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 October, 2014 | 46 Items | February, 2015  |
| A RARE CHINESE EXPORT PORCELAIN FAMILLE-ROSE ‘TREE SHREW’ SAUCE TUREEN AND COVER, CIRCA 1760. The tree shrew affixed to a leaf-shaped stand applied with its young to one side and surrounded by molded fruiting sprigs and painted peony sprays, all within a cell border, the cover similarly decorated with a seated tree shrew finial. 2 pieces. Length 8.5 in., 21.6 cm. Provenance: Christie's London, October 18, 1976, lot 110 Elinor Gordon, Villanova, PA, 1987 Sold at Sotheby's Auction, The Collection of Royal and Ruth Nutt, January 23, 2015. Estimate: $10,000-15,000 Price Realized: $68,750 | |
| A RARE CHINESE EXPORT PORCELAIN AMERICAN MARKET PUNCH JUG EARLY 19TH CENTURY, painted with a portrait of George Washington, in an oval surrounded by a gilt band and bead border, repeated on the opposite side enclosing a monogram, BH, the gilt band repeated around the rims and foot, the domed cover with a fu-lion finial. Height 9 in., 22.9 cm. Provenance: Hirschl & Adler Galleries, New York, 2003 Sold at Sotheby's Auction, The Collection of Royal and Ruth Nutt, January 23, 2015. Estimate: $15,000-20,000 Price Realized: $118,750 | |
| THE IMPORTANT CAPEN FAMILY CHIPPENDALE CARVED AND FIGURED MAHOGANY BOMBÉ SLANT-FRONT DESK, BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, CIRCA 1785. Height 45 in.; width 49.5 in.; depth 22 in., 114.3 cm; 125.7 cm; 55.9 cm. Provenance: Descended in the Capen family of Massachusetts Mrs. Benjamin Harris (Charlotte) Maeck, Jr., San Francisco, CA Milly McGehee, Dallas, TX, June 1983 Exhibited: San Francisco, CA, De Young Museum, American Art Gallery, 1982 Seattle, WA, Seattle Art Museum, An American Sampler: A Selection from the Local Collection of Ruth J. Nutt, May 18, 2002 thru May 16, 2004. This exceptional bombé desk is one of currently fourteen known examples of the form. It is the most highly embellished of the known examples with fully carved ball-and-claw feet and returns and a remarkable blocked and fan carved interior with urn-and-flame pilasters and demi-lune concave pigeonhole drawers. A bombé desk-and-bookcase at Historic Deerfield and block front desk declared a Masterpiece by Albert Sack have identical interiors. The visual success of this bombé desk lies in its perfect proportions. The cabinetmaker considered three important design features when he crafted this piece. The first was to begin the curvature of the bombé swell at the base of the top drawer, providing the necessary visual lift that is absent on many bombé pieces when the curve is started lower down. The second was to parallel the shape of the drawer sides to the curvature of the case. This congruent line visually lightens the piece by omitting the perceived heft the earliest bombé forms have with drawers that do not follow the case’s shape. Lastly the case is supported on bold and tall feet. The size of the feet provide the necessary support and their all-important height give an essential lift off the floor. These three attributes work symphonically together to produce a consummate design. The rare leafage carving and star punched ground on the knees and returns of this desk relate closely to two pieces at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. The first is a block front desk-and-bookcase that descended in the Cooke family and the second is a bombé blocked-end serpentine-front chest of drawers that descended in the Derby family. The chest’s carving is the most similar with the carving framed by a flat border. Interestingly, in a few areas the carver mistakenly struck the base molding with the start punch tool indicating that the punch decoration occurred after the feet were applied. As the present lot descended through the Capen family of Massachusetts, one probable candidate with the financial means to request such an imposing piece is Hopestill Capen (1730-1807), a dry goods merchant who resided at 41-43 Union Street. Capen was active in the Ancient & Honorable Company and a Sandemanian. The notorious political newspaper Massachusetts Spy was published at the Capen house by Isiah Thomas between 1770 to 1771 (Isiah Thomas’s powder horn is being offered in Sotheby’s auction of Important Americana, January 25, 2015). Hopestill’s son, Thomas, succeeded his father as shopkeeper in the home, and owned the property at the time of his death in 1819. On August 3, 1826 the restaurant Atwood & Bacon Oyster House, today known as the Ye Olde Union Oyster House, opened at the Capen house and is the oldest restaurant in continuous service in America. Sold at Sotheby's Auction, The Collection of Royal and Ruth Nutt, January 23, 2015. Estimate: $500,000-700,000 Price Realized: $635,000 | |
| A MONUMENTAL AMERICAN SILVER KETTLE ON LAMPSTAND, LINCOLN & FOSS, BOSTON, CIRCA 1850. Boldly boldly chased with scrolling foliage, the sides applied with 18th-century fêtes galants, the back cartouche engraved with crest of a griffon's head erased with star in its beak, the hinged cover with a flowering sprig finial, on a matching stand with detachable lamp. Marked on bases of kettle, lampstand and burner. Height overall 21 in., 53.3 cm, 171 oz 5 dwt, 5324 g. Provenance: Cobblestone Antiques, July 1996 Exhibited: Seattle Art Museum, March 1998 - April 2002 Catalogue Note: Charles M. Foss and Albert L. Lincoln (active 1847-1858) advertised as "Importers and dealers in Rich Watches, Jewelry & Silver Ware," at Court and Washington Streets. They used numerous suppliers in both Boston and New York, and sold items on to other retailers as well. Sold at Sotheby's Auction, The Collection of Royal and Ruth Nutt, January 24, 2015. Estimate: $10,000-15,000 Price Realized: $23,750 | |
| AN AMERICAN SILVER PUNCH BOWL, JOHN EWAN, RETAILED BY MATTHEW MILLER, CHARLESTON, S.C., DATED 1828, engraved on four sides: JM within wreath over 1828, a bouquet of rice, tobacco and cotton plants, male and female figures flanking a stack of cotton bags above "Perseverance," and a spread-wing eagle holding a banner reading "Nunc tempus est bibendum" (Now is the Time to Drink). Marked on base J.EWAN. in serrated rectangle (effaced) and M.MILLER in serrated rectangle. Diameter 9 1/2 in., 24.1 cm, 30 oz 10 dwt, 945.4 g. Provenance: Mike Weller, Argentum Antiques, San Francisco, August 1987 Exhibited: SAM American Sampler, 2002-2005 Catalogue Note: The celebration of Southern crops and production, the idea of perseverance, and the date 1828 strongly suggest that this bowl can be linked to the tariff of that year, called "The Tariff of Abominations" in the South. Passed in May 1828 with the aim of protecting Northern businesses, it reduced the American market for British goods, and they in turn reduced their import of cotton from the United States. The South also now had to acquire finished goods from the North at higher prices than they formerly imported them, and not in exchange for credit on their own products. John C. Calhoun, after the election of 1828 vice-president to Andrew Jackson, fiercely opposed the tariff, and anonymously authored a pamphlet calling for nullification of the tariff within South Carolina. When Jackson's Tariff of 1832 failed to address Southern concerns, the subsequent nullification crisis caused the British consul in Charleston to seriously worry for the future of the United States. Sold at Sotheby's Auction, The Collection of Royal and Ruth Nutt, January 24, 2015. Estimate: $20,000-30,000 Price Realized: $56,250 | |
| AN AMERICAN SILVER HOT WATER URN, THOMAS FLETCHER, PHILADELPHIA, CIRCA 1830-35, the square base raised on winged paw feet, the body applied with grapevine springing from handles, the lower body with palm and acanthus, spigot topped by a bird, cover with large bud finial, monogrammed on back JHS. Marked on base rim and up under base T.FLETCHER / PHILA, stamped on base OLD SILVER. Height 17 1/2 in., 44.5 cm, 141 oz 5 dwt, 4391 g. Provenance: Hirschl & Adler, New York, January 1999 Exhibited: Fletcher and Gardiner 2007 no. 73 Catalogue Note: The entwined handles spreading into grapevine seen on this urn probably come from Fletcher's visit to England in 1815-16, when at the Royal Goldsmiths Rundell, Bridge and Rundell he saw a copy of the Warwick Vase done in silver; "handles are grape stalks and a vine runs all around covered with leaves & clusters of grapes" (Fennimore and Wagner p. 220). Sold at Sotheby's Auction, The Collection of Royal and Ruth Nutt, January 24, 2015. Estimate: $12,000-18,000 Price Realized: $56.250 | |
| AN AMERICAN SILVER SOUP TUREEN AND COVER, THOMAS FLETCHER, PHILADELPHIA, 1833, the shaped base raised on four claw feet, lower body chased with acanthus and palm, handles terminating in eagles heads, cover with bud finial, one side engraved with the Webster coat of arms, the other side engraved Daniel Webster. marked underneath base T.FLETCHER / PHILAD. Length over handles 14 in., 35.5 cm, 122 oz 10 dwt, 3813 g. Provenance: Daniel Webster (1782-1852) Jonathan Trace, May 30, 1980 Exhibited: America Sampler, 2002 Fletcher and Gardiner, 2007, NO. 78 Literature: Silver Studies 2004, illus. Catalogue Note: Daniel Webster was Secretary of State, Senator for Massachusetts, and Representative for New Hampshire in the first half of the 19th century. A graduate of Phillips Exeter Academy and Dartmouth, he was considered a Conservative, as opposed to Jacksonian Populists, and was a supporter of industry and of banking. Nicholas Biddle, president of the Second Bank of the United States and another Fletcher customer, was a close friend. In 1808 Daniel Webster married Grace Fletcher, third cousin of the silversmith; they had a son Daniel Fletcher Webster in 1818. She died in 1828, but the connection was maintained by the widower despite his remarriage in 1829. In 1834, Thomas Fletcher named his eighth child Daniel Webster Fletcher. Webster continued to purchase silver from Fletcher as well. On April 17, 1833, Fletcher wrote to Webster that he had just sent a box containing two soup tureens, costing $685.25. The debt to French Empire design is obvious, but eagle heads have been substituted for a more patriotic handle support. Daniel Webster obviously liked putting his name on his silver. In addition to this tureen, a similarly engraved Fletcher & Gardiner tea urn of c. 1825 was sold at Parke-Bernet, New York, May 17, 1968, lot 153, and a covered pitcher with Webster's name, by John B. Jones, Boston, c. 1830, is in the Diplomatic Reception Rooms, Washington, D.C. (Treasures of State, no. 231). Sold at Sotheby's Auction, The Collection of Royal and Ruth Nutt, January 24, 2015. Estimate: $30,000-50,000 Price Realized: $59,375 | |
| A PAIR OF AMERICAN SILVER SAUCE BOATS AND STANDS, THOMAS FLETCHER, PHILADELPHIA, CIRCA 1830-35, crested below spouts and on centers of stands, one stand later engraved below crest "SCP 1877 to ABP 1895" and on base "Anne R. P. Burroughs - 1855. / Sarah C. Kennard - 1877 / Anne B. Pierce - 1895." Marked on bases T.FLETCHER / PHILAD. Length of stand 11 in., 28 cm, 82 oz 5 dwt, 2556 g Provenance: Mark Wentworth Peirce and Margaret Sparhawk Peirce, to their niece Sarah Coffin Peirce, to Anne Burroughs Peirce Sotheby Parke Bernet, New York, November 19, 1976, lot 586 (single example with initials) Elizabeth Feld Hirschl & Adler, New York, January 1999 These sauce boats and the matching pair in a private collection are part of the large group of silver ordered by the Peirces of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, from Thomas Fletcher during the 1820s and 1830s. After a shipment of 1833, the silversmith wrote Peirce, "I hope it will arrive safely & meet your approbation... your further consideration will meet prompt attention" (Fennimore and Wagner, p. 207). Exhibited: Baltimore, 1993: Classical Taste in America, 1800-1840. Baltimore Museum of Art, June 27-September 26, 1993; Mint Museum of Art, Charlotte, NC, November 20, 1993-March 13, 1994; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, May 1-July 24, 1994, no. 139. Fletcher and Gardiner, 2007 no. 66 (part) Literature: Newton W. Elwell, Colonial Silverware of the 17th and 18th Centuries. Boston, George H. Polley & Co., 1899, pl. 16 (one of this model) Katharine Morrison McClinton, Collecting 19th Century American Silver, New York, Bonanza Books, 1968, p. 38 (one of this model, with Gebelein Silversmiths) Wendy A. Cooper, Classical Taste in America, 1800-1840; Baltimore, Baltimore Museum of Art, 1993, no. 139, p. 181 (Collection Elizabeth Feld) Sold at Sotheby's Auction, The Collection of Royal and Ruth Nutt, January 24, 2015. Estimate: $20,000-30,000 Price Realized: $62,500 | |
| | AN AMERICAN GOLD-MOUNTED WAR OF 1812 EAGLE POMMEL PRESENTATION SWORD, FLETCHER & GARDINER, PHILADELPHIA, DATED 1828 straight lightly-fullered blade with clip point, the blade etched with panels of martial and nautical designs, including a trophy of flags, cannons, an anchor and a trident, the panapoly-of-arms with a naval engagement of three vessels, a long panel with an American eagle holding a riband inscribed "E PLERIBUS UNUM / CONSTITUTION / CYANE & LEVANT / FEBRUARY 20TH, 1815" and the reverse with presentation inscription "PRESENTED BY THE STATE OF MARYLAND TO / Lieut. Henry C. Ballard, March 1828 as the / reward of Patriotism and Valor.", mounted with gold hilt with Eagle Pommel surmounting a grip decorated with naval motifs, Hercules and Neptune, the knuckle-guard sits atop a shell-guard cast with an American Eagle and Stars over a display of naval arms and anchor, the guard with American [e]agle finials, with original leather-bound scabbard with three gold mounts, the top with Naval Fouled Anchor, the middle with Neptune in his chariot, and the bottom with dolphins and a trident. Marked on blade W. Rose incuse, etched panels signed MEER for William John Meer, Philadelphia. Length 32 1/2 in., 82.6 cm Provenance: Jackson/Gillooly, January 1998 Exhibited: SAM American Sampler, 2002-2005 Fletcher and Gardiner 2007 no. 53 Literature: Donald L. Fennimore and Ann K. Wagner, Silversmiths to the Nation: Thomas Fletcher and Sidney Gardiner, 1808-1842. Winterthur: Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum, 2007, no. 53, pp. 186-7, title page. Catalogue Note: From Appleton's Cyclopedia of American Biography: BALLARD, Henry E., naval officer, born in Maryland, in 1785; died in Annapolis, 23 May 1855. He was the son of Major Ballard, of the revolutionary army; was appointed midshipman 2 November 1804; lieutenant, 26 April 1810; master, 27 April 1816, and captain, 3 March 1825. He was a lieutenant on board the United States frigate "Constitution" in her famous action with the British cruisers "Cyane" and "Levant" in the bay of Biscay, 20 February 1815. After the capture of both vessels by the "Constitution" he was placed with a prize crew on board the "Levant" and took her to the Cape Verde islands, but was captured by a British squadron in Porto Praya, in defiance of the neutral flag, whose protection he claimed. This is one of three swords ordered from Fletcher & Gardiner in 1828 by the state of Maryland for heroes from the War of 1812; the other two were for Joseph Cross (Maryland State Archives collection) and Lieutenant Isaac Mayo (Butterfield & Butterfield, Historic American Swords, November 20, 1989, lot 6149). This sword is described in letters between Fletcher and the secretary for Governor Daniel Martin. The sword was presented to Ballard in the council chambers in Annapolis in 1829, when Governor Martin stated: "On you sir, is bestowed the richest reward the patriot asks, the gratitude and applause of his countrymen, of which this sword is intended to be a testimonial." Ballard responded: "It will be a source of lasting gratification to reflect that for an achievement in which I bore an humble part (and in which many of the brave sons of Maryland participated,) the legislature of my native state, has bestowed upon me, a vote of thanks and this sword. I accept and shall preserve it, as the most valued gift of my generous country men." 'Small Arms of the Sea Services,' Colonel Robert H. Rankin, USMC (ret) Sold at Sotheby's Auction, The Collection of Royal and Ruth Nutt, January 24, 2015. Estimate: $150,000-250,000 Price Realized: $257,000 |
| AN AMERICAN SILVER AGRICULTURAL PRIZE PUNCH BOWL, ISAAC HUTTON, ALBANY, THE ENGRAVING SIGNED G. FAIRMAN DEL ET. SCULP., DATED 1809, engraved on one side with the arms of Albany, the other with inscription "STATE OF NEW YORK/ 8th March 1809/ By the Society for the Promotion of Useful Arts To George Booth of the County of Dutchess/ THIS PIECE OF PLATE is AWARDED/ pursuant to an Act of the Legislature passed 8th April 1808/ AS A PREMIUM/ for the third best of the Specimens of Woolen Cloth of family/ Manufacture produced from the several Counties in this State/ the present year." Marked on base HUTTON and with two pseudo hallmark of birds. Diameter 7 3/4 in., 19.7 cm, 17 oz 5 dwt, 535 g Provenance: Christie's, New York, January 15-16 2004, lot 153, "Property of a Southern Collector" Robert Jackson and Ann Gillooly, February 2005 Catalogue Note: This bowl is one of a group of silver objects commissioned by Albany's Society for the Promotion of Useful Arts to be given as agricultural prizes. The society was chartered in 1804, aiming to "make improvements in agriculture" in New York. This third prize bowl was awarded to George Booth and is documented in the Society's minutes taken on March 21st, 1810 "to the said George Booth of County of Dutchess a premium of 150 dollars in a piece of plate. Isaac Hutton also made for the Society a very similar bowl given in 1811 and a teapot given in 1813, both at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and a bowl at the Albany Institute. Gideon Fairman (1774-1827) finished his engraving apprenticeship with Isaac and George Hutton; in 1796 he set up his own engraving shop in Albany. Sold at Sotheby's Auction, The Collection of Royal and Ruth Nutt, January 24, 2015. Estimate: $10,000-15,000 Price Realized: $40,625 | |
| AN AMERICAN SILVER CREAMER AND COVERED SUGAR BOWL, JOHN MCMULLIN, PHILADELPHIA, CIRCA 1815, with animal head handles, each engraved on one side with foliate initials MT. Marked on bases I.Mc.Mullin in a rectangle and with pseudo hallmarks of an eagle and two stars. Height 8 1/4 in., 21 cm, 25 oz 15 dwt, 802 g. Provenance: Patricia's Antiques, May 1975 Sold at Sotheby's Auction, The Collection of Royal and Ruth Nutt, January 24, 2015. Estimate: $1,200-1,800 Price Realized: $28,125 | |
| AN AMERICAN SILVER LARGE COFFEE POT, BANCROFT WOODCOCK, WILMINGTON, DE, CIRCA 1784, engraved on side with large foliate monogram JCR. Marked twice on base B.W in shaped rectangle and scratched 1784. Height 14 1/2 in., 36.8cm, 41 oz 15 dwt gross, 1300 g Provenance: Jonathan Trace Jackson/Gillooly, February 1993 Exhibited: SAM American Sampler, 2002-2005 Catalogue Note: The R initial here may be for a relative of Richard Richardson, a Newport miller who was one of Woodcock's biggest clients in the 1770s. An almost identical coffee pot was made by Bancroft Woodcock and his nephew Thomas Bynes in 1788, for Eleazer and Lydia McComb. Part of a four-piece set, it was shown at the 1976 Bancroft Woodcock exhibition at the Historical Society of Delaware (no. 26). Sold at Sotheby's Auction, The Collection of Royal and Ruth Nutt, January 24, 2015. Estimate: $50,000-80,000 Price Realized: $62,500 | |
| AN AMERICAN SILVER CREAM POT, THOMAS YOU, CHARLESTON, SC, CIRCA 1775, front engraved with foliate initials TG under a pelican crest. Marked on base T.Y in rectangle. Height 4 1/4 in., 10.8 cm, 5 oz 5 dwt, 162 g Provenance: Jonathan Trace, May 1986 Sold at Sotheby's Auction, The Collection of Royal and Ruth Nutt, January 24, 2015. Estimate: $3,000-5,000 Price Realized: $25,500 | |
| THE DOCUMENT FOR THE ORDER OF CINCINNATI SIGNED BY GEORGE WASHINGTON, DATED 1785, WITH LATER GOLD AND ENAMEL BADGE OF THE ORDER, engraved document signed ("Go: Washington"), being a membership certificate for the Society of the Cincinnati, on parchment, accomplished in a secretarial hand and signed by Washington as president of the Society of the Cincinnati, countersigned by Henry Knox ("HKnox") as secretary, engraved vignettes by Auguste L. Belle after Jean-Jacques Andre LeVeau (from the design of Pierre L'Enfant) depicting America in knight's armor trampling upon the British standard and the American eagle casting the British lion and Britannia out to sea with thunderbolts, depictions of both sides of the medal of the Order of the Cincinnati within roundels, Mount Vernon, Philadelphia, 5 May 1785, being the certificate of membership admitting Frederick Frye to the Society, in gilt frame; the badge in enameled gold, suspended from a silk ribbon, framed. 13 3/8 in. by 20 1/4 in. (document), 34 cm by 51.4 cm. Catalogue Note: Frederick Frye was an commissioned an Ensign in the 1st Massachusetts in February 1781 and served with the Continental Army through November 1783. He subsequently served as a Captain of Artillerists and Engineers in the Legion of the United States and the Army of the United States, from 1794 until his honorable discharge in 1802. The badge seems to correspond to the New York Eagle of 1870, which was made by the firm of Colby and Johnson. First created in 1870, the firm produced the badge throughout the decade, so this eagle was probably acquired by Lt. Frye's family around the American Centennial in replacement for a lost badge. Sold at Sotheby's Auction, The Collection of Royal and Ruth Nutt, January 24, 2015. Estimate: $15,000-25,000 Price Realized: $18,750 | |
| AN AMERICAN SILVER TANKARD, JOHN BAYLY, PHILADELPHIA, CIRCA 1775, tankard of baluster form with scroll handle, shield terminal; the whole fitted with a hinged domed cover having an openwork thumbpiece and ring foot, engraved with a cypher on front CSM for Christopher and Sarah Marshall, engraved on handle terminal PM for Patience Marshall (granddaughter). Base marked I.BAYLY incuse. IB in rounded rectangle left of handle on body. Height 7 7/8 in., 20 cm, 33 OZ, 1026 G. Provenance: Jonathan Trace, February 1987 Exhibited: Seattle Art Museum, 1991-96 Philadelphia Antique Show, April 11-17, 1996 Sold at Sotheby's Auction, The Collection of Royal and Ruth Nutt, January 24, 2015. Estimate: $20,000-30,000 Price Realized: $87,500 | |
| A RARE PAIR OF AMERICAN SILVER BOTTLE STANDS, MYER MYERS, NEW YORK, CIRCA 1765, each circular with scrolling openwork fret sawn sides centering on a solid cartouche monogrammed SSC, fitted with turned wooden bases. Marked on back of cartouche Myers in conforming rectangle. Diameter 5 1/8 in., 13 cm. Provenance: Samuel Cornell (1731-1781) and Susannah Mabson (1732-1778), to their daughter Sarah (1762-1803), m. 1792 Matthew Clarkson, to their daughter Mary Rutherford Clarkson (1786-1838), m. 1807 Peter Augustus Jay, son of John Jay, to her sister Elizabeth Clarkson (1793-1820), unmarried, to her niece Susan Matilda Jay (1829-1910), m. 1852 Matthew Clarkson, to their son Banyer Clarkson (1854-1928), to his first cousin Anna Jay Pierrepont (1861-1940), to her nephew Rutherford Stuyvesant Pierrepont (1883-1950), to his son John Pierrepont (b. 1917), to his son John Jay Pierrepont (b. 1958), sold Christie's New York, January 27, 1996, lot 125 Exhibited: New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, American Art from American Collections, March 6 - April 28, 1963 New York: Museum of the City of New York, 1976-1989 Myer Myers 2001 no. 80 SAM American Sampler 2002-2005 Literature: James Biddle, American Art from American Collections, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1963, p. 58, figs. 120-121 Morrison H. Heckscher and Leslie Greene Bowman, American Rococo, 1750-1775: Elegance in Ornament. Abrams, New York, 1992, p. 122 Catalogue Note: The rococo silver made by Myers for Samuel Cornell is perhaps his most important group made for a single patron. While a cann at the Wadsworth Atheneum may have been acquired on Cornell's marriage in 1756, the other four pieces, elaborately pierced and engraved, are from the early 1770s and evoke the luxury the couple enjoyed before the Revolution. Together with an almost identical pair made by Myers for the Schuyler family (New York Historical Society), these are the only known American Colonial wine coasters. Samuel Cornell was born in Flushing, Long Island, to Quaker parents, and moved in the mid 1750s to North Carolina. He married in 1756 Susannah Mabson of New Bern. Over the next decade, overseas and "triangular" trade made Cornell the richest man in North Carolina. In 1768, Governor William Tryon borrowed £8,000 for the construction of his magnificent Tryon Palace. In 1770, the Governor appointed Cornell to the Royal Council, and in 1771 Cornell loaned an additional £6,000 to support the Governor's troops against rebels in the western part of the state. Cornell's possessions included a house in New Bern, two plantations on the Trent River, a rum distillery, and warehouses, together valued at £40,976 in 1784. As the political situation deteriorated in 1775, Cornell requested a leave of absence from the Council to go to England; he was described by Governor Martin as "the most opulent Merchant in [North Carolina]. From England he went to New York, securely held by the British. In December of 1777 Cornell sailed to New Bern under a flag of truce. Although first denied permission to land by the Provincial Assembly, the Revolutionary Governor Caswell later allowed him ashore to collect his goods, servants, and family, for return to New York. Cornell deeded his property to his daughters, but it was still seized under the 1779 Confiscation Act. His effects were divided equally between his five daughters, with these coasters falling to his third daughter, Sarah. She later married Matthew Clarkson, a celebrated officer on the American side of the Revolution. Sold at Sotheby's Auction, The Collection of Royal and Ruth Nutt, January 24, 2015. Estimate: $250,000-350,000 Price Realized: $389,000 | |
| AN AMERICAN SILVER COFFEE POT, MYER MYERS, NEW YORK, 1760, pear form with elaborate cast spout, the side slightly later engraved with small foliate monogram SE. Marked Myers in script twice on bottom. Height 10 7/8 in., 17.5 cm, 32 oz 10 dwt gross, 1013.8 g Provenance: Jonathan Trace, May 1992 Sold at Sotheby's Auction, The Collection of Royal and Ruth Nutt, January 24, 2015. Estimate: $40,000-60,000 Price Realized: $93,750 | |
| AN AMERICAN SILVER BOWL, SIMEON COLEY, NEW YORK, CIRCA 1767-69, the front engraved with foliate initials TS. Marked on base S.Coley in script in conforming rectangle. Diameter 8 7/8 in., 22.5 cm, 22oz 10dwt, 696.6g. Provenance: Christies, New York, January 1987 Christies, New York, January 1994 Catalogue Note: Simeon Coley spent most of his career as a goldsmith in London, where he entered his first mark, SC, in 1761 and another version of this mark in 1763. Based on his newspaper advertisements, it appears that Coley only spent three years in New York, and pieces bearing his American mark, S. Coley, are thus rare. His first New York advertisement is dated September 11, 1766, and his last, announcing his intention "to leave this City this Month," was dated September 4, 1769. His leaving New York was probably a result of being on the wrong side of pre Revolutionary politics. A newspaper article of July 24, 1769 reported Coley's "daring Infractions of the Nonimportation Agreement; his insolent and futile Defence of those inglorious Measures; with his avowed Resolution obstinately to persevere in counteracting the legal Efforts of a brave and free People in support of their inestimable Rights." Coley's advertisements before this date did indeed include a great deal of English imports, mostly jewelry and small specialty items such as "etwe" (etuis). Sold at Sotheby's Auction, The Collection of Royal and Ruth Nutt, January 24, 2015. Estimate: $12,000-18,000 Price Realized: $40,625 | |
| AN AMERICAN SILVER PIPE LIGHTER, MYER MYERS, NEW YORK, 1750-1765, solid body, the legs with shell feet and headers, base engraved C over P * L. Marked Myers in a conforming cartouche. Length 10 7/8 in., 27.6 cm, 6 oz 5 dwt gross, 194 g. Provenance: Philip Livingston (1717-1778) and Christina Ten Broeck Livingston, to their grandson Henry Alexander Livingston (1776-1849), by family descent until sold Christie's New York, October 13, 1983, lot 60 Jonathan Trace, January 1989 Exhibited: Myer Myers 2001, no. 37 Catalogue Note: Philip Livingston has been described as the archtypal Colonial gentleman, who combined public service with a business career as a merchant. The younger brother of Robert Livingston Jr., he graduated Yale in 1737, served as an alderman in New York City, a member then Speaker of the General Assembly, and signed the Declaration of Independence. He married in 1740 Christina, the daughter of Dirck Ten Broek, Mayor of Albany, and of Margarita Cuyler; her brother Abraham was a brigadier general during the Revolution. Portraits of the couple, attributed to Abraham Delanoy, are preserved at Clermont State Historic Site, and were shown in the 2001 Myer Myers Exhibition (nos. 129-130). Sold at Sotheby's Auction, The Collection of Royal and Ruth Nutt, January 24, 2015. Estimate: $10,000-15,000 Price Realized: $46,875 | |
| AN AMERICAN SILVER CHILD'S WHISTLE AND BELLS, PAUL REVERE II, CIRCA 1770, of typical form with fittings for eight silver bells and coral teething stick, engraved M.I in block letters, Iackson in script on mouth piece. Marked PR script in rectangle. Provenance: Jonathan Trace, January 1996 Sold at Sotheby's Auction, The Collection of Royal and Ruth Nutt, January 24, 2015. Estimate: $12,000-18,000 Price Realized: $21,250 | |
| AN AMERICAN SILVER COFFEE POT, JOSEPH RICHARDSON SR., PHILADELPHIA, CIRCA 1760, acanthus-capped spout terminating in a larger shell, wood scroll handle headed by a shell, base engraved with block initials H*Sand later engraved Stamper. Marked four times on base IR in rectangle and twice Sterling in script in rectangle. Height 10 3/4 in., 27.3 cm, 35 oz 15 dwt gross, 1113 g Provenance: Jonathan Trace, February 2003 Exhibited: Seattle Art Museum, 1991-96 Literature: Brian Beet and Robert B. Barker, "A 'Sterling' mark employed by Joseph Richardson Sr," The Silver Society Journal 11, Autumn 1999, p. 230-1, fig. 2-3 Catalogue Note: Beet and Barker discuss the question of why a silversmith at this time would have used a Sterling mark, particularly since it not recorded to have been used by Richardson, one of the most thoroughly researched silversmiths. There is evidence of some silversmiths employing a Sterling mark in the Colonies during the 18th century. Between 1753 and 1770, repeated attempts were made by silversmiths to establish an assay office in Philadelphia. They sought an official system guaranteeing their wares to be Sterling standard in order to compete equally with hallmarked English imports, as well as in their own export markets. Beet and Barker propose that the reason these marks are so infrequently seen on Richardson silver is that because he obtained silver from various sources, he reserved the mark for those objects which he could be certain of the standard. Alternatively, he may have only marked silver for markets where he was experiencing difficulty in competing against British hallmarked pieces. The Stamper family was well established in Pennsylvania and several colonies to the south by 1750, and one John Stamper is recorded to have had a rattle mended by Richardson in 1748. Sold at Sotheby's Auction, The Collection of Royal and Ruth Nutt, January 24, 2015. Estimate: $25,000-35,000 Price Realized: $56,250 | |
| AN AMERICAN SILVER OCTAGONAL SUGAR BOWL AND COVER, JOSEPH RICHARDSON SR., PHILADELPHIA, CIRCA 1740, interior of bowl and lip of cover engraved with stars to indicate alignment. Marked on base IR in oval. Diameter 4 1/2 in., 11.4 cm, 10 oz 18 dwt, 336 g. Provenance: Jonathan Trace, January 1989 Exhibited: SAM American Sampler 2002-2005 Catalogue Note: This bowl is closely related to two other octagonal sugar bowls by Richardson. The first was made for Oswald and Lydia Peel, and was sold Christie's, New York, January 21, 2000, lot 321.It is recorded in Richardson's account book in February, 1736: "a Sugar Dish wt 11 oz 9 dwt at 3/0 per oz" which cost Peel £5 3s plus an additional £2 5s for "Making ye above." (Joseph Richardson's Accounts Book, Historical Society of Pennsylvania mss #Am9240). The second was sold from the collection of Mr. & Mrs. Walter M. Jeffords, Sotheby's New York, October 29, 2004, lot 652. The base of that bowl is engraved EM, and Martha Gandy Fales associated it with one purchased by Samuel Emlen in 1747. Sold at Sotheby's Auction, The Collection of Royal and Ruth Nutt, January 24, 2015. Estimate: $70,000-100,000 Price Realized: $81,250 | |
| AN AMERICAN SILVER SPOON TRAY, PHILIP SYNG, JR., PHILADELPHIA, CIRCA 1740, with cut corners and flared borders, engraved with mirror cypher JBA. Marked PS in a heart-shaped cartouche. Length 6 1/2 in., 16.5 cm, 4 oz, 124 g. Provenance: Probably John and Ann Bartram Sarah Isabella Shaw (1828-1903) of Philadelphia, m. about 1855 Richard Wood of Bermuda. Changing their name to Shaw-Wood, the couple moved to Oakville, Ontario, Canada in 1861. Christie's New York, January 27, 1996, lot 132 Exhibited: Worldly Goods 1999, no. 223. SAM American Sampler, 2002-2005 Catalogue Note: The initials are probably those of John and Ann Bartram, who were married in 1729. An unmarked salver with a very similar mirror cypher JAB, known to have belonged to the couple, is in the collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art (see Lindsey, no. 236, p. 192). John Bartram (1699-1777), although self-educated, became perhaps America's greatest "natural" botanist. At his 102-acre farm at Kingsessing on the western bank of the Schuykill, he had a botanical garden where he grew rare plants, experimented with hybrids, and sent seeds to collectors in America and abroad. He was responsible for almost one quarter of the "new" plants sent to Europe from Colonial North America. His interests also included geography, geology, homeopathy, and general scientific inquiry. Almost no spoon trays are known to have survived from Colonial America, though Joseph Richardson's account books show that he made three between 1737 and 1738, one described as "a tea Spoon boat." The finely engraved mirror cypher on this piece may be by Laurence Herbert; a 1748 notice in the Pennsylvania Gazette advertises "Engraving done on Gold, Silver, Copper or Pewter done by Laurence Herbert from London at Philip Syng's, Goldsmith, in Front Street" (cited Ian Quimby, American Silver at Winterthur, p. 450). Sold at Sotheby's Auction, The Collection of Royal and Ruth Nutt, January 24, 2015. Estimate: $20,000-30,000 Price Realized: $50,000 | |
| A PAIR OF AMERICAN SILVER WAITERS, SIMEON SOUMAINE, NEW YORK, CIRCA 1738-40, with molded piecrust rim, center engraved with foliate mirror cypherEC within a circle, on three scroll legs with hoofed feet. Marked in center of bases SS in rectangle. Diameter 5 7/8 in., 15 cm, 17 oz 5 dwt, 535 g. Provenance: Elizabeth Cruger (d. 1760), to her husband Henry Cruger (d. 1780), then either their son Henry Cruger Jr. (d. 1827) or their daughter Mary Cruger (m. Jacob Walton) Matilda Caroline Cruger (Henry's daughter) and her husband Henry Walton (Mary's son) Thence by descent (One) Sotheby's New York, January 18, 2002, lot 464 (The other) Jonathan Trace, July 2005 Exhibited: SAM American Sampler 2002-2005 Catalogue Note: The cypher is that of Elizabeth Harris (1712-1760), who married Henry Cruger (1707-80) in Legnaum, Jamaica, in 1736. As the family bible records (cited on ancestry.com), Henry Cruger was born in New York on November 25, 1707, and was baptized on the 26th. The sponsors were John van Giesen, Myndert Schuyler and his wife Rachel Schulyer. The infant was the son of John Cruger (d. 1744) and Marie Cuyler (1677/8-1724, m. 1703). John Cruger served as Alderman of New York for 22 years, from 1712-1733, and was Mayor of New York from 1739 until his death. His wife was the eldest daughter of Hendrick Cuyler of Albany, Captain and Major of the Albany Troop 1685-1689. In 1731, at age 24, Henry Cruger left New York on the "Sloop Mary Capt. Jacoby Kip for Jamaica to Settle in the Island.'' While there, he married firstly in 1734 Hannah Slaughter Montgomery, but she died a little over a year after the wedding. He then married Elizabeth Harris in Legnaum on December 21, 1736. Elizabeth was born June 7, 1712, to Dr. Nicholas Harris (d. in Jamaica on December 18, 1736, aged 57) and Saye Harris (d. Jamaica, 1713). After the birth of their eldest son, John Harris, the couple left Jamaica, April 23, 1738 on the "Ship Mary Capt. Robt. Ratsey'' and arrived in New York on May 31 of that year. Their son Henry Jr. was born in New York in 1739. The Crugers probably ordered silver from Simeon Soumaine either upon their return to New York in 1738, or possibly after Henry inherited his father's estate in 1744. Soumaine was vestryman at Trinity Church, where the Crugers worshiped, between 1712 and 1750. Another item belonging to the Crugers, and one of the most famous pieces of American silver, is the covered sugar bowl by Soumaine engraved with the same cypher, now in the Garvan Collection at Yale University Art Gallery (1930.1056). The cypher is taken from Col. Parsons' A New Book of Cyphers (see Buhler and Hood, p. 57), one of the many manuals available to the early 18th century engraver. Silver salts and spoons with this same cypher were owned by a Cruger descendant in England; the salts were stolen in the mid 20th century. This group of silver would have been on prominent display in the home of one of New York's wealthiest merchants. The comparable table of William Walton, whose son Jacob married the Cruger's daughter Mary, "groaned under its weight of brilliant massive silver" (The History of the City of New York, p. 683). Henry Cruger was a member of the New York Assembly from 1745 to 1759, and was appointed in 1767 to the King's Council of the Province. On his resignation in 1773, his son, John Harris Cruger, succeeded to this position. Henry was in partnership with his brother John as shipping merchants in the English and West Indian trade, their vessels sailing from Cruger's Docks on the East River. John Cruger (Jr.; 1710-1792), Henry's brother, was a member of the New York Assembly, and from 1756-65 Mayor of New York. He was one of the most stalwart opponents of arbitrary measures by the English government. He authored the "Declaration of Rights and Grievances'' put forth by the Stamp Act Congress in 1765, insisting upon "no taxation without representation.'' When the hated stamps arrived, he surrendered them to the City authorities, and exercised great tact and diplomacy in handling General Gage. In 1768, he was chief organizer and first President of the New York Chamber of Commerce, and in 1769 was chosen Speaker of the Assembly over William Livingston. When the British occupied New York, John Cruger retired to Kinderhook, and only returned to New York after the Revolution. Elizabeth Cruger died on April 14, 1760, and was buried in Trinity Church. In 1757, Henry Cruger, Jr. had been sent to Bristol, and became a prominent merchant there. In 1774 he and Edmund Burke were elected Members of Parliament for Bristol. With the outbreak of hostilities, Henry Cruger, Sr., in poor health, left for England and joined his son Henry Jr. in Bristol. John Harris Cruger, Henry's eldest son who had married a daughter of General Oliver de Lancey, served as Lieut.-Colonel and fought on Long Island, at Savannah, Charleston, and Camden. Henry's youngest son, Nicholas, was a West Indies merchant who served as mentor to Alexander Hamilton and who sided with Washington during the Revolution. The elder Cruger died in Bristol and is buried in the center aisle of Bristol Cathedral. The will of "Henry Cruger the Elder late of the City of New York in North America, but now residing in the City of Bristol in Great Britain'' was proved on March 2, 1780. John Harris Cruger, fighting for the British in North America, received all of his father's East Indies estates. Nicholas Cruger, on the American side, received £500 and a quarter of the residue of the estate. His daughter Mary Walton received £1, 000 and another quarter, while Henry, Jr. received a third quarter but was also acquitted of a debt of £1,270. Henry Cruger, Jr. was elected mayor of Bristol in 1781, and re-elected to Parliament in 1784. He married in 1772 as his second wife Caroline Elizabeth Blair. However, in 1790 the family returned to America and to New York, and in 1792 Henry was elected a Senator of New York. He lived at 382 Greenwich St., where he died in April, 1827. His daughter, Matilda Caroline, who married as her second husband her cousin Henry Walton, son of Jacob Walton and Mary Cruger. The waiters could have passed through either line, Elizabeth and Henry's daughter Mary or their son Henry Jr.; the one sold Sotheby's, 2002 had been retained by the descendants of Matilda Caroline. Sold at Sotheby's Auction, The Collection of Royal and Ruth Nutt, January 24, 2015. Estimate: $100,000-150,000 Price Realized: $161,000 | |
| A RARE AMERICAN SILVER TWO-HANDLED CUP AND COVER, CHARLES LE ROUX, NEW YORK, CIRCA 1720, the lower body and cover with applied strapwork, the top of one handle engraved with block initials A/J*M, both sides with a contemporary crest and a coat-of-arms in a baroque cartouche within a circle. Marked to left of one handle CLR conjoined in oval. Height 10 1/4 in., 26 cm, 45 oz 10 dwt, 1412 g. Provenance: James and Mary Alexander, to their son William Alexander (1726-1783), Earl of Stirling, m. 1747 Sarah, daughter of Philip Livingston; by descent to A. Douglas Russell, Maryland, sold Sloan's & Kenyon, Bethesda, MD, May 31, 2003, lot 93 Exhibited: American Sampler, 2002. Literature: Silver Studies The Journal of The Silver Society, no. 16, 2004, illus. p. 79 Catalogue Note: James and Mary Alexander married in 1721. He had a merchant business, but was primarily active as an attorney and government official in New York and New Jersey, serving as Surveyor General of New Jersey, and Attorney General of New York. On his early death, Mary Alexander oversaw the merchant business in New York, becoming one of the better known purveyors in the city before her death in 1760. Their son William was known as "Lord Stirling," although the House of Lords rejected his claim to the earldom of that name. He married well and lived in grand style on an estate in New Jersey. With the Revolution, he was an important general and trusted aide to George Washington, who visited him and gave Stirling's daughter away at her wedding. Lord Stirling died in 1783, shortly before the war's end. Only a handful of Colonial American silver "grace cups" survive. A similar two-handled cup by Charles Le Roux, with the cypher probably of Frederick de Peyster, is in the Mabel Brady Garvan Collection at Yale University (Buhler & Hood 1970 no. 612). Sold at Sotheby's Auction, The Collection of Royal and Ruth Nutt, January 24, 2015. Estimate: $300,000-500,000 Price Realized: $389,000 | |
| A RARE AMERICAN SILVER LARGE SUGAR BOX AND MATCHING TEA CADDY, SIMEON SOUMAINE, NEW YORK, CIRCA 1720, each engraved on one side with the Bayard coat of arms within a cartouche of scrolled strapwork and acanthus surmounted by the Bayard crest, bases later engraved with block initials M+V+D, the sugar box fitted with a flat sliding cover centering a domed cylindrical finial. Marked in center of bases SS in rectangle. Length of tea caddy 4 7/8 in., 12.4 cm, 21 oz, 653 g. Provenance: Bayard family, probably Judith Bayard and Rip Van Dam, Jr. Margaret Van Dam (b. 1720) Property of a New England Collector, sold Christie's New York, January 20, 1989, lots 300-301 Eddy Nicholson (1938-2011) Jonathan Trace, October 1994 Exhibited: SAM American Sampler, 2002-2005 Literature: Silver Studies 2004, illus. Catalogue Note: The matching tea caddy to complete this caddy and sugar box set is in the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art (64.249.5a,b). All three are engraved underneath M+V+D for Margaret Van Dam, daughter of Judith Bayard and Rip Van Dam, Jr., suggesting that they were the original owners of the suite. Further, the same arms are engraved on a two-handled covered cup made by Gerrit Onckelbag that was owned by Judith Bayard. Judith Bayard (1696-before 1745) was the daughter of Samuel Bayard and Margarita Van Cortlandt. She married September 18, 1719, Rip Van Dam, Jr., son of Rip Van Dam, Sr. and Sara Van Der Spiegel. They had two children, Nicholas and Margaret. Octagonal tea canisters with a removable domed cap for measuring dry tea leaves were a form used by early-eighteenth century English silversmiths that were copied by several colonial American silversmiths. While surviving examples are rare, it is even less common to have extant pairs, such as the two by Thauvet Besley, circa 1740, in the collection of the Museum of the City of New York, or the pair by Joseph Richardson Sr., circa 1740, for Oswald and Lydia Peel of Philadelphia. In England, tea caddies were frequently made en suite with a sugar bowl. The two tea caddies and sugar box by Soumaine are the only known extant colonial American example of these sets. Sold at Sotheby's Auction, The Collection of Royal and Ruth Nutt, January 24, 2015. Estimate: $200,000-300,000 Price Realized: $221,000 | |
| AN AMERICAN SILVER DRAM CUP, JOHN CONEY, BOSTON, CIRCA 1680, shallow circular with reeded scroll handles, the base engraved MB conjoined. Marked inside bowl JC over a coney in a heart-shaped cartouche (Kane mark A). Length over handles 4 1/4 in., 10.6 cm, 1 oz 10 dwt, 43.5 g. Provenance: Dr. John Jeffries (1745-1819), to his son Dr. John Jeffries Jr. (1796-1876), then by descent to Catharine Amory Jeffries, given in 1910 as a christening gift to George Jeffries Harrington, and by descent until sold Sotheby's New York, January 21-22, 2000, lot 131 Exhibited: Salem, Mass: The Essex Institute, on long-term loan 1963-1979 SAM American Sampler, 2002-2005 Literature: Martha Gandy Fales, Early American Silver, 1970, p. 41, pl. 37 Kane 1998, p. 325 Catalogue Note: According to family tradition, this cup was used to feed an infant John Jeffries in the Jeffries house at Tremont and Bromfield Streets in Boston. During one such feeding in the 1740s, the roof fell in during a severe storm, and nurse and infant fell into the cellar; two beams crossed over their heads and saved them from injury. Dr. Jeffries was later an ardent sportsman, obtaining permission from the occupying British to sail his yacht in the harbor during the siege of Boston, and in 1785 being the first man to cross the English Channel by balloon. His son Dr. John Jeffries Jr. was one of the founders of Boston Islands Hospital, later Massachusetts General Hospital. Sold at Sotheby's Auction, The Collection of Royal and Ruth Nutt, January 24, 2015. Estimate: $15,000-25,000 Price Realized: $75,000 | |
| | THE POTTER-CROUCH-JORDAN FAMILY CHIPPENDALE MAHOGANY TEA TABLE, Signed by the Cabinetmaker Henry Cliffton, ( Henry…C…f..n) (working- 1748- 1771) Carving Attributed to “Spike” working in the Cliffton Shop. Philadelphia, circa 1755-60 Height: 29 inches Diameter of top: 37.375 inches Provenance: Major-General James Potter (1729-1789) and his wife, Elizabeth Cathcart (d. 1764) of Philadelphia, who married in circa 1755. After his wife’s death, he married Mary Patterson (1739-1791) in circa 1765 and they lived in Mifflin County, Pennsylvania; Or Colonel James Crouch (c. 1728-1794) and his wife Hannah (Brown) (1727-1787), who married on September 22, 1757, at Walnut Hill in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania; To James and Hannah Crouch’s son, Edward Crouch (1764-1827), and James and Mary Potter’s daughter, Margaret (1775-1797), who had married and were living at Walnut Hill; To their daughter Mary Crouch (1791-1846), who married Benjamin Franklin Jordan (1777-1861), at Walnut Hill; To their son General Thomas Jefferson Jordan (1821-1895), who married Jane Wilson (1823-1898); To their daughter Letitia Wilson Jordan (1853-1931), who married Leonard W. Bacon (1830-1907); To their son David L. Bacon (1895-1982), who married Maria Tillman Hart (1895-1925); Thence by descent to present owners. Inscription on verso in white chalk: “Henry…” illegible second name Previously unknown and never published, this important tea table signed by Henry Cliffton, is a rare survival of Pre-Revolutionary craftsmanship from Philadelphia that has descended in the family of the original owners for over 250 years. Family tradition traces the ownership of this table back to Edward Crouch (1764-1827) and his wife Margaret Potter (1775-1797) of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, who inherited it from one of their sets of parents. Margaret was the daughter of Major-General James Potter (1729-1789), the Revolutionary War patriot and wealthy Pennsylvania landowner, and his second wife Mary (Patterson) (1739-1791), who married in circa 1765. He and his first wife, Elizabeth Cathcart (d. 1764) of Philadelphia, likely commissioned the table when they married in circa 1755. It is also possible that the table was originally owned by Edward Crouch’s parents — Colonel James Crouch (c. 1728-1794), a landowner in Pennsylvania with a distinguished military career, and his wife Hannah (Brown) (1727 – 1787). They may have commissioned it after their marriage on September 22, 1757 to furnish their residence, Walnut Hill, in Dauphin County Pennsylvania. The table has descended directly through seven generations of the Jordan and Bacon branches of the Potter-Crouch family to the present owners. It is in a remarkable state of preservation, retaining an original finish that has never been waxed or varnished. The fact that the top has not been cleaned other than from daily use is in itself noteworthy. If one employs the four factors used to evaluate a scalloped-top Philadelphia tea table; quality, rarity, condition and provenance, this example ranks at the very top. It is quite simply, an unequivocal masterpiece and represents the apogee of Philadelphia Rococo craftsmanship. The exuberantly carved tea table would have been, when acquired, one of the most costly versions of the form available, and possibly this artisan’s piece de resistance. The table relates in a variety of ways to several examples extant in both museum and private collections. The craftsman who ornamented this tea table in Clifton’s Shop was one of the most accomplished and talented artisans working in Philadelphia in the mid-Eighteenth century. The handwriting used for the signature “Henry…” on the underside of the top is in the same hand as the signature “Henry Clifton” found on a High Chest of Drawers in the collection at Colonial Williamsburg. His work is distinguished by elongated naturalistic tendrils with deep gouge cuts near their termination. The carving can be attributed to the as-yet unidentified carver nicknamed “The Spike Carver,” or “Spike” for short, by Alan Miller and Luke Beckerdite. According to Miller, this carver was “…one of the important Philadelphia carvers of the [mid to late 1750s,] 1760s and early 1770s.” It appears that that work by his services were in demand; his hand has been identified as the carver of several important mid-18th century Colonial American commissions. The Gratz- Family dressing table with matching high-chest, at Winterthur “stands as one of the most florid expressions of high-style Rococo taste in pre-Revolutionary America.” Many of the most popular cabinet making shops employed several carvers to complete an important commission. In the case of the Gratz Suite, while the high chest was carved by one hand, the dressing table was, according to Miller, worked by “Spike.” A close comparison of the carving on the Gratz dressing table with that on the present tea table confirms that the two pieces were carved by the same hand. Spike’s use of C-scrolls ending in leafage, gauge cuts near the end of leaf tips and veining tools all created an exuberance of movement characteristic of the very best Rococo. Distinctive characteristics of his work a gouge cut down the center of most of his carved leaves, which often ran off the end of the straight leaf tips. Other pieces which display “Spike’s” energetic and distinctive work can be observed on the Lawrence-Palmer high chest and matching dressing table at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Wistar-Sharples desk-and-bookcase at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The carving on both the suite and the desk-and-bookcase, including the working of c-scrolls, acanthus leaves, and other Rococo elements are clearly by “Spike” and relates to the present tea table. The Potter-Crouch-Jordan Family Tea Table is made of solid choice mahogany, with a scalloped single-board top measuring 37.375 inches at widest, above an opulently-carved pedestal and tripod base. The scalloped-top, of choice figured wood, has a deeply carved piecrust edge shaped into eight repeating passages—alternating between 9 inch double peaked cyma-curved passages and 5.5 inch plain arched passages. Most colonial Philadelphia pie crust tea tables from the 1750s through the early 1770s display tops which average about 32 inches, and rarely exceed 34 inches. On the present table, the breadth of the top and 72 inches of vigorous scalloping verses 44 inches of un-carved edge– adds to the table’s energy and movement. The combination of the extravagant size and exuberant scalloping on the table’s top combines to create a masterful statement un-matched by any recorded 18th century American Colonial tea table. The table’s top rotates and tilts with the assistance of a “birdcage” structure with four balusters, the profiles of each echoing the central shape of the turned and carved shaft which supports it. The tripod base displays proportions and a palette of Rococo carving which add to the table’s vitality. Inspired by Georgian precedents, this vasiform pedestal is helical in form. The spiral fluting adds movement and thrust to the upper shaft. This design has been found on only a few Philadelphia Colonial tea tables. The gadrooned canopy below overhangs a vasiform shaft with finely articulated acanthus, C-scroll and vertical cabochon-carving on its lower half. The craftsman purposely left the upper part of the vase plain and its raised surface is dramatically highlighted against a smooth background. The guilloche-carved ring rests above three curvaceous legs, the knee of each centered by opposing C-scrolls. Each of the cabriole legs is ornamented with richly carved, naturalistic acanthus leaves, ending in bold claw and ball feet. One of the most powerful design elements of this table are the rarely seen and boldly carved C-scrolls on the underside of each leg. This passage is brilliant in its design and execution, in that it begins as a volute and subtly transitions into acanthus leafage. Directly above this passage is the exact motif repeated in reverse. This C-scroll shape is also repeated vertically in the small incised design flanking the oval at the lower part of the shaft between the legs. The passages between the legs are each relieved with a robust acanthus leaf cluster, centered by an oval, with projecting central leaf tip at both top and bottom. The lower leaf tip forms part of the profile of the base of the tripod. A tea table in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (MMA) with identical dimensions and carving suggests the possibility that the present table and the MMA table were made as a pair. In Colonial America each tea table was a uniquely crafted object with its own combination of design elements. The two tables are nearly identical in design, with tops measuring a rare and distinctive 37 inches in diameter comprised of eight repeating passages which display the same exuberant combination of scalloped and arched sections. The exceptional carving found on the tables follows the same design: a spiral-fluted shaft, a gadrooned canopy, the baluster below with C-scroll, cabochon and acanthus carving, a guilloche ring, opposing C-scrolls on the knees with acanthus leaves trailing down the legs, an acanthus motif between the legs, and claw feet with finely articulated talons and flattened balls. Minor differences include a heavier shaft on the MMA table and much less prominent C-scrolled leafage which may be on account of the slightly more narrow legs. The MMA table was cleaned at some point in the late 19th or early 20th century. The present table and its (probable) mate at the MMA, produced in Cliffton’s shop, which employed several carvers working in a similar vocabulary. Although the carving is attributed to “Spike”, it is closely related to two tea tables dating to the 1750’s attributed to the Garvan carver. The “Acme of Perfection” tea table with a history in the McMichael-Tilghman family and especially the Fisher-Fox tea table commissioned by a member of the Fisher, Fox, Pleasants or Wharton family. In 1935, the former was published by William MacPherson Hornor in The Blue Book of Philadelphia Furniture as “The Acme of Perfection in American Piecrust Tables.” The Fisher-Fox table descended to William Wharton Fisher, a member of the Quaker mercantile elite who was elected mayor of Philadelphia in 1773, and his wife, Mary Pleasants Fox, in the early 1800s. Like the present example, it retained its original finish and sold at Christie’s on October 3, 2007 for $6,761,000. “Spike” was clearly familiar with the carving vocabulary of the Garvan carver and may have been working alongside him in the same shop. The present table has a smaller canopy than the McMichael-Tilghman and Fisher-Fox examples have a deeper canopy and more profuse acanthus carving on the baluster. The McMichael-Tilghman family table has flower heads carved between the legs while the Fisher-Fox example displays the identical motif found on the present table yet this passage was conceived and executed in a more toned down fashion. The underside of the legs lack C-scrolls and the carved device on the lower shaft between the legs is in lower relief and is contained within the base, versus projecting beyond the base as it does on the present example. Carving by the Garvan Carver is found on multiple other tripod base forms attributed to the Garvan carver including: one at the State Department owned by James Hutchinson (1752-1793), one formerly in the collection of Stratford Hall Plantation, one at Winterthur Museum, and one in the Hennage Collection.[i] The base of the Garvan Carver-worked fire screen in the collection of the Chipstone Foundation features many of the same motifs as the Potter-Crouch-Jordan Family Tea Table. Condition Report: Remarkably, this table retains its original varnish and the base has no subsequent layers of shellac, wax or varnish added. The figured top has a shrinkage crack extending approximately 15 ½ inches towards the center. Several small cracks exist in the pie-crust top from regular use. Small losses and abrasions to scalloped top include the following small losses: 1 in., 1.375 in., 1.5 in. and 1 in. One small patch, possibly a cabinet maker’s error, 1.25 inch, and another patch 1 inch in pie crust edge. Attaching the cleats on the underside of the top are round head screws which appear to be original except for one that has been replaced and another that is missing. On the bird-cage, one turned post has been re-glued. There is a 3.25 inch split across bottom board of the bird-cage. Brass Catch and escutcheon and screws appear to be original. On the tripod base, the upper shaft has a crack running from shoulder (which supports birdcage) down the post vertically 1.75 inches. The bird-cage ring appears to be original and retains its original finish. The tulip poplar key which lock is extremely old, but may be an early (18th or early 19th century) replacement and has some loss to its width. The leather washer which buffers and lies beneath the donut appears to be 18th or early 19th century, accompanies the table. On the base, vertical splits in upper shaft of post which locks into birdcage, 3.75 inches and 3 inches, stabilized by 2 old screws. The vasiform section of the pedestal has an old vertical shrinkage crack approximately 3 inches long in the central area. The feet have never been fitted for casters (the table’s mate at the Metropolitan Museum of Art at one time had 19th century or later casters. The lower area of the shaft has the following minor shrinkage cracks: 2.5 inches on one leg, 1 inch on another leg, 4.5 inch shrinkage crack on one foot a that crosses the ball and upper part of the talon. One leg has a small chip that appears to be abrasion, 8 inches from the end of the leg, which abraded some of the carving. Retains original iron “spider brace” with original rose head nails which have never been moved. Sold at Keno Auction January 31, 2015 Estimate: $500,000-2,000,000 Price Realized: $1,895,000 |
| | GEORGE WASHINGTON'S FIRST THANKSGIVING PROCLAMATION On September 28, 1789, just before the closing of the First Federal Congress, the Senate added its assent to a House resolution requesting that George Washington be asked to call for a day of public thanksgiving and prayer. Later that day, Congress ratified the Bill of Rights to be sent to the states for their ratification, and on the next day the first session of the first Federal Congress was adjourned. On October 3, George Washington issued America’s first presidential Thanksgiving Proclamation and the Gazette printed it in full in the next edition of the newspaper. [GEORGE WASHINGTON]. Newspaper. Gazette of the United States. New York, N.Y., October 7, 1789. 4 pp., In addition to the Thanksgiving Proclamation on page one, this issue also includes: a printing of the Treaty of Fort Harmar between the United States and they Wyandot, Delaware, Ottawa, Chippewa, Pattawatima, and Sac Indian nations (p. 1, col. 2 to p. 2, col. 2). A report from London about an “African Genius” (p. 2, col. 2). And a report on the proceedings of Congress, including an act to suspend part of the Tonnage Duties Act (p. 4 col. 3). Urging his countrymen to give thanks “for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness… for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed; and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge,” Washington employed the exact language of the Congressional request to begin his proclamation but went further, giving thanks for “tranquility, union, and plenty” and asking the Almighty to guide the new nation’s leaders and government. He used the same approach a year later when he wrote what is now one of his most celebrated letters: “For happily the Government of the United States gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance, [and] requires only that they who live under its protection should demean themselves as good citizens, in giving it on all occasions their effectual support.” Washington willingly echoed Moses Seixas’s stance on tolerance and added to it, just as he did in his Thanksgiving Proclamation when asking the Almighty “To render our national government a blessing to all the people, by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and Constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed.” Keno Auctions is honored to have displayed one of only two manuscript copies of Washington’s proclamation before it sold to a private collector late last year. Sold at Keno Auction January 31, 2015 Estimate: $15,000-30,000 Price Realized: $29,000 |
| | EARLIEST OBTAINABLE PRINTING OF THE BILL OF RIGHTS. To ensure ratification of the Constitution, the founding fathers promised that Congress would address guarantees of specific liberties in their first session. [BILL OF RIGHTS]. Newspaper. Gazette of the United States. October 3 [misprinted “October 1,” corrected by hand], 1789. New York: John Fenno. 4 pp. 10 x 16 in. After months of discussion and debate, on September 24-25 the Senate and House of Representatives approved the final text of proposed amendments to the Constitution. Three days later, on September 28, the House examined the final copies, “found the said bills and articles of amendment…to be truly enrolled,” and Speaker of the House Frederick Muhlenberg signed the copies to be sent to the states for ratification. The first two articles were not ratified at the time, so articles three through twelve actually became the Bill or Rights upon Virginia’s approval on December 15, 1790. Just one day after President Washington sent official copies to the states for ratification, the Gazette of the United States printed the full text of proposed amendments to the Constitution in its final form. While there is at least one known newspaper printing from October 2, we have never seen an example on the market. The Gazette of the United States, printed in New York City when it was the nation’s capital, is often considered the most significant newspaper of the 18th century. During the formative years of the new federal government, the Gazette was a champion of federalism. Most early acts of Congress and the presidential actions and pronouncements were first printed in this newspaper. The lack of a Bill of Rights—a central feature of most state Constitutions—was a principal criticism of the recently-drafted federal Constitution. To ensure ratification, the delegates to the Constitutional Convention promised that the Congress would address guarantees of specific liberties in their first session. Additionally, during the ratification process, five states approved the Constitution and passed along lists of proposed amendments. Two states that had refused to ratify (Rhode Island and North Carolina) nonetheless suggested amendments. In all, nearly one hundred discrete amendments were offered. At first lukewarm to the idea, “father of the Constitution” James Madison campaigned on a promise to fight for a Bill of Rights. On May 4, 1789, Madison told the House of Representatives he planned to present a slate of amendments three weeks later. When May 25 arrived, Congress was debating import duties, so Madison demurred until June 8, when the House again rebuked his efforts. Rising once more, Madison apologized to his colleagues and introduced his proposals. On July 21, 1789, the House formed the Committee of Eleven (one member from each state—Rhode Island and North Carolina had not yet joined the Union) to consider the proposed amendments. The Committee made its report on July 28, taking the nine broad areas Madison had suggested for amendment and drafting 17 individual amendments for House approval. These passed the House on August 24, and the Senate began their debate the next day. The Senate passed its own version with 12 amendments on September 9. Wrangling over language continued for the next two weeks in committee, mostly over what would ultimately become the 1st and 6th Amendments. The House agreed on September 24, the Senate the next day, and the official copies were signed on September 28. Then, twelve articles of amendment were sent to the states for ratification on October 2, 1789. Two of the twelve proposed amendments, the first regarding apportionment of representation in the House and the second, congressional salaries, were not ratified by the states, so only articles three through twelve became the first ten amendments. However, article #2, which stated that Congressional pay increases (or decreases) would not take effect until an election had ensued, eventually became the 27th Amendment on May 8, 1992, 203 years after it was first proposed. Sold at Keno Auction January 31, 2015 Estimate: $30,000-60,000 Price Realized: $43,750 |
| PORTRAIT OF SARAH CHANDLER EMERSON, GRAPHITE, GOUACHE AND WATERCOLOR ON PAPER, sight 26 x 18.75 in. Attributed to Ruth Whittier (1803-1882) and Samuel Addison (1803-1836) Shute Provenance: Sold, Lowell, Massachusetts, 17 September, 1924 Florence A. Lincoln (1882-1969), Charlestown, Massachusetts Sold, Sotheby Parke Bernet, New York, 20-23 June 1979, lot 877 Property from the estate of Jane Supino. Literature: Stacey C. Hollander, et al., American Anthem: Masterworks from the American Folk Art Museum (New York, 2001), pp. 82, 322, no. 60. Exhibited: New York, American Folk Art Museum, American Anthem: Masterworks from the American Folk Art Museum, June - December 2002. Sold at Christie's Auction January 23, 2015. Estimate: $20,000-50,000 Price Realized: $173,000 | |
| 16-STAR AMERICAN NATIONAL FLAG, TENNESSEE, CIRCA 1817. The hand-sewn double-appliqued cotton muslin stars configured onto a two-piece wool bunting canton, the upper section aged to a wonderful light blue color, the lower section remaining navy in tone. The canton, stripes and linen sleeve are all hand-sewn. The sleeve is marked 8 ft/American Ensign/N.Y.B./1817, or 1857, and contains a period hemp rope that has a wooden toggle at its top. Approximately 3 ft. 10 in. by 5 ft. 11 in. Provenance: The American Flag Collection of Thomas S. Connelly, Sotheby's, May 23, 2002, sale 7801, lot 98. Catalogue Note: N.Y.B. is the designation for the Navy Yard near Boston, located near Charlestown, Massachusetts. This is likely an unusual U.S. Navy flag that saw use during the Civil War. Sold at Sotheby's Auction January 25, 2015. Estimate: $30,000-40,000 Price Realized: $100,000 | |
| A CARVED, PAINTED AND POLYCHROME-DECORATED CIGAR STORE INDIAN. Attributed to John L. Cromwell (1805-1873), New York, 1850-1870. Overall with base 79 in. high, 22.5 in. wide, 22.5 in. deep Provenance: Harris Diamant, New York, 1977 Property from the Allan Stone Collection. Sold at Christie's Auction January 23, 2015. Estimate: $30,000-50,000 Price Realized: $93,750 | |
| | ROBERT FEKE (1707 - 1752) - MR. TENCH FRANCIS AND HIS WIFE ELIZABETH TURBUTT FRANCIS: A PAIR OF PORTRAITS, OIL ON CANVAS. This pair of portraits of Mr. and Mrs. Tench Francis have descended in the family of Anne Francis Tilghman (daughter of Tench and Elizabeth Francis). The line of descent in the Francis and Tilghman families will accompany this lot. Mrs. Tench Francis: height 33.5 in. by width 26.5 in.; Mr. Tench Francis: height 33.75 in. by width 25.75 in. Provenance: Tench Francis Francis; Anne Francis Tilghman; Henrietta Tilghman; Lloyd Tilghman (I); Lloyd Tilghman (II); Mr. Sidell Tilghman, Madison, New Jersey, 1924; Mrs. Bayard Walker, New York. Literature: Lloyd Tilghman, Memoir of Lieutenant-Colonel Tilghman, 1876; Hanson, Old Kent, 1876 p.292; T. Bolton and H.L. Binsee, Antiquarian, October 1930, V. 15, p. 82; James Thomas Flexner, "Robert Feke," Art Bulletin, 1946, V. 28, p. 199; Henry Wilder Foote, "Robert Feke," Art Bulletin, September, 1946, V. 28, pp. 199 – 200. Catalogue Note: Tench Francis was probably born in Ireland. He was a prominent lawyer and jurist in Colonial Maryland and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Sometime before 1720, after studying law in London, he moved to America as an attorney for Lord Baltimore. In Kent County, Maryland, he opened a law office. From 1726 to 1734 he was clerk of Talbot County Court before being elected for a three-year term as legislative representative for Talbot County. He later settled in Philadelphia, where he was attorney-general of Pennsylvania, and recorder of Philadelphia from 1750 to 1755. In 1724, he married Elizabeth Turbutt (1708 – 1800). His daughter Margaret married Chief Justice Edward Shippen and was mother-in-law o Benedict Arnold. His daughter Anne married James Tilgham and a grandson, Tench Tilghman, became an aide-de-camp to George Washington. Tench Francis died in Philadelphia in 1758. Feke painted Tench Francis twice. The present examples are thought to be earlier, painted circa 1740. The second portrait of Mrs. Tench Francis, descended in the family of Margaret Francis Shippen, sold in these rooms on January 21, 2012, Important Americana, sale 8823, lot 167. It had been on long-term loan at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The companion portrait of Tench Francis is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, acquired in 1934. Sold at Sotheby's Auction January 25, 2015. Estimate: $25,000-35,000 Price Realized: $75,000 |
| A CAST IRON STOVE PLATE, READING FURNACE, LANCASTER COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA, 1772-1778, marked 17 JAMES OLD 72/ READING FURNACE, 17.75 x 24 in. Property from the Gail-Oxford Collection to benefit the Huntington Library. Sold at Christie's Auction January 23, 2015. Estimate: $3,000-5,000 Price Realized: $6,875 | |
| IMPORTANT FEDERAL CARVED AND INLAID MAHOGANY FIRESCREEN, ATTRIBUTED TO NATHAN LOMBARD (1777-1847), SUTTON, MASSACHUSETTS, CIRCA 1798-1805. Base appears to retain its original surface. Lacking finial. Height 55.5 in. by Width 19.5 in. by Depth 18 in. This remarkable fire screen, with its exquisite proportions and ornately carved screen and legs, can be attributed to the hand of one of America’s most creative and pioneering early nineteenth century cabinetmakers, Nathan Lombard (1777-1847), who worked in and around Brimfield and Sutton, Massachusetts. The screen relates directly to another firescreen attributed to Lombard, as both have shields bordered with carved leafage, carved urns on their shafts and are supported on cabriole legs that terminate with scrolls. Both shields also are crafted from mahogany rather than cherrywood—Lombard’s apparent preferred choice of wood. The oval fan patera and ‘icicle’ inlays on the shield are motifs that are found on many of Lombard’s works. It is however the richly textured three dimensional carving on the top and bottom of the shield, urn and the top of the legs that is without precedent. Further, of the two other surviving pieces with cabriole legs and scroll feet—the aforementioned firescreen and a candlestand at Yale University—neither have volutes carved into their feet. Notably, the carving on Lombard’s other work is more stylized and flatter. The present lot’s carving is executed asymmetrically at the base of its screen. This vestigial trace of the rococo style and overall richer carving likely indicates that the fire screen was one of the first pieces he crafted. Lombard’s cabinetmaking business was probably established as early as 1798 when he turned 21. At this time the Neoclassical style was emerging in rural Massachusetts, and Lombard’s incorporation of carved and inlaid patera on the shield demonstrates his knowledge of this new esthetic movement. For a thorough analysis of Lombard see Brock Jobe’s and Clark Pearce’s groundbreaking article, "Sophistication in Rural Massachusetts: The Inlaid Cherry Furniture of Nathan Lombard," ed. Luke Beckerdite, American Furniture 1998, (Milwaukee, WI: Chipstone Foundation; Hanover, NH: Distributed by University Press of New England, 1998), pp. 164-96. Sold at Sotheby's Auction January 25, 2015. Estimate: $60,000-90,000 Price Realized: $118,750 | |
| A CARVED OAK AND PINE BIBLE BOX, WINDSOR AREA, CONNECTICUT, 1660-1680, 8.5 in. high, 27.5 in. wide, 18 in. deep. Provenance: Israel Sack, Inc., New York, 1977 Property from the estate of Eric Martin Wunsch Literature: Israel Sack, Inc., American Antiques from Israel Sack Collection, vol. 2, p. 1180, P4150. Sold at Christie's Auction January 23, 2015. Estimate: $6,000-9,000 Price Realized: $30,000 | |
| RUTH WHITTIER SHUTE AND SAMUEL ADDISON SHUTE, (1803-1882), (1803-1836) PORTRAIT OF A BEGUILING LITTLE GIRL IN A BLUE DRESS WITH WIDE COLLAR: CAROLINE SMITH, DAUGHTER OF NATHANIEL PIERCE SMITH, WATERCOLOR, GOUACHE, PENCIL AND INK ON PAPER, painted circa 1830. 26.5 in. by 17 in. Provenance: Descended in the family of the sitter to the previous owner in Wellesley, Massachusetts. Catalogue Note: A similar work was offered in the Helen and Steven Kellogg sale, at Northeast Auctions, August 6, 2011, lot 655. Sold at Sotheby's Auction January 25, 2015. Estimate: $50,000-70,000 Price Realized: $87,500 | |
| A QUEEN ANNE MAHOGANY TURRET-TOP CARD TABLE, BOSTON, 1740-1760, 29 in. high, 28.75 in. wide, 13 in. deep. Provenance: Sold, Carl Nordblom Auction, Cambridge, Massachusetts, May 1998 Wayne Pratt, Inc., Woodbury, Connecticut, 1998 Property from the Rosebrook Collection. Literature: Johanna McBrien, "A Sense of Place," Antiques & Fine Art (Winter/Spring 2008), p. 209. Sold at Christie's Auction January 23, 2015. Estimate: $30,000-50,000 Price Realized: $149,000 | |
| VERY RARE QUEEN ANNE CARVED AND FIGURED MAHOGANY TILT-TOP TEA TABLE, POSSIBLY BY JOHN GODDARD, NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND, CIRCA 1770, Height 25 in. by Width 27.375 in. by Depth 27 in. This round "snap" table is one of only eight other tables in this unusual design known: one at the Museum Fine Arts, Boston; one at the Lyman Allyn Museum in New London, Connecticut; one at the Newport Restoration Foundation; one formerly owned by Herbert Newton (present location unknown); one at Winterthur Museum; and two others offered at auction in 1969 and 1981.1 All tables in the group have circular tops, triangular platforms, and cabriole legs. Despite the similarity of design, the tables vary considerably in their size, materials, construction, and decoration. Winterthur's table is the largest of the group and is the only one with a shaped lower edge to the platform. The tables at the Museum Fine Arts, Boston, Lyman Allyn Museum and the Newport Restoration Foundation both have the five-toed paw feet found on some Newport stands. Newport cabinetmakers also produced a similar triangular platform with four-toed paw feet that was used extensively on fire screens. The platform base is an English design. Ince and Mayhew included a teakettle stand with a platform base in The Universal System of Houshold Furniture. Of the seven tables in the group, The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and the exampled offered at auction in 1981 both reputedly were made by John Goddard. The table at the Lyman Allyn Museum's history states that it was owned in the late eighteenth century by John and Sarah (Starr) Deshon of New London. 1 For the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston table, see Edwin J. Hipkiss, Eighteenth-Century of American Arts: The M. and M. Karolik collection of paintings, drawings, engravings, furniture, silver, needlework & incidental objects gathered to illustrate the achievements of American artists and craftsmen of the period from 1720 to 1820, (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press for the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 1941), pp. 110-1, no. 59 has a tradition of manufacture by John Goddard as a gift for his daughter Catherine. Catherine Goddard married Perry Weaver, and the table descended in the Weaver family of Rhode Island. The Lyman Allyn Museum example was published in Malcolm A. Norton, "The Cabinet Pedestal Table," The Magazine Antiques 4, no. 4 (November 1923): 224-25. For the Newport Restoration Foundation table, see Michael Moses, Master craftsmen of Newport: The Townsends and Goddards, (Tenafly, NJ: MMI Americana Press, 1984), fig. 1.36. The Winterthur example was published in Nancy E. Richards and Nancy Goyne Evans with Wendy A. Cooper and Michael S. Podmaniczky, New England Furniture at Winterthur: Queen Anne and Chippendale Periods, (Winterthur, DE: Winterthur Museum, 1997), pp. 278-9, no. 147. Parke Bernet Galleries, Important Eighteenth Century American Furniture, October 25, 1969, lot 84. Sotheby Parke Bernet, Fine Americana September 26, 1981, sale 4692Y, lot 445 which by tradition was purchased from John Goddard in 1768 and descended in the Durfee and Borden families of Newport, Portsmouth, and Pawtucket, Rhode Island and Fall River, Massachusetts. Sold at Sotheby's Auction January 25, 2015. Estimate: $8,000-12,000 Price Realized: $40,625 | |
| A CHIPPENDALE CARVED CHERRYWOOD DESK-AND-BOOKCASE, LANCASTER, PENNSYLVANIA, CIRCA 1785, 92.5 in. high, 42.25 in. wide, 22.125 in. deep. Provenance: Israel Sack, Inc., New York Mr. and Mrs. Bertram Dawson Coleman, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania Property from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Bertram D. Coleman. Literature: Israel Sack, Inc., advertisement, The Magazine Antiques (February 1962), inside front cover. Lita H. Solis-Cohen, “Living with Antiques: The Bryn Mawr Home of Mr. and Mrs. Bertram Dawson Coleman,” The Magazine Antiques (April 1966), p. 577. Sold at Christie's Auction January 23, 2015. Estimate: $400,000-600,000 Price Realized: $665,000 | |
| THE HIGHLY IMPORTANT CAPTAIN JOHN GRAHAM AMERICAN REVOLUTIONARY WAR ENGRAVED MAP POWDERHORN, ENGRAVED BY HARMON STEBENS, NEW YORK STATE, 1779. Engraved with a map of the Hudson and Mohawk River showing the location of various towns and forts as well as a figure of a mermaid and a lion and various views of buildings and towns. Inscribed on horn Capt. John Graham 1779, Unighted We Stand Devided We fall and Honours of Warr. Inscribed on plug Harmon Stebens. The horn is in excellent overall condition and has a rich golden hue. Length 17 in. Provenance: Mr. Atwater, Hartwell, Nebraska; Martayan Lan Rare books and Maps, New York Literature: Rufus Alexander Grider (1817-1900), Revolution, no. 70, New-York Historical Society, acc. no. 1907.36.249; W. M. Beauchamp, “Rhymes from Old Powder-Horns. II” Journal of American Folk-Lore, Vol. V. (Cambridge, MA: The Riverside Press, 1892), p. 288; Stephen V. Grancsay, American Engraved Powder Horns: A Study Based on the J.H. Grenville Gilbert Collection, (Philadelphia: Ray Riling Arms Book co., 1976), p. 54, no. 389; William Rea Furlong and Byron McCandless, So Proudly We Hail: The History of the United States Flag, (Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1981), p. 128-9, fig. 94. The horn is described as perhaps the fourth or fifth earliest representation of the American flag; David Martucci, “The 13 Stars and Stripes: A Survey of 18th Century Imagery”, NAVA News, 167 (April-June 2000), fig. 5. Martucci ranks the horn as the fifth known representation of the new nation’s flag. Catalogue Note: This remarkable horn is not only beautifully engraved it has tremendous historical importance as being one of the very first depictions of the 13-star American Flag. William Rea Furlong and Byron McCandless in So Proudly We Hail: The History of the United States Flag state that this horn is likely the fourth or fifth earliest depiction of the American flag. This horn however is not dated to the day so it potentially could predate the previous items. The horn also has an engraving of 13 crossed arrow which at the time was under consideration as becoming the United States seal. John Graham (1756-1832) began his military service as captain in the Second New York Regiment on June 30, 1775. He was transferred to Nicholson’s Continental Regiment in February 1776 and to the First New York Regiment on November 21, 1776. He was promoted to Major in 1779 and served to the close of the War. Graham served at Fort Schuyler, Fort Edward and Fort Herkimer. Graham was also a founding member of the Society of Cincinnati. Additional cataloging available at Sothebys.com Sotheby's would like to thank Margaret K. Hofer, Curator of Decorative Arts at The New-York Historical Society, for making the Rufus Grider watercolor of the present lot accessible. Sold at Sotheby's Auction January 25, 2015. Estimate: $40,000-60,000 Price Realized: $62,500 | |
| A CHIPPENDALE FIGURED MAHOGANY SERPENTINE-FRONT CHEST-OF-DRAWERS, MASSACHUSETTS, 1765-1785, appears to retain its original cast brass hardware, 32.5 in. high, 41.25 in. wide, 23.5 in. deep Provenance: Ambassador Samuel Breckinridge (1881-1958) and Christine Graham (1888-1959) Long Christine Long Willcox (1915-2013), daughter Sold at Christie's Auction January 23, 2015. Estimate: $30,000-50,000 Price Realized: $209,000 | |
| JOHN JAMES AUDUBON (AFTER) IVORY-BILLED WOODPECKER (PLATE LXVI), Hand-colored engraving, etching and aquatint, 1829, by R. Havell, on wove paper with the J. Whatman 1829 watermark, framed, sheet: 38.125 by 25.375 in 968 by 645 mm. Sold at Sotheby's Auction January 25, 2015. Estimate: $15,000-20,000 Price Realized: $40,625 | |
| A CHIPPENDALE MAHOGANY CAMEL-BACK SOFA, PHILADELPHIA, 1770-1780, the upholstery removed, 40.25 in. high, 97 in. wide, 28 in. deep. Property from the estate of Eric Martin Wunsch. Sold at Christie's Auction January 23, 2015. Estimate: $50,000-80,000 Price Realized: $100,000 | |
| THE MAJOR LUTHER METCALF FEDERAL BRASS-MOUNTED INLAID MAHOGANY TALL-CASE CLOCK, bears inscription documenting the movement to Caleb Wheaton (1757-1827), Providence, Rhode Island and the case to Luther Metcalf (1756-1838) and Ichabod Sanford (1768-1860), Medway, Massachusetts, 1796. The case inscribed in ink Luther and in pencil Metcalf/ This Clock Case was made by/ Ichabod Sanford in January 1796/ Clock made by Caleb Wheaton of Providence/ R.I., 97 in. high, 20.25 in. wide, 10.5 in. deep. Provenance - presumed line of descent: Major Luther Metcalf (1756-1838), Wrentham and Medway, Massachusetts, in whose shop the clock was made The Honorable Luther Metcalf, Jr. (1788-1879), Medway, son Stephen Jenks Metcalf (1816-1890), Medway, son Maria Caroline “Carrie” (Metcalf) Newell (1842-1901), Medway, daughter Walter Child Newell (b. 1869), Newton, Massachusetts, son Miss Esther Metcalf Newell (b. 1907), Newton, Massachusetts, daughter Israel Sack, Inc., New York, 1959-1960 Mrs. William B. Hysan, Jr., Baltimore, Maryland, purchased from above in 1960 Sotheby Parke Bernet, New York, 30 January-2 February 1980, vol. II, lot 1625 (cover lot) Property from the collection of Ted and Ingie Kilroy Literature: Mabel M. Swan, "Some Men from Medway," The Magazine Antiques (May 1930), p. 418, fig. 4. Israel Sack, Inc., advertisement, The Magazine Antiques (November 1959), inside front cover. Israel Sack, Inc., American Antiques from Israel Sack Collection, vol. 1, p. 87, no. 266. Albert Sack, The New Fine Points of Furniture: Early American (New York, 1993), p. 139. The Rhode Island Furniture Archive at the Yale University Art Gallery, RIF2319. Sold at Christie's Auction January 23, 2015. Estimate: $100,000-150,000 Price Realized: $329,000 |
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ref:T3-S24-P9053-C-M