Featured Doll Estate Sale- An Odd Duck in North Carolina

Paul Doll estate sale tomorrow at Brunk's in Asheville NC. Odd because he was into Gothic furniture among other things. Brunk isn't sure themselves on many of these objects and I notice they are careful on many descriptions to title " Gothic or Gothic Style".
Some of the objects have good provenance, a 15th-century French coffer was rebuilt at the MET in 1931 with photocopies of file cards from the MET.
Period Gothic furniture is very rare, wood is a perishable substance and very little furniture from that period survives today. I'll be interested to see how this plays out tomorrow.
Link below, 36 Gothic objects from Doll estate, another oddity is I don't think I have ever seen an auction category "GOTHIC: Furniture, Decorative Arts"
https://brunkauctions.com/auction/d...020-lot-290-458-12758/lots?p=1&search=display

A few pieces I found Interesting

Aumbry Cupboard, English or Flemish 16th century



Coffer, French or Flemish 15th-16th century



Carved Linen Fold Wainscot Bed, 16th century

 

Guess furniture becomes decorative arts when you can't actually use it, just have it around looking decorative. Wonder where he kept the bed.

 

Well, there is more than furniture, brass alms plates, Iron hardware/light stands, stone pedestal thingys, etc. Guesses they are referring to the other stuff as "decorative art"
That Aumbry cupboard is very nice, aumbry cupboard = medieval pie/food-safe, and quite usable even today as a mini pantry piece in the kitchen. If no one wants it, I'll gladly take it off their hands!
The wainscot bed? I dunno where that would go. Still usable as a bed of course.
As a reference, there are NO KNOWN 17th-century wainscot beds that are American, not a single one has survived. Nevermind 15th-16th century, we weren't even here!

 

And here I was wondering WHY James would be telling us about an antique doll sale on the furniture forum no less. . .

The bed intrigues me. What country would it have come from?

 

Hard to say, linenfold decoration originated in Flanders but was all over western Europe from the 14th-16th centuries.
You even see furniture with linenfold carving in America in some 17th-century pieces so the decoration was very widespread and lasted a long time, 3 or 4 centuries. Must have been HOT in its day!

 

I too thought I was going to see dolls. LOL
Thanks for sharing.

 

If the Met had that pie safe, we'd be seeing jewelry and scarves in their gift catalog with those designs on them. I like the design.

 

LOL, NO! Sorry ladies, No dolls , Paul DOLL Jr. you know, the odd duck who lived just west of Asheville in the Smoky Mountains.

Indeed, it's called "Tracery" carving, very distinctive carving no doubt. Very popular in the Gothic Period (12th -15th centuries), you see it in architectural buildings as well, particularly churches, all over Europe.
"Wood carving is one of the oldest arts of humankind. Towards the end of the gothic period, wood-carving reached its culminating point. The choir stalls, rood-screens, roofs, retables, of England, France and the Teutonic countries of Europe, have in execution, balance and proportion, never at any time been approached. In small designs, in detail, in minuteness, in mechanical accuracy, the carver of this time has had his rivals, but for greatness of architectural conception, for a just appreciation of decorative treatment, the designer of the 15th century stands alone."

 

A quicky video by Mary May, carving a Gothic Trefoil, she makes it look a lot easier to do than it is.

 

Every now & then, Paul Fitzsimmons at Marhamchurch in the UK offers a Tudor piece for sale. The Tudor period marks the end of the medieval period & the beginning of the English renaissance.
This Tudor cupboard, 1460-1500 sold there recently, no clue how much but they are usually tagged POR or price on request.

 

I was wondering why myself!!!!

 

@James Conrad
Thanks for explaining POR. Am admitting I didn't know what it stood for when I saw it. Acronyms without translation always confuse me as they invite guesses, usually wrong. I believed POR meant PRICE OUT OF REACH. Which probably holds true most of the time when this tag is present. Like, if one has to ask one can't afford it...

 

Yep, that's what it means most of the time, for sure.

Yeah, sees now I should have worded that differently in the title but TO LATE NOW!
I forgot about the "doll" collectors in here, but hey! a chance for the doll collectors to broaden their horizons a bit! We are talking OLD FURNITURE here!

 

Just a note on nomenclature.. In the academic world, the term "decorative arts" includes anything that is not "fine" art (paintings, sculpture, engravings, etc.) The disciplines break down into architecture, furniture, glass, metals, ceramics, textiles / costume, .. and maybe one or two I'm forgetting.

 

True

Well, based on the numbers this morning, I'd say Gothic is still HOT!
Aumbry went for 7k
French Coffer..... 23k
Bed.................. 14k

There were a few surprises among these 36 lots, the top non-furniture lot was this carved marble font which Doll used as a garden ornament.
16th century, estimate was $800-1200.
Sold for 18k an expensive garden piece I'd say


Another surprise was this Barrel chair, 16th-century est. $500-700
Sold for 14k

 

A fun morning strolling down Gothic Lane!
And remember ladies, when I say "Doll" I am never ever talking about "Dolls"

 

I personally dislike dolls, but when I saw your name attached I just had to take a look to see what you were up to.

 

I'm not surprised the coffer went higher than the bed did; who'd want to make space for it? (besides James of course) I'm surprised the pie safe didn't go even higher. The sad part is some random designer pieces with no pedigree or history and less design sense will sell for similar prices.

 

Ditto, I thought it was the pick of the litter.

 

Too bad you weren't there, or bidding on the phone.