From John Carpenter’s 1978 horror classic film ‘Halloween,’ a one of a kind replica of Michael Myers’ mask. Premiere Props image.
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. – Just in time for Halloween, Premiere Props will be auctioning over 1,000 rare costumes and horror-theme props at the Premiere Props headquarters in El Segundo on Saturday, Oct. 22 and 23. Sessions will commence at 11 a.m. Pacific time, and LiveAuctioneers.com will provide the Internet live bidding on both days.
The Fangoria Annual Horror Movie Prop and Costume Live Auction is a two-day event featuring items from iconic horror and sci-fi film franchises including Halloween, Scream, Star Trek and Planet of the Apes, as well as a large selection of major props and costumes including the actual ship from The Three Musketeers (which opens nationwide on Oct. 21).
Adddditionally, several items from Forrest J. Ackerman, the original fan boy and editor of the Famous Monsters of Filmland, will also be up for bid.
Items include:
• Halloween – one of a kind replica of Michael Myers mask from John Carpenter’s 1978 horror classic
• Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe – Ornamental guard helmet used in the classic 1940 series
• Body Snatchers – full upper body prosthetic of actor Terry Kinney, who portrayed agent Steve Maloney. The piece was created by Burman Studios
• Beneath the Planet of the Apes – prop rifle for one of the gorilla forces
• Scrooged – Ribcage ghost used in this holiday classic
• Terminator 2 – production made Endoskull
• Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood – screen used-rubber prop knife
Premiere Props’ headquarters will be decorated in full Halloween mode to suit the theme of the auction, and rumor has it that special guests may drop by to help scare things up.
“Our Halloween auctions are always so much fun for horror, sci-fi and genre fans,” said Dan Levin, Vice President of Marketing for Premiere Props, “as we have amazing items up for auction that truly celebrate the scary and fun spirit of the holiday. We have already had so much interest in this event that we have doubled the number of items we had planned on auctioning and added another day to make sure there is something for everyone.”
For additional information on any lot in the sale, call 310-322-PROP / (888) 761-PROP.
View the fully illustrated catalog and sign up to bid absentee or live via the Internet at www.LiveAuctioneers.com.
Endoskull production piece from ‘Terminator 2.’ Premiere Props image.
From ‘Body Snatchers,’ the full upper-body prosthetic of actor Terry Kinney, who portrayed agent Steve Maloney. The piece was created by Burman Studios. Premiere Props image.
Signature black overcoat worn by David (Kiefer Sutherland) in ‘Lost Boys.’ Premiere Props image.
Ribcage ghost used in holiday classic ‘Scrooged.’ Premiere Props image.
Screen-used rubber prop knife from ‘Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood.’ Premiere Props image.
8 x 10 color photo of Jack Nicholson as The Joker in ‘Batman,’ signed by the actor in blue felt pen. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers.com and Premiere Props.
Rare lithophane shade featuring four United States views including the President’s House. Image courtesy of Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates.
MOUNT CRAWFORD, Va. – Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates’ Oct. 29 cataloged auction of 18th and 19th century lighting and glass features part one of the outstanding 40-year lighting collection of Abigail and the late Edward Meyer of Plantsville, Conn., and the 30-year collection of Tom Heintzman of Hutchinson, Kan. Also included are selections from the collection of Watt White of Stamford, Conn. and deaccessioned material from the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts. The Saturday auction begins at 9:30 a.m. Eastern and will be held at the firm’s gallery located at 2177 Green Valley Lane in Mount Crawford.
Internet live bidding is available through LiveAuctioneers.com and online absentee bidding is available through the company’s website.
Offered for sale are 140 choice early kerosene period stand and finger lamps, most complete with appropriate setups, comprising fine cut overlays, “stripers” and other rare colored fonts, as well as many rare burner/chimney setups.
The auction also includes a large collection of American lacy and other early pressed wares, colored pressed tableware, vases and candlesticks, colored and colorless whale oil and fluid lamps, two rare Bohemian tumblers/beakers with American views, rare lacy and other salts, pressed toys, cup plates, free-blown, pillar and pattern-molded wares, bottles and flasks, a collection of early molasses jugs, flint early Ameriican pattern glass and perfume bottles.
The importance of the Meyer collection cannot be overstated, says Jeffrey S. Evans. For more than 40 years Ed and Abbie Meyer scoured the back woods of New England, urban centers of the East Coast, and throughout the Mid-Atlantic region in search of the best examples of early kerosene period lighting devices. Together they assembled over 250 outstanding specimens, each carefully chosen for a specific attribute or as an important representation within the narrative of 19th century American lighting. Ed was a pioneering student of period appropriate setups, and most of the lamps in the Meyer collection have been painstakingly outfitted with correct burners and chimneys in addition to shades where called for.
The complete catalog will be posted online beginning October 17. Visit www.jeffreysevans.com or call 540-434-3939, x140 or 141 for further information.
The second half of the Meyer collection will be sold on April 28, 2012 in conjunction with the 2012 Rushlight Society seminar, which will be hosted by Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates at their Mount Crawford, Va. facility.
From the Heintzman collection of lacy-period wares including rare Hairpin examples, the square plate ex-Maude Feld. Image courtesy of Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates.Samples from the Watt White collection of rare early colored syrup jugs. Image courtesy of Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates.Rare examples of early kerosene lighting from the Meyer collection. Image courtesy of Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates.Sample of fine cut-overlay lighting from the Meyer collection. Image courtesy of Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates.
British artist Michael Landy’s credit-card-munching sculpture machine on the stand of London contemporary art dealer Thomas Dane at the 2011 Frieze Fair in Regents Park. Image courtesy of Auction Central News.
With the Eurozone teetering on the brink of oblivion, it may not be long before we’re all shredding our credit cards. At the Frieze contemporary art fair in London this week, British artist Michael Landy was happy to do it for you in return for a free drawing. Landy’s huge Rube Goldberg-style card-mashing contraption on the stand of London dealer Thomas Dane was just one of a multitude of wacky ideas that now passes for contemporary art at the annual fair in Regent’s Park.
If the atmosphere at last year’s fair signalled a sense of relief that the art market was, however miraculously, weathering the global downturn, this year’s fair seemed altogether more uncertain. Since its foundation nine years ago, Frieze has become notable for showing art that is way out on the ragged edge of experimentation. However, Landy’s mad machine notwithstanding, the work on display this year seemed relatively safe and cautious, with many of the bigger dealers eschewing the challenging material and opting instead for safe art by familiar brand-name artists.The stand of Parisian contemporary art dealer Emmanuel Perrotin at Frieze fair in London. Image courtesy of Auction Central News.
Most of the significant sales at Frieze take place in the first 24 hours and yet the fair’s most expensive item — a €75 million ($103 million) super-yacht — was still seeking a buyer when we visited on Thursday. This is a collaboration between young German multimedia artist Christian Jankowski and the Italian luxury yacht manufacturers CRN. If you buy the boat as a boat, it will cost you €65 million ($89,4 million); if you pay an extra €10 million, Jankowski will bless your purchase with a certificate that magically turns the yacht into art. If your budget won’t stretch that far, there is also a Riva power-boat on sale at €500,000 ($688,000) if bought as a boat, or €620,000 ($853,000) if anointed by Jankowski as a work of art.This Riva power boat, a collaboration between Italian luxury yacht manufacturers CRN and German artist Christian Jankowksi, is priced at €500,000 ($688,000) at the Frieze Fair. For an extra €120,000 ($165,000) Jankowski will give you a certificate that transforms it into a ‘Readymade’ work of art. Image courtesy of Auction Central News.
Luca Boldini, CRN’s marketing director, was on hand to reassure Auction Central News that the boat was no art world hoax. “This is very much in the tradition of Marcel Duchamp and the idea of the Readymade,” he told us. “Christian is very serious about this work and I am very confident that we will sell it. If we do, it will send a great wave around the world that will confirm the value of the project.”
Frieze Fair is now the London art world’s most important annual event, its influence spreading across the city as buyers fly in from around the world to see work brought by 173 exhibitors from 33 countries. Frieze may hog the limelight, but the buzz it generates also helps other events elsewhere in the capital in October.
The Pavilion of Art and Design in Berkeley Square, now in its fifth year, offers an opportunity to see works by the classic American modernists such as Robert Rauschenberg and Robert Motherwell, or by British masters like Henry Moore and Ben Nicholson that would look positively ancient compared with what is on show at Frieze.Robert Motherwell (1915-1991), ‘Summertime in Italy Sketch No.12,’ 1970. Acrylic on canvas-board. On the stand of Bernard Jacobson at the Pavilion of Art and design, London in October. Image courtesy of Bernard Jacobson Gallery.Robert Rauschenberg (1925-2008), ‘Seminole Host / ROCI USA (Wax Fire Works),’ 1990. Acrylic, enamel and fire wax on stainless steel, on the stand of Bernard Jacobson at Pavilion of Art & Design. Image courtesy of Bernard Jacobson Gallery.London dealer Bernard Jacobson is showing this work by Ben Nicholson (1894-1982) — ‘Dec 61 (Greek and Two Circles)’ of 1961 — at PAD London. Oil and pencil on carved and incised gessoed board. Image courtesy of Bernard Jacobson Gallery.
By early November, the Frieze frenzy will have subsided, and the more considered atmosphere of “Asian Art in London” will commence, with many of the world’s most important Asian art dealers and collectors flying in for the 10-day event from Nov. 3-12. Typical of the more promising shows in the Asian art calendar is an exhibition entitled “Ivory — Material of Desire” to be held at the Dover Street premises of London textile and works of art dealer Francesca Galloway.
Ivory is now widely recognised as one of the most controversial materials in the history of the decorative arts. In the late 19th and early 20th century, vast quantities were harvested from the Congo under the brutal regime of King Leopold II of the Belgians. Art nouveau ivory objects from that era deftly disguise the ghastly source of the raw material. Ivory has, of course, been a precious commodity since antiquity and Francesca Galloway’s exhibition will include a carefully selected range of objects dating back to the 16th century, the material here predominantly originating from Asian elephants.
Among the most beautiful items on display is a 16th- or 17th-century Ceylonese ivory openwork jewel casket fitted with a multitude of interior drawers veneered in tortoiseshell and ivory with silver mounts and handles and enclosed by a pair of doors.Two views of a 16th/17th-century casket from Ceylon for storing jewelery and precious objects, veneered in tortoiseshell and ivory with silver mounts and handles. On display in Francesca Galloway’s exhibition ‘Indian Goods for the Luxury Market’ at 31 Dover St. from Nov. 3 to Dec. 9. Image courtesy of Francesca Galloway.Two views of a 16th/17th-century casket from Ceylon for storing jewelery and precious objects, veneered in tortoiseshell and ivory with silver mounts and handles. On display in Francesca Galloway’s exhibition ‘Indian Goods for the Luxury Market’ at 31 Dover St. from Nov. 3 to Dec. 9. Image courtesy of Francesca Galloway. This is the sort of thing that would not have been out of place in a Spanish or Portuguese princely collection and it will be a rare treat to see it at close quarters.
Also included is an 18th-century howdah from Murchidabad decorated with Mughal openwork ivory over mica, a technique designed to make the seat shimmer in the sunlight, thereby adding to the sense of luxury.This 18th-century howdah decorated in openwork ivory over mica, Murchidabad 1760-80 is included in Francesca Galloway’s exhibition ‘Indian Goods for the Luxury Market’ from Nov. 3-Dec. 9. Image of courtesy Francesca Galloway.
Francesca Galloway’s exhibition runs Nov. 3 to Dec. 9.
Although it may seem somewhat rarefied and specialist when compared with the often crude impact of much of the contemporary art on display at Frieze, Asian Art London offers some astonishing visual delights for those prepared to keep their eyes and minds open. One of the most extraordinary objects going on display in November is an 11-headed Tibetan bronze Avalokitesvara figure inset with precious stones and dating from around 1400.An Avalokitesvara Buddhist figure inset with precious stones and dating from around 1400, to be shown at London dealers Rossi and Rossi’s ‘Asian Art London’ exhibition at their gallery at 16 Clifford St. from Nov. 3-12. Image courtesy of Ross and Rossi. This 4-foot 3 1/4-inch masterpiece will be the prize of London dealers Rossi and Rossi’s “Asian Art in London” exhibition at their gallery at 16 Clifford St. from Nov. 3 to 12. The exhibition focuses on a private European collection of ritual objects formed over two decades from the late 1970s and includes several works exhibited at the Guimet Museum in Paris and published in their landmark catalog, Rituels Tibétains: ‘Visions Secrètes du V Dalai Lama.’
Also timed to coincide with the “Asian Art in London” event is the launch of an important new publication devoted to Chinese export porcelain — The RA Collection of Chinese Ceramics: A Collector’s Vision by Maria Antónia Pinto de Matos, director of the National Tile Museum in Lisbon.
The three-volume text celebrates the collection of Brazilian entrepreneur Renato de Albuquerque and is published by London-based Chinese export porcelain dealer Jorge Welsh of Kensington Church Street.
Welsh and his business partner Luísa Vinhaís will be launching the book on Saturday, Nov. 5, at their gallery at 116 Kensington Church St. when the author will give a lecture at 5 p.m. and will sign copies of the book.
A selection of works from the Albuquerque Collection will be on display at the gallery, including an extraordinary Qing dynasty Qianlong period crab tureen and stand This superb Chinese Qing dynasty, Qianlong period export porcelain crab tureen, decorated in Famille Rose enamels and gold, circa 1770, from the collection of Brazilian entrepreneur Renato de Albuquerque, is illustrated in a new book on the Albuquerque collection to be published by London dealer Jorge Welsh and launched during the annual Asian Art in London event from Nov. 3-12. Image courtesy of Jorge Welsh. and two Qing dynasty Kangxi period vases decorated in underglaze blue and copper red.Two Qing Dynasty Kangxi period porcelain vases decorated in underglaze blue and copper red, Jingdezhen kilns, Jiangxi province. On display at the Kensington Church Street Gallery of Jorge Welsh during the annual Asian Art in London event Nov. 3-12. Image courtesy of Jorge Welsh. The launch will coincide with an exhibition at the gallery entitled “A Celebration of Chinese Export Porcelain,” which will provide yet another reason for the world’s most passionate collectors and dealers in Asian art to make the trip to London in November.
Henri Matisse painted ‘The Dance (I) in 1909. The oil on canvas measures 8 feet 6 1/2 inches x 12 feet 9 1/2 inches. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
ATLANTA (AP) – With bright, bold colors, varying formats and iconic images, a new exhibition at Atlanta’s main art museum allows visitors to experience dozens of modern art masterpieces and to explore the relationships among the artists who created them.
“Picasso to Warhol: Fourteen Modern Masters” at the High Museum of Art brings together more than 100 works by 14 influential 20th-century artists pulled from the collections of the Museum of Modern Art in New York and shown together for the first time in the Southeast.
“We wanted to create 14 intimate, immersive situations for people so they could feel like they had both met these artists and walked through the history of modern art,” said High director Michael Shapiro.
On display are examples of artists using traditional subjects – portraits, landscapes, still lifes – in ways that were new, innovative and sometimes shocking, at the time. They used new styles, like Cubism, and experimented with a variety of media, including mobiles, collage, film and silkscreen.
True to its title, the exhibition opens with paintings and etchings by Pablo Picasso and finishes with pop art pieces and a film by Andy Warhol. Works are clustered by artist, giving visitors a chance to see multiple works by a single artist together to get a more complete look at each artist’s career, said MoMA’s Jodi Hauptman, lead curator of the exhibition.
“The biggest revelation is the relationships between these works that you can’t see in our galleries” because the works aren’t displayed together at MoMA, Hauptman said. “Instead of being told about these connections, you actually see them.”
Arranged in long, open vistas, the exhibition allows visitors to focus on a single artist but also to get a glimpse of what’s to come and to consider the dialogue between the works, Hauptman said.
Standing in front of the opening piece – Picasso’s brightly colored, large-format 1932 painting Girl Before a Mirror – the visitor can look to the left and see Two Acrobats with a Dog from 1905, during Picasso’s Rose Period, and then turn to the right to see Henri Matisse’s Dance (I) in the next part of the gallery.
After considering familiar artists like Picasso and Matisse in the first two galleries, visitors move on to lesser-known but still important artists. Sculptures by Constantin Brancusi and paintings and drawings by Piet Mondrian offer objects or settings stripped down to their bare essence – with Brancusi’s streamlined bronze sculpture evoking a bird and Mondrian using grids of horizontal and vertical lines to represent a seascape, a church or a busy city square.
In a side gallery are works by Marcel Duchamp, whom Shapiro describes as probably the most radical artist in the exhibition. Most striking, perhaps is a wood and galvanized iron snow shovel hanging from the ceiling that the artist bought in a hardware store in 1915, then signed, dated and titled it In Advance of the Broken Arm.
In Dutch Interior (I), painted in 1928, Joan Miro uses a Baroque painting of the same name as a model but recreates it as an abstract work. Jackson Pollock’s Number 1A showcases the artist’s well-known drip painting technique, his personal involvement with the painting stamped onto one edge in the form of handprints in paint. Mobiles by Alexander Calder in a side gallery “defy one of the basic rules of sculpture, which is that gravity is in charge,” Shapiro said.
In Map from 1961, Jasper Johns, the only living artist in the exhibition, blurs the borders of the states in a giant, colorful map of the United States, using brushwork but also clearly identiying each one by name in bold, stenciled letters. Also by Johns are several works featuring numbers, which further illustrates his desire to present traditional, familiar subjects in a new way.
Across one wall of the final gallery are Warhol’s Campbell’s Soup Cans, painted canvases that correspond to the varieties of soup sold by the company in 1962. In the center of the room are more works inspired by commercial products, including Heinz Tomato Ketchup Box (1963-64), Campbell’s Tomato Juice Box (1964) and Brillo Box (Soap Pads) (1964).
Also included in the exhibition are works by Fernand Leger, Giorgio Chirico, Louise Bourgeois and Romare Bearden.
A free iPhone and Android application allows visitors to interact with the exhibition using their smart phones. By using one of those phones to take a picture of a piece, visitors can pull up more information, chat electronically with other visitors or pose questions in real time to museum staff.
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If You Go…
PICASSO TO WARHOL: Through April 29 at the High Museum of Art; 1280 Peachtree St. NE, Atlanta; http://www.high.org, 404-733-4444. Open Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Thursday 10 a.m.-8 p.m., Sunday noon-5 p.m. Adults, $18; students with ID and seniors 65 and over, $15; children 5 and under, free.
Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
‘Napoleon I in the battle of Friedland’ is the title of this KPM enameled porcelain plaque. The 16-inch plaque is in its original gild frame. Estimate: $2,200-$2,800. Image courtesy of Auctions Neapolitan. NAPLES, Fla. – Numerous highlights and a full complement of clean estate items are in store for bidders at Auctions Neapolitan’s Fall Collector’s Delight Auction on Saturday, Oct. 22. LiveAuctioneers.com will provide Internet live bidding for the nearly 400-lot auction, which will begin at 12 noon Eastern time.
Highlights range from Americana to Asian antiques to treasures from Tiffany & Co.
The latter category includes an 18kt yellow gold and platinum diamond bracelet set with 50 found brilliant cut diamonds weighing approximately 7.27 carats. The “Taylored Five Row” bracelet comes with a 2007 letter from Tiffany & Co. stating its replacement value as $19,500. The bracelet is in its original box and carries an $8,000-$12,000 estimate.
Made by Minton for Tiffany & Co. is a set of 12 cobalt blue and gold gild decorated china plates. None of the 10-inch plates shows any sign of use. The set is estimated at $900-$1,200.
A set of 12 Chinese Famille Rose porcelain plates and a serving bowl probably date to the late 18th century, said Kathleen Pica, Auctions Neapolitan founder and auctioneer. The plates are 9 inches in diameter and the bowl is 9 3/4 inches wide. The lot has a $1,200-$1,800 estimate.
An intricately carved Chinese elephant ivory urn from the early 20th century depicts exceptionally detailed courtyard figural scenes. The signed urn stands 16 inches tall with lid. It carries a $3,000-$4,000 estimate.
Furniture highlights include an American Empire secretary bookcase bearing the original label of Joseph Meeks & Sons (working 1829-1835). The secretary bookcase measures 85 1/2 inches by 46 1/2 inches wide and 27 1/2 inches deep. It has a $3,000-$4,000 estimate.
A circa 1840 Federal miniature four-drawer inlaid chest measures a diminutive 20 inches tall by 18 3/4 inches wide and 10 3/4 inches deep. In generally good condition, the little chest of drawers has an $800-$1,200 estimate.
European porcelain is highlighted by a KPM hand-painted plaque picturing Napoleon Bonaparte on horseback at the Battle of Friedland. The 16-inch round plaque is contained in its original wooden frame, which measures 23 inches wide by 25 inches tall, with carved decoration at the top. It has a $2,200-$2,800 estimate.
With all the aforementioned highlights, Pica said there are still many affordable lots in the auction. “We sell a lot of what our customers seem to like,” she said.
The sale will take place at Auction Neapolitan’s gallery at 1100 First Ave. S. in downtown Naples.
For details visit Auction Neapolitan’s website www.auctionsn.com or call 239-262-7333.
A Joseph Meeks & Sons label is on this American Empire secretary bookcase. In old but not original finish, it has a $3,000-$4,000 estimate. Image courtesy of Auctions Neapolitan.
The original pulls are on this circa 1840 Federal miniature inlaid chest of drawers, which measures 20 inches tall, 18 3/4 inches wide and 10 3/4 inches deep. Estimate: $800-$1,200. Image courtesy of Auctions Neapolitan.
Exceptionally detailed scenes adorn this early 20th century Chinese urn of carved elephant ivory. It is 16 inches tall and approximately 5 inches wide. Estimate: $3,000-$4,000. Image courtesy of Auctions Neapolitan.
One of 12 Chinese export Famille Rose porcelain plates from the late 18th century. The lot includes a matching bowl. Estimate: $1,200-$1,800. Image courtesy of Auctions Neapolitan.
Detail showing cobalt and raised gilt pattern on a set of 12 plates, which are marked ‘Mintons Tiffany & Co, New York Made in England’ and ‘g.9180.’ Estimate: $900-$1,200. Image courtesy of Auctions Neapolitan.
Tiffany & Co. 18kt yellow gold and platinum, diamond ‘Tailored Five Row’ bracelet set with 50 round brilliant cut diamonds. Estimate: $8,000-$12,000. Image courtesy of Auctions Neapolitan.
Original 19th century large folio Currier & Ives hand-colored lithograph titled ‘The Entrance to the Highlands. Hudson River – Looking south.’ Framed, matted, and under glass. Estimate: $700-$900. Image courtesy of Auctions Neapolitan.
Fish heads are depicted on this 7-inch Wedgwood majolica oyster plate. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers Archive and Majolica Auctions by Michael G. Strawser.
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) – A company that handcrafts oyster plates in the back of a New Orleans floral shop was just getting off the ground when the BP oil spill occurred in April 2010.
“When we heard about the spill, we realized it would either make us or break us,” said Stewart Massony, who left the restaurant industry to join his wife, Leslie Stidd Massony, and her partner, Monique Chauvin, in their startup business, Oysteria LLC. “It ended up making us.”
In the 18 months since the spill, Oysteria’s three-dimensional, oven-safe oyster plates, platters and dishes are proving so popular, the Massonys and Chauvin are having trouble keeping up with demand.
Regional retailers carry them. Jewelry designer Mignon Faget has designed her own line of them. And U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., recently ordered them to give away as krewe favors at the Washington Mardi Gras ball next year.
“They advertise themselves, really,” said Leslie Massony, who crafted the first oyster plate on a whim. “I think after the oil spill people realized how much we love oysters in Louisiana and how much the oyster really means to us.”
While the timing of the BP spill may have been a boon for Oysteria, so has been a renewed interest in antique oyster plates, which were popular in the late 1800s and can fetch several hundred dollars apiece at antique stores and auctions.
Entire books are written for collectors of them. In the past decade, the price of the delicate porcelain plates, which are used for serving and eating but not baking, have gone from as little as $50 a plate to $500 or more.
Oysteria’s oyster plates are decidedly more contemporary and practical. They are made from clay and can, therefore, be used for baking dishes such as Oysters Bienville or Oysters Rockefeller, as well as for serving them.
Another difference between the antique plates and Oysteria’s is that the latter do not have indentations in which the little bivalves sit, smothered in rich spinach, garlic or cheesy stuffings.
Rather, they are three-dimensional with mold-casted oyster shells that are glazed onto square, circular or oval-shaped plates or platters.
The idea to make oyster plates came from Leslie Massony, who spent 25 years in the floral business. After Hurricane Katrina in 2005, she decided to reinvent herself. Bored with flowers, she and Chauvin began taking pottery classes and after a while, “throwing pots wasn’t doing it for me,” she said.
So, inspired by Stewart’s aunts, who love oysters, she made an oyster plate. It turned out surprisingly well so she showed it to her next-door neighbor, who as good fortune would have it, is an interior designer. The designer loved the plate so much she ordered 15 for Christmas gifts.
“We’ve been blowing and going ever since,” Leslie Massony said.
Making the plates is a multistep and days-long process that involves both Massonys and Chauvin. They begin by casting clay molds from real oyster shells, of which they have dozens of interesting sizes and shapes. They bake the casted shells in a fiery, 2,200-degree kiln for 12 hours then do the same thing for the handcrafted plates.
After the shells and plates have cooled, which takes another full day, they paint them, using a variety of muted brown, blue and green tones. Then, they place the shells on the plates – either one, three, six or a dozen, depending on the style – and glaze them, which adheres the shells to the plate. Then it’s back in the kiln for another 12 hours or so.
“You can’t take them out too soon or they’ll crack,” explained Stewart Massony, who is learning the finer points of pottery through trial and error.
What Massony has not had to learn is how to use the plates to make mouth-watering oyster dishes. He spent nearly two decades in the New Orleans restaurant industry, working for restaurateur Ralph Brennan, and comes from an Italian family that loves to cook.
He and Leslie have enjoyed experimenting with different types of oyster dishes and sharing recipes with friends and customers, many of whom are learning to cook oysters for the first time.
“Oysters are such a special part of our culinary heritage and they’re so delicious,” he said. “We’re glad we are able to promote them and get people to cook with them and think about them through our plates.”
With demand for their products increasing, the Massonys and Chauvin are trying to figure out how to handle the growth. Well-meaning friends have advised them, among other things, to go to China to have their plates manufactured.
“It would make it easier, but then it wouldn’t be a Louisiana product anymore,” Stuart Massony said. “We want to keep them handcrafted and homemade.”
Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
The National Museum of Health and Medicine moved to this building on Linden Lane in Silver Spring, Md., on Sept. 15. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.
SILVER SPRING, Md. (AP) – The bullet that killed President Abraham Lincoln is mounted under glass, like a diamond in a snow globe, in its new home at the National Museum of Health and Medicine.
The lead ball and several skull fragments from the 16th president are in a tall, antique case overlooking a Civil War exhibit in a museum gallery in Silver Spring, just off the Capital Beltway.
The military museum, known for its collection of morbid oddities, moved in September from the former Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington. At Walter Reed, visitors had to pass through a security gate and find the museum on the campus, where parking could be a problem.
The new building stands outside the gates of Fort Detrick’s Forest Glen Annex. Visitors can just drive up, walk in and come face-to-face with a perpetually grinning skeleton directing them to an exhibit on the human body. There, one can see a hairball from the stomach of a 12-year-old girl and the amputated leg of a man with elephantiasis – a disease that causes limbs to become bloated. The leg floats upright in a glass jar like an enormous, pickled sausage.
The museum’s collection of 25 million objects includes plenty to inspire fascination or disgust – or both. But it’s also a treasure trove for researchers like Candice Millard, author of the new book Destiny of the Republic, about the assassination of President James Garfield. She wrote in her acknowledgements that she held in her gloved hands at the museum the section of Garfield’s spine pierced by a .44-caliber bullet from Charles Guiteau’s gun.
Guiteau’s brain and partial skeleton are also in the museum’s collection.
Deputy Director Tim Clarke Jr. said the museum will close in January and reopen by May 21 with its largest-ever display of objects to mark its 150th anniversary. The scope of the exhibits is still being decided, he said.
“We are sure, though, that we are programming and planning an exhibit that will astound our visitors,” Clarke said.
The $12 million relocation established a permanent home for an institution that has had 10 addresses since 1862. That’s when Surgeon General William Hammond directed medical officers in the field to collect “specimens of morbid anatomy” for study at the newly founded museum along with projectiles and foreign bodies. A photograph nearly covering one wall of the museum’s new Civil War exhibit shows amputated legs stacked like firewood.
The exhibit also includes the shattered bones of U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Daniel Sickles’ lower right leg, mounted for display beside a 12-pound (5.4-kilogram) cannonball like the one that hit him during the 1863 Battle of Gettysburg.
Most of the museum’s objects, including 2,000 microscopes and hundreds of thousands of human brain specimens, are in an off-site warehouse. They will be moved by next spring to a renovated warehouse across the street from the new museum.
Clarke said the requirement to safely pack, move and unpack each artifact will enable the museum to get a better handle on the number of artifacts in any given collection and the grand scope of the entire collection.
One thing the museum won’t do is destructive testing of artifacts. That’s what the Grand Army of the Republic Museum and Library in Philadelphia learned when it explored the possibility in 2009 of comparing DNA from a Lincoln bloodstain in its own collection to the Lincoln anatomical specimens at the National Museum of Health and Medicine.
Eric J. Schmincke, president of the Philadelphia museum, said he appreciates the desire to keep an artifact intact.
“You don’t want to take any chances like that,” he said. “It’s because you want them to see what you have. It’s history.”
Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
The Oklahoma state Capitol in Oklahoma City opened in 1917. Image by Caleb Long. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 Generic, 2.0 Generic and 1.0 Generic license.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – The state Capitol has been a symbol of Oklahoma’s history and aspirations since it opened in 1917. The halls of the limestone and granite edifice were lined with the portraits of famous residents, including humorist Will Rogers, Olympic champion Jim Thorpe and Soquoyah, creator of the Cherokee syllabary. The building sat on an oilfield with dozens of working rigs that represented the state’s hopes for prosperity.
But 94 years later, the building reflects Oklahoma’s problems, especially its fiscal hardship. The stately structure is beginning to crumble. Yellow barriers have been erected to prevent visitors from climbing the steps of the Capitol’s south portico because mortar and pieces of limestone are falling from slabs overhead.
An engineering analysis found mortar between the massive limestone panels was disintegrating, and the metal clips holding the panels have apparently corroded. Repairs, along with revamping the outmoded electrical, plumbing and other systems, could cost as much as $130 million.
“We’re still attempting to cover the scope of the problem,” said Mike Enneking, director of facilities management for the state. “We haven’t really decided what we’re going to do yet.”
The problem comes at the worst possible time, as the state works to recover from a $500 million budget deficit from last fiscal year. The Legislature made significant budget reductions during the last session in funding for schools, mental health and public safety. State officials must now weigh the costs of restoring the state’s iconic monument against the needs of programs with human impact.
“We’re at a point now, both for preservation of the building and for public safety, that the Legislature is going to have to be addressing this,” said Richard Ellwanger, chairman of the State Capitol Preservation Commission.
Visitors seem to be reaching the same conclusion.
“I noticed the caulking is cracked,” said Robert Channer of Lapeer, Mich., who toured the building Friday. “It doesn’t look like they have an exterior maintenance program. It’s a shame because it’s a beautiful place.”
State officials have been aware of the growing problems but unable to address them.
Legislation was filed in 2009 to form a public-private partnership to raise money for renovations, but it didn’t pass. In bad economic times, deferring costs has become commonplace.
“We haven’t done much to fix anything,” said Rep. Guy Liebmann, R-Oklahoma City, the measure’s author. “It’s not a Republican House. It’s not a Democratic House. It belongs to everybody. And they need to take care of it.”
Alex Weintz, spokesman for Republican Gov. Mary Fallin, said the governor has no specific proposal to address the Capitol’s deterioration. Ellwanger said he believes the state will have to ask private donors to help pay for the work. A call for public donations raised $21 million to put a dome on the neoclassical structure for the state’s gala centennial celebration in 2007. The dome completed the original architect’s design after work was cut short by the onset of World War I.
While state officials have been emphasizing austerity this year, the deterioration has become impossible to ignore. Concern about falling debris prompted state crews to erect covered scaffolding above a walkway at the Capitol’s southeast corner.
“We don’t want anybody to get injured,” Enneking said.
A detailed examination found a concrete beam above the south portico that is crushing the brick that supports it, antiquated piping and electrical wiring that are original to the building. There’s extensive cracking of the terrazzo floor in the building’s lower level. Some officials estimate a thorough rehabilitation project could take 10 years.
The work of architect Solomon Layton, who designed more than 100 public buildings in Oklahoma, the Capitol was constructed of reinforced concrete between 1914 and 1917 for just $1.5 million. Its exterior is composed mainly of white limestone with a base of Oklahoma pink granite.
The building is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the state, drawing more than 15,000 visitors a year, according to the Department of Tourism.
“State capitols in every state are the people’s house,” said Barbara Pahl, vice president for western field services for the National Trust for Historic Preservation. “People need to have things they feel good about. The capitol represents all of that.”
Several other states have had to restore their aging capitol buildings in recent years. The Utah State Capitol, dedicated in 1916, underwent a four-year, $200 million renovation. A $57.4 million renovation of the Nebraska State Capitol that began in 1998 was recently completed.
Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Political collectors know that this broom-and-donkey pin was made for Franklin D. Roosevelt’s 1932 presidential campaign. It sold, over estimate, for $113 at a Hake’s Americana and Collectibles auction in York, Pa.
Politics is in the news every day, and we’re reminding collectors that buttons, signs, medallions, bandannas and even canes were made for past election campaigns. They are a collector’s challenge. Prices for some old and rare political collectibles are high at auctions, but many items can be found for less at house sales or hidden in your own drawers or attic.
Some old political collectibles have slogans or pictures from long-forgotten campaigns. A recent catalog for a campaign-button auction pictured these examples: a button with the words “If we ever needed him, we need him now” (Dwight Eisenhower, 1952, $18), an 1896 bug-shaped pin that represented the Gold Bug for William McKinley ($720) and the Silver Bug for William Jennings Bryan ($48), and a round button with a yellow felt border shaped like petals that was the sunflower emblem used by Alf Landon in 1936 ($10).
Figural buttons often tell a hidden political story. A bar pin shaped like a broom with a small donkey hanging from the handle was auctioned by Hake’s Americana and Collectibles of York, Pa., for $113. The broom symbolized the Democrats’ promise to sweep Republicans out of power in the 1932 election. The donkey was and still is the symbol of the Democrats. There may be unrecognized treasures in your house. Prices for political memorabilia usually go up during a presidential election year.
Q: Several years ago, I bought some dishes in a thrift store when I needed extra plates and platters for a themed dinner party. I noticed that all 51 pieces were signed “M.A. Hadley.” I discovered that this pattern is called “Hot Brown Fleck” and that Mary Alice Hadley won a good-design award for it from the Museum of Modern Art in 1952. Can you tell me more about Ms. Hadley and my dishes?
A: Mary Alice Hadley (1911-1965) decorated a set of dishes for use on her family’s boat in 1939. Her friends liked the dishes so much that they asked her to make some for them. She bought the dishes, hand-decorated them and had it glazed and fired at Louisville Pottery Co. of Louisville, Ky. In 1940, Mary and her husband, George, rented space at Louisville Pottery and hired a few decorators to hand-paint china. Hadley Pottery Co., which the venture had been named, moved to a building the Hadleys bought in Louisville in 1944. They built their first kiln later that year and began firing their own pottery. “Hot Brown Fleck,” introduced in 1952, is no longer being made because the brown clay it was made from is no longer available. After Mary Alice died, George continued in the business until it was sold in 1979. The company is still in business.
Q: I have a small chest with a metal tray-like top and seven drawers. We received it from a family member who lived in Florida. The cabinet is 28 1/2 inches high. The drawers are 6 1/2 inches deep. I’m not sure what it was used for.
A: This type of chest is called a “semainier.” The name comes from the French word “semaine,” which means “week.” There is one drawer for each day of the week, and the chest was meant to hold a week’s supply of lingerie or other clothing. Semainiers were popular during Victorian times. Many semainiers have a marble top. Yours may originally have had a piece of marble set in the metal frame.
Q: I’d like to know more about a cylindrical slide rule I own. It’s in its original storage box, which is 24 inches long by 6 1/2 inches square. There are several names and dates on the slide rule and box. The slide rule is labeled “Thatcher’s Calculating Instrument” and has a cylinder that moves freely inside an envelope of 20 bars. It’s marked “Patented by Edwin Thatcher, C.E. Nov. 1st, 1881. Divided by W.F. Stanley, London, 1882. Made by Keuffel & Esser Co., New York.” The model number 4012 and the serial number 2498 are imprinted on the base.
A: The cylindrical slide rule was invented by Edwin Thacher, a civil engineer from Pittsburgh. W.F. Stanley, who divided the scales, spelled Thacher’s name wrong on the original plates. “Thatcher” continued to be marked on the slide rule after Keuffel & Esser Co. took over production in 1897. Model 4012 was introduced in 1900. Keuffel & Esser made three variations of this slide rule between 1891 and 1952. The serial number on your slide rule indicates that it probably was made before 1915. Value: about $500-$700.
Q: I own a Little Black Sambo marionette that’s dated 1938. I also have its original red-and-white box with a drawing of a stage and two marionettes on the cover. The box reads, “Marionette by Kopy-Kat.” Value?
A: Kopy-Kat marionettes were made by Wilson Inc. of Detroit. The marionettes were packaged as pairs in an “educational” kit so they could be assembled, painted and dressed by the buyer. Little Black Sambo was a popular literary character, and toys based on the character are wanted by collectors of black memorabilia. If your marionette and its box are in excellent condition, they could sell for $250 or more.
Tip: If your old cast-iron pan without a wooden handle is dirty, clean it in a self-cleaning oven.
Terry Kovel answers as many questions as possible through the column. By sending a letter with a question, you give full permission for use in the column or any other Kovel forum. Names, addresses or email addresses will not be published. We cannot guarantee the return of any photograph, but if a stamped envelope is included, we will try. The volume of mail makes personal answers or appraisals impossible. Write to Kovels, Auction Central News, King Features Syndicate, 300 W. 57th St., New York, NY 10019.
CURRENT PRICES
Current prices are recorded from antiques shows, flea markets, sales and auctions throughout the United States. Prices vary in different locations because of local economic conditions.
Goldscheider Lady Rose figurine, holding large bouquet of roses, flowing rose-colored gown, ringlets in hair with roses, marked, 6 3/4 inches, $50.
Lennon Sisters paper dolls, four dolls, Dianne, Peggy, Kathy and Janet, uncut clothing, Whitman Publishing, 1959, $50.
1908 pocket advertising calendar, Keystone brand of children’s clothing, celluloid, five children in rompers and overalls, 1908, 2 3/8 x 3 3/4 inches, $120.
Coconut tin, “Banner Brand Sweetened Fancy Long Thread Coconut,” gold label, early 1900s, 12 x 8 inches, $150.
Ferdinand the Bull toy, tin lithograph, windup, tail spins, bumblebee on rear flank, black rubber horns, Marx, 1938, 5 1/2 x 2 inches, $160.
Effanbee Little Lady doll, yarn hair, blue dress, plaid ruffles on hem and neckline, bra and panties, 1944, 16 inches, $200.
Pairpoint silver-plated vanity mirror plateau, footed, scrolls and twisted daisies on rim, 1930s, 12 x 17 inches, $245.
GE Bandy the Bandmaster store display doll, General Electric Radio Corp. mascot, wood, jointed, red coat and hat with logo, by Maxfield Parrish, circa 1920, 19 inches, $950.
Swivel desk chair, walnut, carved frame, adjustable tilt and height, white with palm-tree-design upholstery, 1920s, 24 x 27 inches, $1,275.
Kovels’ American Collectibles, 1900 to 2000 is the best guide to your 20th-century treasures – everything from art pottery to kitchenware. It’s filled with hundreds of color photographs, marks, lists of designers and manufacturers, and lots of information about collectibles. The collectibles of the 20th century are explained in an entertaining, informative style. Read tips on care and dating items and discover how to spot a good buy and avoid a bad one. And learn about hot new collectibles and what they’re worth so you can make wise, profitable decisions. The book covers pottery and porcelain, furniture, jewelry, silver, glass, toys, kitchen items, bottles, dolls, prints and more. It’s about the household furnishings of the past century – what they are, what they’re worth and how they were used. Out-of-print but available online at Kovels.com; by phone at 800-303-1996; or send $27.95 plus $4.95 postage to Kovels, Box 22900, Beachwood, OH 44122
One of Picasso’s early works in the exhibition is the 1895 oil painting ‘The Barefoot Girl.’ Image courtesy of Wikipaintings.org.
SHANGHAI (AFP) – The Picasso museum on Monday opened the biggest exhibition of works by the renowned Spanish artist ever to be staged in mainland China, organizers said.
The three-month exhibition at the China Pavilion at the former site of the Shanghai World Expo features 48 paintings spanning the life of Pablo Picasso, who pioneered the cubist movement, as well as sculptures and prints.
“We have been trying to find a way to open a show in China,” Anne Baldassari, director of the National Picasso Museum in Paris, better known as the Musee Picasso, told AFP in Shanghai shortly before the opening.
“It’s a way for us to educate two or three generations of the Chinese public.”
The Musee Picasso is closed for a nearly two-year renovation, allowing several cities around the world – including San Francisco, Sydney and Toronto – to display pieces from the collection.
Sponsor Tix-Media, a privately owned Shanghai exhibition company, said it cost nearly 1 million euros (around $1.4 million) to bring the works to the commercial hub.
Picasso was first introduced to China in 1983, when then French president Francois Mitterrand opened an exhibition of 25 of the artist’s works in Beijing.
The Shanghai exhibition spans all periods of Picasso’s long career, from a painting when he was just 14 to one completed a year before his death in 1973. It includes paintings such as The Barefoot Girl and The Dream.
The works to be shown in Shanghai were just displayed in Taipei. The museum is trying to find a venue in Beijing before the exhibition moves on to several other Asian cities, Baldassari said.
Proceeds from the global tour will help offset the more than 50 million euro ($69 million) renovation of the museum, which will triple the area for the collection, she said.
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_lead.jpg "British artist Michael Landy's credit-card-munching sculpture machine on the stand of London contemporary art dealer Thomas Dane at the 2011 Frieze Fair in Regents Park. Image courtesy of Auction Central News.")
.jpg "Two views of a 16th/17th-century casket from Ceylon for storing jewelery and precious objects, veneered in tortoiseshell and ivory with silver mounts and handles. On display in Francesca Galloway's exhibition 'Indian Goods for the Luxury Market' at 31 Dover St. from Nov. 3 to Dec. 9. Image courtesy of Francesca Galloway.")
.jpg "Two views of a 16th/17th-century casket from Ceylon for storing jewelery and precious objects, veneered in tortoiseshell and ivory with silver mounts and handles. On display in Francesca Galloway's exhibition 'Indian Goods for the Luxury Market' at 31 Dover St. from Nov. 3 to Dec. 9. Image courtesy of Francesca Galloway.")
