One of my favorite lots in our upcoming January 28^th and 29^th, 2021 Americana & International Auction is this group of sterling serving pieces by Gorham. The Versailles pattern was created in 1888 by the Gorham’s chief designer, Antoine Heller. Heller attended the atelier of Jean-Leon Gerome in the Ecole de Beaux-Arts in Paris and was influenced by Gerome’s academic style and obsession with Classical antiquity. After serving in the disastrous Franco-Prussian war, Heller left France for the U.S. to work for Tiffany. Hired by Gorham in 1881, he set about sculpting some of the most beautiful and intricate flatware patterns ever created. Heller’s artistry and craftsmanship are such that each can be celebrated as a small work of art. Although Gorham was on the forefront of mechanization, it also employed the greatest number of artists and craftsmen for hand engraving and chasing. The resulting implements feel light and balanced in the hand. Rotated in the light, their sculpted curves gleam with a soft brilliance.

In the Versailles pattern, relief sculptures of different Classical figures drawn from the palace decorate each component, infinite in grace and swimming in Classical motifs. Twenty-four iconic images from the famous art and architecture, from the walls, the ceilings, the balustrades, statues, and mirrors, are adapted to adorn the flatware. One could be an industrious, prude Victorian on the outside, while entertaining in the spirit of the most self-regarding king in history inside their own home. With 150 pieces to choose from, the opulence of an Antoine Heller service would rival the most opulent Gilded Age dining rooms. Returning from their Grand Tour, any well-heeled family scion could set up their own mini-Versailles dining table. With these serving pieces, you can start setting your own.

by: Cynthia Lawrence

Where do 17^th century art and science collide with a Doomsday cult? On the pages of “Metamorphosis Insectorum Surinamensium,” a lavish folio of plant and insect engravings published in 1705 Amsterdam by the world’s first entomologist Maria Sibylla Merian, and one of the most beautiful natural history books ever published. Two hand-colored engravings from this work are featured in our January 30^th International sale. They are exquisite collector’s objects with wide-ranging significance.

Born in Frankfurt in 1647 to a family of engravers and artists, Maria Sibylla Merian learned to draw and paint flowers at home. Always distracted by the insects she found, she included a bug in every picture. Marrying one of her father’s apprentices at the age of eighteen, she began teaching painting and needlework to wealthy young women. Her studies led to publication of a book on her special interest, butterflies. Her approach was revolutionary. Each beautiful page was the complete life cycle of a butterfly, in its habitat, drawn from life. Little was known about insects at this time. It was still widely held that insects were born of vapors and rotting plant and animal life, spontaneously generated. Linnaeus was not to classify Insecta for decades (and when he did, he would reference Merian’s books). There were as yet no studies of the relationship between insects and plants.

Merian’s independent-minded behavior did not stop there. By 1685 she moved with her two children and widowed mother to a Labadist Protestant commune at Walta castle in the Netherlands. Her husband made attempts to retrieve her, but she successfully divorced him in 1692. He was a Catholic, and Merian had joined a Protestant sect believing in disciplined, communal isolationism, an attempt to recreate the experience of first century Christians. While it is hard to tell what most bound Merian to the commune, it is known she became obsessed with its collection of exotic tropical insects.  The castle was owned by Cornelius van Sommelsdijk, who had just purchased one-third of the colony of Suriname, recently acquired from England in exchange for New Amsterdam, and become its Governor.

Moving to Amsterdam and setting up her own workshop, Merian raised funds for a scientific expedition to Suriname to study insects. She sailed in 1699, accompanied only by one of her daughters. It was one of the very first solely scientific expeditions, and the first for a woman. Reaching South America took two months at sea, and to travel upriver to the Labadist colony of Providentia was four days of rowing. Providentia sat deep in the jungle, isolated from corrupting influences, and waiting for the coming of the Apocalypse. (Established in 1675, by 1699 all of its colonists had died from disease and violence except a few hardy zealots and slaves. Van Sommelsdijk himself was murdered in 1688.)  Merian spent the next two years studying and drawing the plants and animals, voyaging up and down the river between equatorial jungle and sugar plantations. Living closely with the slaves, she paid them to bring her plant and insect specimens, and she recorded eyewitness accounts of their treatment and hardship. Merian did not escape the Providentia affliction, contracting an illness which forced her return after two years’ work and was to plague her for the remainder of her life.

In Amsterdam, she set about creating books from her notes, drawings, and specimens. Her strength depleted by fever, she only produced three of her book’s sixty engravings, guiding engravers to adapt the rest. The plates were then painted by Merian and her daughters. Her magnum opus, “Metamorphosis Insectorum Surinamensium” was published in 1705 to wide acclaim. Merian’s artistic sensibility, her scientific observations, and her pioneering work to present forms of life wholly unknown to Western science captivated society. Fat caterpillars clung to succulent jungle plants, tropical flowers burst forth in sunset hues, and feathery moths danced across the pages. Passionflowers bloomed, tarantulas devoured birds. The book was a triumph of art as well as a revolution in science. Merian’s books were collected by the finest libraries in the world, and when she died in 1717, her entire works were purchased by Tsar Peter the Great.  Here are two that can be yours.

by: Cynthia Lawrence

I hope everyone gets the opportunity to come and visit the sales room for the preview of the collection of Linda and Dennis Moyer. The room looks fantastic! Call 610-269-4040 to set up a time to look. It has been great “living” with these items for the past several months while at work. Come have a look so you can see how difficult it is to pick out just one item!  The quilts in the sale are so graphic and vibrant that they hurt your eyes to have a look. I go back and forth between several items as my absolute favorite of the sale. The Simmons bird tree and John Drissel box are way up on the list. Several quilts are in there as well as many of the fraktur.  It’s the perfect example of “I’ll bet you can’t pick just one”! I went with lot 463, the Pennsylvania painted tramp art comb case. Imagine the pop this would give a plain white wall! How about the hearts? The cows? The good luck horseshoe?  This just seems to pull it all together for a great piece of folk art. I love the vibrant paint. I love the form. It just works. Come and find your favorite. If you can’t be here in person, take the virtual tour on our website at pookandpook.com.

by: Jamie Shearer

I thought that I had better not miss the “pick of the week” this week. I have the dilemma of choosing items from the collection of Linda and Dennis Miller which is chock full of all the things that I love. The Pennsylvania German Arts were the focus of the collection. The two-day sale will begin on Friday July 10^th, 2020 at 6:00 PM, EST.  My list of great things spans many different categories. There are 73 lots of fraktur alone! Quilts? Yes, there are 39 lots of quilts with a lot of eye dazzling examples. Type the word “carved” into the search and 81 lots show up. Butter prints? Well there are only 18 lots of butter prints but within those lots are 70 individual butter prints. The word cupboard turns up 25 options. To top it off, one of my favorite words in the antique dictionary is “paint”. Type that in and no less than 158 lots include the word paint! Now how in the world can I choose just one? I am going to just pick my favorite! Oh, wait a minute, there are way too many favorites! The Drissel box, the Simmons bird tree, a tramp art sewing box, the apothecary cupboard, a watch hutch and on and on. I went with something that will be a shock to those of you who know me well. Someone please shield my dog Stella’s eyes. Since Stella is great at hearing key words but not a good speller, I have to spell my pick of the week.  I chose lot number 259. What is 259 you may ask that will cause such a rift between me and my beloved dog Stella? It happens to be a really neat carved and painted C… A… T…! I am a dog guy through and through but I would certainly adopt this feline. Measuring 11 1/2” high with a black and white painted coat. How about the whimsical look on his face? Don’t miss out on this guy! Sorry Stella, please forgive me!

by Jamie Shearer

Sitting here staring at this wonderful catalog and having my usual problem, there is too many items for pick of the week. Ship paintings have always been a favorite of mine and there are several to choose from, the Peter Lik photographs are just breathtaking, the quilts, the fraktur, of course the little blue firkin, it just goes on and on. Sensory overload has been reached! I really wanted to go with the redware dog, but that was too predictable for me – redware and a dog, all in one, how could I not love that. Instead I went with a toy for the dog to chase around the yard. Lot 407 is an adorable mohair rabbit squeak toy. This is one of those antiques that crosses several categories. Toy collectors, folk art collectors and those of us who just love animals all seem to have one in amongst a country decorated home. So, chase this bunny around the auction block and take him home. You won’t be disappointed.

by Jamie Shearer

Looking through the different photographs we have sold over the years, this daguerreotype really stood out to me. This full plate daguerreotype (lot 1410, 4/28/18 auction) was made by Jacob Byerly of Frederick, Maryland. Born in 1807, Byerly became one of the leading photographers in the area, and ran Frederick, Maryland’s first daguerreotype studio. It is believed that he was at one time friends and photographed with renowned photographer Mathew Brady of New York.

Making a photograph like the one seen here was no simple task. To make an image, the daguerreotypist would polish a sheet of silver plated copper, treat it with fumes that made the surface light-sensitive, then expose the plate in the camera for a calculated amount of time (early daguerreotypes sometimes had to be exposed for 60 to 90 seconds). The photographer would then cover the exposed image with mercury vapor, apply a mix of chemicals that would halt its sensitivity to light, rinse, dry and then seal the vulnerable image behind glass.

The daguerreotype process was the first publicly available form of photography, popular through the 1840’s and 50’s. Invented by Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre and introduced worldwide in 1839, daguerreotypes were almost completely replaced by 1860 with new, more cost effective processes being brought to the public.

by John Burdumy

https://pookandpook.com/lot/rare-full-plate-daguerreotype-3226253

For my pick this week, I decided to take a closer look at lot 1210 in our upcoming decorative arts sale on May 20th. It is a lot of three signed prints of Up From The Woods, a painting by Carolyn Wyeth. The print depicts the Wyeth family home and studio, peeking through the trees, setting the viewer back into the woods where Carolyn grew up. 

Carolyn Wyeth was the daughter of world renowned artist, N. C. Wyeth and his wife, Carolyn Bockius Wyeth. She was born in 1907 and raised at the home seen in this painting. The Wyeth home and studio is about five minutes from where I live now, in Chadds Ford, PA, sitting on about 18 acres of Southern Chester County beauty. Carolyns’ father began training her at the age of 12, setting a foundation with charcoal studies of 3 dimensional shapes and plaster casts. He taught her to know and become emotionally in tune with her subjects. She found her own artistic voice in her early 20’s and began to receive many awards and accolades. 

In the 1940’s Carolyn began teaching painting, primarily at her Chadds Ford home, and in Maine during the summers. Her nephew Jamie, son of well known artist Andrew Wyeth, began studying under her when he was 12. It was under Carolyn that Jamie found a love for painting with oils. He went on to have a very successful career of his own. Carolyn taught painting in Chadds Ford for over 30 years, and lived in the family home for her entire 85 years. 

Like the rest of the Wyeth painters, Carolyns work draws heavily from her life in Chadds Ford and the surrounding area. Of her work, the Brandywine River Museum published: “Her paintings reconstruct private moments from the past and often evoke an air of romance, remembrance and loss.” The painting Up From The Woods captures the solitude which Carolyn enjoyed through her life. Carolyn once said in an interview “I think all great stuff comes out of being alone. At the time you may feel lonely, but it’s doing something wonderful to you.”

by: John Burdumy