Exceedingly Rare Woodlands Indian Medicine
Bundle-Bowl
.....sale pending
Great Lakes to New England, ca. 1780. Drawing on generations of learning, very thinly hewn from dense ash burl. “Bundle” objects were held by the sachem or medicine men or women, wrapped in blankets in a bundle, and set aside for ceremonies and/or performances. They were often passed down for generations. Way too sophisticated for daily use, there is no applied finish, rather the bowl has a very high degree of burnishing from rubbing with animal skins as there was great effort to make it smooth. Further burnishing also likely occurred from rubbing against the bundle blanket. Medicine bundles were created to bring healing and vision to the individual, or to the entire tribe.
Yet not only is it an important medicine bowl, it has been described as the “Perfect Object”, ......see more....
Rare AMERICAN (Boston) Bronze Posnet (Long-Handled Skillet)
Boston, Massachusetts, ca. 1793-1794
.....SOLD
Engraved “Boston” on the handle-end, and deeply, crisply, cast “AUSTIN & CROCKER”, all within an engraved vine border. Samuel Austin and Robert Crocker were only in business together in 1793-1794, so we can date this piece very confidently.....
A Folk Art TREASURE!
Diminutive Polychrome Paint Decorated Blanket Chest
Schoharie County, New York State. Dated 1829. .....SOLD
When I FIRST SAW this blanket chest years ago within the collector’s home, a beam of sunlight was lighting up the center panel. IT TOOK MY BREATH AWAY. And it wasn’t just the visual, it was knowing that this great object has survived untouched for almost 2 centuries. .....
AMMI PHILLIPS
Portrait of ELIZABETH MYGANS (Betsy)
Saugerties, New York, ca. 1834......As described by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston: “In the 1830’s, Phillips was the most successful portraitist on the New York-Connecticut border, painting the local gentry with boldness and withering honesty. This portrait of a young woman from Saugerties, New York, is typical of Phillip’s work of this period—the sitter leans forward in her chair, the black-and-white color scheme is enlivened by the red-and-yellow book, and the ribbons and folds of her translucent, lace-trimmed bonnet complement her elaborate hair style. However, Elizabeth Mygans seems to have charmed the painter, for her portrait is more pleasing than most”.
Exceptional Schoolgirl Academy Coastal Riverscape and Townscape
New England, ca. 1820. Watercolor, pen & ink, on paper. This painting stands out in being boldly saturated in blues and verdant greens. The composition includes multiple cool vignettes, featuring a large ocean sailing ship, flying the American flag, likely safely anchored from the Atlantic within the river.....
MASTERWORK
YARN-SEWN HEARTH RUG
Featuring an Enigmatic
Blue Tulip
New England, ca. 1820 to 1830. Fine wool and cotton on linen, mounted for display. A tour de force of folk art created by a talented young woman artist. She was a meticulous needle worker, stitching remarkably-even raised loops, especially noticeable in the urn. Her design has a bursting of color and texture as she flanked the already over-flowing urn with bouquets of more flowers. In this period gardens of flowers were often an extravagance, so the bold representation of so many indicates optimism and abundance. Don’t miss the single blue tulip, positioned almost at the very center. Symbolism? Blue tulips (that did not naturally occur) are thought to have symbolized tranquility and peace, trust and loyalty. This artwork has survived in amazing condition with almost no wear, as it was created and intended as decoration, likely to cover the hearth-stone (as the hearth was unused in the summer months), not as an underfoot floor piece. Mounted dimensions of about 62 inches wide x 28 tall. Pictured and discussed in AMERICAN SEWN RUGS, THEIR HISTORY WITH EXCEPTIONAL EXAMPLES, Jan Whitlock with Tracy Jamar, 2012, pages 4 and 70; LIGHT FROM THE PAST, Early American Rugs from the Collection of Ronnie Newman, page 25 as exhibited in the Kresge Foundation Gallery of the Ramopo College of New Jersey, 2004. Paraphrasing