Thursday, June 30th & Friday, July 1st, 2022 – The Collection of Mark & Marjorie Allen

On June 30th and July 1st, Pook & Pook will present the Collection of Mark and Marjorie Allen of New Hampshire. Well-known for English and Dutch delftware of the 17th and 18th centuries, the Allens had a large and comprehensive delftware inventory. Their focus was early, collecting brass of the 17th and 18th centuries, pre-Federal American and country furniture, paintings, and export porcelain. Like 17th century merchants, they provided their modern customers imported delftware and brass like that desired by early colonial households. The rich diversity of goods available is reflected in the 625 lots of furniture, landscape and portrait paintings, delftware, brass, and other decorative arts to be sold over two days.

Lot 1, Important Chippendale walnut slant front desk, ca. 1760

The sale opens with one of Mark Allen’s personal favorites, an important Chippendale walnut slant front desk, ca. 1760, attributed to the workshop of Thomas White, Perquimans County, North Carolina. Pictured in American Furniture by John Bivins, edited by Luke Beckerdite, with provenance M. DuPont, Lot 1. will be a main attraction. Overall, the Allen furniture encompasses at least eight of the colonies and Canada, featuring many New England William and Mary, Queen Anne, Chippendale, and country examples. Of particular note is the wide assortment of 18th c. tavern tables. There are Queen Anne and Windsor chairs to choose from, and, perfect for displaying Delftware and brass candlesticks, a variety of hanging shelves and cupboards, wall cupboards, and a Pennsylvania walnut pewter cupboard. Tables include three New England examples: a delicate William and Mary gateleg table, ca. 1740, a William and Mary flame birch gateleg table, and a cherry butterfly table. Other tables include a slight Delaware Valley Queen Anne walnut dressing table, ca. 1760, with squared cabriole legs and unusual brushed Spanish feet. William and Mary furniture includes a large walnut gateleg dining table, ca. 1740, also with brushed Spanish feet, and a large Hudson Valley William and Mary mahogany and gumwood gateleg table, circa 1740. Fine case pieces include four from New England: a Queen Anne cherry chest on chest, ca. 1765, a Queen Anne cherry high chest, a Chippendale maple chest of drawers with elaborate scalloped apron and feet, and a Chippendale mahogany serpentine chest of drawers. From the other colonies are a New Hampshire Queen Anne tiger maple chest on frame, ca. 1765, a Rhode Island Chippendale cherry chest on chest, and a Connecticut Chippendale cherry serpentine chest of drawers. Painted furniture includes a New England pine barrelback corner cupboard, a Maine Sheraton chest of drawers, ca. 1815, retaining a swirl decorated surface with yellow and green striping. Another highlight is a finely detailed Bergen County, New Jersey, painted cupboard, ca. 1810, retaining an old red surface. Chests include a Massachusetts joined oak blanket chest, late 17th c., a China Trade camphorwood chest, and New England and Pennsylvania miniature blanket chests.

Over fifty lots of candlesticks include many English Queen Anne brass, English bell metal, English brass six shell, English Georgian, Dutch Heemskirk, Spanish brass, and a pair of engraved brass Huguenot candlesticks. Other brass includes German alms dishes. An entertaining assortment of zoomorphic food choppers take the forms of diverse creatures.

Pook & Pook, Inc. The Collection of Mark & Marjorie Allen - Session One & Two | June 30th-July 1

Delftware steals the show, with Lot 487, a rare Dutch Delft five piece garniture set, mid 18th c, decorated in the Imari palette. An early Dutch majolica blue dash small charger ca. 1625 depicts an urn of tulips, while a Dutch Delft Adam and Eve charger is from later in the century. Other 17th century wares include chargers and plates possibly from the Pickelherring Factory. A polychrome Delft vase ca. 1700 is initialed by Adrin Pynacher, and a ca. 1700 plaque is marked by Jacobus Pljnocker. Dutch blue and white Delft tobacco jars stand alongside polychrome jars, a pair of which is initialed BP for the De Blompot workshop. Urns, apothecary jars, posset pots, and pitchers form a colorful display of polychrome, blue and white, and chinoiserie. Dutch blue and white Delft plates and chargers from the 18th c. are decorated with harbor scenes, chinoiserie, and couples strolling in the countryside. On a large plaque a couple sits amorously by a fire, initialed VDK, probably for Jan van der Kloto.  Dutch Delft dore includes a teapot in the Imari palette, and a Rare Dutch Delft Dore sauce boat and undertray, ca. 1730, signed by Zacharias Dextra. A Dutch polychrome Delft horse and rider, made at the De Roos factory, has a fine form. English Delft includes blue dash Adam & Eve chargers, late 17th c. a London Delft blue dash tulip charger, late 17th c, a Bristol Delft King George portrait charger, and a blue and white William and Mary portrait plate. A Delft bowl with a powder blue background is probably Liverpool. Worth saving for is a rare English blue and white Delft double money bank, ca. 1700. A large Delft Bleau Persan jardinière, 18th c., probably London, has rope twist handles and is intensely blue. English polychrome punch bowls, blue and white posset pots ca. 1700, apothecary jars, and vases, are a few examples of the broad collection. 18th c. Delft tiles teem with life: sea creatures, mermaids, and gods of the deep swim, a fleet of ships sails, Biblical scenes are reenacted, and revelers imbibe, as on one six tile plaque inscribed “Min Keel Is Droog (My Throat Is Dry).” Entertaining pairs of six tile plaques include three pairs of blue and white cats, a pair with a dog, a pair with a cat and a dog, a pair with a chicken Two Delft six tile plaques seem to tell a story, with one of a cat and one of a bird in a cage. Framed, paired, and boxed lots of tiles depict nearly everything in Dutch daily life.

Lot 265, Hudson River Valley Oil on Canvas Landscape, Mid 19th c.

Several fine paintings include: an attributed to Duncan McFarlane (British/American 1834-1871) oil on canvas of the British ship Birkby off the Liverpool harbor; an oil on canvas of the well-known Connecticut River Oxbow, as seen from Mount Holyoke, attributed to Victor De Grailly (American 1804-1889); and attributed to Robert Dellow (ca. 1696-1736), a portrait of the young Sir Thomas Pope Blount, 2nd Baronet (1670-1731), in a lush landscape with a small dog and ducks. 

The Collection of Mark & Marjorie Allen will be exhibited for preview beginning on Saturday, June 25th at 9AM. The sale will take place Thursday and Friday, June 30th and July 1st.  Please contact Pook & Pook at (610) 269-4040 or conditions@pookandpook.com with questions about condition and requests for additional photographs. Online bidding is available via Bidsquare.