Three-day March sale presents ‘divine’ offerings

THOMASTON, Maine – According to Yankee Magazine, “mud season is God’s way of letting New Englanders know they haven’t gotten to heaven yet.” Thomaston Place Auction Galleries’ March 1-3 auction will help alleviate the effects of this less-than-anticipated time of the year. The antique auction will present an inventory of fine art, early American furniture, Chinese antiquities, rare watches and jewelry, estate silver, rare books and documents, and oriental carpets.

On Friday, March 1, the auction focus will be on rare first edition, signed and fore-edge painted books from a 19th and 20th century literature collection assembled in the 1960s through 1980s by an international investment banker; plus an exceptional selection of graphic arts and ephemera.

Highlighted books will include: three editions (first and signed limited, and first American printing) of Robert Frost’s 1914 work “North of Boston”; a 1935 limited deluxe edition of Edgar Allen Poe’s “Tales of Mystery & Imagination,” illustrated and signed by Arthur Rackham; a first edition copy of “Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain with fore-edge painting depicting two scenes from the book; and a second edition two volume set of “The Complete Angler” by Izaak Walton and Charles Cotton, (London, Nattali and Bond, 1860) in oxblood calf binding by George Bayntun.

There will also be photographs by Berenice Abbott, George Tames, and Edward Curtis; plus printed works by Pablo Picasso, Fernand Leger, and Robert Indiana.

The Saturday and Sunday offerings will include an extensive array of fine art, featuring works by Bernard Buffet (France, 1928-1999), Winslow Homer (MA/ME, 1836-1910), Ivan Aivazovsky (Russia, 1817-1900), Waldo Peirce (NY/ME/MA, 1884-1970), Paul Howard Manship (NY/NH, 1885-1966), Dahlov Ipcar (ME/VT, 1917-2017), Anthony Thieme (MA, 1888-1959), Emile Gruppe (MA, 1896-1978), Le Pho (NY/France/Vietnam, 1907-2001), Jamie Wyeth (PA/ME/DE, 1946- ), and many others.

The auction will present two table lamps from Tiffany Studios – a circa 1910 bronze lamp with “Four Virtues” base and Acorn pattern leaded glass shade, and a bronze Scarab desk lamp with iridescent green and purple favrile glass shade.

There will be many examples of important early American furniture, such as a matched pair of Federal period mahogany card tables with birdseye maple panels, a Boston Sheraton sideboard attributed to John and Thomas Seymour, and an early 18th century Queen Anne highboy in rampant tiger maple. Additionally the auction will present custom contemporary pieces made by Eldred Wheeler, Thomas Moser and other fine makers.

Leading the large estate jewelry and watch selection will be a gent’s Patek Philippe platinum tank form wristwatch, and a 19th Century Etruscan Revival high karat gold bracelet set with a large faceted citrine.

Highlighted from estate silver collection will be a 150-piece set of Georg Jensen Acorn pattern flatware, a Tiffany & Co. Art Nouveau silver and copper vase, a four piece Josef Hoffmann Wiener Werkstatte silver tea set, and a variety of sterling pieces by renowned 18th century London silversmith Hester Bateman.

The extensive Asian group will include: a Chinese Kangxi Period famille verte porcelain Immortal figure, a Ming Dynasty gilded bronze Buddha, a Tang Dynasty pottery horse, and a pair of Japanese bronze and mixed metal vases.

And as always, the sale will offer large collections of Oriental carpets, marine items, porcelain and art glass, early weapons, lighting and fine timepieces.

The auction will begin at 11 a.m. EST each day. A complete, full color catalog, with detailed descriptions and photographs, is available, and all lots can be viewed at Thomaston Place Auction Galleries’ website, www.thomastonauction.com.

In addition to live bidding in the auction hall, Thomaston Place accepts bids via absentee, telephone, and on the internet. Call 1-207-354-8141 for more information, or to reserve seats in the auction hall.

AntiqueTrader.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com and affiliated websites.