All Hail Americana
Several pieces of exceptional American antiques will hit the auction block here at the end of this week.
Christie's
PHILLY’S FINEST Christie’s expects this mahogany highboy to fetch between $600,000 and $900,000 at auction tomorrow.
Sotheby's holds a Friday morning sale of a collection of Americana belonging to the late Rear Admiral Edward Peerman Moore. The admiral and his wife were avid collectors whose friendship with the furniture dealer Israel Sack helped form one of the 20th century's highest-quality collections.
Among the Moore items up for sale is a Chippendale cherrywood block-front chest of drawers probably made in Colchester, Conn., around 1780. The piece, which retains its original finish and brass hardware, once belonged to the Colonial governor of Connecticut as well as the Wainwright family of Hartford. Sotheby's estimates it could sell for between $100,000 and $200,000.
Another stunning piece is the Chippendale carved walnut easy chair made in Philadelphia around 1770, estimated to sell for between $300,000 and $800,000. The most interesting item at Sotheby's this Friday is the Reginald M. Lewis Queen Anne carved walnut compass-seat stool made in Philadelphia in 1750. Very few Colonial-era stools survive today, one of the reasons this example is expected to sell for between $200,000 and $500,000.
Over at the Christie's sale tomorrow afternoon, the star of the auction will undoubtedly be the Biddle-Drinker family Chippendale carved and figured mahogany high chest of drawers. This exceptional Philadelphia highboy, made around 1760, is expected to sell for between $600,000 and $900,000.
