Taking the solid lead in the sale at $270,600 was this pair of Queen Anne carved walnut compass seat side chairs, made in Philadelphia in 1740-60, which had early history in the Graeme family and other private collections as well as being handled by dealers and auction houses. Particularly noteworthy and desirable was the original needlework upholstery on one chair. They sold to a private collector bidding online. The chair with the needlework seat was acquired at Christie’s in 2013 for $40,000 while the pink-upholstered chair cost $50,000 when it was purchased at Christie’s in 2017 ($40/60,000).
Review by Madelia Hickman Ring; Photos Courtesy Brunk Auctions
ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Nearly 1,450 lots crossed the podium at Brunk Auctions November 16-18, the first of which was a single-day Emporium & Coins Auction, followed by a two-day Premier Auction. Ninety-two percent of the lots transacted successfully, earning the North Carolina firm $4,108,747.
Andrew Brunk summed up the sale, “Our November auction wrapped up another outstanding year at Brunk Auctions. It was a full sale and we saw strong registration and bidding, with more than $4 million in sales. It was especially gratifying to see the Graeme Park pair of Philadelphia chairs garner such competitive bidding, with several collectors pushing price to more than three times what they achieved when they last appeared on the market in New York sales in 2013 and 2017. My team sends our thanks and best holiday wishes to our many friends and clients who supported us again this year.”
The top lot of the three-day auction event checked several boxes, including provenance, rarity and condition. Earning $270,600 was a pair of circa 1740-60 Philadelphia Queen Anne carved walnut compass seat side chairs that — because of their descent in the family — was believed to have been made for Dr Thomas Graeme (1688-1772) of Graeme Park, Horsham, Penn. The chairs had been acquired individually by the seller — one in 2013, the other in 2017 — and are part of a larger set of at least nine, the whereabouts of two or three other chairs from the same set are either in institutional collections or have been published. Estimated at $40/60,000, the chairs attracted competitive bidding and ultimately sold to a private collector bidding online.
Extensive history in the Rawle family of Philadelphia, as well as an auction at Christie’s in 2018, this pair of Queen Anne carved walnut compass seat side chairs earned $73,800 from a private collector, whose agent was bidding for them on the phone ($30/50,000).
A pair of Queen Anne Philadelphia chairs that descended in the family of Francis Rawle (1729-1761) sold for the more modest amount of $73,800 to an agent bidding on the phone on behalf of a collector. Exhibiting characteristics practiced in the “Wistar armchair” shop that have been discussed by Alan Miller in “Flux in Design and Method in Early Eighteenth-Century Philadelphia Furniture,” American Furniture (2014), the chairs also relate to one at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and another that was sold at Sotheby’s in 2008.
Another pair of chairs — giltwood open arm examples — of roughly comparable age but made in England, secured a strong second-place finish at $147,600, also exceeding expectations. Designed by James “Athenian” Stuart and attributed to London cabinetmaker, John Cordon, the chairs are identical to — and probably from the same set as — a pair of chairs from Nuneham Park in Oxfordshire that had been commissioned by Simon Harcourt, the First Earl Harcourt and later Viceroy of Ireland. The catalog also drew comparisons to a set of chairs commissioned by John Spencer, First Early Spencer and ancestor of Diana, Princess of Wales. Previously owned by Edwin Herzog of New York and Charleston, S.C., as well as an important but unidentified Southern institution, the chairs were purchased by a trade buyer in the United Kingdom bidding online.
Other furniture forms enjoyed strong results. Making $73,800 was a blocked and double-serpentine Chippendale chest from Boston, circa 1770, that had once been owned by William Samaha in Wellesley Hills, Mass. Surviving in exceptional original condition, “choice proportions” and use of high-quality mahogany, a determined collector bidding online prevailed against competitors.
Previously auctioned in 2008, when it sold for $139,000, this Chippendale blocked and double serpentine mahogany chest of drawers, made in Boston circa 1770, had also been owned by William Samaha. It found a new home with a private collector at $73,800 ($60/80,000).
Hailing from a slightly more southern New England area of manufacture in Connecticut was an Eighteenth Century Chippendale cherry desk and bookcase, which was noteworthy for its history with landmark Boston collector Hyman Kaufman, whose collection was sold at Anderson Galleries in New York City in 1934. Other owners of the impressive piece included Mrs Frank Bien (Morristown, N.J.), David Stockwell (Wilmington, Del.), and two DuPont family collections. Its most recent owners — Laurence and Helen Alspaugh of Greensboro, N.C., had purchased it from Anthoney Werneke Antiques at the 2002 Winter Antiques Show, where they paid $140,000. Estimated at $25/35,000, its extensive provenance now includes a private collector who paid $73,800 for it.
Bidders can rely on Brunk Auctions to include extensive offerings of Southern decorative arts and this sale did not disappoint. Bringing $46,740 from a phone bidder was a rare and important Eighteenth Century engraved sundial that had a slate plate inscribed “The Gift of Thomas Schoals of Athenloo for His Friend Robert McCausland of Castletown/For Charleston South Carolina/w.o Fecit N.98.” The sundial had passed through the trade hands of Levison & Cullen Gallery (Atlanta) and Estate Antiques (Charleston, S.C.) and it was being sold by Historic Dean Hall Plantation.
Following closely behind with a $41,820 result, a late Eighteenth Century Chippendale walnut cellarette attributed to Piedmont, N.C., was described as “very rare.” The catalog noted it had been illustrated in Helen Comstock’s article, “Furniture of Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, and Kentucky,” in Southern Furniture, 1640-1820 (Richmond, 1952). It relates to a nearly identical example published in Paul Burroughs’ Southern Antiques (1967).
Achieving $135,300 and a third-place finish was Mario Sanchez’s “Storm Warning,” carved and painted wood, 16¼ by 23¾ inches. It may be a new world auction record for the artist and sold to a private collector ($20/40,000).
The fine art category held its own against the decorative arts in all days of the sale. A landscape titled “Storm Warning” by Cuban-American and Floridian artist Mario Sanchez (1908-2005) brought $135,300 from a private collector bidding online. Two works by Arkansas artist Carroll Cloar (1913-1993) achieved within-estimate results, “The Thicket in Autumn” (1974) outperformed “Peaceable Thicket” with a $92,250 result.
“Crepuscule, Anemiter, vallee de l’Ounila, Grand Atlas” by Jacques Majorelle (French, 1886-1962) more than doubled its high estimate and sold to a UK collector bidding online for $79,950. It was the top price for a European work of art, beating out Angelika Kauffmann’s (Swiss, 1741-1807) portrait of Albinia Brodrick, Viscountess Midleton that will be included in the forthcoming artist’s catalogue raisonné. It traded hands successfully for $31,980, from a trade buyer bidding online.
Historical portraiture was not limited to European examples and a portrait of General George Washington by Jane Stuart (American, 1812-1888), after her father Gilbert Stuart’s (1755-1828) portrait of the general at Dorchester Heights, brought what may have been a bargain price at $49,200.
Brunk Auctions will sell property from a Historic South Carolina plantation and silver on January 10, followed by a one-day Premier Auction on January 11. Asian art will be the focus of the firm’s January 24 sale.
Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For more information, www.brunkauctions.com or 828-254-6846.
