(ABERDEEN, Miss.) – Stevens Auction Company will kick off the New Year in grand style with a big auction event Jan. 17-18, featuring more than 1,000 select and rare antiques from prominent Southern estates, plus items from the estate of the late Paul Dobbs of West Plains, Mo. The auction will be held at Stevens Auction Company’s spacious gallery in Aberdeen, Miss.

 The sale will be packed with fine period furniture items by prolific craftsmen such as John H. Belter, J. & J.W. Meeks, R.J. Horner, Charles Boudoine and John Jeliff. Also offered will be sterling silver, 19th century antique lighting, palace-size Persian rugs, a great collection of brilliant cut glass pieces, original works of art, home furnishings and decorative accessories.

Also sold will be early porcelains (including Sevres, Meissen, Dresden and Old Paris) and a choice assortment of art glass (including Moser). Typically, Stevens holds country sales, with no Internet bidding. But this auction is so big and important, LiveAuctioneers.com has been enlisted to provide online bidding. In addition, telephone and absentee bids will also be accepted.

Splendid mid-19th century beds will come up for bid, with two deserving special mention. One is a rosewood half tester bed in mint condition, attributed to Mitchell & Rammelsberg (circa 1860), with the original mosquito net hardware. It stands 10 feet 10 inches tall. The other is a solid mahogany Empire full tester plantation bed (circa 1840) that’s only had three owners. The bed, 9 feet 8 inches in height, was pulled from the stately Twin Oaks Plantation in Eutaw, Ala.

The Friday, Jan. 17 session will be dedicated mainly to glassware, porcelains, artwork and smalls. Noteworthy lots will include a pair of Old Paris blue and gold vases from the early 1870s with hand-decorated flowers, 15 inches tall; and a pair of English cobalt and gold vases from the early 1870s or 1880s, highly decorated with flowers and leaves, each one a foot tall.

Also offered on Friday will be an American brilliant cut glass vase, 19 inches tall, with sterling rim; a pair of Empire period bronze candelabra, 30 inches tall; a pair of French porcelain hand-painted oval plaques in fine gesso frames, circa 1870-1880, 32 inches by 21 inches; and a lovely Dresden centerpiece with a porcelain grouping of five ladies playing musical instruments.

Rounding out the Jan. 17 session will be an extremely heavy American brilliant cut glass square bowl, 10 inches in diameter and signed Hawks; and an original oil on canvas rendering of people in a boat by J. F. Stanfield (London, 1857), housed in a handsome gilded frame. Then, on Saturday, Jan. 18, the focus will shift mainly to period furniture, with some artwork and glass.

The name Meeks will be chanted frequently on Saturday. Three lots, all pulled from the Whitehall Mansion and upholstered in silk with gilt Napoleonic bees, will feature a pair of J. & J.W. Meeks laminated rosewood recamiers and a pair of laminated rosewood arm chairs, in the Stanton Hall pattern; and two Meeks laminated rosewood parlor chairs in the Henry Ford pattern.

Additional offerings by Meeks will include a rosewood laminated parlor cabinet in the original finish and with the original mirrors, 79 inches tall by 46 inches wide; a rosewood rococo étagère server, signed J. & J.W. Meeks (N.Y.), made around 1850, 63 inches tall by 99 inches wide; and a rosewood rococo turtle-top parlor center table with cluster carved finial, circa 1850.

In addition to the aforementioned bed, other Mitchell & Rammelsberg lots will include a wardrobe with heavily carved crown, 8 feet 7 inches tall by 5 feet 6 inches wide; and a rosewood Victorian half tester bed from around 1850, 8 feet 10 inches tall. Also offered will be a pair of rosewood laminated parlor side chairs in the Cornucopia pattern by John H. Belter (circa 1855).

Rounding out just some of the day’s expected top lots will be a pair of rococo revival pierce-carved parlor chairs, duplicating those pictured in an 1849 George Henkels advertisement as shown in a magazine from March 1933; a Victorian rococo over-the-mantle mirror with ornate details, 55 inches tall; and a fine period Empire mahogany mint julep cabinet with white marble.

Stevens Auction Company’s gallery is located at 609 North Meridian Street in Aberdeen, Miss., a town located about halfway beween Tupelo and Columbus, on U.S. Highway 45. An open house preview will be held on Friday, Jan. 17, from 10 a.m. until the first gavel falls around 4 p.m. (CST). Doors will open at 8 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 18. That session will start at 10 a.m.

Terms will be cash, major credit cards or pre-approved business or personal checks (with proper I.D.) or wire transfer. A 15 percent buyer’s premium will be applied to all purchases, with an extra 2 percent processing fee for credit cards. A 7 percent sales tax will be charged on all merchandise sold, except for those with a valid state resale number. Out of state buyers must have a copy of their tax certificate or other proof that they are a tax-exempt business or agent.

Stevens Auction Company is always accepting quality consignments for future sales. To consign a single item, an estate or a collection, you may call them directly, at (662) 369-2200; or, you can e-mail them at stevensauction@bellsouth.net. To learn more about Stevens Auction Company and the upcoming Jan. 17-18 auction, log on to www.stevensauction.com. Updates are posted frequently, and photos of many of the items to be sold Jan. 17-18 have been posted there.

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