Objects of Desire
June 3rd, 2018
Wilton, Connecticut
A new show with a new concept was held in Wilton, Connecticut, the first weekend of June. Under the helm of Karen DiSaia of DiSaia Management, Old Lyme, Connecticut, Objects of Desire: Style for the Garden and Home featured 26 dealers who brought antique, vintage, mid-century, and contemporary offerings to the grounds of the Wilton Historical Society June 1-3. A preview on Friday was attended by a couple of hundred people to benefit the WHS.
“I loved that the dealers really stepped up and brought a wonderful variety of objects which were featured as single objects vs. designed rooms,” said DiSaia in an e-mail a few days after the show. “Antique dealers are so well qualified to understand the intrinsic value of objects and what makes great art,” she added.
The orange and red sculpture of metal, plastic, wire, and wood was priced at $550 by Scott Bassoff and Sandy Jacobs of Swampscott, Massachusetts. The artist’s blocks were tagged $950, and the arcade bull’s-eye target with duck had a price of $1250.
This “prohibition” oak dresser from the 1930s was available from Marty Anderson of Galena, Maryland, for $2500.
Missouri Plain Folk, Sikestown, Missouri, asked $650 for the milk truck sign.
Spread across the historical society’s grounds, which fronts on a main thoroughfare in this bucolic town 50 miles from New York City, DiSaia and her team set up tents alongside the 18th- and 19th-century buildings and Colonial herb garden.
The focus of the event was on “objects with stories to tell.”
“I think, for a first-year show that was a departure from the normal ‘antiques’ shows, it was good,” said DiSaia. “There were many sales on Sunday afternoon, even though the attendance was lighter than expected.”
This trade sign from a Laundromat, enamel over metal, 4' x 8', was available for $1850 from Jeffrey Henkel of Pennington, New Jersey.
The “Soles Saved” boot sign by New Hampshire artist Jef Steingrebe (b. 1953) was tagged $2200 by Newsom & Berdan Antiques & Folk Art, Abbottstown and Thomasville, Pennsylvania.
Jewett-Berdan, Newcastle, Maine, asked $950 for the owl bean toss from the 1920s.
Judith and James Milne of At Home Antiques and Design, New York City and Kingston, New York, asked $345 for the unused copper birdbath; $575 for the 19th-century American pedestal table in old paint; $275 for the fork and spoon; and $85 for the mirror.
Seen roaming the show on Saturday was Connecticut dealer David Schorsch, who lives nearby. “I’m buying gifts,” he said with a big smile. Longtime Wilton showgoer actor and playwright Harvey Fierstein was also there.
Not one but two food trucks were on site to cater to morning cravings of coffee and baked goods, while lunch was available from a lobster roll truck that arrived from nearly Stamford in time for the midday meal. Bubble & Brew brought iced herbal and black teas and some baked goods that were gluten-free. The truck is owned and operated by Wendy Fellows of Wilton and her daughter, Madison.
Looking ahead, show manager DiSaia said she would improve the signage and continue to grow the show “as a not-to-be missed event.”
Further information is available online (www.wiltonhistorical.org) and (www.disaiamanagement.com).
Lobster rolls were available from the Boothbay Lobster Co. truck, which hails from Harbor Point in Stamford, Connecticut.
A Bird in Hand Antiques, Florham Park, New Jersey, asked $7000 for the carved penguin by Charles Hart (1862-1960) of Gloucester, Massachusetts. The Japanese bride’s wedding kimono, or uchikake, silk, with red and white embroidered cranes, blossoms, and flowers, mid-20th century, was tagged $845. The dealers lived in Japan from 1990 to 1994, when Ron Bassin was working for a joint venture company.
Barnyard Conversation, a carved and painted farm scene by Bill Duffy, 1983, 7" x 9¼" x 6", was priced at $750 by Leatherwood Antiques, Sandwich, Massachusetts.
A set of six painted aluminum chairs, designed by Martha Stewart, made by Bernhardt, 2003, was priced at $2400 by Village Braider, Plymouth, Massachusetts. The Calder style mobile of painted steel was tagged $1950.
A seascape by Harry Barton (1908-2001), a New York illustrator who summered throughout New England, was available from Jane Langol Antiques. The Medina, Ohio, dealer asked $560 for it.
The Wilton Historical Society had a welcome table introducing itself to showgoers. Mike Hess, a trustee, had the early morning shift. Coffee was on the house!
This large hexagonal woven-splint bobbin basket, American, 19th century, in spruce-green paint, was available from Colette Donovan of Merrimacport, Massachusetts, with an asking price of $1400.
Originally published in the September 2018 issue of Maine Antique Digest. © 2018 Maine Antique Digest
