This Roman marble torso is from a statuette of a young god, possibly Apollo. It is 6 inches high, dates to the first or second century and has a $6,000-$9,000 estimate. Image courtesy of Artemis Gallery Live.com. BOULDER, Colo. – Artemis Gallery Live.com will conduct its third international live auction on Saturday, Oct. 2. The sale will feature over 400 lots of classical antiquities, ancient and pre-Columbian art from around the world. This one-day, online-only auction event is being run on the LiveAuctioneers.com bidding platform.
“The variety in this sale is amazing and with all of our sales, each piece has been vetted for authenticity. This promises to be our biggest live auction event to date,” said Teresa Dodge, owner and managing director of Artemis Gallery Ancient Art and Artemis Gallery Live. “Because of the large number of quality items we were able to obtain, this time the auction will be separated into two distinct sessions. The first session, beginning at 8 a.m. Pacific Time, features classical antiquities from Egypt, Greece, Italy, Rome, Egypt, the Middle East and the Far East. The second session will start at noon Pacific Time – approximately 1-2 hours after the antiquities portion ends – and features art from the ancient Pre-Columbian Americas.”
Artemis Gallery Live.com sets itself apart from other auction companies by working in collaboration with a select group of premiere antiquities dealers worldwide. This ongoing support and commitment has given Artemis Gallery Live the ability to present collections of ancient items that are second to none. No other auction house, online or traditional, boasts this kind of dealer support, said Dodge. “Our trusted group of quality dealers makes Artemis Gallery Live.com the truly unique and exciting online auction venue it has become, plus unlike so many other online auction sites, ArtemisGalleryLive.com guarantees all objects to be ancient,” she added.
Dealers participating in the Oct. 2 live auction include Artemis Gallery Ancient Art, Medusa Ancient Art, Sands of Time Ancient Art, Glenn Howard Egyptian Antiquities, Howard Nowes/Art for Eternity, PBJI Ancient Coins and Antiquities, Alexander Ancient Art, Explorer Ancient Art, Fort Knox Artifacts, Splendors of the World and Riverbend Gallery.
“To ensure complete buyer satisfaction, all items offered for sale are guaranteed ancient/authentic and as described. Bidders can buy with complete confidence knowing that everything we sell is truly ancient,” said Dodge. “Further, all dealers abide by the strictest standards to ensure every item offered for sale in our live auctions complies with all laws of cultural patrimony.”
Bidders may participate online, via phone in real-time or leave absentee bids. For details, contact Dodge directly at 720-936-4282, send her an e-mail at artemisgallerylive@gmail.com. Learn more about Artemis Gallery Live by visiting the company’s Web site: ArtemisGalleryLive.com
Pectorals placed around the neck of mummies were usually decorated with images of funerary gods and regeneration symbols, as is the case on this specimen of glazed faience. This New Kingdom or shortly later piece is about 3 1/2 inches high. It has a $7,000-$8,000 estimate. Image courtesy of Artemis Gallery Live.com.This bronze statuette is the young god Horus, often known as Harpokrates. The 5 1/4-inch figure has a $12,000-$15,000 estimate. Image courtesy of Artemis Gallery Live.com.>A horse and rider are flanked by two draped figures and two satyrs on either side of this Attic black-figure skyphos, circa 530 B.C. Excluding the handles, it measures 4 7/8 inches in diameter and is estimated at $6,500-$8,000. Image courtesy of Artemis Gallery Live.com.At 12 inches tall and 6 inches wide this Moche IV pottery portrait vessel of a king from the north coast of Peru is unusually large. It dates to circa A.D. 400-500 and carries a $10,000-$15,000 estimate. Image courtesy of Artemis Gallery Live.com.
Resin statuette used in the filming of the Hollywood classic The Maltese Falcon, starring Humphrey Bogart. Sold at Guernsey’s Sept. 24, 2010 auction for $305,000. Image courtesy LiveAuctioneers.com Archive and Guernsey’s. NEW YORK (ACNI) – At a Sept. 24 auction at Guernsey’s, Oscar-nominated actor Leonardo DiCaprio was among a group of buyers paying $305,000 for a falcon statuette used in the 1941 film-noir classic The Maltese Falcon. The price included a 22% buyer’s premium.
The person actually lodging the bid was billionaire Stewart Rahr, owner of pharmaceutical and generics wholesaler Kinray, the largest privately owned pharmaceutical distributor in the world. Reportedly, both Rahr and DiCaprio were in attendance at the 123-lot auction titled “Iconic Objects and Documents.”
The resin falcon, weighing 4 pounds 5.4 ounces and standing 11½ inches tall, was discovered in New Jersey in 1991 by Emmy-winning producer/director Ara Chekmayan. Recognizing the Warner Brothers “WB 90456” serial number scratched into the base, Chekmayan began to research the figure extensively. He found that among those familiar with the production of the film, the consensus was that the resin copy was, indeed, the falcon that appeared in several 8- by 10-inch publicity photos taken on the set of the film and held in the hands of the film’s star, Humphrey Bogart.
Internet live bidding was provided by LiveAuctioneers.com. View the fully illustrated auction catalog complete with prices realized online at www.LiveAuctioneers.com.
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Copyright Auction Central News International, 2010. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hollywood royalty – Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson. Photo by Patrick McMullan Company, courtesy of LACMA.
LOS ANGELES (AP) – The Los Angeles County Museum of Art celebrated the opening of its newest exhibition hall on Saturday with a glitzy party, complete with Hollywood heavyweights, art icons and entertainment by Christina Aguilera.
Among the actors in the star-studded crowd were Tom Hanks and wife Rita Wilson, Teri Hatcher, James Franco, Joan Collins, Don Cheadle, Molly Sims and Olivia Wilde. Producers Brian Grazer and Mark Burnett and reality TV starlets Nicole Richie and Kim Kardashian also attended Saturday’s fundraising event, which had the glamor of a film premiere and generated nearly $5 million for LACMA
Museum trustee Jane Nathanson called it “the most spectacular and successful fundraiser for art in Los Angeles.”
Local high school students clad in colorful 18th century costumes welcomed guests to the private black-tie affair, called “The Unmasking” as it revealed the sprawling new building that broke ground in 2008. Guests were given gold and silver masks as they walked down a long red carpet on their way to the Lynda and Stewart Resnick Exhibition Pavilion.
Designed by famed Italian architect Renzo Piano, the window-lined, naturally lit 45,000 square-foot (4,180-square-meter) space was divided to house a trio of inaugural exhibits: “Olmec: Colossal Masterworks of Ancient Mexico,” with giant basalt carvings rarely seen outside of Mexico; “Eye for the Sensual: Selections from the Resnick Collection,” which features European paintings and sculptures from the building’s benefactors’ own personal collection; and “Fashioning Fashion: European Dress in Detail, 1700-1915,” a look at the evolution of modern dress and the bustles and petticoats of fashion’s past.
Guests took in a private viewing of the three exhibits.
The Resnicks, who donated $45 million toward the construction of their namesake building, were the guests of honor at a dinner that followed. An adjacent tent became an elegant supper club for the 1,000 or so guests, with a small rotating platform in the center and a wall at one end that fell away to reveal a full stage.
That’s where Aguilera, backed by a 20-piece orchestra and two singers, performed her set. Looking like a Hollywood siren in long platinum hair and a curve-hugging cream gown, Aguilera sang her hit, Beautiful, followed by what she called “my favorite song in the whole world of all time,” John Lennon’s Imagine.
She apologized for pausing between songs to sip water and spray a mist in her mouth, explaining she has strep throat.
Still, she sang two more songs and closed by saying she was honored to perform at the event.
Lynda Resnick said art is the perfect antidote for the city’s many needs and the challenges of modern life.
“As our lives become even more virtual and fleeting, it’s imperative that we have art as an anchor,” she said. “And after the daily electronic recounting of the real-time horrors of people doing terrible things to one another, we can renew our faith in mankind while viewing man’s highest achievements on display at a museum like LACMA.”
The Lynda and Stewart Resnick Exhibition Pavilion opens to the public on Oct. 2.
About LACMA:
Since its inception in 1965, LACMA has been devoted to collecting works of art that span both history and geography and represent Los Angeles’ diverse population. Today, the museum features particularly strong collections of Asian, Latin American, European, American and contemporary art. With its newly expanded space for contemporary art, innovative collaborations with artists, and an ongoing Transformation project, LACMA is creating a truly modern lens through which to view its rich encyclopedic collection.
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Online: http://lacma.org/
Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
AP-CS-09-26-10 1120EDT
ADDITIONAL IMAGES OF NOTE
Christina Aguilera entertains at the LACMA gala. Photo by Patrick McMullan Company, courtesy of LACMA.Kim Kardashian and her mother and manager, Kris Jenner. Photo by Patrick McMullan Company, courtesy of LACMA.Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds and Nikki Pantenburg. Photo by Patrick McMullan Company, courtesy of LACMA.One of the original Charlie’s Angels of TV fame, Jaclyn Smith; and friend. Photo by Patrick McMullan Company, courtesy of LACMA.Nicole Richie. Photo by Patrick McMullan Company, courtesy of LACMA.Joan Collins and Barbara Davis. Photo by Patrick McMullan Company, courtesy of LACMA.Brigid Coulter and Don Cheadle. Photo by Patrick McMullan Company, courtesy of LACMA.Costumed members of the John Burroughs High School Show Choir, who performed at the LACMA event. Photo by Patrick McMullan Company, courtesy of LACMA.Dr. Rebecka Belldegrun and Marisa Tomei. Photo by Patrick McMullan Company, courtesy of LACMA.
IRON MOUNTAIN, Mich. (AP) – Restoration of a World War II military CG-4A glider in Iron Mountain is progressing, but organizers are still seeking donations to cover the cost of the glider museum building.
Ken Sovey, project director and vice president of the Menominee Range Historical Foundation Board of Governors, said that the museum should be open by next summer.
Located behind the Cornish Pump, the museum will house a 1930s aircraft built by Charlie Heiserman, a replica of a Piper Cub aircraft, a Ford Model AA dump truck, an audio-visual room, display cases with military memorabilia, military uniforms, and plaques, as well as the featured exhibit, a fully-restored glider.
During World War II, the Ford Motor Company plant in Kingsford produced eight gliders per day, or a total of 4,190.
Sovey pointed out that the plant produced twice as many gliders as the next two manufacturers combined.
Gliders were then used during the war to transport troops, equipment, and vehicles.
Remains of one glider were discovered in Metropolitan, near Felch. Exposed to the elements for over 50 years, the remains of a deteriorating fuselage were donated to the historical foundation in November 2005 by owners Vernon and Janie Anderson of Metropolitan.
Workers have been restoring the glider for the past five years. Three people in Iron Mountain have built the back half of the fuselage and the “tail feathers,” while a team in Wausau, Wis. worked on a portion of the fuselage and the cockpit.
Sovey explained that the original CG-4A gliders were made out of mahogany wood and cotton fabric. The restored glider has both mahogany and other woods, due to cost concerns, and a synthetic fabric that will not shrink like cotton.
Some restoration still needs to be completed, including work on the wings and assembly of the separate parts.
The finished glider will have a wing-span of 84 feet and a weight of 3,550 pounds.
It will be fully functional, but it will not be flown.
“This will be only one of eight restored gliders in the world,” said Sovey. “There’s one in Normandy and the others are at military bases as well as private museums in the U.S.”
A glider museum in the Iron Mountain-Kingsford area would have several benefits, he added.
The museum will honor every veteran from every war.
Also, the museum will honor the Kingsford Ford plant and the 5,000 employees who worked there during the war.
Education and tourism rounded out Sovey’s list.
“This important part of our heritage should never be forgotten,” he said.
Already, donors have given approximately $400,000 for the project.
About $75,000 is still needed to complete work on the 140-foot by 80-foot glider museum building. Donations and volunteer labor would be greatly appreciated.
All donors will receive a plaque that will be displayed in the museum.
“We know that the glider will be ready next year, but we’re asking the public’s help to provide the funds necessary to get the building ready for the opening next summer,” said Sovey.
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Information from: The Daily News, http://www.ironmountaindailynews.com
Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Incipit to the Gospel of Matthew from the Lindisfarne Gospels, a treasure from the British Museum’s collection that is already available to be viewed online. Wikipedia image.
LONDON (AP) – One of the world’s most important caches of Greek manuscripts is going online, part of a growing number of ancient documents to hit the Web in recent years.
The British Library said Monday that it was making more than a quarter of its 1,000 volume-strong collection of handwritten Greek texts available online free of charge, something curators there hope will be a boon to historians, biblical scholars and students of classical Greece alike.
Although the manuscripts – highlights of which include a famous collection of Aesopic fables discovered on Mount Athos in 1844 – have long been available to scholars who made the trip to the British Library’s reading rooms, curator Scot McKendrick said their posting to the web was opening antiquity to the entire world.
McKendrick said that London could be an expensive place to spend time poring over the Greek texts’ tiny, faded script or picking through hundreds of pages of parchment.
“Not every scholar can afford to come here weeks and months on end,” he said. The big attraction of browsing the texts online “is the ability to do it at your own desk whenever you wish to do it – and do it for free as well.”
Although millions of books have been made available online in recent years – notably through Google Books’ mass scanning program – ancient texts have taken much longer to emerge from the archives.
They don’t suffer from the copyright issues complicating efforts to post contemporary works to the Web, but their fragility makes them tough to handle. They have to be carefully cracked open and photographed one page at a time, a process the British Library said typically costs about 1 pound ($1.58) per page.
The library has moved aggressively to put large swathes of its collection online, from 19th-century newspapers to the jewels of its collection – The Lindisfarne Gospels, a selection of Leonardo da Vinci’s sketches and the Codex Sinaiticus, the oldest surviving complete copy of the Christian Holy Bible.
The library’s Greek manuscript project was funded by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, which supports Greek-related initiatives in arts and culture.
Another batch of about 250 documents are due to be published online in 2012.
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Online:
The British Library: www.bl.uk/manuscripts
The Stavros Niarchos Foundation: http://www.snf.org
Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
MOBILE, Ala. (AP) – A Mobile developer has pleaded guilty to receiving high-end antiques and heirlooms stolen from wealthy homes in Mobile and Baldwin counties.
Sixty-year-old Matthew Boykin Walker pleaded guilty Thursday in Mobile to four counts of receiving stolen property. He faces up to 20 years in prison on each count when he is sentenced Dec. 9.
Investigators say valuable antiques and heirlooms were stolen from homes while the homeowners were out of town. Some of the items were found at two homes Walker owned.
According to a report from WKRG-TV, a rough estimate of the value of items recovered is $750,000. The goods include articles of silver that were once presented to then-Senator John F. Kennedy from President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Walker developed subdivisions in Mobile and was co-founder of a casino in Tunica, Mississippi.
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Information from: WKRG-TV, http://www.wkrg.com/
Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
As expected, this large Tabriz Persian rug made in the early 1990s sold for $26,000. Image courtesy of Morton Kuehnert Auctioneers & Appraisers. HOUSTON – Determined bidders during Morton Kuehnert Auctioneers & Appraisers catalog auction Sept. 23 knew what they wanted among the 237 cataloged lots, resulting in lively and competitive bidding. Of the 343 buyers registered to bid, 171 participated through LiveAuctioneers.com.
Prices include a buyer’s premium.
Lot 53, a signed Tiffany Studios telescopic Organic Root candlestick, brought $10,800 during the first half hour of bidding, followed shortly thereafter by a $26,000 sale on Lot 61, a large Tabriz Persian rug, circa 1990.
Lot 96, a set of 18th-century Sèvres presentation plates with landmark scenes from Clisson, France, sold for $12,000, and Lot 97, a pair of 19th-century Wedgwood urns, sold for $6,000.
A late 19th-century sterling and jade table cigar lighter manufactured in San Francisco sold for $3,000. An intriguing 19th-century Louis XV-style console and mirror sold for $5,400. A 19th-century box-shaped Spanish oak cabinet, lot 93, sold for $1,680, and lot 92, a highly carved Gothic oak desk, sold for $4,800.
Lot 123, a beautifully designed vintage brass and cloisonné bowl/planter, sold for $1,200. A scene-grabbing half canopy Louis XV-style bed sold for $5.400.
Morton Kuehnert Auctioneers & Appraisers’ conducts auctions every Thursday at 7 p.m. and holds its catalog auctions once a month. The next catalog auction is on Thursday, Oct. 21. For more information, visit www.mortonkuehnert.com.
This unusual Tiffany Studios candlestick sold for $10,800. Image courtesy of Morton Kuehnert Auctioneers & Appraisers.These Sèvres presentation plates decorated with French landmark scenes sold to an Internet bidder for $12,000. Image courtesy of Morton Kuehnert Auctioneers & Appraisers.
This dummy board is shaped like a woman dressed in a style popular about 1800, when it was made. The pine figure is 42 inches tall and was offered for sale at Stair Galleries of Hudson, N.Y. The figure probably was displayed in a dark corner of a room to surprise visitors.
Lonesome? Our ancestors filled their large homes with dummy boards, or “silent companions.” These were painted figures made from flat, cutout pieces of wood that could stand on the floor. Early examples had a hinged stand at the back, very much like those used on picture frames today. There is some controversy about how they were used in the 17th and 18th centuries. Dummy boards shaped like children, animals, soldiers and servants may have hidden an unused fireplace during the summer. Some may have hidden in shadows to make it look as if the room were occupied, or as a joke to fool guests. Dummy boards are a type of early folk art, and have been copied. Very good copies were made in the 19th century and have now aged enough to confuse collectors. Modern versions picture 20th-century butlers or comic figures. Antique dummy boards can sell for thousands of dollars.
Q: I bought a chair from an elderly woman four years ago and would like some information about the maker. It has a paper label on the bottom of the seat that reads, “S. Karpen & Bros., Chicago-New York-Los Angeles.” There also is a metal tag that reads “Karpen Guaranteed Furniture.”
A: Solomon Karpen and his brother Oscar began making furniture in their basement in Chicago in 1880. Seven more brothers joined the business between 1880 and 1894. S. Karpen & Bros. opened a factory in New York in 1919 and one in Los Angeles in 1927. The company was one of the leading manufacturers of upholstered furniture and the largest furniture manufacturer in the world at one time. Karpen was bought by Lawrence K. Schnadig in 1952 and merged with International Furniture Co. to become Schnadig Corp. The Karpen name was used on furniture made by Schnadig for several years.
Q: I have a paper dress with a label inside that states “Hallmark, Island Paradise.” It says it’s made of 80 percent cellulose and 20 percent cotton, and is fire-resistant. I’m not the original owner, but the dress has never been worn. I’m told it’s from the 1950s. I would like to know if the dress has any value, or if it’s just a collector’s item.
A: Your paper dress is not as old as you think. The first paper dresses were made in 1966 and were offered by Scott Paper Co. as premiums for $1 plus 52 cents’ worth of coupons from Scott paper products. The company sold about 500,000 of the dresses in two different styles. By 1967, several other companies offered paper dresses as premiums for their products. Hallmark sold paper “hostess” dresses that matched their party napkins and tablecloths. Some department stores, including Saks Fifth Avenue, Bonwit Teller, Gimbels and Lord & Taylor, sold paper dresses. “Paper” dresses were not actually made of paper, but of a mixture of cellulose and nylon or cellulose and rayon. They could be shortened by cutting off the bottom and usually lasted for several wearings. But there was a risk that they could catch fire if worn too close to a cigarette or open flame, so they lost popularity. Value: about $50 if the graphics are interesting.
Q: I have a Viennese chocolate set that belonged to my great-grandmother. I am 85 years old, so it is from the last quarter of the 1800s. The pieces are marked with a double circle with the words “Leonard” on top, “Vienna” in the middle and “Austria” on the bottom. Who made this set?
A: The mark you describe was used by P.H. Leonard, a New York City importing firm. Leonard imported white wares from several factories in Austria. The exact dates the company was in business are not clear. Some sources say Peter Leonard established his company in 1880 and went bankrupt in 1898. Others say his company was in business from before 1890 to circa 1908.
Q: My mother and I bought an old upright piano for $95 at a garage sale. The name on the front is “James & Holmstrom Cabinet Grand.” There is a brass plate on the inside that reads “James & Holmstrom Transposing Keyboard, New York, First Premium, New Orleans Exposition March 1886.” It’s in very good condition and plays well. What is the history of this piano?
A: Anders Holmstrom founded Holmstrom Piano Co. in New York City in 1860. L.C. James became a partner in 1874, and the name was changed to James & Holmstrom Piano Co. The transposing piano had a lever that shifted the keyboard to change the key. The first patent for a transposing piano was issued in 1801. The New Orleans Exposition originally ran from 1884 to 1885. It lost money and a second exhibition was held on the site from November 1885 to March 1886. The “First Premium,” similar to a Gold Medal, evidently was awarded to this model. Jacobs Brothers Piano Co. bought James & Holmstrom in 1900 and continued to make pianos under that name until about 1920.
Tip: Photographs and printed material should be kept in archival boxes or in files or frames that have passed the PAT (Photographic Activity Test). Ask an expert for advice before you buy storage material. Archival is good, but PAT is best.
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, (name of this newspaper), King Features Syndicate, 300 W. 57th St., New York, NY 10019.
Need more information about collectibles? Find it at Kovels.com, our website 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.
Clark’s Spool Cotton 1894 calendar, die-cut board, Victorian picture of boy and girl swinging on spool of thread, full pad, 4 1/4 x 7 1/4 inches, $75.
Elsie the Cow dexterity puzzle, image of Elsie with raised horns, reads “Elsie the Borden Cow Is No Puzzle to Her Pals,” tin, metal rings, copyright 1941, 3 x 5 inches, $100.
Leather flight jacket, A-2 type, two flaps, two slash pockets, snap-down epaulets, quilted lining, Talon zipper, 1960s, $125.
Falla the Scottie pull toy, wooden, cloth ribbon, tail wiggles when pulled, New Enterprises, copyright 1943, 4 x 9 inches, $210.
Lionel train set, standard gauge, No. 362E, includes steam locomotive, matching tender, Pullman, observation car, individual boxes, $1,840.
Biedermeier commode, satinwood, rectangular top, two long drawers, ebonized escutcheons, tapering square legs, 1860s, 32 x 39 1/2 inches, $2,950.
English etched glass hurricane shades, decorated with wheat-and-grape design, 1850, 24 1/2 inches, pair $8,200.
Keep up with changes in the collectibles world. Send for a free sample issue of our 12-page, full-color newsletter, Kovels on Antiques and Collectibles, filled with prices, news, information and photos, plus major news about the world of collecting. To subscribe at a bargain $27 for 12 issues, write Kovels, P.O. Box 420347, Palm Coast, FL 32142; call 800-303-1996; or subscribe online at Kovelsonlinestore.com.
