NYE & Co., Estate Treasures Auction
January 25 & 26
20 Beach Street Bloomfield, NJ 07003
www.nyeandcompany.com

BLOOMFIELD, N.J. — Nye & Co Auctioneers will host a three-day, online-only sale January 25-27, featuring American furniture, folk art and Native American art, starting each day at 10 am Eastern time.

The auction will feature nearly 1,000 lots — a mix of fine and decorative arts spanning from the Eighteenth Century to the present day, including a selection of property from the Stanley Weiss collection, folk art from the Maggie Cohen collection and early American furniture from a private Connecticut collection.

Headlining the auction is property from the well-known and highly regarded Rhode Island collector, Stanley Weiss. For more than 30 years, Weiss developed an eye for the early American aesthetic, with an emphasis on the Queen Anne through the Neoclassical periods. His passion and enthusiasm for quality craftsmanship and figured wood are evident in each piece he owned.

Highlights include a late Federal carved mahogany card table from Salem, Mass. The table exhibits classic design elements that are often associated with Samuel McIntire and his son. Another eye-catcher is a Federal mahogany bowfront clothes press dated April 24, 1802, and likely made in Boston ($2,5/5,000).

Another piece from New York is a carved and brass-inlaid dolphin base card table ($1,5/2,500). Back up the coast, there is a Federal card table from Portsmouth, N.H., with delicate long slender reeded legs, brown color and an inlaid frieze.

Other furniture highlights include a selection of Queen Anne and Chippendale furniture from a private Connecticut collection. One standout is a Chippendale carved walnut dressing table from Philadelphia, circa 1765. This was once owned by the famous collectors, Abraham and Blanche Harpending. The piece was subsequently sold at Sotheby’s two times over. The rich, warm color and bold, fluid carving help to elevate this piece of colonial craftsmanship.

There is also a rare birchwood blockfront kneehole bureau formerly owned by Walter and Kay Jeffords, proprietors of Faraway Farm in conjunction with Samuel Riddle. The farm was the permanent home of the renowned racing horse, Man O’ War. This collection also includes the Chippendale bowfront chest of drawers, signed on the underside, “Lord Stirling, Wm Alexander.” William Alexander, also known as Lord Stirling, served as a major general in the American Revolutionary War. General Washington ultimately appointed him to commander of the elements of the Northern Army branch of the American troops.

Not to be overshadowed is a rare Coles-Tomlinson set of six Queen Anne dining chairs attributed to the celebrated cabinetmaker William Savery of Philadelphia. Made around 1750, these chairs have directly descended through the New Jersey families of Coles and Tomlinson ($20/40,000).

There is also a selection of Native American objects, including a rare Navajo 4th phase chief’s wearing blanket, circa 1870-75 ($25/35,000). There is also a Navajo 3rd phase chief’s wearing blanket from the 1880s ($6/8,000). Also sold will be beaded moccasins and knife sheaths.

The sale has quite a lot of folk art, which is headlined by the collection of Maggie Cohen from New York City. Included in her collection are a number of potato-stamped Northeast Coast Native American baskets, several whirligigs, one of which includes a Lancaster County, Penn., example with a heart-form tail and two figures.

A large selection cobalt-decorated stoneware, decoys and ships’ models come from a private Pompton Lakes, N.J., estate. The collector also had a keen eye for some folky paintings, which include an early view of Patterson Falls, N.J., a pair of house portraits depicting the recto and verso of a Connecticut River home, a depiction of Washington’s headquarters in Newburgh, N.Y., and a still life of fruit in the manner of the Peale family of painters. Coming from another consignor is a whimsical and folky whaling scene by Edward C. “Pa” Hunt (1870-1934).

For those who want something to truly brighten up their life, there is a selection of sterling silver dating from the Seventeenth Century through the Twentieth Century. Highlighting this section are a circa 1680 caudle cup of English origin; an Eighteenth Century tankard by Chawner; and the Ludlow-Fulton-Philips-Livingston family en suite George III plated silver hot water urns illustrated in Donald Fenimore’s Knopf Collector’s Guide.

Finally, there is a rare Edison electric pen with its original box and sharpening tool. It is currently listed in the registry of the 52 known pens. Of the 52, only two are known to have a complete box.

Monday, January 16, the galleries will be open for extended viewing hours, 5 to 7 pm, for a reception, refreshments and live entertainment. Nye & Co Auctioneers is at 20 Beach Street. For information, 973-984-6900 or www.nyeandcompany.com.

Two View Paintings of a House, Paul Schnitzler, American, 19th C.; Purvis Young (1943-2010), Ink and Paint on Paper, of figures and horses, signed “Young”, ca. 1980s; Edward C. “Pa” Hunt (1870-1934), Whale Hunt, Oil on Board, 19th/20th C.; Federal Inlaid Mahogany Card Table, Portsmouth, NH, c. 1805-1810; A Navajo 4th Phase Chief’s Wearing Blanket, circa 1870-1875; Chippendale carved and figured walnut dressing table, Philadelphia, circa 1765; American School, 19th C., Paterson Falls, Initialed CJC, dated 1894, Oil on Board; Edison Electric Pen, No. 3497 on wheel, includes original box, wires, and stone sharpening tool.