Running Golden Plover, Lothrop Turner Holmes (1824-1899)

Lot 16

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 Sporting Sale 2018, Day 1 by Copley Fine Art Auctions

Live

The Sporting Sale 2018, Day 1

By Copley Fine Art Auctions

Jul 19, 2018

Set Reminder 2018-07-19 13:00:00 2018-07-19 13:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : The Sporting Sale 2018, Day 1 https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/copley/the-sporting-sale-2018-day-1-3286 On July 19, Copley Fine Art Auctions will lead off their annual Sporting Sale with 140 lots from the Donal C. O’Brien, Jr. Collection of Important American Sporting Art and Decoys. On July 20 Copley will present an additional 425 lots of decoys, fish carvings, and sporting art. Copley Fine Art Auctions cinnie@copleyart.com

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Lot Description

Running Golden Plover
Lothrop Turner Holmes (1824-1899)
Kingston, MA, c. 1860
10 in. long

Unlike many professional carvers who earned a living selling their decoys, Lothrop Turner Holmes only carved decoys for his own use along the marshes of the Jones River and Duxbury Bay.

Holmes is one of the earliest documented shorebird makers from any region and is widely considered the top decoy maker of the nineteenth century.

This singular decoy is believed to be the only known Holmes golden plover in original paint to have surfaced, making it even more rare than the maker's coveted ruddy turnstones. At least two other rigmate black-bellied plover are known to exist. One of those is featured in "Shorebirds: The Birds, The Hunters, The Decoys" by Levinson and Headley, and hailed from the Grant Nelson Collection. The other example resides in a private California collection and also displays the maker's best paint.

This one-of-a-kind golden plover displays spectacular blended feather paint, the maker's signature split-tail carving, and remarkable condition.
Outstanding original paint with light gunning wear.

Provenance: Donal C. O'Brien, Jr. Collection

Literature: John M. Levinson and Somers G. Headley, "Shorebirds: The Birds, The Hunters, The Decoys," Centreville, MD, 1991, p. 57, pl. 4-11, rigmate illustrated.
Laurence Sheehan, "The Sporting Life," New York, NY, 1992, p. 83, exact decoy illustrated.

Condition

Condition report requests can be made via email or by telephone (info@copleyart.com or 617.536.0030). 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.
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