: With several estates and collections, James D. Julia's winter
antiques and fine art auction January 25-27 enticed bidders with
artwork, nautical items, folk art, historical pieces, Victorian
furniture, glassware and antiques. The sale blew past presale
expectations of $1.4 million to a firm $1.9 million.
"The interest in this sale was phenomenal," sales coordinator
Bill Gage said. "The combination of remarkable items from the
estate of former Maine Senator J. Hollis Wyman, the Woolworth
Collection (FW Woolworth department store family) and various
impressive collections from across New England made this sale an
important offering."
The biggest surprise - and the sale's top lot - was a numbered
pair of scrimshaw sperm whale's teeth dated 1833 and signed
Josiah Shefield, Jr. Decorated with a variety of ships, American
flags, a female figure, and an account of successful whaling
expeditions, the teeth were recently discovered in a house in
upper New York State and are believed to have never been out of
the family until now. The pair chewed through its $15/25,000
estimate seven times over, fetching $109,250.
The first session was devoted to American artwork with the
occasional gem from other corners of the globe. One such treasure
was an outstanding and large bronze ($30/50,000) of a majestic
stag by Italian sculptor Rembrandt Bugatti.
This bronze stag by Italian sculptor Rembrandt Bugatti realized
$87,400.
Works by this artist in this size are scarce, and bidding was
fierce. Two phone bidders locked horns, taking it to $87,400.
American bronzes also fared well. Louis McClellan Potter's figural
group of a native Eskimo carrying a rifle, accompanied by four dogs
sold above estimate at $18,400.
Of the more than 300 paintings in this session, American art
included highlights from the Rockport-Gloucester School and the
Hudson River School. Anthony Thieme's "Motif #1, Rockport,
Mass.," was an oil on canvas harbor scene showing a red building
at the end of a wharf in Rockport Harbor. It finished up at
$31,625. A mountain scene ($6/8,000) with a rustic cottage in the
foreground by Ernest Lawson was a popular choice, finishing up at
$16,675.
European art also held surprises. A panoramic view of hills and
streams by Edmund Hottenroth brought 20 times its $1/1,500
presale estimate at $19,550.
Session II focused on folk art and the nautical genre. An oil on
canvas portrait of the American bark Ellie off Le Havre,
by French artist Edouard Adam from the J. Hollis Wyman estate
realized $17,825.
Another historically important lot was a carved and gilt wood
ship's figurehead of a lion from the USS Constitution that
quadrupled its low estimate to sell for $46,000.
Folk art standouts included a portrait of a young girl and her
doll attributed to Joseph Whiting Stock that sold for $6,900, a
1929 Ward Brothers red head drake decoy for $5,462, a flying
steeplechase horse weathervane attributed to A.L. Jewell &
Co. at $35,650 and a large folk art wool bed rug from the Voter
Family of New Vineyard, Maine, that sold for $4,600.
Furniture highlights included an English Chippendale George III
mahogany games table with folding top over a tooled leather
surface and carved pockets, all raised on well-carved cabriole
legs, that sold above estimate for $9,487; a tiger maple and
cherry Queen Anne two-part highboy that was a good buy at $2,300;
and a Victorian oak mirrored sideboard with leaded glass doors,
pink frosted and jewel glass flower panels and a large carved
shell fan with two winged cupids that realized $11,212.
This steeplechase horse weathervane attributed to A.L. Jewell
& Co. was the darling among a lot of weathervanes at
$35,650.
Decorative arts highlights included a pair of covered sauce
tureens in famille rose from the FW Woolworth collection that two
bidders fought to $19,550, an important pair of Chinese Export
armorial plates decorated with pink floral clusters and turquoise
panther heads fetched $5,980 and a large camille faure Limoges vase
featuring enamel decoration in a modernist Art Deco design with
heavy tapered white blocks and silvered bottom and top at $9,200.
Jewelry highlights included a diamond and 14K yellow gold brooch
centered with a 1.15 carat old European cut diamond with 56
diamond melees sold for $4,025; a pink sapphire, diamond, and
platinum lady's ring featuring a center oval cut 1.75 carat at
$2,530; and a sapphire, diamond and 18K white gold bracelet that
brought $3,565 over its $1,5/2,000 estimate.
Rare automobiles were represented with a 1951 Bentley Mark VI
Saloon in outstanding condition that sold for $23,000 and a
restored 1912 Hupmobile featuring a four-cylinder engine and
original three-speed standard right hand chugged its way to
$8,050.
All prices include the 15 percent buyer's premium. For
information on upcoming auctions, 207-453-7125, email
jjulia@juliaauctions.com or visit www.juliaauctions.com.
