Both sides of this Chinese glass snuff bottle are painted in Famille Rose enamels and depict children. The bottle dates to the late 19th century or earlier. It has a $600-$800 estimate. Image courtesy of Midwest Auction Galleries.

Painted pieces, Asian items highlight Midwest Auctions’ Feb. 13-14 sale

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Both sides of this Chinese glass snuff bottle are painted in Famille Rose enamels and depict children. The bottle dates to the late 19th century or earlier. It has a $600-$800 estimate. Image courtesy of Midwest Auction Galleries.

Both sides of this Chinese glass snuff bottle are painted in Famille Rose enamels and depict children. The bottle dates to the late 19th century or earlier. It has a $600-$800 estimate. Image courtesy of Midwest Auction Galleries.

OXFORD, Mich. – More than 1,200 lots of antiques, collectibles and fine art will be sold at Midwest Auction Galleries on Feb. 13-14. The line will extend from Chinese porcelain and furniture to Americana to more than 200 porcelain Llardro figures. LiveAuctioneers will provide Internet live bidding.

A small highlight that will sell soon after the 10 a.m. Eastern start on Saturday is a 19th-century Chinese snuff bottle. It is hand-painted in Famille Rose enamels on both sides with scenes of children. The milky-white glass bottle is 2 9/16 inches high and has a green jade stopper. The consignor purchased the bottle in the 1960s. It has a $600-$800 estimate.

An exceptional 19th-century American apothecary cabinet will sell shortly after the 10 a.m. Eastern start on Sunday. The 29-drawers cabinet has an exceptional grain-painted surface to simulate flamed mahogany. Standing on a bracket base, the cabinet measures 36 inches high, 51 inches long and 12 inches deep. The drawers have glass knobs and most retain spice or drug labels. The cabinet has a $3,000-$4,000 estimate.

Also having an original grain-painted surface – boldly applied in mustard and brown – is a circa 1820-1830 cupboard, which is expected to sell for $3,000-$4,000. Standing 81 inches high by 48 inches wide by 20 inches deep, the cupboard features wood peg and mortis and tenon construction. It consists of two blind drawers over two drawers over two blind doors. This cupboard “would be the cornerstone of the most advanced collection,” noted Jim Amato of Midwest Auction Galleries.

A 19th-century Chinese rosewood paneled desk is expected to attract a lot of attention. Built inside the kneehole compartment are three drawers. The sides and back of the desk are finely paneled. It has a $2,000-$3,000 estimate.

Half a dozen duck and goose decoys will sell on Friday. A hollow Canada goose decoy made in the 1930s by an unknown carver from Leelanau County, Mich., has glass eyes and what appears to be original black and white paint. The decoy, 15 inches high and 22 inches long, has a $300-$400 estimate.

One of the top oil paintings in the sale depicts a bride and bridegroom coming down the stairs of a palace followed by the wedding party. The painting is signed “Mario Spinetti Roma” and dated “87.” The 21 1/2- by 15 1/2-inch painting is mounted in a late 19th-century gilt wood frame. On the back is a post-1963 label from Peggy de Salle’s Little Gallery in Birmingham, Mich. The painting carries an $8,000-$12,000 estimate.

Midwest Auction Galleries is located at 665 N. Lapeer Road in Oxford.

For details call 248-236-8100.

To 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 Midwest Auction Galleries, Inc.’s complete catalog.

ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE

Llardro issued ‘Flowers of the Season,’ in 1993. The group is 11 3/4 inches high. It is in mint condition and has a $1,000-$2,000 estimate. Image courtesy of Midwest Auction Galleries.

Llardro issued ‘Flowers of the Season,’ in 1993. The group is 11 3/4 inches high. It is in mint condition and has a $1,000-$2,000 estimate. Image courtesy of Midwest Auction Galleries.


Most of the 29 drawers on this excellent 19th-century American apothecary cabinet have drug or spice labels. The grain-painted surface is in excellent condition. It is expected to sell for $3,000-$4,000. Image courtesy of Midwest Auction Galleries.

Most of the 29 drawers on this excellent 19th-century American apothecary cabinet have drug or spice labels. The grain-painted surface is in excellent condition. It is expected to sell for $3,000-$4,000. Image courtesy of Midwest Auction Galleries.


This finely crafted rosewood desk made in China in the 19th century has a $2,000-$3,000 estimate. It is 54 inches wide and 33 inches high. Image courtesy of Midwest Auction Galleries.

This finely crafted rosewood desk made in China in the 19th century has a $2,000-$3,000 estimate. It is 54 inches wide and 33 inches high. Image courtesy of Midwest Auction Galleries.


Mario Spinetti (Italian, 1848-1925) signed and dated this wedding scene ‘87.’ The painting is oil on canvas laid on board and measures 21 1/2 inches by 15 1/2 inches. It has an $8,000-$12,000 estimate. Image courtesy of Midwest Auction Galleries.

Mario Spinetti (Italian, 1848-1925) signed and dated this wedding scene ‘87.’ The painting is oil on canvas laid on board and measures 21 1/2 inches by 15 1/2 inches. It has an $8,000-$12,000 estimate. Image courtesy of Midwest Auction Galleries.

The Cyrus Cylinder in situ at The British Museum. Image by Kaaveh Ahangar. Courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

Iran to cut ties with British Museum over loan

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The Cyrus Cylinder in situ at The British Museum. Image by Kaaveh Ahangar. Courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

The Cyrus Cylinder in situ at The British Museum. Image by Kaaveh Ahangar. Courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Iran said it will cut ties with the British Museum on Monday, Feb. 8, because of the museum’s failure to lend Tehran an ancient Babylonian artifact described as the world’s earliest bill of rights.

The spat over the loan has long festered between London and Tehran, and comes against the backdrop of increasingly tense Iranian-British relations.

Tehran is under heavy pressure from the West over its nuclear program, and has accused Britain and other foreign governments of interference in domestic policies and of stoking the country’s postelection street protests.

The artifact is a 6th century B.C. clay tablet with an account in cuneiform of the conquest of Babylon by Persian King Cyrus the Great. It describes how Cyrus conquered Babylon in 539 B.C. and restored many of the people held captive by the Babylonians to their homelands.

Called the Cyrus Cylinder, it has been described by the U.N. Web site and elsewhere as the world’s oldest human rights document.

According to officials in Iran, the piece was to have been lent to Tehran by Sunday for an exhibition agreed on by the museum and the Iranian government.

Vice President Hamid Baqaei, who is also the head of Iran’s cultural heritage and tourism organization, was quoted by state Press TV as saying that the ties would be cut on Monday. It wasn’t immediately clear if this has happened.

Baqaei said the British Museum’s failure to keep its promise is “not acceptable.”

He said the British Museum initially was to lend Tehran the Cyrus Cylinder last September but postponed the deal, citing technical reasons and the postelection unrest following Iran’s disputed June presidential election.

“The Cyrus Cylinder has been turned from a cultural issue into a political one by the British,” Baqaei said, adding that Iran “will sever all its ties with the British Museum, which has become a political institution.”

Baqaei said Iran would send a protest letter the U.N. education agency, UNESCO, over the matter.

The British Museum expressed “great surprise” at the Iranian announcement, saying it had informed Tehran and Baqaei himself earlier this month that the loan would go ahead in the second half of July.

Two additional pieces belonging to the tablet that were only recently discovered in the museum’s possession were also to be lent to Tehran, the museum said in a statement, in line with its policy of cultural exchanges with other nations “independently of political considerations.”

“The British Museum has acted throughout in good faith, and values highly its hitherto good relations with Iran,” it said. “It is to be hoped that this matter can be resolved as soon as possible.”

—

Associated Press Writer Danica Kirka contributed to this report from London.

Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.


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ADDITIONAL IMAGES OF NOTE

Front view of The Cyrus Cylinder, terracotta, Babylonia (southern Iraq), circa 539-530 B.C. Courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

Front view of The Cyrus Cylinder, terracotta, Babylonia (southern Iraq), circa 539-530 B.C. Courtesy Wikimedia Commons.


View of back of The Cyrus Cylinder, terracotta, Babylonia (southern Iraq), circa 539-530 B.C. Courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

View of back of The Cyrus Cylinder, terracotta, Babylonia (southern Iraq), circa 539-530 B.C. Courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

Original Bakelite bangles with newly added Bakelite polka dots. Image courtesy Florida Antique Shows/Puchstein Promotions.

Antique dealers go green, display creativity with recycling

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Original Bakelite bangles with newly added Bakelite polka dots. Image courtesy Florida Antique Shows/Puchstein Promotions.

Original Bakelite bangles with newly added Bakelite polka dots. Image courtesy Florida Antique Shows/Puchstein Promotions.

DELAND, Fla. – It has often been often said that the antiques business is the ultimate recycling activity, but several dealers who set up at events organized by Florida Antique Shows/Puchstein Promotions have taken the idea to the next level. They are recycling the antiques themselves or at least parts of them into new forms and uses that preserve some vestige of the original antique, yet appeal to modern needs and tastes.

Three such dealers were set up at the Jan. 22-24 edition of the Deland Antique Show at the Volusia County Fairgrounds in Deland, Florida.

Bruce and Vickie Pantii of Breezy Palm Trading Company have a thing about plastic. More specifically they have a thing about Bakelite, the early plastic developed by Belgian chemist Dr. Leo Baekeland in 1907. The Bakelite formula was acquired by American Catalin Corporation in 1927 to produce the phenolic resins that are the basis of the durable plastic.

While Bakelite has many commercial and industrial applications, one of the most popular uses was developed in the 1930s when it was adapted to make costume jewelry. Today, the most popular and most expensive of those articles produced prior to World War II are the carved bangle bracelets and figural pins.

Bruce Pantii said that 10 years ago 90 percent of his sales were vintage items and that his customers were requesting Bakelite bangles with polka dots. Few were available, so he decided to make them. Now 90 per cent of his business is custom-made, signed “wearable art” made of pieces of Bakelite. He starts with a plain vintage Bakelite bangle and inserts polka dots made from Bakelite stock, usually 10-inch tubes originally used as stock to make bangles that he has squirreled away over the last twenty years. These new-style bracelets retail from the low hundreds for standard widths up to $500 for the wider ones. To make a more affordable bracelet, five years ago he began casting bangles from a type of acrylic he calls “Vibrulite.” He decorates the bangles with Bakelite dots or bow ties. These sell in the $150 range. Pantii is selling both the medium and the art by recycling old Bakelite stock.

Want to buy a really junky, old, used-up manual typewriter that no longer works? Neither does anyone else. But Roy and Rhonda Barske of Typewriter Jewelry are probably interested. Twelve years ago they started selling antiques and collectibles but couldn’t sell their inventory of used typewriters so they decided to recycle them. How? By using the letter in the keys. They are especially fond of old Coronas because they have the best fonts. They started by removing the Bakelite or celluloid keys with good fonts and incorporating them into custom made sterling jewelry using custom-made molds. They started with bracelets and have extended the line to include necklaces, earrings, pins, rings, cuff links, money clips, badge holders, keyrings and other commissioned items. Pendants and rings range from $25 to $45. Bangles are $35, and full bracelets with multiple typewriter letter keys are $80 and up. If a customer requests a style or item that is out of stock, Roy will make it within 30 minutes out of extra stock carried to shows. One nice source of business for the Barskes is weddings. They custom make pieces for wedding parties and showers at the request of prospective brides and grooms.

John Atkinson of Boston wasn’t born with a silver spoon in his mouth but he is working on it, one spoon at a time. Actually, he used forks, too, but skips the knives because of the hollow handles. He converts old silver-plated or sterling flatware into silver jewelry with magnetic clasps. He couples the interesting design patterns on the handle of forks or spoons into a custom made bracelet with a clasp. He started as a finder of matching silver patterns but ended up with boxes of unused or unmatched silver items. He then realized he could turn a spoon handle pattern into a key ring and his customers would always have a sample of the pattern they were looking for.

From there he expanded into bracelets and rings and will custom make items on request as you wait. He sells silver bracelets for $20 and silver keyrings and rings for $5. He also has a wide variety of patterns from which choose.

Many of Atkinson’s customers want patterns from a certain year. His main complaint is that good stock is getting harder to find. Most patterns from the 1960s were too plain to repurpose as decorative jewelry, and not as much silver is on the open market today. He has excellent silver pattern reference books and can probably match your silver pattern from his inventory and custom design a ring or bracelet. He said that many people use his service to recycle pieces of family silver rather than passing along entire sets.

These innovative dealers and many others exhibit at the Antique Shows of Florida/Puchstein Promotions venues and the West Palm Beach Antiques Festival. For a complete listing of dates and venues, visit www.floridaantiqueshows.com.

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ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE

A cast acrylic bangle with back carving and inlay. Image courtesy Florida Antique Shows/Puchstein Promotions.

A cast acrylic bangle with back carving and inlay. Image courtesy Florida Antique Shows/Puchstein Promotions.


A showboard of charm bracelets made from typewriter keys. Image courtesy Florida Antique Shows/Puchstein Promotions.

A showboard of charm bracelets made from typewriter keys. Image courtesy Florida Antique Shows/Puchstein Promotions.


An assortment of necklaces featuring typewriter keys. Image courtesy Florida Antique Shows/Puchstein Promotions.

An assortment of necklaces featuring typewriter keys. Image courtesy Florida Antique Shows/Puchstein Promotions.


A man’s ring made from a piece of sterling flatware. Image courtesy Florida Antique Shows/Puchstein Promotions.

A man’s ring made from a piece of sterling flatware. Image courtesy Florida Antique Shows/Puchstein Promotions.


Silver bracelets with magnetic catches made from flatware. Image courtesy Florida Antique Shows/Puchstein Promotions.

Silver bracelets with magnetic catches made from flatware. Image courtesy Florida Antique Shows/Puchstein Promotions.

Cowan's Auctions in Cincinnati sold this Pennsylvania cut-work valentine made in the early 1800s for $1,000.

Kovels – Antiques & Collecting: Week of Feb. 8, 2010

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Cowan's Auctions in Cincinnati sold this Pennsylvania cut-work valentine made in the early 1800s for $1,000.

Cowan’s Auctions in Cincinnati sold this Pennsylvania cut-work valentine made in the early 1800s for $1,000.

Valentines that we send today can be printed on heavy paper, homemade using paper lace and trim or e-mailed via a digital greeting-card service. The idea of a valentine dates back to the Middle Ages, when men gave handwritten verses to their girlfriends. In the early 1800s in Pennsylvania, people started to make paper valentines from a single sheet of paper that was skillfully cut into hearts, flowers, animals and other designs. Often these valentines had added ink highlights. A different type of paper valentine was put together by Esther Howland of Massachusetts in 1850. She used paper lace, colored paper, built-up layers and sentimental verses. Printed cards followed, but there were still added pasted pieces.

If you want to collect vintage valentines, here are a few suggestions: Valentines that pop open to make 3-D scenes are expensive. So are the very old handmade cut-paper sheets that are fragile and required great skill to make. Buy valentines in good condition. They are hard to repair. If the valentine is not signed, it is worth more than one with a personal message written on it. Penny dreadfuls and other valentines that are comic and insulting do not sell well. Save the valentines you get this year. It is a free start to a new collection.

Q: Can you tell me anything about the Wrighton Furniture Co.? I have an armoire made by that company and haven’t been able to find any information.

A: Wrighton Furniture Co. was an English firm that made traditional styles of furniture during at least the 1940s and ’50s. Today’s prices for the company’s armoires, which seem to have been a Wrighton specialty, are $100-$200.

Q: A couple of years ago, your column pictured a porcelain figurine of a female tennis player. She was wearing a white outfit with gold-colored highlights. I have a 15-inch figurine just like the one you pictured, but her outfit is light blue with dark blue highlights. I also have the matching male tennis player. Would the pair sell for twice as much as a single figure?

A: Your figurines were made by Gebruder Heubach of Lichten, Germany. The company was in business from 1840 to 1925, but its tennis figurines probably date from the 1880s or ’90s. They were hand-painted and so can be found in various color combinations. A pair should sell for more than twice as much as an individual figure, but other factors are also important. Are the figures in excellent condition, with no chips or cracks? Are they marked? If the answer to both questions is yes, the pair could sell for about $500.

Q: I love to collect old valentine cards, mostly from the 1950s, but I also have a couple from the early 1900s. I’m keeping them in an album in protective sleeves, but I would love to display them without tearing them up. Can you give me some suggestions on how to display my collectible valentines?

A: We displayed some antique valentines in deep frames with spacers between the glass and the valentine and hung a group of them on a wall. Choose a frame with a glass or archival plastic cover, and use an acid-free mat. Thicker valentines look best in a shadowbox. If the card needs to be fastened to the mat, use archival corners. If it has an inscription inside that you want to save, or information on the back that would help to date the card, you can make a photocopy of it and put it in an envelope attached to the back of the frame, or even display it next to the front of the card. There is a club with a newsletter and Web site for valentine collectors: National Valentine Collectors Association, P.O. Box 647, Franklin Lakes, NJ 07417, ValentineCollectors.com.

Q: I have a set of china that was handed down to me by a family member about 25 years ago. It is marked “Harmony House Metro China, Elizabeth, made in Occupied Japan.” I would like to know something about it.

A: Harmony House dinnerware was made for Sears, Roebuck & Co. by several different factories from 1940 until the early 1970s. Makers in the United States included Hall China Co., Harker Pottery, Homer Laughlin China Co., Laurel Potteries, Salem China Co. and Universal Potteries. Pieces marked “Occupied Japan” were made in Japan between 1947 and 1952. You can find extra dishes for your set at some of the replacement services.

Q: I have a radio that has colorful figures of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs on the front. A window with shutters is behind them, and there is a squirrel on top of one of the shutters. The tuning and volume knobs are shaped like acorns, and a jewel on Snow White’s dress lights up when the radio is turned up. I have had this radio since the early 1940s. Is it valuable?

A: The movie Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was released in 1937. Emerson made two versions of the Snow White radio in about 1938-39. The larger version shows more of the cottage and is usually not painted. Emerson Phonograph Co. was incorporated in 1915. It is now called Emerson Radio Corp. and has headquarters in Parsippany, N.J. If your radio is in good condition, it could sell for $1,200 to $2,000.

Tip: Don’t clean a cloth doll’s body with water. Use cornstarch or talc. Rub it into the fabric, then gently brush it away after four hours.

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.

  • Scaasi hot pink jumpsuit, silk twill, short sleeves, pockets, inverted pleats at waistline, back zipper, lined, 1960s, size 6, $180.
  • Staffordshire Historical Blue plate, dark blue, The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, impressed label, shell border, 1940s, 10 inches, $235.
  • William IV cut glass vase, Strawberry Diamond and Fan pattern, square base with a reverse-cut sunburst, 1860s, 9 1/2 inches, $480.
  • Needlework map of England and Wales, by Maria Leach, Crediton, Devonshire, 1808, silk on wool, oval, vine and leaf border, signed, 23 x 19 inches, $500.
  • Tammany Hall mechanical bank, coin is deposited in Boss Tweed’s coat pocket, black suit, yellow vest, red chair, late 1800s, 5 1/2 inches, $690.
  • Quadroon Tobacco pouch, cloth, image of woman with fan, 1883 tax stamp, 4 1/2 x 3 inches, $770.
  • Louis XV-style center table, kingwood and rosewood, rectangular top with scalloped edge, leather inset, one drawer, cabriole legs, early 19th century, 30 x 31 inches, $900.
  • Tete Jumeau No. 10 doll, open mouth, cork pate with sandy human hair, blue paperweight eyes, ball-jointed composition body, 23 inches, $1,380.
  • George III sterling goblet, repousse acanthus bandings, molded rim and foot, engraved, Dublin hallmark, 1812, 6 inches, pair, $1,440.
  • Tole coffeepot, side spout, two handles, original floral design on green ground, American, 1850s, 12 inches, $2,458.

Here’s the best book to own if you want to buy or sell or collect. 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 online at Kovelsonlinestore.com; by phone at 800-571-1555; at your bookstore; or send $27.95 plus $4.95 postage to Price Book, Box 22900, Beachwood, OH 44122.

© 2010 by Cowles Syndicate Inc.

Meltdown no more? Records fall as art sales surge

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LONDON (AP) – It only took eight minutes for a wiry sculpture of a striding man to make history.

After a brief but intense bidding war involving at least 10 prospective buyers, Alberto Giacometti’s Walking Man I sold at Sotheby’s in London for just over $104.3 million, by a hair the highest price ever paid for an artwork at auction. [ACN Ed.- Skate’s Art Market Research wrote on Feb. 5, 2010 that, while reserving judgment, the Giacometti may or may not have set a new record, depending on which bank’s rate of exchange is used for the conversion.]

“We were euphoric when the hammer came down,” Melanie Clore, co-chair of Sotheby’s impressionist and modern department, said Thursday.

With good reason. More than a year after the global financial meltdown sent values plummeting, art masterpieces are again the commodity of choice for the world’s superrich, and jaw-dropping prices are back.

At current exchange rates, the sale price for Walking Man – which includes buyer’s premium – beats the previous auction record of $104.17 million paid in New York in 2004 for Pablo Picasso’s Boy With a Pipe (The Young Apprentice).

At the same Sotheby’s sale on Wednesday, Gustav Klimt’s landscape Church in Cassone sold for $42.4 million, almost double the expected price. Just over half the lots went for more than their highest pre-sale estimate.

On Monday, rival auction house Christie’s made a solid $121 million at its impressionist and modern sale, with Picasso’s Tete de Femme (Jacqueline) selling for $12.7 million, double expectations.

Christie’s said the results signaled “a buoyant market,” with previously reluctant sellers bringing masterpieces out of the woodwork and wealthy collectors eager to snap them up.

It all looked very different a year ago, when the hedge fund managers and private equity millionaires who had fueled the boom were reeling from the near-collapse of the global banking system.

On Sept. 15, 2008, Sotheby’s started a two-day auction of works by Britart star Damien Hirst that would generate almost $200 million and come to be seen as the end of an era. The same day, Lehman Brothers bank collapsed and the global economy tipped into crisis. The major auctions of contemporary art later that year generated at least a third less money than predicted and many works went unsold. Auction houses slashed prices as collectors held back from putting works up for sale.

Recently, there have been signs of a turnaround. Last November in New York, Sotheby’s sold Andy Warhol’s silk-screen painting 200 One Dollar Bills for almost $44 million, quadruple the pre-sale estimate. Overall, prices there and at Christie’s were stronger than a year earlier.

“I think that confidence will return even more with these big prices,” said Georgina Adam, editor at large of The Art Newspaper.

Experts caution that this week’s results don’t signal a return to the boom of the last decade, when even mediocre works sold for millions.

“I think it would be premature, and possibly stupid, to think that the art market is just going to race along,” said Judd Tully, editor at large of Art and Auction magazine. “I think it does indicate that there are at least a handful of ultra-rich individuals who want these world-class trophies.”

Sotheby’s attributed Giacometti’s high price to its rarity – the 1961 work is the only cast of the walking man figure created during the Swiss artist’s lifetime that has ever come to auction.

Sotheby’s did not identify the nationality of the work’s buyer, an anonymous telephone bidder. Speculation centered on what Adam called “the usual suspects” – Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, who spent $120 million on two paintings by Francis Bacon and Lucian Freud in 2008; an American art-lover such as Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen; or a collector from a Gulf emirate such as Abu Dhabi, currently building branches of the Louvre and the Solomon R. Guggenheim museums.

The next test of the market will come next week, when the major London houses hold sales of contemporary art. Sotheby’s and Christie’s both predict they will make at least double last year’s tepid results.

Market-watchers are optimistic, but cautious.

“We had this extraordinary bubble in the art market, especially the contemporary art market, and I don’t think it has reinflated on the back of this one sale,” said Robert Read, head of art and private clients at insurer Hiscox.

“We have returned to normality, but we’d forgotten what normality was.”

___

On the Net:

Christie’s: www.christies.com

Sotheby’s: www.sothebys.com

AP-WS-02-04-10 1452EST

Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Signed Jean Knaeps, Liege (Belgium), this carillon clock with 24 bells has been rehoused in an 11-foot-tall Victorian oak case. Once owned by a clock museum, it sold at Tom Harris Auctions for $45,200. Image courtesy of Tom Harris Auctions.

Quest for clocks leads majority of collectors to trusted online sources

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Signed Jean Knaeps, Liege (Belgium), this carillon clock with 24 bells has been rehoused in an 11-foot-tall Victorian oak case. Once owned by a clock museum, it sold at Tom Harris Auctions for $45,200. Image courtesy of Tom Harris Auctions.

Signed Jean Knaeps, Liege (Belgium), this carillon clock with 24 bells has been rehoused in an 11-foot-tall Victorian oak case. Once owned by a clock museum, it sold at Tom Harris Auctions for $45,200. Image courtesy of Tom Harris Auctions.

NEW YORK (ACNI) – Any way you slice it, time is money. The adage certainly holds true for buyers and sellers of antique clocks, especially those who bid online at auctions through LiveAuctioneers.

Auctioneers are finding that collectors looking for higher-grade and scarce models are “winding up” at their sales online though LiveAuctioneers.

“It’s the convenience factor. A person can save time and expenses by staying at home and bidding through LiveAuctioneers,” said Tom Harris of Tom Harris Auctions, Marshalltown, Iowa.

“It you’re the winning bidder you have the expense of shipping, but it costs you nothing to try,” said Harris, who conducts antique and collectible clock auctions twice a year.”

Buyers save both time and money by searching for valuable clocks being offered at auctions.

“The availability of cream of the crop examples have prompted collectors to online auction portals like LiveAuctioneers,” said Dirk Soulis of Dirk Soulis Auctions, Lone Jack, Missouri.

Soulis believes potential buyers can accurately determine a clock is worth pursuing by examining its listing on LiveAuctioneers.

“You have the ability to post up to 10 images of an item, which can even give some indication of the movement,” he said, referring to the clock mechanism.

“The movement scares a lot of people. They want to see close-ups of the movement – very detailed,” said Jerry Holley, executive vice president and auctioneer at Dallas Auction Gallery. “They want to know if the movement is original to the case.”

Holley said that clock prices in general have slipped in recent years. “A lot of the American-made clocks are fairly common. Prices for the unusual, those in exceptional condition or by a rare maker draw the big buyers,” he said.

Kathleen M. Pica, auctioneer and owner of Auctions Neapolitan in Naples, Fla., said that clocks appeal to two distinct groups of buyers – collectors and individuals who are looking for a clock for decoration.

“For either group it helps to have fabulous-looking shots,” she said.

“Brand is very important. J.C. Brown clocks are very desirable for their cases, but collectors want the original works too,” she said, referring to the 19th-century Connecticut clock maker.

If pictures don’t provide adequate information, she advises asking the seller important questions.

Typical questions are:

What is the condition of the case?

Has the case been refinished?

If the clock is spring driven, in what condition are the springs?

Are parts broken or missing?

Have decorative elements been repainted?

“Surprisingly the question they don’t often ask is, ‘Does it run?’” said Gordon Converse of Wayne Pa., an auctioneer who has appraised antique clocks on PBS Television’s Antiques Roadshow for 10 years. Many collectors don’t often ask the seemingly obvious question about working order because they often have the ability to get a clock running with a thorough cleaning and oiling.

“They often want to know arcane details like the shape of the weights … to confirm their knowledge of what’s original,” said Converse.

Because clocks were in constant use, they are seldom found in perfect condition – finials get lost, glass breaks and parts stop moving. Collectors are not very forgiving, however, when it comes to condition.

“They measure the amount of restoration and it sells accordingly,” said Converse.

Soulis concurred, saying, “Most clocks have turned over a time or two since being in the hands of the original owner. A lot of people like to work on clocks and not all of them are qualified. Collectors want them fresh. … A repainted dial is the kiss of death.”

Pristine, original condition is the ultimate goal for clock collectors.

“That’s true whether it’s a hundred-thousand-dollar handmade clock or a hundred-dollar manufactured clock,” said Robert Cheney, director of Science, Technology and Clocks at Skinner Inc., in Marlborough, Mass.

“If the cataloging, condition reports and photographs are done right, collectors are pretty comfortable bidding online through LiveAuctioneers,” Cheney said.

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Watch for clock sales at these auction houses who us LiveAuctioneers’ Internet live-bidding services:

Auctions Neapolitan

Dallas Auction Gallery

Dirk Soulis Auctions

Gordon S. Converse & Co.

Patrizzi & Co. Auctioneers

Schmidt’s Antiques

Skinner Inc.

Tom Harris Auctions

Copyright 2010 Auction Central News International. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE

Dallas Auction Gallery sold this 18th-century English chinoiserie long case clock for $5,000 in September. The black lacquered oak case has gilt chinoiserie decoration. It has a brass eight-day time and bell strike movement. Image courtesy of Dallas Auction Gallery.

Dallas Auction Gallery sold this 18th-century English chinoiserie long case clock for $5,000 in September. The black lacquered oak case has gilt chinoiserie decoration. It has a brass eight-day time and bell strike movement. Image courtesy of Dallas Auction Gallery.


The blue orb held aloft by two maidens contains the movement of this French Louis XV-style clock, which stands 28 inches high. The late-19th-century timepiece sold for $3,000 in September. Image courtesy of Dallas Auction Gallery.

The blue orb held aloft by two maidens contains the movement of this French Louis XV-style clock, which stands 28 inches high. The late-19th-century timepiece sold for $3,000 in September. Image courtesy of Dallas Auction Gallery.


Dating to the second half of the 19th century, this French boulle cased bracket clock in an ormolu mounted case stands atop its matching wall bracket. The clock, which has a two- train brass movement striking on a wire gong, sold for $1,900 in September. Image courtesy of Dallas Auction Gallery.

Dating to the second half of the 19th century, this French boulle cased bracket clock in an ormolu mounted case stands atop its matching wall bracket. The clock, which has a two- train brass movement striking on a wire gong, sold for $1,900 in September. Image courtesy of Dallas Auction Gallery.


The original stencil decoration and reverse-painted glass remain intact on this circa-1830 American shelf clock. With carved paw feet and a wooden geared mechanism, it sold recently at auction for $574. Image courtesy of Gordon S. Converse & Co.

The original stencil decoration and reverse-painted glass remain intact on this circa-1830 American shelf clock. With carved paw feet and a wooden geared mechanism, it sold recently at auction for $574. Image courtesy of Gordon S. Converse & Co.


The reverse-painted glasses are original to this rare candlestick shelf clock, which has an ingenious ‘wagon-spring’ mechanism. It sold for $1,840. Image courtesy of Gordon S. Converse & Co.

The reverse-painted glasses are original to this rare candlestick shelf clock, which has an ingenious ‘wagon-spring’ mechanism. It sold for $1,840. Image courtesy of Gordon S. Converse & Co.


One-weight regulator clocks, especially American-made models, are unusual and desirable. Dirk Soulis Auctions sold this one-weight regulator produced by Gilbert Clock Co. in Connecticut to an online bidder for $2,090. Image courtesy of Dirk Soulis Auctions.

One-weight regulator clocks, especially American-made models, are unusual and desirable. Dirk Soulis Auctions sold this one-weight regulator produced by Gilbert Clock Co. in Connecticut to an online bidder for $2,090. Image courtesy of Dirk Soulis Auctions.


Close-up shows the carved dog’s head on the Gilbert one-weight regular. Image courtesy of Dirk Soulis Auctions.

Close-up shows the carved dog’s head on the Gilbert one-weight regular. Image courtesy of Dirk Soulis Auctions.


The Ithaca No. 3 1/2 double-dial parlor clock also gives the day and date. It sold at Dirk Soulis Auctions in November for $2,100. Image courtesy of Dirk Soulis Auctions.

The Ithaca No. 3 1/2 double-dial parlor clock also gives the day and date. It sold at Dirk Soulis Auctions in November for $2,100. Image courtesy of Dirk Soulis Auctions.


Stages of Christ’s life, religious figures, Greek gods and Christopher Columbus are all depicted in this rare animated Black Forest astronomical clock in a golden oak case. Tom Harris sold this extraordinary clock at auction for $50,850. Image courtesy of Tom Harris Auctions.

Stages of Christ’s life, religious figures, Greek gods and Christopher Columbus are all depicted in this rare animated Black Forest astronomical clock in a golden oak case. Tom Harris sold this extraordinary clock at auction for $50,850. Image courtesy of Tom Harris Auctions.

TV director convicted of shoplifting antiques

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CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA, (AP) – Veteran TV director and English baron Raymond DeVere-Austin has been convicted of petit larceny in Virginia for taking cast-iron statues from an antique store.

The 76-year-old, who also goes by the name Ray Austin, received a suspended six-month jail sentence Wednesday and must pay a $1,000 fine, The Daily Progress reported.

He was convicted of taking statues of Humpty Dumpty, a dog and a horse head from a shop in October. Neither DeVere-Austin nor his lawyer, David Thomas, returned calls seeking comment.

Austin has been a TV director since the 1960s. His credits include episodes of shows ranging from The Avengers and Hawaii-Five-O to Magnum, P.I. and JAG.

He is a baron by marriage to Wendy Devere-Austin.

Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

AP-CS-02-04-10 0842EST

 

 

Constant Mayer (French/American, 1832-1911) painted ‘The Mandolin Player’ in oil on canvas, 29 1/2 inches by 23 1/2 inches. The painting, which comes from a private Chicago collection, has a $4,000-$2,000 estimate. Image courtesy of Leslie Hindman Auctioneers.

Hindman to conclude sale of artist Trova’s collection Feb. 10-11

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Constant Mayer (French/American, 1832-1911) painted ‘The Mandolin Player’ in oil on canvas, 29 1/2 inches by 23 1/2 inches. The painting, which comes from a private Chicago collection, has a $4,000-$2,000 estimate. Image courtesy of Leslie Hindman Auctioneers.

Constant Mayer (French/American, 1832-1911) painted ‘The Mandolin Player’ in oil on canvas, 29 1/2 inches by 23 1/2 inches. The painting, which comes from a private Chicago collection, has a $4,000-$2,000 estimate. Image courtesy of Leslie Hindman Auctioneers.

CHICAGO – For the second time in as many months Leslie Hindman Auctioneers will auction property from the estate of acclaimed St. Louis sculptor Ernest Trova. LiveAuctioneers will again provide Internet live bidding for the Feb. 10-11 auction.

A self-taught artist, Trova lived all his life in Missouri. At age 20 his first painting was exhibited at the St. Louis City Art Museum to much critical and public attention, earning it recognition in Life magazine.

Trova is best known for his “Falling Man” series, which he created in 1964. The series was conceived for exhibition at the city’s bicentennial celebration, but much of it was later sent to New York City, with works eventually acquired by the Guggenheim Museum, Museum of Modern Art and Tate Gallery in London.

In 1975 Laumeier Sculpture Park opened to the public on 105 acres. Trova donated 40 of his sculptures to the park’s collection, where most are still shown today. Some larger works are on public display at St. Louis University and at the General American Life Building in downtown St. Louis.

The sale will also feature English and continental furniture, decorations and porcelain objects, among them the remainder of Trova’s Meissen figural groups.

The auction will be held Feb. 10-11 beginning at 11 a.m. Central both days at Hindman’s gallery at 1338 W. Lake St.

For details call John Walcher at 312-280-1212.

To 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 Leslie Hindman Auctioneers’ complete catalog.

ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE

Titled ‘Lady and Lolly,’ this painting of a well-dressed lady and her companion is after a portrait by 18th-century English artist Thomas Gainsborough. The oil on canvas laid to board, 39 inches by 28 inches, has an $800-$1,200 estimate. Image courtesy of Leslie Hindman Auctioneers.

Titled ‘Lady and Lolly,’ this painting of a well-dressed lady and her companion is after a portrait by 18th-century English artist Thomas Gainsborough. The oil on canvas laid to board, 39 inches by 28 inches, has an $800-$1,200 estimate. Image courtesy of Leslie Hindman Auctioneers.


Luigi Zuccoli (Italian, 1815-1876) signed his ‘Afternoon Retreat’ lower right. The 39 1/2- by 31-inch oil on canvas has a $2,000-$4,000 estimate. Image courtesy of Leslie Hindman Auctioneers.

Luigi Zuccoli (Italian, 1815-1876) signed his ‘Afternoon Retreat’ lower right. The 39 1/2- by 31-inch oil on canvas has a $2,000-$4,000 estimate. Image courtesy of Leslie Hindman Auctioneers.


‘Chef of the Monastery’ by A. Tamburini (Italian, 1843-1908) is signed and inscribed ‘Florence’ at upper right. The 17 1/2- by 21 1/2-inch oil on canvas has an $800-$1,200 estimate. Image courtesy of Leslie Hindman Auctioneers.

‘Chef of the Monastery’ by A. Tamburini (Italian, 1843-1908) is signed and inscribed ‘Florence’ at upper right. The 17 1/2- by 21 1/2-inch oil on canvas has an $800-$1,200 estimate. Image courtesy of Leslie Hindman Auctioneers.


‘River with Ducks’ is by William Hull (British, 1820-1880). The signed oil on canvas, 16 1/4 inches by 24 inches, carries a $800-1,200. Image courtesy of Leslie Hindman Auctioneers.

‘River with Ducks’ is by William Hull (British, 1820-1880). The signed oil on canvas, 16 1/4 inches by 24 inches, carries a $800-1,200. Image courtesy of Leslie Hindman Auctioneers.

Michael Jackson, on his visit to the White House in 1984. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Compensation approved for Michael Jackson estate administrators

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Michael Jackson, on his visit to the White House in 1984. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Michael Jackson, on his visit to the White House in 1984. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

LOS ANGELES (AP) – Two men administering Michael Jackson’s estate will receive a total of 10 percent of its profits minus several sizable assets, a judge agreed Wednesday.

Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff approved the compensation for attorney John Branca and music executive John McClain, who have been administering the singer’s estate since shortly after his death on June 25.

Branca and McClain will each receive 5 percent of the estate’s profits, minus earnings from the recent This Is It movie and Jackson’s interest in lucrative Sony-ATV music catalog.

Beckloff approved the arrangement after discussing it with various attorneys representing Branca, McClain, Jackson’s children and the singer’s mother, Katherine Jackson.

None raised any objections to the arrangement.

Howard Weitzman, an attorney for Branca and McClain, said the men would be fairly compensated but likely receive less money than if they received guideline amounts for administering Jackson’s estate, which has an estimated value of more than $500 million.

“They will be fairly compensated,” Weitzman said.

Katherine Jackson’s attorney, Adam Streisand, agreed.

“I think that this is very reasonable,” he said. “There is an incentive for the executors to grow the business and that will, of course, affect their compensation.”

Weitzman noted that Branca represented Michael Jackson throughout his life and that McClain is a childhood friend of the singer.

Beckloff is retaining some oversight over the payments and scheduled a progress report for September. But he expressed faith in Branca’s leadership of the estate. The judge recalled a hearing last year in which Branca testified by phone about his business connections and a deal Jackson merchandise and a memorabilia exhibition.

“I found him extraordinarily impressive,” Beckloff said, noting that’s not a distinction he normally draws about people from a phone conversation.

Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

AP-WS-02-03-10 1853EST

 

English stage, television and film star Zigi Ellison as seen in her role as the doomed Mrs. Craddock in a feature-length episode of ‘Poirot,’ to air Sunday, Feb. 7, 2010, on the British TV network ITV1.

Who’s that girl? It’s Zigi Ellison, and she’s enjoying the stardust

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English stage, television and film star Zigi Ellison as seen in her role as the doomed Mrs. Craddock in a feature-length episode of ‘Poirot,’ to air Sunday, Feb. 7, 2010, on the British TV network ITV1.

English stage, television and film star Zigi Ellison as seen in her role as the doomed Mrs. Craddock in a feature-length episode of ‘Poirot,’ to air Sunday, Feb. 7, 2010, on the British TV network ITV1.

LONDON – ACN’s American readers may recognize her as the pampered housewife in a series of LiveAuctioneers video ads from a few years ago. Others may recall her as the mini-skirted young woman with the purring voice who reported from the October 2008 Avengers-themed champagne preview hosted by RM Auctions and Sotheby’s. But to British readers, the striking brunette actress is more than familiar from her many dozens of impressive stage roles and appearances in films and on television. She’s Zigi Ellison, younger sister of LiveAuctioneers’ CEO Julian Ellison.

“Our whole family is very proud of Zigi. She’s a very talented and versatile performer who has an uncanny ability to ‘become’ her character,” Julian observed. “She can play an aristocrat, a flawed Shakespearean character or a vamp, and she’s brilliant at all of them.”

Critics agree. Zigi captured the attention of New York theater-goers and hard-boiled newspaper columnists in 1998, when she played the lead role in the Steven Berkoff’s Broadway stage production of Salome. Other credits, to name but a few, include Brooke Daniels in Popcorn and Petronella Wyatt opposite Robert Bathhurst’s Boris Johnson in the acclaimed David Blunkett the Musical.

Zigi’s next appearance will be in a feature-length episode of Poirot, set to air on Sunday, Feb. 7 on Britain’s ITV1 network. She will play the role of Mrs. Craddock, the seductive patient murdered by Alex Jennings’ character Dr. Roberts. Click here for a preview of Zigi’s performance.

And here’s a flashback to Zigi’s exciting October 2008 report from London.

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