Folk furnishings from single-owner collection boosted day’s total at Miller & Miller

NEW HAMBURG, Canada – A circa-1820 Quebec armoire in alligatored yellow paint that earned it the family nickname Armoire Crocodile sold for $29,500, and a Louis XIII armchair from the Bastien family on the Huron-Wendat reserve in Loretteville, Quebec achieved $21,240 at the sale of the Jean-Marc and Danielle Belzile collection held May 13 by Miller & Miller Auctions, Ltd., online and live in Quebec, Canada. It featured 359 lots of 18th- and 19th-century Quebec furniture, folk art, sculpture and Canadiana in a sale that grossed $351,079. All prices quoted are in Canadian dollars.

The 72in-tall Armoire Crocodile in exceptional polychrome paint featured a layered dentil cornice, deeply molded raised panels on the doors, two raised panels on each side, a shaped base, and eight recessed panels on the center stile. The yellow paint was in dramatic contrast with the deep blue found on the moldings, panel edges and lower rail.

The circa-1800-1825 Huron-Wendat Louis XIII armchair in old green paint from the Bastien family had slanted back posts that were topped with prominent wings and carved flat finials. The back had three slats, two of them cut in the capucine manner. A hand-cut sawtooth skirt supported the edge of the original pine seat; the rungs were hand-skived.

Additional highlights from the auction include an 18th-century Quebec pine armoire with four Louis XIV hourglass-shape panels, constructed with thick pine planks and hand-hewn or pit-sawn backboards, which earned $17,700; while an 18th-century Joliette, Quebec bonnetiere, or single-door cupboard, with a shaped foot and paneled back, constructed of thick pine and having a natural surface with great patina, reached $11,800.

A circa-1820 bow-front Quebec corner cupboard with a large single door having an applied diamond motif and all-original blue paint with gorgeous patina, rose to $10,620. Also, a small circa-1810-1825 storage cupboard having original slate gray paint made $5,015.

A circa-1880 57in-tall sculpture by Louis Jobin (1845-1928) of Joseph with the Christ child holding a globe, meticulously covered in lead-tin, realized $5,015. In the late 19th century in Quebec, it was Jobin who introduced the process of applying sheets of lead, copper and tin to sculpture designated expressly for outside use.

A Bellechasse rocking chair, its two upper back slats having heart cut-outs and boasting superb surface and great wear to the rockers from many years of use, achieved $5,015. Also, a circa-1830 two-tone stepback cupboard in untouched, original condition with its original paint, displaying desirable wear and patina and made in Papineauville, Quebec, earned $4,425.

A circa-1830-40 Quebec raised 12-panel armoire in as-found condition, all in old white paint over the original dark gray, went for $5,900. Also, a circa-1825 Quebec armoire in as-found pristine condition commanded $4,720, and a late 18th-century Quebec Louis XIII blanket chest in its original gray and blue paint was sold to a determined bidder for $3,835.

To consign a single piece, an estate or a collection to Miller & Miller Auctions, Ltd., call 519-573-3710 or email info@millerandmillerauctions.com. To learn more about Miller & Miller Auctions, Ltd., please visit www.millerandmillerauctions.com.

 

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