An example of a custom-painted Volkswagen bus is this 1967 ‘Be your own Goddess’ Kombi. Image from Wikimedia Commons.
WASHINGTON (AP) – A group of Washington residents plans to rally for peace, love and a Volkswagen Microbus.
The residents say the Volkswagen, which is decorated with rainbows and peace symbols, is a “public art installation,” but city officials say the van is an abandoned vehicle and must be removed.
The car’s owners, a family in Washington’s Palisades neighborhood, are asking neighbors to come to a 1960s-themed rally Sunday to save what they call the “Peace-Mobile.”
The vehicle, which no longer has an engine, has been sitting in the family’s yard since the spring. After a neighbor complained, city officials said they would remove it by the end of October. Under D.C. law, an inoperable vehicle is considered abandoned if it is left on private property for more than 30 days.
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Information from: TBD, http://www.tbd.com
Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Four Corners region is in the red area on this map. Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons.
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) – A Southwest antiquities dealer who was forced to surrender five truckloads of American Indian relics to federal agents is expected to settle charges of digging up a grave and plundering artifacts from federal lands, his defense lawyer has revealed in court papers.
Durango, Colo., artifacts dealer Carl “Vern” Crites was one of the biggest players in a Four Corners bust of artifact trafficking that led to charges against 26 defendants last year.
Crites, 75, was a dealer described in government affidavits as a “price setter” for antiquities because of his influence over the market. Federal agents have said he had an astonishing collection confiscated from his Durango home in January.
Crites had been set to go on trial at federal court in Salt Lake City on Monday. He was charged in a government sting operation that spanned Colorado, New Mexico and Utah.
The plea deal also covers his wife, Marie Virginia Crites, and Richard Bourret, another Durango defendant charged in the same indictment, Salt Lake City lawyer Wally Bugden said in the court notice filed Thursday. The notice didn’t specify terms of the plea deal, and Bugden and prosecutors didn’t immediately return calls Monday.
Bugden filed the notice along with a request for U.S. District Court Judge Dee Benson to approve the plea deal in three weeks. No hearing has been set.
Crites, his wife and Bourret were indicted on theft and trafficking charges for a series of transactions made with a Utah antiquities dealer-turned government informant, according to an arrest warrant.
On Sept. 14, 2008, the informant watched Crites dig up an ancient burial site, kicking out a skull on the third shovelful. Spooked, Crites and Bourret covered up the remains without recovering any artifacts.
“Wish that fella had still been intact, the skeleton I mean,” Crites was recorded saying at a site in San Juan County, Utah.
Crites also revealed to the government informant that in a 1986 raid, federal agents took 32 of his pots but overlooked a hidden safe and the most damning evidence – a ledger of a lifetime of trading that named people he dealt with. He also was recorded saying the safe contained a mummified eagle.
Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Audubon’s ‘Louisiana Heron,’ Plate CCXVII, #217, from ‘Birds of America,’ hand-colored aquatint engraving, Havell Edition, sold for $137,425, almost $40,000 more than the former record price of $89,625 established by Christie’s in 2004. Image courtesy of Neal Auction Co. NEW ORLEANS – Neal Auction Co.’s Sept. 11-12 auction was an enormous success, achieving over $2.2 million and establishing 18 world record auction prices.
The major focus of the auction was from American purchasers who competed in droves on an impressive group of 64 John James Audubon Havell edition prints from The Birds of America.
“On the artist’s last visit to New Orleans, in 1837, the French language edition of the Courier referred to Audubon as ‘L’auteur, né à la Louisiàne…’ Audubon was so pleased with the reception New Orleans gave him that he wrote his friend John Bachman, ‘I am glad, and proud Too; that I have at last been acknowledged by the public prints as a Native Citizen of Louisiana.’ And in a letter to his wife, written at the same time, he refers to New Orleans as ‘My ‘Natal City,’” wrote Marshall B. Davidson in The Original Water-Color Paintings by John James Audubon for The Birds of America, American Heritage/Bonanza Books, New York, 1985, with plate 94.
Located in the heart of Audubon’s adopted “natal city,” Neal Auction Co. has proven itself the market leader in sales of works of art by the artist, continuously achieving world record auction prices.
Neal Auction Co.’s September sale sold 60 of 64 Audubon birds; achieved 18 world record auction prices; and came in second place in terms of record sales for 28 of the bird prints (24 of which were bested only by the renowned 2004 Magnificent Sachsen-Meiningen Set). Record prices included lot 163, Great American Cock Male, Wild Turkey; lot 165, Wild Turkey, Female and Young; lot 175, Broad Winged Hawk; lot 178, Grafs Finch or Bay Winged Bunting; lot 188, Great Cinereous Shrike or Butcher Bird; lot 191, Virginia Rail; lot 192, Booby Gannet; lot 193, Least Bittern; lot 194, Louisiana Heron; lot 215, Purple Gallinule; lot 217, Long-Tailed Duck; lot 220, Red-Headed Duck; lot 222, Long-Legged Sandpiper; lot 224, Gadwell Duck; lot 225, Least Water-Hen; lot 228, Long-Eared Owl; lot 230, Chestnut Colored Finch; and lot 233, Plumed Partridge, Thick Legged Partridge.
JOHN JAMES AUDUBON TOP LOTS
Carrying a presale estimate of $80,000 to $120,000, lot 194, John James Audubon’s Louisiana Heron achieved a new record price at auction, selling for $137,425, almost $40,000 more than the former record price of $89,625 established by Christie’s in 2004 during their world-renowned sale of Audubon engravings from the Ducal House of Saxe-Meiningen.
Achieving $131,450, lot 163, a Havell engraving of the Great American Cock Male, Wild Turkey, also set a world record auction price, breaking the former record of $72,000 established in January 2007 by Sotheby’s during their sale of Audubon prints deaccessioned from Historic Deerfield.
Lot 209, Purple Heron, performed commendably, selling for $83,650, the second highest recorded auction price for the engraving. The record price of $89,625 was achieved during the 2004 momentous sale of Audubon prints from the Magnificent Sachsen-Meiningen Set of Audubon’s The Birds of America.
Audubon’s Great White Heron, lot 213, achieved $83,650, the second highest price achieved for the work at auction, the highest being $101,575, set in 2004 during the Sachsen-Meiningen sale.
Lot 165, Wild Turkey, Female and Young, set a world record auction high when it sold for $65,725 smashing the 2004 Sachsen-Meiningen record of $47,800.
Lot 167, an Audubon engraving titled The Mocking Bird, sold well at $21,960, the third highest price achieved for the work at auction.
Audubon’s Scarlet Ibis, lot 231, realized $20,315, making it the third ranking auction record.
Eider Duck, lot 198, sold for $19,120, the second highest recorded price achieved at auction.
Lot 232, the Red Breasted Merganser reached $19,120, the third highest recorded auction price for the work.
Audubon’s Black-Billed Cuckoo, lot 169, soared to $14,937, second in price only to the record 2004 Sachsen-Meiningen example.
Hooded Merganser, lot 195, achieved $14,340, just $60 shy of Sotheby’s 2002 record price.
Second only to Sachsen-Meiningen, lot 184, Golden Eagle, achieved $13,145.
OTHER TOP LOTS
Lot 203, François Levaillant’s (1753-1824) two-volume first edition of Histoire naturelle des oiseaux de paradis et des rolliers, suivie de celle des toucans et des barbus reached $40,630.
Lot 136, a late 19th-century American Renaissance carved and ebonized walnut bedroom suite, attributed to Allen & Brother, Philadelphia, comprised of two mirror-backed dressing chests and a bedstead achieved $32,265.
Lot 201, a circa 1780 Joseph F.W. Des Barres (English, 1722-1824) hand-tinted copper engraved map of The North East Shore of the Gulph of Mexico, realized $21,510.
Lot 104, an important American rococo carved and laminated rosewood armchair, attributed to John Henry Belter, New York, in the pattern known as Fountain Elms, realized $17,080.
Lot 284, a highly carved circa 1925 Hans Winterhalder Black Forest walnut tall case clock, achieved $16,730.
Lot 302, a monumental late 18th-century (144 inches by 102 inches) George III carved and giltwood frame brought $15,535.
Lots 249 and 250, portraits of Augustine Massicot Tanneret and Emile Tanneret by Jacques Guillaume Lucien Amans (French, 1801-1888, active New Orleans 1836-1856), sold well at $14,340 and $13,145 respectively.
Neal Auction Company achieved a record price for Amans when it sold Portrait of Antoinette Decuir in its May 2010 auction for $72,895.
For details visit www.nealauction.com or call (504)899-5329.
ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE
Also setting a world record was Audubon’s ‘Great American Cock Male, Wild Turkey,’ Plate I, #1, from ‘Birds of America’ Havell Edition. The hand-colored aquatint, engraving sold within estimate at $131,450. Image courtesy of Neal Auction Co.Selling less than $6,000 shy of a world record price was Audubon’s ‘Purple Heron,’ Plate CCLVI, #256, from ‘Birds of America’ Havel Edition. The hand-colored aquatint engraving 25 1/4 inches by 37 1/4 inches, sold for $83,650. Image courtesy of Neal Auction Co.Reaching $83,650 was Audubon’s ‘Great White Heron,’ Plate CCLXXXI, #281, from ‘Birds of America’ Havell Edition. Only one other example has sold for a higher price at auction. Image courtesy of Neal Auction Co.Running to a world auction record at $65,725 was Audubon’s ‘Wild Turkey, Female and Young,” Plate VI, #6, from ‘Birds of America’ Havell Edition. Image courtesy of Neal Auction Co.Attributed to Allen & Brother, Philadelphia, this late 19th-century Renaissance carved and ebonized walnut bedroom suite, consisting of two mirror-backed dressing chests and a bedstead, achieved $32,265. Image courtesy of Neal Auction Co.This important rococo carved and laminated rosewood armchair, attributed to John Henry Belter, New York, in the pattern known as Fountain Elms, realized $17,080. Image courtesy of Neal Auction Co.A highly carved Hans Winterhalder Black Forest walnut tall case clock, circa 1925, achieved $16,730. Image courtesy of Neal Auction Co.
Robert Capa [Ernest Hemingway (third from the left), New York Times journalist Herbert Matthews (second from the left) and two Republican soldiers, Teruel, Spain], late December 1937. Negative. Copyright International Center of Photography / Magnum Collection, International Center of Photography.
NEW YORK – The Mexican Suitcase, a groundbreaking exhibition revealing the most famous group of recovered negatives of the 20th century, will be on view at the International Center of Photography (1133 Avenue of the Americas at 43rd Street) through January 9, 2011. Considered lost since 1939, the so-called Mexican Suitcase is in fact three boxes containing 4,500 negatives documenting the Spanish Civil War by Robert Capa, Chim (David Seymour), and Gerda Taro. There are also several rolls of portraits of Capa and Taro by Fred Stein. Besides offering new images by these major photographers that provide a comprehensive overview of the war, the cache of negatives also includes previously unknown portraits of Ernest Hemingway, Federico Garcia Lorca, and Dolores Ibarruri (known as “La Pasionaria”).
Capa, Chim, and Taro risked their lives to witness history in the making and show it to the world, and the Mexican Suitcase contains some of their most important works. Its recovery set in motion a profound shift in the study of these three photographers. In the process of researching the negatives, the authorship of numerous images by Capa, Chim, and Taro has been confirmed or reattributed. This material not only provides a uniquely rich and panoramic view of the Spanish Civil War, a conflict that changed the course of European history, but also demonstrates how the work of these legendary photographers laid the foundation for modern war photography. Appearing throughout the international press, their innovative and passionate coverage of the war was both engaged and partisan. While overtly supporting the antifascist Republican cause, their dramatic photographs vividly recorded battle sequences as well as the harrowing effects of the war on civilians.
Equally compelling are the stories of the photographers themselves as revealed through their images: the dashing Capa, the studious Chim, and the intrepid Taro, who died tragically in 1937 during the battle of Brunete. This is the history of three young people and the ties that bound them: the moving personal and artistic relationship between Capa and Taro, and the professional bond that later led Capa and Chim to create Magnum Photos. The material contained in the Mexican Suitcase documents a turning point in the history of photojournalism.
The exhibition will present most of these negatives as modern contact sheets. Because they were lost so long ago, and as no contact sheets were made, these films show us for the first time the order in which the images were conceived and shot, and in some cases the full extent of the photographers’ work on the story. Images that have become iconic over the years can now be read in their original sequence. In addition, all of the films reveal unedited frames, either unpublished or never printed. The exhibition will also include various examples of the original 1930s periodicals in which the work first appeared. These publications—Regards, Vu, Life, Schweizer Illustrierte Zeitung, Volks-Illustrierte—provide an enlightening historical context for the evolving coverage of the war and the growing reliance on the photo essay. The Mexican Suitcase will contain both vintage prints from the ICP collection and contemporary prints, along with the photographers’ own rarely seen contact notebooks.
Also on view will be two rarely seen Spanish Civil War films that used Capa footage and have corresponding stills in the Taro suitcase negatives.
The exhibition is organized by ICP assistant curator Cynthia Young. A fully illustrated two-volume catalogue will be published by ICP/Steidl to accompany the exhibition. All the negatives in the suitcase will be reproduced, accompanied by essays from twenty-two specialists in the Spanish Civil War and 1930s photography.
This exhibition and its catalogue were made possible with support from the National Endowment for the Arts, Joseph and Joan Cullman Foundation for the Arts, Frank and Mary Ann Arisman, Christian Keesee, and by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. Additional support was received from Sandy and Ellen Luger, Bruce and Lois Zenkel, the Strand Hotel, New York, the Program for Cultural Cooperation between Spain’s Ministry of Culture and United States Universities, and the Consulate General of Spain in New York.
Contact the International Center of Photography by calling 212-857-0045. Learn more online at www.icp.org.
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ADDITIONAL IMAGES OF NOTE
Robert Capa [Man carrying a wounded boy, Teruel, spain], late December 1937. Negative. Copyright International Center of Photography / Magnum Collection, International Center of Photography.Chim (David Seymour) [Mother nursing a baby while listening to political speech, near Badajoz, Extremadura, Spain], late April – early May 1936. Negative. Copyright Estate of David Seymour / Magnum, International Center of Photography.Chim (David Seymour) [Two Republican soldiers carrying a crucifix, Madrid], October-November 1936. Negative. Copyright Estate of David Seymour / Magnum, International Center of Photography.Fred Stein [Gerda Taro and Robert Capa on the Terrace of Cafe du Dome in Montparnasse, Paris], early 1936. Negative. Copyright Estate of Fred Stein, International Center of Photography.Gerda Taro [Spectators at the funeral parade of General Lukacs, Valencia], June 16, 1937. Negative. Copyright International Center of Photography, Collection International Center of Photography.Gerda Taro [Republican soldiers, La Granjuela, Cordoba front, Spain], June 1937. Negative. Copyright International Center of Photography, Collection International Center of Photography.One of three cardboard boxes of the Mexican Suitcase containing Spanish Civil War images by Capa, Chim and Taro. Copyright International Center of Photography.
The top lot of the sale was this Tiffany & Co. Favrille glass three-handled vase, which sold for $62,100. Photo courtesy of Leland Little Auction & Estate Sales Ltd. HILLSBOROUGH, N.C. – A stunning early 20th-century Tiffany & Co. Favrile lava glass three-handled vase soared to $62,100 at a two-session estates auction dedicated to Fine Wine and Fine & Decorative Arts held Sept. 17-18 by Leland Little Auction & Estate Sales Ltd.
The vase was the top lot in a sale that saw more than 100 fine wine lots change hands in the Sept. 17 session and around 550 lots cross the block the following day. Overall, the auction grossed $750,000.
Leland Little of Leland Little Auction & Estate Sales Ltd. remarked that Asian objects, estate jewelry, fine art and ceramics were all strong performers in the sale, while English and American furniture prices – which aren’t being as rewarded financially due to tepid demand – did not do quite as well. “But even there,” he added, “we saw exceptions at the top level of merchandise. In the end, quality will override a soft market.”
He cited as an example an American Classical stencil-decorated center table, made in the 1820s, mahogany with mahogany veneers, attributed to Deming & Bulkley, New York cabinetmakers. It went for $9,200, about triple the high estimate. Also, a Renaissance-style American marble-top buffet, made around the 1870s, walnut with poplar and pine, also did well at $4,140.
The Tiffany vase was the undisputed star lot of the auction, wowing bidders with its organic baluster form and rich gold overlay on a bluish-purple body. Another Tiffany decorated Favrile glass vase, baluster form with a green ground and pulled gold decoration, made $7,475, while a signed Daum Nancy French art glass low vase with nice forest scene garnered $3,680.
All prices quoted include a 15 percent buyer’s premium. Online bidding was facilitated by LiveAuctioneers.com.
Americana did very well. A watercolor on ivory portrait miniature of Dr. Alexander Ladson Baron (1810-1842) by Charles Fraser (South Carolina, 1782-1860) fetched $14,950; an oil on panel portrait of Alexander Hamilton by William J. Weaver (1759-1817) brought $9,200; a 1773 letter signed by Patrick Henry hit $3,450; and ship’s papers signed by James Madison realized $1,035.
From the European art category, an unsigned oil on canvas portrait of James Lockhart by Sir Henry Raeburn (British, 1756-1823), in a gilt wood frame, achieved $12,650; an original oil on canvas by German painter Carl Triebel (1823-1885), depicting Lake Brienz in Switzerland, rose to $5,290; and a 19th-century Italian School oil on canvas of Aphrodite and Adionis made $2,185.
Bronzes also hit the mark, with lots such as a work titled L’Eclipse by Emmanuel Villanis (French, 1858-1914), with a deep brown patina ($9,200); a nude titled Vingt Ans (Twenty Years Old), by Raoul Larche (French, 1860-1912), signed on the base and originally retailed by Tiffany ($2,645); and an equestrian work by Peggy Kauffman (American, 20th century), signed and numbered ($2,070).
Fine estate jewelry was a strong feature category in the Sept. 18 session. An Art Deco diamond and sapphire bracelet made in the 1930s brought $12,075; a diamond solitaire ring with a stone weighing 5.56 carats set in platinum peaked at $41,400; a magnificent mid-to-late 20th-century diamond brooch went for $7,188; and a platinum and diamond cut bracelet (Jewelsmith, 1998) also made $7,188.
Export porcelain and Asian objects featured a woodblock in colors by Hasui Kawase (Japanese, 1883-1957), titled Zojoji Temple ($6,325); a pair of 19th-century Chinese Export porcelain hexagonal form tall vases ($3,680); a pair of Famille Rose bowls with Fencai glaze, Republican period ($3,450); and a 19th-century Chinese Export porcelain Famille Rose floor vase ($3,220).
Asian porcelains also included a rare set of 10 fully intact Canton porcelain nesting bowls, each decorated with a different figural scene ($5,060); a pair of Chinese Qing Dynasty ivory plaques, both etched and colored with figural and landscape depictions ($1,725); and a Chinese tin-wrapped teapot from the Qing Dynasty, angular form with ceramic body ($1,265).
European porcelain performed well, too. A bisque figure of the Barberini Faun by 19th-century artist Volpato (after the antique by Barberini), impressed with an artist’s mark to the base, breezed to $5,520, while a gorgeous Meissen figural group with seven figures on a rocky outcropping with a musical theme and a bottom with under glaze blue crossed swords hit $2,530.
Sterling silver offerings were led by creations by Georg Jensen. These included a pair of Jensen sterling compotes with applied grape design and circular footed base ($6,037), and a Jensen silver pitcher with ebony handle, ovoid body and beaded base ($4,830). Also, a fine set of four sterling candlesticks by Gorham of classic form with Corinthian capitals coasted to $2,645.
Prices realized for European furniture from France weren’t flat at all. A pair of early 20th-century ormolu mounted arm chairs in the Second Empire style, beautifully crafted from mahogany and beech, climbed to $4,600, and a pair of carved eagle console tables made in the 19th century, with a mottled black marble top over an egg and dart molding, commanded $3,680.
Twentieth Century and Modern pieces also held their own. A vintage Louis Vuitton trunk with the classic brown monogram canvas exterior brought $3,335; a bulbous form bottle vase with tapered neck by Peter Voulkos (American, 1924-2002) hit $2,875; a teak rectangular form sideboard by Finn Juhl for Baker made $1,955; and a pair of vintage Barcelona chairs (1929) hit $1,322.
Many wild and wonderful items that defied category crossed the block that weekend. A few examples include a Richardson’s New Map of the State of Texas (1860), colored lithograph, went for $4,140; a set of five illuminated Korans and Islamic prayer books from the 18th or 19th century brought $2,185; and an English wax portrait of Prince Leopold, circa 1816, hit $1,955.
As stated, the entire Sept. 17 session was dedicated to Fine Wine, a burgeoning genre of collecting that has been getting prominent attention at recent Leland Little auctions. “On a per-bottle basis, many lots sold for above the international average,” Little said. “We see that our wine department is strong and our prices are very competitive.”
Top achievers included one lot of seven bottles of 1996 Chateau Mouton Rothschild from Pauillac, France ($2,185); one lot of three bottles of 1982 Chateau La Mission Haut Brion from Graves, France ($2,185); one lot of five bottles of 1980 Chateau Lafite-Rothschild from Pauillac, France ($1,725); and two bottles of Chateau Lafite-Rothschild, from 1981 and 1988 ($1,495).
Leland Little Auction & Estate Sales Ltd. will conclude 2010 with another two-day sale that will feature Fine Wine (Fri., Dec. 3, at 6 p.m. Eastern) and Fine & Decorative Arts (Sat., Dec. 4, at 9 a.m. Eastern). To contact the company call (919) 644-1243 or send an e-mail to info@LLAuctions.com. For more information log on to www.LLAuctions.com.
ADDITIONAL IMAGES OF NOTE
Beautiful circa 1820s mahogany American Classical stencil decorated center table ($9,200). Photo courtesy of Leland Little Auction & Estate Sales Ltd.Woodblock in colors by Hasui Kawase (Jap., 1883-1957), titled ‘Zojoji Temple’ ($5,500). Photo courtesy of Leland Little Auction & Estate Sales Ltd.Rare intact set of 10 Canton porcelain nesting bowls with figural scenes on each ($5,060). Photo courtesy of Leland Little Auction & Estate Sales Ltd.Important, fine form Art Deco diamond and sapphire bracelet made circa 1930s ($12,075). Photo courtesy of Leland Little Auction & Estate Sales Ltd.
GREAT FALLS, Mont. (AP) – Construction has begun on a $3 million art building that will house the most prized pieces of the Bair Family Museum’s collection.
The building at the historic family home near Martinsdale will allow the museum to display works that have been locked away for years.
TheGreat Falls Tribune reports the building will have moisture and lighting controls, a high-tech security system and fireproof walls.
The artwork includes works by Charlie Russell, European masters and Indian beadwork given to the family by Chief Plenty Coups.
The collection had been at the center of a legal battle between Alberta Bair’s friends and neighbors and the board of trustees tasked with managing the family fortune.
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Information from: The Great Falls Tribune, http://www.greatfallstribune.com
Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Indianapolis Museum of Art, photo by chuck Szmurlo taken Nov. 1, 2007, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – The Indianapolis Museum of Art has dismissed 56 gallery attendants and is replacing them with 100 Indiana University and Purdue University Indianapolis students on a federally funded work-study program.
The museum says it’s also going to employ 14 reserve police officers to patrol its campus, which recently expanded.
Museum executives tell the Indianapolis Business Journal the security staffing changes will save $600,000 a year.
The 33 full- and 23 part-time gallery attendants who lost their jobs Monday earned an average of $11.50 per hour.
The students will earn $10 per hour, $7.50 of which will come from the U.S. government.
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Online: Indianapolis Museum of Art: http://www.imamuseum.org
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Information from: Indianapolis Business Journal, http://www.ibj.com
Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
ATHENS, Greece (AP) – Greek archaeologists have found an ancient skeleton covered with gold foil in a grave on the island of Crete, officials said Tuesday.
Excavator Nicholas Stampolidis said his team discovered more than 3,000 pieces of gold foil in the 7th-century B.C. twin grave near the ancient town of Eleutherna.
Cemeteries there have produced a wealth of outstanding artifacts in recent years.
The tiny gold ornaments, from 1 to 4 centimeters (0.4 to 1.5 inches) long, had been sewn onto a lavish robe or shroud that initially wrapped the body of a woman and has almost completely rotted away but for a few off-white threads.
“The whole length of the (grave) was covered with small pieces of gold foil – square, circular and lozenge-shaped,” Stampolidis told The Associated Press. “We were literally digging up gold interspersed with earth, not earth with some gold in it.”
The woman, who presumably had a high social or religious status, was buried with a second skeleton in a large jar sealed with a stone slab weighing more than half a ton. It was hidden behind a false wall, to confuse grave robbers.
Experts are trying to determine the other skeleton’s sex.
The grave also contained a copper bowl; pottery; perfume bottles imported from Egypt or Syria and Palestine; hundreds of amber, rock crystal and faience beads; as well as a gold pendant in the form of a bee goddess that probably was part of a rock crystal and gold necklace.
“If you look at it one way up, it’s shaped like a lily,” said Stampolidis, a professor of archaeology at the University of Crete who has worked at Eleutherna for the 25 years. “Turned upside down, you see a female figure holding her breasts, whose lower body is shaped as a bee with wings. The workmanship is exquisite.”
The ruins of Eleutherna stand on the northern foothills of Mount Ida – the mythical birthplace of Zeus, chief of the ancient Greek gods. Past excavations have discovered a citadel, homes and an important cemetery with lavish female burials.
The town flourished from the 9th century B.C. – the dark ages of Greek archaeology that followed the fall of Crete’s great Minoan palatial culture – and endured until the Middle Ages.
Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
NEWPORT, R.I. (AP) – A Rhode Island calligrapher who has pushed to expand the centuries-old art of hand letter carving is among 23 recipients of this year’s “genius grants.”
Nicholas Benson of Newport is receiving one of the $500,000 grants announced Tuesday by the Chicago-based John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.
The money, paid quarterly over five years, comes with no strings, allowing winners unfettered freedom to pursue their creativity.
The 46-year-old Benson is a stone cutter and calligrapher who oversees a family shop that was established in 1705, one of the longest continuously running trade businesses in the country.
The foundation recognized Benson for preserving the legacy of a centuries-old artistic tradition and expanding the art of hand letter carving with the beauty and craftsmanship of his own designs.
Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
![Robert Capa [Ernest Hemingway (third from the left), New York Times journalist Herbert Matthews (second from the left) and two Republican soldiers, Teruel, Spain], late December 1937. Negative. Copyright International Center of Photography / Magnum Collection, International Center of Photography.](https://www.liveauctioneers.com/wp-content/uploads/jupiterx/images/2010_929_ICP%204_lead-b8f10b7.jpg)
![Robert Capa [Ernest Hemingway (third from the left), New York Times journalist Herbert Matthews (second from the left) and two Republican soldiers, Teruel, Spain], late December 1937. Negative. Copyright International Center of Photography / Magnum Collection, International Center of Photography.](https://www.liveauctioneers.com/news/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/2010_929_ICP 4_lead.jpg "Robert Capa [Ernest Hemingway (third from the left), New York Times journalist Herbert Matthews (second from the left) and two Republican soldiers, Teruel, Spain], late December 1937. Negative. Copyright International Center of Photography / Magnum Collection, International Center of Photography.")
![Robert Capa [Man carrying a wounded boy, Teruel, spain], late December 1937 Negative. Copyright International Center of Photography / Magnum Collection, International Center of Photography.](https://www.liveauctioneers.com/news/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/2010_929_ICP 3.jpg "Robert Capa [Man carrying a wounded boy, Teruel, spain], late December 1937. Negative. Copyright International Center of Photography / Magnum Collection, International Center of Photography.")
![Chim (David Seymour) [Mother nursing a baby while listening to political speech, near Badajoz, Extremadura, Spain], late April – early May 1936. Negative. Copyright Estate of David Seymour / Magnum, International Center of Photography.](https://www.liveauctioneers.com/news/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/2010_929_ICP 7.jpg "Chim (David Seymour) [Mother nursing a baby while listening to political speech, near Badajoz, Extremadura, Spain], late April – early May 1936. Negative. Copyright Estate of David Seymour / Magnum, International Center of Photography.")
![Chim (David Seymour) [Two Republican soldiers carrying a crucifix, Madrid], October-November 1936. Negative. Copyright Estate of David Seymour / Magnum, International Center of Photography.](https://www.liveauctioneers.com/news/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/2010_929_ICP 8.jpg "Chim (David Seymour) [Two Republican soldiers carrying a crucifix, Madrid], October-November 1936. Negative. Copyright Estate of David Seymour / Magnum, International Center of Photography.")
![Fred Stein [Gerda Taro and Robert Capa on the Terrace of Cafe du Dome in Montparnasse, Paris], early 1936. Negative. Copyright Estate of Fred Stein, International Center of Photography.](https://www.liveauctioneers.com/news/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/2010_929_ICP 13.jpg "Fred Stein [Gerda Taro and Robert Capa on the Terrace of Cafe du Dome in Montparnasse, Paris], early 1936. Negative. Copyright Estate of Fred Stein, International Center of Photography.")
![Gerda Taro [Spectators at the funeral parade of General Lukacs, Valencia], June 16, 1937. Negative. Copyright International Center of Photography, Collection International Center of Photography.](https://www.liveauctioneers.com/news/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/2010_929_ICP 15.jpg "Gerda Taro [Spectators at the funeral parade of General Lukacs, Valencia], June 16, 1937. Negative. Copyright International Center of Photography, Collection International Center of Photography.")
![Gerda Taro [Republican soldiers, La Granjuela, Cordoba front, Spain], June 1937. Negative. Copyright International Center of Photography, Collection International Center of Photography.](https://www.liveauctioneers.com/news/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/2010_929_ICP 16.jpg "Gerda Taro [Republican soldiers, La Granjuela, Cordoba front, Spain], June 1937. Negative. Copyright International Center of Photography, Collection International Center of Photography.")
