Here are a few notable prices of antiques sold recently at auction, as provided by press releases. All prices include the buyer’s premium when charged. We’re always looking for news of prices realized at auctions, particularly unusual or top lots. Send pictures, complete descriptions, and information to A.P.R., Maine Antique Digest, PO Box 1429, Waldoboro, ME 04572 or email them to [email protected].
Men’s pictorial feast bowl, 1907-17 or earlier, by an unidentified Kuskokwim Delta Yup’ik artist, Bethel or Quinhagak, Alaska, 5¼" x 26" x 14¾", wood, seal blood, and natural pigments, with an old grease pencil inscription and Carver County Historical Society tag affixed to the bowl by the society’s founder O.D. Sell that reads “9390,” sold for $9052.50 ($12,500 Canadian) at Waddington’s, Toronto, Ontario, on September 3. It was collected by Moravian missionaries Herman and Elizabeth Holtmeier, 1907-17, and donated by the Holtmeier family to the Carver County Historical Society, Waconia, Minnesota, in 1952, and deaccessioned February 1, 1990.
Watercolor on ivory portrait of Kanien’kehá:ka (Mohawk) leader Joseph Brant (Thayendanegea), housed in a gold-plated locket, 1786, by an unidentified artist but cataloged as possibly by British artist James Peachey (d. 1779). The 2" x 1 5/8" (sight size) portrait is believed to have been commissioned by Francis Rawdon, 1st Marquess of Hastings, and presented to Joseph Brant during his second visit to London in 1786. It sold for $49,137.20 ($67,550 Canadian) at Waddington’s, Toronto, Ontario, on September 3.
Mother beaver and kits belt cup (canoe cup), second half 19th century, by an unidentified but possibly Wabanaki artist, wood burl, hide, and varnish, 2" x 6½" x 4¾", sold for $27,049 ($37,350 Canadian) at Waddington’s, Toronto, Ontario, on September 3. The catalog notes, “Small belt cups or so-called ‘canoe cups’ are perhaps the most iconic North American drinking vessel. Tied or cleated to a sash worn around the waist, they were used in the 19th century by First Nations, as well as by Métis, French Canadian, and Scottish fur traders to drink from the fresh water on which they traveled. Few if any surviving belt cups are as elaborately carved and decorated as a class of cup associated with Northern Maine and Quebec. They are variously attributed to the peoples of the Wabanaki (Abenaki, Maliseet, Mi'kmaq, Passamaquoddy, and Penobscot), to the Anishnaabe—particularly the Ottawa or Ojibwa—and by some even to the Huron-Wendat. The production of these cups spans perhaps 100 years, and share a closely related body of characteristics, including chip-carved rims, cut cross-hatch motifs, images of beavers and sometimes fish, cask-form toggles, and a general sophistication of carving which is suggestive of a role as presentation objects rather than as purely practical implements.”
Turquoise and sterling silver slider cuff by Navajo silversmith Mark Chee (1914-1981) with intricate silver work and a large (3" x 2½") turquoise stone with veining, $18,750 (est. $1000/3000). Rivich Auctions, Chicago, Illinois, September 13.
Paperweight vase, signed “L.C.T.” (Louis Comfort Tiffany), #6674B, 8¼" x 5¾" x 5¾", translucent iridescent gold with red and opal mottled highlights, 2.6 lbs., ex-William “Bill” Wright collection, Wisconsin, $11,500 (est. $3000/6000). Woody Auction, Douglass, Kansas, August 22.
Findlay onyx rose art glass sugar shaker, 5¼" x 3" x 3", very rare, ex-Douglas Millhoff collection, $3500 (est. $1000/1500). Woody Auction, Douglass, Kansas, August 22.
Two-handled pedestal urn, marked “Royal Worcester,” 21" x 10½" x 9", with hand-painted highland cattle scenic décor, signed by the artist “John Stinton,” 8.6 lbs., ex-William “Bill” Wright collection, Wisconsin, $15,600. Woody Auction, Douglass, Kansas, August 22.
Plated amberina art glass water pitcher by New England Glass Works, 7¼" x 7" x 6¼", 2.3 lbs., ex-Douglas Millhoff collection, $5750 (est. $3000/5000). Woody Auction, Douglass, Kansas, August 22.
Louis Vuitton cabin trunk, early 20th century, serial no. 135688, monogram pattern exterior, red monogrammed initials “J.W.I.,” remnants of stickers including New York and London, brass hardware, white cloth-lined interior, missing interior tray, “Bond Street” label bottom right interior of lid, 12½" x 35½" x 21¼", $5840 (est. $1500/2500). Winter Associates, Plainville, Connecticut, August 31.
Half-plate daguerreotype of the Cropper House Hotel in Manchester, Ohio, sold for $4300 (est. $3000/5000). The catalog notes, “The Cropper House was a two-story brick hotel operated by M.V. Cropper in Manchester, Adams County, Ohio. The image dates to the early 1850s, consistent with both the daguerreotype process and the hotel’s listing in W.W. Reilly and Co.’s Ohio State Business Directory for 1853-54, which places M.V. Cropper and the Cropper House in Locust Grove, Adams County. The 1858 brick building visible here was constructed by Cropper on the same foundation as an earlier frame structure that burned, and the hotel later passed through several proprietors before becoming the Manchester Hotel, which itself was destroyed by fire in January 1910.” Michael Lehr Antiques, Rockaway, New Jersey, September 19.
Quarter-plate daguerreotype, “Kite Boy,” sold for $6150 (est. $4000/6000). Robert Given Swift is the subject of three photographs spanning three processes: a quarter-plate daguerreotype, known informally as the “Kite Boy,” a tintype, and a carte de visite. No photographer’s imprint accompanies the daguerreotype or tintype, but the carte de visite carries a studio backmark. The carte de visite, backmarked “Philada Photographic Co / 730 Chestnut St. / Philadelphia,” has a penciled identification on its reverse that names the sitter as Robert Given Swift, son of photographer Henry B. Swift of 312 Market Street, Philadelphia. The catalog notes, “Henry B. Swift operated as a daguerreotypist at 312 Market Street, Philadelphia, from 1850 to 1855, first in partnership as Wainwright and Swift, then alone from 1851 to 1853, and later as Swift and Mahan from 1854 to 1855. He exhibited images at the Franklin Institute in 1852, and identified examples of his work are known with his name embossed on a daguerreotype case front and with the Swift and Mahan partnership gilded on a case back.” Michael Lehr Antiques, Rockaway, New Jersey, September 19.
Sixth-plate daguerreotype of a dentist with a full set of tools sold for $5225 (est. $1000/1500). The catalog notes, “It dates to the early-to-mid 1840s based on the subject’s costume and the open-case compositional convention used by professionals to advertise their trade. The photographer is unmarked and no imprint is present on the case interior. Occupational daguerreotypes depicting dentists with their instruments are among the rarest professional portraits of the period. The complete instrument set shown here, including the range of extraction forceps visible in the lower tray, reflects mid-nineteenth-century dental practice before standardized instrument sets became common in the profession.” Michael Lehr Antiques, Rockaway, New Jersey, September 19.
Charles Ethan Porter (1847-1923), Apples, 1878, oil on canvas, 13½" x 18½" (sight size), signed and dated, in period gilt frame, with minor losses, cleaned, with some restoration work done by Stagecoach Gallery, Granby, Connecticut, in 2010, once owned by Richard Otis Robbins Cheney Sr. (1841-1912), principal of the Cheney Silk Manufacturers, Manchester, Connecticut, and his wife Sophie H. Bissell Cheney (1842-1916), $27,060 (est. $6000/12,000). Winter Associates, Plainville, Connecticut, August 31.
Pair of mahogany carved griffin fern stands, 30½" x 18½" x 13", $4500 (est. $1500/3000). Woody Auction, Douglass, Kansas, August 22.
Peter Arno (1904-1968), “Young Man! You Put that Celery in a Bag, Where it Belongs!” illustration sketch for The New Yorker, pen and ink wash, watercolor on paper, signed, 17½" x 14½", from an Upper East Side, New York City, apartment, $4575 (est. $200/300). Nadeau’s Auction Gallery, Windsor, Connecticut, July 25.
Originally published in the November 2026 issue of Maine Antique Digest. © 2026 Maine Antique Digest
