Once exhibited at the
Whitney Museum in New York, this Shaker cherry garment hanger
was stamped on both sides "M.E.T. 1864" and was carved by Mary
E. Todd (1852-1881). It sold for $17,000.
Shaker
Garment Hanger Brings $17,000 at Brunk Auctions
ASHVILLE, N.C. - A Shaker cherry garment hanger from the Tim
Bookout Collection once exhibited at the Whitney Museum in New
York soared to a record $17,000 as the hammer fell at Brunk
Auctions February sale. Aside from the original surface the
hanger was stamped on both sides "M.E.T. 1864" for carver Mary E.
Todd who lived from 1852 to 1881.
Collector Tim Bookout was reknown as an authority on the Western
Shaker tradition. As a teenager he began visiting auctions and
discovered his life-long passion for collecting. Drawn to the
simplicity and functionality of Shaker pieces made in Ohio and
Kentucky, Bookout assembled a noteworthy collection of Western
Shaker pieces. In 1971 he moved to Atlanta joining the Graduate
Faculty at Georgia State University in the School of Art and
Design and taught, published and lectured widely in both the
popular and scholarly media.
Much of Bookout's collection offered in Brunk Auction's February
sale had been on exhibition for many years at the Shaker Museum
in South Union, Kentucky. Several objects had been exhibited at
the Whitney Museum of American Art, The McKissick Museum, The
High Museum, as well as other regional exhibits.
Bookout received his Ph.D from Florida State University where he
wrote his dissertation on traditional Southeastern basketry. In
pursuit of that degree, Bookout collected handmade baskets and
pottery. Also, included in the February auction in Asheville,
North Carolina were pieces from his basketry and Southern pottery
collection.
Another fine selection from the Bookout collection was a
double-woven Chittamacha lidded basket by Ada Thomas. The basket
sold for $2,500. Many marked examples of Southern pottery
including works by the Meaders family; E.J. Evans of Brown
Pottery, Arden, N.C.; Edgefield, S. C. potters and face jugs by
Chester Hewell were offered in the weekend sale.
A Mt. Washington Royal Flemish vase with hand-painted fish in
underwater setting with seaweed and other plants, unmarked, late
Nineteenth century from the Bradshaw Estate in Winchester,
Kentucky sold for $7,600.
Salt-glazed stoneware grave marker inscribed "A.T. Moffet /
B[orn] Dec. 10, 1805 D[ied] Feb. 23, 1865," $2,100.
A Shaker cherry single bed with old refinishing made in Pleasant
Hill, Kentucky, circa 1860, and exhibited at the South Union,
Kentucky, Shaker Museum, sold for $2,500.
Thomas Morain McKenney and James Hall History of the Indian
Tribes of North American With Biographical Sketches and Anecdotes
of the Principal Chiefs Embellished With 120 Portraits From the
Indian Gallery Philadelphia, 1854, octavo edition of the
classic work, binder stamp inside front panel "Altemus," with 120
prints present, red morocco bindings formerly from the Drayton
Estate of Charleston, South Carolina sold for $15,000.
A Wladyslaw T. Chemielinski winter cityscape, oil on canvas in a
gilt and painted wooden frame sold for $3,900.
A three-piece inlaid walnut secretary/bookcase, late Eighteenth
Century, fall board with inlay "1805," written on top of base
"Old Curiosity Shop...Louisville, Kentucky," one drawer marked
"Don. Over by. HB. Fort Wengler, 826 East Market," from the
estate of Ella Bradshaw of Winchester, Kentucky sold for $18,000.
An etching by Rembrandt (Rembrandt Van Rijn, Dutch, 1606-1667),
"The Strolling Musicians," circa 1635, first state light
impression on laid paper. This print was collected in the late
Nineteenth Century by William Karrman of Cincinnati, Ohio the
great-grandfather of the consignor and sold for $3,200.
A Nantucket basket, rounded form, wrapped rim, hinged wooden
handle with copper rivets, stencil mark on inside of bottom "R.
Folger, Nantucket, Mass.," from the Bookout Collection sold for
$3,000.
A finely woven Chittamacha double-lidded basket by Ada Thomas,
$2,500.
Notable also at the February auction was the Gunsmithing Library
of the late John Bivins of Charleston, South Carolina. A master
gunsmith and woodcarver, Bivins was employed by MESDA in
Winston-Salem, North Carolina for many years and later became a
decorative arts and preservation consultant to museums and
private collections.
Over 70 pieces of artwork by black folk artist Mose Tolliver of
Montgomery, Alabama including several self-portraits were
auctioned. These paintings were from the folk art collection of
Dr Phillip Golomb of Montgomery. Dr Golomb was the personal
physician and an early patron of Tolliver's work.
The February 22 and 23 sale offered buyers over 1,100 lots of
furniture, pottery, porcelain, glassware, paintings, baskets,
rugs, jewelry, Orientalia, sporting items, toys and garden and
architectural pieces. Brunk Auctions reached 13,000 customers in
all 50 states and 12 foreign countries with a color brochure as
well as a website with color photos and detailed descriptions of
all items. Over 650 people registered for February's sale;
however bids were executed by absentee, phone and the Internet.
Internet interest in Brunk Auctions has been on the rise. For
this auction 1500 were registered to participate in live bidding
through Ebay Live Auctions at www.ebay.com. Absentee and phone
bidding accounted for over 1,500 bids.
Brunk Auctions specializes in estates and fine antiques primarily
from the southeast. Each year the facility holds seven to ten
auctions a year. The next one is scheduled in Asheville for April
12.
