By ERIC C. RODENBERG
AntiqueWeek Associate Editor FREEBURG, Pa. — The tiny congregation at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church in this town of 584 people is hoping that the one final piece of rare Colonial pewter they own will help pay the church’s mounting bills.
St. Peter’s once owned three of the most important pieces of Colonial American pewter in existence. Two of them were stolen, although exactly when is unclear.
Both of the stolen pieces were later located: one is at the Winterthur Museum and the other sold at auction in 2007 for $248,000. However, the church’s claim to the pieces or any money generated was murky by this point.
So, they are pinning their hopes on the remaining piece in their collection – a Johann Christoph Heyne (Lancaster 1752-1781) lidded chalice.
“We’ll just hopefully pay our bills,” said Deacon Walter.
“That’s all we want to do … to keep the doors open.”
Neil Courtney of Hassinger & Courtney is donating his auctioneering services for the St. Peter’s Lutheran Church. He said he feels compassion for the church, and just wants to help the community.
The sale is April 9 at the Freeburg Community Center.
“It’s really an extraordinary piece,” said Courtney. “One of the best things it has going for it, is that it still has the lid. There are only a handful of these chalices with the original lid.”
In 1729, at the age of 14, Heyne began his four-year apprenticeship with an unknown Saxon master. After completion of the apprenticeship, he worked as a journeyman throughout Germany, ultimately ending up working in Stockholm, Sweden, where he’s listed in the city’s guild rolls.
By 1742, Heyne was in London preparing to sail for America, arriving 10 years later in Lancaster, Pa., where he established a pewter shop. Much of the existing work by Heyne, who was a pastor and teacher, was confined to ecclesiastical items, according to Donald Herr, author of Pewter in Pennsylvania German Churches (1995). A photo of the Heyne chalice is documented in Herr’s book.
It is unknown what the Heyne piece may bring. At a September 2008 Northeast Auction sale in New Hampshire, a lidded Heyne chalice sold for $48,300.
For more details, call 570-539-8791 or visit www.hassingercourtney.com |
