COMPLIMENTARY COPY TM
The Most Widely Read Collector's Newspaper In The East VOL. 45, NO. 3 FRIDAY JANUARY 17, 2014
Published Weekly By Joel Sater Publications www.antiquesandauctionnews.net
Vast China Trade Collection, Hooked Rugs, And Paintings To Headline Strong First Sale Of 2014 For Pook & Pook, Inc.
P
ook & Pook, Inc. is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year! The first auction of the year will be held on Friday, Jan. 17, and Saturday, Jan. 18. On Friday night, the sale features goods from the China Trades shipper Captain Hall Jackson Tibbits (American 1797-1872). Saturday’s sale showcases items from various collections, including Kristina “Barbara” Johnson, the David and Marilyn Levinson Art Education Initiative, Esther L. Hamme, Lucille Keemer, the estate of William Kulp, and various educational institutions. (Right) This important early New York, William & Mary gateleg table, circa 1730, was found in a barn in Wading River, N.Y. (Left) Peter Derr (Berks County, Pa., 1793-1868), wrought iron “Staff of David” gallows lamp, stamped “P. Derr 1818,” 12 inches high. This unique example by Derr was a personal milestone executed at the age of 25. It is illustrated and discussed in James Spear’s book, “The House of Derr,” plate 11.
Friday’s events begin with a reception from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. A lecture on China Trade material will be given by William Sargeant, the former curator of Asian Arts at the Peabody Essex Museum, at 5 p.m. The lecture will tie into the auction of the material from Captain Hall Jackson Tibbits, which follows at 6 p.m. Maritime historian W.Z. Gardner characterized Captain Ti b b i t s as a true “son of the sea.” He went to sea at a young age with his father who captained a three-masted square rigger running the China Trade route from New York to Canton. At age 24, Tibbits was one of the youngest shipmasters in the China Trade. He owned and commanded several clipper ships, trading tea and silk on a trade route between America, China, and South America. This was a lucrative profession in the era from 1830-1860, but not for the faint-hearted. His favorite ship, the Southerner, was built in 1834 in the shipyards of New York. In 1852, the captain retired at age 55 to a 127-acre farm on Sands Point, Long Island. He brought with him an extensive collection of paintings, furniture, and curios from his adventures in China. After his death in 1872, the home remained in the family until 1959 when it was sold. All of his possessions were moved to a descendant’s home and barn in Wading River, N.Y., where they remained until consigned to Pook & Pook, Inc. for this sale. The highlight of the collection is a pair of monumental China Trade panoramic landscapes, the first depicting the Hongs at Canton and the second the opposing shore of the Pearl River and the island of Honam,
This Micah Williams pastel portrait is one of the many folk art pieces to be sold from the Johnson collection. Many duck and fish decoys, carvings, quilts, and other objects are also included. A sulphur inlaid miniature blanket chest, dated “1799.”
An outstanding China Trade portrait of a Chinese merchant, circa 1835.
One of the highlights of the sale is a pair of monumental China Trade panoramic landscapes (one shown).
This is the Commodore MacDonnough’s Historical blue Staffordshire Victory tea and luncheon service.
both with a plethora of Chinese ships. These paintings are the largest examples known, and exhibit extremely fine-detailed scenes under layers of old varnish. They each measure 35- by 80-inches. Other significant items from the Tibbits collection include paintings attributed to Youqua, sea chests belonging to Tibbits, ivories, porcelains, nautical instruments, silver, portraits of the Captain, as well as photographic records and book archives. One of the highlights of the Saturday session is a tremendous variety of hooked rugs, decoys, paintings, and other folk art objects from the collection of Kristina “Barbara” Johnson. In the early 1980s, Kristina assembled one of the largest groups of hooked rugs in the country. The
This hooked rug, known as “M.A.D. Cats,” is from the Kristina “Barbara” Johnson estate. Johnson gave it the name because she bought it upon seeing an ad for the rug from Olde Hope Antiques in Maine Antique Digest in the early 1980s.
subject matters range from geometric and abstract patterns to animals, maritime scenes, and everything in between. Many of the rugs were exhibited at the Squibb Gallery at the Bristol-Meyers Squibb corporate office in Princeton, N.J., in 1988 and pictured in the publication that went along with the exhibit, titled “American Classics: Hooked Rugs from the Barbara Johnson Collection.” Many of the rugs were subsequently included in other exhibits and publications over the years. Also coming across the block on Saturday are Pook & Pook, Inc.’s usual array of fine art, interesting American and Continental furniture, folk art, and a myriad of accessories. Paintings include works by Ben Austrian, Walter Baum, William Mason Brown, Jacob Eichholtz, Edouard Cortes, John Folinsbee, Haisu Liu, and many others. Chinese export porcelain, historical blue Staffordshire and Prattware collections will (Continued on page 2)
This rare China Trade view of the harbor in Valparaiso, Chile, circa 1835, was likely done in Canton from an existing print of Valparaiso.