Sailing Ships As a Motif with California Historical Design and Toomey & Co: Auction Watch
by Kate Nixon
AcStickley Arts & Crafts Auction
Hosted by California Historical Design
May 31st – June 1st starting 11:00 AM Pacific Time online
Click here to see the May 31st catalog
Click here to see the June 1st catalog
Register online for the auction by clicking the red “Register Here” button.
Early 20th Century Auction
Hosted by Toomey & Co Auctioneers
June 3rd – starting 11:00 AM Central
The summer season of 2025 has unofficially started after the long holiday weekend — and much like homeowners feeling the need to rejuvenate their spaces with fresh summer energy, some collectors will no doubt hand pick certain selections to feature with a blue or nautical theme in their house. Additionally, several upcoming auctions, including upcoming Arts & Crafts auctions like the two-day AcStickley auction May 31st – June 1st (California Historical Design) and June 3rd’s Early 20th Century auction (Toomey & Co Auctioneers), will feature several examples of antiques with a summer theme for those looking for a new seasonal addition to their collection. One popular motif in Arts & Crafts era antiques is the sailing ship, featured on ceramic tiles, vases, architectural or furniture details, metalwork, stained glass, fine art and wallpaper design, jewelry and other genres of early 20th century decorative arts.
The Viking Ship (1883-84) stained glass panel by Edward Burne-Jones. F.V. Du Pont Acquisition Fund 1985. Courtesy of Ad Meskens/Wikimedia Commons.
No doubt the popularity of the ship visual is a nod to the importance in international travel, its role in global commerce, and its connection to the natural elements. Pre-Raphaelite members of the Brotherhood Edward Burne-Jones and William Morris used the visual of a ship in their works; one of their collaborations included a custom-made stained glass panel for an American tobacco heiress in tribute to the Viking heritage of her home (see below). English artists like Charles Robert Ashbee and Charles Francis Annesley Voysey used the ship motif often in their designs. Scottish illustrator Jessie Marion King would continue the use of the ship in her Art Nouveau style children’s books, while ships could be found featured in the architectural details of personal and historic homes of England and all across Europe.
In America, local fascination with seaside culture and developing fascination with craftsmanship naturally found its way into the minds of local artists and craftspeople. Boston, one of the first Arts & Crafts cities, embraced the ship visual and the Saturday Evening Girls incorporated the symbol playfully around its sets of children’s plates and bowls. While Boston’s own jewelers and metalworkers used the ship motif in enamel brooches, California’s own Dirk Van Erp incorporated the maritime motif into his hammered copper bookends in its brightly colored panel. The Mosaic Tile Co out of Zanesville, OH (the site of the upcoming Pottery Lovers Show), which had become one of the largest producers of ceramic tiles in the country by the 1920s, featured the ship on its lines of special tile. Meanwhile, Rookwood featured impressive landscapes – including maritime scenes – in its Vellum plaques; see the example below for sale on June 3rd during Toomey & Co’s Early 20th Century Auction. Even Charles Limbert produced a table lamp with a sailboat overlay, proving the seaside symbol was simply a timeless theme.
Mosaic Tile Co – Zanesville, OH Galleon Ship Tile c1920s. Unsigned. Tiny fleck to corner, otherwise perfect condition. 6″ x 6″. Estimates: $100-$150. Will be auctioned off as part of California Historical Design’s AcStickley Arts & Crafts Auction May 31st – June 1st.
Grueby Galleon Ship Framed Tile c1905. Signed only with artist’s initials. Perfect condition. Holton Studio custom oak frame. 8″ x 8″. Holton frame 13″ x 13″ Estimates: $2,500-$3.500. Will be auctioned off as part of California Historical Design’s AcStickley Arts & Crafts Auction May 31st – June 1st.
Dirk van Erp – California Faience Hammered Copper Galleon Ship Tile Bookends c1915-1920. Signed. Excellent original patina. Tiles are in perfect condition. 4″h x 4″w. Estimates: $3,500-$4,500. Will be auctioned off as part of California Historical Design’s AcStickley Arts & Crafts Auction May 31st – June 1st.
Large Saturday Evening Girls Lili Shapiro Viking Ship Bowl 1911. Signed. Invisible professional restoration to tight hairline and two edge chips, otherwise perfect condition. 12.25″d x 3.25″h. Estimates: $2,500-$3,500. Will be auctioned off as part of California Historical Design’s AcStickley Arts & Crafts Auction May 31st – June 1st.
Sailboat overlay table lamp by Charles Limbert c. 1910. Made of handwrought copper, brass, slag glass. Measures 26½ h × 23 w × 23 d in (67 × 58 × 58 cm) Estimates: $3,000–4,000. This lot will be auctioned off as part of Toomey & Co’s Early 20th Century Auction June 3rd.
Large marine scenic Vellum plaque with Venice harbor by Carl Schmidt for Rookwood Pottery c. 1917. Made of glazed earthenware and in original frame. Measures 9 h x 14 w in (23 x 36 cm). Glazed artist’s signature to lower right ‘C. Schmidt’. Estimates: $3,500-$4,500. Provenance: Private Collection | Toomey & Co. Auctioneers, Keramics & Rookwood: American and European Art Pottery, 17 June 2021, Lot 1205 | Private Collection. This lot will be auctioned off as part of Toomey & Co’s Early 20th Century Auction June 3rd.
Sailboat overlay table lamp by Charles Limbert c. 1910. Made of handwrought copper, brass, slag glass. Measures 26½ h × 23 w × 23 d in (67 × 58 × 58 cm) Estimates: $3,000–4,000. Offered as part of Toomey & Co Auctioneers Early 20th Century Auction on June 3rd.
Expect to see reminders of the summer season appear in Arts & Crafts antiques auctions in the next month. In the meantime, additional highlights for the AcStickley auction include Harvey Ellis inlay furniture (a Stickley-Ellis Maple side chair with an estimate of $1,500-$2,500 and a signed Stickley-Ellis inlaid rocker with an estimate of $12,000-$15,000), a large Marblehead Pottery grapevine decorated vase ($9,000-$12,000), a Saturday Evening Girls Iris vase carved by Ida Goldstein ($6,000-$8,000), a rare and early Pewabic Dragonfly plate ($2,000-$3,000), and a very crisp example of a Grueby Pottery two-color Daffodil vase ($6,000-$8,000).
Meanwhile, the June 3rd Toomey & Co sale which features many items as “No Reserve” shows popular items have already attracted bids like a firewood basket from Dirk Van Erp ($1,000-$1,500) which has already accrued 15 pre-auction bids, a rare scenic overlay table lamp from Charles Limbert ($3,000-$4,000) which has attracted 13 bids of its own, a pair of Early Gout stools ($1,000-$1,500) with 10 pre-auction bids, among others gaining attention.
Happy Bidding!
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