The National Postal Museum in Washington opened in 1993. It occupies the former main post office building built in 1914. Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

Collector sells stamp collections for $3.2M to help Smithsonian

The National Postal Museum in Washington opened in 1993. It occupies the former main post office building built in 1914. Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

The National Postal Museum in Washington opened in 1993. It occupies the former main post office building built in 1914. Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

WASHINGTON (AP) – A wealthy investor has sold two of his prized stamp collections to help pay for an expansion of the Smithsonian’s National Postal Museum.

William H. Gross sold the collections last week at an auction in New York. The collections included stamps from the Confederacy and British Colonies in North America. They fetched $3.2 million.

The proceeds go toward Gross’ $8 million pledge to the museum. He has also donated some of the rarest known stamps from his personal collection.

Gross is the founder of Pacific Investment Management Co., based in Newport Beach, Calif.

The museum’s expansion from a basement space near Washington’s Union Station is scheduled to open in late 2012. A gallery will be named in Gross’ honor.

___

National Postal Museum: http://postalmuseum.si.edu/

Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

AP-CS-11-29-09 1302EST

Affiliated Auctions has placed an estimate of $150,000-$300,000 on the Elvis Presley diamond ring. Image courtesy of Affiliated Auctions.

Fit for a king: Ring worn by Elvis to sell at Affiliated Auctions, Dec. 6

Affiliated Auctions has placed an estimate of $150,000-$300,000 on the Elvis Presley diamond ring. Image courtesy of Affiliated Auctions.

Affiliated Auctions has placed an estimate of $150,000-$300,000 on the Elvis Presley diamond ring. Image courtesy of Affiliated Auctions.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – A 10-carat diamond ring that Elvis Presley took from his hand and gave to a fan during a 1975 concert will sell Dec. 6 at a catalog auction to be conducted by Affiliated Auctions. Internet live bidding will be provided by LiveAuctioneers.com.

A unique and original piece of Elvis Presley-worn memorabilia, the ring was given to the consignor, Lloyd Perry, by Presley during a concert in Asheville, N.C.

The size-11, 10-carat ring consists of 14 round-cut diamonds approximately .44ct (each) / F-H color / I-1 to SI-1 clarity; one round-cut diamond approximately 1.29ct / H color / I-1 clarity; one round-cut diamond 1.39ct / H color / I-1 clarity; and three emerald cut approximately .35ct (each) / H-I color / VS-2 clarity. The diamonds are set in 14K yellow gold with a total weight of 27.2 grams.

The estimate for the unique ring is $150,000-$300,000.

It will be auctioned together with a complete file of provenance from the consignor, including an autographed copy of Lee Cotton’s 1975 book Did Elvis Sing in Your Hometown, Too (in which the gift event is referenced on page 208); three copies of the Asheville Citizen-Times and Bristol Herald Courier, both of which include stories about the event; more than 40 original photographs of the event as it occurred, other photos of Elvis wearing the ring at other venues, original tickets from the concert, and a letter of authenticity signed by the consignor.

The following account relates how the consigner became the owner of this ring, in his own words:

“Elvis was coming to Asheville, N.C., for three nights on July 22nd, 23rd, 24th 1975. A friend of mine got us tickets for the 24th and, believe it or not, it was front row seats, right in the middle of the stage. I could reach out and touch him we were so close. Of course, when Elvis came out the crowd went wild. We noticed he kind of looked at our group there in the front. Maybe it was the light and he could see us. Well, two or three songs into the show he turned, walked back to the center of the stage, and then turned around and threw his guitar toward me and this other guy seated next to me. We both caught it and played around with it. It was an old scratched up Gibson guitar, with Elvis Presley written in pearls down the neck.

“Although the other guy kept the guitar, I think Elvis wanted me to have it. After a couple more songs, all of a sudden my wife nudged me and said Elvis is motioning for you to come to the stage. Well, I looked up and went to the stage to shake hands with him, and to my absolute surprise, he was trying to put this ring on my pinky finger. I got him to put it on my ring finger while I was shaking like a leaf. I then went back and sat down.

“I remember the crowd was going wild. Afterwards Elvis walked back across the stage, shrugged his shoulders and said, “Aw, what’s $16,000.” Well, that night Elvis gave away his Gibson guitar and the ring, and the night before is when he gave JD Sumter the horseshoe ring. An amazing night I will never forget.” – Consignor: Lloyd Perry.

Affiliated Auction Galleries’ sale Saturday will also feature a prize piece of World War II German Nazi loot: a Third Reich tapestry that originally hung in the Reichstag and belonged to Heinrich Himmler, Hitler’s top henchman.

A member of the 506th Parachute Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, removed the tapestry from Himmler’s residence in Berchtesgaden in 1945. It is approximately 7 feet x 9 feet.

“This tapestry is a unique piece of world history, produced by a well-known tapestry maker at the time. You will not find another like it. I expect serious collectors and museums will express heavy interest,” said John Wright, lead military cataloger for Affiliated Auction Galleries.

Along with the Reichstag Himmler tapestry, Affiliated Auctions will sell 600 lots of original collectible military headgear, uniforms, weapons, presentation and gift items, badges, medals, documents and ephemera, arms and armors, and antique firearms.

Affiliated Auction Galleries, headquartered in Tallahassee, Fla., is a leading collectibles auctioneer, holding quarterly catalog auctions.

For details contact Affiliated Auctions by calling 850-294-7121 or e-mail Malcolmm@affiliatedauctions.com.

View a fully illustrated catalog and sign up to bid absentee or live via the Internet during the sale at www.LiveAuctioneers.com.

Click here to view Affiliated Auctions’ complete catalog.


ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE


Elvis Presley's offhand remark in 1975 indicated the diamond ring cost $16,000. Image courtesy of Affiliated Auctions.

Elvis Presley’s offhand remark in 1975 indicated the diamond ring cost $16,000. Image courtesy of Affiliated Auctions.


Local newspapers pictured Elvis fan Lloyd Perry wearing the diamond ring Presley gave him during a concert. The newspapers are among memorabilia to be auctioned with the ring. Image courtesy of Affiliated Auctions.

Local newspapers pictured Elvis fan Lloyd Perry wearing the diamond ring Presley gave him during a concert. The newspapers are among memorabilia to be auctioned with the ring. Image courtesy of Affiliated Auctions.


The King looked very regal the night he shook hands with Lloyd Perry, who was in the front row at the Elvis Presley concert July 24, 1975. Image courtesy of Affiliated Auctions.

The King looked very regal the night he shook hands with Lloyd Perry, who was in the front row at the Elvis Presley concert July 24, 1975. Image courtesy of Affiliated Auctions.

Image courtesy LiveAuctioneers.com Archive and Bloomington Auction Gallery.

3 Picasso sketches top $43,000 at Bloomington Auction Gallery

Image courtesy LiveAuctioneers.com Archive and Bloomington Auction Gallery.

Image courtesy LiveAuctioneers.com Archive and Bloomington Auction Gallery.

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Three sketches by Pablo Picasso sold Friday at Bloomington Auction Gallery through LiveAuctioneers for $43,200 inclusive of buyer’s premium.

The artwork sold to an Internet bidder in less than two minutes at Bloomington Auction Gallery’s annual after-Thanksgiving estate auction.

The sketches – on yellowing paper with tattered edges – were fragments of a dust cover for the 1954 French book, Picasso and The Human Comedy.

“The sketches were drawn on the inside and flap of the dust jacket,” said auctioneer Jason Penny. “The provenance is the art was drawn for a personal friend. The sketches came from London and were acquired by a friend in America.”

The freehand ink drawings show Picasso’s wife, Olga; a flute player and a woman; and a male nude. The portrait of Olga and the flute player and woman both measure 14 1/4 inches by 10 3/4 inches. The male nude is 14 1/4 inches by 4 1/4 inches.

Penny said the sketches sold within estimate. He correctly predicted that most of the traffic would come online and by phone.

The names of the buyer and seller were not disclosed.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.


ADDITIONAL IMAGES OF NOTE


Image courtesy LiveAuctioneers.com Archive and Bloomington Auction Gallery.

Image courtesy LiveAuctioneers.com Archive and Bloomington Auction Gallery.


Image courtesy LiveAuctioneers.com Archive and Bloomington Auction Gallery.

Image courtesy LiveAuctioneers.com Archive and Bloomington Auction Gallery.


Image courtesy LiveAuctioneers.com Archive and Bloomington Auction Gallery.

Image courtesy LiveAuctioneers.com Archive and Bloomington Auction Gallery.

This is an American Sunderland table made about 1840. It can be kept against a wall until needed. The sides lift up to form a full-size table. Neal Auction Co., New Orleans, sold it recently for $922.

Kovels – Antiques & Collecting: Week of Nov. 30, 2009

This is an American Sunderland table made about 1840. It can be kept against a wall until needed. The sides lift up to form a full-size table. Neal Auction Co., New Orleans, sold it recently for $922.

This is an American Sunderland table made about 1840. It can be kept against a wall until needed. The sides lift up to form a full-size table. Neal Auction Co., New Orleans, sold it recently for $922.

The problem of making a table that takes up a small space but provides a large tabletop has been solved in many ways. In the 18th century, especially in the South, where homes were made with large, long front halls, the solution was several matching tables. Two tables with drop leaves were kept against the wall on either side of the hall or near each other on the same wall. A center table that became larger with a flip-top or leaves was also used in the hall or perhaps in a nearby parlor. When there was a party, the three tables were moved together to form one large table that could seat 12 to 18 people. A center table was needed in the days before electric lamps because the only light in the room often came from a single lamp on the table. If the room was small, the table could be made with large drop leaves on each side. To enlarge the table for family time or a card game, the leaves were extended and held in place by moveable legs or hidden supports. The small-table problem was also solved with a nest of three or four tables, each a little smaller than the next, so they fit in the space of one table. Late 19th- and 20th-century designers created tables with removable boards or boards that could be pulled out on a track under the tabletop. Modern tables are made using all of these ideas.

Q: I have a Sleepy Eye Milling Co. Cookbook shaped like a loaf of bread. It has no date and is in excellent condition. What is it worth?

A: The Sleepy Eye Milling Co. was a flour mill that operated in Sleepy Eye, Minn., from 1883 to 1921. Old Sleepy Eye was a Sioux Indian chief who was born in Minnesota in 1870. His name was used for the town as well as the mill. The company promoted its flour with many advertising items, including cookbooks, calendars, paperweights, thermometers, thimbles, trade cards, postcards, fans, dough scrapers and many pieces of pottery, all of which are popular with collectors. Depending on condition, your cookbook would sell for between $100 and $200. The Old Sleepy Eye Collectors Club, www.OldSleepyEyeCollectors.com, publishes a quarterly newsletter with classified ads.

Q: I have a copper or brass ice bucket from the RMS Carpathia. It has an added metal plate that says “Please do not remove from first-class passenger cabin.” Could this be a replica or is it the real thing? I found it in a shed on our property after my father died.

A: The RMS Carpathia was a transatlantic passenger ship that was part of the Cunard Line from 1903 to 1918. The Carpathia rescued survivors of the sinking of the Titanic when it hit an iceberg in 1912. The ship also carried supplies from Britain and troops from Canada during World War I. It was sunk by torpedoes from a German U-boat on July 17, 1918, off the coast of Ireland. There are many replicas of Carpathia ice buckets because so many people want Titanic-related memorabilia.

Q: I have a small plain brown pottery bowl signed “M. Jalanivich, Biloxi.” I know that he worked with George Ohr, the “Mad Potter of Biloxi,” around 1910. Does this piece have any value?

A: Manuel Jalanivich was born in Biloxi, Miss., in 1897. He studied pottery with George Ohr in 1910-12 and operated his own small pottery in Biloxi in 1915. Jalanivich studied at Niloak Pottery and at Durant Kilns before enlisting in the Navy in 1919. He moved to San Francisco in 1922 and worked with Ingvardt Olsen. Jalanivich made wheel-thrown pottery and Olsen glazed it. Some of it is marked “Jalan.” Jalanivich taught at the California School of Fine Arts from 1937 to 1939. He and Olsen taught pottery and art to wounded veterans at the hospital in San Francisco’s Presidio during World War II. Jalanivich died in 1944. A collector of Jalan pottery might pay $100 for your bowl at a pottery auction.

Q: I have a set of china marked “PT Tulowice, Made in Poland.” It has the same wreath mark with the star as RS Prussia, RS Germany, RS Suhl, RS Tillowitz and RS Poland pottery. I would like to know the history.

A: RS are the initials of Reinhold Schlegelmilch, who operated potteries in Tillowitz and Suhl, Germany, beginning in 1869. His mark was “RS” in a wreath with the name of the city, province or country underneath the wreath. Pieces marked RS Germany, RS Poland, RS Prussia, RS Silesia, RS Suhl or RS Tillowitz were all made by Schlegelmilch or his sons. After World War II, Tillowitz became part of Poland and the name of the city was changed to Tulowice. Pieces marked “PT Tulowice” were made at the Reinhold Schlegelmilch factory after 1945 and before 1956.

Tip: To be safe, hang a large picture on two hooks, not just one.

Terry Kovel answers as many questions as possible through the column. By sending a letter with a question, you give full permission for use in the column or any other Kovel forum. Names, addresses or e-mail addresses will not be published. We cannot guarantee the return of any photograph, but if a stamped envelope is included, we will try. The volume of mail makes personal answers or appraisals impossible. Write to Kovels, Auction Central News, King Features Syndicate, 300 W. 57th St., New York, NY 10019.

Need more information about collectibles? Find it at Kovels.com, our Web site for collectors. Check prices there, too. More than 700,000 are listed, and viewing them is free. You can also sign up to read our weekly Kovels Komments. It includes the latest news, tips and questions and is delivered by e-mail, free, if you register. Kovels.com offers extra collector’s information and lists of publications, clubs, appraisers, auction houses, people who sell parts or repair antiques and much more. You can subscribe to Kovels on Antiques and Collectibles, our monthly newsletter filled with prices, facts and color photos. Kovels.com adds to the information in our newspaper column and helps you find useful sources needed by collectors.

CURRENT PRICES

Current prices are recorded from antiques shows, flea markets, sales and auctions throughout the United States. Prices vary in different locations because of local economic conditions.

  • Ohio Lodge ax, probably Odd Fellows, nickel-plated brass head and handle, Pettibone Mfg. Co., Cincinnati, marked, circa 1900, 40 inches, $90.
  • Show towel, silk-on-linen, cross-stitching, deer, eight-point stars, stylized potted flowers, knotted fringe, circa 1834, 52 x 18 inches, $120.
  • Etruscan Majolica compote, green leaves, pink, yellows and browns, dark red underglaze with embossed branches, 9 x 15 inches, $245.
  • Madame Alexander doll, Marme of Little Women, Margaret face, plastic, curlers, box, 1948, 14 inches, $360.
  • Judith Leiber white snakeskin evening purse, gold metal clasp, jeweled snap, coin purse, 1970s, 9 x 5 inches, $400.
  • Mickey Mouse scissors, on original cardboard holder, “Mickey Capers, Cutting Paper, Shear Fun, Get One,” Walt Disney Enterprises, 1937, $450.
  • Victorian carved ivory magnifier, carved seashell handle, embossed sterling silver rim, Sheffield hallmark, 1895, 10 3/4 x 5 inches, $510.
  • Webb glass vase, tapered, ovoid, circular foot, swag & tassel design, descending medallions & bellflowers, signed, 12 1/4 inches, $690.
  • Sofa, Louis XVI-style polychrome, dome and padded back joined to cushioned seat, scrolled, padded arms, Greek-key carved frieze, pad feet, 1880s, 31 x 85 inches, $2,880.
  • Gorham sterling seafood server, clam-shaped fork and spoon, bamboo handles, gilt bowls, marked, 9 3/4 inches, $4,830.

Just published. The new full-color Kovels’ Antiques & Collectibles Price Guide, 2010, 42nd edition, is your most accurate source for current prices. This large-size paperback has more than 2,500 color photographs and 47,000 up-to-date prices for more than 700 categories of antiques and collectibles. You’ll also find hundreds of factory histories and marks and a report on the record prices of the year, plus helpful sidebars and tips about buying, selling, collecting and preserving your treasures. Available at your bookstore; online at Kovels.com; by phone at 800-571-1555; or send $27.95 plus $4.95 postage to Price Book, Box 22900, Beachwood, OH 44122.

© 2009 by Cowles Syndicate Inc.

Former Hawaii publisher to sell first-day Pony Express envelope

HONOLULU (AP) – A New York gallery will auction off what is believed to be one of three known surviving historic envelopes postmarked on the first day of the Pony Express.

The envelope postmarked April 3, 1860, is valued at $300,000. It is among 63 items owned by 88-year-old Thurston Twigg-Smith that will be sold Dec. 5 by Robert A. Siegel Auction Galleries in New York. Twigg-Smith is the former publisher of The Honolulu Advertiser in Hawaii.

It estimates the collection’s value is $2.5 million or more.

Twigg-Smith also will auction one of two surviving Pony Express letters that originated in Hawaii. It is valued at $500,000.

The Pony Express lasted 19 months, shuttling mail 1,900 miles from St. Joseph, Mo., to San Francisco.

Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

AP-WS-11-24-09 1700EST

 

Former Maine auctioneer fined

GARDINER, Maine (AP) – A former Maine auctioneer is facing additional disciplinary action.

The Department of Professional and Financial Regulation said Tuesday that James Cyr of Gray, whose license was revoked in 2008, has been fined $30,000 for operating without a license and failing to give back money within a reasonable time.

The department also voted to revoke the license of Thomas Madsen of Windham and fined him $37,700 for auctioning goods without a contract; aiding or abetting the unlicensed practice of Cyr; and other charges.

Officials said Madsen had testified that he loaned Cyr his license so he could continue to operate.

The board voted to claim bonds owned by the two men to repay auction consigners, including one owed more than $20,000.

Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

AP-ES-11-24-09 1536EST

 

This distinctive Kuba Kelim rug, 11 feet by 5 feet 7 inches, was woven in northeast Caucasus in the last quarter of the 19th century. It has a $6,000-$8,000 estimate. Image courtesy Skinner Inc.

Skinner rolls out the carpets for semiannual specialty sale, Dec. 5

This distinctive Kuba Kelim rug, 11 feet by 5 feet 7 inches, was woven in northeast Caucasus in the last quarter of the 19th century. It has a $6,000-$8,000 estimate. Image courtesy Skinner Inc.

This distinctive Kuba Kelim rug, 11 feet by 5 feet 7 inches, was woven in northeast Caucasus in the last quarter of the 19th century. It has a $6,000-$8,000 estimate. Image courtesy Skinner Inc.

BOSTON – Skinner Inc. will conduct its semiannual sale of Fine Oriental Rugs and Carpets on Dec. 5 beginning at noon Eastern. A full spectrum of palettes and patterns will be offered in room-size carpets, long rugs and saddlebags, and in every size and shape, all presented in Skinner’s Boston gallery at 63 Park Plaza. LiveAuctioneers.com will provide Internet live bidding.

The sale features a large carpet from Harvard University and several from the estate of Milton Crouch of Burlington, Vt. From Harvard and measuring 26 feet 6 inches x 13 feet 9 inches is a Motasham Kashan carpet (lot 139, est. $25,000-$30,000) from the last quarter of the 19th century, Central Persia. The Crouch estate, which includes more than 30 rugs, is highlighted also by a Motasham Kashan carpet (lot 137, est. $20,000-$25,000) of the same region and period; a Northwest Persian Garrus Bidjar sampler (lot 81, est. $7,000-$9,000); and an 18th-century Chinese rug (lot 119, est. $5,000-$7,000).

Featured Persian rugs include a Bahkshaish carpet (lot 114, est. $15,000-$20,000); a Bidjar Carpet measuring 26 feet x 15 feet 4 inches (lot 43, est. $30,000-$50,000); a large Garrus Bidjar carpet (lot 140, est. $25,000-$30,000); and a Serapi (lot 136, est. $12,000-$15,000) all from the Northwest, last quarter of the 19th century. From the Southeast is a Kerman pictorial “World Leaders” rug (lot 120, est. $5,000-$7,000) and from the West is a Fereghan-Sarouk carpet (lot 138, est. $12,000-$15,000).

Other highlights include a Northeast Caucasus Kuba Kelim (lot 65, est. $6,000-$8,000); and two works from the Southwest Caucasus last quarter 19th century: a Lori Pambak Kazak rug (lot 129, est. $5,000-$7,000) and a Karachoph Kazak rug (lot 123, est. $7,000-$9,000). From West Anatolia is an Ushak medallion carpet (lot 115, est. $15,000-$20,000) and a Bergama prayer rug (lot 117, est. $10,000-$15,000). Rounding out the offerings is a room-sized Indian carpet from the last quarter of the 19th century (lot 113, est. $10,000-$15,000), and a Serab Runner (lot 147, est. $1,500-$2,500) formerly the property of John Lennon and Yoko Ono and sold from their collection by Sotheby’s, and including certificate of ownership.

Previews for the auction will be held on Thursday, Dec. 3, from 2 to 5 p.m., on Friday, Dec. 4, from 2 to 7 p.m., and on Saturday, Dec. 5, from 9 to 11 a.m.

For details phone 508-970-3247.

View the fully illustrated catalog and sign up to bid absentee or live via the Internet during the sale at www.LiveAuctioneers.com.

Click here to view Skinner’s complete catalog.


ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE


From the Milton H. Crouch collection is this Garrus Bidjar sampler. which is 6 feet 10 inches x 4 feet 8 inches. It was woven in northwest Persia in the second half of the 19th century. The estimate is $7,000-9,000. Image courtesy Skinner Inc.

From the Milton H. Crouch collection is this Garrus Bidjar sampler. which is 6 feet 10 inches x 4 feet 8 inches. It was woven in northwest Persia in the second half of the 19th century. The estimate is $7,000-9,000. Image courtesy Skinner Inc.


Once the property of Harvard University, this late-19th-century Motasham Kashan carpet is from central Persia. It measures 26 feet 6 inches x 13 feet 9 inches. It has a $25,000-30,000 estimate. Image courtesy Skinner Inc.

Once the property of Harvard University, this late-19th-century Motasham Kashan carpet is from central Persia. It measures 26 feet 6 inches x 13 feet 9 inches. It has a $25,000-30,000 estimate. Image courtesy Skinner Inc.


Two corners of this late-19th-century Garrus Bidjar carpet from northwest Persia have been rewoven. It is 18 feet x 11 feet 6 inches and has a $25,000-30,000 estimate. Image courtesy Skinner Inc.

Two corners of this late-19th-century Garrus Bidjar carpet from northwest Persia have been rewoven. It is 18 feet x 11 feet 6 inches and has a $25,000-30,000 estimate. Image courtesy Skinner Inc.


John Lennon and Yoko Ono once owned this Serab runner, which is 17 feet long. It was made in northwest Persia in the last quarter of the 19th century. The lot includes certificate of ownership. Image courtesy Skinner Inc.

John Lennon and Yoko Ono once owned this Serab runner, which is 17 feet long. It was made in northwest Persia in the last quarter of the 19th century. The lot includes certificate of ownership. Image courtesy Skinner Inc.

Fans of ‘Fantasia’ remember its troupe of dancing elephants in tutus. Cartier’s ‘Dance of the Hours’ watch was inspired by Disney’s 1940 animated feature. With a J. Schulz 17-jewel Swiss movement, this diamond and platinum lapel watch has a $16,000-$24,000 estimate. Image courtesy of Rago Arts and Auction Center.

Rago’s Dec. 5-6 Great Estates auction laden with jewelry, silver

Fans of ‘Fantasia’ remember its troupe of dancing elephants in tutus. Cartier’s ‘Dance of the Hours’ watch was inspired by Disney’s 1940 animated feature. With a J. Schulz 17-jewel Swiss movement, this diamond and platinum lapel watch has a $16,000-$24,000 estimate. Image courtesy of Rago Arts and Auction Center.

Fans of ‘Fantasia’ remember its troupe of dancing elephants in tutus. Cartier’s ‘Dance of the Hours’ watch was inspired by Disney’s 1940 animated feature. With a J. Schulz 17-jewel Swiss movement, this diamond and platinum lapel watch has a $16,000-$24,000 estimate. Image courtesy of Rago Arts and Auction Center.

LAMBERTVILLE, N.J. – David Rago Auctions will present its annual Great Estates, Fine Jewelry & Silver Auction on Dec. 5-6. The Saturday session features material from the 18th century to the 20th century. The Sunday session of fine jewelry and silver follows the trend of exceptional offerings with items to fit most budgets and tastes. LiveAuctioneers.com will provide Internet live bidding.

Coming up in the first hour of Saturday’s session is an 18th-century Queen Anne secretary desk in black lacquer with chinoiserie decoration of exotic birds, flowering branches and landscapes. Its red lacquer interior has pigeonholes and candle slides. The piece stands 85 inches high by 36 inches wide by 20 inches deep. It has a $10,000-$15,000 estimate.

Also expected to bring $10,000-$15,000 is a 19th-century Pennsylvania Dutch cupboard in grain paint. On ogee bracket feet, this handsome cupboard is 81 3/4 inches tall, 57 3/4 inches wide and 19 3/4 inches deep.

Also selling Saturday will be American, European and English paintings; bronzes; Asian and tribal items; porcelains and ceramics by Royal Worcester, Meissen, Royal Vienna, Sevres and others; oriental rugs; military and historical ephemera; needlework samplers; late 19th- and early 20th-century baseball cards; Mr. Peanut advertising items; Americana; and unusual items such as a pawnbroker’s trade sign, an English barrister wig in its original tole ware box and a 1950s Reading Railroad Terminal mural.

The first 350 lots on Sunday are devoted to exceptional jewelry and gemstones from Victorian to Modern.

By Cartier, a 3.15-carat diamond ring in platinum with 18 round brilliant diamonds in a pave set has a $50,000-$70,000 estimate.

Also by Cartier, a diamond lapel-watch inspired by a scene in the 1940 Disney animated feature Fantasia has a $16,000-$24,000 estimate. The Dance of the Hours watch in platinum and diamonds was one of a series of gems Cartier produced based on Disney characters from cartoons and animate features. Suspended from the watch are two dancing pave elephants with ruby eyes.

For gentlemen, a T150 Patek Philippe wristwatch in yellow gold, retailed by Tiffany & Co. in 2001, was produced to celebrate the 150-year collaboration of the two companies. Features include 35 jewels, self-winding, annual calendar, center seconds day, date, month and moon phase. In its original box with setting tool and commemorative coin, the watch has a $20,000-$40,000 estimate.

Other companies featured include Rolex, Bailey Banks & Biddle, Parker, Asprey and Faraone.

A dazzling array of Russian enameled silver by Fedor Ruckert, Pavel Ovchinnikov and Antip Kuzmichev will follow jewelry.

The silver section is next follows the fine jewelry, displaying its own selection of breathtaking lots. Included will be a silver loop handled bowl after a Charles Ashbee design by Marcus & Co.; flatware by Jensen, Tiffany & Co., Eliel Saarinen for Dominick & Haff; coffee services by John Black and Crichton Bros.; English, Continental and American hollowware; silver vases, cigar cases and candlesticks.

And, as a new ending to the sale, Rago is featuring 21 lots of American and European coins, silver certificates and paper money from the 18th century to the 20th century.

For details phone 866-724-6278.

View the fully illustrated catalog and sign up to bid absentee or live via the Internet during the sale at www.LiveAuctioneers.com.

Click here to view Rago Arts and Auction Center’s complete catalog.


ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE


Pavel Ovchinniko created this enameled silver and seed pearl icon of Christ Pantocrator in Moscow circa 1890. It is 4 5/8 inches high by 4 1/4 inches wide and has a $10,000-$20,000 estimate. Image courtesy of Rago Arts and Auction Center.

Pavel Ovchinniko created this enameled silver and seed pearl icon of Christ Pantocrator in Moscow circa 1890. It is 4 5/8 inches high by 4 1/4 inches wide and has a $10,000-$20,000 estimate. Image courtesy of Rago Arts and Auction Center.


London silversmiths Hunt and Roskell crafted this Georgian silver kettle in 1834. It has profuse floral and roquille decorations. The ornate stand with burner bears the mark of William Elliot, London, 1822. The estimate is $4,000-$6,000. Image courtesy of Rago Arts and Auction Center.

London silversmiths Hunt and Roskell crafted this Georgian silver kettle in 1834. It has profuse floral and roquille decorations. The ornate stand with burner bears the mark of William Elliot, London, 1822. The estimate is $4,000-$6,000. Image courtesy of Rago Arts and Auction Center.


Grain painting enhances this Pennsylvania Dutch cupboard, which has a $10,000-$15,000 estimate. Image courtesy of Rago Arts and Auction Center.

Grain painting enhances this Pennsylvania Dutch cupboard, which has a $10,000-$15,000 estimate. Image courtesy of Rago Arts and Auction Center.


Chinoiserie decoration of exotic birds and flowering branches adorn this 18th-century Queen Anne secretary desk. The black lacquer beauty has a $10,000-$15,000 estimate. Image courtesy of Rago Arts and Auction Center.

Chinoiserie decoration of exotic birds and flowering branches adorn this 18th-century Queen Anne secretary desk. The black lacquer beauty has a $10,000-$15,000 estimate. Image courtesy of Rago Arts and Auction Center.

An American tank guards the entrance to the National Museum of Iraq in Baghdad in 2003. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Google documenting Iraqi national museum treasures

An American tank guards the entrance to the National Museum of Iraq in Baghdad in 2003. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

An American tank guards the entrance to the National Museum of Iraq in Baghdad in 2003. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

BAGHDAD (AP) – Google is documenting Iraq’s national museum and will post photographs of its ancient treasures on the Internet early next year, Google chief Eric Schmidt announced Tuesday.

The museum was ransacked in the chaotic aftermath of Saddam Hussein’s ouster in April 2003, and only reopened to visitors early this year. Schmidt, who toured the museum with U.S. Ambassador Christopher Hill on Tuesday, said it was important for the world to see Iraq’s rich heritage and contribution to world culture.

“The history of the beginning of – literally – civilization is made right here and is preserved here in this museum,” Schmidt said at a ceremony attended by Iraqi officials.

“I can think of no better use of our time and our resources than to make the images and ideas from your civilization, from the very beginnings of time, available to billions of people worldwide,” he said.

Schmidt said Google has taken some 14,000 photographs of the museum and its artifacts, and the images will be available online in early 2010.

The antiquities in the museum’s vast storage vaults and artifacts from other sites across the country will also be photographed as they become available and then put on the internet, he said.

The museum was among many institutions, including universities, hospitals, libraries and art galleries, that were looted or set ablaze across Iraq in the days and weeks that followed Saddam’s ouster.

The museum holds artifacts from the Stone Age through the Babylonian, Assyrian and Islamic periods. The richness of its collection and its importance as a caretaker of the relics of early civilization triggered an outcry around the world.

U.S. troops, the sole power in the city at the time, were intensely criticized for not protecting the treasures at the museum and other cultural institutions like the national library and the Saddam Art Center, a museum of modern Iraqi art.

The national museum reopened in February after being closed for nearly six years. Its director, Amira Edan, said around 5,000 of the estimated 15,000 artifacts that were looted have been recovered so far.

Edan said Google’s project marks another step toward normalcy for the museum, and will provide a useful tool for scholars studying ancient Mesopotamia, but also “a kind of tourism journey” for people with a more casual interest in the region’s history.

Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

AP-ES-11-24-09 0741EST

 

Richard Hambleton’s untitled ink on paper image is reminiscent of his Shadow Man concept. This work, which measures 87 1/2 inches by 48 1/4 inches, has a $2,000-$3,000 estimate. Image courtesy of Fuller Fine Art Ltd.

Fuller’s Dec. 5 Fine Art sale adds sparkle to holiday shopping

Richard Hambleton’s untitled ink on paper image is reminiscent of his Shadow Man concept. This work, which measures 87 1/2 inches by 48 1/4 inches, has a $2,000-$3,000 estimate. Image courtesy of Fuller Fine Art Ltd.

Richard Hambleton’s untitled ink on paper image is reminiscent of his Shadow Man concept. This work, which measures 87 1/2 inches by 48 1/4 inches, has a $2,000-$3,000 estimate. Image courtesy of Fuller Fine Art Ltd.

PHILADELPHIA – Fuller’s Fine Art Auctions will launch the holiday shopping season Dec. 5 with an electrifying sale of more than 200 lots of fine art, jewelry, handbags, coins and collectibles. LiveAuctioneers.com will provide Internet live bidding.

Two large works by graffiti artist Richard Hambleton (American b. 1954) exemplify his early 1980s public art concept of “Shadow Man.” An untitled ink on paper, float mounted to foam core, depicts a silhouetted human form with sparks showering from one of its raised hands. Measuring 87 1/2 inches by 48 1/4 inches, this work is has a $2,000-$3,000 estimate. It is signed on the lower right “R. Hambleton.”

“It’s a dramatic image,” said Marie Woodward of Muller’s Fine Art Auctions. “Hambleton is known for his Shadow Man series and has been associated with Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat as a street artist.

The second Hambleton, acrylic and ink on paper, depicts the silhouette of a man against a red background. It is 87 inches by 48 inches and has a $1,200-$1,800 estimate.

A poignant scene by renowned sporting artist Arthur B. Frost Sr. (American, 1851-1928) of a hunting dog sitting near his fallen master was an illustration in the 1904 book Soldier of the Valley by Nelson Lloyd. Titled Sat Little Colonel Wailing, the gouache on paper mounted on board is 13 by 16 inches. It is signed on the lower right “A.B. Frost.” The estimate is $1,000-$1,500, but Woodward said it should go higher.

Fullers’ selection of fine art is underscored by works from Neo-Expressionist Malcolm Morley. The artist is represented with two works on paper, New York Crumbled Post-Card and Study for Camels and Goats, with estimates from $4,000-$6,000 and $5,000-$7,000 respectively.

Highlights from the prints section of the sale include works by artists Albert Hirschfeld, Marc Chagall and Donald Judd. A selection of nine whimsical prints by Hirschfeld depicting celebrities such as Judy Garland, Greta Garbo and Gregory Peck are estimated at $300-$500 to $500-$700. Fuller’s has estimated Chagall’s 1922 Hochzeit, from Mein Leben, to sell for $3,000-$4,000.

A portion of this sale is a continuation of the Betty Gordon Estate. An avid collector and a patroness of the arts, Gordon was equally known for her glamorous sense of style in both fashion and life. A dazzling emerald and diamond ring by Cartier and a GIA-certified Fancy to Fancy Intense yellow diamond ring headline her collection. The square step-cut emerald and diamond ring in a platinum setting “has a lot of pop to it,” said Woodward. It is estimated at $5,000-$6,000. The yellow diamond is approximately 1.37 carats and is flanked with six single-cut round diamonds. Also in a platinum setting, this ring has a $3,500-$4,500 estimate.

Jeweled handbags by Judith Leiber, Chanel bags in leather, satin and velvet, and accessories by Prada, Gucci and Louis Vuitton are estimated from $50 to $700. Proceeds from the sale of Gordon’s estate will support the Devereux Foundation, whose mission it is to nurture human potential of children and adults with emotional, developmental, educational and cognitive disabilities.

Fullers’ sale will open with a charming collection of Christmas-inspired folk art: Belsnickles, feather trees, Lester Breininger ceramics and Barbara Strawser paintings are among the fine assortment.

Important ceramic objects include two plates by Pablo Picasso, including a 1953 Picador estimated at $1,800-$2,400. From the Light Gatherer series, a wheel-thrown glazed porcelain vessel made by Philadelphia artist Rudolph Staffel and exhibited by Helen Drutt Gallery at Temple Gallery in 1989 is estimated to sell for $2,000-$4,000.

Twenty lots of rare coins and paper currency to be sold. A 1908 Indian Head $2.50 U.S. gold coin, PCGS graded MS64 ($1,000-$1,500) and the 1911-D Saint-Gaudens $20 U.S. gold coin, PCGS graded MS62 ($1,000-$1,500) are standouts.

The sale will close with Gordon’s diverse collection of contemporary art and antique books, many autographed by the artist or author.

A preview reception will be held Thursday, Dec. 3, 5-8 p.m. Previews will also be conducted Saturday, Nov. 28, noon-6 p.m. and Monday, Nov. 30 through Friday, Dec. 4, noon-6 p.m.

Principal Auctioneer is Jeffrey P. Fuller, president of Jeffrey Fuller Fine Art Ltd., and an Accredited Senior Appraiser of the American Society of Appraisers since 1984.

For details phone 215-991-0100.

View the fully illustrated catalog and sign up to bid absentee or live via the Internet during the sale at www.LiveAuctioneers.com.

Click here to view Fuller’s LLC’s complete catalog.


ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE


Nine prints of famous entertainers by Albert Hirschfeld (American, 1903-2003) are incuded in Fuller’s auction. This etching and aquatint of Judy Garland, 18 inches by 14 inches, has a  $300-$500 estimate. Image courtesy of Fuller Fine Art Ltd. /></a> <a href=

Donald Judd (American, b. 1928) created this untitled aquatint, 1974-1979. It is 40 1/4 inches by 29 3/4 inches and numbered and signed along the lower margin ‘44/175 Judd.’ The unframed print has a $2,000-$2,500 estimate. Image courtesy of Fuller Fine Art Ltd.

Donald Judd (American, b. 1928) created this untitled aquatint, 1974-1979. It is 40 1/4 inches by 29 3/4 inches and numbered and signed along the lower margin ‘44/175 Judd.’ The unframed print has a $2,000-$2,500 estimate. Image courtesy of Fuller Fine Art Ltd.

Brassaï, pseudonym Guyula Halasz, photographed many of his artist friends in Paris, including Salvador Dali This silver gelatin emulsion print, 11-3/4 x 8-1/4 inches, is numbered and signed along lower margin ‘11/30 Brassai.’ It has a $2,500-$3,500 estimate. Image courtesy of Fuller Fine Art Ltd.

Brassaï, pseudonym Guyula Halasz, photographed many of his artist friends in Paris, including Salvador Dali This silver gelatin emulsion print, 11-3/4 x 8-1/4 inches, is numbered and signed along lower margin ‘11/30 Brassai.’ It has a $2,500-$3,500 estimate. Image courtesy of Fuller Fine Art Ltd.


The largest emerald in this Cartier ring is approximately 1 carat. Set in platinum, it has a $5,000-$6,000 estimate. Image courtesy of Fuller Fine Art Ltd.

The largest emerald in this Cartier ring is approximately 1 carat. Set in platinum, it has a $5,000-$6,000 estimate. Image courtesy of Fuller Fine Art Ltd.