Record Lane; $913,500 Painting At Northeast

PORTSMOUTH, N.H.

:Shattered records livened up the already lively Northeast Auctions' Marine and China Trade sale this past weekend, August 20 and 21, as no fewer than four world record prices were achieved during a single sultry summer afternoon.

The previously undocumented Fitz Henry Lane portrait of the bark Eastern Star off Thatcher's Island, Gloucester, a circa 1853 oil on canvas, was the star of the day when it brought $913,500. The 24-by-36-inch ship portrait went to a Boston-area agent bidding for a private collector and had come from the E. Norman Flayderman collection. It had no visible signature.

As he offered the carved Bellamy eagle that brought a record $666,000, auctioneer Ron Bourgeault said simply, "The best." Then, after he hammered it down, Bourgeault smiled and confided to his audience, "For 50 years in the business, I've always dreamed about getting the record [for a Bellamy]." The 48-inch eagle bore a banner with the inscription "God is our refuge and strength." A Bellamy carved plaque with the banner "Don't Give up the Ship" was another record, this one for a plaque, at $165,500.

Two bidders slugged it out late in the sale for a small pair of Chinese Export famille rose bottle-form vases with lotus blossoms that they drove to a stunning $545,000. The vases carried a modest estimate of $400/600. A Chinese Export porcelain covered cider jug decorated on both sides with an American eagle was a remarkable $127,000.

John Singleton Copley's circa 1785 portrait of Benjamin Loring was yet another record when it sold for $473,500. Loring, a Loyalist from Boston, served as a physician in the Royal Navy during the Revolutionary War.

A scrimshawed whale's tooth carved with the image of a whale ship and four whale boats harpooning five whales by the Pagoda Albatross artist fetched a whopping $303,000. A second tooth, with an image of the whaler Pacific by Nantucket carver Edward Burdett, sold on the phone for $193,000. Both teeth came from the families of the original owners.

A carved elm figurehead of a woman in a purple and blue dress trimmed in gold came from the brig Martha and went for a compelling $270,000 to the same agent that bought the Lane painting. An English pine figurehead carved in the image of Lord Palmerston in about 1820-1830 brought a substantial $204,000. A full report of the sale will appear in a future edition.