NEW YORK – Many spectacular objects and items go unsigned or unmarked by their makers. Too often, these artisans didn’t regard their masterpieces as art; they saw them as a hobby, or an amusement, or something that helped pass the time. We may not always know who made a given piece, but we do recognize its beauty and its craftsmanship.
On August 5, starting at 6 pm Eastern time, Jasper52 will stage an auction of Americana, Folk Art, and Outsider Art. As always, the sale is curated by Clifford Wallach, an expert in tramp art, folk art, and Americana. Absentee and Internet live bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.
A standout among the 421 lots is a carved Nootka club, made in the Pacific Northwest and dating to circa the late 17th century or the early 18th century. It is fashioned from whalebone and inland with shell and has a bark-wrapped handle. This spectacular work of tribal art carries an estimate of $50,000-$60,000.
Another head-turning lot is a 19th-century buckskin vest (shown at top of page) with beaded decoration and fringe, described as having been made in the “Eastern Woodlands, USA.” Its provenance includes the estate collection of Dr. J. R. Morrison of Seattle, and it is estimated at $3,000-$5,000.
Also notable is a circa-1805 sampler worked by Hepzibah Harrington of Weston, Middlesex County, Massachusetts. She was 10 when she stitched the silk-on-linen sampler, which includes the following text: My childish days swift glide away/ And riper years are coming on/ May heaven prepare me for that hour/ When I on earth shall be no more/ Hepzibah Harringtons wrought in/ the eleventh year of my age.
Circa 1805 sampler by 10-year-old Hepzibah Harrington, est. $10,000-$12,000
She also included a memorial to her late 15-year-old brother, a feature that is not often seen on samplers of this type. Surviving information confirms that Hepzibah was one of 11 siblings, and she went on to become the second wife of Charles Traine, who married her after his first wife, Hepzibah’s sister Elizabeth, died in 1814. The sampler is estimated at $10,000-$12,000.
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View top auction results on LiveAuctioneers here: https://www.liveauctioneers.com/pages/recent-auction-sales/