Brunk Auctions, Asheville, North Carolina
Photos courtesy Brunk Auctions
The entire 211-lot catalog for the March 12 sale at Brunk Auctions, Asheville, North Carolina, was devoted to the collection of Marie-Teresa and John (1944-2024) Vander Sande of Newbury, Massachusetts. The couple researched and purchased 17th- and 18th-century Massachusetts furniture and decorative arts. That passion evolved into a concentration on Essex County, the portion of northeastern Massachusetts that includes Salem, Ipswich, and Newbury.
“We didn’t live in a museum,” wrote Marie-Teresa Vander Sande in the sale catalog, “though some thought we did. We raised a family there.” Before coming to auction, the furnishings of their 1697 home on High Road, Newbury, were featured in several books, magazine articles, and museum catalogs. The couple’s goal was to collect Essex County objects from between 1675 and 1725, years that bracketed their home’s initial construction. They succeeded in finding case pieces and tables from every major 17th-century cabinet shop in Massachusetts. With the death of John Vander Sande, the High Road house is for sale.
Some of their Pilgrim-century furniture was copied for the 1996 film based on Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible. Miller’s 1953 historical drama focused on events before and during the 1692 Salem witch trials. John Vander Sande, then a professor and administrator at MIT, served as a set design consultant for the film.
Just before the sale, Andrew Brunk summarized the collection: “We are about to take a deep dive into a narrow portion of Americana.”
Brunk catalogers speculate that this is one of only two examples of a paneled oak valuables cabinet from the Boston shop of Mason and Messinger, 1660-90. The extremely rare 16½" x 18" x 8½" cabinet was the top lot of the sale at $442,800 (est. $100,000/150,000).
Five lots of Pilgrim-century (1620-1720) furniture landed in the sale’s high-dollar top ten. The sale leader was a 1660-90 Massachusetts paneled oak valuables chest attributed to the Mason-Messinger shop tradition, Boston. The ancient chest had seven interior drawers and was considered in excellent condition. Turnings on either side were attributed to the Edsall shop tradition. The chest opened at $65,000 with five phones active. A phone bidder in Massachusetts won it for $442,800 (includes buyer’s premium).
This paneled oak lift-top chest has the dramatic inscription “The 19 of the 11 MO 1685 G I P” across the front of the chest. The 30¼" x 51" x 20¼" chest from northern Essex County, Massachusetts, sold for $79,950 (est. $20,000/30,000). “It went to a great home,” said Andrew Brunk.
A paneled oak lift-top chest from northern Essex County dated 1685 was inscribed on the front “The 19 of the 11 MO 1685 G I P.” A family history was included on a metal plate inside the top lid. The Vander Sandes bought the chest at Freeman’s in Philadelphia in 2004 for $44,000. Here it brought $79,950; a highly competitive phone bidder dropped out, jumped back in, and then was outbid again.
The interior of this diminutive carved oak box from 1670-1700 is decorated with sections of colorful wallpaper. The 5" x 13¼" x 7½" box attributed to Thomas Dennis of Ipswich, Massachusetts, sold to a phone bidder for $79,950 (est. $20,000/30,000).
A Pilgrim-century carved oak box, 1670-1700, attributed to Thomas Dennis of Ipswich, Massachusetts, with a dramatic carved scrolled front, sold to a phone bidder for $79,950. The Vander Sandes had bought it at Nadeau’s Auction Gallery, Windsor, Connecticut, in 2020 for $36,000.
The catalog mentioned the “unusual construction” of this chest of drawers from 1670-1700 and attributed to the Mason and Messinger shop tradition of Boston. The cedar veneer and possibly rosewood panels are inset in frames and have central drawer pulls. The 35½" x 39" x 23½" chest sold for $19,680 (est. $10,000/15,000).
A chest of drawers, 1670-1700, with five drawers in a two-case construction was attributed to the Mason and Messinger shop tradition. It was built with several woods, notably quartersawn oak, red cedar, pine, and rosewood, and sold for $19,680. There were scattered molding losses on the front panels.
The circa 1690 Trask family oak and walnut chest with a drawer, attributed to the Symonds shop, Salem, Massachusetts, is in “very good overall condition.” The 29½" x 47¼" x 21½" chest sold to the phones for $19,680 (est. $15,000/25,000).
Brunk devoted an entire catalog page to an important circa 1690 Trask family oak, maple, and walnut chest with a drawer, till, and paneled sides, attributed to the Symonds shop, Salem, Massachusetts. An owner’s list provided by Sotheby’s began with William Trask II (1640-1691), an ancestor to President William Howard Taft, and ended with the Vander Sandes in 2011. The chest was illustrated in several books and journals. It sold on the phones for $19,680, slightly over its low estimate.
Fifteen other Pilgrim-century lots sold for less than $10,000. Some of these early pieces are included in the photographs.
The priciest non-Pilgrim-century lot was a circa 1729 Boston shell and beadwork armorial overmantel hatchment. Described as having “fragile construction with loose elements and scattered losses,” it was probably made to commemorate the 1729 marriage of Samuel Grant, an upholsterer to elite clientele, and Elizabeth Cookson. Grant may have commissioned the heraldic achievement composition, which included his and the Cookson coats of arms. The background is a single white pine board painted vermilion and indigo. It opened at $65,000 and sold to the phones for $196,800. “It’s a sensational object, and it went to a great collection,” said Andrew Brunk.
Here is a circa 1690 coastal Massachusetts great chair in ash with a spindle back, rush seat, and “great old surface.” The 49" x 24½" x 16½" chair sold on Brunk Live for $11,070 (est. $5000/8000).
The sale’s rare side chairs would make a fascinating article of their own. Of the 12 outstanding examples, a circa 1685 slat-back great chair possibly from the shop of Thomas Chase (1654-1733) in its original reddish-brown paint and with deeply shaped flat arms came out on top. John Vander Sande’s genealogical research on the Chase family accompanied the chair, which sold for $34,440.
This 1710-20 William and Mary caned side chair (45½" x 17½" x 16¼") sold at Sotheby’s, New York City, in 2019 for $25,000. At Brunk Auctions, it brought $17,220 (est. $4000/6000). A similar William and Mary caned side chair (not shown) from the same period but lacking a decorative skirt and a Sotheby’s connection went for $1599 (est. $2500/3500).
The second high-dollar chair was a 1710-20 Boston-made William and Mary caned side chair with a carved, incised, and scrolled crest and turned stretchers. The chair in black over gray-blue paint sold for $17,220.
This pair of brass repoussé floral wall sconces was the second surprise of the day. The 13½" x 11½" x 4" English sconces from the 18th century brought out two phone bidders and several Internet competitors who chased them from $300 to $12,300 (est. $200/400).
One of the sale’s biggest surprises was the rise of this pair of 9" diameter Chinese export grisaille and gilt porcelain plates from a $200 opener to a final price of $9225 (est. $400/600). The Vander Sandes bought them from an antiques dealer in London.
The sale had its share of surprises. Two Dutch or English circular brass repoussé floral wall sconces with detachable S-form candle arms and cups opened at a rather humble $300. Two competitive phone bidders and someone on the Internet would not let them go. They sold for $12,300 on a $200/400 estimate. The same resurrection occurred with a pair of 18th-century Chinese export grisaille and gilt porcelain plates. The Vander Sandes had purchased the plates with a center scene of seashells, beetles, butterflies, and flowers from a London antiques dealer. The phones ran the bid from $200 to $9225 on a $400/600 estimate.
The colors and striking design of this Staffordshire covered coffeepot in a chintz pattern deserve to be seen by a large audience. It was possibly produced by the late 18th-century skilled artisans at the Robinson and Rhodes shop, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The 9½" x 9" x 4¾" pot sold for $8610 (est. $3000/5000).
This shimmering lidded Staffordshire agateware teapot would attract attention on any tea table. Lions are everywhere—from the finial to the feet to the terminals on the feet. The 5¼" x 8¼" x 4¾" teapot brought $2706 (est. $800/1200).
Topping all the Vander Sandes’ teapots was this very rare Staffordshire glazed redware teapot attributed to the shop of Samuel Bell of Pomona Works, Newcastle-under-Lyme. Each of the six arched panels has its own title, including “China Rock” and “Young Vice Roy of Kanton.” From the mid-18th century, the 5" x 6¾" x 3½" pot sold for $11,070 (est. $1000/1500).
Like the side chairs, the sale’s unusual coffeepot and teapot collection deserves special attention. Perhaps the most attractive was a late 18th-century Staffordshire creamware chintz-pattern covered coffeepot that brought $8610. With entwined strap handles and exotic striped enamel, the handsome pot was probably from the distinguished shop of Robinson and Rhodes (active 1760-74). A lidded Staffordshire agateware teapot from the mid-18th century shimmered and radiated light. Topped with a recumbent lion finial and standing on lion-paw feet, it sold on the Brunk Live platform for $2706. But the pot that rose to the top was a rare Staffordshire glazed redware teapot attributed to Samuel Bell of Pomona Works, Newcastle-under-Lyme. The Vander Sandes had purchased it at Tennant Auctioneers, a London auction house, in September 2021 for £1700 hammer (approximately $2300). Here it rang in at $11,070.
Brunk Auctions has remodeled its gallery exterior and interior to reflect fewer in-house bidders. The auctioneer’s podium and sale manager’s desk are no longer elevated, and the carpet was removed from that central space. The enclosed seating area for staffers taking phone bids was moved closer to the podium while spaces for on-site bidders and staging were reduced. Numerous objects intended for future sales are now in an area once set aside as a lunchroom and break area.
For more information about Brunk Auctions, visit the website (www.brunkauctions.com) or call (828) 254-6846.
The Grant half of the central coat of arms on this 20½" x 61¼" Boston shell and beadwork hatchment features three beadwork rampant lions while the Cookson half has trapunto (i.e., high-relief) painted lion faces. The rare circa 1729 work of art may have been made or commissioned by Samuel Grant to commemorate his marriage to Elizabeth Cookson. It sold for $196,800 (est. $100,000/150,000).
This slat-back great chair possibly from the shop of Thomas Chase, Newbury or Charlestown, Massachusetts, circa 1685, measures 47½" x 26" x 18" and descended in the Chase family of West Newbury. The collapsed rush seat is possibly the original 1685 seat. With its original reddish-brown paint, the chair sold for $34,440 (est. $10,000/15,000). A similar but smaller great chair (not shown) from coastal Massachusetts in ash and maple with a presumed replaced rush seat sold earlier in the auction for $4920 (est. $2000/3000).
This two-part form of a Pilgrim-century chest of drawers is possibly from the Mason and Messinger shop tradition, Boston, Massachusetts, 1670-90. In walnut and pine, the 37½" x 38½" x 23" chest of drawers sold for $13,530 (est. $6000/8000).
This two-part oak court (or short) cupboard may be the work of the John Taylor shop, Cambridge, Massachusetts, circa 1680. On the left, middle, and right of the top tier are the stylized initials “I M B.” There are two paneled doors in the upper section and two drawers over a central paneled door. Only the Internet chased the 57¾" x 47½" x 20½" cupboard, which sold on Brunk Live for $7380 (est. $5000/8000).
An absentee bidder claimed this circa 1690 paneled oak and part ebonized slant-lid tabletop desk from Essex County, Massachusetts, for $7380 (est. $5000/7000). The hinges are wrought-iron butterflies. The interior of the 8½" x 25" x 16¼" tabletop desk has a central divider and two shelves.
An absentee bidder lowballed this 27" x 45" x 20½" paneled and polychrome lift-top chest with a drawer from Newbury, Massachusetts, and bought it without much competition for $2706 (est. $4000/6000). The initials “I C” are in the corners of the central panel over the date “1701.”
Some of the original japanning and ebonizing remains on this maple William and Mary high chest of drawers from Boston, 1710-20. The brass escutcheons are original on the 63" x 42½" x 22" chest. Phone and Internet bidders chased the chest from $3500 to its sale at $34,440 (est. $6000/9000).
Only bidders on Internet platforms participated in the runup for this 51" x 24" x 17" William and Mary carved and black-painted open armchair from Boston, 1720-30. Note the carved crest, turned banisters, and boldly turned front stretcher. It opened at $1500 and closed at $22,140 (est. $3000/5000).
Originally published in the May 2025 issue of Maine Antique Digest. © 2025 Maine Antique Digest
