We asked exhibitors at the Winter Antiques Show to highlight one exceptional object in their booths and describe it as they might to an interested collector. Here are the things they chose, along with some of their comments.
ALLAN AND PENNY KATZ
This artful rendering of a birdcage in the shape of the United States Capitol Building was undoubtedly made as a Centennial celebration piece in 1876. It retains its original patriotic colors and was created by our favorite artist, Anonymous.
ARONSON ANTIQUAIRS
Robert Aronson recently discovered an exceptional, large (approximately 16 ½ inches tall) Delft bouquetière in the shape of an elegantly dressed gentleman that appears to match a figure of Mary II, or Mary Stuart, that he had previously acquired. Mary and William of Orange ruled Holland and England during the Glorious Revolution from 1689 until her death in 1694. The figures are attributed to the Greek A Factory, from which the royal couple ordered many important Delft flowerpots and vases. Aronson says the find is especially significant as he knows of no other example of a male figure for holding flowers. The pair had been separated since at least 1978. The reunited royals will be shown for the first time in NewYork.
ELLIOTT AND GRACE SNYDER
An example of early eighteenth-century English needlework at its best, this brilliantly colored piece retains the vibrancy it had when made three hundred years ago. The charming and unusually detailed pastoral scene of a shepherd and shepherdess with their dog and sheep and a fisherman off to the right is enclosed within a primary border of leaves and flowers, and further enhanced by the one-of-a-kind bright yellow honeycomb surround. A rarity in terms of its composition, color, and condition, it was pictured in Thomasina Beck’s Embroidered Gardens.
HIRSCHL AND ADLER GALLERIES
Objects made from shells were extremely popular in the early years of the nineteenth century. This pair of French shellwork still lifes placed within shadow boxes with the original frames in the Empire taste dates from about 1820. They incorporate a large variety of shells, coral, fabric leaves, and seaweed arranged so that the two are nearly mirror images of one another. The “flowers” are set into reticulated bowls placed atop flared “vases” decorated with marbled paper and shells. Each is 34 inches high by 26 ¼ inches wide and 5 ¼ inches deep.
HYDE PARK ANTIQUES
One of a pair, this superb George III dressing commode in the manner of William Vile dates from circa 1770. The top dressing drawer is fitted with compartments and is enclosed by a leather-lined writing slide. Each of the commodes is executed in superb flame mahogany, which, coupled with the crisp carving of the corbels, leads to the attribution to the workshop of Vile, a noted cabinetmaker of the eighteenth century. By the 1750s Vile was considered one of the preeminent designers in London. Obtaining the Royal Warrant in 1761, he furnished Queen Charlotte’s apartments at St. James’s. His work is conserved in the Royal Collection and is documented at Holkham Hall and Badminton House.
JEFFREY TILLOU
This rare cast-zinc figure depicting Punch, the Lord of Misrule was an exceptionally rare find out of a private collection. Dating from about 1885 and standing 18 ½ inches tall, it has a little paint loss, but is in virtually untouched condition. Such figures were generally used as countertop displays in tobacconist shops and few have survived. Making this example rarer still is that the “smoking” mechanism remains: a nozzle on the back would have been inserted into a hose connected to an element that created steam, which would have been emitted from the figure’s cigar. Cast into the base is “Wm. Demuth & Co., Manufacturers New York.”
OLDE HOPE ANTIQUES
This pine chest retains its original painted finish in blue, red, yellow, and green. Dating from about 1850, it is constructed with sixteen recessed panels uniquely decorated with various leaf and heart motifs. Stencils, similar to those used to create quilt patterns, were probably used to produce these designs. This extraordinary chest descended in the Sterner family whose original homestead now lies beneath the waters of Lake Marburg in Codorus State Park in southern York County, Pennsylvania.
PETER H. EATON ANTIQUES
A very rare Stoelendraaier’s (turnedchair maker’s) conceit, this miniature armchair was created to showcase the skills of the maker, perhaps as a gift for a wealthy client. With exceptional turnings perfectly proportioned in a reduced size, it is only 18¾ inches tall, with an 8-inchseat height. The cherry and hickory chair, made circa 1720–1740 in New York, retains its original surface and has a continuous history in a Long Island family. A lengthy article on similarly-turned chairs, by Eric Gronning, appears in Luke Beckerdite’s, American Furniture, 2001.
PETER PAP
A classic Persian diamond medallion in deep indigo centers the cream field of this elegant Fereghan Sarouk rug. Dramatic arabesque vine-scrolls surround the medallion while the field is cornered with lapis blue corner-pieces encompassing abstracted but finely drawn lily ornament colored in ochre. This same color is used in the main border and balances perfectly with complementary contrasting blue tones found elsewhere throughout the rug.
STEPHEN AND CAROL HUBER
This elegant silk-embroidered picture from an engraving by American engraver Joseph H. Seymour (active 1791–1822) depicts the queen of Sheba visiting King Solomon. Worked in Philadelphia around 1820 at the Folwell School, and executed in a variety of colored silk threads, gold and silver braids, jewels, sequins, and multicolored beads, the large embroidery (29 ½ by 34½ inches by sight) is one of the finest, most highly developed examples of schoolgirl needlework known. It offers a two-hundred-year-old window through which to look back at life twenty-eight hundred years earlier. According to the Bible, the queen of Sheba visited King Solomon to see the splendor of his new temple and test his famed wisdom with difficult philosophical questions and riddles. Note the casualness with which the queen rests her arm on her attendant’s shoulder while quizzing the king.
