NEW SALEM — The 17th-century valuables cabinet that the Swift River Valley Historical Society sent to auction at Sotheby’s in New York City fetched $1.6 million, significantly exceeding the anticipated sale price of $600,000 to $800,000.
The decision to sell the piece, which had been under the historical society’s care for roughly 60 years, was made after a thorough review by the society’s board of directors, and the money will be used to make capital improvements and accessibility updates, fund long-term maintenance of museum buildings and implement a new strategic plan.
“We were utterly baffled that it went for what it went for. Basically, we’ve been texting each other, ‘Can you believe this happened?'” said Swift River Valley Historical Society President Judith McIntosh. “It’s wonderful. Everyone is so excited.”
David Simantov, who works in the Sotheby’s Press Office, said the international auction house does not disclose specific bidder information. However, he said last week’s auction prompted spirited bidding that amassed 16 bids from three hopeful buyers. Sotheby’s reportedly charges a commission of 10% of the hammer price to sellers for consignments valued at $5 million or less.
McIntosh said this is the largest allotment of money the historical society has ever dealt with. She said the society is accustomed to receiving gifts from people’s final wills and testaments, though those are typically less than $100,000.
“There are more zeros than we are used to dealing with,” she said with a laugh.
According to McIntosh, the Swift River Valley Historical Society is not a member of the American Alliance of Museums and, therefore, is not bound by regulations stipulating that money from sales go only toward acquiring and maintaining new pieces for its collection.
The Swift River Valley Historical Society, located at 40 Elm St. in New Salem, is dedicated to preserving the artifacts, stories and records of Prescott, Dana, Greenwich and Enfield, the four Massachusetts towns that were disincorporated to create the Quabbin Reservoir. McIntosh previously said board members were comfortable with letting go of the cabinet because although it was kept in the North Quabbin region for many years, it was produced in Salem, not one of the four “lost” towns.
McIntosh previously mentioned that board members last spring included a photograph of the 1677 cabinet with images of stained glass they were interested in auctioning at Sotheby’s. She said they got a call the next day from Erik Gronning, senior advisor in Sotheby’s Americana Department, who visited New Salem as soon as he could and brought the cabinet with him to New York City.
“When I first saw the photograph, I didn’t believe it was what it turned out to be,” he told the Greenfield Recorder last week.
McIntosh said board members devised their strategic plan shortly after receiving Gronning’s estimate, because they knew they would have an influx of cash. The cabinet had a $600,000 reserve, meaning it couldn’t be sold for any less than that. McIntosh explained that most of the money will be put into an investment account, and some funds will be used for capital improvements.
Sotheby’s produced a video for its website (tinyurl.com/CabinetVideo1) in which Susan Buck, a conservator and paint analyst recruited by Gronning, explains how the cabinet still carries its original finishes, hardware, key, and even layers of dirt and soot. It also has a 19th-century letter penned by David Ballard, one of its past owners.
According to the Sotheby’s website, the cabinet is one of five known examples attributed to the Symonds shop in Salem, and the only one not held in a large public institution. It was most recently donated to the historical society by Annie Frances Ballard, a descendant of one of the cabinet’s original owners, and kept in a temperature-controlled room.
The cabinet’s door is emblazoned with two sevens (for 1677), and the initials — separated by a heart — are for Symon and Rebeckah Horne, an Andover couple who had the object crafted to commemorate the birth of their first son.
According to the provenance provided by Sotheby’s, Symon Horne died around Dec. 14, 1687, and Rebeckah remained a widow until she married Joseph Ballard on Nov. 15, 1692. Rebeckah died on Feb. 11, 1740, and the cabinet passed to her son, Capt. Jeremiah Ballard Sr. Jeremiah married Mary Dane on Dec. 29, 1721, and they had six children: Mary, Phebe, Jeremiah Jr., Daniel, Joshua and Joseph. Daniel, who fought in the American Revolution, was the cabinet’s next owner, and eventually lived in Wendell.
Josiah Ballard, one of his 10 children, also actively served in the fight for independence and became the cabinet’s keeper upon his father’s death in 1808. Both Josiah and Daniel are buried in Wendell’s Center Cemetery.
The cabinet’s whereabouts are unknown for the 40 years after the 1856 death of Josiah’s wife, Frances Jane Zuill, who is buried in Wendell’s South Cemetery. According to Ballard family accounts, the cabinet passed from the family’s hands but was eventually descended to Annie Frances Ballard. She reportedly treasured the family heirloom and, in the 1940s, took several photographs of it on the porch of her home in Orange. She died in 1974 and was the cabinet’s final owner before she donated it to the Swift River Valley Historical Society on behalf of all the descendants of Capt. Ballard.