Charles Wilson Peale was a collector’s collector. The esteemed Baltimore icon, while one of the United States’ greatest portrait painters, undoubtedly had a better collection than many museums of his time. It was a product of his dedication: how many of you can lay claim to exhuming a Mastodon, as Peale did? It came as no surprise then that Peale’s collection would become the Peale’s Baltimore Museum and Gallery of Fine Arts, founded in 1814 by his son Rembrandt Peale. His collection was well known to many, including Davy Crockett, who wrote that the institution possessed “curiosities….above my bend.” No short time later, an 11½-inch bowie knife, purported to be long in the possession of Davy Crockett, was deposited at the museum for display. It features a lion pommel, a reference to the 1831 play The Lion Of The West that used Crockett as the inspiration for its protagonist and launched him from a recognized frontiersman into the canon of folklore. The knife approaches the block at Cowan’s, joining other top lots from around the United States in this week’s picks.

COWAN’S AUCTION

Sale Date: September 12, 2018
Lot 100
Davy Crockett’s Bowie Knife Deposited To The Peale Museum
Early “Bowie”-type clip point blade etched with American patriotic motifs on a blued ground with gilt highlights. Finely fluted ivory grip surmounted by a boldly rendered cast and gilt lion pommel. The scabbard made of two pieces of leather, one smooth, and the outside section resembles alligator hide.
Estimate: $100/150,000

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WESCHLER’S

Sale Date: September 14, 2018
Lot 240
William Ruthven Wheeler (American, 1832–1894)
“Great Lakes Marine Disaster,” unsigned, oil on canvas, 27½ by 47½ inches.
Estimate: $7/9,000

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BRIGGS AUCTION

Sale Date: September 14, 2018
Lot 302
Nineteenth Century Cast Iron Hitching Post With Clenched Hand Top
A tubular cast iron shaft and square iron base. Likely Philadelphia. 62½ inches high.
Estimate: $800–1,200

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BRUNK AUCTION

Sale Date: September 14–16, 2018
Lot 902
Moise Kisling (French/Polish, 1891–1953)
“St. Tropez,” 1918, signed lower right and inscribed verso, oil on canvas, 23 ¾ by 28-11/16 inches, original frame.
Estimate: $30/50,000

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BP AUCTIONS

Sale Date: September 14–15, 2018
Lot 795
Two-Faced Indian Bank
“E” rated, original turnpin.
Estimate: $3/4,000

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POOK & POOK

Sale Date: September 14–15, 2018
Lot 386
Copper Rearing Horse Weathervane
Late Nineteenth Century, the horse silhouette  within a banner, having a rosette collar on finial, retaining an old verdigris surface and original directionals, 44 inches high.
Estimate: $4/8,000

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ESTATE OF MIND

Sale Date: September 15, 2018
Lot 34
Pilgrim Century Carved Oak Fragment
With figure, Sixteenth Century, 18 inches high.
Estimate: $100–1,000

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DuMOUCHELLES

Sale Date: September 14–16, 2018
Lot 1125
Franz Arthur Bischoff (American, 1864–1929) Hand Painted Porcelain Punch Bowl
Scalloped edge hand-painted grape leaf and vine pattern, signed “Franz A. Bischoff.” Punch bowl sits on a pedestal base and has a raised shell and scrolling leaf design, 11½ inches high.
Estimate: $1,5/2,500

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DOYLE

Sale Date: September 17, 2018
Lot 153
Gerrit Rietveld Beechwood Elling, Sideboard
Designed by Gerrit Rietveld, circa 1919, for Architect Piet Elling, made by Gerard van de Groenekan, circa 1960. Branded marks, 41 inches high. One of 11 examples produced.
Estimate: $40/60,000