email: [email protected]
phone: 585-385-9002
Scarce
Very Small
Oval Box
....sale pending
New England, likely Massachusetts, ca. 1840.
Original wine-red paint; pine top and bottom with a maple sidewall.
Opposing-finger boxes of this type, often associated with Hingham, are relatively common in round form, yet decidedly scarce when oval and of such diminutive size. Measuring just 3 inches long, this example is the smallest opposing-finger oval box I have offered.
Note the pronounced wood-grain ridges on the top board, with burnished wear to the high points from handling, an important diagnostic feature when confirming original paint, and especially well expressed on this box.
Loose inside is a label from legendary dealer Roger Bacon.
Excellent condition.
Approximately 3 inches long x 2 1/8 inches deep x 1 5/8 inches tall.
Perfect for the top of a stack.
Bittersweet
Opposing Finger Box
"LEVI BEAL"
Hingham, Massachusetts, ca. 2nd quarter, 19th century.
Pine top and bottom; maple side wall. Joinery by iron tacks and tiny wooden pegs.
Lightly impressed on the lid LEVI BEAL (1786-1852). I have had a number of signed boxes by Levi Beal, so even though the intaglio-stamped signature is faint, I know what to look for (in the images I have shown a side by side of this box’s signature and another deeply stamped).
Overall dry original bittersweet paint. Very early in its use there was a wooden pieced repair on the left side of the lid (doesn’t go through), the top then lightly touched up way back then with a slightly redder paint.
About 6 3/8 inches long x 4 5/8 deep x 2 5/8 tall.
See "BUCKET TOWN" by Derin Bray, for reference. These Hingham painted oval boxes are sought after as stand alones, or for stacking. I have sold dozens over the years. They make a very colorful statement.
Painted
Queen Anne
Country Pipe Box
with Star Finial
.....SOLD
Probably New England, ca. 18th to early 19th century.
Early dry sage green paint with black and blue/black banding/edges, all over first red, on pine. The footed case with drawer, leading up to a scrolled and hand-chamfered well opening, topped by a carved star finial. The drawer retains the original iron pull with typical surrounding wear from handling. Joinery entirely by wooden pegs (no nails apparent). Fitted at the top with an iron loop for hanging (also rests fine on a flat surface).
Terrific surface and patina. About 20 inches tall to the top of the finial (another inch for the iron loop) x 5 7/16 inches wide x 3 ¾ deep. Has been in a long time New York State collection. .
Choice Little
Indigo-Blue Salt
.....SOLD
Northeast, ca. late 18th/early 19th century, appears to be maple.
Best little salt cellar I have had in a long time.
Salt wasn’t always the inexpensive, free-flowing table staple it is today. Clean, dry salt in this period was relatively expensive, so large amounts were kept covered in crocks, and only a small amount brought out for meals, often in little salt cellars, to protect the main supply and to keep it as dry as possible.
This unlikely survivor has a delightful form with stepped base and tiny column supporting a broadly flaring bowl. Skillfully turned on a slow-lathe. Superb condition retaining complex surface of indigo blue paint and black (which may be variably oxidized blue). Interior shows darkening from contact of salt with wood, just what one should see in a salt.
Just 1 3/4 inches tall x 2 1/8 diameter. For a collector that loves early American painted treen.
Finely Crafted
Sliding-Lid Box
Northeast, ca. 18th to early 19th century. Mixed softwoods, including pine, in original Spanish brown paint.
A particularly well-made sliding-lid box, likely intended for candles, exhibiting the work of a practiced joiner. The lid features crisp rectilinear molding, an elaborately carved finger hold, and chip carving. It slides cleanly within its original dado. The case is neatly dovetailed, and the slightly proud base is secured with wooden pegs, without the use of nails.
The Spanish brown surface, an essential colonial color derived from local iron-oxide earth pigments mixed with linseed oil and turpentine, remains honest, and untouched.
Excellent structural condition with expected surface wear.
Approximately 9 inches long x 4 3/4 inches wide x 2 inches high. From a long-time private Massachusetts collection.
AMERICAN ORIGINALS
Country Paint
Decorated Box
....SOLD
New England, probably Maine or New Hampshire, ca. 1820–1840.
A striking small box in not-often-found original salmon ground paint with black decoration, on what appears to be boxwood. The surface is untouched, complex, and completely dry, prized by country collectors. The sides are ornamented with large polka-dots framed by black borders, while the subtlety-domed lid features an exuberant crosshatched pattern in alternating salmon and black.
The color is soft for those liking calm and quiet, yet strong enough for those who seek color, it works well for both. The naïve decoration is simple yet compelling.
Never fitted with a lock, joinery by cut nails. No cracks. Wear as expected, especially back right corner. Retains original hinges. About 12 inches long x 5 ¾ tall x 6 5/8 deep.
Provenance includes a long-time Maine collection.
Outstanding William & Mary
Banister Back Chair
.....SOLD
Pictured and Described in the Yale University Collection
New England, likely Providence, Rhode Island, ca. 1720-1780.
Maple. Distinguished by a double-arched crest rail, amplified by a beautiful gold border added when the paint was updated in the early to mid-19th century.
Embellished with ball and urn finials, ogee-turned legs, double-arched stay rail, double ball stretcher, and retaining full-height flattened-ball feet and conical rear posts.
About 42 inches tall; seat width 19 3/8; seat depth 14 3/8. Excellent very solid condition, retaining a terrific dry crackly surface and burnished wear from handling. Early rush seat.
Provenance: Recently from the original family where it had been passed down (the Stevens family, Rumford, Rhode Island); noted antiques dealer, researcher, and author Gary Sullivan; Yale University’s famed American Furniture Study Center.