Casco Bay Auctions, Freeport, Maine
Photos courtesy Casco Bay Auctions
There were a few four-figure misfires at Casco Bay’s June 27 auction in Freeport, Maine, but some items rose from virtual anonymity to more than pick up the slack.
The auction description erroneously listed a framed naval commission promoting Francis M. Gregory to the rank of naval lieutenant in 1814. But the commission actually went to Francis Hoyt Gregory (1789-1866). The commission was signed by James Madison in 1814 in the second term of his presidency. Gregory had a long naval career spanning seven decades. After being impressed by the British Royal Navy, he escaped and was appointed midshipman by President Thomas Jefferson in 1809. He then served as acting captain of a gunboat in the Gulf Squadron at New Orleans, Louisiana, where he captured at least five pirate vessels. His career extended through the Mexican War and into the Civil War, following his first retirement in 1856. In 1862, he was promoted to rear admiral and served again until near the time of his death in 1866. The commission was co-signed by Secretary of the Navy William Jones, and it merited a $1020 (including buyer’s premium) sale price, within the $800/1200 estimate.
Native son Maine artist Bernard “Blackie” Langlais was born in Old Town. He spent most of his career in New York City before returning permanently to Cushing, Maine, in 1966. He is best known for his fanciful construction and collage assemblages. But he also produced a number of oil paintings in his characteristically playful style. It was the second time around the Casco Bay auction block for a 16" x 13" oil on canvas, signed lower left, and inscribed semi-legibly on the reverse. This time around, the painting drew a solid $1560 with a $1000/1500 estimate.
Pair of 6' x 3' handwoven Chinese carpets, $4920 (est. $200/300).
Here are the two lots that rose from obscurity and took a lot of folks by surprise. First, described simply as a pair of 6' x 3' handwoven carpets with dragons, and estimated at $200/300, the contest finally ended at a remarkable $4920, demonstrating that at least two experienced rug buyers had decided that the estimate was dramatically low. They may have concluded that the rugs were Qing Dynasty or earlier, rather than 20th-century Republic period rugs, influenced by the five-clawed dragon depictions, typically associated with rugs reserved for the ruling class of China.
Chinese jardinière, 6½" high x 8" diameter, led all lots at $8400 (est. $100/200).
Finally, here’s one that, except for at least two savvy bidders, nobody saw coming, not even the auctioneers. The catalog listed it as a Chinese blue and white jardinière, 6½" tall x 8" diameter in good condition, and estimated it at $100/200. But competitive bidding shot the pot all the way to $8400. The estimate was consistent with a late 19th-century Qing dynasty export planter. But bidders seemed to recognize characteristics more consistent with 18th-century Jingdezhen porcelain, possibly from the Yongzheng period (1723-35) or even the Kangxi period (1662-1722). The elephant image may have been particularly intriguing. Elephant processions and mahout scenes are less common among such wares.
For more information, visit the website (www.cascobayauctions.com) or call (207) 370-4592.
This elaborate dressing table features a full coverage carved backsplash with a chariot drawn by two winged Pegasuses, flanked by two male figures, bearing a carved inscription “LADIE FRANCES GOWER,” and a date of “1645,” but overall construction suggests it’s a late 19th-century Jacobean Revival interpretation of a famous table from the English Civil War period of the mid-17th century. The $1200/1800 estimate and the $720 selling price appear to confirm that. Sisco photo.
Here’s the Great Dane of Staffordshire spaniels. This oversized Staffordshire spaniel was reported to have been used as a Lord & Taylor store display in the 1950s. Standing 23" tall, and estimated at $300/400, it left for $324 with a hairline crack in the tail.
Here’s an early 18th-century carved oak chest-on-stand, 57½" x 36½" x 22", with heavily paneled sides, Queen Anne-style legs, lion mask drops, and hand-cut dovetails, all of which suggest an English origin. Everyone knows that “brown is down,” but it can’t go too much lower than a $600/800 estimate and a $390 sale price.
A wooden trade sign in the form of a full-dimensional oversized baker’s rolling pin, 48" long, in moderately worn paint, was impressive enough to drive past the $600/900 estimate and land at $3480.
Artist Robert Ryel Bliss (1925-1981) spent virtually his entire life painting almost exclusively nude and semi-nude young men in Massachusetts. This 28" x 19½" oil on board, signed lower right, fell well within his oeuvre and sailed past the inconspicuous $100/200 estimate, all the way to $2520.
Joseph Clinton De Villis (1878-1912) was a black artist born in Brooklyn, New York. He enlisted in the Navy and used his shore leaves to study at the Louvre, in Luxembourg, and at the galleries of London. He died at the young age of 33, and his works were displayed posthumously at the New York Public Library in 1921. This moody oil on panel of a country landscape measures 9½" x 6¼" (sight size). Estimated at $500/700, I took a chance on it for $480.
This 16" x 13" floral oil on canvas by Bernard Langlais sold for $1560 (est. $1000/1500).
An unusual Hitchcock triple-seated settee, 54" long, probably from Connecticut in the first half of the 19th century, has a fine open-work back splat, gracefully scrolled arms, and attractive and appropriately worn stenciled paint. It added up to $1680 with a $300/500 estimate.
A fine matching sterling silver and turquoise necklace, brooch, and earrings set by Diné Navajo silversmith Larry Moses Begay, signed with his initials, fared well with $1920 against an $800/1200 estimate.
Presidential commission promoting Francis Hoyt Gregory to the rank of lieutenant, signed by President James Madison in 1814 and Secretary of the Navy William Jones, sold for $1020 (est. $800/1200).
Among the leading lots was an uncased set of Gorham sterling silver flatware, totaling about 80 pieces and weighing about 3807 grams or 122.4 troy ounces. Even though as of this writing, the current silver price is down to about half of its January peak, the buyer, at $4290 with a $5000/7000 estimate, should have enough leeway to hold it or sell it profitably.
Originally published in the October 2026 issue of Maine Antique Digest. © 2026 Maine Antique Digest
