From the Appell collection,
the top lot was a Federal eagle inlaid mahogany games table,
Massachusetts, circa 1795, which sold to C.L. Prickett Antiques
for $153,600.
The
Auctions of Americana Week: Sotheby's Grosses $15.9
Million
NEW YORK CITY -- A full house, plus standing room, was on hand
for Sotheby's Sinking Spring Farms: The Appell Family Collection
sale on Saturday, January 18. This collection, the bulk of which
was put together in the 1930s, brought 363 lots fresh to the
market. As a result the sale was 98 percent sold for a total of
$3,720,080, including premiums.
The top lot, 1221, was a Federal eagle inlaid and highly figured
mahogany games table, Massachusetts, circa 1795, sold to C.L.
Prickett Antiques of Yardley, Penn., for $153,600 including
premium. The high presale estimate was $35,000. This
sophisticated example of Boston Neo-classical furniture had an
old dry surface, dark brown color, and measured 301/2 inches
high, 353/4 inches wide and 171/2 inches deep. The provenance
lists Joe Kindig, Jr, of York, Penn., who sold this piece to the
Appells on February 11, 1936, for $800. The records kept by the
Appells provided interesting provenances for a great many of the
lots, including not only the date purchased, but the price. A
major portion of the collection came via Joe Kindig, Jr.
Property from a Private Collector was led by this Chippendale
mahogany hairy-paw foot tea table, Philadelphia, circa 1770,
purchased by Leigh Keno American Antiques for $1,072,000.
The sale of Property From A Private Collector led off a day of
auctions on Saturday, January 18, at the firm. As noted in the
catalog, "the objects in this sale speak for themselves," and
that they did. The sale was 87 percent sold, 109 lots, for a
gross total, including premium, of $4,231,620.
The top lot of the sale was a Chippendale carved mahogany
hairy-paw foot tea table, Philadelphia, circa 1770. The top
measures 271/4 inches in diameter and is the only known example
of the form with hairy-paw feet known to survive from Colonial
Philadelphia. It was estimated at $800,000/1,200,000, and sold
for $1,072,000 to Leigh Keno American Antiques of New York City.
Keno is also listed in the provenance as the former buyer at
auction.
Chippendale mahogany blocked serpentine-front bombe chest of
drawers, Boston, inscribed and dated Nathan Bowen, 1772, which
sold to decorative arts consultant Luke Beckerdite for
$1,464,000. Found in the maid's quarters of a Boston home, the
chest had been used as a surface for ironing.
Important Americana, a sale encompassing prints, porcelain,
silver, furniture and folk art, was conducted over a period of
three days at Sotheby's York Avenue Galleries. It was during the
Friday afternoon session on January 17 that the top lot was sold,
an important Chippendale carved and highly figured mahogany
blocked serpentine-front bombe chest of drawers, Boston,
inscribed and dated Nathan Bowen, 1772. It carried a presale
estimate of $1/1. million and sold for $1,464,000 including
premium to Luke Beckerdite, decorative arts consultant. This
piece is one of only 11 other examples know and is among the
rarest made in Colonial Massachusetts. According to Leslie Keno
of the American Furniture department at Sotheby's, this chest was
found in the maid's quarters of the Boston home and had been used
as a surface for ironing.
Tea pot from a circa 1878 Tiffany & Co., New York,
"Japanese style," five-piece set which sold for $265,000.
This portion of the sale offered 608 lots, 64.64 percent sold,
and grossed $6,984,200, with premiums. The gross for the schedule
of auctions at Sotheby's was $15,925,726.
Fewer than 100 lots had been sold during session three on Friday,
January 17, when a rare silver and mixed metals "Japanese style"
five-piece tea and coffee set by Tiffany & Co., New York,
crossed the block. This set was designed by Edward C. Moore,
circa 1878, and carried a presale estimate of $80/120,000. It
sold for $$265,000 to an anonymous buyer and was listed as the
property of a European private collector.
From the collection of William Guthman, a Connecticut painted
militia dragoon helmet, 1820-30, won the top slot at $45,600,
purchased by a Connecticut private collector.
"To Arms: Uniforms, Painted Knapsacks, Canteens, Hat Plates and
Other Related Militia Accoutrements" from the Collection of
William Guthman crossed the block at the gallery on Sunday,
January 19, as the final session of the firm's sales during
Americana Week in New York City. A total of 353 lots comprised
the sale, a collection that was put together over a period of
close to 50 years. The sale was 74 percent sold and grossed a
total of $989,826.
The top lot in the sale was a painted militia dragoon helmet, New
Milford, Conn., 1820-30, that went well over the high estimate of
$25,000, selling for $45,600, including the buyer's premium. It
sold to a Connecticut private collector. The helmet was ornately
decorated and painted with a huge pierced-metal crest, a red and
gold sunburst beneath an arching band of gold, and five stars. It
measures 11 inches tall and was lettered with the regiment name.
Complete reviews of all sales will appear in future issues of
Antiques and The Arts Weekly.
