Transparent green moon flask glass vase with overlay decoration. Estimate: $4,000-$6,000. Image courtesy of Michaan’s Auctions.
OAKLAND, Calif. – Michaan’s Dec. 14 winter Asian Art Auction includes an exciting variety of high quality property from private collectors and estates across the United States. Highlighting the sale will be examples from the Ina and Sanford Gadient Collection of fine Chinese glass.
LiveAuctioneers will provide Internet live bidding.
Acquired over the past 40 years, the Gadient pieces exemplify the variety of sophistication and styles produced by Chinese artisans over the centuries. Many pieces from the Gadient’s’ collection have been exhibited internationally and illustrated in books.
The 304-lot sale includes Chinese ceramics, stoneware and porcelains from Neolithic period to the Tang, Song, Ming and Qing Dynasties. Other Chinese highlights are jade and ivory carvings, scholar’s objects, classical furniture, textiles, and paintings by important artists.
A special section of religious art is centered by a large sandstone standing Bodhisattva Guanyin from Sui Dynasty (A.D. 580-618) The sensitively executed details of the graceful sculpture survived 1400 years. Michaan’s is confident that the quality, size, condition and conservative estimate will combine to generate bidding from all over the globe.
The sale will not only include fine Chinese works of art but also Japanese, Korean arts, and a few exquisite fine Indian and Persian miniature paintings.
For any further inquiry please contact Ling Shang at lingshang@michaans.com or Kim Jee at kim@michaans.com.
View the fully illustrated catalog and register to bid absentee or live via the Internet as the sale is taking place by logging on to www.LiveAucvtioneers.com.
The Golden Psalter, first edition, in the collection of St. Petri-Dom Museum, Bremen, Germany. Photo by Jurgen Howaldt, taken in 2008. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Germany license.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) – He found it, of all places, in a small antique shop right here in Charleston. “It was serendipity, just happenstance,” he said. “I was looking for something else.”
It was an ancient Psalter, a book of psalms painstakingly handwritten in Latin by hermit monks in the Netherlands nearly 800 years ago.
Imagine.
“It’s my newest and most exciting acquisition. It’s not just rare. It’s unique. There is literally only one. It was quite a find for me.”
He wasn’t surprised that it hadn’t attracted a buyer. “There would be no market for it in Charleston. It’s mainly of interest to nuts like me.”
Frank Martin collects medieval books. “Some men like fancy motor cars, I’ll pay a fortune for a good book. It’s a hobby and also a kind of passion. It enriches your understanding of history.”
An Alabama native who practiced law in Washington, D.C., Martin splits his time in retirement between Alabama and Charleston. “My daughter, Jessica Lane, lives here and we like the city,” he said in a noticeable Alabama drawl. “We could live anywhere. We live in Charleston by choice.”
His hobby started in 1987 with a visit to an old bookshop in Alexandria, Va. A student of Latin since high school, he spotted a crudely bound Venetian Bible printed in 1497 and “negotiated” a purchase.
“It was a beautiful book. And that’s when I fell in love.”
Along with its craftsmanship and age, he discovered a significant distinction. “This book was the first printed book ever to have a title page.”
He started shopping for old books in earnest, both in Alexandria and on the Internet. “If you’re interested,” he said, “things kind of pop up.”
The second step, his favorite part, is research. “It doesn’t take me long to buy a book. It takes a long time to figure out what it is. Nobody knows about this book,” he said, picking up one of his finds. “There is no date in it. You have to analyze the contents. It’s a tedious thing. But I’m mainly into that part of it, not the acquisition or possession.”
He had access to a rare book room at a seminary near his Virginia home. When working in Washington, he made frequent trips to the Library of Congress.
He searches for handwritten manuscripts and incunabula, a Latin word for “in the cradle” or “in swaddling clothes.” It refers to the infancy of printing, books printed before 1501. Gutenberg, the first to print a book with movable type, introduced printing in Germany in the 1450s.
“Any book printed in the first 50 years of movable type is valuable,” Martin said. “It was so long ago and there are so few of them. Through fire, water and war, so many were destroyed.”
Early printing methods could prove challenging. “Look at the print on this book. It’s microscopic by our standards. Imagine setting that type. You could only set maybe eight pages. Then you would break it up to set the next eight.”
His most valuable book is a New Testament volume printed in 1481, one generation after the invention of movable type. He found it at a book sale. “It belonged to a wealthy woman in California, Estelle Duhaney, who gave so much money to the Catholic Church that the pope made her a countess.”
In New York, inside a cigar box, he found a small square Bible five inches thick, an octavo. “You fold a sheet of paper to form eight leaves and you get the octovo,” he explained. “This one was all black and unbound. They didn’t know what they had.”
He had the book rebound in Magnolia Springs, Ala.
He discovered through research that the book was printed by a woman in 1549. “Experts for hundreds of years thought it was an incanubulum printed before 1500, but I found it was printed 50 years later by a woman in Paris, the widow of a famous printer.”
Bibles are the cheapest books for collectors to buy, he said, because there were so many of them. “Before we had books, we had scrolls. As long as people have written holy writ, there have been more Bibles because there is more demand. There are more Bibles printed every year than any other book.”
His collection includes a handwritten Ethiopian Psalm book. “You can’t read it. It’s all in the ancient language of Ethiopia. They didn’t develop printing until very late. They were doing liturgical manuscripts into the 18th century. This book isn’t so old, but it has these beautiful icons.”
All hand-painted on sheepskin, icons include the Ethiopian version of “The Madonna, Mary and Her Beloved Son,” with angels Michael and Gabriel standing watch on either side.
“And these are saints,” he said, carefully turning from one page to the next. “This fellow grew a beard so long he made clothes out of it. That’s an Ethiopian saint we don’t know anything about. And here’s a fellow who prayed so long his foot fell off. So God made him three sets of wings. An Ethiopian scholar told me that.”
The meticulous penmanship required of scribes hand-lettering liturgical tomes amazes him. “Think of the number of man-hours invested in a book. I don’t know how long it took. How many pages can a man do in a day? Two or three? They had one man who read from the original text and another man wrote it down.
“Then the Vikings would come and destroy all the books, and they had to start over again. That happened two or three times.
“A book used to be worth what a house was worth,” he said, “and now we just throw them away.”
Martin gives his ancient books extra special attention. He handles them gently, reverently. “And they go in a lockbox in the bank.”
___
Information from: The Charleston Gazette, http://www.wvgazette.com
Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers.com and Universal Live Auctions.
NORTHBROOK, Ill. – Original paintings created by the distinguished American portrait artist William Chambers will be sold to the highest bidder on Monday, Dec. 6, 2010 at the suburban Chicago gallery of Universal Live Auctions. The oil on linen canvas artworks are the actual pictures that served as the basis for some of the most popular collector plates and music boxes ever produced by Bradford Exchange of Niles, Illinois.
“Mr. Chambers is an artist of great renown who lives and works here in the Chicago area,” said Universal Live owner Martin Shape. “We are greatly honored that he chose us to represent him exclusively at auction. This will mark the first time his art has ever been presented in an auction forum.”
The paintings in the auction include six different portraits of Princess Diana in various ensembles and formal gowns, including one in which she is wearing a diamond tiara. “That particular painting, when translated to a collector plate, proved very popular,” said Shape. “There were 65,000 plates sold of that image alone.”
Each of the Diana paintings measures 24 by 36 inches. Opening bids range from $5,000 to $10,000.
Other charming depictions include Audrey Hepburn as the elegantly transformed Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady, Little Orphan Annie and Daddy Warbucks (from Annie), Scarlett O’Hara and her suitors at Twelve Oaks (from Gone with the Wind), and the King and Anna dancing (from the “Shall We Dance?” scene in The King and I).
Each Chambers painting is one of a kind and signed by the artist. Sizes vary from 24 by 30 inches to 36 inches square.
The auction also features works by pop artists Markus Pierson – known for his Coyote Series – and Mackenzie Thorpe (British, b. 1956-), acclaimed for his abstract depictions of animals and children. “This is the first time that art by Pierson and Thorpe will be made available for collectors to bid on via the Internet,” Shape said.
For additional information on any item in the sale, call Marty Shape at Universal Live Auctions at 847-412-1802, or e-mail sales@universallive.com.
View the fully illustrated catalog and sign up to bid absentee or live via the Internet at www.LiveAuctioneers.com.
# # #
Portrait artist William Chambers. Photo courtesy of the artist.
About William Chambers:
Born in 1940 and raised in the Chicago area, Chambers first began his studies in the early 1960’s at the American Academy of Art. He planned on majoring in industrial design, but after realizing the field required more engineering than he had initially thought, he left for Northeastern Illinois University to study painting. After two years of study, he took an apprenticeship at an illustration studio in Chicago. He then went to do commercial work in illustration, but eventually found it too restrictive, so he left to return to school to acquire his bachelor’
Chambers’ plan was to be a teacher, but he became more and more engrossed in portrait painting. By 1979 he decided to strike out on his own as a portrait painter. Many people took notice of his painting, and before long, he was approached by a consultant for the Knowles China Company.
Chambers had never heard of collector plates at that time, but he quickly became a design star, appearing on the cover of Plate World magazine and making appearances across the country. He is a Master Signature Member in a group of only 25 artists.
Although well known for his successes in the realm of collector plates, Chambers is best known for his expertise as a portrait artist. His large commissioned works are priced from $25,000 to $35,000.
Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers.com and Universal Live Auctions.Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers.com and Universal Live Auctions.Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers.com and Universal Live Auctions.Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers.com and Universal Live Auctions.Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers.com and Universal Live Auctions.Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers.com and Universal Live Auctions.
Theodor de Bry drawing after a John White watercolor depicting Native Americans crafting a dugout canoe with seashell scrapers, 1590.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) – An American Indian dugout canoe believed to be 500 to 800 years old has been recovered from the muck of a lake bed south of Tallahassee.
State archeologists said Tuesday that the 23-foot-long canoe is unusual because it is well-preserved and each end is finely carved.
More than 350 dugout canoes have been found in Florida, some dating back 6,000 years, but most are degraded from repeated periods of wetting and drying.
The canoe was exposed when Lake Munson was drawn down. Crawfordville resident Dennis Jones first reported the canoe to the Florida Museum of History.
Archaeologists removed it Monday so it can be conserved and exhibited and to protect it from curiosity seekers who tried to dig it out.
Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
AP-ES-11-30-10 1422EST
ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE
Theodor de Bry drawing after a John White watercolor depicting Native Americans crafting a dugout canoe with seashell scrapers, 1590.
MIAMI (AP) – Officials have broken ground at the new Miami Art Museum.
A ceremony was held at 10 a.m. yesterday, just days ahead of Art Basel Miami Beach, when the art community will shift its spotlight to South Florida for a few days. The art fair runs from Dec. 2-5.
The new museum is set to open to the public in 2013. It will be part of a 29-acre museum park.
Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Coat of Arms of William of Wales. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported, 2.5 Generic, 2.0 Generic and 1.0 Generic licenses.
LONDON (AP) – A William and Catherine monogram mug? A pair of hand-crafted swan paperweights? A dainty wedding bell, perhaps?
With the array of romantic memorabilia flooding the market, royal fans worldwide don’t have to wait till next year to celebrate Prince William’s wedding.
Almost as soon as the prince announced his engagement to long-term girlfriend Kate Middleton, souvenir shops and chinaware producers have been inundated with order requests for special edition mugs, plates and assorted collectibles.
In a generally bleak retail landscape, British businesses have high hopes the royal wedding can bring in some badly needed cash.
“We’ve taken masses of pre-sales orders, and people have actually placed orders on items that they can’t even see pictures of because they’re not available yet,” said Stephen Church, whose family has been selling collectibles in England’s Northampton for over 100 years.
Manufacturers have had special tableware designed months ago – it only took the official announcement of when (April 29) and where (Westminster Abbey) for the race to cash in to begin in earnest.
It’s a retail fever that has gripped people from all corners of the world. There is strong interest from collectors in the U.S. and other countries with no royals, Church said. As for Britons -especially those living overseas – owning royal memorabilia could be a way to connect with their country and display patriotism.
“For the British, it’s a feeling of security,” he said. “It’s part of life’s routine that the royal family is there. Buying commemorative products is part of cherishing them.”
Royal births, coronations and weddings have been marked with souvenir ceramics for centuries, and the commemorative china industry is nearly as steeped in tradition as the royal family itself. So skip novelty items like cell phone covers and mouse pads _ serious collectors will be sticking to mugs and plates, Church said.
“People aren’t looking for something different,” he said. “With a royal event, it’s all about tradition.”
So what’s on offer?
To share royal adulation with the love of your life, consider getting a specially commissioned royal “loving cup” – a mug with two handles.
Aynsley China, which has been making chinaware to mark royal events since Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee in 1897, has one of these gems. They also have royal engagement-themed plates and coasters featuring portraits of William and Middleton. The designs have been ready for six months and will hit the shops just before Christmas, sales director John Wallis said.
Royal Doulton, another chinamaker, has a similar floral-edged plate that has a picture of the youthful couple gazing lovingly at each other.
Church predicts particularly strong demand for memorabilia from Halcyon Days, a prominent china company known for the hand-painted enamel boxes it makes to celebrate big royal occasions.
For memorabilia with a twist, Royal Crown Derby has a set of white and gold swan paperweights, called William and Catherine, with necks curved to represent a heart. Cygnet paperweights can come soon, too – the company is already lining up designs for the next range, in anticipation of royal babies.
“It won’t be long before we start (product) modeling for children,” sales director Simon Willis said.
Suitably for such a fairytale wedding, the company is also making a royal Welsh dragon – the mythical symbol of Wales, where William is based. The designers have been creative with the product line: there are also W&C monogram heart-shaped trays, wedding bells, a set of dwarfs wearing commemorative hats, and a paperweight featuring a hand-painted peacock and roses that will cost more than 3,000 pounds ($4,665) each.
Royal fans on a commoner’s budget need not despair. Easy access to digital technology means that almost anyone can print a picture of William on a mug, and many cheaply made T-shirts, tea towels and thimbles are up for grabs on the auction site eBay.com.
Just don’t count on them becoming cash in the attic a decade or two on: Hundreds of souvenir items like biscuit tins and stamps marking Prince Charles and Princess Diana’s 1981 nuptials swamp the site, with few inviting much bidding interest.
The list of businesses taking advantage of the royal wedding craze goes on.
The supermarket chain Tesco is targeting women who want to copy Middleton’s style on the cheap with a 16-pound ($25) version of her dark blue silk engagement dress, while QVC, an online and television shopping company, said sales of its 34-pound ($53) “diamonique” knockoff of Middleton’s sapphire and diamond engagement ring rocketed 800 percent the day after the engagement.
All that merchandise can add up to as much as 18 million pounds ($28 million) of retail sales, said Neil Saunders, consulting director of retail researchers Verdict. And that’s just the engagement – the wedding itself can bring in more than 26 million pounds ($40 million), Saunders said, on top of the hundreds of millions that tourists already spend every year on visiting palaces and buying monarchy-related souvenirs.
For Ron Smith, who runs an online business selling royal commemorative items, the meaning of collecting royal products has changed since the Victorian times when subjects collected those items to show their allegiance to the British crown. Smith said he has taken many inquiries about the upcoming royal wedding from non-Commonwealth locales such as Alaska and Japan, as well as from royalists in Canada.
“People these days don’t buy it because they are loyal to the crown,” he said, adding that many of his clients are middle-aged or older and simply started collecting things once they retired and found little else to do.
Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
AP-WS-11-30-10 1044EST
ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE
Combined image of Prince William of Wales (taken by Alexandre Goulet, official photographer of the French delegation to the 2007 World Scout Jamboree) and his fiancee, Catherine Elizabeth
Vintage grape cluster festoon necklace, Miriam Haskell, circa 1950s, designed by Frank Hess, 16 inches, unsigned. Estimate: $800-$1,000. Image courtesy of Skinner Inc. BOSTON – Skinner Inc.will host an auction of Fine Jewelry on Tuesday, Dec. 7, at its Boston gallery beginning at at 10 a.m. The sale features a large selection of diamond jewelry, as well as an incredible collection of unique Miriam Haskell jewelry. Right in time for the holiday, bidders will also be tempted by fine designer watches, earrings, necklaces, rings and bracelets by Cartier, Tiffany, Buccellati and Harry Winston.
LiveAuctioneers will provide Internet live bidding.
DIAMONDS:
The sale is highlighted by an amazing assortment of diamonds that will appeal to both seasoned collectors and those looking to buy their first piece. Featured diamonds include a platinum and heart-shaped diamond solitaire by Van Cleef & Arpels, 4.33 carats with GIA report estimated at $60,000-$80,000; a platinum and diamond solitaire weighing 5.05 carats and estimated at $12,000-$15,000; another platinum and diamond solitaire, this one weighing 7.03 carats and estimate at $40,000-$60,000; and a diamond ring weighing 10.36 carats and estimated at $100,000-$125,000.
Other diamonds of note include an oval-cut platinum and fancy intense yellow diamond solitaire weighing 4.69 carats and with GIA report, estimated at $30,000-$40,000; a marquise-cut platinum and diamond solitaire weighing 11.62 carats and estimated at $30,000-$40,000; and a stunning Graff platinum and diamond solitaire weighing 5.55 carats and with GIA report estimated at $175,000-$225,000.
MIRIAM HASKELL JEWELRY:
With this sale, Skinner auction house is offering fashionistas everywhere the rare opportunity to own an original, vintage Miriam Haskell piece. The auction will feature more than 30 lots of Haskell jewelry from the private collection of Susan Kelner Freeman, a well-known collector from New York City. These pieces inspired today’s most sought after looks worn by fashion forward celebrities and mainstream consumers alike and have translated effortlessly over the years. Highlights of the collection include an impressive vintage grape cluster festoon necklace, circa 1950s, designed by Frank Hess, estimated at $800-$1,000 and a rare prototype and butterfly festoon necklace, circa 1960, designed by Robert F. Clark and estimated at $1,000-$1,500.
ART DECO:
Art Deco offerings are abundant and include fabulous Deco silver items from Fahrner featured by a gem set suite of brooch and ear pendants estimated at $500-$700. Other interesting Art Deco pieces include a floral Art Deco enamel and gem-set bracelet and brooch estimated at $800-$1,200 and an Art Deco sterling silver, enamel, and marcasite bracelet, Germany, estimated at $600-$800. Stunning Lalique jewelry will also be offered such as an Art Deco molded glass “Crene” bracelet estimated at $1,000-$1,500 and an Art Deco molded glass “Fleurs” ring estimated at $500-$700.
ANTIQUE JEWELRY:
Antique offerings include several coral pieces such as a fine antique serpent bracelet estimated at $1,000-$1,500; a four-strand bead necklace estimated at $1,500-$2,000; and an impressive cameo brooch depicting a maiden with corkscrew curls and wearing a garland of grape vines estimated at $800-$1,200. Other great antique pieces include a goldstone glass and seed pearl heart pendant estimated at $200-$400 and an 18K gold, pink topaz and diamond brooch, retailed by Jones, Ball & Poor and estimated at $1,500-$2,000.
ARTS AND CRAFTS JEWELRY:
Collectors of Arts and Crafts works won’t be disappointed with highlights such as a gem-set brooch attributed to Dorrie Nossiter, designed as a wreath and estimated at $3,000-$5,000; an 18K gold, sapphire, and freshwater pearl necklace by Margaret Rogers estimated at $6,000-$8,000; and a pair of jadeite ear pendants, Tiffany & Co., also estimated at $6,000-$8,000.
ART NOUVEAU:
Rounding out the sale is a fine offering of Art Nouveau pieces. Featured works from the genre include an 18K gold, plique-a-jour enamel, and enamel brooch by Joe Descomps for Leon Gariod, depicting a nude maiden and estimated at $4,000-$5,000 and the cover lot, an 18K gold, carved opal, enamel, pearl, and diamond pendant estimated at $15,000-$25,000.
MISCELLANEOUS PIECES:
Finally, an unusual 18K gold and ruby spider brooch, estimated at $2,000-$3,000; and a pair of 14K gold gem-set “sign language” clip brooches by Paul Flato estimated at $5,000-$7,000 will be offered.
Previews for the auction will be Sunday, Dec. 5, noon-5 p.m. and Monday, Dec. 6, noon-7 p.m.
Antique coral serpent bracelet, ruby eyes and articulated body. Interior circumference 5 1/2 inches. Estimate: $1,000-$1,500. Image courtesy of Skinner Inc.Platinum and diamond solitaire, Graff, prong-set with a square emerald-cut diamond weighing 5.55 carats, flanked by tapered baguette diamonds, size 4 1/4, signed. Estimate: $175,000-$225,000. Image courtesy of Skinner Inc.Pair of 14K gold gem-set ‘sign language’ clip brooches, Paul Flato, circa 1938, with red enamel fingernails, ruby and diamond melee accents, length 1 1/2 and 1 7/8 inches, unsigned. Estimate: $5,000-$7,000. Image courtesy of Skinner Inc.Jadeite ear pendants, Tiffany & Co., circa 1915, each designed as a carved jadeite drop depicting melons and foliage, suspended from an 18K gold, scroll and bead top with bezel-set cabochon, 1 7/8 inches, signed. Estimate: $6,000-$8,000. Image courtesy of Skinner Inc.
