Five Belle Epoque Wall Panels from Annesdale Mansion, Tennessee
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – For more than a century, this set of five monumental French wall panels – oil paintings in giltwood rocaille frames – were a focal point of the Annesdale mansion in Memphis, Tennessee.
The Italianate villa was completed in 1855 for Samuel Mansfield, but in 1868, it was purchased by Robert Campbell Brinkley, owner of the famous Peabody Hotel, as a wedding gift for his daughter. Home to the Snowden family for seven generations, it was later sold as an event venue.
Earlier this year, when the property was sold again, these panels were removed. It is not known where or how the Snowdens acquired them, but they likely date from around 1880.
The largest panel, featuring an imposing peacock perched atop a flower-filled urn, measures 9ft 7in high.
These panels are one of several lots formerly from Annesdale Mansion (including Snowden family portraits, silver and ephemera) that will be offered at Case Antiques, Inc., Auctions and Appraisals on Saturday, October 7. The lot is estimated at $18,000-$22,000.
Three Sumba Hai Kara Jangga Ornamental Comb Diadems
PHILADELPHIA — Massive ornamental hair combs are associated with the East Sumbanese people of modern Indonesia. Known as a hai kara jangga and fashioned from a single piece of sea turtle shell, these diadems were typically made for aristocratic women to be worn during special events and festivals. Both the material used and the animals depicted were associated with power, fertility and status. The combs were considered precious heirlooms and were stored in the rafters of the clan house for safekeeping when not in use.
This trio of 19th-century hai kara jangga appear at auction as part of an offering of ethnographic, ancient, Asian art and textiles at Material Culture on Thursday, September 28, estimated at $1,000-$2,000.
As some states and countries prohibit the importation of sea turtle shell, please check your local laws before bidding on this lot.
Waltham Pattern 81 Gothic Hall Clock
YPSILANTI, Mich. – The Sunday, October 14 Fall Clock Auction at Schmidt’s Antiques includes this Waltham Pattern 81 Gothic wall clock. By the end of the 19th century, the Massachusetts firm was creating clocks in dozens of different case styles, with the option of several types of movement. Towards the top of the range – retailing for around $500 each – were clocks with heavy gauge eight-day movements such as this, with a rolling moon phase and quarter hour Whittington and Westminster chimes. The Gothic revival oak case, with its three openwork doors to the trunk, is particularly impressive and shows only minor wear. Its estimate is $8,000-$12,000.
Moore’s Office Drawing Room Queen Combination Desk
CHICAGO — The Moore Office Queen, one of the many patent cabinet desks popular with the business community in late 19th-century America, was patented by James Moore in 1878 and made by the Moore Combination Desk Company. They are often compared to the better-known Wooton desks, and indeed, Joseph Moore was the general manager of the Wooton Manufacturing Co. in Indianapolis before he launched his own enterprise in direct competition with his former employer. His improvements on the Wooton patent of 1874 included a single door — rather than a pair of doors — on its own set of casters and a pullout writing surface.
This example, measuring 5ft 3in by 3ft 6in, is made in walnut in the Eastlake style and will appear at Rivich Auction on Sunday, October 1 as part of sale titled American Gothic. The estimate is $1,500-$2,000.
