At the end of January 2011, Keno were celebrating as they had achieved $2.6m in sales, with one lot setting a world sales record: a veneered William and Mary High Chest of Drawers.
The auctioneer will be looking to repeat the feat when it showcases a remarkable selection of furnishings composed of Americana, furniture, decorative arts and paintings in an important auction on Tuesday, January 17, at the start of Americana Week.
Many of the dazzling treasures are from various estates and a private Connecticut collection, including a fine selection of furnishings and late-19th-century and early-20th century carpets and rugs.
Also to be sold during the morning session will be a beautiful selection of blown American flasks and Sandwich glass and a handsome collection of 17th- and 18th-century rare European pocket watches from the estate of Atlanta art patron George E. Missbach.
The morning session will be immediately followed by the sale of the Peter Brams Collection of important woodlands Indian art. Nearly 450 lots will be offered in the two consecutive auctions.
 Drake Family carved and painted chest of drawers |
Furniture highlights include a Drake family carved and painted joined chest with drawer attributed to Deacon John Moore (1614-1677), Windsor, Conn., (est. $80,000-$120,000); a fancy painted and gilt card table attributed to Thomas Seymour, Boston, circa 1808-1812, (est. $40,000-$80,000); and an eastern New England Chippendale carved and inlaid candle stand with octagonal top, circa 1780, (est. $10,000-$20,000).
Artwork ranges from a circa 1835 prior-Hamblin School oil on canvas of Baby in a Rocking Basket With Cherries (est. $25,000-$35,000) to a Norman Rockwell charcoal and pencil on paper Study for Maternity Waiting Room (est. 40,000-$80,000.)
The Peter Brams Collection of Important Woodlands Indian Art, which will be sold in the second session, is the largest and most important of its kind to have been amassed in the United States. The depth of property reflects Native American creations, many of burlwood, from the 17th through 19th centuries, and is composed of more than 50 bowls and nearly 150 ladles.
"Peter Brams is one of the most exciting and fearless collectors I have ever had the pleasure of meeting; he is charming, driven and incredibly educated," said Leigh Keno, president of Keno Auctions.
"The evolution of Peter's collecting interests includes contemporary paintings, outsider art and American folk art, and it was the sculpture from his American Folk Art collection that led Peter to Woodlands art.
"Peter refined his collection pairing down to the most critical elements of great sculpture—form, quality of execution, and surface—which is the Woodlands creative sensibility to its essence," Keno continued.
