Sotheby's Americana brings $15 million, over the pre-sale high estimate
Sotheby’s Americana Week Totals $15,029,329
Two-Day Sale of Important Americana Achieves $13,334,005
Chinese Export Porcelain from the Private Collection of Elinor Gordon brings $1,695,324
Silver Punch Bowl by Cornelius Kierstede
Important American Silver Punch Bowl, Cornelius Kierstede, New York, 1700 - 1710, (est. $400/800,000), sold for $5,906,500
Sotheby’s 2010 Americana Week sales brought a combined total of $15,029,329, with both sales exceeding the high estimate in front of a packed salesroom. Sotheby’s two-day sale of Important Americana totaled $13,334,005 (est. $5.4/10.4 million*) and was 94.1% sold by value and 80.1% sold by lot. The series continued with Chinese Export Porcelain from the Private Collection of Elinor Gordon, which brought a total of $1,695,324 (est. $850,000/1.3 million). The single-owner sale was 94.9% sold by value and 84% sold by lot.
Silver
A new auction record for American silver was set on Friday when an Important American Silver Punch Bowl by Cornelius Kierstede, made in New York between 1700 and 1710, sold for an astonishing $5,906,500. With a pre-sale estimate of $400/800,000, auctioneer David Redden opened the bidding at $275,000 and almost instantly a bid of $500,000 was called out by Ian Irving of Ian Irving Ltd. As many as six different bidders raised their paddles, but at around $3 million the battle was reduced to two determined clients, an anonymous gentleman seated in the room and New York dealer S.J. Shrubsole. The competition continued for several minutes before the winning bid was cast by the anonymous purchaser in the room; bringing the gavel down to rousing applause. The final price of $5.9 million is more than seven times the previous record for American silver**, and is the second highest price ever paid for any piece of silver at auction***.
John Ward, Head of Sotheby’s Silver department, commented, “The Cornelius Kierstede bowl was a fantastic item that made a fantastic price, which is wonderful for the market. This piece had it all: large size, great condition, beautiful design by an idiosyncratic maker, fresh provenance, and a great story, all of which came together to create auction magic. The Kierstede bowl and the Maxwell vase both achieved exceptional prices, but we saw great competition throughout the silver portion sale, suggesting that collectors are enthusiastic about American silver at all levels.”
The punch bowl has descended in the family of Commodore Joshua Loring, whose stately home in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, the Loring-Greenough House, has been preserved as an historic site. A Royalist, Loring abandoned his residence in August 1774 to take refuge in Boston, and the family emigrated to London in 1776. According to tradition, the bowl was hidden in a well on the property during the Revolution. Retrieved by the family, it descended quietly with them in England for 230 years, completely unknown, until the owners sent a grainy photograph to Sotheby’s London silver department in March of 2009.
Also among the highlights of the silver lots offered on Friday was The Maxwell Vase: An Important American silver presentation vase, Thomas Fletcher and Sidney Gardiner, Philadelphia, retailed by Baldwin Gardiner, New York, 1829, which sold for $494,500 (est. $250/350,000) to New York dealer S.J. Shrubsole. One of the most imposing pieces of silver created in early 19th century America, the 24-inch tall testimonial was ordered from a New York retailer who had it secretly made by an accomplished Philadelphia workshop; the recipient, Hugh Maxwell, had prosecuted fraudulent corporate directors after the 1825 Stock Market crash.
Furniture, Folk Art and Carpets
Leslie Keno, Head of Sotheby’s American Furniture, noted, “With over two thousand visitors coming through our exhibition and a packed saleroom, there was a noticeable energy and enthusiasm this season among both long-standing clients and many first-time bidders. We saw renewed confidence among buyers, which generated lively competition and strong prices.”
Nancy Druckman, Head of American Folk Art, said, “We were encouraged by the consistency of the quality of material on offer this season, and saw a perceptible energy and appetite among buyers.”
Leading the Saturday morning session of Important America including furniture, folk art and carpets was The Important Ranlett-Rust Family Chippendale Figured Mahogany Bombé Slant-Front Desk, Probably by Francis Cook, Marblehead, Massachusetts, circa 1770, which totaled $698,500 (est. $400,000/1 million). The desk is one of the rarest surviving examples of the esteemed bombé form; only twelve additional examples are known. Extensive research suggests the desk was made north of Boston, in Marblehead, Massachusetts and through careful comparison with extant signed pieces the desk has been attributed to Francis Cook.
The Captain Samuel Morris Pair of Queen Anne Carved and Figured Walnut Rounded-Stile Compass-Seat Side Chairs, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, circa 1745, was also sought after, bringing $362,500 (est. $200/500,000). Standing as superior examples of the Philadelphia Queen Anne style, these side chairs display a unified sculptural design, extremely fine construction and high-quality carving rarely matched on other seating furniture in the era.
A recently discovered Important Federal Carved and Figured Mahogany Marble-Top Pier Table, attributed to Thomas Seymour with John Seymour, carving attributed to Thomas Wightman, circa 1805 sold for $218,500 (est. $100/200,000). The table is among the most sophisticated, ambitious and elaborate pieces of American Furniture made in the Federal period. Only three other tables of similarly ambitious design are known. The present table retains its original finish and imported marble top and has remained in a private Pennsylvania collection since the 1960s.
Two Federal Paint-Decorated Klismos Side Chairs Attributed to John and Hugh Finlay, Baltimore, Maryland, circa 1809 representing the apex of Federal style jumped to $194,500 each (est. $35/75,000 each).
A Fine and Rare Molded Copper Figure of an Indian with Bow and Arrow, Probably Harris & Co., Boston, circa 1880, formerly in the esteemed collection of Dione Guffrey Kenzer, totaled $122,500 (est. $100/200,000). Four Carved and Painted Paine Corporation Head Portraits circa 1910 brought $56,250 (est. $25/60,000). Two New York Samplers by Jane Deall dated 1768 and 1765 also exceeded the pre-sale high estimate, totaling $50,000 (est. $10/20,000).
Chinese Export Porcelain from the Private Collection of Elinor Gordon
Sotheby’s Americana Week continued with Chinese Export Porcelain from the Private Collection of Elinor Gordon, which totaled $1,695,324, in excess of the presale high estimate of $1.3 million. The saleroom was once again standing-room-only, with many lots seeing competition from as many as five or six bidders and selling for multiples of their high estimates.
Christina Prescott-Walker, Head of European Ceramics and Chinese Export porcelain, commented, “Sotheby’s is honored to have been able to present Chinese export porcelain from the private collection of Elinor Gordon and to celebrate her love of collecting. From two sold-out lectures to a steady stream of visitors at the preview exhibition to a packed saleroom, we received a wonderful response to her collection. There was something for everyone in this sale, and we saw a great depth and breadth of bidding among both members of the trade and private collectors.”
Among the top prices achieved was a Chinese Export ‘Order of the Cincinnati’ plate, circa 1785, from the earliest service decorated with the order owned by George Washington and Henry Lee, which totaled $83,500 (est. $30/50,000). The plate was one of four pieces sold from services decorated with the badge of the Society of the Cincinnati. At least five bidders competed for Lot 1, a Very Rare Chinese Export Figure of a Reclining Stag from the second half of the 18th century, driving the price past its $15/25,000 estimate to $62,500. A Rare Chinese Export Ship Plate inscribed ‘Friendship Salem’ sold for $53,125, far above its presale estimate of $6/8,000.
The sale’s top price was achieved by a watercolor and gouache View of Hong Kong dated circa 1865, which brought $158,500, over five times the high estimate of $30,000. Many of the China Trade paintings saw fierce competition, with a Pair of Paintings of Canton and Whampoa circa 1820 fetching $40,625 against an estimate of $3/4,000 and a Style of Spoilum Portrait of a Hong Merchant circa 1800 totaling $68,500 against an estimate of $8/12,000.
*Estimates do not include buyer’s premium
**The previous auction record for American silver was $775,750, paid for both The Richard and Alice Brackett Cup, An American Silver Wine Cup, John Hull and Robert Sanderson, Sr., Boston, circa 1660, sold from the collection of Quincy Church at Sotheby’s in January 2001, and A Superb Early American Silver Two-Handled Grace Cup and Cover, John Coney, Boston, circa 1715, also descended with a Royalist family in England and sold at Sotheby’s in January 2002.
*** The most expensive piece of silver ever sold at auction is the Penthièvre-Orleans Service: A Louis XV Royal Silver tureen, cover, liner and stand, Thomas Germain, Paris, 1733-34. The service was sold in the sale of Royal French Silver: The Property of George Ortiz, Sotheby’s, New York, 13 November 1996, lot 3, for $10,287,500 including buyer’s premium.
