Large Auction planned Jan. 31 by Schwenke Auctioneers

On Wednesday, January 31^st  Schwenke Auctioneers will hold its January Fine Estates Auction with an offering of over 400 lots of freshly consigned estate property from estates throughout Connecticut and Westchester County, New York. The auction features property from the estate of Mrs. George S. Franklin, Jr. (New York City and Oyster Bay, NY), and includes a broad selection of Asian decorative arts, American, English and Continental decorative arts, folk art and American country furniture, early English & other sterling silver, jewelry, fine art, miscellaneous decorative arts, and estate oriental rugs.

This auction is a live online sale with absentee and phone bidding, plus live internet bidding on multiple platforms. The auction begins at 6:00 pm on January 31^st. Preview times are Sunday, January 28th from noon to 6:00pm; Monday, January 29th, Tuesday January 30^th and Wednesday, January 31st from 10:00am to 5:00pm. Preview is also available at other times by appointment. The gallery is closed at 5pm on Wednesday, auction day.

The catalog for the sale is viewable at http://www.woodburyauction.com/. This sale is live online with absentee and phone bidding available by registering directly with Schwenke Auctioneers. Absentee bidding is available on the firm’s website, and the sale will be broadcast for live real-time internet bidding through Live Auctioneers, Invaluable and Hibid. For additional information please call the auction hall office at 203-266-0323.

Asian Items Offered

Mrs. George S. Franklin, Jr. (New York City and Oyster Bay, NY) is from one of the great collecting families in America. She was a granddaughter of Senator Nelson Aldrich of Rhode Island, and a niece of two well-known collectors, daughters of Nelson Aldrich, namely Lucy Aldrich, a notable collector of porcelain and Asian/Chinese art and antiquities, and Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, a co-founder of MOMA whose collection also formed the basis of the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum.  Many of the Asian items and ceramics in the collection are from these two ladies.

Her husband, George S. Franklin, Jr., traveled widely during his tenure as Executive Director of the Council on Foreign Relations in NYC, and in the process pursued his own interest in collecting, particularly Asian and Georgian antiquities.  Franklin’s mother and her family were instrumental in the founding of Bennington College, which was built on the grounds of their family home in Vermont. Other family ancestors include Austin Corbin, developer of Coney Island and the LIRR, and Trenor W. Park, a Vermont statesman, businessman and philanthropist. Park’s family home, the Park-McCullough House in Bennington VT, is now on the National Register and open to the public. 

Several fine Asian lots are being offered, including a Chinese Export famille rose and grisaille porcelain circular dish from the Lee of Coton Hall service, circa 1735. This service is considered the finest armorial service ever ordered by an English family. The border shows early scenes of London viewed from the south bank of the Thames with London Bridge at the right and the dome of St. Paul's visible on the left, alternating with panels of Canton seen from the Pearl River with the city walls to one side and the Dutch folly fort to the other, both in soft grisaille. The arms are those of Lee quartering Astley, circa 1735, and an example is illustrated in Howard/Ayers "Masterpieces of Chinese Export Porcelain" and represented in the collections of the State Department, Victoria & Albert, The Metropolitan Museum, Winterthur and The Reeves Collection at Washington and Lee University. The motto, "Virtus vera est nobilitas" translates to “Virtue is the True Nobility”.  A dish from this service is also illustrated on the cover of "Oriental Export Market Porcelain" by Geoffrey A. Goddon. Literature: David Sanctuary Howard, "Chinese Armorial Porcelain" vol. 1, page 329.

Furniture -Queen Anne, Georgian, American and More

Many lots of early English Queen Anne and Georgian furniture are beings sold, many of very high quality although in estate condition having been in storage for many years. The top lots include a fine Queen Anne double dome top walnut and walnut veneer secretary; two George III mahogany butler secretaries, one with elaborate inlays; a rare Continental chinoiserie decorated pitch pediment secretary with slant lid and bracket feet; a rare Queen Anne figured walnut two part high chest; several period stands and tables; two sets of period George III dining chairs; a Regency two pedestal figured mahogany dining table; a fine pair of inlaid George III knife boxes; a rare W&TM Bardin "New British Terrestrial Globe" circa 1820, with cartouche dedication to Sir Joseph Banks, President of the Royal Society. The 18" globe is mounted on a mahogany stand with turned standard and tripod base, and is in estate condition with considerable losses, cracking, wear, tears and discoloration as found, measuring 40" high, 28" diameter; and a rare pair of Chippendale carved mahogany side chairs in the French taste, with open carved splats and cabriole front legs, measuring 36 3/4" high, 24" wide, 20" deep.

Many lots of English and Continental decorations are selling on January 31^st. Among the featured lots are a Louis XVI painted three piece parlor suite; a pair of carved and gilded floral and foliate wall hangings; several pairs of carved and gilt wall brackets including a pair of 18^th century French painted wall brackets; several early Continental carved Santos figures; and a rare decorated Continental miniature bow front chest.

American furniture included in the sale ranges from a New York federal pembroke table to Philadelphia card table, Philadelphia Sheraton chest, and a Philadelphia carved Sheraton four post bed. American folk art items include a large portrait “Boy With Hoop”, oil on canvas signed, dated lower right "S. Perrett Pinxit 1855?" According to the Dictionary of Artists in America (Yale Univ. Press, 1957), there were Perretts working as engravers in Newark, NJ 1860 and after. The painting measures 40 3/4" high, 32 1/4" wide. Other folk art portraits include a portrait of a young girl; folk art portrait of a man; and a folk art portrait of a red haired gentleman.

Jewelry

A fine selection of Native American and Mexican sterling silver jewelry, including several Navajo silver cuffs, a Zuni carved fetish necklace, several Mexican sterling bracelets, and a vintage Zuni silver and turquoise squash blossom necklace will be offered. Native American decorations and rugs are also selling, including a very fine Northwest Coast lidded basket; a vintage Navajo silver and leather medicine bag; a Santa Clara Severa Tafoya collaborative avanyu pot; a large vintage Mexican Chimayo rug; a Navajo woven diamond pattern rug; and a vintage Navajo runner. 

Flanders Nature Center Offers Program on “What Do Plants Know?”

​Though we may take plants and trees for granted, they are actually very unique and far more complicated than most people know. In fact, plants share many of the senses that humans possess. On Friday, January 26th Naturalists and photographers Barbara and Peter Rzasa will provide insight on how plants actually have developed the ability to see, smell, feel, remember, communicate, tell time and know where they are. How do plants do this? Do they have a “brain” as some researchers advocate? Attend this PowerPoint program to discover just what plants know!

The program will be held at 7PM that evening   at the Flanders’ Studio   which is located at the intersection of Flanders and Church Hill Road in Woodbury. The cost is $10 for members or $15 for non-members.

Those interested may register online at http://www.flandersnaturecenter.org or call 203-263-3711, ext. 10, for more information.

About Flanders

Flanders Nature Center & Land Trust acquires, preserves and manages land; and uses the land to promote understanding and appreciation of nature, art and the environment. Founded by artist, farmer and environmentalist Natalie Van Vleck, Flanders provides a variety of environmental education programs year-round, designed to bring a deeper understanding of art, nature and farming to children, youth and adults in the Woodbury region and throughout Connecticut.

Surviving Winter - Native American Style

Have you ever wondered how Native Americans in the Litchfield Hills of Northwest Connecticut lived through the cold winter months just a few generations ago?  The Institute for American Indian Studies in Washington has developed a program that will answer many questions regarding how Native Americans survived and even flourished during the harsh New England winter months.  

Today, we depend electric blankets, heated cars, expensive down coats, and homes heated automatically by furnaces; and still we complain about the cold weather.  In contrast, the Algonquian Indians of Northwest Connecticut lived in homes heated by open fires that were built of bark and saplings.  They wore skins and furs to keep warm and had to watch the changes in the wind and the behavior of animals in order to predict a snowstorm or blizzard so they were not caught unprepared.

On Saturday from 12 noon to 3 p.m. join museum educator, Griffin Kalin  to for an in-depth look at the winter survival techniques used by Connecticut's Native Americans. Learn the secrets of Connecticut's indigenous people and how they saw the cold as a spirit that had great power and was worthy of great respect.  Learn how body heat and fire was used, the best time to chop wood and how area wildlife, the sky and the wind helped to predict winter storms.

This informative and fun program is appropriate for all ages. The cost is $10 for adults, $8 for seniors and $6 for children. This program is free for members of the Institute for American Indian Studies.  Make sure to dress warm and to wear boots, hats and gloves as this is an outdoor program.

DID YOU KNOW?

 Native people were known to cut wood when it was well below freezing. Why? Not only were they kept warm through the effort, but cold wood splits more easily!

Two Programs Jan. 20 @ New Canaan Nature Center

The New Canaan Nature Center located on 144 Oenoke Road in New Canaan is hosting a evening winter owl prowl on Saturday, January 20 from 6:30-8:30 p.m.  

The winter light of the full moon will be the guide as participants explore magic in the woods and unravel the mysteries of our nocturnal neighbors, the owls. Hikers will discover how owls use their keen senses to navigate the night and learn first-hand how they can hunt in the dark. A highlight of the event is to see if staff can identify owls by their tell-tale calls, before getting to meet a couple owls up close & personal back at the Center. It is best to register online for this event.

A "green cleaning" event is offered for adults on January 20 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. that will focus on nontoxic solutions to everyday cleaning problems. A focus will be on how to avoid unnecessary greenwashed commercial products. Participants will learn the science of grime and see how a few simple ingredients can be combined for effective and inexpensive cleaning and disinfecting. At the end of the session, folks will mix and take home your own multi-purpose anti-bacterial spray cleaner, made with essential oil, liquid soap, and other ingredients.

Meet Brisby the Owl @ CT Audubon

On January 27 from 1 pm to 2 pm the general public is invited to the Audubon Center at Fairfield located on 2325 Burr Road to meet their newest resident.

Stories take us to other worlds. On Saturday, Jan. 27, the Connecticut Audubon Society offers a journey to the animal kingdom during a Winter Storytelling event at the Center at Fairfield. With a cup of cocoa in hand, listen to favorite picture book animal stories, then be among the first visitors to meet Brisby, the center's new resident barred owl. All ages are welcome; must be able to sit and listen to a story.

Suggested donation: $2. More information at 203-259-6305, ext. 109. Visit www.ctaudubon.org/center-at-fairfield for a complete list of their winter programs and special events.

Orientalism In American Art and the Silvermine Art Colony

The New Canaan Historical Society is presenting a unique exhibit on Orientalism curated by Tom Davies (curator of Art in America), Susan Gunn Bromley, Museum and Art Consultant, and Advisory Committee member Edward Vollmer.  This exhibition runs through March 31. 

The exhibit features American artists who traveled, painted and often lived for extended periods in an area that stretched from Morocco across North Africa, Egypt, The Holy Lands and Persia to India.  In the 19th century, this mostly Islamic world became known as the "Orient."  The European and American artists who, beginning in the 1840s, ventured into this forbidden world were called "Orientalists."  The show includes more than 30 paintings and etchings plus furniture, rugs, jewelry and decorative objects. 

Associated with this exhibition, on January 28 @ 2 p.m. the New Canaan Historical Society will welcome Zuhair Suidan who will give a lecture on  "Where To? A Perspective on the Arab World", will touch on the history of the Middle East, address recent political developments and implications for the future.

Mr. Suidan brings a unique perspective to the seemingly intractable difficulties in the Middle East. As an American, a Palestinian, an Israeli, and an Arab Christian, Mr. Suidan's outlook has been framed by a life of many cultural and geopolitical experiences amid a varied geography. He was born in Palestine. As a young boy he became a refugee in Lebanon for 5 years. He received his high school education in Israel, and his university education in the United States.

Mr. Suidan is a long-time resident of New Canaan raising four children who were educated in New Canaan's public schools. He has volunteered with the Town Players of New Canaan for a number of years and has served as President of the New Canaan Men's Club in 2016-2017.

Professionally, Mr. Suidan had a long career with IBM. Since 1993, he has headed Suidan Associates, a management consultancy focused on business development and strategic planning.