The August Americana sales showcased fresh-to-the-market property owned by a variety of consignors who trusted Skinner to handle their collections with the care, honesty, and expertise for which Skinner has developed a reputation over their decades in business. Property of Various Owners A legendary, but long-dormant connoisseurs collection purchased quietly from many of the best dealers of the late 1960s and early 1970s produced some of the best prices and most competitive bidding. This included the auctions top lot, a rare, diminutive, and extraordinary scalloped-top chest of drawers on frame from the Deerfield, Mass., area, distinguished from other pieces of furniture in the same well-studied group by the dramatic shape of the top, and the overall remarkable state of its preservation. The standout piece brought $137,500. Other furniture from the same collection included the MH Hadley chest ($62,500), a rare and early wing chair ($50,000), and a bizarrely unique marble-top table with wonderful history from Concord, Mass. ($17,500). Other furniture highlights included a classic Massachusetts block-front chest ($27,500), a Philadelphia high chest of drawers ($21,250) with understated (for Philadelphia) embellishments, and a subtle, calming, and downright useful blue-gray-painted cupboard ($16,250). In all, over 140 pieces of furniture were sold, and furniture accounted for eight of the sales top 10 lots. Prices include buyers premium. Smalls Rare and early smalls also created a stir, including English salt-glazed stoneware, other early ceramics, needlework pictures, pocketbooks, and wallets. Some of the ceramics that proved quite desirable were a 1755 dated pitcher with sgraffito decoration colored in cobalt blue and referencing King George ($3,750) and a pair of polychrome tin-glazed wall pockets ($5,313). Several needlework pictures brought well into the four figures, including an especially colorful 17th century example that topped them all at $5,000. Folk Art There were strong prices among folk art and painted furniture as well. One of the most inspected and talked about objects in the sale was a small carved and painted figure of a Native American, which appeared to be a model for a mid-19th century ships figurehead. All that inspection and talk was not for nothing, and bidders drove the price on the 14-inch-tall figure to $21,250. Paintings were led by a Ralph Cahoon work titled Ship Ablaze ($25,000) showing a shipboard fire being fought from the docks and a full-length Prior-Hamblen School work of a girl in a salmon-red dress, which brought $13,750. A late 18th century needlework sampler from Marblehead ($10,625) and a paint-decorated chest of drawers from Vermont with exuberant surface ($9,375) helped to round out the top lots of folk offerings. The Kolar Collection The Kolar collection was, at its core, a group of Pennsylvania and Ohio painted furniture, redware, and fraktur, all of which attracted considerable interest. Devotees of the category phoned, emailed, and traveled for private, socially-distanced viewings by appointment to gather information about the material. A rare blanket chest from Sugar Creek Township in Tuscarawas County, Ohio, realized $33,250, and led the results. Painted boxes, redware, fraktur, and mochaware did well. A redware plate from the Dry Pottery in Berks County sold for $5,000. Fraktur accounted for approximately two dozen lots of the Kolar sale and were led by a rare house blessing ($4,688). The collection was also recognized for its Windsor chairs, one in particular produced great competition, a Rhode Island example in powder blue paint ($11,250). Shaker Collections Another sale titled Shaker Collections consisted of 189 lots, about 80 percent of which were from two well-put-together collections built over many years. A yellow-painted cupboard sold for $9,375, a butternut ten-drawer tall chest ($5,938), and a red-painted chest of five drawers from Watervliet ($3,625) accounted for some of the top furniture prices. Shaker classics like a bittersweet oval pantry box sold for $6,875, a white-painted dipper ($5,313), and yellow-painted bucket initialed MC realized $5,000. Also drawing noteworthy attention were a rare candle shelf ($4,063) and a blue-painted buggy box ($5,000). For more information, visit www.skinnerinc.com.