October 13, 2011 - Auction Central News

French duke’s estate to sell at Elite Decorative Arts, Oct. 22

Exquisite ladies’ platinum ring with diamonds and 3-carat oval emerald. Estimate: $20,000-$30,000. Image courtesy of Elite Decorative Arts.

BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. – The estate of the late Duke Louis d’Antin – a French-born nobleman who led a rich and interesting life prior to his passing earlier this year – will be sold on Saturday, Oct. 22, by Elite Decorative Arts. The event will be held at the Elite Decorative Arts gallery, located in the Quantum Town Center at 1034 Gateway Blvd. in Boynton Beach.

Duke d’Antin was born in 1919 in post-World War I France. He fled to Spain during World War II and fought alongside Generalissimo Francisco Franco in the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939), rising to the rank of colonel. He later went on to become an Olympic swimmer and a race car driver. In the early 1950s, he competed at LeMans in his native France.

The duke’s connection to Florida would be his opulent estate condominium home in Key Biscayne, where he resided until the time of his death. In keeping with his attraction to the finer things in life, he stocked the residence with the best in original artworks, silver, porcelain, estate jewelry, glass, furniture, bronzes and more. In all, more than 300 lots will cross the block.

One item carries an estimate of $200,000-$250,000. It is a stunning Russian gold and silver enameled desk clock with Faberge marks. The clock has magnificent translucent pink guilloche enameling enclosing a white enameled dial with black Arabic numerals and pierced gold hands. The back bears an 88 silver purity and the mark of the maker (Henrik Wigstgrom).

Two pieces of estate jewelry are expected to realize $20,000-$30,000. The first is a late 19th or early 20th century breathtaking ladies’ Patek Philippe platinum diamond and pearl lapel watch. The watch boasts magnificent craftsmanship, with 165 round cut white diamonds and 78 round graduating pearls in a platinum setting. The face features black and gold Arabic numerals.

The other piece is an exquisite ladies’ platinum ring (size 7 3/4) having approximately 31 graduating baguette diamonds surrounding a 3-carat oval emerald in the center. The emerald measures 11.16 millimeters by 9.35 millimeters, with a transparent green cushion antique mixed cut to stone. The ring has a total weight of 8.60 dwt (13.4 grams) and is absolutely gorgeous.

Original works of art will include an acrylic oil on canvas landscape rendering by the Italian artist Nicola Simbari (b. 1929). The 32-inch by 40-inch framed and matted painting is an Impressionistic interpretation of the coastal shoreline in Sabaudia, in Italy, south of Rome. The artist employed vivid colors in thick paint and wide brush strokes. It should bring $3,000-$5,000.

Also from the fine art category, an Art Deco gilt bronze and cold painted sculpture of a young girl treating the wound of an injured dog, by Dimitri (Demeter) H. Chiparus (Romanian, 1886-1947) is expected to command $2,000-$4,000. The sculpture – titled Accident Chasse, or in English: A Hunting Accident – is exquisitely detailed and is raised on an octagonal marble plinth.

A spectacular seven-piece Genoese (Italian) 916 silver tea set with handled serving tray has an estimate of $8,000-$12,000. The set, crafted circa 1935, has a regal ribbed design with scrolled attributes. Included are a large teakettle with heater, a coffeepot, a teapot, a creamer, a covered sugar, a tea strainer and cup and tray. The total weight of this fine set is 261 troy ounces.

An antique and beautifully crafted Teplitz amphora bust of a young maiden, depicted with fanning portions of her dress billowing in all directions, should garner $150-$250. The bust, set on a wooden base and made circa 1892-1905, is 13 inches tall and holds the red Turn Teplitz Bohemia vase mark, indicating the initials of the three owners (Riessner, Stellmacher & Kessel).

Certain to get paddles waving is a 19th century signed Sevres French porcelain urn with bronze mounts and lid (est. $3,000-$4,000). The piece features a rich cobalt matte and glossy ground, with extensive gilt highlights. The body depicts a continuous landscape and heavenly figures. Raised on a bronze base, the urn is 27 1/2 inches tall and is signed by the artist (“Schill”).

Rounding out a list of just some of the day’s expected top lots is a Meissen porcelain reticulated floral footed basket (est. $800-$1,200). It features a hand-painted interior and exterior floral motif, a sculpted border, and applied floral blossoms supported with branch design feet and handles. The 4-inch-tall basket is nicely marked on the bottom with a blue crossed-sword stamp.

The auction will begin at 1 p.m. Eastern with previews scheduled for Friday, Oct. 21, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday, the day of sale, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. A healthy in-house crowd is anticipated, and Internet bidding through LiveAuctioneers.com should be brisk. Phone and absentee bids will also be accepted. A buyer’s premium will apply to all sales.

For details log onto www.eliteauction.com or call 800-991-3340.

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.LiveAuctioneers.com.

ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE

Items from the Key Biscayne estate home of Duke Louis d’Antin will be sold Saturday, Oct. 22. Image courtesy of Elite Decorative Arts.

Beautiful ladies’ Patek Philippe platinum diamond and pearl lapel watch. Estimate: $20,000-$30,000. Image courtesy of Elite Decorative Arts.

Stunning Russian gold and silver enameled desk clock with Faberge marks. Estimate: $200,000-$250,000. Image courtesy of Elite Decorative Arts.

Seven-piece Genoese (Italian) 916 silver tea set with serving tray. Estimate: $8,000-$12,000. Image courtesy of Elite Decorative Arts.

Meissen reticulated floral porcelain footed basket, 4 inches in height. Estimate: $800-$1,200. Image courtesy of Elite Decorative Arts.

Art Deco gilt bronze and cold painted sculpture by Dimitri H. Chiparus. Estimate: $2,000-$4,000. Image courtesy of Elite Decorative Arts.

Ancient art studio uncovered in South Africa

This map created by Vincent Mourre points out the location of Blombos Cave, an archaeological site in South Africa, llicensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

WASHINGTON (AFP) – Two shells containing a primitive paint mixture have been uncovered in South Africa, revealing what researchers believe may be the remnants of a 100,000 year old art studio.

The abalone shells held a paste containing ochre, an earthy iron ore offering yellow or red hues, which may have been used for painting or body decoration, said the study in the journal Science.

The shells were found at Blombos Cave in Cape Town near other tools, which suggested the users were scraping off ochre flakes and mixing them with other compounds to form a liquid paint.

Stone Age artists likely rubbed pieces of ochre on quartzite slabs to make a fine red powder. Any chips of ochre were probably crushed with quartz hammers and mixed with hot crushed animal bone, charcoal, stone chips and some liquid.

The concoction was then transferred to the shells and “gently stirred,”said the study led by Christopher Henshilwood from the Institute for Human Evolution at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.

“A bone was probably used to stir the mixture and to transfer some of the mixture out of the shell,” said the study.

The discovery suggests that humans of the era understood some basic chemistry and were able to plan ahead to store the paint for future use, whether ceremonial, decorative or protective.

“Ochre may have been applied with symbolic intent as decoration on bodies and clothing during the Middle Stone Age,” said Henshilwood. “This discovery represents an important benchmark in the evolution of complex human cognition in that it shows that humans had the conceptual ability to source, combine and store substances that were then possibly used to enhance their social practices.”

Scientists were able to date the quartz sediments in which the shells were found to 100,000 years ago using a process called optically stimulated luminescence dating (OSL).

The absence of other archeological remains in the area suggests the “site was used primarily as a workshop and was abandoned shortly after the compounds were made,” said the study. “Sand then blew into the cave from the outside, encapsulating the toolkits.”

The two specimens will be on display at the Iziko Museum in Cape Town beginning on October 14.

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Pa. walnut cupboard tops $37,920 at Pook & Pook auction

Lancaster, Pa., walnut wall cupboard, circa 1770, 87 1/2 inches high x 60 1/2 inches wide x 21 1/2 inches deep. Sold for $37,920. Image courtesy of Pook & Pook Inc.

DOWNINGTOWN, Pa. – Pook & Pook Inc. kicked off its fall catalog season on Sept. 30 and Oct. 1, with a 1000-plus lot sale featuring items from several educational institutions, estates and private collections. The sale generated much interest with over 1,100 registered bidders hoping to purchase treasured items.

The Friday night session began with 75 lots from a Michigan collection. The first lot was a vibrant 19th century American hooked rug depicting two large stags standing beneath floral branches (est. $5,000-10,000). The rug sold for $13,035 to a local Pennsylvania collector, ecstatic to take home his favorite item in the sale. Prices quoted include the buyer’s premium.

Encompassing some fine redware pieces, the collection was viewed by local Pennsylvania collectors and dealers. The first was a group of miniatures and a miniature step-back cupboard in which to display them. Many of the pieces carried a provenance of Paul Flack, well known for his pristine collections. A 4 3/4-inch-diameter plate with yellow and green sprig decoration did well at $4,029. Other redware items included a hen on nest attributed to the Haig Pottery for $474, a large seated dog for $6,517 and a shallow bowl with unusual circle and dot slip design for $2,844. A Pennsylvania painted pine hutch table (est. $4,000-6,000), with a Don Walters provenance, attracted attention as well as a Pennsylvania painted corner cupboard with ochre graining and red and black stippled highlights (est. $4,000-8,000). They brought $4,503 and $8,505 respectively. A delicate pair of New England bent rod-back Windsor side chairs with red and black striped grounds and wine decoration did well at $3,081. With a good provenance from the Mary Thornton collection, a vibrantly painted New England blanket chest brought $6,517.

The property of a Dodge family descendent continued the Friday evening sale encompassing the next 100 lots. Featured in the group are various porcelains. Highlights included a Meissen-type porcelain figure of a mother pug and suckling pup for $5,688, a pair of Meissen dogs for $5,925, a Meissen hound for $8,295, a Chinese export tureen and cover for $1,777, Staffordshire pearlware lamp in the form of Atlas with the world on his shoulders for $888 and a pearlware lion for $1,458. Several paintings did well including a ink and watercolor cartoon by Charles Samuel Addams for $8,295 and a Dutch school still life for $5,451.

The sale continued with fine art. A pleasing fox hunting scene by Charles Morris Young titled Breaking the Leap and Cover was bid to $13,035. Two dramatic illustrations by Frank Earle Schoonover were from the story by George Marsh, A Little Tragedy at Coocoocache. One was titled I am Francois Hertel and the other Dem papier sa one t’ousand for de man, bringing $8,295 and $6,517. A comical illustration for the Winchester Firearms Co. by Irving Brown depicting a hound scaring up a skunk fetched $5,925. A rich watercolor of a bald eagle and a watercolor of a great horned owl were both by the artist Earl Lincoln Poole and did well at $3,555 and $3,792. An appealing oil on board industrial scene by Aaron Harry Gorson brought over the high estimate to reach $14,220. A William Aiken Walker cabin scene with five figures and animals was estimated at $14,000-18,000 and ended up at $18,900. Other notable works included a portrait of a ballerina by Louis Kronberg for $4,740, a portrait of Mrs. Godfrey Freeman by Howard Hildebrandt for $4,860, a George Rodrigue with blue dog for $6,075 and a Ben Austrian oil of chicks playing in a straw hat for $4,740.

The end of the first session featured some fine carpets. An antique Mahal carpet with an estimate of $4,000-$6,000 soared to $33,180. One of the two Serapis had a central ivory medallion on a red field with nice ivory corners. It brought well over the top estimate at $20,145. A Caucasian carpet with two turtle medallions on an indigo field and pictured in Sherman, brought $4,029. A colorful almost square Heriz with repeating medallions on a blue field did well at $5,346.

On Saturday, several pieces of important Pennsylvania line and berry inlaid furniture garnered the interest of collectors and dealers alike. Many buyers examined these pieces during the preview week. A Queen Anne walnut chest of drawers, circa 1740 was from either Chester of Delaware County and made $45,030. It was one of only a few that carry the decoration on their tops. A related example is illustrated in Worldly Goods, figure 191. A Chester County walnut spice box, the inlaid door with intertwined line and berry decoration within a circle and the initials “AS” was an exceptional piece and made $30,810. The third piece was a Chester County William and Mary walnut Bible box from the collection of James Sorber, with an inlaid cartouche with the initials and date “AM 1749.” Sailing over the high estimate of $900, it brought a whopping $49,770. Another rare Chester County piece, also from the Sorber collection, was a rare miniature Queen Anne tiger maple chest of drawers dated 1764. It went for $82,950.

Significant furniture pieces were interspersed throughout the sale. A Philadelphia Queen Anne walnut compass seat dining chair with three shells descended from the family of Joseph Priestley of Northumberland made $11,257, and a Queen Anne side chair attributed to William Savery retaining an exceptional old dry surface did very well at $21,330. The Lancaster County walnut Dutch cupboard with outstanding architectural detail brought $37,920. Other pieces included a Chippendale cherry tall clock by Eli Bentley for $10,072; a Pennsylvania Chippendale schrank, circa 1775, for $30,810; and pair of Delaware Valley tiger walnut dining chairs for $8,295.

A vibrant Baltimore appliqué and trapunto album quilt dated 1846 from the Bisnoff collection and signed by the four makers had 25 blocks with intricate floral motifs, the center with a spread winged eagle and American flag. It fetched over double the top estimate to bring $33,180. Several medallion quilts sold, including a Lancaster County, Pa. Centennial Memorial Hall example for $9,480 and an example with George Washington medallion for $5,332. Some outstanding appliqué quilts including Whig Rose ($3,790 and $2,370) were sold.

A virtually untouched Montgomery County piece by the artist Anthony Rehm was the best of an exceptional selection of fraktur. This birth certificate is for Durck Adams Groff and had profuse decorations of a bird feeding her young, parrot, snake, checkerboard hearts, a myriad of flowers and vines, each decoration surrounded by pinprick design and signed by the artist. This rare piece soared to $77,025 and was purchased by a phone bidder. Another unusual rare fraktur by Johannes Bard that featured floral trees and a spread winged eagle in a shield brought $5,688, and several brightly colored examples by Abraham Huth brought $4,503-$5,451. A fraktur metamorphosis is an uncommon item, depicting man’s journey from original sin to death in a series of fold-out folky drawings. Deaccessioned from a New Jersey Museum, this piece did well at $15,405. A Virginia Record Book artist birth record faired well at $4,266 and a Northumberland County, Pa. fraktur by the Rev. Henry Young made $11,257.

A group of American pewter included a Danforth porringer ($1,896) and mug ($2,607), a Harbeson deep dish ($1,007) and a Melville porringer ($1,303). A Connecticut painted fine fireboard, attributed to Stimp was sold for $9,480. A great eye-catching Austrian Art Nouveau bronze table lamp has three spread winged bats with drop shades from their teeth sold for $13,035. Several pieces of important historic blue Staffordshire did well, including a plate with two oval portraits of Jefferson and Lafayette above a view “Aqueduct Bridge at Little Falls” for $7,702 and a similar plate with portraits of Washington and Lafayette above “Entrance of the Canal into the Hudson at Albany” for $7,110. A pleasing New England folk art portrait depicting a woman in a blue dress holding a red book carried an estimate of $8,000-12,000 and was aggressively bid to $42,660. Three amethyst Steigel-type bottles brought $4,746-$5,925. A satirical watercolor drawing by Capt. William Frazer, circa 1801, originally from the Garbisch collection, did well at $5,925. Several folk art storage boxes attracted interest including a New England example decorated with flowers and birds at $5,103, and a Lancaster County, Pa., compass artist box for $42,660. The Pennsylvania redware dog illustrated in The Pottery of the Shenandoah Valley Region by Comstock made $23,700 and a redware sugar bowl and cover with vibrant yellow and black slip dot decoration from the Titus Geesey collection made $8,295. A rare pair of Portuguese silver sconces, 18th century, brought over the high estimate to reach $7,897. Ten watercolors by the well-known 20th century folk artist Hattie Klapp Brunner ranged in price from $1,185 to $5,214.

Military items concluded the auction beginning with an appointment document signed by Abraham Lincoln which brought $7,110. A Fayetteville Armory type IV musket did $4,503, a Richmond, Va., musket, $4,740, and a C.C. Brand whaling gun for $4,860.

For more information go to www.pookandpook.com or call 610-269-0404.

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.LiveAuctioneers.com.

ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE

A local collector snatched this 19th century hooked rug for $13,035. Image courtesy of Pook & Pook Inc.

Rare Connecticut painted pine fireboard, attributed to Stimp, circa 1800, 29 1/2 inches high x 43 3/4 inches wide. Sold for $9,480. Image courtesy of Pook & Pook Inc.

Pennsylvania painted pine hutch table, circa 1800, original red paint, 29 inches high x 66 inches long x 36 1/2 inches wide. Sold for $4,503. Image courtesy of Pook & Pook Inc.

Aaron Harry Gorson (American, 1872-1933)], oil on board industrial scene, signed lower right, retaining a period Newcomb Macklin frame, 11 1/2 x 15 3/4 inches. Realized price: $14,220. Image courtesy of Pook & Pook Inc.

Lancaster County, Pa., Centennial Memorial Hall Medallion quilt, ca. 1876, having a central panel with Fairmont Park, Philadelphia, with four building vignettes, made as a mate to a previous lot, 92 inches square. Realized price $9,480. Image courtesy of Pook & Pook Inc.

Rare Chester County Queen Anne tiger maple miniature chest of drawers, dated 1764, with cove cornice, graduated drawers and straight bracket feet with center drop, 20 1/2 inches high x 18 inches wide x 11 1/2 inches deep. Realized price $82,950. Image courtesy of Pook & Pook Inc.

Chester County William and Mary walnut Bible box with line and berry inlay flanking an inlaid cartouche with the initials and date (AM 1749), 11 1/4 inches high x 21 1/4 inches wide x 14 1/2 inches deep. Realized price: $49,770. Image courtesy of Pook & Pook Inc.

Propworx & Marvel plan Oct. 22 Iron Man 2, Incredible Hulk auction

Iron Man 2 screen-used Whiplash V1 suit. Image courtesy Propworx.

LOS ANGELES — Propworx, in association with Marvel Studios, announces The Official Iron Man 2 and The Incredible Hulk Prop and Costume Auction encompassing two amazing events featuring props, costumes, production artwork, concept drawings and set pieces from these fan-favorite movies. On Oct. 13-16, 2011, Propworx will feature a preview of items from the auction at New York Comic Con at the Javits Center. Following the exclusive preview, Propworx will partner with its online auction provider LiveAuctioneers.com to host the online auction on Oct. 22, 2011 at 10 a.m. PST/1 p.m. EST.

Over 225 lots of props, costumes, production artwork, concept drawings, and set pieces will be on the auction block including such notable items as the screen-used Stunt Whiplash V1 Suit worn by actor Mickey Rourke during the entire fight scene at the Monaco Historic Grand Prix. This amazing armor is made from a custom leather vest with the shell of a RT unit on the front, two hand whip handles and whips and features working lights on the back section that run from the top of the suit to the bottom.

The Iron Man 2 Hero Suitcase Armor is also on the auction block and was used by Tony Stark so he could change into Iron Man as needed. This screen-used hero version is permanently closed and was used for close up shots and detail work.

Tony Stark’s Hero Racing Suit, worn by actor Robert Downey Jr. and also used in the Monaco Historic Grand Prix scenes, includes a blue rubberized spandex coveralls with padded legs and black leather accents, a black cotton undershirt, custom made leather jacket with blue rubberized spandex accents and a pair of black leather custom gloves.

The Iron Man 2 Black Widow Hero S.H.I.E.L.D. Uniform is the hero screen used catsuit worn by actress Scarlett Johansson as Agent Natasha Romanoff when she broke her cover and revealed herself as the Black Widow. Additional lots include the Hero Mark VI Chest RT Unit, Hero Whiplash V1 RT Unit, screen used Ironnette Costumes, the Hero “Ex-Wife” Missile, and Tony Stark’s Hero Racing Helmet.

About Marvel Entertainment:

Marvel Entertainment, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, is one of the world’s most prominent character-based entertainment companies, built on a proven library of over 5,000 characters featured in a variety of media over seventy years. Marvel utilizes its character franchises in licensing, entertainment (via Marvel Studios and Marvel Animation) and publishing (via Marvel Comics). Marvel’s strategy is to leverage its franchises in a growing array of opportunities around the world, including feature films, consumer products, toys, video games, animated television, direct-to-DVD and online.

About Propworx:

Propworx is the auction house many Hollywood studios and networks rely on to sell their assets via fan-friendly event auctions. Propworx’s inaugural production, the year-long Battlestar Galactica Auctions, proved to be one of the most successful Hollywood memorabilia auction events in history, with over 8,000 lots going to fans and collectors worldwide. This was followed by 2010’s Iron Man Auction in Chicago and Star Trek Auction in Las Vegas. The year concluded with the first of three Stargate Auctions, at the EMP|Science Fiction Museum in Seattle. Propworx started 2011 with the official Caprica Auctions, the final Stargate Auctions, the Kevin Smith Auction – Kevin Smith Sells Out: The Official Askewniverse Garage Sale and the Oct. 22, 2011 Iron Man 2/Hulk Auction.

For additional information about any lot in the Oct. 22 auction, call Propworx at 714-850-1207.

View the fully illustrated catalog and sign up to bid absentee or live via the Internet at www.LiveAuctioneers.com.

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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.LiveAuctioneers.com.

ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE

Iron Man 2 Hero suitcase armor. Image courtesy Propworx.

Iron Man 2 Hero Mark VI Chest RT. Image courtesy Propworx.

Iron Man 2 Hero Tony Stark racing helmet. Image courtesy Propworx.

Iron Man 2 Black Widow Hero S.H.I.E.L.D. uniform. Image courtesy Propworx.

Iron Man 2 Hero Whiplash V1 RT. Image courtesy Propworx.

Breton’s ‘Fisherman’s Daughter’ finally going home

WASHINGTON (AFP) – Nearly a century after it was stolen by a German soldier during World War I, and after a decade of transatlantic legal wrangling, a painting by French Realist Jules Breton is going home.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement will return A Fisherman’s Daughter on Thursday to France’s ambassador to the United States, Francois Delattre, in a solemn ceremony at the French embassy in Washington.

On hand will be Anne Labourdette, curator of the Chartreuse museum in the northern French city Douai, which has been struggling for years to get back the painting it lost in the final weeks of the 1914-1918 war.

Born in 1827 in the Pas-de-Calais region that includes Douai, Breton idealized the French countryside and its people at a time when Europe was in the grips of industrial and social revolution.

Many of his works can be found at the Musee d’Orsay in Paris, as well as in museums elsewhere in France and the United States, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

Commissioned by the city of Douai in 1875, when Breton was at the height of his career, A Fisherman’s Daughter depicts a barefoot young woman in a white headscarf, looking as if her thoughts are elsewhere as she mends a fishing net.

It hung in the local museum until Sept. 15, 1918 when it was cut out of its frame by an unknown German soldier, just as German forces then occupying Douai were retreating, Labourdette told AFP.

Some 180 other works were looted at the same time—of which only one minor piece has been recovered, in Berlin, and then only three months ago.

“The city undertook a search for the Breton beginning in the 1920s,”

Labourdette said, “but it was only in 2000 that Sotheby’s auction house told the museum that it was going to be put up for sale” by a Zurich art gallery.

In response to a complaint from the museum, the painting was sealed for five years, during which—amid judicial clashes and disputes between art experts over its authenticity—it was returned to its American owner.

It then crossed the Atlantic, to be put up for sale first in the Dutch city of Maastricht, then in Cologne, Germany where in May 2010 it was identified and the Douai museum alerted.

“I got a call from a private collector who told me: ‘It’s your painting!'” Labourdette recalled.

Once again the museum pressed for its return, only for the painting to go back to the United States where Interpol, customs officers and the courts got involved in determining its fate.

Insured for 140,000 euros ($192,000), A Fisherman’s Daughter is being returned to the Douai museum for free by its current holder, the Daphne Alazraki Fine Art gallery in New York.

U.S. dignitaries will be on hand when it is rehung in Douai on Oct. 21, after after which it will go nowhere on loan “except to the United States in recognition of the help extended” in its return, Labourdette said.

Ancient whale jawbone found in Antarctica

Scientists believe that primitive whales probably first took to the sea about 50 million years ago and became fully aquatic about 5-10 million years later. A pencil drawing of an ambulocetus natans, a primitive whale from the Eocene of Pakistan. This image is a drawing by Nobu Tamura. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.

BUENOS AIRES (AP) – The jawbone of an ancient whale found in Antarctica may be the oldest fully aquatic whale yet discovered, Argentine scientists said Tuesday.

A scientist not involved in the find said it could suggest that whales evolved much more quickly from their amphibian precursors than previously thought.

Argentine paleontologist Marcelo Reguero, who led a joint Argentine-Swedish team, said the fossilized archaeocete jawbone found in February dates back 49 million years. In evolutionary terms, that’s not far off from the fossils of even older proto-whales from 53 million years ago that have been found in South Asia and other warmer latitudes.

Those earlier proto-whales were amphibians, able to live on land as well as sea. This jawbone, in contrast, belongs to the Basilosauridae group of fully aquatic whales, said Reguero, who leads research for the Argentine Antarctic Institute.

“The relevance of this discovery is that it’s the oldest known completely aquatic whale found yet,” said Reguero, who shared the discovery with Argentine paleontologist Claudia Tambussi and Swedish paleontologists Thomas Mors and Jonas Hagstrom of the Natural History Museum in Stockholm.

Paul Sereno, a University of Chicago paleontologist who wasn’t involved in the research, said that if the new find withstands the scrutiny of other scientists, it will suggest that archaeocetes evolved much more quickly than previously thought from their semi-aquatic origin in present-day India and Pakistan.

“The important thing is the location,” Sereno said. “To find one in Antarctica is very interesting.”

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Follow Michael Warren on Twitter at http://twitter.com/mwarrenap

AP-WF-10-11-11 2346GMT

Auctioneer Gene Shapiro presents lecture on ‘Russian Renaissance’

NEW YORK – Gene Shapiro, Russian art expert and founder of Gene Shapiro Auctions, opened a six-part lecture series for appraisers at the Salmagundi Club on Oct. 3 with a presentation on Russian art. Titled “A Russian Renaissance,” Shapiro’s seminar informed members of the American Appraisers Association about an important category of art that is little known in the West.

As the founder of America’s only independent auction house specializing in Russian art, Gene Shapiro is uniquely qualified to speak on the subject, which has had a global market only since the fall of the Iron Curtain.

As Shapiro stated, “There is generally a lack of knowledge in the West about Russian art, particularly among professionals.”

The seminar came just weeks before the Russian art sale at Gene Shapiro Auctions on Nov. 19. For the appraisers in the audience it was an opportunity to absorb the history and cultural importance of Russian art.

Shapiro handled the subject comprehensively, offering a slide show of significant Russian works that are as well known to the Slavic peoples as the works of Da Vinci, Monet and Rockwell are to Westerners. Among the notable Russian artists known to every school child, businessman and intellectual are names such as Shishkin, Vasnetsov, Repin and Aivazovski. In fact, Shishkin’s Morning in a Pine Forest is so beloved that it appears in everything from textbooks to candy wrappers.

Paralleling the importance of secular art are the Russian icons that gained a strong following among foreigners as early as the 19th century. Statements of faith, the icons date to the advent of Christianity in Russia, circa the 10th century.

Moving on to Russian Classical painting, Shapiro cited the vision of Peter the Great, known as the king who opened a “Window on the West.” During his reign, Western art and architecture had a profound impact on Russian art and architecture.

From the Russian Academy to modernism, realism and folkorism, Russian art evolved on much the same trajectory as Western art, with the exception of Soviet social realism. The Russian émigrés—Chagall, Malevich, Kandinsky, Rodchenko, and Burliuk among them—heavily influenced advancements in Western art.

A strong post-Soviet economy and the freedom to rediscover Russian culture and heritage has had its effect on a collecting category that, merely 40 years ago, was as closeted as Russia.

Shapiro was born in St. Petersburg and raised in the United States. He is a licensed and bonded auctioneer in New York City. Gene Shapiro Auctions is located at 506 E. 74th St., New York, NY 10021.

Gene Shapiro Auctions will hold its next international sale of Russian art, European and American art and works of art on Nov. 19. For more information on Shapiro and Gene Shapiro auctions, please visit www.geneshapiro.com. Shapiro can be reached at info@geneshapiro.com.

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