$13,000
Attributed to Jacob Maentel (American, 1763-1863) Portraits of a Lady and a Gentleman. Unsigned. Watercolor on paper, c. 1830, depicting the woman and gentleman each standing in a landscape, the woman wears a black dress with a sheer white bonnet and collar with ruffled trim and holds a book in her hand, a penciled inscription on the reverse reads: #0824 Anna Illig Shaefferstown Pa", the gentleman, dressed in black trousers and waistcoat with tails, white shirt and cravat, holds a top hat in one hand, 12 1/2 x 7 3/4, 12 x 8 in., mounted in period reeded wood frames with square block corners. Condition: Light stains, minor creases, toning, minor foxing. Literature: These portraits are illustrated in American Country: FOLK ART. Created by Rebus, Inc., published by Time-Life Books, 1990, p. 155 and 156. Lot 107- The watercolor paper may have been cut down along the bottom of the gentleman's portrait years ago. There is just the slightest space between the edge of the paper and the edge where the painted ground begins. The very fragile paper edge is slightly deckled and may have just deteriorated. The gentleman is in an old frame with old glass, but not sure if it's original. The woman is in an old frame with new glass. There is an unobtrusive vertical crease in the paper along the left side in the background. I don't see any evidence of retouch, but in watercolor it's hard to detect.
Auctioneer:
Skinner
Date:
2006-02-19
