#Sugar #Maple #Farm #Stallion #Property #Propels #Copake #Auction #Antiques #Arts #Weekly
Review by W.A. Demers; Photos Courtesy Copake Auction
COPAKE, N.Y. — Among the partial contents of Sugar Maple Stallion Farm in Poughquag, N.Y., a pair of large still life paintings depicting rabbits in a landscape crossed the finish line in first place at Copake Auction’s September 9 sale. Each with a canvas size of 45 by 76½ inches, one showed a solitary brown rabbit and brought $13,764. The other had a black bunny and a white bunny enjoying fruits of the harvest. It went out at $12,600. Seth Fallon said they went to separate buyers, one in-house and the other online. The artist was unknown, but they were deemed Nineteenth Century genre paintings. A decorator, who attended the sale, had purchased them from Christie’s years ago.
The eclectic, 800-lot sale offered everything from a vintage sportscar to furniture, fine art, mechanical banks, Asian material and petroliana.
First across the block and looking a bit worse for wear was a 1957 MGA Roadster car. Produced by MG from 1955 to 1962, this particular vehicle was offered in “as-found” condition with all the dents, dings and rust that such garage finds are heir to. But for a sports car restoration hobbyist, it would provide a great project and sold for just $2,400. The model was introduced for the 1956 model year, and was a replacement for the aging T-Series cars. It was powered by a 68 horsepower 1,489cc overhead valve engine mated to a four-speed manual transmission and featured independent front suspension, rack-and-pinion steering and a solid rear axle with leaf springs.
Fetching the same price was a pair of Arts and Crafts Gustav Stickley-style cube chairs with a 30-inch overall height.
Also hitting the $2,400 mark was a J&E Stevens cast iron mechanical bank, an 1882 Reclining Chinaman. When one places a coin in the pocket of the Chinaman and presses the lever, the Chinaman shows his hand of four aces and salutes the depositor. Designed by James H. Bowen, the bank bears an August 8, 1882, patent date and is 8 inches long.
A nice bump up from its $150/250 estimate was attained by an Asian pagoda. It was brass with multi-sections, standing 53 inches tall. It made $2,280.
Iver Johnson was an American firearms, bicycle and motorcycle manufacturer from 1871 to 1993. Sharing the same name as its founder, Norwegian-born Iver Johnson and with headquarters in Jacksonville, Ark. When Johnson died of tuberculosis in 1895 at the age of 54, his sons Fredrick, John and Walter took over the business. They guided the company’s expansion as bicycle operations grew and added motorcycle manufacturing and sales. Today, the company is a manufacturer of military-style firearms. In the sale, an early Iver Johnson Arms & Cycle Works framed poster, 20 by 32 inches, went out at $2,160 against a $150/200 estimate.
Rounding out the sale’s notable lots was an Andy Warhol “Campbells Soup” dress, known as the “Souper” and comprising a repetitive motif of the infamous can, approximately 29 inches long. It left the gallery at $1,920, doubling its high estimate.
Prices given include the buyer’s premium as stated by the auction house. For information, www.copakeauction.com or 518-641-1935.