Lighting up the sale for $22,800, top-lot status was awarded to this circa 1915 Tiffany Studios table lamp in the Blue Tulip pattern, 21 inches high, which was complete with its original bronze base ($15/20,000).

Review by Kiersten Busch

CAMDEN, S.C. — The collection of James V. Nixon, Jr (Philadelphia and Augusta, Ga.), and fine furniture from the collection of a Charleston, S.C., gentleman, as well as other decorative arts, silver, crystal, Chinese export and French porcelain items were the focus of Wooten & Wooten’s Fall Estates and Collections at Auction sale, which was conducted on September 6. While auctioneer and owner Jeremy Wooten declined to share a sale total or sell-through rate, he noted, “The sale was great! We are seeing more bidding on American furniture and some English, and the Nixon collection was hitting on all cylinders. We saw a lot of participation on his items.”

A circa 1915 Tiffany Studios Blue Tulip table lamp earned the highest price of the day, besting its $15/20,000 estimate at $22,800. Both its shade and original bronze base were signed, and it had provenance to the collection of a Greenville, S.C., family. Another circa 1915 Tiffany table lamp, this one in the Apple Blossom pattern, was signed on both its shade and bronze base with patina throughout. In “well-kept” condition, it sold to a young North Carolina collector for $19,200.

Shooting to $21,600 was a pair of silver-mounted Georgian pistols made by Joseph Heylin and once belonging to Major Patrick Ferguson, which were accompanied by a silver-handled officer’s dagger “said to have been seized at the Battle of Kings Mountain in South Carolina,” according to catalog notes. A booklet sold with the lot also detailed how the pistols were discovered in Sullivan County, Tenn., and remained in the collection of the same mountain family “for nearly 200 years.” Only one other pistol lot sold; an antique pepperbox revolver pistol marked “GW” on its barrel, which was consigned from the collection of a Charleston gentleman ($360).

Cataloged as “highly important,” this pair of silver-mounted Georgian pistols made by Joseph Heylin may have belonged to Major Patrick Ferguson; they were sold together with the silver handled officer’s dagger seized at the Battle of Kings Mountain in South Carolina for $21,600 ($30/50,000).

Furniture was led by a Southern carved and figured mahogany linen press, most likely made in Charleston, S.C., circa 1790. Indicative of the region, it had a molded crown above a carved candlewick freeze. The 80-inch-tall cabinet was consigned from the collection of an American furniture scholar and collector and will head to another collector in the Mid Atlantic for his personal collection for $8,400.

Three more linen presses found new homes, including a circa 1790-1810 mahogany example from Charleston heading to “a South Carolina gentleman who is an avid Southern furniture collector” for $5,040, shared Wooten, as well as two circa 1800 American Federal figured mahogany examples, one made in coastal North Carolina or Virginia ($3,360) and the other most likely made in Baltimore ($2,040).

Fine art also attracted bidder attention, as an untitled oil on canvas depicting an English pointer set on a bobwhite quail in the woods by Howard Hill found a new home at $6,000. Hill, explained Wooten, “was Norman Rockwell’s maternal grandfather. Rockwell attributed his natural skill to his grandfather, even though he never met him.” This work, consigned from the collection of a prominent Midlands, S.C., family with deep roots in the region, was signed lower right and dated 1872. “The Hill is going to a gentleman farmer in South Carolina, who is going to hang it in his living room. He is a happy camper!” said Wooten.

Depicting an English pointer hunting in the woods, this oil on canvas by Howard Hill (American, active 1840-1890), 1872, 25¼ by 37¾ inches without frame, stalked down a $6,000 finish ($6/9,000).

A graphite on paper illustration by Ellen Powell Tiberino will head to a Sea Island, Ga., collector for $4,800. “She is very happy to have it,” said Wooten. The drawing depicted several unnamed African American figures. It was also the highest earning work from the Nixon collection, earning almost seven times the high end of its $500/700 estimate.

A piece that Wooten was particularly fond of was a Seventeenth Century Old Master work from the Italian School. “It made way over estimate, and it’s a 500-year-old painting. It’s been worked on a lot, but it’s in excellent condition. It’ll be headed back to Italy!” shared Wooten. Dating to the 1600s and depicting the Christ Child with Joseph and Mary, the tempera on board work was consigned from the Braford collection of Natural Bridge, Va., and made $3,360.

While a good amount of stoneware and related pottery was offered, only one made the top of Wooten’s list: a circa 1880 South Carolina storage jar signed by maker Sam Welchel. The jar was impressed with a half round maker’s mark and came in “as-found” condition. “This was a rare, upstate jar, and it made way over estimate,” said Wooten. It went to a Spartanburg, S.C., collection for $3,240. Following close behind that selection was an Edgefield, S.C., ovoid-form storage jar with double iron swag decoration attributed to the Trapp & Chandler operation, which filled up for $3,000.

Wooten & Wooten’s next sale will take place on December 6. Prices quoted include buyer’s premium as reported by the auction house. For information, 866-570-0144 or www.wootenandwooten.com.