Sailing to the highest price in the sale at $24,320 was this 23 ½-inch-tall carved and stained wood ship’s figurehead that depicted Lord Nelson. It will be moving overseas to its new home ($400/800).
Review by Madelia Hickman Ring; Photos Courtesy New England Auctions
BRANFORD, CONN. — The 446-lot sale Fred Giampietro presented for New England Auctions on September 21 featured about 200 lots from the collection of Lincoln and Jean Sander, as well as an additional 20 lots of antique pewter from the estate collection of Toni Noble, whose estate Giampietro has sold works from in recent sales. The remaining offerings of Americana were sourced from local estates and collections. All lots in the auction transacted successfully and the sale achieved a total of $504,000.
“I feel good about the sale. It brought our high estimate and what we hoped for. There were some bright spots; there was some lag in the furniture market, but I think that’s a case of more supply than demand,” observed Giampietro when we spoke with him after the sale.
The top lot of the day was, however, from neither collection. A Nineteenth Century carved and stained wood ship’s figurehead in the form of Lord Admiral Horatio Nelson that stood 23½ inches tall sailed past its $400/800 estimate to dock at $24,320 with an international buyer.
High chests of drawers were often made with en suite dressing tables, but it is not very common for both to stay together. The top price for objects from the Sander Collection was $18,750, realized by a Queen Anne cherry flat top high chest and dressing table — more commonly referred to in the trade as “highboy” and “lowboy.” The shaped apron radiating fan in the central low drawer and tall cabriole legs with pad feet are elements characteristic of Wethersfield, Conn., where both were made, circa 1760. Though the dressing table featured replaced brass pulls, both retained their original surface, and the lot was won by a trade buyer.
Original surface was one factor driving interest in this Queen Anne high chest of drawers; that it had its matching dressing table was another. Both made in Wethersfield, Conn., circa 1760, the lot brought the highest price of any in the Sander collection: $18,750 from a trade buyer ($25/50,000).
Another Connecticut-made object from the Sander Collection — a tall case clock with a brass dial signed by Reuben Ingraham of Preston, Conn. — was housed in a maple case with an old finish. According to the catalog note, Ingraham (1745-1811) apprenticed with clockmaker and silversmith John Avery (1732-1794), also of Preston. A trade buyer paid $17,500 for the 85-3/8-inch-tall clock.
Two early painted chests of drawers, both with ball feet, saw strong results. The first to do so was a two-drawer blanket chest with double arch moldings that retained its original red paint and was cataloged as having been made in Connecticut, circa 1720. Discovered in Fairfield, Conn., in the 1940s by pioneering furniture dealer Mary Allis, it had replaced but period brasses, was in otherwise excellent condition with some minor imperfections and sold for $8,750.
Mary Allis was also part of the history of a blue painted chest of drawers with ball feet that was cataloged as from New England, circa 1720. Retaining a historic and probably Nineteenth Century blue-green paint with replaced brasses, it found its level at $6,875, with a trade buyer.
This New England chest of drawers with ball feet, circa 1720, had an old but not original blue green painted surface and replaced brass hardware. With provenance to the Sander Collection as well as Connecticut dealer, Mary Allis, it earned $6,875 from a trade buyer ($1,5/3,000).
The person who worked a needlework scene with house, birds and figures was identified only by their initials, “E.S.,” but they were likely living in Europe in the Eighteenth Century. Measuring 17½ by 20-1/8 inches in a carved frame, the scene was described as in excellent original condition with vibrant colors. Bidders apparently concurred, taking it from its $1,5/2,500 estimate to $5,913, with a private collector having the top bid.
Top-selling lots from the Noble pewter collection included a sugar bowl, made in Philadelphia by William Will that the Nobles had acquired from Melvyn Wolf in 1989, and a group of seven pewter plates, all with marks to noted Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century American pewter smiths that also had provenance to Wolf. The sugar bowl topped off at $4,608, while the group of plates stacked up to $2,304.
Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house.
New England Auctions will sell coins, numismatic, historical, ephemera, autographs, medical, books and other related items on October 18 with a private collection of jewelry and watches on October 19. In November, the house will sell the folk art collection from the estate of Peter Bram.
For information, 475-234-5120, www.neauction.com or info@neauction.com.
