ST. JOHNSBURY, Vt. (AP) – The federal government is planning to return 130 antique guns seized from a St. Johnsbury gun dealer who once owned firearm that was later used in a Boston killing.
But federal prosecutors say the remaining 370 weapons taken from the home of Phillip Ciotti on Aug. 3, including at least one short-barreled shotgun and one short-barreled rifle, are being “retained as evidence of federal criminal violations.”
The antiques are being returned to Ciotti because the antiques do not meet the federal government’s definition of a firearm.
No charges have been filed against Ciotti or Bernholz, although the investigation is continuing.
Ciotti, an investigator with the Vermont Board of Medical Practice, and Richard Bernholz, a special agent with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, are under investigation for their sales of guns at gun shows. On the same day the guns were seized from Ciotti’s home, another 150 were seized from Bernholz’s Franklin home.
A court affidavit filed by an ATF agent says Ciotti and Bernholz jointly engaged in selling firearms at gun shows even though only Ciotti has a federal firearms license allowing him to do that.
The affidavit said Ciotti bought the gun used in the Boston killing at a Waterbury gun shop on behalf of the Board of Medical Practice, but the state Attorney General’s office could not provide a reason why he would need to buy one on behalf of his office.
#Â Â #Â Â #
Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Auguste Rodin’s The Thinker, 1902, bronze and marble. Located at the Musee Rodin in Paris. Photo by Andrew Horne.
BUENOS AIRES (AFP) – Art lovers in Argentina are up in armsafter a cast of Auguste Rodin’s inspiring “The Thinker” sculpture was defaced by vandals only to suffer more potential damage as it was cleaned.
Crafted more than a century ago, the statue depicts a seated male nude, his chin resting on his hand, lost in thought. Considered a masterpiece of late 19th-early 20th century art, it is Rodin’s most recognizable work.
The original bronze and marble statue is on display at Paris’s Rodin Museum, home also to “The Gates of Hell,” the French sculptor’s monumental masterpiece depicting a scene from Italian poet Dante’s “The Inferno.”
“The Thinker” in the Argentine capital Buenos Aires is number 3, the third of 22 original sculptures, eight of which were completed from the original mold during Rodin’s (1840-1917) lifetime.
Exhibited on a plinth in a main square in front of Argentina’s national Congress building, the sculpture is a popular tourist attraction in the city, which is known, fittingly enough, as the Paris of Latin America.
But the beloved work was defaced last week, splattered by unknown assailants with paint and spraypaint — an act of vandalism that elicited cries of outrage across this culture-loving country.
“It’s scandalous,” said Teresa de Anchorena, the member of a commission here tasked with preserving Argentina’s heritage.
Officials as yet do not have a motive for the vandalism and have no known suspects.
Hoping to return the work to its former glory, the Buenos Aires government arranged to blast the statue with water to remove the paint, a course of action that left art conservationists aghast.
The aggressive cleaning technique, they said, may have done more harm than good “because irreversible damage could result to the original patination,” said art expert Cristina Lancellotti.
Bluish-green patina that forms on the surface of bronze objects over time because of oxidation gives the metal artwork its unique look and is considered an integral part of the world-renowned sculpture.
Authorities, anxious to prevent a repeat of the cultural sacrilege, are considering relocating the sculpture closer to the actual parliament building.
The Buenos Aires city council is also considering a new law to place a protective metal grille around the artwork.
Casts of “The Thinker” can be found around the world, including at Columbia University in New York City, the Rodin Museum in Philadelphia, and the Laeken Cemetery in Brussels.
Daniel Garber (Pa., New Hope school, 1880-1958) drypoint etching from the living estate of Newtown Boroughâs former mayor Glenn Hains and his wife Barbara. Stephensonâs Auctioneers image.
SOUTHAMPTON, Pa. â On Sept. 16, Stephenson’s Auctioneers located in the Philadelphia suburb of Southampton will conduct a sale of goods and inventory from William Glatz Jewelers, one of the last of Philadelphia’s traditional jewelry, watch and clock shops. The auction additionally includes superb antique American furniture and sterling silver from the living estate of former Newtown Borough (Bucks County, Pa.) mayor Glenn Hains and wife Barbara Hains. LiveAuctioneers.com will provide the Internet live bidding.
A second-generation family business founded more than 60 years ago, Glatz’s permanently shuttered their Lawndale venue after proprietor William Glatz was tragically slain during an attempted robbery in October 2010.
“William Glatz Jewelers on Rising Sun Avenue was an institution in its community. While so many other jewelry stores moved out of the city to the suburbs, Mr. Glatz chose to remain in Lawndale. He kept the store open as a labor of love and was revered for his loyalty to the neighborhood,” said Stephenson’s owner, Cindy Stephenson.
Stephenson described William Glatz as an “old-time, hands-on jeweler who did beautiful repair work on both clocks and watches.” The auction inventory of fine jewelry from Glatzâs will be auctioned in approximately 50-80 lots.
Most of the auction items are gold, many of them set with precious stones. The range of goods includes rings, necklaces and chains; bracelets, brooches and ladies’ vanity items, such as compacts and small purses.
Highlights include a collection of Art Deco filigree diamond rings, a sizable diamond filigree pendant with original long filigree chain, and several heavy circa-1910 gold bangles, some engraved and one set with a half-carat solitaire diamond.
The bounteous fine jewelry offering is enhanced by consignments from several other distinguished estates. From the Louise McClure Estate comes a filigreed white gold diamond cocktail ring in pristine condition and an associated collection of Victorian and Edwardian clothing that includes an early 20th-century hat with a bird figure made of real bird feathers.
Louise McClure lived in the upscale Philadelphia suburb of Rydal, in the large, elegantly furnished Tudor home she had inherited. Her father, Frederick McClure, was an executive with Nabisco. Among the McClure family antiques to be auctioned are a circa-1920 Sarouk living room rug, a 6-piece Art Nouveau sterling silver dresser set and many other very nice Art Nouveau smalls, Heinz Art sterling-on-bronze pieces, furniture, and early lamps.
Another estate produced a 2.9-carat marquise-cut yellow gold ring with a crisscross design and small, channel-set diamonds in the center. Additionally, there is a beautiful 2.37-carat opal ring surrounded by old mine-cut diamonds. Each of the six rings from this particular estate comes with an appraisal from a certified gemologist.
A selection of chic 1920s sterling silver sliding watches (also known as travel or bag watches) will be auctioned. âIf someone were traveling on a train, they could slide open the watch and set it out as a clock,â Cindy Stephenson explained. The watches were made by Movado and feature Art Deco styling, one having a purple enamel case.
From yet another estate comes a collection of pocket watches, mostly with gold cases. A highlight is a hunting-case watch with a 14K rose gold case, engraved on both sides and bearing name of a local Philadelphia jeweler, Z.J. Pequignot.
Timepieces conclude with several wristwatches, including two menâs Jules Jurgensen watches a womenâs gold Le Coultre watch and a lovely assortment of dainty watches in jeweled cases. A perfect âgo-withâ for the jewelry section of the sale is the collection of more than 20 beautifully executed miniature portrait paintings on ivory and celluloid.
Newtown Boroughâs former mayor, Glenn Hains, and his wife Barbara have opened their gracious home to the public on several occasions as part of the Newtown Historic Associationâs Christmas Open House Tour. âMany, many people on this tour have admired the wonderful antiques in the Hains home. This auction provides a unique opportunity not only to admire but also to bid on their exceptional antiques,â said Stephenson. Furniture to be auctioned includes a circa-1780 New England maple Queen Anne highboy, Federal tiger maple tester bed and circa-1780 Chippendale maple slant-front desk. Other key lots include an oil on canvas of a clipper ship signed âS.G.W. Benjamin,â a Lebanon County, Pa., grain-painted wood box, a set of Gorham âNocturneâ sterling silver flatware and a 3-piece sterling silver coffee service.
Several other estates and collections round out the Sept. 16 auction inventory, including a Bucks County estate that was the source of a collection of ship models, several radio-controlled ships, boats and a helicopter.
Stephensonâs Friday, Sept. 16 Antiques & Decorative Arts auction will commence at 2 p.m. Eastern time. For additional information on any lot in the sale, call Cindy Stephenson at 215-322-6182 or e-mail info@stephensonsauction.com.
View the fully illustrated catalog and sign up to bid absentee or live via the Internet at www.LiveAuctioneers.com.
S.G.W. Benjamin (American, 1837-1914) signed oil-on-canvas painting of a clipper ship from the living estate of Newtown Boroughâs former mayor Glenn Hains and his wife Barbara. Stephensonâs Auctioneers image.Early American student lamp from the Estate of Louise McClure. Stephensonâs Auctioneers image.18K 2.9-carat marquise-cut diamond solitaire engagement ring. Stephensonâs Auctioneers image.Art Deco 14K gold filigree and diamond ring, from the Estate of Louise McClure. Stephensonâs Auctioneers image.Finely filigreed diamond pendant, from the final inventory of William Glatz Jewelers, Lawndale. Stephensonâs Auctioneers image.14K gold bangle bracelet set with ½-carat diamond, circa 1910, from the final inventory of William Glatz Jewelers, Lawndale. Stephensonâs Auctioneers image.Engraved 14K rose gold pocket watch made by Philadelphia jeweler, Z.J. Pequignot. Stephensonâs Auctioneers image.Sterling silver coffee service from the living estate of Newtown Boroughâs former mayor Glenn Hains and his wife Barbara. Stephensonâs Auctioneers image.Federal maple tester bed from the living estate of Newtown Boroughâs former mayor Glenn Hains and his wife Barbara. Stephensonâs Auctioneers image.
