: Review by Frances McQueeny-Jones Mascolo, photos By David S.
Smith
Thirty-two was the magic number at America's oldest museum, the
spectacular Peabody Essex Museum, where the 32nd annual antiques
show drew 32 dealers offering visitors a fine balance of
excellent furniture and decorations.
This year's show, November 26-28, was set out entirely on the
second floor of the museum, taking up the galleries of the
spectacular new wing and the adjoining 1824 East India Marine
Hall. Last year the show was a little scattered between the first
and second floors. The flow was improved considerably this year.
The gala preview party attracted nearly 500 supporters and sold
stickers appeared like snowflakes. Show manager Christine
Crossman Vining, who started the show 32 years ago, remembers a
conversation back then with Ron Bourgeault about the need for an
antiques show in Salem. Vining suggested the show; Bourgeault
concurred. That was in September. By Thanks-giving of that year
the show she organized was up and running at Hamilton Hall in
Salem. That was the year she made the chowder, sold the tickets
and exhibited antiques.
Vining said the gate was up this year and she hopes to expand to
include more dealers next year. Dealers reported strong sales;
she reported that one dealer - George Spiecker - said the show
was the best of his entire career.
Dealers this year were invited to the Portsmouth, N.H., home of
Vining's brother Carl Crossman for Thanksgiving dinner, a feast
that is also turning into an annual event. Well-fed and
convivial, they were well fortified for a lively show.
Bradford Trust Fine Art of Harwichport on Cape Cod showed,
fittingly enough, Cape artists, and works by Cape Ann painters.
Provincetown artist John Whorf's "Cape Half House," an oil on
canvas board, rendering of one of the charming small houses that
used to be found all over the Cape. The gallery also offered an
Impressionistic Provincetown harbor view by Charles W. Hawthorne
and "The Dunes" by Charles Drew Cahoon, whose work is rising in
value each time out.
A selection of coastal Maine pictures by Edward Franklin Ward
included "Monhegan Wharf," "Monhegan Light" and "Monhegan Houses"
and attracted significant interest. Two pictures by William
Houghton Sprague Pearce were offered: buyers found "Inside the
Artist's Studio" and "Rocky Coast" of interest.
George and Debbie Spiecker of North Hampton, N.H., had a wall
filled with terrific half-hulls and some fine American banner
weathervanes. The booth was replete with the good Chippendale and
Queen Anne pieces that are their specialty. Two corner cabinets
drew second glances; the lower doors on one were carved with
concentric circles. An American Chippendale cherry chest was made
in 1780 and had old refinish and an attractive American Sheraton
three-drawer maple dressing table was probably made in Vermont in
about 1815.
Pride of place, however, went to a circa 1860 carved American
"Pilot House" eagle that came from the collection of Darwin H.
Urffer. A couple of desirable paintings on offer were also from
the Urffer collection: "May Queen" a portrait of a British
schooner off the Italian coast, and an 1840 American still life.
Newton, N.H., dealer Stephen J. Rowe offered the impressive
"Spring Storm, Dorset" a beautiful rendering of the Vermont
hills. Among the furniture on view was an intriguing square
Empire mahogany marble top center table, a small New England
cherry side table with scrolling, and a Boston classical mahogany
and exotic mahogany veneer chest of drawers with a dressing box
top that was made between 1840 and 1850. Rowe also had a fine
Charles X Classical French chair and a handsome Continental
mahogany console table with a marble top.
Show sponsor Landry & Arcari brought a sumptuous display of
rugs - and a textile artisan to demonstrate the weaving process.
Fiske and Freeman, Belmont, Vt.
Robert Burrows of Lebanon, Conn., had a gleaming Baltimore
Sheraton two-part dining table that dated to about 1810. There was
also an Eighteenth Century China Trade chest of drawers in mahogany
or sebacu and a fine recamier by Anthony Quervelle of Philadelphia.
A captivating primitive portrait in the Empire taste of a young
girl in a long white dress with a nosegay of roses may have come
from the lower Mississippi valley.
Among the refulgent copper and brass objects that Michael J.
Whitman offered was a pair of Paktong candlesticks. The booth was
full also of bedwarmers and ladles, kettles and other cooking
vessels and measures. An 1880 set of five gaper scoops stood out
in the crowd. They were signed by Paul Beyer of Philadelphia.
David Brooker showed a fine array of animal portraiture including
Americo Gauci's circa 1869 image "Prize Bull," a view of an
exceptionally well-fed animal. Dogs and flowers were well
represented; English artist J.F. Walker's "Horse with Pups" done
in the 1870s was a compelling picture. There was also a pretty
1830 English school picture, "A Summer Dance," and the dreamy
1864 view by Joseph Paul Pettit, "Eton Chapel, Thames."
Show manager Christine Crossman Vining offered a pair of handsome
French marble top tables that she discovered during the show were
of Queen Anne marble from Normandy. She also had a mid Nineteenth
Century Oriental Trade table, probably Javanese in origin, that
was beautifully carved and caught a lot of admiring glances.
Vining also showed a well-formed English mahogany brass bound
wine cooler that dated from 1790-1810. Tucked away in a corner
were two blue foo dogs. Vining managed her booth and the show it
seemed with one hand tied behind her back. Her booth was full of
interesting acquisitions and the show offered a diverse selection
of objects.
Neville Lewis of The Barometer Shop in Cushing, Maine, says he
has been selling antiques for 53 years and specializing in
barometers for some time. The oldest barometer he offered was the
1795 wheel barometer by Andrew Gatty of Dublin. Hung on the wall,
the barometer was customarily supported by a stand, few of which
are around these days. He also showed an 1810 marine example by
William Cary of London and a handsome circa 1850 example by David
Good-man of Cardiff, Wales. Lewis showed two examples by Charles
Wilder of Peterborough, N.H., one of which he described as a
"baseball barometer." There was also the American stick barometer
by D.E. Lent of Rochester, N.Y.
Arthur and Kathy Stacey sell fine tea caddies and boxes in the
United States and England. Their booth was full of handsome
tortoiseshell tea caddies from every period. There was also a
handsome ivory tea caddy and an array of English mother-of-pearl
and tortoiseshell boxes.
Good & Hutchinson showed a remarkable red and white ivory
game set with intricately carved playing pieces. It rested amid
grander American furniture like an imposing inlaid sideboard and
a dining table that attracted a lot of visitor interest. Buyers
also appreciated a circa 1820 mahogany étagère and a handsome
Rose Medallion punch bowl that was one of an array of fine
porcelain pieces for sale
American Decorative Arts of Canaan, N.H., had something for
everyone. The offerings ranged from a 1915 Stickley Brothers lamp
table to a circa 1900 Stickley Als ik kan "Ravi Pina"
candleholder to an array of Shaker pieces that generated some
strong sales. There were also some sturdy McHugh & Co., side
chairs with neat rush seats.
Boston's Polly Latham offered her usual high quality range of
Asian export and armorial porcelain that was well-received. In
keeping with the venue she showed a shell carved with a medallion
of George Peabody, Nineteenth Century benefactor of the Peabody
Essex Museum. Latham also had a scholar's rock on a stand, a pair
of black cloisonné jars and a set of four prints detailing the
tea trade.
An elegant mahogany recliner upholstered in fawn-color leather
was a real eye-catcher in the booth of Federalist Antiques, as
was a set of four nesting tables in enamel with dragon and
serpent decoration. Federalist also showed a Simon Willard tall
clock and a Salem sofa carved with dolphins.
W.M. Schwind, Jr, Yarmouth, Me.
Art and Kathy Green, Newton Center, Mass., showed pearlware,
creamware, canary ware, Rockingham pottery and nice mocha ware. The
lighting in the museum played beautifully across the Sandwich glass
of every color as well as Continental glass on display in their
booth. The Greens showed some J&W Ridgway old blue
Staffordshire from the "Beauties of America" series including the
Boston Court House, the Boston Athenaeum and Columbia College.
An American rococo revival (circa 1855-1875) table decorated with
a central peacock dominated the booth of W.M. Schwind. Two window
screens with painted images of romantic vistas were also on
offer. Such pieces were popular in Baltimore during the
1830s-1850s. The Schwinds also showed a Chippendale oxbow chest
in dazzling tiger maple that came from the Snow family of Saco,
Maine, and a terrific looking Maine tiger maple tip-top table.
Randall Decoteau brought paintings by Robert Emmet Owen,
including "Snow Covered Bridge," "Town Vista" and a selection of
landscapes. He also showed "The Cliff, 1944" by Elwyn George
Gowen and Max Kuehne's "The Aqueduct Segovia, 1917."
Proceeds of the preview party benefited the Peabody Essex
Museum's educational and public programs.
