Photo of a young sperm whale. Sperm whales have a low birth rate and are classified as an "endangered" species. U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration photo.
BOSTON (AP) – A federal judge has sentenced a Nantucket antique dealer to nearly three years in prison for illegally importing and trafficking in sperm whale teeth and narwhal tusks worth up to $400,000.
Authorities says David Place was sentenced Tuesday to 33 months in prison after a federal jury in Boston convicted him of eight counts, including conspiracy and violating a federal law that prohibits trading in illegally captured wildlife.
Prosecutors said the owner of Manor House Antiques Cooperative in Nantucket, Mass., committed the violations from 2001 to 2004.
One of his co-conspirators, Andrei Mikhalyov of Odessa, Ukraine, served a nine-month prison sentence in the U.S. and was then deported to his country.
Sperm whales are classified as “endangered” under the Endangered Species Act.
The narwhal, a whale with a long spiral tusk, is listed as “threatened.”
Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Rolex Stainless Steel Submariner watch, $3,500. Auctioned by Clars on Dec. 5, 2010. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers.com Archive and Clars.
It is not uncommon for the success of a man to be judged by the quality of his suit, the kind of car he drives and the neighborhood he lives in… but the watch on his wrist is often another indicator.
Wristwatches date back to the late 1800s, a time when they were thought of as jewelry for women only. Originally, they were worn by a clasp on a woman’s lapel. Later, a silk cloth was wrapped around a pocket watch for ladies to wear on their wrists.
The wristwatch as we know it today was first designed by Patek Phillipe in 1868. It wasn’t until World War I that wristwatches became a timepiece for men. Pilots found it too difficult to reach into their pocket to retrieve their pocket watches, therefore, wearing a timepiece on their wrist made more sense.
Ironically, what was once thought to be “women’s wear” is now predominately collected by men. Men often collect wristwatches because they offer more than just a way to tell time.
For the traveler, there are watches offering numerous time zones. For the athlete, chronographs are the preferred option. Divers must have watches that are waterproof.
Not only are there different mechanical options, but you can also collect by maker or time period; or, you can collect different types of movements, such as manual wind, automatic, or electric.
Perhaps you’d like to follow in the footsteps of your favorite celebrity. Breitling watches are worn by John Travolta, Brad Pitt, and Leonardo DiCaprio. Matt Damon and Dane Cook have been seen wearing Tag Heuer, and Paul Newman was known to wear his Rolex Daytona.
Not only are watches small, meaning you can accumulate many without requiring a lot of space to house them, but they also come in a variety of price ranges. Early manual-wind watches can be purchased for as little as $40-50. Asymmetrical Hamilton Electrics can be bought for a few hundred dollars.
It’s not just the lower-end brands that are affordable. If you’ve been eyeing the latest Rolex watch, chances are you can buy one for a lot less if it’s “pre-owned” or vintage. The current “DATEJUST” model in gold and stainless retails for about $4,500. However, a pre-owned model can be had for as little as $2,800.
Regardless of how much you invest in a watch, though, it’s an opportunity to make a statement about your unique sense of style while investing in a collectible that boasts both form and function.
# # #
ADDITIONAL IMAGES OF NOTE
LeCoultre Mystery Dial watch. Auctioned for $750 on Nov. 21, 2010. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers.com Archive and William J. Jenack Auctioneers.Gentleman’s 14K yellow gold Bulova watch. Auctioned for $300 on Dec. 15, 2010. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers.com Archive and Skinner Inc.
ChristChurch Cathedral was heavily damaged in the earthquake Feb. 22. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Generic license. CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand (AP) – The New Zealand earthquake has exposed potentially historic documents hidden inside a 19th century statue that toppled in the disaster.
Christchurch Major Bob Parker said Tuesday that a handwritten parchment in a bottle and a sealed copper cylinder believed to contain documents were discovered inside the statue of the city’s founder.
The statue is in the city’s main square near its historic cathedral. It fell during the Feb. 22 earthquake that killed at least 155 people.
Museum experts were examining the items. They appeared to contain a message from the city’s founders expressing their vision for it.
Parker said, “It seems almost providential that they have come to light now to provide the inspiration we need in this most difficult time.”
Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – An Indiana University Art Museum exhibition of photographs by Andy Warhol will open Saturday.
Seventy-nine of the artist’s photographs will be displayed in “Shot By Warhol.” They will remain on display through May 8.
The exhibit examines the way Warhol’s black-and-white photographs reflected his personal experiences and how his color Polaroid photographs shaped the way others wanted to be portrayed during their “15 minutes of fame.” Warhol once famously said, “In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes.”
The exhibition will also consider how Warhol’s images relate to celebrity portraiture, photojournalism, serial art, modernism and social landscape photography.
Andy Warhol (1928-1987) was a keen observer. Known for being quiet and reserved, he was frequently seen off to one side of a social scene – whether at his famous silver-lined Factory or at a charity event – watching, often through the lens of a camera.
Warhol was also an obsessive collector of objects, of people and even of artistic styles; when asked in a 1985 interview if he looked at the work of other photographers, Warhol replied, “I try to copy them.”
Nan Brewer, the organizing curator of “Shot by Warhol,” said, “Warhol was a kind of cultural sponge. He absorbed inspiration from popular culture, as well as from the art of his contemporaries.”
Warhol not only saved bits of ephemera from his daily activities, which he famously stuffed into boxes known as “time capsules,” but he also preserved much of his life experience on film. Starting in the mid-1970s he began using a 35mm still camera as his primary means of interacting with and recording his surroundings.
Although Warhol grew up around photography – his older brother, John Warhola, operated a photo shop in his hometown of Pittsburgh – it wasn’t until the 1970s that he fully embraced the medium as a means of personal expression. He began taking color Polaroids as an expedient means of capturing imagery for his portrait commissions. Like the preparatory drawings of traditional portrait painters, these studies served as referential tools rather than as artworks in their own right.
When he picked up an easy-to-use Minox 35EL camera in 1976, Warhol began a love affair with black-and-white photography that would last until his death at age 58. His camera became a constant companion; as familiar a part of his ensemble as his trademark silver wig. He strove to document every moment of his life, creating a remarkable visual diary.
Warhol produced an astonishing body of still images – more than 150,000 black-and-white negatives and 66,000 prints, including thousands of Polaroids.
This exhibition looks at Warhol’s creative process and at the way his imagery relates to the photographic styles and themes of his generation.
Unless otherwise noted, the works in the exhibition are by Warhol; the photographic material is drawn from a recent gift to the IU Art Museum of more than 150 works from the Andy Warhol Photographic Legacy Project of the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. The exhibition is supported by the Lucienne M. Glaubinger Endowed Fund for the Curator of Works on Paper and the IU Art Museum’s Arc Fund.
For more information about the museum and the exhibit, visit www.artmuseum.iu.edu.
The Washington Monument in a circa 1915 hand-colored photograph by C.O. Buckingham. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers and Michael Ivankovich Antiques & Auction Co. WASHINGTON (AP) – A prominent real estate developer is donating his extensive collection on the history of Washington to George Washington University where it will become part of a new museum.
The gift by Albert H. Small of Bethesda, Md., announced Monday includes a $5 million donation to build a new museum on the campus and renovate the 156-year-old Woodhull House.
Small’s collection includes rare maps, drawings, books, letters and documents. It was amassed over 50 years.
Chris Coover of Christie’s auction house says Small’s holdings are the most significant privately held collection about the history of Washington.
The new museum will include a new Center for National Capital Area Studies named for Small. A gallery at the Smithsonian also is named in his honor.
Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Chinese white jade carved ship, $57,500. Manor Auctions image.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Continued strength in Chinese antiques was apparent as a carved jade ship, teapot and censer sold in total for nearly $100,000 in Manor Auctions Feb. 19, 2011 Fine Collectibles Catalog Auction. The jade collection had been sitting uncovered in the closet of a rural Florida home. Its owners had absolutely no idea of the value of the goods they had stashed away in an old cardboard box.
“The sale of this jade collection is a true testament to the importance and value of auctions, especially in these tough economic times, as sellers may be more vulnerable to selling their valuable collectibles privately at less than market value,” said Malcolm Mason, president and chief auctioneer of Manor Auctions.
Meeting under a street light on a cold December evening in a McDonald’s parking lot, Manor Auctions’ acquisition representatives evaluated the collection of jade on the tailgate of the consignor’s truck. The consignor explained how the collection had passed down through his wife’s family for a few generations and that it had been stored in a closet for the past 30 years.
Knowing nothing about jade, the consignor opted to hold the collection back from auction so that he could obtain the opinions of some local dealers. A week or so later, the consignor called Manor to say that he had cash offers in the $1,500-$2,000 range. Manor representatives replied that they would beat the offers if he wanted to sell the collection outright, but highly recommended he send the collection to auction so collectors from around the world could determine the true market value through competitive bidding. The consignor agreed, and the collection was consigned to auction.
As the sale date grew closer, Manor noted extraordinary pre-auction interest in the antique Chinese jade. With collectors from around the globe competitively bidding online through LiveAuctioneers.com, absentee and over the phones, the jade lit up the room as each piece crossed the auction block. Back and forth, the Internet and telephone bidders slugged it out. First up was a Chinese white jade censer that fetched $18,000 (all prices quoted inclusive of 17.5% buyer’s premium), followed by a Chinese white jade teapot at $12,420. A Chinese carved jade ram made $6,210 and led the way for the surprise of the night: a Chinese carved jade ship that sailed to a winning bid of $57,500. Combined with a couple of other lots, the 6-piece collection realized just shy of $100,000.
Mason remarked: “The results of the Chinese jade lots tie in closely with recent trends in the Chinese antiquities market, which indicate strong global collector interest and continued record results for the near future. Globally [at auction], the Chinese antique market is producing surprising results, with many pieces far exceeding pre-auction estimations.”
To contact Manor Auctions, call 850-523-3787 or e-mail consign@manorauctions.com.
View the online catalog for Manor’s Feb. 19, 2011 auction, complete with prices realized, at www.LiveAuctioneers.com.
Wallis Simpson in a 1936 portrait. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. LONDON (AP) – Lingerie, handbags and luggage once owned by Wallis Simpson, the American divorcee who shook the British monarchy, are due to be auctioned off in London.
Kerry Taylor Auctioneers says that items due to be put up for sale include a scarlet chiffon nightdress, complete with a full-length capelet, and a 1960s Louis Vuitton vanity case. The auction is set for March 17.
The story of Simpson, for whom King Edward VIII abdicated in 1936, continues to fascinate. It’s currently being turned into a movie, W.E., directed by Madonna.
Next week’s sale could be quite lucrative, if previous auctions of Simpson’s possessions are anything to go by. A set of jewels once owned by the Duchess of Windsor fetched nearly 8 million pounds ($13 million) at auction when it was sold by Sotheby’s two months ago.
Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
