The auction will be held at Ms. Ankiewicz’s residence, near Deer Point Lake, starting at 8 a.m. The Specialists of the South, Inc., the Panama City-based auction firm, will conduct the auction.
SOUTHPORT, Fla. – Hundreds of antiques, collectibles, furniture pieces and other items from the estate of Earldine Ankiewicz, 93, a longtime Florida resident and collector in a wide range of categories, plus items from other prominent local estates and collections, will be sold on-site Saturday, June 27th, at Mrs. Ankiewicz’s residence near Deer Point Lake in Southport, a suburb of Panama City (zip: 32409).
The auction will start at 8 a.m. Central time, with online bidding via LiveAuctioneers.com and Invaluable.com. It will be conducted by The Specialists of the South, Inc., based in Panama City. “Earldine liked anything old and had no particular passion, but she had a sharp eye and what she did collect is highly sought after today,” said Logan Adams of The Specialists of the South, Inc.
Sold will be Flow Blue and Mulberry china patterns, primitives, Ironstone pitchers, Wedgwood (blue and white and green and white) and quality reproduction furniture, made correctly with pride and attention to detail. Also sold will be items from Ms. Ankiewicz’s daughter, now deceased, who collected Orientalia (netsukes, Satsuma, a snuff bottle, cloisonné) and rugs.
Ms. Ankiewicz was an accomplished artist, having studied under Mariette Paine Slayton, the author of Early American Decorating Techniques, for 15 years. She produced beautiful theorems done on cotton velveteen, quilts, coverlets (knit and crochet), trunk painting and decoupage and tole painting on trays worked in gold, silver and bronze leaf.
Related to her penchant for arts and crafts, items of note will include a handsome spool chest with six labeled drawers, each indicating what was inside, and advertising on the back (the side that would face the customer) for J & P Coats, with a graphic of a spool of thread; and a Singer portable sewing machine dating to the early 20th century, operational and in pristine condition.
One item certain to attract attention is a signed and dated (1929) ink and wash on paper drawing of a cat by the noted Asian artist Leonard Tsuguharu Foujita (1886-1968). The work measures 7 ¼ inches by 10 ¼ inches, sight (15 inches by 18 ½ inches framed). A cat drawing by Foujita, also from 1929, recently sold at William A. Bunch Auctioneers for $1,331 (including the buyer’s premium).
Collectors will be dazzled by the wide array of offerings, to include antique brass candlesticks (with push-up), an antique wall candle holder, a tea caddy and writing box with mother-of-pearl inlay, Mulberry Ironstone transfer ware, white Ironstone pitchers and serving pieces, woven and glass baskets, hand-painted tole trays, dated hand-painted trunks and 10 hand-made quilts.
Four quilt racks will also be sold, the nicest one with barley twist. The list continues with about 13 pieces of cloisonné, a wonderful collection of pigs (to include Lladro, Belleek and Bing & Grondahl), Fenton, blue glass, Baccarat, a Waterford sea horse, Stuart crystal, glass fruit and flowers, decanters, Indiana glass (to include a circa 1970-1984 blue glass Jolly Mountaineer liquor decanter), paperweights, glassware and bone carvings.
Also sold will be over 20 rugs (mostly Oriental and some of them hand-knotted Persian rugs) and rag and hooked rugs, Oriental woodblock prints (one depicting a large rabbit, another a landscape scene), netsukes, an Oriental scroll with horses, a snuff bottle, a very nice signed Satsuma miniature vase, a pair of miniature spinach jade cups (translucent), hard stone trees and a nice pair of Milk glass hand-painted vanity lamps.
Additional collectibles will feature stoneware jars, steins, a sterling bosun’s whistle having a dragon depiction with ruby eyes, Rockingham, Flow Blue, Hummels (including a plate, bells, a lamp and one of Madonna celebrating the 75th anniversary of the birth of Maria I. Hummel, 1909-1984), large ceramic piggy banks (including one by Goebel), costume and fine jewelry and a Movado watch.
Furniture will include Windsor-style pieces (chairs, a bench and a bed), twin beds, a lovely dining cupboard, Ethan Allen (an armoire, dining table and chairs), a twisted leg drop-leaf table, work tables, older rockers, chests, a primitive cabinet, pine hand-painted bedroom furniture (including a corner cabinet), a pair of antique cane seat side chairs, a candle stand, bookcases and more.
Lamps and lighting will feature an antique oil banquet lamp with etched hurricane shade and gold base, kerosene lamps, stained glass and slag glass lamps, a stained glass hanging fixture, and a floor lamp with painted shade. Antique clocks from the 1850s-1890s will be sold – a grandfather clock, a mantle clock and a clock in the Napoleon Hat style.
Also sold will be historical prints and a map, Royal Doulton, Treenware (trenchers, muddlers, mortar and pestles, a butter paddle), Vernon Kilns Mayflower dinnerware, Portmeirion Botanic Garden dinnerware, Royal Staffordshire Tonquin dinnerware by Clarice Cliff, 1971 International Interlude silverplate flatware and thematic puzzles (Earldine was always busy with her hands).
Utilitarian items will include a retro outdoor glider and matching chair in great shape, a fire grate and andirons with devils, fireplace tools, a cast iron kettle, reproduction cast-iron doorstops, a three-legged pot and a bed warmer.
Earldine Ankiewicz was born in Vernon, Fla., where she was raised and schooled. During World War II she met Alfred (“Al,” “Ankie,” “Freddie”) Ankiewicz, while he was serving as a Master Sgt. at Tyndall Air Force Base and she was working in civil service. After the war they moved to Brooklyn, Conn. (near Hartford), where Earldine developed a love of antiques and collectibles.
She began attending auctions and antique shows to feed her passion. She was especially fond of the Brimfield shows in Massachusetts, which are still huge to this day. Her husband didn’t share her passion for collecting, or appreciate older items, but he did surprise her with occasional gift purchases she had admired. She recalls his giving her a primitive wall candle holder and a nice chest of drawers.
Previews will be held by appointment and on auction day from 7-8 a.m. For an appointment, you may call 850-785-2577. A buyer’s premium will be applied to all purchases. All sales are final.
The Specialists of the South, Inc., has been serving the Panama City community for over 30 years. The firm specializes in a broad range of services, to include estate auctions, furniture refurbishing, interior decoration, personal property appraisals and business liquidation services. It has been named the Small Business of the Month by the Bay County Chamber of Commerce.
The Specialists of the South, Inc., is always accepting quality consignments for future sales. To consign an item, estate or collection, you may call them at (850) 785-2577, or you may e-mail them at [email protected]. To learn more, or to register for the June 27th auction, you may log on to either of the two websites: www.SpecialistsoftheSouth.com or www.PanamaCityAuctions.com.