Case's Dec. 6 auction rich in Civil War material, fine art
December 1, 2008 /in Upcoming Auctions/by Tom Hoepf
Attributed to New England is this 19th century portrait of a woman with her dog. The painting is expected to fetch $2,800-$3,200. Image courtesy Case Antiques.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Civil War related material and the largest selection of Tennessee fine art ever offered at auction will highlight the Case Antiques Winter Auction to be held Saturday, Dec. 6. Also among the 350 cataloged lots is an offering of exceptional period American furniture and Southern regional pottery.
Two of the star lots of the sale are expected to be a pair of painted canteens attributed to John Adams Elder (American, 1833-1895) and illustrated in the book Collecting the Confederacy by Shannon Pritchard. They are estimated at $20,000-$25,000 and $35,000-$40,000 each.
The sale also features a sword, diary, photographs and other personal effects of Capt. Edmund Morse, Quartermaster of the 7th Vermont Infantry. The lot is expected to bring $3,500-$4,500. Weapons include an 1863 Colt Hartford rifle and a Harper's Ferry flintlock rifle. Its lock plate is marked "Harpers Ferry 1825."
This is Case Antiques' largest offering ever of fine art. Bidders can choose paintings ranging from an early Cuzco School-attributed Spanish Colonial religious scene to an American folk art portrait of a lady with dog to a landscape by noted Australia artist Sydney Long. However, the number of pieces from Southern artists is expected to draw a large regional crowd to the gallery.
"One interesting thing is the fact that we have three major female artists from Tennessee represented in this sale, whose work almost never comes on the market," said company president John Case.
Featured are two paintings by American Impressionist Anna Catherine Wiley (1879-1958) and one by her sister, Eleanor McAdoo Wiley (1876-1977), as well as a floral still life and print by Ella Sophonisba Hergesheimer (1873-1943), a great-great-granddaughter of Charles Wilson Peale.
There are also a number of Southern landscapes from Lloyd Branson, Charles Krutch, Dwight Holmes, Louis Jones, Thomas Campbell and Eliot Candee Clark. A riverboat painting by Charles Henry Reinike (New Orleans, 1906-1983), portraits attributed to Samuel Shaver and George Dury and 1940s block prints of Nashville by Ernest Pickup are also included.
Case, which set a record for Tennessee pottery in September with the $63,000 sale of a redware jar by J.A. Lowe, will follow up in this sale with an important West Tennessee stoneware jar marked T.W. Craven ($7,000-$8,000). It was exhibited in the 2003 Art of Tennessee exhibit at the Frist Center in Nashville and is pictured in the catalog.
There is also a cobalt decorated stoneware churn attributed to Charles Decker of Keystone Pottery ($900-$1,200), a Middle Tennessee salt-glaze honey jar ($300-400), and several pieces of Southwest Virginia cobalt decorated pottery.
Period furniture includes an outstanding Federal giltwood convex mirror with spread-winged eagle ($3,500-$4,500), a Federal Hepplewhite paint decorated dressing table ($800-$1,200) and a Federal sofa with tiger-maple crest ($1,000-$1,500).
There is also an outstanding folky East Tennessee inlaid chest of drawers ($1,800-$2,200), and a circa 1800 inlaid walnut dower chest, documented by the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts and attributed to Tennessee ($1,800-$2,200).
Smaller items include Arts and Crafts silver and Southern coin silver, an important sampler signed Franklin, Tenn., a Kentucky painted Odd Fellows box, baskets, folk art carvings, historical Staffordshire, coverlets, a large selection of historic books, and a Rookwood floral vase decorated by Ed Diers.
There is also a rare cabinet card of the famous Comanche chief Quanah Parker (1853-1911) and his two wives, which has a $2,000-$3,000 estimate.
The auction will be held at Case's gallery in the historic Cherokee Mills Building, 2200 Sutherland Ave. in Knoxville, on Saturday, Dec. 6, at 10 a.m., and bids will also be accepted by phone and Internet. A preview will take place on Friday, Dec. 5, from noon to 7 p.m. For additional information visit Case's Web site, www.caseantiques.com, or call (865) 558-3033.
Click here to view Case Auctions' complete catalog.
T. W. Craven turned this West Tennessee stoneware jar, which was recently included in a museum exhibit. It is estimated at $7,000-$8,000. Image courtesy Case Antiques.
Tennessee house samplers are considered rare. This one signed Mary Elizabeth Collins, Franklin, Tenn., 1836, may top $10,000. Image courtesy Case Antiques.
Several Federal-era pieces are in the sale, including this giltwood convex mirror estimated at $3,500-$4,500. Image courtesy Case Antiques.
A painted canteen attributed to Virginia artist John Adams Elder, a variation of his work After Appomattox, is expected to bring $35,000-$40,000. Image courtesy Case Antiques.
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