Samplers, Sevres urn do well at Ken's Auction, Jan. 1 Eighteen historic samplers dated 1758-1866 sold for up to $3,000 each, and a gorgeous Sevres urn brought $3,750 at a New Year's Day Sale held January 1 by Ken's Antiques & Auction in Kingston, Georgia
News-Antique.com - Jan 23,2008 - EIGHTEEN HISTORIC SAMPLERS, GORGEOUS SEVRES URN, CHIPPENDALE HIGHBOY
ALL DO WELL AT KEN'S ANTIQUES & AUCTION'S NEW YEAR'S DAY SALE IN GEORGIA
(Kingston, Ga.) - For a town so small it doesn't even have a traffic light, Kingston, Ga., was really jumping on New Year's Day, thanks to a lively auction held by Ken's Antiques & Auction. About 300 people (half the town's population) packed the showroom to bid on more than 650 lots in a wide array of categories. Top lots included 18 historic samplers, a Sevres urn and a Chippendale highboy.
“Not bad for a country junk sale,” remarked Ken McLeod, owner of Ken's Antiques & Auction, with a chuckle. “Small items and collectibles, especially, did real well. Not so much furniture, but even that brought prices that were within range.” Mr. McLeod said about a dozen phone bidders remained on the lines throughout the day, and many absentee bids were recorded. Some were faxed in.
Internet bidding was handled through LiveAuctioneers.com, but only a little more than 200 of the sale's lots were even listed on eBay. “It didn't really matter, because the crowd was so great,” Mr. McLeod said. “I have a loyal customer base that is in the habit of marking their calendars for my sales, especially the better ones like this.” Several area estates were liquidated, and the sale grossed $135,000.
Highlights from the auction follow. Prices quoted do not include a 10% buyer's premium.
The day's top lot was a period Chippendale highboy, beautifully crafted sometime between 1790 and 1810 and featuring all original boards and hardware. The 80” tall piece, nicely carved and with ball-and-claw feet, went for $4,000, but did have a downside – it had been refinished. “And that's too bad,” Mr. McLeod said, “because in its original state, it could have easily made $30,000-$40,000.”
Just behind the highboy, at $3,750, was a gorgeous Sevres urn, produced around the 1890s by the renowned porcelain factory (founded in Vincennes in 1738 and moved to Sevres in 1756). The hand-painted urn stood 23” tall and was signed on the top cap and base. The courtyard scenes hand-painted onto the piece were representative of the high-quality gilded wares associated with Sevres.
As nice as those two items were, they were not the main reason for the large turnout. Most of the crowd had come to view and bid on the 18 historic samplers that were given much attention in the press leading up to sale day. Most were from a single Boston-area family and were dated 1758-1866. The consignor was an Atlanta area-based antiques dealer who bought 13 of the 18 as a group.
The top selling sampler was one done in 1801 by Sarah Crofs, just 11 years old at the time. It sold for $3,000. All samplers were stitched by young girls of the time, some as young as five. It was common for girls whose parents could afford it to be sent to seminaries, to learn how to sew. They
