Miller 2016

Catalog Design by Portside Creative, Freeport, Maine © 2016 Austin T. Miller $30 USD We accept VISA and MasterCard for your convenience 72-73 J. L. MOTT IRONWORKS, “NELSON,” AN EXCEPTIONAL AND LARGE RUNNING HORSE WEATHERVANE, NEW YORK, CIRCA 1892. Molded copper body with cast brass head with a magnificent original patina of worn gilt and verdigris, 31 x 44 x 5 inches. “Nelson” was a nationally famous record setting trotter in the 1890s. This exact weathervane is pictured in the 1892 J. L. Mott catalog on page 13, describes as “Plate 19-Q. Nelson. Full-bodied.” It was originally sold for an impressive $90. This is finest example of this form that we have ever handled. Provenance: Midwestern private collection. 72 RARE HAND DRAWN MAP OF “THE J. L. MOTT IRONWORKS,” MOTT-HAVEN, WESTCHESTER COUNTY, NEW YORK, CIRCA 1880-1900. Ink and watercolor on paper, 14 x 16 inches, in a black painted frame. One of the best-known and respected American foundries, The J. L. Mott Ironworks was founded in 1828 by Jordan Mott, and over the years produced a variety of ornamental cast and molded metal products that included fountains, vases, garden furniture, statuary, and molded copper weathervanes and finials. The Mott factory depicted on this map closed in 1902 and its operations were moved to Trenton, New Jersey as reported in The New York Times, July 7, 1902. This is the only map of this kind representing the factory of a major nineteenth century American weathervane manufacturer known to us. 66-67 COUNTRY CHIPPENDALE CANDLESTAND WITH CABINET, PROBABLY NEW ENGLAND, CIRCA 1790. Walnut and white pine with original hardware and a wonderful old finish, 15 ½ x 16 x 24 ½ inches. This remarkable candlestand is unique in our experience. In the hands of an inspired and creative cabinetmaker working in the folk art tradition, the candlestand form has been almost completely reinvented. The square top sits above an upright rectangular cabinet section with a concave blocked door carved with a beautifully stylized scallop shell motif, the dovetailed bottom board of the cabinet is deeply beveled and continues to an abbreviated turned column raised on a tripod base of square contoured serpentine-shaped legs carved at the knees with a ridged design and ending in snake feet. A possible origin in Eastern Connecticut is suggested by the inventiveness employed by its maker, the design of the scalloped shell. This type of shell is related to shells carved on two published tall case clocks attributed to the Stonington-Westerly area of Connecticut. Provenance: Austin T. Miller American Antiques, Inc; Southern private collection. 69 EXCEPTIONAL IRON PIE CRIMPER, SOUTHEASTERN PENNSYLVANIA, CIRCA 1790-1820. Wrought iron, 2 x 8 inches. A masterpiece of Pennsylvania German folk art, matching examples in the Landis Valley Farm Museum and Metropolitan Museum of Art, which are illustrated in Frances Lichten, Folk Art of Rural Pennsylvania (New York, 1946), p. 147, and Jean Lipman and Alice Winchester, The Flowering of American Folk Art 1776-1876 (New York, 1974), p. 256. Provenance: Chris A. Machmer, 1977; The Ralph Esmerian collection. Exhibited: “American Radiance: The Ralph Esmerian Gift to the American Folk Art Museum, American Folk Art Museum, 2001-2002. Published: Stacy C. Hollander, Ed., American Radiance: The Ralph Esmerian Gift to the American Folk Art Museum (New York, 2001), pages 171 and 457, no. 135. 70-71 RARE DIMINUTIVE QUEEN ANNE CORNER CUPBOARD, PHILADELPHIA REGION, CIRCA 1770. Walnut with poplar and white cedar secondary woods, in a wonderful state of preservation with fine dry old finish and original blue and red painted interior, 77 x 31 x 22 inches. This cupboard is distinguished by its rare small size, narrow proportions, and desirable shallow depth. It is one of the smallest and most beautiful 18th century American corners cupboards known. An early family label on interior in lower section reads: “This cupboard belonged to / Hannah Stiles / who married Samuel Roberts / in 1774. It was a gift from her / aunt Fanny Tomlinson and was / probably not new at that time. Later / it belonged to Elizabeth M. Cooper.” Provenance: Hannah Stiles (1751-1835) and Samuel Roberts (1746-1821), Chester Township, Burlington County, New Jersey, and later was owned by Elizabeth M. Cooper. 64-65 MONUMENTAL ROOSTER WEATHERVANE, PENNSYLVANIA, CIRCA 1800-1850. Sheet iron, wrought iron, with a wonderful weathered patina with traces of old red paint, 40 x 46 inches. This one of a kind, early blacksmith-made rooster weathervane is remarkable for its rare and impressive large size, made to adorn the roof of an enormous Pennsylvania barn. A similar though smaller sheet iron rooster vane (measuring just 27 x 22 inches) is one of the prizes in the collection at Winterthur, pictured on the cover of the 2004 book, Iron at Winterthur by Donald A. Fennimore, no. 156, pp. 317-318. Provenance: Philadelphia private collection. DETAIL 41 ELDER JOSEPH JOHNSON (1781-1852), SHAKER TINY YELLOW ROUND GIFT BOX INSCRIBED BY EDLRESS EMMA B. KING, CANTERBURY OR ENFIELD, NEW HAMPSHIRE, CIRCA 1850. 68 ELDER JOSEPH JOHNSON (1781-1852), SHAKER TINY RED ROUND GIFT BOX INSCRIBED BY ELDRESS IDA C, CROOK, CANTERBURY OR ENFIELD, NEW HAMPSHIRE, CIRCA 1850. Maple and pine with original red wash, height 1 7/8 inches, diameter 3 inches. Inscribed in pencil: “To Pug, Eld Ida C.” Provenance: Eldress Ida F. Crook, Canterbury, New Hampshire; Sister Olive Hayden, Hancock, Massachusetts (later Olive Hayden Austin, The collection of A. Hayward Benning, Albany, New York; Willis Henry, August 6, 1989, lot 158, David A. Schorsch; The Ralph Esmerian collection. Exhibited: “American Radiance: The Ralph Esmerian Gift to the American Folk Art Museum, American Folk Art Museum, 2001-2002 and “Folk Art Revealed,” American Folk Art Museum, 2004-2009. Published: Stacy C. Hollander, Ed., American Radiance: The Ralph Esmerian Gift to the American Folk Art Museum (New York, 2001), pages 312 and 525, no. 273. 68 ELDER JOSEPH JOHNSON (1781-1852), SHAKER TINY YELLOW ROUND GIFT BOX INSCRIBED BY EDLRESS EMMA B. KING, CANTERBURY OR ENFIELD, NEW HAMPSHIRE, CIRCA 1850. Maple and pine with original chrome yellow paint, height 1 7/8 inches, diameter 3 inches. Inscribed in pencil: “Presented Maria Leadley June 23 1932 By Emma B. King.” Provenance: A gift from Eldress Emma B. King (1873-1966), Canterbury, New Hampshire to Marie F. Leadley of Troy, New York in 1932; Midwestern private collection. The attributions for the celebrated gift boxes made by Elder Joseph Johnson are based on two known signed and dated examples of identical design and construction, one owned by the New York State Museum and the other in the Jane Katcher collection, see June Sprigg, Shaker Design (New York, 1986), page 111, no. 55, and Jane Katcher, David A. Schorsch and Ruth Wolfe, Eds., Expressions of Innocence and Eloquence, Selections from the Jane Katcher Collection of Americana, Volume II (Seattle, 2011), pages 348 and 426. 80 81