Steve Fletcher pointed out some of the special features of the Colchester chest-on-chest that was the top lot of the sale, earning $381,500 after the sale. It is attributed to Benjamin Burnham based on its similarities to a signed desk in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City.
Review & Onsite Photos By Rick Russack; Catalog Photos Courtesy Bonhams Skinner
MARLBOROUGH, MASS. — On November 14, Bonhams Skinner presented a 109-lot single-owner sale that grossed $1.4 million. It was the collection of Walter Dana Lippman, a California resident with strong family connections to Rhode Island. The high-style collection was built around New England furniture and had been assembled over decades by the knowledgeable collector, working with some of the top dealers in the country. The sale also included Lippman’s Oriental carpets and a small portion of his collection of American paintings, the rest of which Bonhams will present in a future sale. Bonhams will also be selling Lippman’s collection of Native American materials in their Los Angeles gallery. Promoting the sale, Bonhams Skinner made extensive use of social media platforms, including YouTube videos of executive vice president Steve Fletcher discussing the collection. They also presented a panel discussion in Boston about two weeks before the sale, moderated by Laura Beach who was joined by Phil Zea, former president of Historic Deerfield who retired in 2020 after 18 years, Nick Maraldo, North Bennet Street School instructor and cabinetmaker, and Ben Mini, Oriental rugs expert. The panel discussion was attended by about 30 viewers. Although 23 of the 109 lots in the sale did not sell when offered, some have sold since the sale closed and other items are pending sale.
A comprehensive catalog was produced for the auction, which included biographical information about the collector. As Fletcher explained in the catalog, the more than 80 lots of furniture portrayed the evolution of the collector and the collection. Included were early acquisitions along with the results of Lippman’s developing interests and connoisseurship. Expected to be the star of the auction, which it was, earning $381,500 and nearly in the middle of its estimate of $300/500,000, was a Chippendale cherry carved chest-on-chest, attributed to Benjamin Burnham (circa 1729-73), Colchester, Conn., made about 1770; it was described as “extraordinary.” Its cornice had ebonized dentil carving with ebonized rosettes, the three drawers in the upper section were topped by shell carving, the case was flanked by carved and ebonized flowering vine-decorated pilasters ending in carved and gilded shells which were repeated on the front edge of both sides, and there were several more decorative details. The attribution to Burnham is supported by a signed desk illustrated in Morrison Hecksher’s American Furniture in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and other publications, including Connecticut Valley Furniture Eliphalet Chapin and His Contemporaries, 1750-1800 (Kugelman, Trent, Zimmerman, Schoelwer, Kane and Lionetti, 2005). It had an old, refinished surface, original brasses and some minor restorations.
Joe Goloskie, who purchased this block-and-shell carved kneehole bureau, believed that it had been made in Providence, R.I., by Daniel Spencer, a nephew of John Goddard, circa 1795. He paid $108,450 for it. Sold with it was a file detailing its history and the research that had been done to establish its place of origin. The comprehensive catalog description includes a full discussion.
Another highlight of the sale, realizing $108,450, the second highest price of the furniture offerings, was the Hopkins family block-and-shell carved mahogany kneehole bureau, which was probably made in Providence, R.I., circa 1790 or a little bit later. The catalog details the provenance back to the original purchasers, and the list of dealers who have owned it over the years is impressive. It was originally thought to have been made in Newport but later research by Patricia Kane and others established it as having been made in Providence. The purchaser, Joe Goloskie, a Hingham, Mass., collector, said that he believed that it was made in Providence by Daniel Spencer, a nephew of John Goddard. He also told us the fact that it utilized square cut nails indicated that it could not have been made prior to 1795 as that, he said, was when these nails were patented. Goloskie said that he has a Quaker background and the similar background of the cabinetmaker appealed to him. It was one of several items he purchased in the auction.
Lippman was an avid collector of American paintings and this sale included two examples by Fitz Henry Lane (American, 1804-1865). Earning $165,600 was a small oil on canvas titled “Sunrise at Gloucester”; it was inscribed on the back “Painted by Fitz H. Lane / Boston, May 1st, 1847 / Docks.” The other, a portrait of the yacht Kamehameha III in Boston Harbor did not sell at the auction but Fletcher later said they were close to finalizing a deal to sell it. The yacht had been owned by Kamehameha III (1814-54), the last king of Hawaii.
One of the most iconic of the several weathervane forms in the auction was the horse-drawn fire pumper attributed to L.W. Cushing & Sons, Waltham, Mass., circa 1894. The example in the Lippman collection measured more than 5 feet long and had an early Boston history. It is believed to have been installed on the belltower of Engine House #2 in Cambridge, Mass., from 1894 to 1928. It was in fine, original condition and sold for $114,800. One of the other weathervanes in the collection was another classic form, a gilded “Massasoit, Indian Chief of the Wampanoag” made by either J. Harris & C. or W.A. Snow & Co, Boston. It was more that 30 inches high and sold for $35,840. There were two other vanes on offer; a horse and sulky model rode to $16,640, while a Nineteenth Century copper eagle weathervane flew to $2,560.
For more than 30 years, this horse-drawn pumper weathervane was mounted on the roof of Engine House #2 in Charlestown, Mass. It was attributed to L.W. Cushing & Sons, Waltham, Mass., circa 1894, measured more than 5 feet long and sold for $114,800.
About 20 Oriental carpets that Lippman owned were also included in the sale. A mid-Nineteenth Century northwest Persian Serapi-Bakshaish carpet, about 7 by 12 feet, was the most popular, finishing at $32,000. Another Serapi, almost 11 by 13 feet from the Heriz region of northwest Iran finished at the same price. Rounding out the top three carpets at $25,600 was an Iranian late Nineteenth Century Serapi carpet that measured 10 by almost 16 feet.
There were several fine clocks in the collection. A dwarf inlaid mahogany clock that was only 51 inches tall sold for $40,960 to lead the category. It was made by Joshua Wilder of Hingham, Mass., about 1815. The paint-decorated iron dial was inscribed “Warranted by J. Wilder, / Hingham.” An inlaid cherry shelf clock made by Zacheus Gates, Charlestown, Mass., circa 1800-20, sold for $15,360.
Speaking with Steve Fletcher a few days after the sale, he started the conversation by saying, “I had a very nice email from our consigner telling me how pleased she was with the sale. She said she realized that the market had changed from the days her father had assembled the collection and felt that the prices we achieved were strong, given the changes in the marketplace and the fact that, to many, today’s tastes have changed. I’ve said it before, and I’ll probably say it again, ‘this is a great time to be buying really fine American furniture.’ Our panel discussion in Boston was well attended, but those who were there were already appreciative of the collection. As of today, we can report a gross of $1.4 million and that will grow over the next few days. I’m pretty sure the Fitz Henry Lane painting that didn’t sell will sell, and so will some more of the furniture. We’re all pleased with the results.”
Prices shown include the buyer’s premium as reported by Bonhams Skinner. For additional information, 508-970-3200 or www.skinner.bonhams.com
