J&J Meeks parlor table brings $32,000 at Stevens sale A museum quality parlor table made around 1855 and attributed to J&J Meeks of New York sold for $32,000 in a massive two-day estate sale held March 16-17 by Stevens Auction Company in Aberdeen, Miss.
News-Antique.com - Apr 02,2007 - MUSEUM QUALITY MARBLE-TOP TABLE ATTRIBUTED TO J&J MEEKS, CIRCA 1855,
GAVELS FOR $32,000 IN HUGE SALE HELD MARCH 16-17 BY STEVENS AUCTION CO.
(Aberdeen, Miss.) - A museum quality parlor table made around 1855 and attributed to J&J Meeks of New York sold for $32,000 in a massive two-day estate sale held March 16-17 by Stevens Auction Company. The marble-top, rosewood Rococo table, 42” long x 33” wide, was magnificently carved, with a finial bouquet of flowers. Prices quoted include a 10% buyer's premium.
“This sale was a huge success by any measure,” said Dwight Stevens of Stevens Auction Company. “The Friday session featured two lifetime collections of Civil War memorabilia, and we had around 200 people just for that. The following day, the crowd was twice as large, at about 400 people, and it was all new faces. These weren't casual spectators. These were aggressive, motivated buyers.”
The Civil War consignors included a Tupelo man whose collection was so enormous he housed it in a private museum. The other collector, from Savannah, Tenn., had “an encyclopedic mind when it came to knowledge of the Civil War,” Mr. Stevens pointed out. Items sold included long-barrel firearms and black powder guns; battle swords; caps and cadet uniforms; photographs; and pottery.
Most of the top lots changed hands on Saturday, however, as Mr. Stevens stacked quality merchandise from several area estates, including the court-ordered absolute sale of an estate comprising more than 225 high-end items. The auction was held at Stevens Auction Company's spacious new facility, located one block north of the Adams French Mansion (still being renovated), in Aberdeen.
Highlights from the Saturday session included:
Tables did exceptionally well. In addition to the top lot, another J&J Meeks example – a Rococo, heavily carved, marble-top parlor table (circa 1855) -- went for $9,200; a signed R.J. Horner library table, beautifully carved, with winged griffins (circa 1890), fetched $7,000; and a mahogany early Empire pier table, with gold leaf dolphin posts and white marble top (circa 1830), made $4,300.
The cover of the sale catalog featured a pair of extremely rare Belter rosewood parlor chairs in the Bird pattern, with pierce-carved backs, tufted silk upholstery and Napoleonic bees (circa 1855). A single buyer paid $10,300 each for them. Also, a J&J Meeks laminated rosewood armed parlor chair, also with tufted silk upholstery and Napoleonic bees (circa 1855), realized $8,800.
Stevens auctions seem to be synonymous with monumental Mitchells & Rammelsberg beds, and this sale was no exception. A rosewood Rococo half tester bed attributed to Mitchells & Rammelsberg (circa 1860), soared to $11,000, while an oversize, flame mahogany full tester plantation bed (9 ft. 9 in. tall x 65 in. wide x 78 in. long, circa 1840), found a new owner for $9,200.
“We were pleased to offer some of the best glassware I've seen in some time, much of it coming out of a New York City apartment,” Mr. Stevens remarked. Top offerings in the category included a stunning Dresden porcelain
