Auction PR Publicity Announcements News and Information
Auction PR Publicity Announcements News and Information

WONDERFUL PERIOD FURNITURE, ANTIQUE PORCELAIN DOLLS AND HUNDREDS OF UNIQUE AND BEAUTIFUL ANTIQUES WILL BE SOLD MAY 30-31 BY STEVENS AUCTION

(Aberdeen, Miss.) – Several important area estates boasting fine period furniture, about 50 antique porcelain dolls, wonderful porcelains, exquisite china, sparkling sterling and hundreds of unique and beautiful antiques will be offered in a two-day sale slated for May 30-31 by Stevens Auction Company. The auction will be held at the firm’s spacious gallery, at 609 No. Meridian Street.

“This will be a great way to conclude the spring auction season,” said Dwight Stevens of Stevens Auction Company. “Included will be estate items from the same New York firm that offered the outstanding Sevres, Belter and Meeks pieces, as well as a really nice lighting collection, at our January auction.” Images of most lots may be viewed on the firm’s website: www.stevensauction.com.

oriel.jpg Both days will see dozens of top-quality, fresh-to-the-market items cross the block. On Saturday, May 31, an expected highlight is a 1911 Norman mahogany dining room suite, crafted by the Oriel Cabinet Company. Pieces include a 12-foot long dining table; a sideboard; 94” tall china cabinet; and a server. All are heavily carved, with mascarons, Norman soldiers, atlantes and caryatid figures.

Also to be sold on Saturday will be a gorgeous 2-piece Victorian rosewood bedroom suite, attributed to Allen & Brothers, with bronze plaque and beautiful gold incising; an 8-foot, 2-inch long mahogany Federal dining table, with claw feet and accordion fold (dated 1819, Philadelphia, Pa.); and a rare Federal mahogany settee, with cornucopia carved arms and feather carved feet (51” in length).

The Friday session, on May 30, will be just as packed. The fine collection of rare, vintage dolls is bound to get paddles wagging. Two stars of the category are a 23-inch signed Jumeau bisque head doll with closed mouth, blue eyes and jointed composition body; and an 18-inch Steiner walking and talking automaton bisque head doll with blue paperweight eyes, an open mouth and a kid’s body.

Other dolls to be offered include a 23-inch Armand Marseille bisque doll with jointed composition body, open mouth, pink satin dress and black shoes; a 13.5-inch Kestner No. 211 character baby doll, with open mouth, sleepy eyes and jointed composition body; and a Schoenau & Hoffmeister Dutch girl bisque head doll, with original clothes and wooden shoes. Some of the dolls need repairing.

From the fine art group, several works of note will be sold. Two are oil on canvas portraits – one of a lady, the other a gentleman – both signed and executed in 1872 by D. K. Howell.

hayes-painting.jpgAnother is a 4.5-foot x 5.5-foot oil on canvas 19th-Century family scene, signed by J. Hayes. Also, an enormous oil on canvas depiction of an English fishing scene (16 feet 4 inches x 9 feet 7 inches) will be offered.

Also in the fine art category, two monumental works, both oil on canvas, are certain to get the paddles wagging. One is an early 20th-Century portrait of a military general, artist signed and dated (1918) and measuring 7 feet 9 inches tall x 4 feet 9 inches wide. The other is a 19th-Century depiction of the lamintations of Mary after the crucifixion of Christ. It measures 6 feet tall x 7 feet 6 inches wide.

Important period furniture pieces to be sold on Friday include a beautiful pair of rosewood Victorian parlor sofas with red and gold upholstery, attributed to Belter (89 inches long, circa 1850); a monumental 3-piece Mitchell & Rammelsberg walnut Victorian bedroom suite, signed; and a rare, round Belter marble-top center table in the Rosalie pattern, with laminated skirt and fruit basket finial.

Clocks will be chiming on time for the bidders fortunate enough o acquire them. Two in particular figure to be standouts: an Old Paris clock with figural top (22 inches tall x 12 inches wide); and a majestic carved oak 5-tube grandfather clock with elite movement (9 feet tall x 3 feet wide). Also offered will be a 19th-Century rosewood and satinwood harp, by Browne & Buckwell (New York City).

argand-lamps.jpg Decorative accessories (all to be offered Friday) will include a large Federal convex mirror with eagle and cherub figures (originally from Hamilton Hall in Columbus, Miss., 49 inches x 35 inches); a 19th-Century, 32-light, bronze and crystal chandelier, electrified, 4 feet long x 2.5 feet wide); and an extraordinary pair of Victorian gilt and patinated bronze argand lamps, signed I & I Cox (N.Y.).

Rounding out the rest of the best for Friday are a rare, 9-piece Nippon hand-painted fish set with heavy gold decoration; a pair of Victorian gilt bronze Sevres vases, cobalt blue, with hand-painted cupids and maidens.

phonograph.jpgAn Edison standard cylinder player phonograph (1908, rare Model N), with home morning glory horn; and a pair of Victorian crystal candelabras, signed Baccarat. The Saturday session will also feature a fully restored 1952 Chevrolet pick-up truck, with a little over 28,000 original miles.

There will be a preview on Thursday, May 29, from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m., and on Friday, May 30, from 10 a.m. until the start of sale (5 p.m.). The Saturday session begins at 10 a.m. , but doors will open at 8 a.m. For accommodations in Aberdeen, call the Best Western Aberdeen Inn at (662) 369-4343; or, if they’re full, the Columbus (Mississippi) Convention & Visitors Bureau, at (662) 329-1191.

Aberdeen, Miss., is located about 135 miles southeast of Memphis, Tenn., on U.S. Rte. 45. Stevens Auction Company is always accepting quality consignments for future sales. To consign an item, an estate or a collection, you may call them directly, at (662) 369-2200. Or, you may e-mail them at [email protected]. Future sales will be announced on the firm’s website as they develop (www.stevensauction.com).