Wethersfield Highboy Top Lot At Nadeau's Americana Sale

WINDSOR, CONN.

: A good selection of Americana attracted large crowds of buyers to Nadeau's Auction Gallery on Saturday, October 22. The auction, taking place at the same time as the Hartford Antiques Show, always draws a devoted crowd.

The selection of furniture to be offered this time around had several highlights, some selling for upwards of double the presale estimates. A good assortment of smalls were also featured including a large assortment of English porcelains, glass, silver, lighting and country primitives.

While there was plenty in the auction to capture the attention of potential bidders, it was the stylish Wethersfield bonnet top Queen Anne highboy that became the star of the show. Consigned from a local home, the piece had been collected by Hartford architect Roy Bassette during the 1920s and had descended in the family.

In an old and possibly original finish, the highboy possessed what many called the most graceful and sensuous legs seen on any similar case piece. With a pinwheel carved plinth supporting the upper urn finial, and upper and lower fan carved drawers, one of the only downsides of the piece was the replaced brasses and two drop finials. Nadeau estimated the lot at $100/150,000 and asked for a $100,000 opening bid from the gallery. When no one in the gallery budged, one of the six active phone lines hit the lot. It was off and running with bids coming from the telephones exclusively, despite several serious clients, a couple of major ones from the Hartford Show included, seated in the room. Bidding came quickly on the lot moving in $10,000 increments to the $170,000 mark where it hammered down for a selling price of $189,500 inclusive of premium.

The lot, according to auctioneer Ed Nadeau, sold to a "private collector of Connecticut material." While the maker of these pieces is a mystery, they are commonly referred to as coming from the "Willard" group. The case pieces obtained its name from the original owner of one of the high chests, Daniel Willard.

The highboy established a high-water mark for a price realized for any item sold at the auction gallery.

Another lot to attract the attention of several in the gallery was a Norwich, Conn., area Queen Anne cherry side chair that sold well beyond presale estimates despite an unattractive refinished surface. With a bold splat with whale fluke frets, a balloon seat and cabriole legs ending in pad feet, the chair shot past the $4/7,000 presale opening selling for $16,100, going to a telephone with Nathan Liverant and Son underbidding it from the room.

A Federal inlaid sideboard with the original brasses, thought to be from the New Jersey region, circa 1795, was actively bid on, selling smack in the middle of estimates at $13,800.

"We are going to start displaying our furniture upside down," stated Nadeau, as previewers examined the bottom of a New England cherry Queen Anne chest on frame. With four over five drawer configuration, the piece had been attracting relatively little attention. "Normally the bases are all mucked up," stated the auction, "but this one is right as can be. Ed Jr, got tired of turning the piece up on end for inspection and decided to leave it like that," he said, "Now everyone can see the base, who knows we might be starting a new trend."

The lot opened with absentee bids at $5,800 and moved between the floor and the telephones with the lot hammering down just above the high estimate at $8,050.

The auctioneer had to work the crowd hard as an attractive Chippendale reverse serpentine front slant lid desk was offered. A shiny refinish and replaced brasses kept the lot in check with the attractive ball and claw example selling for only $3,450.

One of the sleepers of the sale was a sack back Windsor armchair, circa 1790, with a late white "porch" paint on it. The chair had good style and it soared past the $400/600 presale estimate on its way to a selling price of $2,645. The next lot was an assembled group of six refinished sack back Windsors that the auctioneer could only muster $2,990 for. A nice Windsor two-seater bench in black paint was also sold with it going above estimates at $2,415.

A highboy base in crackled varnish, probably of New Hampshire lineage, was one of the buys of the sale with it selling way below the $1,5/1,800 presale estimates at $517 and a nice Queen Anne maple and pine slant front desk with a single drawer and on cabriole legs, estimate $5/8,000, was another lot that slipped through the cracks at $1,437.

A large and ornate French Regency giltwood and gesso wall mirror, circa 1735, sold at $6,900.

Paintings in the auction were topped by a C.E. Porter landscape and a Russian painting with both lots bringing $20,700. The Porter was a rare landscape depicting a rural area thought to be East Hartford with a church steeple in the background. The Russian painting by Sergi Kolesnikoff depicted a bunch of gypsies before a town gate with onion domed buildings in the background. Estimated at $2,5/4,000, the lot opened at $1,500 and took off with an internet bidder finally claiming the lot.

A second C.E. Porter was offered with a still life with apples and grapes also selling well at $6,900.

Other art included a Seventeenth/Eighteenth Century Flemish painting of flowers that brought $5,750, a Chinese oil depicting "Hong" with a Vose label on the back went out at $4,887, an unsigned oil depicting a Roman street scene sold at ten times the low estimate bringing $4,600 and a Currier and Ives hand colored litho depicting "The Yacht Mohawk of New York" sold at $3,335.

The top lot from the assortment of accessories was an oversized eider drake decoy believed to have been of Maine origin. In a dry old paint, the decoy opened at the low estimate of $3,000 and bounced back and forth between the telephones and the room until a buyer at the rear of the gallery claimed the lot for $11,500. An unusual carousel figure of a running rooster, with a provenance of early Woodbury dealers Howard and Priscilla Richmond, did well at $10,925.

An American silver tea and coffee service by Eoff and Shepard, New York, circa 1859, in a faux rattan type pattern did well as it sold for $5,405.

A selection of English porcelains were offered with a rare pair of large enameled pearlware lions selling at $4,025. A 17-inch tall creamware standing figure of Cupid sold at $1,725, and two creamware equestrian figures of St George slaying the dragon brought $1,035 and $1,610.

Prices include the buyer's premium charged. For information, 860-246-2444 or www.nadeausauctions.com.