Folk Art Appliqued Needlework Picture of a Family Outing, Burlington, Vermont, area, c. 1810, a whimsical artistically arranged, detailed composition of appliqued, solid, and printed cotton and silk shaped fabric segments stitched to a linen foundation with silk embroidered details, depicting eleven family figures: at the center the mother, wearing a polka-dot dress is seated in a chair holding a bouquet of flowers and a book; the father is holding his clay pipe and poised to pick a cluster of flowers from a small tree; flanking the couple are nine young adults and children, amongst them are two sets of girl twins. The older twins, wearing matching striped gowns and blue polka-dotted bonnets are fawning over and grasping the arm of a young man in a striped suit. The younger twins, also wearing matching floral-printed gowns, are holding a red parasol between them, and one is holding a leash to their dog; also in the picture are two young ladies: one is holding a green parasol, the other has a posy in each hand, and a little girl stands between them wearing a pink dress and holding a small purse. Finally, a young man with his long gun and a powder flask slung across his chest stands next to them. In the foreground are a line of sheep, chickens pecking grain, and two cats; in the background two large trees are arched over the tableau with two squirrels scampering up one trunk, a black cat perched on a branch high above the father's head, and several birds stitched among the other branches. The whole scene is enclosed in an appliqued undulating line border, (minor losses and toning), 24 1/4 x 25 in., in original or period painted molded wood frame. Provenance: Family descent. According to the consignor the work belonged to Dr. Frank Falby, M.D., of Burlington, Vermont. It was handed down to his son Sidney Nelson Falby and his wife, Eleanor Weston Falby of Burlington, Vermont. Their son [Richard Falby] inherited it when his mother died in 1973. It had always hung in the Burlington, Vermont house. [He/Dick] remembers, as a child, being told that if the house ever caught fire that the picture was the most valuable article in the house and he was to carry it out with him. He was told that it had been created by his great, great, etc. grandmother in the early 1800s. Interestingly, the consignor reports there are multiple sets of twins in the Falby family. After moving to California, the consignor brought the needlework to a framer where it was restretched and put back into the original frame. The framer was impressed with the work and brought it to the attention of the Los Angeles Museum of Art, which asked if the picture could be displayed there, and upon agreement, was exhibited there for 5-6 months in 1974. Estimate $40,000-60,000 Fairly even toning and some fading, small losses to a few silk segments. The absence of a condition statement does not imply that the lot is in perfect condition or completely free from wear and tear, imperfections or the effects of aging. Condition requests can be obtained via email (lot inquiry button) or by telephone to the appropriate gallery location (Boston/617.350.5400 or Marlborough/508.970.3000). Any condition statement given, as a courtesy to a client, is only an opinion and should not be treated as a statement of fact. Skinner Inc. shall have no responsibility for any error or omission.
CHINESE CANTONESE GLAZED PLATE W/ FIGURES, 19TH C. A late Qing D, Chinese, porcelain, cantonese glazed plate, the centre decorated with three ladies sitting on a terrace and a child nearby, all dressed in colorful, elegant robes, with a bird perched on an iron-red pole, all bellow a band with pink and purple peony, scrolls, iron-red flaming pearls, with two mirroring shaped, cobalt-blue panels, decorated with two birds at the rim.
D: 6 5/16" (16cm)
Condition: In excellent condition with no damage or restoration evident.
EMIL WESTMAN PAINTING, LADY WITH BIRDCAGEEmil Westman (Swedish/Danish, 1894-1935) oil on canvas painting depicting a woman in a blue dress, seated at a window opening, with blue light spilling onto her hair and face. Behind her sits a blue table holding two caged birds and a small blue-tinted landscape painting hangs overhead. Signed Emil Westman lower right and dated '56, also signed en verso. Housed in a blue painted frame. Sight: 35" H x 26" W. Framed: 40" H x 31" W. Biography: Emil Westman was one of the founding members of the Swedish-Danish art school Koloristerne. He studied at Herlufsholm School and the Royal Institute of Art in Stockholm. He moved to Copenhagen in 1913 where he became a Danish citizen, and studied under Kristian Zahrtmann.
The estate of Dr. Thomas Bechtel, Memphis, Tennessee.
Condition:
Painting does not fit well in frame. Scattered craquelure and light buckling to canvas.
IMPORTANT INSCRIBED SWORD, UNIFORM ITEMS, IMAGES, AND PERSONAL MEMORABILIA OF COLONEL JOHN B. BATCHELDER, HISTORIAN OF THE GETTYSBURG BATTLEFIELD. This significant lot of material is all directly related to John B. Batchelder, whose life was devoted to the study, survey, and documentation of the Battle of Gettysburg and the topographical features on the battlefield and the surrounding countryside. His sword is a French Infantry Foot Officer’s sword marked "Horstmann/Bros. & Co./New York" on the ricasso with a 32" curved, sgl-edged blade, having etched designs over 40% of its surface. The etching includes scrollwork, floral embellishments, and stands of military flags and trophies. The opposite side of the ricasso is marked "K & C" within a trapezoidal cartouche. The cast brass hilt is of two-branch design with floral castings on the quillon, the branch terminus, and in the center of the knuckle bow. The pommel cap is of cast brass with a deeply engraved laurel leaf decoration. The grip is of wood covered in leather with dbl strand twisted brass wire. The scabbard is of steel, having two carrying rings with a silver oval presentation plaque mounted between the top and middle scabbard mounts. The plaque is engraved, "Presented to/Prof. J.B. Batchelder,/by the friends of the/Penna. Military Institute,/Reading July 4th 1851". CONDITION: Very good. Blade is bright, etching is frosty with light areas of surface staining. Hilt is fine. Grip is good with slight wear to the high spots. Scabbard is bright, undented, with minor surface rust scattered throughout the body. Attached to the sword is a gold wire officer’s sword knot in very good condition. 2) Batchelder’s uniform frock coat dating between 1875-1885 is a part of this lot. A custom made, non-regulation military style frock coat, dbl-breasted, being made of dark blue wool broad cloth with a standing collar measuring 1-1/2" high at the front and 2" high in the rear. The front is in cut-away style with a sgl buttonhole on the left side. The short tailed Chausseur type jacket has two U-shaped exterior pockets sewn from the bottom hem and rising about 6" high on each side. There are two rows of 7 buttons each, which are 3-pc brass buttons with a lined background and the intertwined fancy letters "BSR". They are back marked "Scovill Mf’g Co./Waterbury". The sleeves are constructed in 2-pcs, each having two looped strips of 1/4" gold braid rising from the cuff 4" and returning with a cuff sized button mounted at the top of each loop. Three small buttons are mounted on the cuff adjacent. On each shoulder are mounted a non-regulation stylized Russian-type shoulder knot being made of two strands of thick gold roping, having a third strand which surrounds an oval shaped pillow with a blue center and an embroidered numeral "1" in the center of each. The shoulder knots are terminated at the collar with a cuff-sized eagle "I" button. The knots are sewn to the uniform shoulders. The entire jacket is unlined. Also included is the orig. fiber-board box that contained Batchelder’s epaulettes.. It is inscribed on the bottom in old ink ""worn by J. D. Batchelder Reading, Pennsylvania on Governor’s staff of Governor of Pennsylvania". CONDITION: Very good. Scattered mothing, particularly on the backside of the jacket with a couple of holes on the front right side. An interesting non-regulation, perhaps military school, uniform coat. 3) Batchelder’s kepi is included. In relic condition, the body being made of dark blue wool dating from the same period of the jacket. The front rises approx. 2-1/2", the back about 5-1/2", and the crown 4-1/2" in diameter. A sgl line of dark green braid is present on the band of the kepi and running up the front, back, and each side. There is a sgl line forming a circle on the top of the crown and a sgl line of twisted braid forming a quatrefoil on top. Attached to the front is a silver wire braid embroidered wreath surrounding the Old English letters "B.L.S". There is a tarred leather chinstrap with two cuff-sized buttons, 2-pc variety having a lined background and the letters "BSR". The visor is missing. The interior is lined in dark green polished cotton with a drawstring and a tarred canvas crown. A tarred canvas rain cover is folded inside but stuck to the crown of the kepi and there is a 1-1/4" leather sweatband. CONDITION: Poor. Tattered, moth eaten. Sweatband is loose. One of the chinstrap buttons is separated but accompanies the lot. Visor is missing. 4) Accompanying the kepi is a boxed pom-pom having a cream-colored rnd wool pom-pom mounted on a brass wire having a gold oval ball and a gilt embroidered "Jeff Davis" eagle hat badge affixed. Pom-pom is accompanied by its orig teardrop shaped pasteboard box covered in black paper with a light blue edge and a white spattered decoration. Printed paper label on the front reads "I U.S. POMPOM/with Gold Ring & Eagle-" (and handwritten) "Aid/de/Camp". Accompanying are a pair of full dress regulation epaulets for a field grade officer being made of gilt wire cloth, rolled gilt braid terminating in two convex gold-plated brass crescents. Fringes of medium width. Each epaulet has a Civil War period cuff-sized eagle "R" button. The undersides are lined in bright yellow silk and to each button is tied a brown cotton tape on the bottom side for attachment. In old ink written on the undersides is "John B. Batchelder/Reading Military Inst. Principal, _____ Penn." with a similar, but mostly indiscernible, legend on the other epaulet. CONDITION: Very good. Epaulets show light wear with minor fraying to the undersides. 5) Pair of Lt. Col.’s shoulder straps. A pr being embroidered on a rectangular pc of unbleached cotton with dark blue wool top and a light blue paper backing. Sgl gilt wire border enclosing a pr of silver oak leaves on each. CONDITION: Fair. Paper undersides are intact. Each end of the rectangle has evidence of old stitching. Blue background of each is heavily moth eaten. 6) Belgian pin fire revolver, about 7mm, having a 6" rnd bbl with cartridge ejector mounted on the right side. Iron frame, trigger guard, and back strap all heavily engraved with scrolls and a floral decoration. The cylinder is engraved with scrollwork. 2-pc grips of walnut heavily checkered. A dbl action pin fire revolver which is completely unmarked but likely of Belgian manufacture. CONDITION: Very good. Traces of orig blue exist behind the recoil shield. Remainder of the gun is uncleaned with a dark plum/brown patina. 7) Letters and photographs. There are 7 small orig photographs of Batchelder in uniform in two different poses. The photographs were taken , around 1875, one view shows him in a military frock coat (similar to, but not the one included in this lot) and wearing the kepi, which is included in this lot. There are two photographs, probably taken on the same day, showing Batchelder in the same coat, but without wearing the kepi. Two of the latter exist, one cut and two in oval. Five of the others exist, one in a frame. There is a large framed photograph of a group of officers, all in full dress uniform with belts and swords, one row seated, one row standing, presumably from the Pennsylvania Military Institute. Batchelder is pictured in the standing row, third from the right. They all wear dbl-breasted, officer’s frock coats, generally conforming the 1872 pattern with shoulder knots. Belts, sashes, a variety of swords, most of non-regulation style, rest in their laps. And they all are holding their kepis, which are identical to the one included with this lot. A large format albumen, the image measures 13-1/4" x 7". It appears to be in its original frame with wide line decorated mat, however the antique frame has been re-backed. There is a large and important albumen photograph by Tipton of Gettysburg, PA, illustrating a group of ladies and gentlemen in Devil’s Den. On the lower right hand corner, the photograph is titled "R.I. Exc. Devil’s Den./Oct 14th ’86". A label on the back states that this is a photograph of Elisha Hunt Rhodes and Gettysburg Historian J.B. Batchelder at Devil’s Den, 1886. Photograph measures 17" x 14" and the image size is 15-1/2" x 12-3/4". All of the sitters wear ribbons and/or veterans badges. The rocks in the background are decorated with graffiti. CONDITION: Small portraits of Batchelder are all very good. One has been trimmed to an oval. Group photograph is in superb condition. Devil’s Den image is very good with one light water stain to the mat in the upper right hand corner. 8) Framed state military commission, partially printed document having PA. state seal. The commission reads "To John B. Batchelder of the County of Bucks Esquire:/Sends greeting: Reposing Especial trust and confidence, in your zeal, Valor, patriotism, and fidelity I have appointed you the said John B. Batchelder, to be one of my Aids-de-Camp with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Militia of this Commonwealth…". The certificate is signed by Gov. William F. Johnston and A.L. Russell, Secretary of the Commonwealth, and is dated September 4, 1851. CONDITION: Excellent. In an old period frame which has been re-backed. 9) Three letters, first dated October 1849 from Pembroke. Three pages from Batchelder to his sister, he speaks of the end of the school year and anexhibition, inviting his sister to attend, along with other personal news, signed "Yours Truly, B" in very fancy script, below which he has penned a flying fanciful bird holding a letter in its beak. Second letter, dated March 1852 Pembroke from Batchelder to "Lizzie", 4-pgs of romantic poetry signed "From your devoted lover, B". Third is an artistically penned card to "Miss Meribal Philbrick with the kind regards of your friend, J.B. Batchelder, Nottingham, NH August 26, 1879". All done in very fancy and artistic penmanship with a three line poem, at the bottom signed "Mrs. Lizzie B. Batchelder". The group also includes a wood framed heavy glass mirror measuring 5" x 3-1/2" with an old handwritten tag on the reverse "shaving mirror used by John B. Batchelder during the Civil War with the Army of the Potomac and at Gettysburg 1864-5." Small notebook, leather and brass bound with a closing clasp and its original pencil titled "Noticeable Things" by (signed) John B. Batchelder. The little booklet has a series of very small notes, drawings, and watercolors depicting interesting subjects. One depicts a window flowerpot from the Chicago Exposition, 1878, another a billiard table, flower stand. The booklet includes a few pencil sketches, some notes, and is approx. half full. The little sketchbook measures 2-1/4" x 3-1/2". CONDITION: Letters are very good. Mirror shows a great deal of use. Sketchbook is very nice, edges are worn on the outside. 10) Finally, the group includes a copy of the color lithograph completed by Batchelder and published in 1863, titled "Gettysburg Battle-field." The lithograph 28" x 39" and shows a birds eye panoramic view of the battlefield of Gettysburg looking north from the Baltimore Turnpike. Facsimile signatures of Gens. Mead, Dblday, Newton, Hancock, Birney, and others all attest to the accuracy of the presentation. CONDITION: Fair. Image is foxed and stained, particularly around the borders. Fracture through the image measuring the entire height of the print about 11" from the right margin. 11) Copy of battle reports of Gen. John Gibbons and his subordinate commanders – "The Battle of Gettysburg, July 1-July 3, 1863".John B. Batchelder, an instructor and later principal at the Pennsylvania Military Institute and with an intense interest and talent in art, geography, topography, and military history, never served in US Volunteer or Federal Forces during the Civil War, but rose to become one of the most significant and influential 19th C. military historians whose interpretations of the Battle of Gettysburg are studied to this day. Batchelder was born in September 1825 in Gilmanton, NH and by the 1850’s, was commissioned to paint various views in NJ, PA, NH, and NY City. From 1863-1865, he was listed as a print publisher in Boston and completed an oil painting "The Death of Lincoln," now in the collection of Brown University. He died at Hyde Park, MA. on December 22, 1894. A copy of an undated broadside advertisement for "Batchelder’s School of Design" lists his curriculum as "practical geometry, mensuration, mechanical and architectural drafting, the principles of shades and shadows, sketching from nature, using pencil crayon, India ink and sepia, and drawing". Immediately following the conflict of Gettysburg, he started from home for the scene of the battle and spent nearly 90 days carefully surveying and sketching its territory across a 10-sq mile area. He also collected oral histories from participants and followed inquiries from both sides of the conflict for years after the war had ended. His obituary states "Colonel Batchelder knew more about the Battle of Gettysburg than any other man ever knew about any great battle that was ever fought". Batchelder served as the most high profile and capable battlefield guide when dignitaries, veterans, and generals returned to the scene. Batchelder escorted Maj. Gen. Windfield Scott Hancock, veteran commander of the Army of the Potomac’s Second Army Corps. on his last tour of the Gettysburg battlefield on November 19 and 20, 1885. In 1880, the United States Congress appropriated $50,000 for one man to write a history of a sgl Civil War battle- Gettysburg. That congressional appropriation was a remarkable endorsement, particularly in light of the fact that many Civil War veterans controlled Congress during those years, many of them heroes of Gettysburg from both sides. In its day, and even now, this was a hefty sum to bestow on the artistic and literary work of one individual. Even more remarkable was that this prize was given to Batchelder, who was not a veteran of the Civil War, or even of the US Military. They chose a man who was not present at the battle and had never before produced a sgl historical work. Nevertheless, Batchelder’s expertise, artistic and historical talents had made such a profound impression on the nation that he was given this commission. His writings and his remarkably done landscapes of the battlefield have had a lasting effect on this historic battle. He is responsible for the placement of many monuments, the labeling of many sites on the battlefield, including the High Water Mark, an area of exhibition that he virtually created. He also documented many of the accounts of the battle passed to him from veterans of both north and south. Batchelder may well be the most influential historian of a sgl battle in world military history. This significant group of uniform, documentary, and personal objects are of great importance to the story of how all America has perceived this pivotal battle of the American Civil War. 4-57389, 4-57367 CW105 (10,000-15,000)
Four Meissen figure groups, late 19th century, each emblematic of the senses, modelled with a female figure in period dress, two very similar modelled with a bird in a gilt domed cage, another with a lady at a dressing table and the fourth at a spinet, each with blue crossed sword marks to base, impressed and incised numbers, 14.5cm high, (a.f.), (4). Illustrated
A 19th Century Masons ironstone jug printed in blue and overglazed in enamels with exotic birds on branches 9.5ins high (printed and impressed marks to base - damaged) an 18th Century Chinese blue and white basin decorated with a landscape 15ins diameter (extensively damaged) a pair of Sitzendorf porcelain figures of children on oval bases decorated in colours 5.5ins high (blue marks to bases - some damage) and a Staffordshire pottery box and cover modelled as a lady wearing a crinoline dress 9ins high
The Phillips Family Needlework Picture, Sarah Phillips (b. Rowley, Massachusetts, 1656), Boston, Massachusetts, c. 1670, worked in red, blue, yellow, black, and white wool and silver and gold metallic threads on a blue/green linen ground, composed of two figures flanking the "Tree of Life" at center, the prodigal son at lower right, a brick building facade with mica "window" at right center, a cloud and partially obscured sun at upper left, and a rainbow at upper right, further stitched with a shepherd and his flock, leafy trees, flowers, a pomegranate, several birds, insects, and animals including a dog, a squirrel, a rabbit, a recumbent lion, a beaver, and a recumbent stag, under glass in a molded wood frame, (survives in a remarkable state of preservation, with minor losses, some discoloration), 17 1/4 x 24 1/4 in. Provenance: Preserved by the Phillips family for more than three centuries, the Sarah Phillips needlework picture has a long and well-documented provenance. Sarah Phillips (1656-1707) was a daughter of Reverend Samuel Phillips (1625-1696) who immigrated to America from Boxted, England in 1630 on the ship Arbella with his parents Reverend George and Elizabeth Phillips settling in Watertown, MA. Reverend George Phillips (c. 1593-1644) was the first minister of Watertown, MA. Reverend Samuel Phillips graduated from Harvard College in 1650 and settled in Rowley, MA in 1651. He married Sarah Appleton that same year and with her had eleven children including Sarah (1656-1707). Sarah was reportedly educated at a private school in Boston where she likely stitched her needlepoint picture in the late 1660s or early 1670s. Sarah Phillips married Stephen Mighill (1651-1687) in 1680 and had at least three children together. The needlepoint picture descended through their son, Nathaniel's (1684-1761) family passing to Nathaniel's son Nathaniel (1715-1788) then to his daughter Hannah Mighill Perley (1753-1812), then to her daughter Hannah Perley (1772-1858). Hannah Perley is documented as having owned Sarah Phillips' needlepoint picture in Thomas Gage's The History of Rowley published in 1840. On September 5, 1839, the town of Rowley celebrated its second centennial anniversary of its settlement. Much of the festivities occurred in a pavilion erected in the town to host a dinner and several orations on the historic occasion. In this pavilion were also displayed "relics" of Rowley's past including "A piece of embroidery of curious workmanship, wrought by Sarah Phillips, (daughter of the Rev. Samuel Phillips, the second minister of Rowley,) more than one hundred and sixty years ago, attracted much attention, and is now owned by Miss Hannah Perley, the said Sarah Phillips being grandmother to the said Hannah's grandfather…" It may have been the needlepoint's exhibition in Rowley that prompted the penning of its short history on the picture frame's wooden backing board reading "This picture was/wrought at a boarding/school in Boston by/Miss Sarah Phillips/ daughter of Rev. Sam./Phillips." Shortly after the celebration, it seems, the needlepoint picture was transferred to Hannah Perley's cousin Hannah Lancaster Sawyer (1754-1851), a great-granddaughter of Sarah Phillips. In December 1842 the picture was purchased from Hannah Lancaster Sawyer for thirty dollars by the Honorable Jonathan Phillips (1778-1860). Jonathan Phillips was a direct descendent of Sarah Phillips' brother Samuel (1658-1722) and a celebrated Boston philanthropist. There is no doubt that the needlework picture purchased by Jonathan Phillips in 1842 is the Sarah Phillips needlework. In a letter written to Jonathan Phillips on December 3 by Ann Tracy, a relative of Jonathan's facilitating the sale, Tracy describes the picture and ponders its symbolism and iconography: "With how lordly a bearing do those portly sheep trample mid-air as if they were walking on this terrible earth! And that powerful beast - placed in the region of the clouds, & of the rainbow - is the showing fight to his neighbors, or scampering away in fear, while he throws a look of fierce menace, if not of defiance, behind him? We are permitted, in common with yourself to gaze, awe-stricken upon our far-off ancestor with his Spanish cloak, & in his knightly attitude, rejecting, with the extended arm of eloquent rebuke the fruit which the Lady Eve is plucking for him, in her Parisian costume of the Old-Court style of elegance. Can you or Mrs. P. resolve the problem which troubles our doubts respecting the building? Is it, with its nice pediment & supporting pillars, intended to represent the "bower of bliss" provided for the first pair --- or, have the able-bodied birds surmounting it, made no mistake in taking it for a shelter for themselves? Certainly the most natural & affecting presentation is that of the poor Prodigal, still clad in his splendid garments, partaking of the husks which his valorous swine are devouring" Phillips family oral history states that upon Jonathan's death in 1860 the needlework picture was given to his only son William (1819-1873). Jonathan's will supports this noting that "All the remainder of my estate, real, personal, and mixed, I give and bequeath to my son William Phillips, to be at his free and absolute disposal forever." Phillips family history also states that upon William's death in 1873 that the picture was given to John Charles Phillips (1838-1885), a fact also supported by William Phillips' will noting "I give unto John Charles Phillips now of New York, merchant, son of Reverend John Charles Phillips, now of said Boston, all my plate, pictures, statuary, engravings, books, household furniture, watches, jewelry, wines and ornaments." After John Charles Phillips' death in 1885 the picture descended to his son the Honorable William Phillips (1878-1968) a distinguished career United States Diplomat. In 1939 William Phillips' wife, Caroline, lent the Sarah Phillips needlework picture to the Boston Museum of Fine Arts where it was photographed and documented, removed from its old frame and remounted by the museum's textiles department. It was subsequently exhibited at the museum during the winters of 1945 and 1946. The needlepoint picture has remained in the family of William Phillips to this day. Note: This is one of a very few pictorial 17th century American needleworks known, though of course it follows English design somewhat closely. In a letter to Mrs. William Phillips, dated January 19, 1945, Gertrude Townsend, Curator of Textiles at the Museum of Fine Arts, remarks on "the use of the bluish wool ground, instead of white satin, and wool instead of silk, for the stitchery, is a deviation from the English custom. The result is delightful." The letter goes on to include Ms. Townsend's hope that the Museum be granted "the privilege of exhibiting this embroidered picture with our other New England embroideries," and finishes the letter referring to Sarah Phillips's work as "one of the few important surviving examples of seventeenth century work which can be attributed to New England." Prior to publishing her exhaustive work Girlhood Embroidery: American Samplers and Pictorial Needlework 1650-1850 (Knopf, New York, 1993), Betty Ring also examined Sarah's work. She writes in Volume I, "Pictorial embroideries, like samplers, were surely made by seventeenth-century colonial schoolgirls, but only two authentic examples are known" (p. 30). In a footnote on the same page, Ring refers to the present lot specifically: "Unpublished is a pictorial embroidery of wool, silk, metal, and mica on a greenish-blue wool... It features a couple in seventeenth-century dress beside the Tree of Life and a rendition of the prodigal son amid many birds, beasts, and flowers. Inscribed on the reverse: 'This picture was wrought at a boarding school in Boston by Miss Sarah Phillips daughter of Rev. Sam. Phillips.' This fully documented and wonderfully colorful piece was loaned to the MFA [Museum of Fine Arts, Boston] in 1946." On page 31, a needlework, probably made in Boston, by Rebeckah Wheeler of Concord, is pictured (fig. 30). Like Sarah Phillips's needlework, Rebeckah Wheeler's consists of little raised work, and is stitched in wool threads which, Ring tells us, like Gertrude Townsend reported in 1945, is different from similar English work of the time, which was most often in silk. In Jonathan Fairbanks and Robert Trent's work New England Begins, Linda Wesselman discusses Rebeckah Wheeler's sampler as entry number 318 (Vol. 2, pp. 311-12). She mentions the lack of raised work also, as being in distinct contrast to English needleworks of the period. More, Wesselman describes the "personal translations of pictorial sources" -animals, insects, etc.- apparent in Rebeckah's work, citing two European pattern books from the early 17th century to which Rebeckah had access as source material, and to which Sarah Phillips, at her school, likely had access as well. From a purely compositional standpoint, Rebeckah's needlework follows the English model - fully worked, with vertical figures overlapping horizontals creating the sense of a three-dimensional space, and the result is more restrained and less imaginative. Sarah's sampler shows no such restraint, and profound imagination. Her figures, while carefully arranged to create an overall balance to the work, float freely and give the picture a sense of whimsy. Estimate $800,000-1,200,000 losses mostly to black threads, especially in male figure's footwear, to black sheep in shepherd's flock, and central segment of butterfly; minor loss to linen ground at corners; visible selvage to upper and lower edges. The absence of a condition statement does not imply that the lot is in perfect condition or completely free from wear and tear, imperfections or the effects of aging. Condition requests can be obtained via email (lot inquiry button) or by telephone to the appropriate gallery location (Boston/617.350.5400 or Marlborough/508.970.3000). Any condition statement given, as a courtesy to a client, is only an opinion and should not be treated as a statement of fact. Skinner Inc. shall have no responsibility for any error or omission.
A Meissen composite set of 'The Senses' mid / late 19th century. originally modelled by Schoenheit each figure of a lady in 18th century dress seated by a table or instrument on shaped plinths blue crossed swords marks and incised model no's. C/E1 2 3 4 and 5 tallest 6in. Estimate ?2 500-3 000 Sight - looking at mirror - restoration to neck left hand mirror firing cracks to edge of plinth. Sound - playing piano - minor losses to lace work on hat and sleeves Taste - eating - restoration to goblet on table minor losses to lace work and flowers. Smell (sniffing flowers) - minor losses to flowers and lacework Touch (feeding birds) - some losses to lace work on head dress collar and sleeves some firing cracks to plinth. Descriptions provided in both printed and on-line catalogue formats do not include condition reports. The absence of a condition statement does not imply that the lot is in perfect condition or completely free from wear and tear imperfections or the effects of aging. Interested bidders are strongly encouraged to request a condition report on any lots upon which they intend to bid prior to placing a bid. All transactions are governed by Gorringes Conditions of Sale.Sold for ?2 300
SPANISH LLADRO GLAZED PORCELAIN FIGURE, "Summer Serenade", #6193, a young lady with long dress looking at a bird on the wind-blown scarf she wears, 12-1/2 in. ht., blue Lladro trademark underfoot.
Needlework Picture, Marblehead, Massachusetts, mid-18th century, stitched with wool yarns on a linen ground, depicting a romantic scene of a young gentleman and lady in a garden, the gentleman wearing a hat, blue coat, pink waistcoat, and white breeches, holding a flower in one hand to give to his lady who is dressed in a pink gown and holding a fan, the couple is standing amidst flowering trees, birds, and butterflies, a note accompanying the work is inscribed "From the family of Mr. Charles Eustis Septon of the 1st Church of Christ, Marblehead, Mass- from 1880 until 1922," (minor imperfections), 9 1/2 x 10 in., in original or period molded wood frame.
A rectangular hinge lidded plated cigarette box, decorated with Dutch style figures, wooden lined within and a lady's silver mounted and pale blue enamelled three piece dressing set, comprising a hand mirror, a hairbrush and a clothes brush, decorated with birds, Birmingham 1936.
MASSACHUSETTS SIGNED PICTORIAL NEEDLEWORKby Hannah Ewell at age 16 (in the Seventeenth year of her age), possibly Hannah Ewell of Marshfield, Massachusetts, 1769-1849, two upper registers in deep blue background over a bucolic scene, the center depicting a piping shepherd and shepherdess set in a grassy hillock, with house on the right, strolling couple under a parasol with young girl on the left, cow, flock of sheep, pond with wading ducks, flowering tree and a butterfly, done in split stitch, chain stitch, eyelet, and outline, crinkled silk, silk floss, and wool highlights, New England laid (self-couching), selvage edge at right, other edges tuned under twice, and hemmed, on linen, 12-1/2 x 18 in.; wood frame, 14-1/2 x 20 in.
Note: In the 18th century the mercantile wealth of Boston, Massachusetts, was mirrored in its gentry?s pursuit of refined culture. The behavior and accomplishments of a family?s daughter was held in the same regard as fashionable clothing and refined furnishings. Education for girls, which had been informal in the last century, expanded to include boarding and day schools: before 1725 only four such schools advertised in Boston newspapers; after that more than 25 schoolmistresses promoted themselves. What had begun as an activity for the daughters of the elite became fashionable for the daughters of yeomen and tradesmen as well as the merchant ranks. Here girls learned not only how to read, write, and cypher, but also how to execute increasingly elaborate and expensive embroideries.
Pictorial embroideries created in the Boston area from about 1750 to the early 1790s represent the epitome of a schoolgirl?s needlework skills. Worked in crewel wool on a linen canvas and later in silk thread on canvas, they depict?following the English fashion?bucolic scenes of shepherds and shepherdesses, strolling couples, and birds and beasts. The designs were drawn by professionals; teachers likely guided their pupils in the selection of colors and a limited stitch palette.
Hannah Ewell was 16 (?in the Seventeenth year of her age") when she completed a silk-on-linen scene depicting a fashionable couple strolling with their young girl, both females with parasols. The central figures are a piping shepherd and fashionably dressed shepherdess. Completing the scene are a country house, Devon cow, flock of sheep, pond with wading ducks, flowering tree, and a butterfly. Although Hannah did not date her accomplishment, the attire and hairstyle of the shepherdess suggest a date of 1785-95: the striped robe has tight-fitting sleeves; at the neck is a fichu that is puffed up over the bust (called the pouter pigeon effect); the hair is highly frizzed with long curls on either side of the neck; and perched on the hair is a hat with tight crown and large brim.
Although the identity of Hannah Ewell cannot be confirmed, she may be the Hannah Ewell who was born to Gershom and Susanna Ewell in Marshfield, Massachusetts, on April 13, 1769. Gershom was a yeoman farmer who, at his death in 1835, had an estate worth over $4,000. Hannah married Nathan Williamson in November 1790 and died in 1849.
Done in counted split stitch, chain, eyelet, and outline using crinkled silk and silk floss. Wool was used to fashion the ladies? hair.
Brunk Auctions would like to thank textile historian Kathy Staples for her assistance in cataloging this needlework.
Provenance: Private Collection, Arkansas
Condition:
fabric edges retain evenly spaced holes used originally to mount fabric for stitching, small pea-sized hole at bottom left corner, some wear to silk at left margin that does not detract from the overall appearance, good color, minor fading to rusty-pink and pink areas (likely due to fugitive dyes rather than sun); frame with wear
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