Dedham, MA:  On Sunday, June 8th, Grogan and Company will conduct their annual spring auction featuring over 600 lots from various estates and collections.  Collectors will be treated to a wide array of offerings including Fine Art, Jewelry, Silver, Furniture, Decorative Works of Art, and Oriental Rugs. 

One of the gems of the auction is a Rare American Needlework Sampler from the Mary Balch School of Providence, Rhode Island (est. $30/50,000).  Depicting the First Congregational Church of Providence, the sampler has descended within the Massachusetts and Rhode Island family of Mary Pitcher, the creator of the remarkable needlework.  Similar designs can be found in the Susan Smith Sampler at Winterthur Museum in Wilmington, Delaware and the Sarah F. Sweet Balch School Sampler in the Rhode Island Historical Society collection.  One of New England’s most famous needlework schools, the Mary Balch School produced one of the largest group of fine schoolgirl samplers and embroidered pictures from the late 18th to the early 19th centuries.  Many of the Balch samplers are characterized by the use of an imposing floral border, usually a flowering vine growing from a vase, and the use of Providence's public buildings, many of them found at Rhode Island State College (now Brown University).  The First Congregational Church of Providence was built in 1794 at the corner of Benefit and Benevolent Streets and was tragically destroyed by fire in 1815.

The auction features a collection of over forty pieces of fine jewelry from the Estate of Mrs. Henri Bendel (Lillian Hirschler Bendel), the wife of the prominent fashion retailer and founder of Belgian Shoes in New York.  Highlights from the Bendel Estate include a Platinum and Diamond Floral Spray Brooch (est. $5/10,000), a Platinum and Diamond “Ballerina” Ring (est. $6/8,000), and an Aquamarine and Diamond Suite (est. $4/6,000).  Other jewelry highlights include an impressive Emerald, Diamond, and Pearl Necklace (est. $10/20,000) acquired by a Private Collector in the 1950s while on a hunting safari with the Maharaja of Mysore, His Highness Sir Jayachamaraja Wodeyar Bahadur; and a Cartier Platinum, Diamond, and Emerald Bow Brooch (est. $4/6,000) descended in the family of “Big Four” Railroad tycoon, Mellville E. Ingalls. 

Furniture highlights include a Fine and Important Pair of Louis XVI Style Mahogany Ormolu Mounted Marble Top Corner Cabinets, signed Henri Dasson (est. $5/10,000) and a Federal Inlaid Maple Tambour Desk (est. $3/5,000), possibly by venerated American cabinetmaker Thomas Seymour.  The desk is illustrated on page 8 of Vernon Stoneman’s book A Supplement to John and Thomas Seymour Cabinetmakers in Boston (Special Publications: First Edition, 1959).  Three Bookcase Cabinets by Gustav Stickley and several examples of highly carved Renaissance Revival furniture by the New York firm of R. J. Horner & Co. will also be featured.  

European decorative works of art offerings include two Rare and Important early examples of Gallé Art Glass.  An Emile Gallé  Red and Green Mottled Perfume titled Souci de Plaire, bears a Paris Exposition 1889 mark on the bottom (est. $5/10,000), while an Emile Gallé Mottled Red Glass Vase with applied shell motifs, signed Emile Galle, fecit Nancy stands at 8 5/8” tall (est. $5/10,000).

An extensive collection of Chinese and Japanese Cloisonné, amassed throughout the lifetime of a Prominent Providence, Rhode Island Physician, features a Pair of Chinese Turquoise Ground Cloisonne Figures of Camels (est. $3/5,000).  Other highlights include a selection of Meissen Porcelain from a Newport, Rhode Island Collection, as well as a finely Carved Neoclassical Marble Statue of the Three Graces, after Antonio Canova’s original currently housed in the Hermitage in St. Petersburg (est. $10/15,000).

Oriental Rugs and Carpets will feature an 18th century French Tapestry (est. $2/3,000) that once hung in the Newport, Rhode Island mansion ‘Rockhurst’.  The 7 ft. 10 in. x 7 ft. panel hails from the Estate of Gladys Brooks Thayer, daughter of Mr. & Mrs. H. Mortimer Brooks of Newport, Rhode Island.  A selection of rugs formerly in the Andrew Dole Collection include a Ferreghan Carpet (est. $2/3,000), several Bidjar Carpets, and Turkish Rugs. 

Paintings highlights include two oils by French painter Eugene Boudin, Dans Le Port, an 18 x 25 inch oil on canvas created in 1882 (est. $50/100,000) and La Rivieres Morte a Deauville, an 18 x 25 inch oil on canvas created in 1888 (est. $50/100,000) descended from the Collection of Mrs. Reginald Bulkley Rives of the Bellevue Avenue mansion ‘Sea Cliff’ in Newport, Rhode Island.  A Venetian School Old Master oil on panel depicting the Madonna and Childwith St. John, St. Dominic, St. Clara, and a Donor (est. $20/40,000 has a traceable Provenance through the Foundaziona Zeri dating back to the 19th century to the Collection of Count Guilio Sterbini of Rome whose collection was sold in 1911. A rare and early still life by 19th century portraitist Chester Harding titled Still Life: Mountain Dew (est. $5/10,000) was exhibited at the Boston Athenaeum in 1827, soon after Harding returned from London and settled in Boston.  The work is illustrated on page 132 of Leah Lipton's book, A Truthful Likeness: Chester Harding and His Portraits (National Portrait Gallery of The Smithsonian Institute: Washington, D.C., 1985). 

The auction will be held at Grogan and Company’s 22 Harris Street, Dedham, Massachusetts Gallery on Sunday, June 8th at 10:00 a.m.  The exhibition is open to the public and begins on Thursday, June 5th.  Exhibition hours are Thurs., Fri., and Sat. 10:00 a.m. - 6 p.m. and Sun. 9:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.  For more information, call 781-461-9500 or visit www.groganco.com to view the illustrated catalogue and terms and conditions of sale.