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!

Come see this collection and more at The Philadelphia Antiques & Art Show, April 20-22, 2018 (*preview party April 19).

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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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One of the great Ohr inkwells with a strange creature howling next to a tree stump. With strong colors from the incidence of the kiln firing with a wonderful blistering deep red. Stamped twice on the bottom. "GEORGE E. OHR / BILOXI, MISS."

Provenance: Robert A. Ellison, Peter Brams

Illustrated and discussed: George Ohr, Art Potter: The Apostle of Individuality, p.53, plate 41.

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A large and unique 25 pound weight in the form of a baby with its head painted in flesh tones and its' eyes a glance.

SOLD

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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This striking object leaves an indelible imprint on your minds’ eye—it is powerful and mysterious.

This small chiseled and forged flat iron figure depicts a silhouetted American Indian with calumet (pipe), hair roach and pony-tail, and wearing a breechcloth with genitals exposed.

Provenance: Marvill Collection of American Folk Art

Illustrated twice and discussed in American Vernacular, 2002, p. 1 (title page) and p. 149.

SOLD

A complex folk art tableau of the Sacred Family; Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus. Made out of crate wood, the carved and painted figures and elobotate platform were carved by an Italian-American in New York.

Provenance: Hill Gallery, David Wheatcroft, Peter Brams

Illustrated: Folk Art Magazine, Winter 2003/2004, p. 15

SOLD

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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Excellent example of the form with strong glazes and great coleslaw fur to the head and tail.

Related example: Winterthur has a very similar with a like glaze combination.

SOLD

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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Masterfully carved and crafted from carved mahogany and nickel plated bronze, this set of five carvings is a bit of a mystery—we don't know who carved them or exactly when, but they are quite provacative and special. The proportions and minute details are the carvings are well studied and finely executed.

SOLD

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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