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THBTern Decoy, Obediah Verity (1813-1901)
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
LiveFeb 15, 2020
Charleston Marriott, 170 Lockwood Blvd., Charleston, SC 29403 Copley Fine Art Auctions cinnie@copleyart.com
View Full Catalog (533)
- Lot Description
Tern
Obediah Verity (1813-1901)
Seaford, Long Island, NY, c. 1880
13 in. long
The late 19th century brought about a change in millinery fashion. A hat decorated with feathers and wings was considered the height of couture. Though popular for fashion, terns were evidently no culinary delight. Market hunters received only ten dollars per one hundred birds and, thus, terns were not widely hunted, making any tern decoy rare. Verity’s representation of this elegant, racy species is perhaps the cleanest design in the decoy field and the carvings from this small rig are the finest tern decoys known. Henry Fleckenstein depicts two worn rigmates on a color plate in his "Shore Bird Decoys" book, next to which he notes that “only one rig of twelve are known to have been made by Obediah.” The rig was passed down through the extended Verity family of Seaford to Nelson Verity (1854-1947). Nelson is known to have guided Yankee baseball greats, Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, in South Oyster Bay.
The Muller tern is one of the very top terns. Other rigmates have resided in premier collections and in July of 1999, a rigmate set an auction record for any Obediah Verity decoy at the time.
In early Verity paint typical of the rig with gunning wear, a restored left wing tip, and touch-up to top of right wing.
Provenance: Bud Ward Collection
Dr. Peter J. Muller Jr. Collection, acquired from the above, circa 1980
Literature: Joe Engers, “Dr. Peter J. Muller: Bringing a good eye and an artistic approach to decoy collecting,” Decoy Magazine, January/February 2008, p. 8, exact decoy illustrated.
Henry A. Fleckenstein, Jr., "Shore Bird Decoys," Exton, PA, 1980, p. 31, pl. 34 and color pl. 72, rigmates illustrated.
The Ward Museum, "The Decoys of Long Island," Salisbury, MD, 2010, pp. 32 and 36, rigmates illustrated.
Joe Engers, ed., "The Great Book of Wildfowl Decoys," San Diego, CA, 1990, p. 103, rigmate illustrated.
Joe Engers, ed., “1999 Year In Review,” Decoy Magazine, 1999, front cover, p. 9, rigmate illustrated.
William J. Mackey Jr., "American Bird Decoys," New York, NY, 1965, p. 58, pl. 38, related example illustrated.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.Condition
- Shipping Info
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Copley Fine Art Auctions does not handle the shipping of any items. Shipping is the sole responsibility of the buyer. Once your payment has cleared and we have received your authorized shipping release form items may be released for shipment. Copley Fine Art Auctions, LLC shall have no liability for any loss or damage to such items. Buyers should allow up to four weeks for shipment. Please email info@copleyart.com for a shipping form. Please be aware that internet bidders may NOT not pick up their items at the sale. Items will be available for pick up by appointment or by shippers five days after the sale.
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