Converse and Company, antiques dealers for a generation and now an auction company, had a very good sale on October 18 at the firm’s gallery in this Philadelphia suburb. Gordon Converse, owner and principal officer, said after the sale, “I was very pleased with the auction as it was very good activity for the bidders; in fact, there were a great many very good deals for them. Given the current state of the economy, we knew going in this would not be record high prices, but sales were good and we did reach good totals for the day.”
Much of the sale comprised the contents of a home in Bath, N.H., an estate Converse received to liquidate. As such, many of the furniture lots were early New England pieces, such as the Bath Post Office divider bins, a set of early Windsor chairs and more. Even the early wicker and a sleigh came from the North.
Sales results included a Nineteenth Century American mahogany chest in old finish with two ogee molded drawers above four drawers, the topmost being largest. It also featured a crest on top and turned feet. With minor veneer losses, it reached $287. An Eighteenth Century American walnut inlaid blanket chest, 25 by 52 by 23 inches, inlaid with the name “Barbara Schmittin” and dated 1787 with old hardware, hammered down at $1,553. Also from the Eighteenth Century, a drop leaf oval top walnut table with cabriole legs went to a new home for $489.
Signed “Jno. Armstrong, Newcastle” a Sheraton Nineteenth Century mahogany inlaid eight-day tall case clock with rocking ship animation was made of mahogany veneer with inlay case and stood about 7 feet 10 inches high. It opened at $2,500 and sold at $3,335. A mahogany commode dating to the late 1800s with turned feet and featuring four drawers, brass pulls, measuring 41 by 43 by 21 inches, sold at $345, one bid. A Swiss cylindrical music box in a rosewood painted case seemed a bargain at $150. A silver plate pitcher, 9½ inches high, stamped “Sheets Rockford Co, †1875” went for $46. There was a Nineteenth Century mahogany Canterbury, 20 by 19 by 14 inches, having four upper compartments above a drawer, all standing on turned feet with casters; it finished at $575. A pair of 9½-inch gilt brass engraved single candle candlesticks went for $218.
Two silver pin trays marked sterling and a gold-tipped and ivory writing pen reached $58. Two boxes including a mahogany veneer and inlay decorated trinket box, 4 by 11 by 8 inches, together with a Nineteenth Century rosewood veneer trinket box with old finish and some losses of veneer, finished inside and included key, were $69.
A Feodor Tchoumakoff (Russian, 1823‱911) painting of a young woman with a rose beret in a gilt frame, 8 by 10½ inches, signed, lower right †it exhibited craqueleur, surface grime and was mounted in a frame with losses †made $489. A nacre and lacquer decorated powder puff box and jewelry/watch holder went for just $23; and an assorted lot of cloisonné with small dishes, a trinket box and ashtrays totaled $46. Eight small glazed oval medallions, miniature paintings showing exotic women, potentates and buildings, sold together for $201. A Jos. Linz & Bros sterling dish reached $58, while a weighted sterling silver bud vase was $23. Three majolica plates sold as a single lot for $35, and a majolica pitcher was $17. Four collectible match cases, two in silver repousse, went to $58.
A tortoise and silver mounted trinket chest, 6 by 8 by 4 inches, was $1,035 after protracted bidding from several in the audience. A New England fan backed Windsor rocking chair with “bamboo” turnings, which appeared to have original paint and faintly visible stencil designs, circa 1800, went out the door at $115; a finely carved tilt top mahogany tea table with pie crust edge achieved $345. From the Bath, N.H., post office, a wall sectional with three different size cubby hole compartments, 55 by 56 inches overall, sold for $173.
Attributed to William H. Rinehart (American, 1825‱874) was a white marble sculpture on a cast stone base, the statue being 36 inches high. Rinehart, considered among the finest of American classical sculptors, according to Converse’s sale catalog, “may have created this as a preliminary study for his masterpiece ‘Clytie’ while living in Italy. The presence of the Peabody Museum’s ‘Clytie’ is very similar to the pose of this example, with the exception of the right arm, which in the Peabody example is extended downward holding a sunflower, the metamorphic symbol of this Greek Goddess. This could explain the reattachment of the right arm in our example as an experimental attempt by the artist at trying different positions of the arm before starting his masterpiece.” After active bidding, the final price was $4,025.
A Louis XVI-style Nineteenth Century mantel clock, 16 inches high, was $98; a whirligig weather vane with sawing lumberjack had some paint losses and a missing wind vane. Mounted on a display stand; 20 inches high, it reached $40.
From Daniel Rose (1749‱827), Reading, Penn., there was a Chippendale walnut relief carved tall clock, 7 feet 11 inches high. It featured a painted dial of American origin with the four seasons depicted, a central seconds hand (now missing), and a watercolor portrait mounted within the waist door. Rose was a celebrated maker working as early as 1779 who also served as a lieutenant in the Revolutionary War and a state legislator. His work at the sale was rewarded with a final price of $18,975. A Louis XV-style bombe walnut veneer marble topped commode, featured fine and profuse gilt brass mounts and large rococo-style pulls and old locks, and two drawers are located above two drawers. There was debate about whether the piece was Eighteenth or Nineteenth Century, but the final price was only $7,475, suggesting the buyers believed it to be the later century.
Prices reported include the 15 percent buyer’s premium.
Converse and Company will continue with auctions at its Malvern location, with the next one to be conducted in February 2009. For information, 610-722-9004 or www.converseclocks.com .
