|
On January 5, The Cobbs Auctioneers of
Peterborough, New Hampshire, broke up the midwinter blues with a
sale strong in New England country furniture. A packed house of more
than 225 people sorted through good, solid Massachusetts and New
Hampshire case pieces, with a true rarity from the South thrown in
just for balance.
A small and simple octagonal New Hampshire tripod candle stand
with strong Dunlap features pulled in a solid $8050
(includes buyer's premium). Auctioneer Charlie Cobb elaborated,
"The top of it was made just like the Dunlaps did, and the fact
that it was pinned with the legs not going all the way down to the
bottom—they're let in on the side, they're mortised in—that's a
Dunlap feature. And the shape of the leg was very Dunlap."
It had a few characteristics, however, that didn't
quite add up to Dunlap, such as its small size and the round shaft
piercing the top. "That's why I said `Dunlap school,'"
Cobb admitted. "But the way the top was made was very Dunlap,
with that [octagonal shape] and the chamfer underneath the top,
going down to where the shaft was.
(continued in next
column)
|
|
wasn't, so does that mean
it's not Dunlap? Not necessarily, but it's not quite as `in the
book' picture perfect."
The lead item was a Queen Anne walnut and maple
slant-front desk with a terrific amphitheater interior, two secret
drawers, long starburst inlays on the lid, and unusually shaped
raised-pad button feet. It led the pack at $11,500 and sold to a
major dealer on the phone. Cobb assigned it a Boston origin, noting
the inlays and a scooped and inlaid center drawer. He also cited the
use of maple on the side panels. The wineglass-shaped feet were a
bit odd, and Cobb noted, "When something is a bit out of the
ordinary, it can hold it back sometimes or it can sell for
more...The person who bought it was willing to pay more because it
was different."
A $3737.50 mahogany bowfront chest of four drawers
with a nice line inlay and ball-and-claw feet was attributed to New
Hampshire maker Levi Bartlett. Cobb noted the peculiar foot
structure, saying Bartlett "has a very recognizable way of
attaching his feet, much in the same way the earlier period
furniture was done, in that he put the blocking underneath the
chest, which he then nails into the bottom, and the feet go into
that. So the attachment of the feet is done very similar to the way
a ball-footed chest would have been done in an earlier period."
(continued
in next column) |
|
provenance that included Pennsylvania dealer C.L. Prickett, as
evidenced by a paper label that looked to be about 25 years old
inside the top drawer. It brought $8050, despite a broken foot and
oddly mismatched graining between the lid and the lower case.
Probably the rarest item in
the sale was a wonderful Hepplewhite mahogany inlaid sugar chest
from the South with tapered legs, simple rope inlays on the edges,
and a drawer below. In the early 1800's, sugar was such a luxury
that it was often stored under lock and key. It was formed into
cone-shaped loaves, and, when needed, the cook would take out the
nippers (usually stored in the drawer under the chest) and nip off a
chunk. We understand that some folks even kept a ledger in the
drawer for recording sugar withdrawals and deposits, so dear was the
commodity.
In a protracted contest between floor and phone, the
chest finally sold for $5865 to a floor bidder, reportedly acting as an
agent for a southern client. Cobb felt that its less-than-perfect
condition added to its charm and value. He said that the chest's
condition was "very `as found,'" and people like that in
unusual items "because it's real."
|
