Early Root-Head Robin Snipe Decoy attributed to Roger Williams (1784-1851)

Lot 380

About Seller

65 Sharp Street
Hingham, MA 02043
United States

Copley Fine Art Auctions is the world's leading American sporting art auction company. Located in Hingham, MA, Copley specializes in antique decoys and 19th- and 20th-century American, sporting, and wildlife paintings. Principal Stephen O'Brien Jr., a fourth-generation sportsman with a refined colle...Read more

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About Auction

The Winter Sale 2023, Day 2 by Copley Fine Art Auctions

Live

The Winter Sale 2023, Day 2

By Copley Fine Art Auctions

Feb 25, 2023

Set Reminder 2023-02-25 10:00:00 2023-02-25 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : The Winter Sale 2023, Day 2 https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/copley/the-winter-sale-2023-day-2-11942 Lots 338-657 Copley Fine Art Auctions cinnie@copleyart.com

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Lot Description

Early Root-Head Robin Snipe
Roger Williams (1784-1851)(attr.)
Long Island, NY, c. 1820
6 3/4 in. long

This decoy was one of O'Brien's earliest sourced decoys. In 1971 while working in New York City, he escaped to Long Island in pursuit of decoys and Americana. After knocking on the door of an old farm house, he was directed to the barn loft where the family's rig was thought to be stored. After digging through a barrel of uninspiring ducks, he found this little gem in the bottom and purchased it from the owner. Over a half century after this discovery, it is being offered at auction for the first time.

Williams holds the distinction of being the earliest attributed decoy maker. According to decoy historians Gene and Linda Kangas, "The South Shore [of Long Island] is likely where the rebirth of North American Decoy making by non-Natives began. In fact, commercial market hunting there was so rampant during the first quarter of the 19th century that it triggered New York prohibitions on sink box use for market gunning in 1838."

Approximately a dozen decoys have been attributed to Williams, all of which have been root-head mergansers. The root-head, flat bottom, tail chine, age, and location of this lot relate closely to the ducks attributed to Williams.
Old paint with gunning wear.

Provenance: Stephen B. O'Brien Sr. Collection, sourced in East Quogue, New York, in 1971

Literature: Gene Kangas, "Rootheads and Knotheads," North American Decoys, Spanish Fork, UT, Winter 1976, p. 28, merganser illustrated. Gene and Linda Kangas, "Older Than Methuselah," Decoy Magazine, Lewes, DE, March/April, 2017, pp. 24-32, merganser illustrated. Gene and Linda Kangas, "Roger Williams: Unraveling a long-standing mystery," Decoy Magazine, July/August 2022.

Condition

Please email condition report requests to colin@copleyart.com. Any condition statement given is a courtesy to customers, Copley will not be held responsible for any errors or omissions. The absence of a condition statement does not imply that the lot is in perfect condition.
Shipping Info
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