historical Museum and a tall case clock in the Historic

Deerfield collection,

Provenance on the sideboard listed Israel Sack as the owner on a couple

different occasions and also the Garbisch collection. The rare piece had

crossed the auction block at Sotheby's previously when it was sold during the

Garbisch collection sale in 1980 for $24,000. Estimated at $80/120,000, the

sideboard brought a record price of $255,500 this time around.

A Philadelphia Chippendale carved and figured mahogany dish-top birdcage tea

table, circa 1770, attracted its share of interest as it sold for nearly ten

times the high estimate of $15,000. The table, which listed a provenance that

included a Christie's sale featuring the Mrs George Morris collection, sold at

Sotheby's for $145,500 to Cinnamon Hill Antiques.

A private collector claimed a Massachusetts Queen Anne carved and figured

mahogany bonnet-top highboy with a broken arch pediment and three corkscrew

finials. Two large fan carvings were present on the attractive piece, which

was graced with elegant cabriole legs ending in pad feet. Estimated at

$70/100,000, the piece sold at the high end of the estimate, bringing

$107,000.

One of the surprises among the top lots was a Classical gilt wood and

part-ebonized four-light girandole mirror, circa 1825, which sold to a private

collector for $96,000, three times the estimate.

Leigh Keno Antiques purchased a couple of the top lots, including a New York

Chippendale camel-back sofa at $74,000 and a pair of Philadelphia Chippendale

carved mahogany side chairs, once owned by Justice James Wilson, one of the

six original members of the US Supreme Court, for $57,500.

Several of the important easy chairs in the auction took a back seat when the

final tally came in. Of six examples offered, half were bought in. Chairs that

sold included a New York carved Chippendale easy chair, circa 1770, with

cabriole legs ending in ball and claw feet. Provenance on the chair listed J.

Insley Blair as well as Bernard and Dean Levy. Estimated at $30/50,000, the

easy chair brought $46,000. A leather-covered Queen Anne stretcher base easy

chair attributed to the Boston region also did well at $43,700.

Perhaps the most notable chair in the auction was a rare Boston Chippendale

lolling chair with cabriole legs ending in ball and claw feet. This unusual

chair also listed a provenance of Ansonia, Conn., dealer Harry Arons and

carried a conservative estimate of $10/20,000. Bidding on the rare chair was

fast, and the piece was hammered down at $43,125.

Accessories in the auction included a leaping stag weathervane at $33,375; a

carved and painted lifesize figure of Liberty, $26,450; an incised and blue

decorated stoneware flask attributed to Remmey, $12,650; and a crewel

embroidered cotton quilt depicting floral bouquets, a Civil War soldier, a

woman and various animals, $9,250.

Friday's session of the auction, featuring the collection of Howard and

Catherine Feldman, was somewhat lackluster in comparison to a typical

single-owner sale at Sotheby's.

While there was certainly a large selection of interesting smalls, only a

handful seemed to qualify as standouts. The limited amount of furniture also

followed suit; there was nice Shaker, but not noteworthy Shaker, there were

good Queen Anne chairs, but not grand Queen Anne chairs.

The auction was amicably received, however, as 391 lots were offered in

Friday's session, with 370 of them finding new homes, thus resulting in a 94

percent sold rate. A final total of $1,343,105 was posted for the Feldman

session.

The collection had been assembled over the past 25 years, according to

Sotheby's folk art specialist Nancy Druckman. It featured a wide variety with

numerous small collections making up the overall collection. Among the

Feldmans' favorite collecting areas were timepieces and related materials,

such as pocket watch; hutches; phrenology materials; and trade signs. There

was also evidence of a strong interest in paintings, watercolors and

silhouettes, several of which became the top lots of the sale.

Claiming the top honors from the Feldman session was a pair of China Trade

paintings from the Circle of Spoilum. One of the oils was entitled "The

Foreign Factories, Canton," and the other, "The Whampoa, Anchorage." Both were

circa 1800. Listing a provenance of London's Rutland Gallery, the paintings

were estimated at $30/50,000 and sold for $74,000 to a London dealer.

Another of the China Trade pictures garnered the second highest price of the

day. "View of Hong Kong from the Harbor by Yea Qua" sold well above estimates

to a private collector for $31,050. Bringing the same price was a John

Brewster, Jr, portrait of a rosy-cheeked young girl wearing a burgundy dress

with a ruffled white collar. The folky oil on canvas, painted circa 1810, was

thought to have retained its original gilt frame.

Other Chinese paintings that were among the top lots included: a pair of views

from the Studio of Tinqua, selling at $21,850 to a London Dealer; a scene of

Canton by an anonymous Chinese artist, going for $19,550 to a California

dealer; and a view of Shanghai, also by an anonymous Chinese artist, selling

to a collector for $19,550.

Several of the clocks did well. A Federal pine dwarf clock in red paint was

among the top lots. The rare clock, made by Joseph Wilder, Hingham, Mass.,

measured four feet to the top of the brass ball and steeple finial. Listing

Henry du Pont as an owner of the clock, the unusual timepiece sold just above

the high estimate at $29,900.

Also sold was a Chippendale carved and inlaid walnut tall case clock with

signed works by Joseph and John Hollinshead, Burlington, N.J. The case is

thought to be of Philadelphia origin due to elaborate characteristics such as

the broken swan's-neck pediment, turnings on the hood, and the tombstone door

with carved fan design. Despite its attributes, restoration to both the top

and bottom kept the price at $18,400.

The grandest piece of furniture in the Feldman session was a "Dutch" cupboard

in wonderful worn blue paint. The large two-piece stepback cupboard, circa

1780, had six molded shelves in the top, which sat above a base with two

raised panel doors. This cupboard also listed a du Pont provenance and sold

well above the conservative $5/9,000 presale estimate at $23,000.

A Massachusetts Queen Anne wing chair, circa 1730, with block and vase

stretcher base and cabriole legs, was the top lot among the furniture in the

Feldman session. It sold for $27,600 to a Pennsylvania dealer.

Prices include the buyer's premium. For information, contact Sotheby's, 1334

York Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10021, 212/606-7000.