“If we had something, we had a stack of them,” commented auctioneer Peter Imler of Stanton Auction in regard to the auction conducted at the gallery on June 23. “We had well over 100 pieces of period furniture, 25 case pieces, a dozen candlestands, period chests&” he said, and the list went on and on.
Stanton’s advertisement for the auction claimed that the full page of photos displayed “barely represented the tip of the iceberg,” in terms of the quantity of merchandise offered. Consigned from two local estates and several other Massachusetts estates, along with an Eighteenth Century Suffield, Conn., home, the selection of early furniture and accessories was abundant.
Close to 500 lots were sold during the Tuesday evening auction, with the sale staring early due to the volume of materials. Imler began knocking items down at 4:30 pm during one of his usual “pavilion” sales, where merchandise that did not make the cut is sold in the round-about fashion, sometimes at bargain prices.
The 90-plus lots under the pavilion were dispensed with quickly, as Imler moved inside for an additional 400-plus lots that included everything from a diamond bracelet to a bonnet top Chippendale chest-on-chest.
Period furniture was offered routinely throughout the evening. The first lot of significance came early in the sale as a Chippendale tilt top walnut tea table with ball and claw feet, thought to be of Philadelphia origin, attracted the attention of several in the crowd, selling at $5,462.
The top lot of the auction came as a cherry Chippendale chest-on-chest attributed to Hartford cabinetmaker George Belden crossed the auction block. With a bold bonnet top, reeded columns, fan-carved upper drawer and cabriole legs ending in ball and claw feet, the chest was on the market for the first time, according to Imler. With four phone bidders lined up, Imler opened the piece in the gallery, with bids culminating at $11,500; the winning bid came from a private collector.
A William and Mary chest with two-over-three-drawer configuration was another of the furniture lots to do well. In a red wash and with ball feet, the chest hammered down at $7,762.
A Connecticut River Valley Queen Anne highboy with bonnet top and flame finials also did well, selling at $4,600. Also attracting a great deal of attention was a grain painted two-drawer blanket chest on a boldly cutout base. Bidding on the lot was brisk, with it selling for $4,312.
Several Windsor chairs were offered, with a nice fanback with well-turned and widely splayed legs selling at $805. Other examples sold between $575 and $1,150. Two case pieces attributed to York, Maine, maker Samuel Sewall went out reasonably, with a Queen Anne walnut tray top tea table, formerly on display at the York Historical Society, selling at $2,530, while a server brought $1,380.
A collection of more than 40 pieces of tartanware did well, with the lots selling individually for an accumulative price of $4,887.
A Black Hawk weathervane in a mustard finish sold at $2,530, while a large horse vane stamped “J. Harris” realized $1,265.
Two auctions ago, Stanton’s offered what it thought may have been a first edition set of Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin , although it was later learned that they were in fact later editions. The previous offering, however, resulted in a two-volume set of first editions being consigned to the most recent auction. Collectors were out in force to compete for the rare editions, although a Southern collector ultimately claimed them via the telephone for $8,625.
Paintings were led by an attractive Hudson River School landscape that Imler attributed to John Kensett. The attractive painting opened for bidding at $1,000 and hammered down moments later for $4,025. Another painting, thought possibly to be an early work by Paul Cezanne, may have been the sleeper of the auction, hammering down at $6,325.
Other items of interest included a Honikawa School Samurai sword that went out at $2,875, an early ship’s cannon $690 and a sea chest that sold for $632.
Prices include the 15 percent buyer’s premium. For further information, 413-566-3161 or www.stantonauctions.com .
