OBJECTS / SCULPTURE:

It is not easy coming up with compelling and complex material show after show. This catalog is thinner than usual, but phat as ever—quality over quantity with no filler! Of course, we will be bringing more than these works of art to the fair, but herein are a group of well-winnowed works that deserve special attention. Enjoy!

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This is the best and most exciting treen nutcracker that I have seen in some time. Quite large, this early screw-type boxwood (or fruitwood) nutrcracker features an expressive man with well defined features and an open mouth. His hair is finely done—shaped almost like a leaf. The handle is a carved as a fish. The surface is first rate—a real treen lovers piece.

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Carved from the solid of oak these dynamic carvings have a truly elegant design—with open carving throughout—the dog's tails curve around and under each of their bodies—and the open-work "gills" behind the dogs make for a superb piece of sculpture.

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Made by Miller Iron Company, Providence, RI. A very cool and beautiful birdhouse in excellent condition. The details are remarkable—it is quite an amazing job of casting. The house still stands today (no, I have not knocked on their door to see if they want to buy it :)

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A gogotte is a millions years old naturally shaped mineral concretion formed of tiny quartz fragments held together by calcium carbonate. Principally found in Fontainebleau, France, these mother-nature made sculptures have inspired artists from Jean Arp, Henry Moore and Louise Bourgeois. Louis XIV favored them and the have been exhibited at Versailles since the late 17thC.

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First rate folk art whirligig in the form of an acrobat with red face paint, a red and white uniform and blue paddles. The original paint surface is in a remarkable state of preservation and maintains a complex craquelure and patination—one of the very best I have seen.

Provenance: Stephen Score; Olde Hope Antiques; Private Southern collection.

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A striking, bold and sensual folk art carving by a very skilled artisan. A young nude woman stands with her arms above her head, leaning contrapposto against a tree stump above an elaborate carved floral base, which is cornered by dogs and elephants(?). The animals have black glass beads and rhinestone inset eyes. It should be noted that each side of the base is carved slightly different than the other—each with a different floral and base molding motif.

Provenance: Harris Diamant; Hill Gallery; Private Southern collection.

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The Ojibwa and other Native tribes have a long history of using pictographic imagery for storytelling—from medicine scrolls, spirit sticks and in many instances ledger drawings of the Plains Indian tribes.

An old label, attached to the textile, reads, “This is an Indian prayer rug used by the Ojibway and presented by one of the Indians as a friendly and protective offering for kindness received. — E. G. G.”

Though this rare textile is misidentified as a prayer rug (the Ojibway were not weavers) and it is not known if the full textile has any narrative, we may infer that the figures on the upper left may represent Ms. Gustin and the father of the Ojibwa child who may have created the textile for Guston (possibly for religious instruction). The stylized headdresses are quite remarkable and I love the image of the Indian child standing atop the horse.

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An over the top Civil War carved pipe—using the natural form of the root, Wessel carves a recumbent lion, panther, lizard and a snake. Along the body, in relief carved letters, he states, “This / Root was / Found on / the Banks of / the Potomac / Near / Harpers Ferry, This Pipe was / Made By / R. Wessel / A Member / of / the 5 OVI / C.A.”

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A family of eight concrete dolls. Found as a group in Iowa, these “dolls” are unique and mysterious. Sensational surfaces.

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A very large and artful incidence of ancient Khmer vases, vessels and celadon bowls haphazardly fused together. An exhilarating work on the round—like a George Ohr / Peter Voulkos / Ai Weiwei mash-up!!

Provenance: Doris Wiener Gallery, 1981.

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A mysterious fish-tailed figure constructed of plywood and inlaid with hundreds of mirror slivers. The head is irregularly shaped, more fish or alien than human. But, the body is slender and anthropomorphic with broad shoulders and thin arms. A wave at the base makes it look as if the figure is emerging from the water.

Though its original purpose or creator has been lost to time, it remains a compelling and beautiful sculpture.

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These rare Woodlands figures were used by the Mide'wiwin or "Grand Medicine Society" of the Ojibwa Indians. As part of a ceremony for attracting a marriage partner, the figures would be tied face to face and mixed with “love powder” in a bag.

Excerpted from: THE MIDĒ ́WIWIN OR “GRAND MEDICINE SOCIETY” OF THE OJIBWA, by W. J. Hoffman. “This love powder is held in high esteem, and its composition is held a profound secret, to be transmitted only when a great fee is paid. It consists of the following ingredients: Vermilion; powdered snakeroot and a piece of ginseng cut from the bifurcation of the root, and powdered.”

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The work of Frederick Hastings was discovered a few years ago and much of the details of his life and work remains a mystery.

What is known is that he lived outside of Philadelphia, was an architect and may have had family money. It is also known that he was into trains and built elaborate sets.

The figures are very well made, with steel armatures or skeletons and then carefully modeled with some sort of air-dried clay or modeling putty. Most have applied paper bikinis and several have wigs of cotton or wool. Most of the figures come with hand-made boxes, custom fit to accommodate the size and posture of each.

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A really great, fairly large scale folk art carving of a woman standing in a bikini. She is carved in the round and is a looker from any angle—it's exceptionally well carved.

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An exceptional example of a large Fred Alten animal. Fred Alten was a machinist in Wyandotte, Michigan and carved animals based on illustrations in Jonson’s Book of Nature. A garage full of his works was found thirty years after his death.

Provenance: Peter Brams; Barbara Johnson

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A highly unusual and rare piece of PA redware. A full figural monkey with his left hand over his partially exposed genitalia and his right hand reaching to his backside. The good-sized figure is made as both a bank and a whistle.

Provenance: David Good, Peter Brams.

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The whole in high relief—a large bird's claw, followed by acorns wrapped with a rose, which leads to a woman's forearm and hand, a rattlesnake wraps a branch and then another rose, and a turtle near the end.

Provenance: Peter Brams Collection

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An atypical optician’s sign...looks to be made from shipping crates...the line quality of the eye-glasses and face is quite smooth and confident. McKees Rocks, PA (outside of Pittsburgh).

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Bronze marine hitching posts. Great form. Great surface. Flush wall mounts included.

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First rate example with a nice "thigh gap." Interior nut still intact (not hollowed out).

Sailors would find these floating in the ocean and had no idea where they originated from. They were carved and collected for their “femaleness.”

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Modernist sculpture with great textures from the intertwined bronze nest, the faux tree stump and the square eggs.

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Bird Family is a large work of a mother bird protecting and feeding three nestlings under her wing. The solid black granite metaphorically reinforces the strength of the matriarch, while Washington's sensitive carving conveys a certain intimacy and the fragility of life.

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Amateur Savoie (1896- 1983, Neguac, NB) was New Brunswick's most famous decoy carver. Known as, "Mat," Savoie was a self-taught barber, cobbler,and important Canadian folk artist who worked along the shores of Tabusintac, New Brunswick. This early confidence decoy is from Savoie's early period and has an overall elegant form. The head pieces are joined cross grain to discourage in-line splitting. The chrome yellow beak stands out beautifully.

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Bold red painted covered carpenters tool box belonging to "W. LAYMEN" who wants you to keep your "HANDS OFF!" Yellow pinstriping and flourishes. New England origin (possibly Maine). Note size...large box...not the size of a knife carrier...much, MUCH larger.

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A striking, signature work carved from black granite— the bird is powerfully rendered with a commanding posture.

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Though Woodchucks do not hatch from eggs, Washington successfully reminds us that all animal life begins with an egg. Regarding a similar work, a patron who upon seeing a recent work of Washington's in which a rabbit was hatching from an egg, exclaimed, "A rabbit does not come from an egg!" Washington replied, "Doctor, all life comes from an egg."

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Tintype of a woman housed in a small single carved block of wood fashioned into a pendant. Paired with a woven hair chain. Very cool and unique object.

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