Pre Sale Press Release

November 19 & 21, 2015

The traditional November sale at Kamelot Auctions will be a two day event; the first day of the sale, Thursday, November 19th, will feature decorative and fine arts, and the second day of the sale, Saturday, November 21st, will feature architectural antiques, English, Victorian, and Americana furniture. This is a strong sale with exceptional pieces from a wide range of private collections, with over nine hundred lots in its entirety.

More than forty lots of fine art will be offered on Thursday’s portion of the sale, with the lion’s share of property reflecting American and European works from the nineteenth to twentieth centuries. At the forefront of the fine art selection is a signed oil on canvas painting by French artist Marcel Dyf titled “Marché Aux Fleurs” and registered in the catalogue raisonne HST SBG 1960. The painting is estimated to bring $3,000-$5,000 in Thursday’s auction. Works of many fine American artists are also represented including a signed oil on board painting by Massachusetts artist Emile Gruppe (lot 217, $1,000-$2,000), a signed oil on canvas painting by Pennsylvania artist Antonio Martino (lot 218, $3,000-$5,000), and a signed still life oil on canvas painting by Pennsylvania/California artist Colin Campbell Cooper (lot 220, $2,000-$4,000).

Buyers seeking Orientalia and Ethnographic art will also find plenty of inspiration for enhancing their collections. Leading the Orientalia is a magnificent Japanese Imari palace vase having ornately rendered bird and foliate motifs and scalloped edge circa 1880 (lot 72, $600-$900), along with a monumental Chinese Celadon floor vase having flared shaped rim over stylized foliate handles (lot 80A, $500-$800). Also available are several lots featuring Chinese watercolors to include lot 68, a monumental signed Chinese watercolor depicting figures playing polo estimated at $400-$600. The ethnographic items are led by a Pre-Columbian standing figure retaining paint decoration that is presented with an estimate of $1,000-$1,500 (lot 141), along with a lot of twelve handwoven Indian baskets, along with two polychrome pots and a pair of beaded infant moccasins circa 1940 (lot 136, $300-$500), and a grouping of five African Tribal art items to include a Mossi mask, all purchased originally in Africa circa 1970 (lot 135, $200-$400).

Exceptional silver will also be offered in the sale. Highlights include a sixty-nine piece sterling silver dinner service by Gorham circa 1910 (lot 193, $600-$800), a superb sterling silver bud vase by Tiffany and Co. having repeating Art Nouveau foliate design circa 1910 (lot 194, $300-$500), and a magnificent Art Nouveau sterling silver bud vase by Gorham for its Martele line circa 1900 (lot 207, $200-$400). Notable glass lots include a fine Daum cameo glass vase with wooded lakeland landscape in shades of brown over a shaded amber and yellow ground (lot 186, $1,500-$2,500), a lot of three abstract art glass domes and one large porcelain blue vase signed "Levine 83", (lot 181, $200-$400), and a clear and frosted glass centerpiece bowl having leaf decoration signed "Lalique, France" (lot 184, $200-$400).

A fine collection of porcelain lots will indeed bring further enthusiasm to the sale. Choice highlights include an exquisite pair of three piece covered porcelain vases marked Dresden estimated at $2,000-$4,000 (lot 160), a magnificent hand painted porcelain and bronze urn circa 1870 expected to bring $1,000-$1,500 (lot 156), and an antique Limoge hand painted French porcelain plaque circa 1890 presented with an estimate of $600-$900 (lot 148).

Saturday’s auction covers a wide spectrum of American and European furniture and accessories, along with lighting, rugs, and architectural antiques. Furniture buyers can anticipate an exciting array of dining tables, chairs, settees, consoles, desks, and upholstered pieces in a variety of period styles. Fine quality French and European furniture lots will be plentiful in Saturday’s sale. Lot 423 is an unusual Russian style crotch mahogany and gilt carved dining table with lion and claw foot carved base and is predicted to bring $600-$900. Lot 272 is a French Neoclassical style bronze mounted Amboyna sideboard circa 1900 ($800-$1,200), and bearing the same estimate is lot 406, a nineteenth century Continental Baroque style giltwood carved and painted console table having inset marble top over carved apron ($800-$1,200). Also notable are a set of eight Louis XVI style painted French dining chairs with cane backs and seats circa 1930 (lot 260, $1,000-$1,500) and an oversized and exuberantly carved pair of Italian painted open arm chairs having slip seats and upholstered backs with the same estimate (lot 264, $1,000-$1,500).

Kamelot’s sale will feature an elegant selection from the renowned French decorator Maison Jansen. Lot 620 is a good Egyptian Revival giltwood carved and painted console table attributed to Jansen circa 1950 ($1,500-$2,500), and similarly, lot 621 is an Egyptian Revival painted and gilt decorated server attributed to Jansen circa 1950 ($1,500-$2,500). Another gem is found in lot 639, a Jansen Louis XVI style mahogany dining table circa 1940 which comes with one leaf ($1,000-$1,500), as well as lot 640, a stamped Jansen Louis XVI style server having shaped marble top over two curved front paneled doors circa 1950 ($1,500-$2,500).

The sale will feature a strong collection of English and brand name furniture as well. A pair of Edwardian style leather armchairs with button backs and resting on turned legs is presented with an estimate of $1,000-$1,500 (lot 674), and carrying a similar appeal is a pair of labeled 'George Smith' upholstered library chairs estimated at $800-$1,200 (lot 712). Expected to be one of the top earners is a good nineteenth century English George III mahogany bowfront server or sideboard having banded and line inlaid top (lot 657, $1,000-$1,500), and likewise, a multi-part nineteenth century English mahogany breakfront which was recently removed from the historic Strawberry Mansion in Philadelphia, PA (lot 687,$500-$800).

A selection of more than one hundred period American and European Victorian offerings is headed by lot 815, a substantial rosewood and inlaid double parlor set by John Jellif circa 1870. The set is comprised of a pair of sofas, a pair of armchairs, and four side chairs and comes with an estimate of $2,000-$4,000. Another great example from the period is found in lot 831, a pair of bronze figural torchieres represented by native king and queen figures ($2,000-$3,000), and lot 755A, a late nineteenth century stylish tete a tete estimated at $1,000-$1,500. Other highlights include a set of six embossed leather and oak dining chairs with lion masks circa 1890 (lot 758, $600-$900), an unusual ebonized Victorian Aesthetic movement center table circa 1880 (lot 770, 400-$600), and a restored satinwood partners desk in the manner of Associated Artists circa 1880 (lot 787, $1,500-$2,500).

A small but select group of Americana will be offered in the sale. Among the most notable pieces is a good American nineteenth century cherry two part stepback hutch or cupboard (lot 653, $1,000-$1,500), a large faux painted two door cabinet in the Pennsylvania Dutch style (lot 650, $300-$500), and a nineteenth century American wood corner cabinet having stepped cornice over two glass front doors and stepped out base with two drawers (lot 652, $200-$600).

Highlighting the selection of rugs is lot 522, a 2’6” x 15’ silk road Chinese rug runner ($400-$600), lot 525, a 6’ x 9’ Art Deco Chinese rug ($400-$600), and lot 533, a 10’1” x 13’4” Oushak rug estimated at $1,100-$1,300.

Architectural antiques will also be well represented in Saturday’s sale, to include mantels, doors, stained glass, store fixtures, carvings, and other elements. Three Art Deco store display cabinets from the John Wanamaker Department Store circa 1920 are represented in three separate lots, each estimated at $800-$1,200 (lots 895, 896, and 897). Likewise is lot 898, a large two part carved mahogany store fixture circa 1890 presented with an estimate of $800-$1,200. Notable mantels include lot 878, a Victorian carved chestnut mantel piece in the modern gothic style attributed to Daniel Pabst circa 1870 ($800-$1,200), and lot 879, a nineteenth century Egyptian Revival carved and faux painted fireplace mantle ($500-$700). Top amongst the stained glass is a late Victorian arched top leaded glass window with faceted jewels and intermittent beveled glass squares (lot 859, $400-$600), and a pair of American Victorian stained and leaded glass door panels in the Eastlake style circa 1880 (lot 858, $600-$900). Also sure to spur competition is lot 912, a pair of painted doors with leaded and beveled glass panels circa 1900 estimated at $1,000-$2,000.

Lastly, among the Continental offerings is a Steinway and Sons satin ebony Model B piano with adjustable matching bench, known as the "Music Room Grand", serial #535450 estimated at $8,000-$12,000. This piano came from the living estate of American writer, pianist, and educator Harrison Gradwell Slater. Slater has written both fiction and non-fiction, meticulously researched, on the lives of Mozart and Chopin, with Night Music and Nocturne being the most notable of his works. In addition to his music and writing, Slater is artistic director and chairman of the Peabody Mason International Piano Competition (lot 309).