It’s nice to see American furniture selling well. A pair of elegant mahogany Chippendale side chairs with shell carved back, pierced splats slip seats all set on cabriole legs with ball and claw feet, Massachusetts, circa 1760 were among the hundreds of items sold at Nadeau’s Auction Gallery’s annual American Antiques auction, held March 27th. The pair sold for $6,325.
As has become tradition for this sale, the auction began with a good assortment of estate jewelry and many of the coveted lots brought strong prices, including several Tiffany and Company pieces did very well, including a platinum and diamond bracelet bringing in $2,760, and a stunning antique choker set with turquoise and pearls sold for $3,565. All prices listed include the buyer’s premium.
Other furniture didn’t do so well, however. An attractive sofa described as “classical mahogany sofa with shell carved back on turned and carved legs, c. 1840” estimated at $800-$1,200, sold for only $230. Likewise an item described as “William and Mary two drawer blanket chest on ball feet in red finish” (lot 344) estimated at $3,500-$5,000 brought $172.50. Clearly there’s still room for improvement in the furniture market.
Other items noted in the press release include a German oval porcelain plaque with a hand painted partially clad woman in an original gilt frame with a Wagner signature, brought in $11,500. A stunning Charles Ethan Porter still life oil on canvas painting of fruit, sold for $13,800. A quaint primitive folk art oil on canvas portrait of a girl in a red dress, in the original gilt frame, marked on rear “Henry Porter School Farmington, CT” did well at $4,888.
A Queen Anne tavern table with an oval top, scalloped apron, set on turned legs with pad feet went for $3,220, while a Carl Clemens Moritz Rungius (1869-1959) etching titled “The Wanderer” surpassed estimates to $3,450. A lovely German porcelain plaque, featuring a scene of a young girl with an apple and cheese was presented in its original carved gilt Rococo frame brought in $3738. A signed Hawks cut glass center bowl in an oval form with two large handles sold for $1,840.
Urban Art & Antiques 
What a shame the classical sofa did not do any better. Perhaps a better description would have helped. It appears to be a Grecian style empire period sofa. Since it was made at the end of the period, it may be considered as a crossover piece; but appears to have all the elements of that period. The large shell carved into the back was meant to evoke thoughts of Venus’ birth and her presentation to the gods as she arrived on an over-sized shell. The scroll arms and turned legs accurately mimic images of Grecian seating furniture found on excavated pottery. The description hit the time period accurately. But in the end, it is often just what the market will bear.
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