Catalog: Antiques (578)

A superbly constructed copper weathervane of a three masted barque ship. The details and accuracy of this ship vane are amazing, with its multiple sails and rigging. This fine example was previously part of the collection at the Texaco world headquarters.

The ship, on a custom made stand, is 36" long and 32" tall, with a beautiful patina, is in excellent condition, with no flaws to speak of.

A beautiful handmade tablecloth and napkins set of Italian needle lace of Pointe de Venice type, with the characteristic scrolling floral patterns with additional floral motifs worked in relief (embroidered).

The condition is excellent, with no tears or other flaws of anything but minor note. The tablecloth is 106" by 70" and the 12 napkins are 21" by 21".

Two sided pine game board with strong graphics and vibrant colors, displaying an unusual variant of the common structure of parcheesi. A checkers board is on the reverse side.

All original paint, original metal corners, overall excellent condition with a minor scratch on one side, and a wood chip in the top right on the reverse side. 23" by 23"

A large and striking carnival gambling wheel, painted in vibrant yellow, red, black, and blue. In overall excellent condition, and has a support post and spinner. All divider nails are present. 35 inches in diameter.

An absolutely charming hooked rug depicting a 3 masted sailing ship flying 4 different flags; mounted on stretched fabric over a frame; 36" by 24"

In very good condition except for a few minor pulls at the edges, whuch are easily and cheaply repaired.

A fine and unusual French lame silk shawl. Black shawls are considerably more common than the cream and silver of this example. Multicolored flowers at the corners and a silver medallion in the center combine in this striking design, which is enhanced by the silk ombre fringe on all sides.

The shawl is in excellent condition, with no holes, tears, stains, or missing fringe. There are some creases which can be removed with care. The size is 48" on all sides, with 18" fringes.

A Canton hand embroidered silk piano shawl with a vibrant design of large red flowers and a vine and leaf motif with multicolored smaller flowers set against a black background. The embroidery is of a superb and dense quality silk floss. On each of the four sides is a black elaborately knotted net "bridge" between the scarf and the long fringes.

This fine example is in excellent overall condition and measures 50" square with an additional 14" fringe on each side.

This is a rare and striking folk art example of a tinsel or foil painting. The vast majority of tinsel paintings are of flowers, but this one, as does item a1175, focuses instead on fruit. This particular gem shows a rose colored glass compote with plums, cherries, strawberries, pear, etc. Colors are deep and very vibrant, and include blues, purple, orange, yellow, greens, etc...

A walnut bracket and shelf intricately carved with a panoply of Masonic symbols. The shelf portion itself folds flat against the back bracket, and is supported by a swing-out brace.

Pencilled writing on the back of this item says that it was purchased in 1938 and was believed to be over 100 years old then, which is probably about 25 years on the optimistic side. The shelf has been shellaced or varnished; 19" high, 10 1/2" wide, 6" deep.

This is a superb example of the hooked rug pattern generally attributed to E.S. Frost & Company. Although Frost did have a lion pattern, it was substantially different and less complex than the Lion and Palm pattern designed by Ebenezer Ross, which is the one offered here. This particular rug is also done in a beautiful and uncommon combination of colors. Notice the striped motif along the bottom, mirroring a tiger or zebra pattern...

A wonderful and strong American freehand watercolor on paper folk art theorem. Strawberries, apples, cherries, and pears, with their foliage, are depicted in bold colors with a whimsical style. They rest in a large bowl with a light brown tint (not stained).

In contrast to the creasing, heavy foxing and flaws that many examples of this type art have, the overall condition is excellent, with no tears and only a spot or two or discoloration...

A very fine twig basket, dating from the late 19th or early 20th century. It was found in Pennsylvania, and is painted black, with the border and edge decoration painted in green, yellow, and orange over the black. The interior central portion of the basket is painted in green.

The basket is 8 5/8" in diameter and 4" tall. Condition is terrific, with no breaks...

A fine painted gameboard painted with red numbers on black squares on a brown background. This type of gameboard was supposedly used for playing checkers games by mail, using the numbers to describe the piece positions; also possibly used for teaching checkers; size is 29 1/2" by 21" by 1 1/2". Excellent condition.

An unusual foil, or tinsel, painting depicting two birds hovering over a large flowering plant. The painting is done basically in tones of taupe and green. The frame is period and is most likely original. The back is sealed with paper that appears to have been a student's calligraphy practice.

Condition is very good, with some very minor paint separation at some points on the edges. The grayish areas in the painting are shadows from when the photograph was taken...

A beautiful covered Bohemian goblet, with blue enameling, cutting, and engraved with roses and foliage, a true exhibition of decorative exuberance; 7 1/2" tall with cover, 5 5/8" tall without cover, 2 5/8" diameter bowl, 2 5/8" diameter foot

A simple but elegant brandy warmer with beaded lid and base rims, the thumb rest on the lid molded as a scallop shell, the angled handle of aged wood with a nice patina.

The piece is 3 3/8" tall, and 2 7/8" wide, 5 1/8" wide including the handle. Excellent condition.

A reverse painted tinsel painting, unusual for its combination of geometric and floral elements, and for its forceful colors; period gilded frame; sight size 9 1/2" by 7 1/2"; framed size 12 1/2" by 10 5/8"

A bold and beautiful tinsel, or foil, painting, reverse painted on glass. The subject matter is a yellow and white urn, filled with a bountiful array of various flowers, done in a rainbow of colors. The period and probably original frame is of high quality mahogany, which is very rarely found on this type of work.

The painting is in overall excellent condition, and the frame itself has some scuffing and wear, which could easily be touched up...

A truly striking reverse-painted game board featuring a rainbow of colors and a highly unusual mottled border. In pristine condition, and housed in its original wood frame.

22" by 22" by 1 1/2" high.

An absolutely charming group of small schoolgirl paintings of animals, soldiers, plants, etc., mounted together and presented in three period gilt frames. The back of each framed group indicates that these were all done around 1840 by Miss E. Green of Pennsylvania.

The condition is generally very good, with some rippling to the paper. The frames have expected wear but display well...

An extremely folky and graphically strong hooked rug with vibrant colors, initialled KP and dated 1898;some minor and invisible museum quality restoration was done, and the rug was then mounted on acid free cloth and frame; a nice large size of 56" by 27"

This banneret weather vane, found in upstate New York, is constructed of sheet and wrought iron, and has an incredible presence and visual impact. Featuring a flag with a central cut-out, scrollwork on either side of the flag, and an ornate three dimensional flower blossom at the end, it exemplifies the whimsy that one looks for in great items of folk art.

The vane has a wonderful weathered and rough brown surface, and is in overall excellent condition...

A beautifully worked quilt with the "Star of Bethlehem" design, surrounded by stuffed-work flowers and vines; 87" by 81". Excellent condition.

From the latter half of the 19th century, this beautifully proportioned iron vane graced the spire of the United Baptist Church in Ellsworth, Maine. In 1933, a major fire swept through the town, burning many of the buildings, including the church. When the church was finally rebuilt, the council wanted a more modern look, and stored the vane in the basement, where it remained for the next 70 years or so...

A vibrant and charming American folk art tinsel painting showing a variety of fruit and foliage in a white compote set upon a slab of marble. Wonderful condition, with a sight size of 12 inches by 15 1/4 inches, and a beautiful, non-period frame of 16 3/4 inches by 20 inches.

Showing the whimsy that exemplifies good American folk art, this watercolor double portrait depicts a young man and woman who are clearly siblings. The artist achieved a starkness by having them in black clothing and not accentuating the details of their garb. In fact, the basic touches of color are only the blue in the girl's eyes and in the sky against which they are posed. Note that neither sitter is gazing directly at the viewer, nor are they looking in the same direction...

A playing card game box of coromandel wood, with mother-of-pearl plaque on the top and keyhole escutcheon. The interior has a silk lined lid, and is divided into 5 sections, three of which contain 5 or 6 old decks of playing cards made by the Goodall Company, one section containing 4 Bezique registers made by Goodall, 4 whist markers made by De La Rue & Co., and a small booklet on how to play Bezique. The fifth section has two scoring pegs and an old newspaper article on playing Bezique.

The b...

A fine example of early American folk art. Generally classed as fraktur type, paintings such as these were done by children, and were often, as this one was, painted on a page from a ledger or notebook. This particular piece is a charming depiction of a horse, and is housed in a period frame with a wonder crusty surface.

The painting is in very good condition, with good color, and no tears or creases. It does have some very common spots of discoloration which might well have been there since ...

A fine multicolored velvet ikat from Uzbekistan, carefully mounted on acid free fabric. The condition is quite fine with one very small area with some thread separation, and the sight size is 20 1/2" by 15 1/2".

NOTE: This sample can be shipped on the board, or removed with its backing and shipped rolled up.

A sentimental Bohemian souvenir or memento flashed red glass mug, with a nicely curved handle. Etched with flowers and the saying "To My Son." In superb condition, standing 4 1/8 inches tall, with a diameter of 2 3/8 inches.

This glass is a companion piece to g1217, identical except for the floral arrangement on top of the cartouche surrounding the saying.

A naïve portrait of a young man holding a book, done in watercolor, ink, and pencil. Although unsigned, every characteristic of J.A. Davis' work is present, from the materials used to the composition, to the painting technique. Similar to lot 834 at the Sotheby's 1/25/15 auction and to lots 119 and 120 at the Skinner 11/2/18 sale. .

Excellent condition with no tears, folds, or restoration. There is some light even toning which is very common with her works and does not detract from this gem o...

A wonderful double sided smalt trade sign for D.M. Woodward, Doctor of Chiropractic. The gilded letters and the black smalt background are virtually intact and vibrant. The frame is original, and measures 28 3/4 inches by 14 inches by 2 inches deep. There is a small sliver out of the frame at one upper edge, and a small gap in the frame at the corner. Aside from these very minor flaws, the piece is in excellent condition.

A nicely decorated document box featuring red and black grain painting, the edges with yellow and green striping.

The box is 13 1/4 inches in length, 7 1/4 inches in depth, and 6 1/2 inches tall. Overall condition is excellent, with no cracks or breaks, and virtually all of the original, unrestored paint is present. The lock and hinges are original and in fine shape. There is the normal amount of wear along some of the box edges.

A nicely executed painting of Stephen Girard, capturing the inner essence of this important person. Excellent condition, and in a period gilt frame which is in very good condition. Sight size is 21 3/4" by 16".

Stephen Girard came to the United States, and Philadelphia, around 1776, and became one of the wealthiest men in the nation. He was well-known for his philanthropy, and founded Girard College. During the War of 1812, Girard was responsible for saving the U.S. from financial collapse. ...

A beautiful and striking pair of American folk art pastel still life paintings. The fruit is laid out on a green table, and wonderfully executed. The black background provides superb contrast and highlights the radiance of the apples, pears, grapes, peaches, etc.

The gilded over gesso frames are period and probably original. Sight size of each is 16 3/4" by 12 7/8", while the framed size is 21 1/4" by 17 3/4". The paintings have been laid down on stiffer paper and are not smeared, touched up, ...

A fine tinsel, or foil, painting. The relatively uncommon subject matter is a basket of fruit, nicely reverse painted on glass with tinsel backing. What unfortunately doesn't show well in the photo, because of the lighting, is the bunch of grapes directly under the basket.

The painting is in very good condition, with what is probably its original gilded frame and wood backing. The overall size is 16" by 14".