May 12, 2011 - Auction Central News

Dr. J ABA jersey hits $190,414 in Grey Flannel’s $2.4M auction

1972-73 Julius Dr. J' Erving Virginia Squires ABA game-used and autographed road jersey, sold for $190,414 in Grey Flannel’s May 11, 2011 Summer Games Auction. Grey Flannel Auctions image.

WESTHAMPTON, N.Y. – An autographed Virginia Squires ABA road jersey game worn in 1972-73 by the great Julius “Dr. J” Erving smashed through the existing record for a basketball jersey at auction in Grey Flannel’s May 11, 2011 sale with a final bid of $190,414 (all prices quoted include 20% buyer’s premium). In total, the event took in $2.4 million, the highest auction gross ever achieved by Grey Flannel.

Finishing as the auction’s top lot, the Dr. J jersey was a rare style in use for only one year in the ABA. “We had never even seen a common jersey of this type, let alone a Dr. J game-worn example. We knew it had an excellent chance of making $100,000 at auction. It did that and much more,” said Richard E. Russek, president of Grey Flannel Auctions.

The iconic navy and gold UCLA staff jacket that beloved basketball coach John Wooden (1910-2010) wore throughout his career with the invincible Bruins was another slam-dunk winner in the sale. Offered with a letter of authenticity signed by Wooden, it garnered 17 bids before settling at $183,500.

Downtown Freddie Brown took it all the way to an uptown bank with a winning bid of $115,242 on his 1979 Seattle SuperSonics World Championship player’s ring. The sharp-shooting captain of Seattle’s 1978-79 team is a sports legend in the NBA; he holds the Sonics’ all-time record for points in a regular season – 58. Brown’s 14K gold Championship player’s ring, emblazoned “NBA WORLD CHAMPIONS” and featuring a large central diamond, was accompanied by a letter of authenticity from Brown.

“I think it’s very significant that seven out of the top 10 lots in this sale were associated with basketball. It’s a category that has continued to attract many new and serious collectors to our auctions over the past few years,” said Russek.

Among the top basketball lots were Wilt Chamberlain’s 1968-69 L.A. Lakers Playoffs game-used road jersey, $73,409; a circa-1897 leather-laced basketball with side-panel construction, $59,135; and 1981 NBA Finals MVP Cedric “Cornbread” Maxwell’s Boston Celtics World Championship player’s ring with a letter of authenticity from Maxwell, $55,152.

The priciest football-related item was Steve Wright’s 1973 Green Bay Packers Super Bowl I player’s ring, with LOA, which scored a winning bid of $73,409. “To our knowledge, it is the only player’s ring from the first Super Bowl ever to be offered in a public auction,” said Russek.

Baseball lots were dominated by a 1959 Roberto Clemente Pittsburgh Pirates game-used flannel home jersey vest, which knocked it out of the park at $55,152.

Russek commented that the excitement level for the sale was “unprecedented…The phones ran hot till 6:55 a.m. We knew that the Dr. J jersey, John Wooden jacket and multiple Championship rings would finish at the top, but we didn’t know in what order. It was a great sale, and we want to thank everyone who participated in the bidding.”

Grey Flannel’s annual auction held at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is slated for Aug. 12 this year. The Hall of Fame is located in Springfield, Massachusetts.

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VIDEO: U.S. returns ‘remarkable treasures’ to Peru

Huayna Picchu towers above the ruins of Machu Picchu, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. June 27, 2009 photo by Martin St-Amant, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

WASHINGTON (AFP) – The United States on Thursday returned a collection of stolen historical artefacts to Peru, including textiles and pottery estimated to be up to 1,800 years old.

“The antiquities we are returning today are remarkable treasures of untold historical significance. More than mere objects, they provide clues into the lives of our ancestors,” said Luis Alvarez, assistant director for international affairs of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

“These items, valued at more than $43,000, were illegally imported from Peru and discovered as part of three investigations,” Alvarez added at the handing-over ceremony at the Peruvian embassy in Washington.

The artefacts, which were recovered in operations in Texas, New York and Colorado, include an Inca pottery vessel depicting a man with a llama, believed to be some 600 years old, and textiles thought to be as old as 1,600 years old, which were likely dug up from graves on Peru’s Pacific coast.

The repatriated pieces of history also included a yellowing manuscript on philosophy, a pot with a feline on one side, another depicting a feline standing up, and a small stone jaguar-human sculpture believed to be 1,200-1,500 years old.

Peruvian ambassador to the United States, Luis Miguel Valdivieso Montano, said the return of the artefacts was the first by the United States to Peru since Yale University handed back a collection of 366 historical pieces from the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu.

The Machu Picchu artefacts got a grandiose welcome in March when they were returned to Peru, and Yale University is due next year to hand back to Peru another 40,000 ancient artefacts, which were “loaned” to the U.S. university, the ambassador said.

Click here to view a video about the artefacts of Machu Picchu and the jubilant reaction over their return to Peru.

Video copyright AFP.

Willard tall clock tops Converse’s auction at $32,900

Signed by the renowned clock maker Simon Willard, this early 19th century tall-case clock was the top seller at the auction, making $32,900. Image courtesy of Gordon S. Converse & Co.

MALVERN, Pa. – A gorgeous early 19th century Simon Willard tall-case clock, signed “Warranted by S. Willard” on the dial, sold for $32,900 at an estates auction held April 23 by Gordon S. Converse & Co. The clock was the sale’s top lot.

Over 280 high-quality, fresh-to-the-market items in an array of categories crossed the block. Of those, about 240 sold.

“The crowd was average,” said Gordon Converse, “but online bidding, through LiveAuctioneers.com, was very strong.”

Converse said there were between 300 and 400 registered online bidders, a fact that turned what could have been an ordinary sale into a very successful one.

“We were very pleased with the results,” he said. “Things are definitely looking better than they did this time last year, both in terms of our business in general and the vibrant antiques industry in particular.”

The Simon Willard clock was expected to do well, and it did not disappoint. The dial was attributed to the workshops of Curtis and Nolen in Boston and was attached to an eight-day bell strike clockworks. The hood was surmounted by three brass ball finials. The clock was housed in a Federal solid and veneer mahogany case, with flared French feet, giving it a majestic stance at 93 1/2 inches tall.

Willard clocks overall are highly desired by collectors. It was Benjamin Willard who first began making clocks in his small, rural Massachusetts workshop, in 1766. His younger brothers – Simon, Ephraim and Aaron – learned the trade and began a three-generation clockmaking legacy that endures today. Simon is best known for inventing and patenting the so-called banjo timepiece in 1802.

Following are additional highlights from the auction. All prices quoted include a 17.5 percent buyer’s premium.

A 16 1/2-inch mystery clock made circa 1835 and attributed to Robert Houdin (French, 1806-1871), boasting a gilt bronze and glass case and the original carved giltwood stand, brought $11,750. The clock is so-named because the hand appears to move around the glass dial without any form of assistance, making it a mystery. But to Houdin, a magician, it was no mystery at all.

In reality, a rod was run up through the pillar and was connected to a further one going along the right hand of the top of the case. A worm screw was attached to this and was connected to a second invisible glass dial set behind the main one. The hand was attached to this through the front dial, thereby turning as the rear glass turned. It was basically a clever optical illusion.

But illusion was Houdin’s game. He was so revered a magician that Harry Houdini took his name for himself. Jean Eugene Robert-Houdin (the Houdin part was his wife’s maiden name) was the most famous illusionist of his time, having given performances for Queen Victoria and Napoleon. While he was a great inventor and a pioneer in applying electricity to horology, mystery clocks were his trademark invention. Some had an enamel dial, others a glass dial.

An early 19th century Philadelphia mahogany tall-case clock with a heroic painted dial, signed by Abraham Cassell of Germantown (Philadelphia), went for $5,875. The clock had a solid and veneered mahogany Federal case, a painted dial with a Federal eagle, and an eight-day running bell-strike clockworks.

Another fine mahogany tall-case clock made in Philadelphia – this one signed by David Weatherly (American, at work 1805-1850) – chimed on time for $3,525, in what seemed like a bargain price. The 97-inch-tall clock featured an eight-day running bell strike clockworks with an enamel moon disk dial attributed to Patton and Jones. “It was basically all original and in good condition,” said Converse.

An 1832 engraving with hand-coloring after Paul Revere, titled The Bloody Massacre, climbed to $3,290. The image – originally executed by Paul Revere in 1770 and considered his most important and desirable work – depicted the massacre perpetrated on King Street in Boston on March 5, 1770, on the eve of the American Revolution, by a Party of the 29th Regiment.

Rounding out the day’s top lots, a fine Chinese enamel vase, about 15 inches high, garnered $1,469.

To contact Converse e-mail them at Gordon@ConverseClocks.com or phone (610) 722-9004. For more information, log on to www.AuctionsatConverse.com or www.ConverseClocks.com.

Click here to view the fully illustrated catalog for this sale, complete with prices realized.

ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE

Robert Houdin’s mystery clock made in 1835 sold for $11,750. Image courtesy of Gordon S. Converse & Co.

‘The Bloody Massacre,’ a hand-colored 1832 engraving after Paul Revere’s 1770 original, mustered $3,290. Image courtesy of Gordon S. Converse & Co.

Bidding on this fine mahogany tall-case clock signed David Weatherly of Philadelphia, 97 inches tall, reached $3,525. Image courtesy of Gordon S. Converse & Co.

Abraham Cassell signed his early 19th century Philadelphia mahogany tall-case clock that topped $5,875. Image courtesy of Gordon S. Converse & Co.

One of the highlights of the Oriental objects was this fine Chinese enamel vase, 15 inches tall, which sold for $1,469). Image courtesy of Gordon S. Converse & Co.

Convicted health care exec’s art holdings up for bid

PHILADELPHIA (AP) – A Philadelphia auction house is set to sell off the art collection of a health care executive convicted of fraud.

Richard Scrushy’s collection will be auctioned off Sunday by Freeman’s in Philadelphia with proceeds going to HealthSouth and its shareholders.

HealthSouth Corp. won a $2.9 billion civil judgment against Scrushy in 2009 after he was convicted on federal corruption charges. An appeals court last week threw out two bribery convictions but let most of the corruption charges stand.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports the collection includes two Picasso prints and a Renoir lithograph among its 16 pieces.

The items are on display through Saturday.

AP-WF-05-11-11 1318GMT

MoMA to buy American Folk Art Museum next door

The former home of the American Folk Art Museum, marked by Tombasil alloy panels on its 85-foot-tall facade, will be demolished. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Generic license.

The American Folk Art Museum has sold its building on West 53rd Street in New York. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Generic license.

NEW YORK (AP) – New York City’s Museum of Modern Art has agreed to buy the building of the financially strapped American Folk Art Museum.

The building is next door to MoMA, meaning MoMA could expand the exhibition space of its West 53rd Street facility. No immediate plans for the folk art building were announced.

The American Folk Art Museum will continue to operate at its gallery space near Lincoln Center. A spokeswoman for the smaller institution confirmed the sale, which will help eliminate its bond debt. The sale price was not disclosed.

The Folk Art Museum’s director, Maria Ann Conelli, announced last week that she was stepping down in July.

AP-WF-05-11-11 1429GMT

Anish Kapoor’s ‘Leviathan’ balloon unveiled in Paris

Anish Kapoor in 2008. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

PARIS (AP) – A blood-colored, globulous balloon ensconced in Paris’ Grand Palais seems to suck you into its vortex as you lose your sense of balance. And that’s not such a bad thing.

The city’s latest monumental exhibit, by Anish Kapoor, is at once enveloping and vertigo-inducing, and as often with the outspoken British artist, political. Kapoor dedicated it to jailed Chinese artist and government critic Ai Weiwei.

Leviathan, which opened Wednesday and runs through June 23, really is just one 75,000-cubic-meter balloon filling up much of the Art Nouveau, glass-roofed Grand Palais. Its “skin” is PVC vinyl, barely thicker than the skin of a toy balloon. Its four orbs are sustained by fans pumping whooshes of air that become the exhibit’s soundtrack.

It’s a show you experience from inside and out. A stiff, narrow revolving door releases visitors into what curator Jean de Loisy calls “this strange monster.”

The initial sense of darkness and the deep red tones do make you feel you’re in the belly of some beast. It mesmerizes gradually, as the sunlight coming in through the Palais’ windowed roof shifts its shadows. The seams in the balloon form lines that lead to a black hole in the center of one orb.

“It offers the possibility of going inside ourselves,” de Loisy told The Associated Press at the opening. “You are at the origin of the world.”

That black hole creates such a pull, and the lines are so dizzying, that one visitor swayed and stumbled as she tried to find the exit. She sought to steady herself on a wall, but instead found herself reaching inside a deeply concave balloon.

From outside, the balloon resembles a mutant blimp, bulging in four directions. Visitors walk under and around the bulges, touching the smooth skin of the burgundy vinyl.

The exhibit is the latest in a series staged by the Grand Palais called Monumenta, in which artists create massive artworks taking into account the scale and structure of the domed venue. Past Monumenta exhibitors included U.S. artist Richard Serra and German artist Anselm Kiefer.

“It’s both monumental and intimate,” said visitor Sabyne Soulard, who teaches art in Toulouse. Waving her hand to watch the shadows it created, she said, “It feels like it’s breathing.”

Kapoor, one of Britain’s best-known artists, is known for embracing enormity. He is designing a 375-foot twisting steel tower to overlook the Olympic Stadium in east London, intended to draw tourists to the London Olympic Park after the 2012 Games. His 110-ton stainless steel Cloud Gate sculpture on Chicago’s lakefront has become one of the city’s most photographed landmarks.

Indian-born Kapoor dedicated the exhibit to Ai Weiwei, who was detained trying to board a flight to Hong Kong last month amid a Chinese crackdown on dissidents.

“His arrest, disappearance and alleged torture are unacceptable. When governments silence artists it bears witness to their barbarity,” Kapoor said in a statement.

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Online:

www.monumenta.com

AP-WF-05-11-11 1424GMT

Yale offers free online access to its collections

Sioux chief Red Cloud’s war bonnet is one of millions of images that will be made available by Yale University. Image copyright Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History.

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) – Yale University announced Tuesday that it will offer free online access to digital images of millions of objects housed in its museums, archives and libraries, and the school said it’s the first Ivy League university to make its collections accessible that way.

No license will be required for the transmission of the images and no limitations will be imposed on their use, which will allow scholars, artists and others around the world to use Yale collections for study, publication, teaching and inspiration, Yale said.

It will take many years for the university to digitize all its objects. The school has harvested 1.5 million records from all its catalogs and digitized 250,000 of them, which are available through a newly developed collective catalog (http://tinyurl.com/4x2x2f3 ). Yale expects the 1.5 million records to grow much larger as it continues to harvest its catalogs.

Images now accessible under the new policy include pictures of the war bonnet of Sioux chief Red Cloud, a Mozart sonata in the composer’s own hand and a 15th-century Javanese gold kris, or dagger, handle.

Yale says its collections are among the strongest in depth and breadth of any academic institution in the world, ranging from anthropology to vertebrate zoology and including world-renowned art collections from antiquity to the present.

“That Yale has achieved the goal of making its collections available online to students, scholars, and the general public, in a free and open-access environment, is a splendid achievement that we hope will inspire other colleges and universities internationally to follow suit,” said Amy Meyers, director of the Yale Center for British Art. “The ability to publish images directly from our online catalogs without charge will encourage the increased use of our collections for scholarship, a benefit to which we look forward with the greatest excitement.”

Researchers will be able to examine individual items online in detail and compare objects from different collections side by side.

“High costs of reproduction rights have traditionally limited the ability of scholars, especially ones early in their careers, to publish richly illustrated books and articles in the history of art, architecture, and material and visual culture,” according to Mariet Westermann, vice president of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. “Yale’s new policy provides an important model to follow.”

AP-WF-05-10-11 2108GMT

Reyne Gauge: How to have a successful garage sale

The weather is finally warming up across the nation and you’re ready to get spring-cleaning started. That can mean only one thing – garage sale time.

Many of us look forward to having a yard sale this time of year to rid the clutter we accumulated over the past year and to get our homes organized.

It’s not like you haven’t had a sale before. Sometimes they have had great turnouts, and other times you’ve called a donation service to come haul it all away.

What is the formula for a great garage sale? I took my ideas and posed the question on my Facebook wall to see what my friends would suggest. I must say their ideas are helpful.

Let’s talk about advertising. You place an ad in the Friday classified section. You want people to know you have good stuff. Don’t be too wordy but sprinkle some spicy keywords that will grab attention and make customers want to stop. Antiques, collectibles, modernism, jewelry and couture always work.

You need proper signage for people to find your sale. Big black letters, arrows – even colorful balloons to get the attention of drivers who are unaware you are having a sale. Put signs out in the wee hours of the morning or the night before.

Call your friends. The bigger the sale, the better. Have them bring over things to sell that day. It also helps having extra bodies there to take payments, answer questions and help set up.

Cash is king. Make sure you have lots of coins and singles for making change. Speaking of cash, consider taking alternative methods of payment. If you are selling items that are more than $10, people might want to pay with a credit card or a check. PayPal offers phone-in credit card services now.

Price items in advance. Many people who won’t ask the price, especially if you are talking with another customer. If they are in a hurry to get to the next sale, you might lose a customer. Also, ask for more than you were hoping to get and be willing to accept a lower offer. Realize that haggling is the nature of the garage sale business.

Consider using the dot system in pricing. Have a poster board illustrating a red dot = $1, a blue dot = 50 cents, etc. Colored dots having adhesive backs are available in stores. Using this method might reduce the time spent pricing – especially smaller items. If you do price items individually, use a fine point Sharpie brand pen on the price stickers. Make sure the numerals are large enough to be read easily.

If you are selling electronics, make sure batteries are fresh and have a power cord available so people can test items to see if they work properly.

Don’t place merchandise on the lawn. Scattered on the ground, they are not visible to drivers, and it gives the impression they have no value. Use tables and shelving, and hang ropes from trees – whatever you can to showcase merchandise.

Group similar things together to make them more appealing. If you have jewelry, put it all in one place. If you have porcelain, display it like you would if it was on the dinner table.

Get the family involved. Kids love making money too. They can sell their old stuffed animals, clothes and toys they no longer want, which helps keep closets unclutterd and gives them extra spending money. If they have nothing to part with, let them set up a lemonade stand.

Music puts people in a shopping mood. Find something upbeat, and have it lightly playing in the background.

Food! Who says you can only sell clothing and knickknacks? Make finger foods – cookies and other snacks that are light but keep the shopper energized. Chances are they were up early that morning and have been on their feet or in the car since their first stop. They will be happy to see an affordable snack on the table.

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ADDITIONAL IMAGES OF NOTE

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