Not a whole lot is known of Carl Worner, the turn-of-the-century folk art bottle artist. But he left in his tracks a legacy preserved behind glass: bottles filled with bar scenes, clocks, religious scenes and various shops, all of which serve as a historical record of the travels that brought the presumed German immigrant from the East Coast to the Midwest. Every bottle served its purpose, it would seem. Many of Worner’s known works centralize on saloon scenes and it is assumed that he traded these to clear his bar tabs and keep a roof over his head. He would imbue many of his works with a riddle, hiding a figure under the floorboards and adding a sign that read “Find the Missing Man.” A psychologist would likely draw more than a few conclusions from Worner’s riddle. And, indeed, it is an interesting message from a man who wandered, who couldn’t be found in one place for long and who navigated the United States through waterways, leaving unconventional messages in liquor bottles all along the way, letting time work its magic to uncover them all. A Worner bottle approaches the block at CRN, joining other top lots from around the United States in this week’s picks.
CRN
Sale Date: January 14, 2018
Lot 271
Carl Worner Saloon Diorama Bottle
Circa 1910, signed in pencil, painted wood figures in a saloon: a bartender, two gentlemen at the bar and a seated woman; constructed within a clear bottle; 11½ inches high.
Estimate: $1/1,500
MICHAAN’S
Sale Date: January 13, 2018
Lot 360
Conrad Bard & Son, Philadelphia Coin Silver Coffee And Tea Service
American, six-piece coffee and tea service comprising a teapot, coffee pot, hot water pot, lidded sugar, creamer and waste bowl. All pieces with repoussé flowers encircling the lids and bodies, all with a Greek key border. Conrad Bard & Son, Philadelphia, circa 1850, total silver weight 231.3 troy ounces.
Estimate: $2/3,000
SKINNER
Sale Date: January 12, 2018
Lot 303
Pair of Russian Empire Rock Crystal-Mounted Ormolu Compotes
Nineteenth Century, each with round shallow dish surmounting a stand comprised of three carved swans atop a tripartite base, dish on each is later; 14¾ inches high.
Estimate $8/12,000
COWAN’S
Sale Date: Online Only, Through January 11, 2018
Lot 118
King Leopold II 14K Gold And Gold Quartz Match Safe
American, 1900. A 14K gold match safe, possibly by Shreve & Co., the exterior set with gray gold quartz panels, the front featuring a gold panel with the enameled crossed flags of the United States and Belgium beneath a crown set with six diamonds, sliding out to reveal a presentation panel. This match safe was purportedly given to Lucien Philippe Delacroix Durieux, King Leopold’s son with his mistress Caroline Delacroix, by Henry I. Kowalsky, a San Francisco defense attorney.
Estimate: $60/75,000
JAY ANDERSON AUCTION
Sale Date: January 13, 2018
Lot 195
Circa 1900 Monumental Heavily Carved Marble Planter
With sphinx supports holding bowl with frolicking putti, classical scene deeply carved, 57½ inches high. This planter came from the James Ford Bell mansion built in 1906 on Lake Minnetonka in Minnesota.
Estimate: $1/2,000
THOMASTON PLACE
Sale Date: Online Only, Through January 10, 2018
Lot 3095
Collection Of (11) English Majolica Art Nouveau Era Floral Design Tiles
Including examples by The Henry Richards Tile Co. Ltd, the Cleveland Tile Co., Gibbons Hinton & Co., T&R Boote, Minton China Works, Malkin Tile Works, Pilkington’s Lancastrian Pottery & Tiles and Alfred Meakin.
Estimate: $700/900
POOK & POOK
Sale Date: January 12–13, 2018
Lot 164
Swell Bodied Copper Goat Weathervane
Late Nineteenth Century, retaining an old weathered verdigris surface; 26½ inches high.
Estimate: $12/15,000
APPLEBROOK AUCTION
Sale Date: January 11, 2018
Lot 120
Large Painting Signed George Marinko
24¾ by 29½ inches sight.
Estimate: $1/2,000
CONESTOGA AUCTION COMPANY
Sale Date: January 12–13, 2018
Lot 663
Nineteenth Century Folk Art Carved And Painted Wood Figure Of Rooster
Attributed to Wilhelm Schimmel, yellow, black and red on green mound base, original paint decoration, 3 inches high.
Estimate: $2/4,000
