Empire styled gilt brass candelabra, France, mid to late 19th century. Estimate: $2,500-$4,500. Image courtesy of Morton Kuehnert Auctioneers & Appraisers.
HOUSTON – Morton Kuehnert Auctioneers & Appraisers has scheduled two sessions for its monthly specialty auction on Sunday, May 22. Session One, which begins at 1 p.m. Central, includes 91 lots of Latin American paintings, sculpture and works on paper. Session Two to follow includes 144 lots of French art and antiques from the estate of the late Edwin E. Dunnam, a Houston businessman.
Participation in the auction is open to the public. LiveAuctioneers will provide Internet live bidding. Absentee bids and phone bids will also be accepted.
Morton Kuehnert continues its commitment to selling Latin American art collections. The culturally rich works of art represent the heritage of the New World.
Highlights include lot 38, Roberto Montenegro’s Meza/Naturaleza Muerta (Still Life), 1963, estimated at $14,000-$18,000; lot 41, Rafael Coronel’s Dos Figuras/Alfredo de la Carpa, estimated at $42,000-$48,000; and lot 42, Pedro Coronel’s black marble sculpture entitled Craneo, estimated at $4,000-$7,000.
Two oils on canvas by Horacio Renteria Rocha are featured: lot 32, Nino Cadete and Dos Chicas en el Concina. Each is estimated at $5,000-$7,000. An interesting Gunther Gerzso untitled ink on paper, lot 46, is estimated at $12,000-$14,000.
Three Spanish Colonial 18th century santos are available: lot 63, a silver St. Rafael, estimated at $8,000-$10,000; lot 65, a silver bulto of St. Michael the Archangel, is estimated at $8,000-$10,000 as well; and lot 66, a silver St. Uriel in military attire, is estimated at $22,000-$26,000.
An 18th century Goa finely carved ivory crucifix, lot 59, is expected to achieve $9,000-$10,000. Lot 56 is an oil on copper depiction of Immaculada Concepcion, which is estimated at $14,000-$16,000.
An 18th century Mexican Colonial ivory inlaid table vargueno, made for holding jewelry, documents and valuables, is estimated at $30,000-$35,000. Lot 78, an oil on panel by Eugenio Oliva Y Rodrigo titled Fiesta Gitianis estimated at $10,000-$12,000.
The late Edwin E. Dunnam’s lifetime passion was collecting French art and antiques. Morton Kuehnert Auctioneers will present this collection on May 22. Dunnam had a distinguished career as owner of Fish Engineering & Construction in Houston.
Highlights of the estate include Lot 191, an ornate Louis XV-style gilded writing desk, circa late 19th century, estimated at $2,500-$4,500. Lot 108, a pair of Empire style gilt brass candelabra, mid to late 19th century, is estimated at $2,500-$4,500. Lot 141, a matching suite of center bowl and candelabra with Sevres inserts is estimated at $3,000-$6,000.
Lot 174, a late 19th century pair of Louis XV-style walnut petit marquetry commodes, is estimated at $1,000-$2,000. Lot 180, a Louis XV-style mahogany and rosewood chest-on-chest, France, late 19th century, is estimated at $1,000-$1,500.
Lot 182 is French antique oil on canvas three-panel screen, late 19th century, estimated at $600-$1,200. Lot 184 is a Louis XV-style fruitwood Duchesse Brisse, mid 19th century, estimated at $400-$800.
Lot 188 is Louis XV-style walnut bombé pedestal estimated at $600-$1,200. Lot 203, a hand-painted vitrine from late 19th century France, is estimated at $500-$1,000. Lot 266 is a Victorian Egyptian Revival chandelier estimated at $500-$1,000.
Lot 168 features an antique Satsuma pottery koro (incense burner) of the Meiji Period, estimated at $600-$1,200. Lot 173 is a Louis XV-style ebonized ormolu mounted center table estimated at $1,500-$2,500.
Another of Dunnam’s passions was the Rolls Royce automobile. His memorabilia associated with this interest are included in the auction. Lot 234 contains Rolls Royce memorabilia and is estimated at $300-$500.
Dunnam was graduated from Rice University in 1947 with a bachelor’s degree in Science and Engineering. He also attended Columbia University and Harvard University. Prior to that he completed a tour of duty in the U.S. Navy during World War II.
For details visit Morton Kuehnert website at www. mortonkuehnert.com or phone 713-827-7835.
Lalique France ‘Enfants’ art glass decanter and six cordials. Estimate: $900-$1,800. Image courtesy of Morton Kuehnert Auctioneers & Appraisers.Max Erdman oil on canvas, ‘The Salon Musicians,’ France, late 19th century, 28 1/4 x 38 1/2 inches. Estimate: $1,000-$1,500. Image courtesy of Morton Kuehnert Auctioneers & Appraisers.Hand-painted late 19th century vitrine, 74 1/2 x 33 x 18 inches. Estimate: $500-$1,000. Image courtesy of Morton Kuehnert Auctioneers & Appraisers.
Britains’ Picture Pack counter display box containing 33 pieces is considered ‘exceptionally rare.’ It has an $1,800-$2,000 estimate. Image courtesy of Old Toy Soldier Auctions. PITTSBURGH – Ray Haradin, owner of Old Toy Soldier Auctions, will offer for sale the late Don Darnieder’s collection of important antique and vintage soldiers on Saturday and Sunday, May 21-22.
The auction comprising more than 1,500 lots will also feature part II of the late Fred Wehr’s collection and other select properties.
LiveAuctioneers will provide Internet live bidding. The auction will begin at 10 a.m. Eastern both days.
Don Darnieder was from Milwaukee. It was there that his collection first put down roots, in a small upper room of the bungalow in which he and his wife lived. The Darnieders referred to the hideaway as Don’s “attic empire,” and over the years it certainly grew both in quantity and quality to live to that regal moniker.
Don came from a military family – his father and brothers served in World Wars I and II, respectively – so soldiers are in his blood. The studious and thorough way in which Don assembled his collection serves as a model for today’s collectors, who won’t want to miss bidding in this exciting auction.
Highlights of the sale include: Britains Picture Pack counter display, circa 1954-59; Timpo Hopalong Cassidy set; Timpo Tiger Hunt set; 20 different Johillco sets made for Midwest British Importers; first version of Britains no. 119 Gloucestershire, circa 1900; Bill Hocker contemporary sets; rare Karl Scheller (Germany) German Gun Team set, 35mm scale, circa 1910; Taylor & Barrett Chimpanzee Tea Party; approximately 20 Lou Steinberg dime store conversions; large selection of Hawker, including Bengal Horse Artillery; Edmunds Civil War figures; Marlborough Dehli Durbar Indian regiments; and retired King & Country. Also to be sold are pre- and postwar Britains, Mignot sets, Comet and Eriksson/Authenticast, and Trophy sets.
For more information, call Ray Haradin at 412-343-8733 (tollfree: 800-349-8009) or e-mail raytoys@aol.com. Visit Old Toy Soldier Auctions’ website at www.oldtoysoldierauctions.com.
View the fully illustrated catalog and sign up to bid absentee or live via the Internet at www.LiveAuctioneers.com.
Britains Set no. 105 Imperial Yeomanry with original printers flowers box, prewar, five pieces. Estimate: $250-$350. Image courtesy of Old Toy Soldier Auctions.King and Country glossy World War One Aces. Mannock, McCudden, Von Richtofen and Immelman, in original box. Estimate: $120-$180. Image courtesy of Old Toy Soldier Auctions.Britains Set No. 168, scarce civilians including lady in long red coat, man in Panama hat, yachtsman, flapper and man walking with pipe, five figures, prewar. Estimate: $250-$350. Image courtesy of Old Toy Soldier Auctions.Tom Mix & Tony cowboy set by Don and Honey Ray with original box, rare adapted from prewar Britains cowboy, with added fur chaps. Estimate: $250-$350. Image courtesy of Old Toy Soldier Auctions.Hocker: Bengal Horse Artillery in action Set no. 49/29, 11 pieces. Estimate: $200-$250. Image courtesy of Old Toy Soldier Auctions.
An etching of the Cincinnati riverfront, which appeared in the Sept. 27, 1862 issue of ‘Harper’s Weekly,’ can’t compare to the detail of Fontayne and Porter’s series of daguerreotypes of the same scene recorded 14 years earlier. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. CINCINNATI (AP) – The Cincinnati library system plans to unveil on Saturday a series of groundbreaking 1848 photos that create a two-mile panoramic view of the Cincinnati riverfront.
The Cincinnati Riverfront Panorama was captured by Charles Fontayne and William S. Porter as they stood on a Newport, Ky., rooftop and looked across the Ohio River, the Cincinnati Enquirer reports.
The photos go on permanent display at the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County main branch beginning with the unveiling ceremony.
“It’s a one-of-a-kind object,” said Ralph Wiegandt, conservator for the George Eastman House of International Museum of Photography and Film in Rochester, N.Y. “It boggles the mind. We’re still reveling in its magnificence.”
The library acquired the photos – the size of large postcards – in the early 20th century and they have been in storage since 1955 for protection. The Eastman House examined, cleaned and stabilized the photos in 2006 and 2007.
The Enquirer reports that photography was in its infancy in 1848 and the panorama showed that photos could not only capture images of people but also of landscapes. It’s considered the oldest surviving photo of its kind of an American city. The eight images are daguerreotypes made in a camera on a silver plate.
The exhibit will include interactive screens where viewers can zoom in on details from the photos, such as laundry on a clothesline, names on steamboats, a man sitting on a log outside a sawmill and the Second Presbyterian Church clock tower reading 1:55 p.m. – a detail unknown until the Eastman House did its work.
“We can see far more in the photos than Fontayne and Porter could when they took the pictures,” said Patricia Van Skaik, manager of the library’s genealogy and local history department.
“It enables us to understand what life was like in Cincinnati in the mid-19th century in a way that we have never been able to before.”
Fontayne and Porter worked as partners in a Cincinnati photo gallery from 1847 to 1854.
Their photos won a top award at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia in 1849 and were displayed at the first world’s fair at London’s Crystal Palace two years later.
“It’s truly a miracle in every way,” Wiegandt said. “Everything worked. There’s nothing to compare it to.”
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Information from: The Cincinnati Enquirer, http://www.enquirer.com
Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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An etching of the Cincinnati riverfront, which appeared in the Sept. 27, 1862 issue of ‘Harper’s Weekly,’ can’t compare to the detail of Fontayne and Porter’s series of daguerreotypes of the same scene recorded 14 years earlier. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
The Winter Palace portion of Russia’s State Hermitage Museum. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license. NEW YORK (AP) – A decades-long dispute between Russia and an Orthodox Jewish group over ownership of holy texts collected for centuries by influential rabbis and seized by the Soviet Union has jolted the U.S. art world, threatening an end to major cultural loans between the two countries.
Russia has already frozen art loans to major American institutions, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Houston Museum of Natural Science, fearing that its cultural property could be seized after the Brooklyn, N.Y.-based Chabad-Lubavitch movement won a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in 2010 compelling the return of its texts.
The Met – and possibly other major lending institutions – are weighing whether to discontinue loans of cultural property to Russia.
The issue has become so important to relations between the U.S. and Russia that the Justice Department has signaled for the first time in court papers that by Monday, it may weigh in on the legal case – which the Russians pulled out of in 2009, citing sovereign immunity.
Federal attorneys declined to comment for this story, and Russia’s Culture Ministry did not respond to numerous calls, emails and faxes from The Associated Press seeking comment.
The U.S. State Department has worked to support Chabad’s campaign to reclaim its sacred texts since the 1990s.
Chabad is a worldwide Orthodox Hasidic Jewish movement, and has spent decades trying to reclaim the trove of thousands of religious books, manuscripts and handwritten documents, known as the Schneerson Collection, held in Russian repositories. Collected since 1772 by the leaders of the movement, the revered religious papers include Chabad’s core teachings and traditions.
Russian officials have argued that Chabad has no ownership rights over the collection and that the case belongs in Russian courts because it considers the works part of the country’s cultural heritage.
Chabad won the right to reclaim the sacred texts from a Soviet court in 1991, but after the collapse of the USSR, the new Russian authorities threw out the judgment.
Cultural objects lent from foreign countries are protected from legal claims under U.S. law, as long as they are deemed to be “in the national interest” and “of cultural significance” by the State Department – which is the case in major exhibitions.
Nevertheless, some Russian officials are convinced that seizure of that country’s cultural property is a preordained outcome of the court’s decision.
“We know what is done in such cases: the state property – planes, ships, paintings – is arrested,” said Mikhail Borisovich Piotrovsky, the director of Russia’s State Hermitage Museum, in a recent interview with the Russian newspaper, the Saint-Petersburg Vedomosty. “Consequently, the Russian government won’t issue permits for exhibitions in the U.S.”
But Seth Gerber of Bingham McCutchen, an attorney for Chabad, said the group had no plans to ask the court to seize Russian cultural property.
“Chabad will not seek to enforce its judgment by attaching or executing against any art or object of cultural significance which is immune from seizure under federal law and loaned by the Russian Federation to American museums,” he said in an email to the AP.
Chabad filed a statement and letter to State Department officials with the court Friday, assuring the U.S. government of its intentions.
The Russian culture minister announced the ban in January.
Since then, key works from Russia that had been destined for exhibitions at The Met, the National Gallery and J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, have been held back.
The Houston Museum of Natural Science postponed its show of 150 jeweled objects amassed by Russian royalty, an exhibition that was originally scheduled to open May 20. “We do know that the show will open at some point,” said Latha Thomas, a spokeswoman for the museum.
An exhibit at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, “Gifts of the Sultan: The Arts of Giving at the Islamic Courts,” is scheduled to open on June 15, with or without the Russian objects that were to be included in the show of 250 works, a museum spokeswoman said.
Meanwhile, the Museum of Russian Icons in Clinton, Mass., was forced to shutter its only major show of the year after the Russian government in March called back 37 lent objects.
“It’s all such a nightmare,” said Kent Russell, the curator of the museum, which had already spent about $300,000 promoting the show when it had to be closed. “We had a lot riding on this. We had a lot of tours that had to be canceled. The catalog is of absolutely no value to us whatsoever.”
The Met recently said it was negotiating an agreement to show its exhibit of clothing designer Paul Poiret at the Kremlin Museum in Moscow this fall. “But if the embargo continues the museum may reconsider,” said Met spokeswoman Elyse Topalian.
Legal experts and art professionals find it implausible that Russian cultural property lent to U.S. institutions could be seized.
Howard Spiegler, an attorney with the International Art Law Group at Herrick, Feinstein, a New York-based firm, said exhibitions that are imported from abroad, as long as they are certified by the U.S. State Department, are protected from seizure.
“What bothers me about this is that Russia is disingenuously trying to place blame on the plaintiffs in the Chabad case for Russia’s alleged inability to loan artworks for the good of the American public,” Spiegler said.
Greg Guroff, the president of the Bethesda, Md.-based Foundation for International Arts & Education, was a cultural attache to the Soviet Union and has advised both the Chabad and Russian Federation. He said the Russians’ fear that their cultural property will be seized was unfounded.
“It’s so farfetched, it’s hard for us to believe. They send artwork to other countries that have much less protection. Why exactly this fervor, no one can quite figure out,” he said.
Phone messages and emails sent to officials at the Russian Embassy in Washington, D.C., seeking comment for this story were not returned.
The Schneerson Collection is comprised of two distinct sets: the “Library,” which was seized by Russia’s Bolshevik government during the October Revolution of 1917; and the “Archive,” which scholars say was “twice plundered” because it was looted by the Nazis in 1939 and then taken by the Red Army to the Soviet Union in 1945 as “trophy” documents.
Gerber, the movement’s lawyer, said the Russian government has repatriated Nazi-looted property taken by the Soviet military to a number of countries, including France, Belgium and the Netherlands, but has stubbornly refused to return the collection.
Other documents taken by Soviet trophy brigades from the Nazis that could help to reconstruct how Jews lived before and during the Holocaust have not been returned, as demonstrated by the newly published English-language guide to collections at the Russian State Military Archive, “Nazi-Looted Jewish Archives in Moscow.”
The book, which includes a description of the Schneerson texts captured during World War II, was published in association with the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and the Jewish Theological Seminary, with funding for the research coming from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.
Wesley Fisher, the research director at the Claims Conference, said the collections, some of the most important archives of their kind in the world, were believed to have been destroyed for decades until they were found secreted away in the former Soviet Union.
These are some of the last prisoners who have not gone home,” he said.
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Cristian Salazar can be followed at http://www.twitter.com/crsalazar
Randy Herschaft can be followed at http://www.twitter.com/HerschaftAP
Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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The Winter Palace portion of Russia’s State Hermitage Museum. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.
Gotham Comics owner Keith Forney stocked up on Green Lantern, Thor and Captain America comics, graphic novels, T-shirts, action figures and posters, and he’s hoping the hype surrounding the upcoming films can generate more business this summer.
“I’m looking forward to the release of the movies and hopefully they do well,” Forney said. “And if they do, I anticipate they will generate more business for me, but, more importantly, I hope the movies are good and everyone enjoys them.”
Thor opened in theaters on May 6, Green Lantern opens June 17 and Captain American: The First Avenger opens July 22. Forney doubled his stock of Thor and Captain America comics and graphic novels. He usually has about 11 different volumes, but he now has more than 20 in stock. He’s also increased his stock of Green Lantern comics and graphic novels by 50 percent, and he stocked up on back issues in case a reader wants to catch up on a series before a movie is released, Forney said.
Sometimes comic book adapted films have a positive impact on business, Forney said, but sometimes they do not.
“It really depends if it’s a good movie or not,” Forney said. “If it’s a bad movie, there’s very little chance it’s going to motivate people to come in the shop.”
For Forney, the most recent biggest impact a film had on business was in 1989 when Batman, starring Michael Keaton was released.
“That was a well-received movie with an all-star cast,” Forney said. “It was also darker and grittier than previous superhero movies, so that kind of gave way to new possibilities for comic book movies.”
More recent films The Watchmen and The Dark Knight also increased sales at Forney’s store. The movie trailer of The Watchmen, shown before The Dark Knight, drove customers to Forney’s shop, and the demand for the graphic novel skyrocketed, he said.
The Dark Knight boosted graphic novel sales by 50 to 100 percent in summer 2008, Forney said. Prior to the movie, the shop was selling five novels per week, but after the movie was released, Forney began selling 10 each week. The shop was selling one or two Watchmen novels per month, but after the trailer debuted, it sold about two or three per week, he said.
Comic book fan Samantha Weaver, 19, is planning to see both Thor and Green Lantern when they come out in theaters.
“For the comic books, Thor is great because it has really strong villains and Green Lantern is neat because of all the abnormal powers,” Weaver, of Westminster, said while shopping earlier this month at Gotham Comics. “If the movies are good people might be pushed to read the books.”
Sam Robinson, store manager at J&M Comics and Games in Eldersburg, said comic book movies help business, but more so leading up to the movie rather than after it.
“We see a lot of people coming in and trying to get the older books for whatever movie is coming out and we’re seeing a lot of that for Green Lantern right now,” Robinson said. “People definitely like to refresh themselves on the story so they’re all ready when they go to the movie.”
Other comic shops in Maryland and Pennsylvania are also stocking up on items to supply new and old customers.
When Iron Man was released in 2008, comic sales increased by 10 to 20 percent, said Charles Fitzsimmons, store manager of Cards Comics and Collectibles in Reisterstown. The shop was selling 30 Iron Man comics per month, but after the movie debuted the shop began selling 35 to 40 per month, he said.
With Thor and Green Lantern debuting soon, Fitzsimmons is expecting the store’s stock of action figures to fly off the shelves.
“They are definitely going to sell,” Fitzsimmons said. “I think Thor could have the most impact because noncomic book fans may be interested in the mythological aspect of it.”
Comix Universe in Hanover, Pa., has added five to 10 Thor-based comics and graphics novels to its normal supply, said Rob Bream, co-owner of the comic shop. This summer, Bream said he is expecting a jump in comic and graphic novel sales because Thor and Captain America both tie in to next summer’s release of The Avengers.
“Every year more and more people are getting interested in these movies,” Bream said.
In preparation for the Green Lantern, the store will be receiving a special collection of five comics, with each one showcasing a main character in the movie, Bream said.
Douglas Cathro, an employee at Beyond Comics in Frederick, said the shop has stocked up on Thor hammers and helmets, and Green Lantern mask and ring light up sets.
“Thor and Green Lantern are the two big ones right now,” Cathro said. “We’re expecting a lot of new and old customers.”
Last month, a customer came in who read the Thor comic books when he was younger, Cathro said, and he purchased the older books when he learned the movie was being released. Other older customers came in and purchased copies of the Thor comic books for themselves and their children, he said.
Some new customers come in because they want to learn the history of a certain character, Cathro said.
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Information from: Carroll County Times of Westminster, Md., http://www.carrollcounty.com/
Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewrittin, or redistributed.
Mickey Mantle signs an autograph in the 1960s. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. BILOXI, Miss. (AP) — An autographed Mickey Mantle baseball is a hot item for any sports memorabilia collector. But the one a man tried to sell in Biloxi recently really was hot, according to police.
WLOX-TV reports that Biloxi police arrested Thomas Marlin Norris of Petal and charged him with receiving stolen property.
Investigators say Norris went to Gulf Coast Cards at Edgewater Mall in March to sell the Mickey Mantle ball, which is valued at about $1,200. Police say the ball had been stolen earlier from a store in the Hattiesburg area. The owner of Gulf Coast Cards knew about the Hattiesburg theft and called police.
Norris was arrested Thursday in Hattiesburg. He is being held in the Harrison County jail on a $25,000 bond.
Mantle played 18 seasons for the New York Yankees and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of fame in 1974. He died at age 63 in 1995.
Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
