August Americana & Americana online | Skinner Auctions 3705B & 3715T

August Americana 3715B | August 19, 2021, 10AM | Marlborough

Americana online 3705T | August 9–18, 2021 | skinnerinc.com

August Americana & Americana online The Skinner Americana department is thrilled to hold a live auction of American Furniture & Decorative Arts at our gallery in Marlborough this August. We look forward to seeing all of you at the auction preview.

The carefully edited live sale will feature fine American furniture from the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, and a selection of pottery, porcelain, silver, folk art, weathervanes, maritime art, pewter, and Shaker items, from private hands. Collections include American pewter from the esteemed John A. Schneider of Greenwich, Connecticut; an exciting group of Queen Anne, Chippendale, and Federal furniture from a discerning private collector in the southeastern United States; slip-decorated wares from scholar-collector Jonathan Rickard; Shaker material from Francisco Sierra of New York City, who also collected a variety of folky watercolor, pen, and ink family records and works on paper; Chinese export porcelain from the estate of Thomas Hodge of Shelbyville, Kentucky; American pottery from William Ketchum, author of books on American stoneware; folk paintings from Debbie Williams of Branson, Missouri; and property from several New England estates.

The Americana online timed sale ends the day before the live sale is held. It contains property from the collections mentioned above and much, much more—over 1,000 lots all told. We welcome you in! We’ll have all the items in the gallery for you to examine, handle, and behold.

August 19, 2021, 10AM, Marlborough | August 9–18 online at skinnerinc.com preview: August 16, 17 & 18, 10AM–5PM Stephen Fletcher Chris Barber Christopher Fox americana@skinnerinc.com 508.970.3200

MA LIC. 2304

on the cover: American School, c. 1900, Midwest Farmstead, $6,000-8,000

this page: Selections from a Collection of Staffordshire Historical Blue Transferware, early to mid-19th century, offered in both August Americana and Americana online

Inlaid Cherry Tall Case Clock with Masonic Motifs, possibly Connecticut, early 19th century, $10,000-15,000 Inlaid Cherry Serpentine Chest of Four Drawers, attributed to Nathan Lumbard, Sturbridge or Sutton, Massachusetts, c.

1800-05, $15,000-25,000 Federal Mahogany and Mahogany Veneer Eagle-inlaid Chest of Drawers, attributed to Michael Allison, New York, early 19th century, $8,000-12,000 The Susan Bainbridge Classical Mahogany Carved and Mahogany Veneer Dressing Table, possibly Joseph Barry (1757-1838), Philadelphia, c. 1820, $6,000-8,000 Federal Mahogany, Mahogany Veneer, and Bird’s-eye Maple Inlaid Worktable, attributed to Judkins and Senter, Portsmouth, New Hampshire, c. 1810, $8,000-12,000

Mochaware from the Collection of Jonathan Rickard, and others, offered in both August Americana and Americana online

Scholarly Collections Several collections offered in this auction were built by a different kind of connoisseur—the scholar. Of course, we depend on these scholars every day in our work—within their disciplines, they can quickly determine the origin, recognize the subtleties of construction and manufacture by particular makers, and spot inauthentic pieces. Theirs are the books that we turn to when we need expert advice. Every so often, we are entrusted (and are honored) to auction objects they have collected.

These collections have an esoteric streak that can elicit some extra attention—for the name of the scholar/collector but also for the unusual nature of the objects they’ve run across. The pieces they collect might not always be the most expensive, or the flashiest, or the ones that the top collectors in the field would tend towards.

They might have cracks or repairs, or some imperfections in their making. But, the pieces that find their way into scholarly collections are always interesting—after all, they’ve been collected by the most knowledgeable figures. That is why you’ll encounter, in August Americana and Americana online, flawed pieces of slipdecorated creamware with rare marks, repaired early stoneware pieces with unusual decoration, and a miniature pewter tea set

by Dorchester’s Roswell Gleason, among many other rare and interesting (and still affordable!) finds.

Redware from the Collection of Scholar and Author William C. Ketchum, Rye, New York

Antonio Nicolo Gasparo Jacobsen (New York/New Jersey, 18501921), Portrait of the Ocean Liner Horatio Hall, $10,000-15,000

Selection of Pewter from the Collection of John A. Schneider, Greenwich, Connecticut, offered in both August Americana and Americana online

Eight Silver Communion Cups, many by Zachariah Brigden, Boston, Massachusetts, from the First Congregational Church, East Hartford, Connecticut

Sterling Silver Covered Urn Commemorating Commodore Bainbridge and the USS Constitution’s Capture of the Java on December 29, 1812, Tiffany & Co., c. 1883, after Fletcher and Gardiner, Philadelphia, $15,00025,000

Small Molded Copper Gamecock Weathervane, late 19th century, $800-1,200

Gilt Molded Copper Massasoit Weathervane, America, 19th century, from The Leah & John Gordon Collection, $8,00012,000

Patriotic Sand Picture in a Bottle “Silurian Sands/ Mississippi River,” Andrew Clemens, McGregor, Iowa, late 19th century, $50,00075,000

World War I-era United States Navy Footlocker, early 20th century, with pen-drawn cartoons, $1,500-2,500

Selection of Spatterware, England, 19th century

Circular-top Marquetry Table, America, late 19th century, decorated throughout with stars and complex geometric designs, $3,000-5,000

According to tradition, this carving was used as a tobacconist figure at the shop of Mr. Abraham Taylor of Chelsea in the late 19th century and was later acquired by fellow Chelsea tobacconist Mr. Mark Merritt. It was given by Mr. Merritt’s daughter to the consignor (a small non-profit institution) in 1917 and has remained in the institution’s collection since that time.

East Boston and Chelsea were centers for 19th century shipbuilding. This example, nicknamed “Lo” by the consignors, does not look exactly like the tobacconist figures produced in 19th century shops in New York, Philadelphia, the Midwest, or even elsewhere in Boston. His specific facial features, upward gaze, tip-toed stance, and forward-leaning pose remind one more of the prideful personages often found as ship’s figureheads under the bowsprits of 19th century ships. It supports the long-held belief that “Lo” was carved by an artist more familiar with making elements for the vessels built nearby than storefront figures—perhaps even that he began life as a figurehead. Study done by experts in ship and store carvings agree that a ship’s carver could have very well executed the figure. However, elements of its construction and shape, and the lack of any evidence that it was fastened along its back to the stem of a vessel, led those experts (and us!) to believe that this figure was always intended as a storefront figure for a tobacconist’s shop.

Pen and Ink on Paper Drawing of “General George Washington,” William Wheeler, possibly Pennsylvania, second half 19th century, $600-800

Watercolor on Paper Birth Record for Susanna Moffett, probably New Jersey, c.

1805, $1,000-1,500

Watercolor on Paper “Address to the Sons of Temperance,” 19th century, $600-800

William Matthew Prior (Massachusetts/Maine, 1806-1873) Portrait of a Young Girl in Blue, $15,00025,000

Yellow-painted Wall Box, New England, early 19th century, $800-1,200

Carved and Painted Native American Tobacconist Figure, probably Chelsea or East Boston, Massachusetts, c. 1870, $10,000-20,000

American Stoneware from a Maine Collector of Early Boston Stoneware, the Collection of Scholar and Author William C. Ketchum, Rye, New York, and Others, offered in both August Americana and Americana online

Oil on Canvas Portrait of a White Farmhouse, New England, early 19th century, $400-600

Unusual Group of Fourteen Pieces of Carved Wooden Flatware, 19th century, $400-600

opposite: Queen Anne Carved Cherry High Chest of Drawers, attributed to Elijah Booth, Woodbury, Connecticut, c. 1760-70, $8,000-12,000

Two Unusual Pearlware Objects, a candle lantern and a dated and initialed half-pint mug, England, late 18th/early 19th century, from the Collection of Jonathan Rickard, $800-1,200 and $200-400

Sarah Gilmore Watercolor Death Record, America, c. 1820, $600-800

Federal Inlaid Cherry One-drawer Stand, probably Vermont, c. 1810, $3,000-5,000

Attributed to Deacon Robert Peckham (Massachusetts, 1785-1877) Portrait of a Girl in a Red Dress Holding a Basket of Flowers and a Hat, $8,000-12,000

Oak and Pine Joined and Paneled Chest, Marshfield, Massachusetts, late 17th century, $6,000-8,000

Two Scrimshaw-decorated Panbones, America, 19th century, each $4,000-6,000

Leander Allen Plummer II (Massachusetts/ Maine, 1857-1914) Carved “Relief Painting” of Trout, signed and dated 1904, $15,000-25,000

Pair of Queen Anne Carved Cedar Side Chairs, Bermuda, c. 1730-50, $6,000-8,000

Carved and Painted Full-bodied Sperm Whale Figure, Clark G. Voorhees Jr. (1911-1980), Old Lyme, Connecticut, and Weston, Vermont, $1,500-2,500

Frederic Schiller Cozzens (New York/ Massachusetts, 1846-1928) Sheathing, New Bedford, Massachusetts, $6,000-8,000

Selections from the Thomas Hodge Collection of Chinese Export Porcelain, Shelbyville, Kentucky, offered in both August Americana and Americana online

Society of the Cincinnati Export Porcelain Tea Bowl and Saucer, China, c. 1786-1790, by family descent from Captain Samuel Shaw (shown upper right), $15,00025,000

back cover: Shaker objects from the Collection of Francisco Sierra. Sierra was an internationally known interior designer who was adept at working in hotel lobbies, restaurants, and corporate boardrooms. He found a passion for Shaker design and the communities where Shakers lived and worshipped through his friendship with Gerry Wertkin, former director of the Museum of American Folk Art.

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