A pair of marine oil paintings by the British artist Thomas Buttersworth (1768‱842) sold for $33,925 at a multi-estate sale held October 21 by Gordon S. Converse & Co. The paintings were the top achievers in a two-session sale that featured some 275 lots of fine art, period American furniture, ceramic objects, decorative accessories, vintage clocks and more.
The Buttersworth oils included “ Glasgow & Cutter Scout ,” the top earner at $19,550, and “ Glasgow & Albion ,” which finished at $14,375. Both paintings were executed circa 1826′7 and were housed in later giltwood frames. Each was 19 inches by 23¼ inches.
“It seems to me that the added value to these attractive paintings is that they are a pair, having survived together since the original execution,” said Gordon S. Converse, adding, “the paintings were both purchased by the same bidder.”
Converse said ceramics held their own without breaking any records, but damaged pieces did not sell well at all. “As soon as they see that nick or chip, the paddles come down,” he commented.
“Overall, however, considering this was only our fourth auction, I’d say we did quite well,” he said. Tops in the furniture category was a well-crafted early Nineteenth Century mahogany American dresser or vanity with a drawer commode and lyre-form carved supported cheval mirror that realized $1,840; an Eighteenth Century English or Irish walnut dish top Georgian walnut veneer tea table at $1,380; and a nice Chippendale-style solid mahogany, closed bonnet highboy, 84 inches tall by 40 inches wide, that hit $1,150.
A high chest of drawers stamped with the maker, Leopold Stickley of New York, and with a Chippendale-style casement realized $748. A Winchester repeating rifle (“the rifle that won the West”), Model 1873, hit a bull’s-eye for $920.
An interesting and rare silk marriage pillow, dated 1722, had tassels at each corner and the initials of the soon-to-be-married, “EH” and “HJ”. It was decorated with tulip flowers and hearts, and garnered $1,725.
A Charles Lotton etch-signed art glass vase, 10 inches tall, made $1,035, and a fine white Federal American mantel, 58 inches by 67½ inches, brought $1,035.
Other fine art included a framed and matted Nineteenth Century engraving after Benjamin West’s “William Penn’s Treaty with the Indians” that went for $1,150. A Victorian-era antique oil portrait of a happy cavalier at a tavern breezed to $900, which seemed to be a great value, since the elaborate gilt frame was about perfect and the image was by a listed artist, Converse said.
An antique oil painting on tin measuring 7½ by 5½ inches and titled on the frame, “Self Portrait Thomas Scully 1783‱872,” was painted by Scully at age 80 and framed later. It sold at $805. A pointillist painting of sailboats at a dock by George W.K. Newbold (American, 1879‱948) realized $633.
In ceramics, a pair of nicely decorated yellow and blue glazed bowls soared to $2,645, and a celadon yellow glazed bowl, 7 inches in diameter and embossed with landscape suggestions, hit $891.
A solid walnut Chippendale Pennsylvania tall case clock, 90 inches tall, went to $3,795, and a Federal American solid cherry grandfather clock, circa 1800‱830, made $2,300.
A walnut Chippendale-style side chair in the manner of Eighteenth Century Philadelphia with carved ball and claw feet brought $690; and a walnut American Chippendale-style carved stool with cabriole legs and ball and claw feet topped out at $690.
All prices reported include a 15 percent buyer’s premium.
Gordon S. Converse & Co. is at 758 Mancill Road, Strafford, PA 19087. For more information, 610-722-9004, www.AuctionsatConverse.com or www.ConverseClocks.com .
