Antiques PR Publicity Announcements News and Information
Antiques PR Publicity Announcements News and Information

Nearly 800 fresh-to-the-market lots for auction at a two-session Fine & Decorative Arts Catalog Auction on Saturday, June 19, by Leland Little

Nearly 800 fresh-to-the-market lots in a wide variety of categories will be sold at a two-session Fine & Decorative Arts Catalog Auction slated for Saturday, June 19, by Leland Little Auction & Estate Sales, Ltd. The auction will be conducted in the firm’s spacious new gallery, located at 620 Cornerstone Court in Hillsborough, N.C. The first session will begin at 9 a.m.

Headlining the event will be the private collection of Daisy Wade Bridges. Over 200 lots will be dedicated to Ms. Bridges’ lifetime collection of porcelain and North Carolina pottery. She previously worked for Josiah Wedgwood & Sons, where she was introduced to the world of ceramics and their manufacture. A philanthropist, she donated many artifacts of merit to the Mint Museum in Charlotte.

Ms. Bridges collected, studied and wrote about Wedgwood for many years, until one day she noticed that great ceramists and great history were just as alive and interesting in the U.S. as they were in Europe. She proceeded with considerable enthusiasm to study the wares from our country and the remarkable ash and salt glaze traditions in North Carolina. She has written extensively on the subject.

In addition to Ms. Bridges’ collections, Session I will also be dedicated to Asian objects, collector cars, antique clocks, American and European silver, American and Continental paintings, American and Continental furniture, porcelains, bronzes, antique rugs, fine jewelry and a wide array of decorative arts. The second session, starting at 6 p.m., will be dedicated entirely to fine and vintage wines, a burgeoning genre on the auction circuit.

“This auction will be a great way to wrap up the first half of 2010, which has been very successful,” said Leland Little of Leland Little Auction & Estate Sales, Ltd. “The merchandise in this auction is very strong, and we expect the inventory to remain consistent into the fall.” Online bidding will be facilitated by LiveAuctioneers.com. Phone and absentee bids will also be accepted.

The North Carolina pottery in the sale – mostly from Ms. Bridges’ collection – will feature a rare Pisgah Forest baluster vase with pewter overlay and aubergine glaze; a monumental Billy Ray Hussey lion figure with multi-color glaze and abundant curly clay to the mane and hind-quarters; a rare form Burlon Craig face wig stand; a pair of contemporary lidded vessels by Donna Craven; and a Mark Hewitt large lidded jar with ash glaze.

Porcelains will include a pair of Delft lidded garniture vases from the late 17th or early 18th century, with polychrome glaze and figural decorations; a fine pearlware center bowl (likely Leeds, England, circa 1750s), circular with scalloped trim; a mid-18th century English stoneware salt-glazed teapot; and Staffordshire pieces: a pair of squirrels, a rabbit form soup tureen and a grouse form tureen.

The fine wine session will feature one lot of 10 bottles of Chateau Latour Pauillac (1994) with an opaque dark ruby/purple color and an intense nose of walnut and cassis scents; one lot of 12 bottles, also Chateau Latour Pauillac (1995), medium to full-bodied, with original tissue; and one lot of nine bottles of Chateau Tertre Roteboeuf Saint-Emilion, dense and full-bodied, with intense layers of fruit.

Decorative arts from the Daisy Wade Bridges collection will include a late 19th century Federal style 25 ½-inch girandole mirror surrounded by a gilded concave frame decorated in floral relief; an early 19th century English Sheraton rent table with a revolving circular top and an old tooled leather surface; and a Historical Blue Staffordshire ship plate with an E. Wood Burslem mark (circa 1820s).

James A. Walker (Br., 1841-1898), Siege of Paris

Continental art will be offered in abundance. Examples include an oil on canvas by James A. Walker (Br., 1841-1898), titled Siege of Paris; an oil on canvas by Robert Mols (Bel., 1848-1903) of Antwerp Harbor; an oil on canvas portrait of Catherine of Braganza from the circle of Sir Peter Lily, late 17th century; an oil on canvas portrait of “W. Boyce” attributed to Allan Ramsay (Br., 1713-1784); and an oil on canvas rendering of an evening street scene in Paris by Edouard Cortes (Fr. 1882-1969).

American art will be no less impressive. Works include an oil on canvas of the Grand Canyon by Dawson Dawson-Watson (Tex., 1864-1939); an oil on canvas half-portrait of John Bispham (circa 1834) by Thomas Sully (Pa., 1783-1872); an 1819 oil on canvas steamboat painting by Francis Speight (N.C./Pa., 1896-1989); and an oil on canvas spring rendering by George L. Noyes (Mass., 1864-1954).

American furniture will feature a rare 18th century Southern Queen Anne drop-leaf table from North Carolina; a mid-19th century mahogany rocking chair and foot rest attributed to Thomas Day; an early 19th century Southern Chippendale walnut chest of drawers, likely western North Carolina; and an early 19th century diminutive walnut and yellow pine Southern cellaret, also likely North Carolina.

Continental furniture will include a 19th century Venetian sofa with fruitwood frame, camelback with outswept rolled arms and Dupioni silk upholstery; a pair of inlaid Belle Epoch side tables (circa 1900), with highly figured rouge marble oval top with pierced brass gallery; and an early 19th century Georgian breakfront bookcase, carved mahogany with double cove-molded cornice over four doors.

Asian objects are certain to get paddles wagging. Expected top earners include an important large bronze Buddha (19th century or earlier), a solid cast figure seated on an integral hollow lotus plinth; a large early 20th century hand-painted Japanese screen, four panels with wooden frames; and a Chinese porcelain eight-panel table screen from the 19th century, with 13 tiles and a mahogany frame.

Continental sterling silver will include a Victorian “Warwick” wine cooler (Sheffield, with Walker & Hall sponsor’s mark) and a William IV figural wine centerpiece (London, 1895 date letter). American silver will feature an important Southern Coin cup by Leinbach, footed with applied handle; and a Tiffany & Company ice cream server in the “Blackberry” pattern, made between 1902 and 1907. Also to be sold June 19 will be a pair of figural bronzes by the French artist J. Clesinger (1814-1883) and a 19th century Marti & Cie tortoise shell key-wound mantel clock.

Several collector cars will cross the block, to include a 1990 Ferrari Testarossa two-door coupe, white with red interior and 20,302 miles; and a 1995 Bentley Brooklands four-door sedan, light blue with cream interior and 27,450 miles.

Previews will be held Saturday, June 12, from 10-3; and Thursday and Friday, June 17-18, from 10-6. Also on Friday, June 18, at 3 p.m., there will be a presentation on “The Artistic Legacy of Thomas Day: Master Craftsman and Free Man of Color,” given by Patricia Phillips Marshall, curator of decorative arts for the North Carolina Executive Mansion and the North Carolina Museum of History.

The remaining 2010 Leland Little Auction & Estate Sales, Ltd. catalog sales are scheduled for Sept. 18 and Dec. 4.

Leland Little Auction & Estate Sales, Ltd. is always accepting quality consignments for future sales. To consign a single item, an estate or a collection, you may call them at (919) 644-1243, or you can e-mail them at [email protected].

To learn more about Leland Little Auction & Estate Sales, Ltd., and the calendar of upcoming events, log on to www.LLAuctions.com. Updates are posted often.