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The Most Widely Read Collector's Newspaper In The East Published Weekly By Joel Sater Publications www.antiquesandauctionnews.net
VOL. 45, NO. 15 FRIDAY APRIL 11, 2014
Mosby & Co. To Showcase Americana, Historical And Ethnographic Categories On Friday, April 18 mid 19th-century Sharps model 1855 carbine (or short-barrel rifle), a Civil War-era inscribed and dated presentation grade sword, and a pair of circa-1800 four-barrel “duck’s foot” pistols are expected headliners at an auction slated for Friday, April 18, at Mosby & Co.’s Frederick, Md., gallery. The start time is 4 p.m. (EST). Militaria and weaponry are just one component of the auction, which will feature nearly 300 lots of historical items, Americana, ethnographic antiques (mostly African, Oceanic, pre-Columbian and American Indian) and quality decorative arts. Internet bidding will be provided by LiveAuctioneers.com and Invaluable.com. Telephone and absentee bids will also be accepted. “This will be a solid, diverse sale, one with strengths across every category,” said Keith Spurgeon, owner of
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mask from Mali is especially appealing, with a chameleon figure carved onto the forehead area. Additionally, the grouping includes a mid 20th-century Nigerian polychromed wood Ibibio headdress, and a late 19thor early 20th-century Dogan carved wood figure from Mali depicting a warrior on horseback. Pre-Columbian art includes a Chimu-Inca woven mantle (9001300 A.D.), an exceptional Mayan Arawak Caribbean Indian tribe Palma celt (or carved stone tool), a desirable carved stone Chontal mask from Mexico, and This Chimu-Inca mantle depicting warriors holding severed heads was believed to have been made circa 900-1300 A.D. many other rare objects. From the Americas comes a from prominent collections in similar pistol, but in lesser condi- and nicely carved 19th-century pot signed by the well-known tion, was recently auctioned for New Zealand Maori canoe bailer Maryland and New York. (Continued on page 2) The Civil War-era Sharps approximately $12,000. with excellent provenance dating The Civil War presentation to the 1890s; and a 19th-cenmodel 1855 short-barrel carbine is exceedingly rare because it is one grade officer’s sword is inscribed, tury swing with figures. of only 600 U.S. martially marked “Presented to Edward Lounsbery African objects carbines made by Sharps. The car- First Lt. Company B, 179th include masks from bine was issued to the 1st Regiment, New York Volunteers by various tribes and California Dragoons and the 2nd the members of his company the Democratic Virginia, Texas Dragoons. The example Petersburgh, Republic of being sold has February 10, 1865.” The Congo. A r e m a i n e d sword was presented in Senufo in the battlefield conditions. Petersburg was still under
A rare 19th-century Maori canoe bailer, collected by the Rev. Alfred Fairbrother, same collection since the 1960s. The pair of “duck’s foot” pisBaptist minister to the Maoris (1882-1885). tols, so-named because of their
Mosby & Co. “There is something for every taste and budget, from a few dollars to several thousand dollars.” Spurgeon had high praise for the large and fine selection of ethnographic arts and artifacts, most of which came
four splayed barrels, are English made and were used by British Naval personnel during the Napoleonic Wars. They, too, are quite rare, and are considered high grade and in superb condition. A
siege at the time, but it finally fell to Union forces in April of 1865. Other antique firearms that will A mid 19th-century M1855 Sharps carbine and one of two “duck’s foot” cross the auction block on April 18 include a Civil War-era Tower pistols in the auction. Enfield musket, a British import that was used by both the North and the South, with a lockplate dated 1860, and a superb-condition Eli Whitney pistol, also from the Civil War era, that has remained in the same family since the 1890s. Oceanic art, mainly from New Guinea and other Indonesian islands, will feature ancestor and A 19th-century Indonesian “swing” with figures. fertility figures, including a scarce ancestral carved wood figure from Raja Island, located off Indonesia. It depicts a man with outstretched arms wearing a headdress. The selection also includes early 20thcentury war clubs from Fiji and the Solomon Islands, one having a carved notch in it, indicating a kill mark. Other top Oceanic lots include, a 19th-century Indonesian Dayak interior door panel (for use in a long house) with a carved image of the Indonesian spirit guide; a pair of early 20th-century Sepik River, Papua New Guinea, carved wood This pre-Columbian carved stone bowl (Argentina, circa 200 B.C.) is suspension hooks (one of them a accompanied by a carved stone Chontal mask from Mexico. rare double hook); an uncommon
A Baule mask from the Ivory Coast and a Bamana hyena mask from Mali.
A Hopi pot crafted by the noted artisan Sylvia Naha, aka Feather Woman (1951-1999). It is 4.75 inches high.
This is a Civil War-era presentation grade sword, inscribed to First Lt. Edward Lounsbery of New York.
A pillar-and-scroll shelf clock by Elisha Hotchkiss with original woodworks and image of Andrew Jackson on horseback.
The circa-1825 American secretary from Baltimore, Md., walnut with fruitwood-veneer drawers, is 90 inches tall and in fine condition.