Americana

NEW YORK—There is no denying that the market for Americana—for most traditional formal furniture, for that matter—is less than robust right now, and the only lots in the January sales that performed well were those at the very high end.

Really fine 18th-century Philadelphia Chippendale piecrust tea tables are among the rarest forms in American furniture, and in the past few months three have come up for auction. In October 2007, Christie’s New York sold the remarkably pristine Fisher-Fox family table by the Garvan Carver est. $2–3 million), consigned by descendants of the original purchaser, to Pennsylvania dealer C. L. Prickett for a record $6.76 million. That juicy price may have seduced a couple of other superb examples out of hiding.

The Dietrich American Foundation consigned the Stevenson family tea table, which features an untouched original finish, to Christie’s January 18 auction of important American furniture, folk art, prints and decoys. Philadelphia collector and philanthropist Richard Dietrich, who died last year, had bought the piece at Christie’s New York in January 1990 for a then-record $1.21 million. The circa 1770 table, modestly estimated at $1.5 million to $2.5 million, brought a staggering $5,417,000 from Ohio and Massachusetts dealer William Samaha, who was underbid by Maryland dealer Milly McGehee. “It’s an extraordinary icon of its time,” says Margot Rosenberg, head of the American furniture and decorative arts department at Christie’s New York.

The Fox-Tilghman family tea table, also by the Garvan Carver, surfaced in Sotheby’s auction of important Americana on January 19. It carried an estimate of $2 million to $6 million, a curiously wide range, or a “lot of air,” in trade terms. One might surmise that the consignor, aware of the $6 million–plus price achieved by the Fisher-Fox table, had pushed for the higher number, while Sotheby’s experts suspected that the lower end was more realistic.

The Sotheby’s piece was a magnificent example of high-style Philadelphia carving from circa 1755, but it had long ago been refinished, which probably knocked hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars off the price. Being the last of three tables to come to market didn’t help either, since two major buyers were out of the competition. Featured in its own catalogue, The Acme of Perfection Tea Table, to the snickers of some dealers, it sold to a private collector on the phone for $1,833,000, reportedly the reserve. “It’s an expectations game,” observes Connecticut dealer David Schorsch, “and I don’t think Sotheby’s over-the-top hype helped.”

Other top lots at Sotheby’s were a circa 1760 Newport Chippendale block-and-shell-carved dressing table (est. $750,000–1.5 million). It sold for $937,000 to North Carolina dealer Albert Sack, who, at 92 years of age, is still at the top of his game. A circa 1775 Philadelphia Chippendale chest-on-chest attributed to Thomas Affleck (est. $200–600,000) was bought for $337,000 by Prickett, who seems to be picking up many of the best lots these days.

Sotheby’s also featured the remnants of the fine collection of Mr. and Mrs. George Fenimore Johnson, of Maryland, much of it purchased in the 1960s and ’70s from New York dealers Israel Sack (Albert’s father) and John Walton. The highlight was a circa 1770 Philadelphia Chippendale easy chair (est. $200–800,000), bought by Prickett for stock for $505,000.

At Christie’s, an anonymous major collector from New England sold off several pieces to make room for more. A beautifully proportioned Boston Chippendale high chest, from 1760–80 (est. $800,000–1.2 million), went to Prickett for $1,049,000. Also on offer there was the personal collection of the formidable Connecticut dealer Marguerite Riordan and her husband, Arthur. By her own admission, these were not the most important items she ever handled, but there were many desirable pieces, including an 1858 carved and painted steamboat weather vane (est. $60–90,000), which sold to Georgia dealer Deanne Levison for $313,000.