Green Valley Auctions, Inc., Mt. Crawford, Virginia: Newcomb Pottery Bowl Leads Green Valley Sale

by Walter C. Newman

It is not surprising to learn that a piece of pottery emerged as the top lot at a Green Valley Auctions sale. It is surprising to learn that the piece in question is from the 20th century, and that it is not from the Shenandoah Valley. Such was the case at Green Valley's semiannual auction of antiques, Americana, and decorative arts, held June 22 and 23 at the firm's Mt. Crawford, Virginia, facility.

The pottery item was a small (5½" in diameter) Newcomb College bowl by Newcomb decorator Mary Williamson Summey that sold during the first evening session of the two-day sale. Bidding on the delicate little bowl opened at $2600 and moved quickly to the ultimate price of $8250 (includes buyer's premium), well over the high estimate of $3000.

The Newcomb piece, a large Grueby lamp base, and 140 items from the estate of University of Richmond (Virginia) professor Stuart L. Wheeler brought a decided Arts and Crafts feel to this Green Valley auction. Although it is common to see Arts and Crafts items cross the block at Green Valley, this sale offered far more than usual.

Green Valley president and lead auctioneer Jeffrey Evans commented that it is not unusual to see such items but added, "The bulk of our consignments come from this immediate area. Arts and Crafts items are not a large component of the personal property of families here [in the Shenandoah Valley]." Although the Wheeler estate provided the bulk of the Arts and Crafts lots, the two top performers in the category, the Newcomb bowl and the Grueby lamp base, were from nearby Harrisonburg, in Green Valley's backyard.

The second high lot was also a bit unusual for Evans and company. A Steinway & Sons mahogany case grand piano, circa 1927, was offered from the Wheeler estate. With an estimate of $2000/3000, the instrument was hotly contested and was eventually won by a very determined young woman in the room. She "just had to have it" to the tune of $7700.

But this is Mt. Crawford, Virginia, after all. And we are at a Green Valley auction. So where are the pots? Where are the baskets? Where is the furniture? Day two of the sale provided a solid mix of the usual suspects. There were no record-setting items from any category, but each did provide fine representative pieces. Pennsylvania, Baltimore, and other Mid-Atlantic crocks sold quickly but usually at the lower end of their estimates. A copy of H.E. Comstock's The Pottery of the Shenandoah Valley Region, the bible of collectors, sold for $440, seeing no advance from its opening absentee bid.

Works by American artists sold well. The Gingko Tree, attributed to William Penhallow Henderson (1877-1943), brought $3575; an arch-shaped 63½" wide oil on canvas by Robert Van Vorst Sewell (1860-1924) sold for $3300; and Swiss Morning, a winter landscape by Eric Sloane (1910-1985), made $3080.

The jury is still out on brown furniture. A walnut and pine pie safe from Rockingham County, Virginia, was the top furniture lot, selling well for $6050 in spite of having a refinished surface. An early 19th-century large yellow-painted pine pin-top table with three dovetailed drawers brought $3080. Other so-called "lumber items" were fortunate to reach their low estimates, prompting one dealer to comment: "It was a good day to be a buyer. There is some room [to make a profit] in these pieces."

Green Valley's next Americana sale is scheduled for November 9 and 10. That sale will include a special session devoted to Virginia and southern furniture and decorative arts. For more information, contact Green Valley Auctions at (540) 434-4260 or visit the Web site (www.greenvalleyauctions.com).

Login or Register to post a Comment