A few examples of appraisal values for
DECIDEDLY

• A QING DYNASTY SANCAI GLAZE TOMB
  A QING DYNASTY SANCAI GLAZE TOMB SHRINE, CHINESE, 1644-...A QING DYNASTY SANCAI GLAZE TOMB SHRINE, CHINESE, 1644-1912, yellow and green glazed earthenware with hand painting, upper entablature with cascading cloud brackets interspersed by unglazed reserves painted with stylized red flowers, above a recessed lozenge band extending banner poles over a stepped peaked freeze with repeating unglazed and red painted reserves and cloud brackets, over a post and lintel doorway with sides pierced once accommodating a curtain opening to a lattice and arabesque lozenge fitted doorway above lower panels, centering a yellow glazed opening to a glowing pearl of wisdom, the sides with round and rectangular piercings. Note: Architectural reference: Erdene Zuu Monastery, Mongolia, was built originally in the 16th century and rebuilt in the mid 18th century. The architectural entablature is a good example of the multifaceted architectural tastes of the region. The present work possess significant architectural elements that when compared to the monastery clarifies the date of this work and others like it as clearly Qing Dynasty, and decidedly not Ming Dynasty. Provenance: Property of an Important Houston Antiques Dealer Height: 16.00" Width: 12.50" Depth: 8.63" Condition: Some losses with repairs, inpainting, some stains, crazing, some pooling of glaze, an iridescence to glaze surface, mud and debris encrustation and soil, but overall fair to good condition, wear commensurate with age. Simpson Galleries strongly encourages in-person inspection of items by the bidder. Statements by Simpson Galleries regarding the condition of objects are for guidance only and should not be relied upon as statements of fact and do not constitute a representation, warranty, or assumption of liability by Simpson Galleries. All lots offered are sold "AS IS.” NO REFUNDS will be issued based on condition.
• A REPUBLIC OF TEXAS BILL OF
  A REPUBLIC OF TEXAS BILL OF LADING FOR SMUGGLER AND FOR...A REPUBLIC OF TEXAS BILL OF LADING FOR SMUGGLER AND FORGER MONROE EDWARDS, NEW ORLEANS TO GALVESTON, MAY 1, 1836, lithograph and manuscript ink on paper wove paper, shipping supplies listed as coarse sacks, possibly for sugar cane production, bulk flour, sugar, sacks of coffee, keg powder, tea caddy, keg brandy, jug of oil, box of dry goods, and whiskey, with arrival destination at the, "mouth of Sabine or at the mouth of Clear Creek, Galveston Bay (Kemah), signed by James Spilman, shipmaster, and with a spurious "R.G. Hazard," merchant signature. 5 3/4" x 10 1/2" Note: Monroe Edwards sets a nefarious precedent as an illicit smuggler of humans and known forger during his tenure in the Republic of Texas. His otherwise apparently average seeming motive to receive goods along the Gulf Coast appears subliminally fraught with his usual par for the course potential for illegal behavior, which is here exhibited within the present bill of lading. The financial document curiously has an unnamed cost amount for his freight shipment, which was to be received at the mouths of either the Sabine River or Clear Creek in Galveston, Texas. In the record, on March 2, 1836, only two months prior to the present bill of lading date, "Edwards took about 171 slaves up the Brazos river and drove them overland to Chenango.," Edward's working plantation, formerly cotton turned sugar cane. The use of the river mouth meeting point as opposed to a legal port of entry, which is notably scratched out on the present document, has implications that nurtures the odios nature of Monroe Edwards' less respectable pursuits. In finality of examining this document and comparing the present bill of lading to other bills of lading from the same year; most are signed "R.G. Hazard," for Rowland G. Hazard, a sensational abolitionist merchant working in New Orleans from 1833-1842. R.G. Hazard was looking for illegally imprisoned men and women, and certainly would have been no friend of a man like Monroe Edwards. In fact, Hazard posed a distinct problem for Edwards. It's hard to believe they did business at all. In complementing fashion to the criminal nature of Monroe Edwards' tendency to forge, the signature in the upper right is decidedly not that of R.G. Hazard, however attempted to doup the reader, which further implicates this document as evidence of Monroe Edwards' forgery. Lastly, quantity number of the first product listed identifies "83 sacks corse". The relationship of the term coarse with Lowell or "Negro cloth" has implications within this document that require careful historical consideration. The strange number eighty three within in a shipping context, and considering Monroe Edwards was known for purposefully driving illegally imported slaves eastward over land after receiving them from a ship at the Gulf Coast; this document stands to be considered within the context of its place within the Republic of Texas AfroTexan genealogical history. There is enough questionable evidence here to consider that the "83 sacks corse" were not just sugar cane production supplies, but indeed possibly being worn by enslaved people. Provenance: Condition: Unframed, smudges, stains, creases, pale/translucent red color stains, tape/glue residue, verso pencil inscriptions. Simpson Galleries strongly encourages in-person inspection of items by the bidder. Statements by Simpson Galleries regarding the condition of objects are for guidance only and should not be relied upon as statements of fact and do not constitute a representation, warranty, or assumption of liability by Simpson Galleries. All lots offered are sold "AS IS.”
• ED LITTLE (B 1957) "SANTA CLAUS
  ED LITTLE (B 1957) "SANTA CLAUS IN HIS SLEIGH" OILEd Little (American, B. 1957) "Santa Claus in His Sleigh" Signed lower left. Original Oil on CanvasBoard. Provenance: Collection of James A. Helzer (1946-2008), Founder of Unicover Corporation. This painting was originally published on the Fleetwood First Day Cover for the U.S. 29c Santa Claus In His Sleigh stamp issued October 17, 1999. In the early 1800s, America's traditional Christmas time gift-giver was St. Nicholas, a tall, rather stem-looking figure clad in bishop's robes. Brought over to the New World by Dutch settlers, this seasonal character was called Sinterklaas and was aided in his work by a single reindeer. To America's English-speaking children, Sinterklaas became Santa Claus. And as his name changed, Santa's image changed as well. In his Knickerbocker's History of New York, published in 1809, author Washington Irving drew a decidedly different visual picture of Santa Claus. Gone was the stately, patrician look of the original St. Nicholas. In his stead, Irving portrayed a jolly fellow who closely resembled New York's Dutch settlers. Wearing baggy breeches and a broad-billed hat, this pipe-smoking character rode a wagon through the night sky and dropped presents down chimneys as he passed. Clement C. Moore penned his classic Christmas tale in 1822, and in his story Santa's appearance had altered considerably. Clad in a red suit bound with white fur, this chubby Santa slid down chimneys to deliver his toys and drove a sleigh pulled by eight reindeer whose names Moore also immortalized: "Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen! On, Comet! On, Cupid! On, Donner and Blitzen! " Image Size: 27.25 x 37.75 in. Overall Size: 30 x 40 in. Unframed. (B13550) Condition: - By registering to bid for this auction either in-house or online and/or placing a bid in this auction the BIDDER/BUYER agrees to all the terms and conditions of Helmuth Stone Gallery Auctions. - Due to the size of our gallery not all items are out for preview at one time. If you plan on coming to preview any lot(s) we recommend letting us know prior so we can have them collected and prepared for your preview. - All silver, gold and/or jewelry lots or invoices containing said lots MUST be paid for via WIRE TRANSFER, no other forms of payment will be accepted. - All items are sold as-is where-is and no guarantees are made of any kind. All sales are final; no refunds will be given under any circumstances. - All artwork is listed and sold per section (10) of our terms and conditions, please read over all definitions of authorship prior to bidding to better understand artwork listings. - Helmuth Stone Gallery provides condition reports as a courtesy to our clients and assumes no liability for any error or omission. Any condition statement is given as a courtesy to a client and is only an opinion and should not be treated as a statement of fact. Descriptions are our opinions and should in no way be construed as a guarantee of any kind as to age, condition, mater. The bidder assumes responsibility for ensuring that the condition of the item(s) meets with their satisfaction prior to bidding. The absence of a condition statement does not imply that the lot is in perfect condition or completely free from wear and tear, imperfections, or the effects of aging. - Online images can sometimes be low quality due to the uploading process, original high-resolution images can be requested via email at HelmuthStone@gmail.com - We recommend looking into shipping quotes prior to bidding, shipping quotes can take up to a week or more post-sale as we host our auctions through multiple online platforms and shipping can become backlogged, if you would like a list of local shippers please email us directly. - Our auction catalogs are hosted through multiple online platforms along with phone and in-house bidding. Bids placed on other platforms are not shown through this catalog. Because of this, even if it appears you are the only absentee bid or bidder on a lot, you may already be outbid or may have placed a bid equal to another bidder. Therefore, we always recommend bidding live. - Unless otherwise stated in the description, all items are sold without additional documentation or COAs. If any supporting documentation is available an image will be available online via the catalog listing.
• JOHN BANVARD(American, 1815-1891)
  JOHN BANVARD(American, 1815-1891) At River's Bend, circa 1850, signed indistinctly lower right "Ban...", oil on canvas, 30 x 40 in.; reproduction carved gilt wood and composition frame, 37-1/2 x 47-1/2 in. Provenance: Eckert Antiques, Westfield Indiana; a New Jersey Private Collection. Note: John Banvard is well known for his work creating vast landscapes that were manipulated into crowd pleasing, awe inspiring panoramic narratives. At the height of his fame, he presented a three mile long canvas to viewers from New York to London, entitled Adventures of the Artist, it depicted a voyage down the mighty Mississippi River. While decidedly smaller in scale, At River's Bend is a prime example of his skill depicting the vastness of the open land in mid-19th century America. Condition: wax lined, areas of retouch, stabilized crackle; frame with minimal abrasions
• HANDMADE SEMINOLE INDIAN
  HANDMADE SEMINOLE INDIAN DRESSHere is a beautiful hand-cut and sewn dress made by a Seminole woman in South Florida. It is totally clean, and the cloth colors are sharp and vibrant. Style is decidedly Seminole, with ric-rac, zig-zags and wide range of contrasting colors. It must have been made for a small woman or a girl, as the waist size is about 26" and length 37". Does not appear to have ever been worn.
• 1849 BOOK "SEWALLS'S SKETCHES OF
  1849 BOOK "SEWALLS'S SKETCHES OF ST. AUGUSTINE"The full title of this small book is "Sketches of St. Augustine with a View of its History and Advantages as a Resort for Invalids", by R. K. Sewall. Second edition. Philadelphia, Martin Harmstead, publisher, 1849. The book is 7-1/4" x 4-3/4" in size, 100 pages. The book was apparently well received. In 1849 very few people lived in Florida, and St. Augustine was the only town reasonably well established. The book give local history and then evidence from physicians telling how its climate will speed their recovery. It has a decidedly Catholic overtone.Condition would be good+. Binding is still tight. The upper 2 inches of the spine is repaired with shiny black tape, barely noticeable. Covers lightly bumped and have some dull water spots that may have been colored to match original cloth color. Inside pages clean and totally readable, no marks, some light scattered foxing. Interesting and rare book.
• CHARLES "FRAN" KENNEY
  CHARLES "FRAN" KENNEY (MASSACHUSETTS, 1919-2014), "CLIPPER SHIP BELLE OF THE WEST"., OIL ON CANVAS, 24" X 30". FRAMED 30" X 36".CHARLES "FRAN" KENNEY, Massachusetts, 1919-2014, "Clipper Ship Belle of the West". Signed lower left "Charles F. Kenney". Titled verso. Dimensions: Oil on canvas, 24" x 30". Framed 30" x 36". Provenance: Notes:The Belle of the West was one of finest clippers built by David & Asa Shiverick of Shiverick Shipyards in Dennis, Massachusetts. An article in the May 14, 1853 issue of the Boston Daily Atlas states it was "decidedly one of the most beautiful clippers in port -- a perfect seawitch -- which would win the heart of a sailor at a glance". The stately Greek Revival home at the front of the Eldred's property at its Cape Cod headquarters was built by Belle of the West's captain, William F. Howes.
• TWO UNSIGNED INUIT STONE CARVINGS
  TWO UNSIGNED INUIT STONE CARVINGS OF HUNTERS The first labeled "Happy Hunter" shows a smiling man holding a decidedly unhappy seal (10-1/2 in.) (chips and scuffs to the work); the second piece has a stylized hunter raising his arm to throw a spear that is no longer present (7-1/2 in.) (repaired fractures to lower half of work).
• U.S. Army Indian Scout William E.
  U.S. Army Indian Scout William E. Archbold LeQuesne Archive 3 letters; 7 manuscripts; ribbon; newsclippings; 13 photographs; and 3 baskets that were purportedly presented to LeQuesne by Sitting Bull's daughter. 1884-1904. As a young man William E.A. LeQuesne joined the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and served in the Canadian wild west doing active duty during the Northwest Rebellion of 1885 (an unsuccessful attempt by the Metis and Indian allies to break free of Anglo-Canadian domination) and during the cross-border tensions with the United States during the Plains Indian Wars he served as an interpreter and scout for the Americans (under Gen. Nelson A. Miles) as well as for the Canadians. Borders mattered little. Fluent in Dakota language and apparently conversant in other languages from the Upper Plains LeQuesne was not a simple caricature of an ''Indian fighter '' he lived among the tribes on a friendly basis and says he befriended Sitting Bull himself even claiming that Sitting Bull offered his daughter in marriage -- LeQuesne delicately declined referencing his wife in the east. Later in life LeQuesne and his wife taught at an Indian mission school in the Dakotas and he achieved some minor fame as a lecturer and writer sometimes using the Dakota moniker Matoptecela drawing upon his experiences during the 1870s and 1880s to produce very readable narratives about life among the ?Sioux.? His is in the classic western genre exciting and detailed but it carries an authenticity lacking in many accounts of life among the Indians borne of hard experience. In one story he writes that he had known warriors not only from the Sioux and Blackfoot but also Crow Nez Perce Gros Ventres Cree Assiniboine Salteau Chippewa Blood Piegan and Sarcee. The LeQuesne collection includes seven memoirs more or less polished all written ar0und the turn of the twentieth century. These include: 17pp essay signed Matoptecela July 31 1900 relating an incident in which he took part stealing a wife in Sitting Bull??Ts camp for a young man (Coyote) who had too few horses to trade for a wife: Now as stealing a squaw was a crime in a Sioux camp and the girl??Ts father (Pants) had the privilege of shooting the thief if he caught him inside of three says it was a serious matter. An exciting chase follows Lequesne managing to evade all repercussions for his part in the theft and account of Coyote??Ts return after the statute of limitation ran out ingratiating himself to the father and camp. A second version of the Coyote-Pants story a bit longer but perhaps incomplete. A few of the personal qualifications of the administration of the Clondyke 7pp (incomplete). Includes a fascinating discussion of Gen. Nelson Miles inviting Long Dog and other hostile Indians and Custer-veterans to see the operation of the Gattling Gun with LeQuesne acting as interpreter: The exclamation of this warrior on seeing a little butte or hill torn up by one discharge of the gun made our hair stand on end and I would not like to see it on paper. The General checked the Indian for using such language and asked him where he learned to swear in that way and cautioned him not to do so again. The Indian replied that he had learned it all from the soldiers and if he did not like to hear the Indians talk that way he should forbid the soldiers using such words in their hearing... While on the Qu??Tappelle station 8pp regarding two ill-inclined half-breeds who committed murder and were pursued until captured by the Mounted Police. Life in a Sioux camp a few years after the Black Hills trouble 2pp (incomplete). Describing a visit to Sitting Bull??Ts camp. For the Boys and Girls Weekly a memoir apparently aimed at a younger audience but with excellent content 15pp. As bloodthirsty & cruel as the Sioux warrior was known to be he no doubt had a bump of hospitality which I will undertake to prove from a little personal experience. During the winter of ??T79 buffalo were plentiful on some of our western plains & Sitting Bull with about 400 lodges of his followers were encamped on the White Mud River hunting. I was one of a party going over the prairie in question & got lost in a snow storm before reaching the crossing the White Mud... Memoir of Indian service 8pp. Includes an account of Sitting Bull??Ts surrender to American forces handing his gun to a young boy and saying here my boy hand my gun & give my horse to the White Chief. You will never be a man for you cannot have a gun to shoot your enemies with. Also account of Indian hunting accidents the survivor of an attack by the Blackfoot and the revenge exacted; and an account of interpreting for the Canadian government during the rebellion of 1885 including the capture of Star Blanket Five articles written for newspapers ca.1893 each on folio sheets. Content memoirs of arresting Indians for attempted murder; Indian horses; and spending a New Year with one of the leaders of the Minnesota Massacre in 1887. Among the three letters two stand out. The first is a letter of recommendation from R. Brinton Deane March 22 1894 attesting that LeQuesne served as Sioux interpreter and Scout under my command during the rebellion of 1885 rendering valuable service and crediting him with the capture of Chief Star Blanket and White Cap two troublesome Indians of whose whereabouts it was very difficult to obtain reliable information. The second letter is a fine TLS from Gen. Nelson A. Miles recalling LeQuesne??Ts service in the Yellowstone (Aug. 4 1904). The collection also includes a fascinating typed diary (in photocopy only) of Aunt Beth??Ts [Archbold??Ts wife]... 500 miles drive through the South Dakota Plains to attend a Sioux Indian church Convocation 8pp 1902; a handsome printed discharge from the North West Mounted Police Force June 9 1884; a Knights of Pythias membership; newsclippings; and 2 photos of Mrs. LeQuesne with peace pipe (ca 1956). The photographs make an exciting and decidedly odd addition to the collection. Headlining the lot is a superb cdv-sized tintype of a jaunty LeQuesne seated in his dress Mountie uniform but there are as well four images of him wearing a disguise as an Indian scout and spy -- two are identical real photo postcards signed Matoptecela and perhaps sold as souvenirs as his lectures. Joining these images in disguise are three images of an ''Indian'' woman (possibly Mrs. LeQuesne in disguise) a studio portrait of LeQuesne dated 1911 and a printing-out paper print of a white man most likely LeQuesne and Long Dog a ''Head Warrior'' (Camp Policeman) in Sitting Bull's camp during the Canadian exile. This is from an otherwise unknown photo by David F. Barry ca. 1887-88 taken at Standing Rock Reservation D.T. A group of 3 Sioux baskets that were purported presented to LeQuesne by Sitting Bull's daughter also accompany this fine lot. Two of the 3 baskets are accompanied by written notes the first identified as ?Porcupine quill work on Birchbark base the second identified as Sweet Grass basket...containing agate from Duluth MI Lake Superior? with both notes stating that the baskets were presented to LeQuesne by Sitting Bull's daughter. The baskets range in size from 4.5 in. dia. to 6.75 in. dia. A small heart with ?Elizabeth LeQuesne? weaved into is also included. These 3 baskets are pictured in one of the 20th century press photographs included in the lot of Mrs. LeQuesne displaying the other items purportedly given to her husband by Sitting Bull including a peace pipe which was eventually donated to an institution.  A superb record of a Canadian veteran of the Plains Indian wars of the 1870s and 1880s a Mountie and first rate writer who could tell a story with marvelous pace and verve. The paper is not of uniform quality and some pages tattered at the edges though affecting relatively little of the text.
• Rare Antebellum Louisiana
  Rare Antebellum Louisiana Plantation Coin (.900) Silver Five-Piece Tea Set, dated 1858 and monogrammed "M.C.B" for Margaret Cyrilla (Brownson) Bisland (1839-1906), mistress of Fairfax Plantation, St. Mary Parish, Louisiana, by William R. Eaton, John Gordon and William Bogert for Ball, Black & Co., New York, including a hot water urn, h. 16", a teapot, h. 11", a cream jug, h. 16", a covered sugar bowl, h. 9-1/2", and a waste bowl, h. 5-3/4", each of slightly concave paneled ovoid form, with waisted neck and cavetto-domed foot, the panels decorated with engraved rococo scrolls below morning glories, the whole with milled anthemion banding, the lidded elements with cast and applied floral finials and crested handle(s), together with an associated English silverplate tray, l. 30-1/2", w. 20-1/2", each piece engraved, on the central panel, "M.C.B./June 24th/1858", 153.17 total t. oz. (weight excluding the tray; six pieces total). Provenance: Gift of the Bisland family to the Terrebonne Historical and Cultural Society. Margaret Cyrilla Brownson was born on September 30, 1839 in Brooklyn, New York to Judge John Brownson and his wife, the former Caroline Penn Stelle. Although born in Brooklyn, she was of most decidedly Southern ancestry; her maternal grandmother and namesake was Margaret Cyrilla Watts (1775-1829) of Natchez, the wife of Manuel Gayoso de Lemos, Spanish governor of the Natchez district (1787-1797) and Louisiana (1797-1799). Margaret Brownson married Thomas Shields Bisland (1837-1909), a Natchez planter, in New York on June 24, 1858: the date inscribed on this set and doubtless the occasion of its presentation. (Six years earlier, her elder sister, Frances Ashton Bisland, had married Bisland's elder brother, John Rucker Bisland.) Thomas and Margaret moved to Fairfax Plantation in St. Mary Parish, a sugar concern formerly the property of Louisiana governor Joshua Baker (whose daughter had married yet a third Bisland brother). The 1860 census shows them to be a prosperous family, their worth recorded as $210,000. They had two surviving children before the start of the Civil War, in which Thomas served as quartermaster in the 26th Louisiana Infantry and later surgeon (he had been a medical student at the University of Pennsylvania before deciding to pursue the family planting business). Margaret Bisland and her children fled Fairfax, known as Camp Bisland during the war, before the April 12-13, 1863 Battle of Bisland. (The traditional shibboleth of southern silver being buried to protect it from the Yankees seems plausible here; Margaret and her children escaped to Natchez in an army ambulance, and although the camp was successfully defended, the battle raged even into the house itself!) After the war, Thomas and Margaret returned to a difficult life in Reconstruction Louisiana before inheriting the Bisland's Natchez property upon the death of Thomas' mother in 1873. There, Margaret supplemented the family's modest income composing piano works and writing poetry for the New Orleans Times-Democrat. She was known as "a woman of marked beauty and decided literary ability which under different circumstances might have brought her prominently into the world of letters." One of her poems, "Marguerite", was included in the anthology In My Lady's Name: Poems of Love and Beauty (New York: Putnam's, 1897). She died on January 7, 1906, pre-deceasing her husband by two years. A child of the couple, Elizabeth Ker (Bisland) Wetmore (1861-1929), would herself become a woman of letters, noted as a journalist and biographer of Lafcadio Hearn.
• Decidedly Posh French Carved
  Decidedly Posh French Carved Giltwood and Vieux Rose Silk Velvet Domed Dog's Bed, in the Louis XVI style, the interior fully lined en suite, h. 32", w. 19-1/2", d. 15-1/2". A very similar model is in the Wrightsman Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, see Amelia Peck, Period Rooms in The Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York: Abrams, 1996), the Paar Room.
• Unknown Flemish school Tavern
  Unknown Flemish school Tavern scene Oil on canvas Four men in typical late 17th century/early 18th century attire drink and listen intently to fifth figure in decidedly 18th century garb, background composition includes mortise and tenon tavern table along with stoneware jugs. 15" x 12 1/4". 1" tear in face of far right figure, several small repairs and minor paint loss.
• MODERN PERSIAN HAND KNOTTED WOOL
  MODERN PERSIAN HAND KNOTTED WOOL RUNNER 27'' x 10' 1'': This very bright rug has design elements of both Serab and Karaja rugs but the colors are decidedly very modern. The main design of the rug is a diamond shaped medallions that are bordered by a white outline to make them pop against the red field ground. There are also alternating half diamond designs at the sides of the field in darker colors for contrast. Condition is very good.
• Five Beer and Tobacco
  Five Beer and Tobacco Advertisements Lot of Four includes one paper lithographed Raleigh plain or cork cigarette advertisement featuring a pretty lady 10.5 x 15 in. PLUS a Pabst Blue Ribbon tin lithographed tray featuring a smiling gentleman pouring a beer 13.5 x 10.5 in. PLUS a circular Moerlein Cincinnati USA tray with gold metal and floral motif 12 in. diameter. PLUS a cardboard Hudepohl ''Golden Moments in Sports'' advertisement with gilt athletes in relief 18 x 12.75 in. PLUS a green circular Hudepohl ''Decidedly The Best'' tray 15.25 in dia.