These two Regency-era terrestrial and celestial globes, manufactured by John and William Carey, earned the highest price of both days of the sale, spinning in at $39,975. Both were 47 inches tall and 27 inches in diameter ($35/45,000).
Review by Kiersten Busch
NANTUCKET, MASS. — On August 3 and 4, Rafael Osona Auctions conducted a two-day sale, offering more than 1,000 lots of varying Americana, fine and decorative arts and maritime antiques.
Both days of the sale were led by a pair of terrestrial and celestial globes manufactured by London-based John and William Carey, which spun to $39,975. The New Terrestrial Globe was dated March 1, 1815, while the New and Improved Celestial Globe was dated March 1, 1799. Both globes consisted of hand-colored engravings on a plaster sphere, each capped with a brass hour circle. They were mounted on brass meridian and mahogany tripod stands, which contained engraved calendar rings and cross stretchers, as well as a compass on raised casters.
Day two of the auction, which focused on maritime antiques, was led by a large Nineteenth Century narwhal tusk, discovered in the Arctic Circle, which earned $20,480. The auction catalog described it as having “fine patina” and measuring 6 feet 9 inches tall.
Day one of the sale, Americana, Fine Art, Decorative Arts, offered just that. The top lots were a perfect medley of the offered categories, with an oil on masonite by American artist Anne Ramsdell Congdon going out for $36,900 — the second-highest price of the day. The painting, in an elaborate gilt frame, was titled “View of Monomoy Beyond the Creeks.” It was signed and dated “Anne Congdon 1933” lower right.
“View of Monomoy Beyond the Creeks” by Anne Ramsdell Congdon (American, 1873-1958), 1933, oil on masonite, 20 by 25 inches framed, signed lower right, was bid to $36,900, the second-highest price of day one ($30/40,000).
Although not a painting, other forms of art also interested bidders, with “The Captain Bunker House,” a fine embroidery piece by Susan Boardman, earning more than three times its high estimate of $5,000. Housed in a bird’s-eye maple frame, the circa 1740 piece depicted a patriotic Nantucket, Mass., home with a backyard in full bloom. It went to its new home for $15,990.
On a similarly patriotic note, a Society of the Cincinnati document signed by George Washington and Henry Knox, dating May 5, 1784, earned $12,800. Matted and framed, the document acknowledged, “Be it known that Captain George Webb is a Member of the Society of the Cincinnati.”
Ship portraits were popular with buyers on day two, The Marine Auction. The second-highest price of the day was “Schooner Hannah Coomer” by William Gay Yorke, which sailed to a $12,300 finish. The oil on canvas in a contemporary gilt frame depicted the schooner Hannah Coomer, which was built in Boston in 1870. It was signed on the lower left, “Wm. G. Yorke, May 1874, Brooklyn.” The lot was also accompanied by a catalog from Boston’s Vose Galleries, where the painting was on display during the gallery’s “American Ship Portrait and Marine Exhibition (April 3-May 31, 1990). Another oil on canvas by Yorke, titled “Black Star Line Packet Ship Winged Racer” (1862), finished at $10,240.
“Three Masted Topsail Schooner” by William Stubbs (American, 1842-1909), circa 1883, oil on canvas, 28 by 42 inches framed, signed and dated lower left, sailed to $10,240, surpassing its $5/7,000 estimate.
“Three Masted Topsail Schooner” by William Stubbs rounded out the top three lots of day two. The circa 1883 oil on canvas was signed and dated lower left and housed in a contemporary molded gilt frame. It coasted to $10,240, more than doubling the low end of its $5/7,000 estimate. Derek George Montague Gardner’s “Four Masted Ship with Sloop and Steamer on the Open Sea,” an oil on canvas in an elaborate carved gilt frame, earned $6,400.
Carved polychrome maritime objects also excelled with bidders. Crafted from antique whale bone, “The Harpooner,” a Nineteenth Century whaler-made polychromed and carved sculpture of a sailor with a harpoon atop a mechanical sperm whale, speared a $4,160 finish, more than doubling its high estimate. Cranking the reverse of the sculpture activated the whale, which bobbed and opened its mouth.
A vintage polychrome carved-wood eagle plaque soared to $4,380, far surpassing its $2/2,500 estimate. The 82-inch-long spread-wing eagle carried a blue ribbon banner in its beak and clutched an American flag and laurel branch in its talons.
Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For information, www.rafaelosonaauction.com or 508-228-3942.
