Gary Sullivan's Antique Clocks and Furniture Blog

Appraiser’s Seminar hosted by Brunk Auctions.

On May 14, 2011 in General by Gary Sullivan

I just spent two days in Ashville, NC for a Appraiser's Seminar hosted by Brunk Auctions. What a terrific idea, for Brunk to host an event where appraisers earn continuing education credits from The International Society of Appraisers while attending lectures by experts in various specialties. I was there to speak on methods of evaluating and appraising antique clocks. I didn't prepare very much, had about 15 slides in a Power Point presentation, and was a little nervous that I wouldn't have enough material to consume the hour and 15 minute slot. My fears were all for not, as I ended up rushing to include critical information after speaking for an hour and a half. Brunk had several clocks that are slated to be sold in future auctions, so I had plenty of material to refer to. I brought some examples of reverse painted glass panels from banjo clocks and a few clock dials (faces) to illustrate original verses restored paint.

The questions from this group of experienced appraisers were excellent. They kept me on my toes. The turnout was quite good, I think there were over 100 attendees. Hopefully some of them will contact me if they run across an important clock that needs appraising.

Matt attends design seminar by David Easton

November 4, 2011 Matt here again. Earlier this week, I had the good fortune of attending yet another great seminar at the Boston Design Center. The speaker was the celebrated designer and architect David Easton. He presented an illustrated discussion of his works that was somewhat of a retrospective of his accomplishments. It is a stunning body of work. I was humbled by both the scale of the projects and his mastery of style and taste. For some time I have admired his work from afar, but an opportunity to be walked through his collections in person will be a life long memory. As an architect, David has a comprehensive understanding of architectural style from the Classical through the contemporary. This coupled with his talented sense of design, enable him to first create a physical space in which he can then successfully translate the tastes of his client. David has championed the elegance of the Neoclassical, creating a number of fine homes and collections from the ground up. He showed several slides of these familiar forms that were opulently decorated with rich fabrics and ...
Antiques Week in New Hampshire is upon us again!

August 4, 2011 Every August, antiques nuts such as yours truly flock to Manchester, NH for “Antiques Week”. This year will be no different. As usual, the festivities will center around the New Hampshire Antiques Dealers Association’s annual show (known within the trade as “the Dealers Show”). The NHADA show has been around since the beginning of time! Actually, for me it has. The first show took place the summer I was born. The Northeast Auctions summer sale is about as big a draw as the Dealers Show. I spoke with auctioneer Ron Borgeault the other day and he’s happy with his offerings this weekend. His sale includes lots of folk art and country furniture, with some more formal things thrown in. I’m chasing a few objects on commission for my clients, but I’m certainly not planning to share those with you here. There are nearly 200 dealers exhibiting between Frank Gaglio’s two shows, Manchester Pickers Market and Mid Week in Manchester, both of which are worth a visit. I’ve had good luck at both shows. There’s even a new 35 dealer show opening ...
Discoveries!

October 26, 2011 This is what keeps us going - the thrill of the hunt! As dealers we are always dreaming of making that big discovery, the sleeper that will make a difference. It still happens, as evidenced by the story below. I have made a few through the years, but I’m still waiting for the “big one”. We did make a nice discovery in an auction box lot last year, maybe not as spectacular as the one in the story, but it was pretty special for us. While previewing a sale at a small auction house, Matt spotted an extremely important piece of Chinese export porcelain in a box lot. The lot had been part of the residue from an excellent Boston area estate, the majority of which had gone to one of the big name auction houses. Here was this obscure five-figure piece, mixed in with common, low value porcelain. We knew we on the trail of a good one, now we just needed to bring it in. Matt sat quietly in the audience at the sale, hoping nobody else had ...
Ultra rare John Goddard games table acquired.

May 9, 2011 We bought a superb Newport demi-lune games table at CRN Auctions last weekend. It was made in Newport, RI., and has a wonderful cabriole front leg with carved ball & claw foot and carving on the knee. The table dates to the 1760s and has the classic Newport style undercut carved talons on the Chippendale front foot and Queen Anne style feet in the rear. The semi-circular top flips open to reveal a storage well for the card-playing supplies of the day. The table came from a Newport family in the 1970s and was handled by noteworthy antiques dealer John Walton. It has been in a private collection ever since. A friend who happens to be a scholar on Goddard-Townsend Newport furniture remembers the house it came from and will be sharing the family history with me. A nice bonus was the discovery that the table is illustrated in Master Craftsmen of Newport by Michael Moses. He associates the table with the workshop of John Goddard. Who am I to argue?
Have you noticed an uptick in the antiques business this year?

April 15, 2011 It seems as if all of the dealers that I speak to lately are pretty happy with the level of business that they’re doing lately. Sure, we all complain about the lack of available merchandise, but that will never change. The fact is, most of the active dealers that I know have noticed an uptick in their businesses this year. I say “active dealers” because there are plenty of dealers who don’t rely on this business for their actual income and are not aggressively beating the bushes every day to pay the bills. I am certainly one of the the later. What outside force do we attribute the increase in business to? I’m not sure. Perhaps people are feeling better about their portfolios, or real estate is moving again. Maybe we’re all tired of sitting on the sidelines. Our office has seen a dramatic increase in the number of calls or emails from designers who need to fill orders. We can’t seem to keep up with requests for specific objects. I don’t attend too many auctions, particularly not the smaller ...
Exceptional dwarf clock by Joshua Wilder of Hingham, MA

March 17, 2011 We were thrilled to purchase an exceptional clock at the March 6th Americana sale at Skinner Auctions. The circa 1822 dwarf clock, standing about four feet high is an exact miniature of a tall case (grandfather) clock. Early 19th century dwarf clocks from the Hingham/Hanover area, on the South Shore of Massachusetts, are highly prized by collectors. We purchased the clock for $189,600. on behalf of a private collector. Although not a record for a dwarf clock, this is one of the highest prices paid at public auction. Two of the reasons why it sold for so much more than what dwarf clocks typically bring are the combination of remarkable condition and superb form. Dwarf clocks were produced with various case styles and some command higher prices than others. Most dwarf clocks with a high degree of originality sell in the $10,000. To $50,000. Price range, but great examples can easily go higher. This model, with works made by Joshua Wilder (1786-1860), incorporates a case which is attributed to Weymouth Cabinetmaker Abiel White (1766-1844). It has French feet, quarter columns in ...