Eagles flew at Northeast Auction’s annual Marine and China Trade sale, which realized $7.65 million, including premium, in Portsmouth this past Saturday and Sunday, August 19 and 20. Leading sales was a carved and painted plaque by John Haley Bellamy (1836-1914), the Kittery, Maine-born carver who spent part of his career at the Portsmouth Naval Yard.

A 39-inch-wide Bellamy plaque with an eagle, shield, flag and inscription sold in the room to D.R. Fine Art of North Reading, Mass., for $424,000. The same buyer took a 30-inch-tall Bellamy carving of an eagle in the round for $270,000.

“It’s the steal of the day,” auctioneer Ron Bourgeault said of Fitz Henry Lane’s “Ships In a Squall Off The Coast of Gloucester,” the signed and dated 1842 oil on canvas that went to Stonington, Conn., dealer Roberto Freitas for $281,000.

China Trade paintings included a circa 1850 view of the Hongs at Canton, from a group of four commissioned by Thomas Hunt and James Cook. The oil on canvas went to Harry B. Hartman Antiques for $314,000. A complete review of the auction will appear in a future issue.

-LBB