'Indian princess' cigar store carving smashes world record

A cigar store Indian attributed to Samuel Robb or Thomas Brooks has achieved $675,000 at Guyette, Schmidt and Deeter in Maryland - a world record for a tobacconist's carving.

The piece was valued at $125,000-250,000 - equating to an increase of 175% on its estimate.

cigar store Indian Guyette
Female examples of cigar store carvings are particularly rare

The rare Indian princess figure was carved circa 1880 in New York and features bold colours glazed with varnish along with exquisite detailing.

A bundle of cigars are held in the left hand while a handful of tobacco leaves are held in the right.

The carvings were traditionally used as the symbol for a tobacconist, in reference to the crop's origins in the new world.

The lot smashed the previous record - held by a carving that sold at Heritage Auctions in 2010 for $203,150.

A rare hollow-carved swan by William Basnight circa 1890 was another lot at the sale that achieved a significant increase on estimate.

William Basnight swan
The Basnight swan had not been seen for over 50 years

Valued at $15,000-20,000, it took $162,500 - up 712%.

The swan comes from the James "Spann" Jeffers collection - which featured a number of decoys of great significance that have been stored in an attic since the 1950s.

The piece is in good condition, despite its age, marred only by a few small cracks and a worn area on the edge of the tail.

Another piece from the Jeffers collection - a rare bufflehead drake made by Nathan Cobb Jr in the late 1800s - made $60,000.

The November 7 sale concluded Guyette, Schmidt and Deeter's Fall Season Auction - the first half of which saw the sale of a rare merganser drake by Harry Shourds.

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