A rare George Stapf carved wooden eagle that had been discovered in a local attic and sold during an on-site tag sale was the subject of spirited bidding as it crossed the auction block at Flannery’s on November 26. The action-packed auction featured an interesting selection of materials that ranged from a Ford farm tractor to a tramp art chest.
The Monday evening sale was attended by a packed house, and although there were a fair amount of household items sold, there was also a large assortment of quality antiques and collectibles offered, some of which sold very reasonably.
A steady rain put a crimp in the action at the beginning of the sale as auctioneer Marianne Flannery was forced to keep the outdoors walk-around session featuring the farm equipment in a stationary spot, with the crowd huddled under the front porch of the auction hall. The close quarters seemed to add to the excitement, with lots ranging from a well-equipped Ford tractor selling at $6,670 to a 1977 truck with a dump body at $3,335, to a Chrysler Cordoba in running condition at $138.
Once back inside the auction hall, a host of smalls were sold, including a large box of vintage Christmas ornaments that was hammered down at $29, a large jar of buttons went out at $9 and a pile of vintage comic books from the 1970s seemed a real bargain at $6.
Furniture in the auction seemed to sell reasonably, including a generic 12-piece Mission oak dining suite in a dark finish. Consisting of a nice china cabinet, sideboard, server, a table with five leaves, six side chairs and two armchairs, the lot had attracted attention during preview, with several absentee bids establishing an opening bid of $1,200. A bidder in the gallery hit the dining suite at $1,250 and it bounced back and forth between a telephone bidder and the gallery, with the buyer in the rear of the hall claiming the lot at $2,070.
A nice Paul McCobb Danish-influenced blond table with leaves and a matching set of chairs went out at $603, and an interesting Willet bedroom set from the 1960s consisting of a bed, night stands, dressers and a chair brought only $230.
The highlight of the auction was the rare George Stapf eagle, and while the regulars at Flannery’s were certainly interested in seeing it sell, there was also a segment of the crowd that was there exclusively for the lot. Flannery related prior to the auction that the eagle had been discovered at a tag sale liquidating the contents of an old home in town. The deceased owner was reportedly a woman of German derivation that had lived there for 97 years.
The auctioneer stated that she snapped up the carving at the tag sale, although at the time it was sold, the head and a piece of the neck were missing. Typical of the construction techniques employed by the carver, each of those pieces would have been shaped separately and laminated together prior to the final carving.
After gleaning some information with regard to where the carving had been found, Flannery pushed to gain access to the location to search for the missing pieces. “We were given an opportunity to go up into the attic to see if the head could be found,” she said. “And there it was, covered with dust and dirt, right where it had been for at least the last 80 years.” Flannery commented that the eagle had been discovered under the eaves in-between piles of Victorian clothes and books from the teens. “Nothing had been touched up there for years,” she said.
In remarkable original condition, the eagle retained most of the original paint, with minor flaking to the gold surface on the body. The flag and shield were in excellent condition overall, with a few of the stars from its flag and shield missing; however, a small envelope displayed next to the carving held some of the missing items. Other problems included a small piece splintered from the side of the shield, and some arrows from the bird’s left talon were gone.
With seven phone bidders on the lines, Flannery’s staff gingerly brought the Stapf eagle to the block and the auctioneer asked for an opening bid of $15,000. When there was no response, she dropped the bid to $10,000, and then again to $5,000 where a phone bidder hit it. Bids bounced back and forth between the telephones and a bidder seated in the gallery, who was on his telephone with a second party. Bidding slowed as the price escalated past the $20,000 mark, until the unidentified bidder in the gallery claimed the lot at $31,625.
Other lots of interest that had come from the same home included an early George Bell watercolor, dated 1883, depicting a view of the Hudson River that was hammered down at $460, and a tramp art chest of drawers, measuring just over 2 feet tall, that sold at $402.
Prices include the 15 percent buyer’s premium charged. For further information, contact Flannery’s at 845-744-2233.
