Circa 1900: There really is no more classic weathervane than the rooster. Europe's oldest surviving weathervane, a rooster known as Ramperto's Cock, dates to circa 820-840 AD and is photographed and discussed on page 17 of Robert Shaw's American Weathervanes: The Art of the Winds (Rizzoli Electra 2021).
For Sale: $7,250
Circa 1876: This Civil War canteen belonged to Charles H. Davis, who served in Company G. of the 12th Massachusetts Volunteers.
For Sale: $7,250
Circa 1850-1875: This important mixed media (oil, watercolor, and graphite) portrait of a family in mourning is one of eight known "memorial pictures" by the same as of yet unidentified mid 19th century American folk art painter.
For Sale: $6,250
Circa 1820s: Superb set of four matching original paint decorated early American fire leather buckets most probably from a bucket brigade or school, two handles professionally restored, each bucket 20.5"H (including handle) x 9.5"D. Ex. Stephen-Douglas Antiques.
For Sale: $4,500
Circa 1930s-1940s: Measuring 24"H x 36"W each, this delightful pair of masterfully done Mickey and Minnie Mouse hooked rugs features a smiling Mickey Mouse roller skating swiftly toward his love Minnie Mouse.
For Sale: $4,500
Circa 1841-1873: This attractive 12" tall two gallon storage jar impressed "B.C. Milburn Alexa" is decorated with a super folksy and rare sunflower and is illustrated on page 253 of Alexandria, Virginia Pottery: 1792-1876, where author Eddie Wilder asserts that it is "a very important collectible piece."
For Sale: $4,250
Circa Late 19th Century: The superb original three-color blue, white, and black paint scheme on this early rotating policeman whirligig is breathtakingly beautiful, and the policeman's carved form with its rounded edges, painted facial features, and wide arms is absolutely charming.
For Sale: $4,250
Circa Late 19th Century: Robert Bishop and Patricia Coblentz have documented another example of this whirligig form by the same maker.
For Sale: $3,950
Circa 1837: Housed in period (and possibly original) frames with square nail construction, these highly detailed and skillfully rendered signed "J.M. Crowley Delineator, Rome" and dated March 16 and 17, 1837, graphite on paper miniature portraits feature identified sitters Eliza A. (Jefferson) Bradt and husband blacksmith John B. Bradt, both buried the Rome Cemetery in Rome, New York.
For Sale: $3,750
Circa 1840: While it can be difficult differentiating the work of individual Da Lee family members, scholarly evidence points us to the identification of Justus Dalee as having painted this pair of fine miniature portraits.
For Sale: $3,650
Circa Early 20th Century: The gameboards published in Selby Shaver and Tim Chambers' seminal 2001 volume The Art of the Game have become iconic examples, and these boards rarely surface on the open market. This skillfully executed 22" x 31" eight color Parcheesi board is plate 124 in the book and was obviously made by a professional sign painter or carriage decorator as so many of the finest gameboards tend to be.
For Sale: $3,495
Circa 1835: In 1835, the British ship The New York Packet transported six prisoners in Australia, and this beautiful and highly carved powder horn was most probably made by one of the sailors on the ship during the Australian voyage because the horn portrays both a named image of the ship and a detailed likeness of an emu (titled "The Wondra" on the horn), a flightless bird native only to Australia.
For Sale: $3,250
Circa 4th quarter 19th century : Best folk art patriotic painted cane with carved eagles, stars, shields, Civil War medal, pocket knife, violin, rifle, arrow, and more, 34”L, lacking, ferrule, wear commensurate with age and use. See cane #252 on page 146 of George H. Meyer’s American Folk Art Canes: Personal Sculpture (Sandringham Press, 1992) for another example of a cane by the same maker. See page 204 of the book for a detailed discussion and probable attribution to “Charles W. Teale (1817-1895), who lived in the New York State Soldiers Home and is buried in the Veterans Administration National Cemetery in Bath, New York.”
For Sale: $3,250
Circa 1900: This 19" square pine Parcheesi gameboard features a six color paint scheme on a bright white ground and an anonymous old granny note on the back side: "Parcheesi Board Hand made by Arthur's grandpa, Joel Peck."
For Sale: $3,150
Circa 1837: Silhouette aficionado Peggy McClard notes that Augustus Day's hollow cut silhouettes "are some of the most rare of signed American silhouettes," and both of these painted hollow cuts are signed "Day Fecit" as they should be.
For Sale: $2,950
Circa 1880s: This wonderfully dynamic 6 color paint decorated walnut Parcheesi board with a rare robin's egg blue ground features a very unusual inset home square and a mitred walnut frame.
For Sale: $2,950
Circa 1880s: This fantastic paint decorated Checkers board is equally graphic on both sides. One side features a four color scheme of black green, red, and orange, and the opposing side sorts a black, red and green palette.
For Sale: $2,895
Circa 1895: James Stuart Blackton (1875-1941) emigrated to the United States with his family in 1885. A true renaissance man, Blackton was a skilled painter, illustrator, cartoonist, and reporter who also did stage work and made his fame as a movie producer in the silent film era.
For Sale: $2,850
Circa 1900: This eight color Chinese Checkers gameboard with unusual bittersweet ground is a visual delight. The simple orange frame is affixed to the thick single board with the tiny round brads that were used right around the turn of the 20th century, and the good, honest board wear and wonderfully crazed painted surface serve to help confirm the game's age.
For Sale: $2,795
Circa 1810: Paint decorated tinware box with rare blue decoration is attributed to the group IV makers in Berlin, CT.
For Sale: $2,795
Circa 1840: When looking at this "Certificate of Birth and Baptism" for Robert Middleswarth (1839-1920), it is obvious to see why the fraktur's creator, Henry Young (1792-1861), was known as The Ladies with Anchor Artist before scholars identified him and rescued his work from the great tome of anonymity. Young's most recognized works include a pair of women, one holding an anchor and the other a mirror.
For Sale: $2,650
Circa 1930s:This outstanding 12" folk art carousel in 7 color original polychromatic paint decoration contains 11 indivudually carved and painted human figures with articulated arms, facial features (notice the tiny ears!), and clothing.
For Sale: $2,500
Circa 1880s: Considering this 16 7/8" square paint decorated gameboard is filled with decoupaged warriors, it is likely that this highly stylized board was designed with the game of chess in mind.
For Sale: $2,450
Circa 1890-1910: This handsome and expertly carved blue-eyed soldier whirligig stands 19" end to end.
For Sale: $2,450
Circa 1830s: Signed "June the 20 1837" in period script on the underside of the lid, this striking white pine New England storage box retains its original six- color paint decoration on a bright tomato red ground.
Sale Pending
Circa 1890-1910: Measuring 32.5" square when displayed diagonally and 23.5" x 23" when hung traditionally, this visually graphic five color paint decorated Parcheesi board highlighting anchor with twining rope corner blocks was most probably sailor made on America's northeastern shoreline.
For Sale: $1,950
Circa 1975: This 18" tall rendition of Uncle Sam impressed " Made by S.P. Zoratti 1975" around the top of Sam's famous hat is a museum quality example of the whimsical patriotic carvings Zoratti completed around the time of our country's bicentennial.
For Sale: $1,850
Circa 1840-1870: This exuberantly painted apple box features a unique and striking rosewood grain painted ground with yellow pinstriping, dog, butterfly and vining flower theorem-like decorations.
For Sale: $1,795
Circa 1920-1940: This striking 16.5"L x 13.5"H (including stand) mermaid whirligig has an outstanding finely crazed and highly detailed original three color paint decorated surface.
For Sale: $1,695
Circa 1920-1940: This punchy double roooster hooked rug comes professionally mounted and ready to hang.
For Sale: $1,650
Circa 1880: Measuring just 4 3/4" high, this highly stylized paint decorated antique firkin is delightful and rare.
For Sale: $1,650
Circa mid 19th century: Highly graphic petite original smoke decorated chest on yellow ground with red and green borders, original hardware, dovetail and square nail construction, typical pieced and nailed repairs to lid, lacking key, 9.25"H x 24"L x 11.5"D.
For Sale: $1,600
Circa mid 19th century: Smoke decorated box on white ground with blue sponged border on green ground, typical age splits, dovetail and square nail construction, 9"H x 21"L x 13"D.
For Sale: $1,600
Circa 1840s: These charming and well done folk art miniatures portray sisters in stylish blue dresses, both of them posed in a fancy chair against a red curtain.
For Sale: $1,595
Circa 1870s: This hefty 14" tall three gallon Midwestern presentation jug most likely from Ohio features a rare whimsical slip decorated pointing hand and two sets of initials, JS and GS, probably celebrating the marriage or anniversary of a couple.
For Sale: $1,550
Circa 1892: Incredible carved maple folk art cane inscribed “1892 Prominent Pugilists,” including portraits of historic boxing legends John L. Sullivan, Charlie Mitchell, Peter Jackson, and Bob Fitzsimmons, as well as other boxing related images, 35"L, excellent condition. See canes 221, 222, and 250 of George H. Meyer's American Folk Art Canes: Personal Sculpture (Sandringham Press, 1992) for examples attributed to the same maker.
For Sale: $1,500
Circa 1850-1875:This fine rosewood lap desk with poplar secondary wood and patriotic shield shaped mother of pearl escutcheon features an oil painting of Hudson, New York and is based on an 1830s William Henry Bartlett engraving entitled "View of Hudson City and the Catskill Mountains."
For Sale: $1,495
Circa 2nd Half 19th Century: This handsome sailor made folk art ditty box features an original five color polychromatic paint scheme and a complex sgraffito encircled star within a star within a star pattern on its lid.
For Sale: $1,450
Circa 1880s: Measuring 17 3/8" x 17 5/8", this charming three color double sided Parcheesi and Checkers gameboard with square nail construction has fantastic folk art allure.
For Sale: $1,450
Circa Late 20th Century: Brother of world famous Georgia folk art potter Lanier Meaders, Reggie Meaders (1919-2009) lived to be 90 years old and is considered a master potter in his own right.
For Sale: $1,450
Circa 1963: Silvio Peter Zoratti (1896-1992) was an Italian immigrant who came to America after being released from a WWI German prisoner of war camp. He had been trained as a stone carver in Europe and settled in Ohio, where, in 1923, he took a stonemason position on the Nickel Plate Railroad and worked there until his retirement in 1961.
For Sale: $1,395
Circa 1st Quarter 20th Century: Staunton, Virginia, native Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924) served as America's 28th President from 1913 to 1921 and guided our nation through the difficulties of WWI and into the roaring twenties.
For Sale: $1,350
Circa First Quarter 20th Century: Lucius A. Briggs (1852-1931) was active in Boston in the late 19th and early 20th century and is most noted for his marine watercolors. This painting captures the Red jacket, one of the fastest 19th clippers, while it was famously delayed for four days in an ice field off Cape Horn in 1854 while attempting to set a speed record.
For Sale: $1,295
Circa 1920s: Found in a New England home and mounted on a 15" long piece of driftwood, this beautiful carved wooden robin weathervane with inserted sheet copper tail fin directional has exceptional finely crazed orginal paint and most probably was mounted atop a birdhouse.
For Sale: $1,250
Circa 2nd Half 19th Century: This attractive 6 1/2"D x 2 5/8"H sailor made folk art ditty box features original green, red, and black paint and a large carved eight-point star on its lid.
For Sale: $1,250
Circa 1963: Stamped on front "Adam and Eve About to Fall" and showing remnants of bright red and green paint, from Ohio carver Silvio Zoratti's backyard garden of eden.
For Sale: $1,250
Circa 1825-1850: Pair of American theorem fans, watercolor on velvet affixed to paper board with complexly turned wooden handles, traces of gold gesso over black paint, repairs to handles, minor losses to theorems, 15”H x 11”W.
For Sale: $1,200
Circa 1944: Signed "WB 1-28-44," this WWII era six color original paint decorated Chinese checkers gameboard is decorated with waxing and waning crescent moons and representations of full or new moons and features an extremely unusual cool color palette that accentuates the board's lunar theme.
For Sale: $1,195
Circa 1975: Silvio Peter Zoratti (1896-1992) was an Italian immigrant who came to America after being released from a WWI German prisoner of war camp.
For Sale: $1,150
Circa 1925-1950: Measuring 8" in height, this rare salt glazed sewer tile football on tee bank is most probably the work of legendary Tuscarawas County, Ohio, potter Edward J. Ellwood.
For Sale: $1,150
Circa 1910: Highly graphic Southwestern Native American basket, probably Apache, minor losses on rim as photographed, 4.5”H x 16.5”D.
For Sale: $1,150
Circa 2nd Quarter 19th Century: This small oil on sigle thick chamfered tulip poplar board folk art portrait of a gentleman is housed in a period (and possibly original) lemon gold frame. This is a fine example of American folk art portraiture depicting a well-dressed man, his small out of proportion hand draped comfortably over the sofa's arm.
For Sale: $950
Circa 1900: This unusual 22.5" x 15" checkers game was painted on an old lap board, a testament to the utilitarian nature of folk art gameboards themselves. This style of board with keepers on either end was popular right around the turn of the twentieth century and, when combined with the paint colors used and the finely crazed surface we love to see, we can date the board to that general time period.
For Sale: $950
Circa First Half 19th Century: Early American pinted tinware with a bright red ground is far more difficult to find and thus more highly prized than its black asphaltum counterpart, and most of the red tinware (also called redware) was manufactured by the Filley family shops in Pennsylvania.
For Sale: $895
Circa 1930s-1940s: Measuring 16" square, this Wahoo board with a has a white ground that accentuates the other bright colors.
For Sale: $895
Circa 1840-1860: This wonderful poplar dresser box from the Marshall Goodman collection was, because of its incredibly exuberant decoration and use of multiple techniques and motifs, most probably painted in the second quarter of the 19th century at a schoolgirl academy.
For Sale: $875
Circa 1890-1920: This pair of eye catching mustard, red, and green 24"L x 3"W hand carved and paint decorated miniature canoe paddles feature the ancient star and crescent motif, the major symbol of the Shriners fraternal organization formed in New York City in 1876 as an offshoot of the Freemasons.
For Sale: $795
Circa 1870-1890: Pantry boxes in original yellow paint are hard to find, and this 9.75"D x 5"H thick walled New England pantry box in original yellow and black paint decoration has been stashed away in our personal collection for some time now.
For Sale: $725
Circa 1840s: Housed in a period (and possibly original) lemon gold frame, this early silhouette of a youth with hoop toy portrays the young man, whose figure is fully embellished with subtle black watercolor details, standing atop a blue foreground.
For Sale: $695
Circa 1850s: This folk art pen and ink drawing of George Washington on horseback is modeled after the 1850 Currier and Ives print.
For Sale: $650
Circa 19th Century: Square nail eys, wonderful old surface and a turned head make this antique carved wooden decoy a very nice example.
For Sale: $650
Circa Mid 20th Century:Because of its chunky curved back, this large 16" long canvasback hen decoy in original paint most probably hails from Wisconsin.
For Sale: $375
Circa Mid 20th Century:This folksy glass-eyed 13" long bluebill drake decoy was definitley hunted over because the the beak has some shotgun pellet holes typical of decoys used on the water.
For Sale: $275
Bob Zordani and Heidi Kellner: (217) 714-5016, Lexington, Virginia: zandk@zandkantiques.com
