2010 edition of Journal of Advanced Appraisal Studies, edited by Todd W. Sigety.
CHICAGO – The Foundation for Appraisal Education’s newly released 2010 edition of Journal of Advanced Appraisal Studies contains 18 in-depth original research articles, reviews and topical discussions relating to personal property appraisal. While the journal is targeted primarily at professional property appraisers, it also contains useful insights and information for anyone associated with the business of personal property such as auction houses, estate lawyers, insurance brokerage houses, museums and cultural property conservators.
The Foundation for Appraisal Education was formed in 2002 as an independent arm of the International Society of Appraisers, and raises funds to provide scholarships for continuing studies for both new and veteran appraisers by publishing the annual journal.
The 2010 edition continues the targeted approach with entries regarding research reports, authentication, appraisal theory, appraisal methodology, marketing and opinion pieces and interviews.
One interesting article by Jane C. Brennom, ISA CAPP titled “Appraisers vs. Authenticators” delves into the role of the professional appraiser as an authenticator as well as an appraiser. This article is available on the journal Web site at http://www.foundationforappraisaleducation.org/journal.html.
Other topics include “For Love or Money: Antiques as Investments” by Hollie Davis and Andrew Richmond of Maine Antiques Digest’s “The Young Collector,” “The Deaccessioning Debate: What Appraisers Need to Know” by art attorney Mark S. Gold, “Original Research and Innovative Appraisals” by Elin Lake, Ph.D. ASA; “The Art Market: How Lending Fuels Art Crime” by Elizabeth Sebesky,“Fantasy Furniture by Designers: Mark, Mont, Duquette, and Springer” by Soodie Beasley, ASA AM; “Establishing the Appraisers Library” by Jerry Sampson, and “Personal Property Appraising and the Element of Time” by Scott Zema.
The first annual edition of the journal was launched in 2008 with 23 articles by important names in the appraisal world such as Leon Castner, ISA, CAPP, the current Director of Education for the International Society of Appraisers; David J. Maloney, publisher of “Maloney’s Antiques & Collectibles Resource Directory;” and Daphne Lange Rosenzweig, ISA, CAPP, an expert in Oriental appraisals.
The 2009 edition includes such articles as “Market Based Art Valuations” by Jianping Mei and Michael Moses; “Issues in Identification and Authenticity of Artist’s Signatures” by Graham Ospreay, and “Combining Metrics, Standards and Connoisseurship: A Weighted Factor Scoring Model” by Robert J. Corey.
The 320-page 2010 edition of the journal, edited by Todd Sigety, is available to order online for $55 at http://www.appraisaljournal.org/contents.html. Previous editions are available for $35 on the same site. For more information visit the journal’s Web sites at:
http://www.appraisaljournal.org
http://www.foundationforappraisaleducation.org/journal.html (to read an article excerpt)
Contact the Foundation for Appraisal Education at 201 W Lake St., # 214, Chicago, IL; call 312 924-1832 or email info@foundationforappraisaleducation.org.
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Billionaire Eli Broad said Monday he had chosen an expanding downtown cultural district for a new museum to showcase his collection of art that includes works by Salvador Dali and Joan Miro.
The developer-turned-philanthropist made his announcement minutes after a committee of state and local officials voted to let him lease county-owned land along Grand Avenue for the structure that could cost as much as $100 million.
The 35,000 square feet (3,250 sq. meters) of gallery space will feature paintings, sculptures and photos from Broad’s 2,000-piece collection, which includes works not currently on permanent public display.
“There’s lots of art to go around,” Broad said after the vote by the Grand Avenue Authority. “We want to show our art to the widest possible audience.”
The Broad Art Foundation will also coordinate loans of artwork to other museums from the planned venue totaling 120,000 square feet (11,150 sq. meters).
Under the deal for the land, the foundation will pay $7.7 million over the course of a 99-year-lease for the 2.5-acre (1-hectare) parcel that was originally set aside as part of a stalled $3 billion shopping, hotel and condo complex known as the Grand Avenue project.
The deal also obliges 76-year-old Broad, whose net worth was pegged this year by Forbes magazine at $5.7 billion, to finance construction of the museum and contribute $200 million toward its operation.
Broad said the museum’s chief architect will be New York-based Diller, Scofidio & Renfro, which has designed the renovation and expansion of Lincoln Center in New York City and the new Institute of Contemporary Art on the Boston Harbor.
The design of the Los Angeles museum was chosen over one submitted by the practice of Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas in consultation with Frank Gehry, who designed the adjacent Walt Disney Concert Hall and is master planner of the Grand Avenue project, Broad spokeswoman Karen Denne said.
“It’s going to be a great piece of architecture that doesn’t clash with Disney Hall but also is not going to be totally anonymous,” Broad said.
The design will be unveiled in October, with construction possibly finished by the end of 2012, he said.
Broad had considered a site in Santa Monica. He said he didn’t initially give serious consideration to the downtown location because it had been targeted for the Grand Avenue project.
Broad said he started negotiating with project developer Related Cos. then launched the official process for approval at the urging of Villaraigosa.
“As a prominent anchor to a growing cultural district, the museum will serve as both an economic and cultural engine,” the mayor said in a statement.
Broad, who made his billions as co-founder of developer KB Home and through the sale of insurer SunAmerica, has already done much to advance the arts on Grand Avenue.
He was founding chairman of the Arata Isozaki-designed Museum of Contemporary Art in 1979, one of the earliest cultural venues to join the Music Center performing arts complex among the high-rises coming to dominate Bunker Hill.
Broad was also instrumental in helping fund Gehry’s Disney Hall, a sleek Los Angeles Unified School District arts campus by Viennese designer Wolf Prix and Our Lady of Angels Cathedral by Spanish architect Rafael Moneo. He also helped select Gehry and Prix for the projects.
Off Grand Avenue, he made a $60 million gift to build and support the Renzo Piano-designed Broad Contemporary Art Museum on the Los Angeles County Museum of Art campus in West Los Angeles, where some of the contemporary art collection already resides.
Other institutions bearing his name include the Eli and Edythe Broad Center at the University of California, Los Angeles, to which he donated $23.2 million.
Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
CAIRO (AP) – Egypt’s top prosecutor on Monday ordered the detention of the deputy culture minister for four days in connection with the theft of a Vincent van Gogh painting, state media reported.
Thieves made off with the canvas, known by the titles of Poppy Flowers and Vase with Flowers, on Saturday from the Mahmoud Khalil Museum in Cairo. None of the museum’s alarms and only seven of 43 surveillance cameras were working at the time of the robbery.
The prosecutor general ordered the detention of Deputy Culture Minister Mohsen Shalaan and four of the museum’s security guards while they are investigated on suspicion of neglect and professional delinquency, according to the state-run Middle East News Agency.
No charges have been filed.
The prosecutor, Abdel-Meguid Mahmoud, implicated the deputy minister in the security lapses that he said led to the theft because he has an office in the museum and is in charge of its financial and administrative affairs.
Shalaan “neglected his duties and didn’t improve lax security measures by replacing the broken cameras and alarms,” MENA quoted the prosecutor as saying.
The guards were accused of neglect for not checking museum visitors.
Ten other people were questioned and released Sunday but remain under investigation on similar accusations.
The van Gogh painting is worth an estimated $50 million.
This is the second time the painting by the Dutch postimpressionist has been stolen from the museum. Thieves first made off with the canvas in 1978. Authorities recovered it two years later at an undisclosed location in Kuwait.
The 12-inch-by-12-inch (30-centimer-by-30-centimeter) canvas, believed to have been painted in 1887, resembles a flower scene by the French artist Adolphe Monticelli, whose work deeply affected van Gogh. The Monticelli painting also is part of the Khalil collection.
The prosecutor said his office had warned Egypt’s museums last year to implement stricter security controls after nine paintings were stolen from another Cairo institute, the Mohammed Ali Museum. Similar security lapses were to blame in that theft.
Shalaan, the deputy minister, said he also warned in 2007 that cameras and alarms at the Mahmoud Khalil Museum were not working but that Culture Minister Farouk Hosni did not come through with resources to replace the equipment.
“I am not going to be a scapegoat for the minister,” he was quoted as saying by the weekly Al-Youm Al-Sabaa newspaper.
He said he would present evidence that the minister was aware of the failing security at the museum, according to the paper’s online edition.
Hosni has instructed ministry officials to set up what he described as a central control room to monitor video from surveillance cameras in all Egyptian museums and link alarms into a single network, MENA reported.
The control room will be set up inside Cairo’s historic Citadel, the fortress built by Saladin. Committees will also tour museums across the country to review security measures.
Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) – Wildlife officers seized two tons of elephant ivory and five rhino horns at Kenya’s main airport that were to be illegally shipped to Malaysia, an official said Tuesday.
Paul Udoto, a spokesman with the Kenya wildlife Service, said sniffer dogs from the KWS inspection unit, based at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, detected the tusks. They were concealed in wooden boxes being transported with avocados and destined for Malaysia.
Two people have been arrested, he said.
Udoto said the 317 pieces of elephant tusk are believed to have been acquired after the deaths of 150 elephant. He estimated that it took 20 years to amass the collection and said it is unlikely the elephants were killed for the tusks but rather that someone collected them from elephants that died naturally.
Udoto said three of Rhino horn had transmitters in them, meaning they were being tracked by wildlife officials.
Airports in Kenya, Ethiopia and South Africa have emerged as the three main airports to smuggle African ivory to Asia, where it is a collector’s item.
Early last month authorities in Thailand netted 1,683 pounds (765 kilograms) that were flown from Kenya. In May, Vietnamese authorities discovered nearly two tons of elephant tusks illegally imported from Kenya hidden in dried seaweed. The shipment was bound for China.
According to wildlife officials, elephant poaching has risen seven-fold in Kenya since a one-time ivory sale was approved in 2007 by CITES – the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species – for four African countries. Last year 271 Kenyan elephants were killed by poachers, compared with 37 in 2007.
CITES banned the sale of ivory in 1989 after poaching devastated the African elephant population from 1.3 million in 1979 to about 600,000 in 1989.
Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Photo portrait of photographer Ansel Adams that first appeared in the 1950 Yosemite Field School yearbook. Photo by J. Malcolm Greany.
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) – A group representing Ansel Adams sued a Fresno man Monday for selling prints and posters under the name of the famed nature photographer, the latest salvo in a dispute over glass negatives bought at a garage sale and purported to be Adams’ lost work.
The lawsuit, filed in federal district court in San Francisco by The Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust, seeks to stop Rick Norsigian and consulting firm PRS Media Partners from using Adams’ name, likeness and trademark in their efforts to sell prints and posters not authorized or endorsed by the Trust.
The suit alleges trademark infringement, false advertising, trademark dilution, unfair competition and other claims. It does not specify damages but asks the court to order the defendants to pay restitution of their profits from any sales, as well as award any other monetary relief.
Norsigian’s lawyer, Arnold Peter, said the lawsuit has no merit and is designed to harass his client and “silence this debate.”
“We are disappointed that the Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust has decided to resort to the courts in order to resolve what, in our view, is a debate that should be resolved by art and forensic experts,” Peter said in a statement.
Norsigian says he bought the negatives 10 years ago at a Fresno garage sale for $45. He noticed they resembled Adams’ famed photographs of Yosemite National Park and hired Peter to assemble a team of experts to authenticate them.
Last month, Peter announced that his team studied the 65 negatives for six months and concluded “beyond a reasonable doubt” that the photos were Adams’ early work, believed to have been destroyed in a 1937 fire at his Yosemite studio.
Norsigian has set up a website to sell prints made from some of the negatives, from $45 for a poster to $7,500 for a darkroom print with a certificate of authenticity. A Beverly Hills art gallery owned by David W. Streets plans to hold a public viewing of part of the collection next month.
Adams’ representatives have never bought the claim, calling it a fraud. The lawsuit is the latest action to stop what they believe is a scam.
“I’m sure Ansel never would’ve imagined a scam on this scale,” said Bill Turnage, the Trust’s managing director. “I never thought it would come to this, but we have to try to do our duty to protect his work and reputation.”
The suit also says there is “substantial evidence” suggesting the negatives were created by another photographer, Earl Brooks, whose niece came forward just days after Peter’s announcement to say she had a photo of her uncle’s that looked identical to one of the negatives.
The lawsuit further says that even if they were Adams’ negatives, the prints and posters being created from them aren’t the photographer’s works, “but are derivative works at best.”
“Mr. Adams was fond of likening a negative to a composer’s score and the prints to its performance – each performance differs in subtle ways,” the lawsuit said. “The photographic prints and posters offered for sale by defendants … are not an Ansel Adams ‘performance.’ “
The suit says the defendants are improperly and unlawfully trading on Adams trademark and deliberately confusing consumers.
Adams established the Trust in 1976 to protect the integrity of his work and preserve his artistic legacy.
Adams’ black-and-white photographs, primarily of the American West, are widely reproduced on calendars and posters and in coffee-table books, while his prints are coveted by collectors. His print Clearing Winter Storm, Yosemite National Park brought $722,500 at auction this summer in New York, a record for 20th century photography.
Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
In this official White House photo taken on July 4, 1986, former First Lady Nancy Reagan waves from the Statue of Liberty after it was reopened on its 100th birthday.
NEW YORK (AP) – A copper casting of the tip of the Statue of Liberty’s nose is among a collection of iconic items that will be auctioned off next month in New York City. LiveAuctioneers will facilitate the Internet live bidding for the sale.
Guernsey’s auction house President Arlan Ettinger says the casting of Lady Liberty’s nose is one of four that was made during a restoration effort in the 1980s. One of the four was used on the statue, one was destroyed, and another is in a private collection.
He says the piece is about 2 feet (60 centimeters) wide, consisting of the tip and the area around the nostrils. He says it’s “actually quite good-looking.”
The sale also includes a motorcycle from John F. Kennedy’s Dallas motorcade and James Dean’s sunglasses. The auction is scheduled for Sept. 24.
Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The length of the giant emerald is nearly four times the diameter of a U.S. quarter. The rare gem has been appraised for nearly a half-million dollars. Image courtesy of GovernmentAuction.com.
TEHACHAPI, Calif. – An emerald of extraordinary size will be offered for sale by GovernmentAuction.com on Sunday, Aug. 29. Widely known as the Polly Emerald, the gemstone is an amazing 1,040 carats and has recently been appraised for $454,000 by a GIA certified appraiser. LiveAuctioneers will provide Internet live bidding for this special auction, which will consist of the lone lot selling at 6 p.m. Pacific, 9 p.m. Eastern Time.
Having been on public display at various venues, the rare and celebrated emerald has been stored in a bank vault in recent years.
“We believe it to be one of the largest emeralds in the world,” said Christine Budge, marketing representative for GovernmentAuction.com. “Although we do not know the exact value of this unique stone, it is sure to make an excellent investment. That is why the consignor has chosen to let the world-wide public decide what the final auction price will be.”
There will be no reserve; the emerald will sell to the highest bidder.
For additional details call GovernmentAuction.com at 661-823-1543. The company’s Web site is www.governmentauction.com.
View the fully illustrated catalog and sign up to bid online at www.LiveAuctioneers.com.
Judith Milne (Judith & James Milne, New York City) with a 1930s hooked rug in a unique design – "not a pattern." $2,800. Photo copyright Catherine Saunders-Watson.
MANCHESTER, N.H. – The queue forms early – very early – for the New Hampshire Antiques Dealers Association (NHADA) Show, held annually at the Radisson Hotel in Manchester. This year the dealers who comprise the NHADA added a new twist to their venerable antiques event by offering free admission to anyone 21 or under, which evidenced itself in the mass of shoppers who turned out for the show’s 53rd edition on Aug. 12-14. Obviously the dealer organization’s hope is that this sort of exposure will make a lasting impression and foster a new generation of antiques and art collectors. Very smart way to go about it.
The NHADA Show Committee always rolls out the red carpet for the media, hosting a press breakfast prior to the show’s 10 a.m. opening. It’s a reunion every invited editor enjoys, and because selling has not yet begun during those early pre-show hours, it’s an opportune time to take pictures of the top-quality goods displayed in 67 dealer-occupied room settings. Every minute counts, because once those double doors open to the public, there’s a polite but brisk stampede of shoppers, and those red tags that say “Sold” start showing up very quickly.
Among the items that caught my eye early on was a pair of painted rabbits that had once served as desk ends. Tommy Thompson of Pembroke, N.H., had sourced them in Vermont and was asking $1,450 for the charming figural duo.
Nathan Liverant of Colchester, Conn., offered a set of three cast-iron garden furnishings adorned with medallions of Diana the Huntress – gorgeous! The price to relocate them to my deck, should I ever win the lottery: $9,500.
Continuing with a focus on antiques with a garden theme, which is hotter than ever, our camera snapped a rare Federal painted wood sundial on pedestal with “Tempus Fugit” writton its front edge. Thomas R. Longacre of Marlborough, N.H., had it priced at $3,850.
Our old friend Kathy Greer, editor of the New Hampshire antique newspaper Unravel the Gavel, was right behind me in noticing a set of 11 painted-tin decoys, circa 1890-1920, arranged on one wall of the booth belonging to Cheryl and Paul Scott of Hillsboro, New Hampshire. The decoys came with their original box and sticks for vertical display, and the entire set was available for $2,100.
All sorts of folk art and self-taught art can be found at the NHADA Show. With an unflinching glass-eyed gaze, a giant metal robot that had once been a Medford, Mass., hardware store mascot silently observed visitors in Ferguson & D’Arruda’s booth. The Providence, R.I., dealers explained that the robot was probably made by employees of the hardware store, which was pictured in an old black & white photograph held in one of the 8-foot-tall figure’s hands. The imposing metal sculpture made quite a dramatic visual statement and was priced at $1,800.
Steven F. Still of Elizabethtown, Pa., always knows the historical background of his merchandise. He’s amazing that way. As I was admiring a circa-1880 horseshoe-shape trade sign advertising the services of John Albert, a blacksmith and possibly also a farrier from Lebanon County, Pa., Steven told me about some unusual ephemera he has that had belonged to Albert. “I have a photo of the blacksmith shop and a day book in which he writes about hiring himself out for various other types of jobs, such as mowing. Back then you had to be versatile.” Price: $9,500.
Judith and John Milne of New York City had an incredible 1930s hooked rug on display that was obviously from the Art Deco period. It had never actually been used as a rug, and I could see why. It was a remarkable work of art. “This is a unique design; it’s not a pattern,” Judith noted. The focal point in the Milnes’ booth, the rug was priced at $2,800.
Other things I found tempting were an antique metal and leather dog muzzle displayed as a work of art (M.S. Carter, Portsmouth, N.H., $85), and a circa-1870 Anna Pottery stoneware pig (Jeff and Holly Noordsy Antiques, Cornwall, Vt.). Anna pottery has been in such high demand of late, the pig’s $8,500 price did not seem that extraordinary.
Many fine-quality paintings were available at the NHADA Show. An example was Antonio Jacobsen’s (Danish/American, 1850-1921) oil depicting the Yacht Lydia, tagged $11,000 by Lucinda and Michael Seward of Pittsford, Vermont.
Another exceptional artwork on view was a snowscene with covered bridge by Paul Sample (American, 1986-1974), which I had stopped to admire in Brock & Co.’s booth as I was walking around taking pictures. It was a breathtaking depiction that created a mood so palpable, I actually felt the temperature drop just looking at it. Later that morning while sipping on a coffee at one of the show’s communal dining tables, I struck up a conversation with Philip Zea, president of Historic Deerfield. I asked him if he had seen anything at the show that he felt was special. He replied, “One thing I love that I saw today is a painting by Paul Sample, who was artist-in-residence at Dartmouth in the 1950s.” He was, of course, referring to the same painting I had found so captivating. The truth be known, I felt better about my own taste in art after that little coincidence, since Philip has seen the very best of northeastern American regional art.
I asked Philip how things had been going at Historic Deerfield, which is a premier museum of New England history. He remarked, “Foot traffic has been very good. We have more bus groups coming in than ever before – maybe it’s the stay-cation thing.” This is the kind of industry news we in the antiques trade can’t hear too often. Philip also offered his opinion that the 2010 NHADA Show had maintained its reputation for excellence, describing it as “comparable to past shows in terms of range and quality.”
Eavesdropping for quotes is something I’ve always enjoyed doing at this show, and I’d have to say the winning quote this time around was overheard in a conversation between two dealers walking side by side as they rushed down an aisle, their arms filled with antiques. One said to the other, “I’ll love this stuff till my dying day.” I understood just how he felt.
Save the date: The 54th edition of the New Hampshire Antiques Dealers Association Show will take place Aug. 11-13, 2011. See you there!
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ADDITIONAL IMAGES OF NOTE
Circa-1880 sign for John G. Albert, blacksmith and possibly a farrier, offered by Steven F. Still of Elizabethtown, Pa., $9,500. Photo copyright Catherine Saunders-Watson. A huge array of rustic antiques shown by Cherry Gallery of Damariscotta, Maine. Photo copyright Catherine Saunders-Watson. Standing possibly 8ft. tall, a painted metal robot figure was once the mascot of a Massachusetts hardware store. Available for $1,800 from Ferguson & D’Arruda, Providence, R.I. Photo copyright Catherine Saunders-Watson. The robot figure cast an eerie gaze over shoppers from his lofty perch in Ferguson & D’Arruda’s booth. His eyes are glass marbles. Photo copyright Catherine Saunders-Watson. From the moment the doors opened at 10 a.m., the aisles were packed with shoppers. Photo copyright Catherine Saunders-Watson. Oil painting of the Yacht Lydia by Antonio Jacobsen, $11,000, offered by Lucinda and Michael Seward, Pittsford, Vt. Photo copyright Catherine Saunders-Watson. Cleverly recycled as art, an antique metal and leather dog muzzle looked striking against a yellow wall in the room setting of M.S. Carter, Portsmouth, N.H. Price: $85. Photo copyright Catherine Saunders-Watson. A shopper checks the price ($3,800) of a late-19th-century country store work table, block top on cherry base. From Jef and Terri Steingrebe, Springfield, N.H. Photo copyright Catherine Saunders-Watson. An opened example of a snap-together painted-tin decoy, one of 11 offered with their original display sticks and painted wood storage box in the booth of Cheryl and Paul Scott, Hillsboro, N.H. The entire set was $2,100. Photo copyright Catherine Saunders-Watson. A red "Sold" tag was applied to a pair of granite frescoes adorned with a bird, fruit and botanical motif very soon after the show opened. Brought by Michael and Sally Whittemore, Washington, Ill. Photo copyright Catherine Saunders-Watson. Painted 8ft. tall barber pole with vivid original paint, $8,900, Michael and Sally Whittemore, Washington, Ill. Photo copyright Catherine Saunders-Watson. Three-piece painted-iron garden set with medallions featuring the image of Diana the Huntress, late 19th-early 20th century, $9,500 from Nathan Liverant & Son, Colchester, Conn. Photo copyright Catherine Saunders-Watson.
Brass and copper eight-light chandelier, 53 inches long by 19 inches wide by 19 inches deep. Estimate: $250-$300. Image courtesy of Morton Kuehnert Auctioneers & Appraisers. HOUSTON – Dazzling jewelry, luscious rugs, sparkling chandeliers and a shipment of beautiful French antiques are a hint of the more than 200 lots on the auction block at Morton Kuehnert Auctioneers & Appraisers on Thursday, Aug. 26. The auction will begin 7 p.m. Central.
The goods are ready for viewing on the showroom floor at 4901 Richmond Ave. in Houston and online at www.mortonkuehnert.com and www.liveauctioneers.com. LiveAuctioneers will provide Internet live bidding.
Lot 60 is a brass and copper eight-light chandelier that has a $250-$300 estimate. A pretty in pink Louis XV-style upholstered bed, lot 67, with tufted brocade fabric is estimated at $350-$400, and a pair of matching upholstered chairs, lot 68, has an estimate of $150-$200. A petite Louis XV-style bombé parquet chest, lot 182, carries a $300-$350 estimate and can be the finishing touch in the room.
For the serious student, lot 197 is a beautiful oak three-door glass-front bookcase, which has a $150-$200 estimate. A late 19th-century Henry II-style walnut desk with leather blotter, lot 161, is estimate at $300-$400.
Several rugs will be sold, including lot 37, a Pakistan Oushak, 9 feet 2 inches by 12 feet 1 inch, which is estimated at $2,500-$3,000. Lot 34 is a handmade Persian Kerman, 9 feet 9 inches by 13 feet, that could go for $500-$600.
To accent the rugs beautifully are two French tables, one an oak farm table, lot 93, estimated at $400-$500, and lot 130, a Henry II oak table with beautiful barley twist legs, at $300-$400.
In the jewelry department, lot 50 is an elegant 14K white gold three-diamond 1-carat pendant estimated at $1,100-$1,200 and lot 48, a 14K white gold pair of amethyst and diamond earrings, which is expected to bring $900-$1,000.
For details about any lot call Morton Keuhnert Auctioneers & Aoorausers at 712-827-7835.
Louis XV-style bed with silk-tufted brocade fabric, France, 19th century, length 68 1/4 inches by width 56 1/2 inches. Estimate: $350-$400. Image courtesy of Morton Kuehnert Auctioneers & Appraisers. Pair of Louis XV-style painted parlor chairs with silk tufted brocade fabric, France, 19th century, height 33 1/2 inches, width 25 inches, depth 18 3/4 inches. Estimate: $150-$200. Image courtesy of Morton Kuehnert Auctioneers & Appraisers. White gold three-diamond, 1-carat pendant set with three circular cut diamonds. Estimate: $1,100-$1,200. Image courtesy of Morton Kuehnert Auctioneers & Appraisers.
The Siskiyou Dragon granular crystalline gold specimen weighs 25.26 troy ounces and measures 7½ inches long by 2¼ inches high by 2¼ inches wide. To be auctioned Sept. 12 by Clars, with a $100,000-$150,000 estimate. Clars Auction Gallery image.
OAKLAND, Calif. – On Sunday, Sept. 12, 2010, all eyes will be on Clars Auction Gallery in San Francisco’s East Bay as the company offers one of the rarest and most magnificent granular crystalline gold specimens ever mined. Appropriately named the “Siskiyou Dragon” for its county of origin and its naturally created dragon-like form, the specimen weighs an astounding 25.26 troy ounces and measures 7½ inches long by 2¼ inches high by 2¼ inches wide.
The Siskiyou Dragon was discovered in the early 1990s by an excavator operator whose keen eye saved it from the ore crushers. Experts later deemed the rare piece to be a fully intact specimen in pristine condition. The Siskiyou Dragon is one of the largest pieces of granular crystalline gold ever discovered and kept intact. It is expected to attract international attention when it is offered at auction on Sept. 12 with a presale estimate of $100,000 to $150,000. Internet live bidding will be provided by LiveAuctioneers.com.
The Siskiyou County California Gold Field has been operational since 1860. Located near the California/Oregon border, this mine has spawned many a millionaire from its finds of not only gold but also silver and platinum. In its heydey during the California Gold Rush, the Siskiyou Gold Fields were guarded ’round the clock because of its fabled wealth of ore.
The Siskiyou Dragon is the highlight of Clars Sept. 11-12 Fine Estates Auction, which also will feature world-class art, rare Continental porcelain from Sevres, Meissen and Royal Vienna; and much more.
For additional information on the Siskiyou Dragon or any other item in Clars September sale, call the gallery tollfree at 1-888-339-7600 or e-mail info@clars.com.
The fully illustrated auction catalog will soon be available to view online at www.LiveAuctioneers.com
