TWO SAILOR'S VALENTINES, PROBABLY BARBADOS, LATE 19th/ early 20th century, American, 19th Century

Each consisting of octagonal shadow box frames with glass, with a pair of of hinged pastel-colored mollusk shells, the first with the inscription FOR MY SISTER, the second with pinwheels and hearts.

Each with minor loss to shells. One lacking on piece of glass retaining strip.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Another comparable portrait is that of James Mairs Salisbury of Greene County, New York, painted circa 1835, now in the collection of the American Folk Art Museum, New York. Both Saisbury and the Balken Collection portrait at Princeton University are similar in pose to series of Phillips seated portraits of children in red, except with additional detail of serious piping on the waistband and deep points on the collar and sleeve.

The Salisbury portrait is illustrated and discussed in Revisiting Ammi Phillips; Fifty Years of American Portraiture Stacy Hollander, Curator, Howard P. Fertig, Research Curator, New York, 1994, p. 41, PL. XXXVIII.