A white Carrara marble carving, the 1898 work “Three Native Americans in Battle,” or “Indians Wrestling,” by Edmonia Lewis surprised bidders when it sold for $287,500 at Gabriel’s Auctioneers/Appraisers November 29. The 30-inch piece was hammered down after competition between several American bidders, including some institutional activity, and went to a dealer who may have been bidding for a client.
Lewis’s work doesn’t come to market all that frequently and when it does, heads turn. Of Ojibway and Haitian descent, she was the premier and ground-breaking non-white American woman sculptor and worked for some time in Rome where this marble was created. It had come from an area home.
The signed painting “Fisherfolk” by William Shayer, Sr, sold for $4,200, and a Southeastern Massachusetts banjo clock by Foster Campos fetched $2,100. A Neoclassical Italian-style console realized $3,795, and Nineteenth Century bronze vessel with an embossed fish went for $1,380. A Neoclassical-style pair of candlesticks realized $1,725, and a trumeau mirror was $1,050.
Two stylish Mission-style stainless steel settles, one with a slat back and the other with a spindle back, were $1,150 and $1,050.
All prices reported include the buyer’s premium. For more information, www.gabrielsauctions.com or 781-769-1600.
