Mummy reveals ‘Secrets of the Tomb’ at Virginia museum

Mummy of Nesperennub, 22nd Dynasty (about 800 B.C.), from Thebes. Human tissue, linen, cartonnage, wood. © The Trustees of the British Museum.
Mummy of Nesperennub, 22nd Dynasty (about 800 B.C.), from Thebes. Human tissue, linen, cartonnage, wood. © The Trustees of the British Museum.
Mummy of Nesperennub, 22nd Dynasty (about 800 B.C.), from Thebes. Human tissue, linen, cartonnage, wood. © The Trustees of the British Museum.

RICHMOND, Va. – The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts will be the only U.S. appearance for a major international touring exhibition of ancient Egyptian antiquities from the British Museum’s world famous collection. “Mummy: Secrets of the Tomb” will open on Nov. 19 and continue through March 11.

The 7,000-square-foot exhibition of 120 ancient artifacts is brought to life and contextualized by a 3-D film exploring the life, mummification and afterlife of an Egyptian priest.

Visitors to “Mummy: Secrets of the Tomb” will be immersed in the life and afterlife of Nesperennub, a temple priest who lived 3,000 years ago and whose mummy serves as the focus of this exhibition. In addition to the mummy of Nesperennub, the exhibition includes other human and animal mummies, jewelry, canopic jars, monumental stone sarcophagi, statuary, a gilded mask and bronze and stone sculpture.

“Visitors to this exhibition will be taken on an extraordinary adventure back to 800 B.C. to explore this priest’s world and his tomb,” Director Alex Nyerges said. “Their experience will include a 3-D film that will give them new insights into ancient Egyptian mummies and culture. Ancient Egyptian culture developed more than 5,000 years ago and its pyramids, mummies and beliefs about the afterlife have fascinated people for centuries.”

The 3-D film Exploring the Mummy, narrated by Patrick Stewart (Captain Jean-Luc Picard in the Star Trek the Next Generation TV series) is based on the most advanced scanning technology opens the exhibition. The film takes the audience on a journey that unwraps the mummy of Nesperennub in vivid detail and reveals the secrets of life and death in ancient Egypt. The film presents the scientific knowledge made possible by nondestructive scans of mummies and provides understanding into life expectancy, health, disease and funerary beliefs, as well as the complex process of mummification.

Until recently, the only way to extract data from Egyptian mummies was to actually unwrap the body, a destructive and irreversible process. In recent years, noninvasive imaging techniques have made it possible to look inside a mummy without disturbing the wrappings. This technology allows the viewer to literally travel through the body beneath the wrappings and reconstruct aspects of Nesperennub’s biography. Nesperennub was chosen for this project because his mummy is still in its original cartonnage coffin – it has never been opened, neither by looters in antiquity nor modern Egyptologists.

The first scans, completed in 2003, showed the state of the body and images of amulets wrapped within the mummy. Newer scans completed in 2010 provide sharper images, offer more details, and reveal additional amulets, as well as new details of Nesperennub’s physiology. For instance, the new scans revealed abscesses in Nesperennub’s teeth, suggesting a longer life span than previously believed. Through the film, visitors also learn what the scientific study of mummies has allowed us to discover about the reasons for and process of mummification, life expectancy, health and disease in ancient Egypt.

One of VMFA’s goals was to bring examples of Egyptian art that can convey its monumentality to Richmond. Two of the most striking objects are stone sarcophagi lids, objects that rarely travel – even without the chests, the lids weigh more than a ton). One of these, the lid of the sarcophagus of Nesisut, shows an idealized image of the deceased and inscriptions that record the promises made by the gods to protect Nesisut. The second lid, belonging to the sarcophagus of Pakap, is shaped like a mummy and includes an inscription that assures Pakap that “the gods will be purified at the sight of him every day.” Together the inscriptions on these lids make a demonstration of the mutual dependence of humans and gods. Two of the other stars of the exhibition are statues of the lioness-headed goddess Sekhmet. Like the sarcophagus lids, they are large-scale pieces, complementing VMFA’s permanent collection.

The mummy of Nesperennub is enclosed in a case made of cartonnage (layers of linen and/or papyrus resin covered with plaster). The painted surface includes a figure of the sun god Ra as a winged scarab beetle with a falcon’s head, the funerary god Sokar as a mummified falcon, and the emblem of the god Osiris. These deities ensured the resurrection of the deceased. The hieroglyphic inscriptions on the coffin’s lid and sides contain prayers to various gods to provide Nesperennub with “life, prosperity and health” and a long lifespan.

In a Judgment Scene from the Book of the Dead the deceased, Ankhwahibre, faces Osiris, while his conduct during his life is assessed by the symbolic weighing of his heart in a balance, to determine whether or not he has lived by the principles of Ma’at (truth or justice). A successful outcome was rewarded with admission to eternal life. A badly spent life brought punishment: the heart was swallowed by the monstrous Ammut “the Devourer,” who crouches on a plinth.

The cat, sacred to the goddess Bastet, was one of the most frequently mummified animals in ancient Egypt. Especially in later periods, the cats were usually covered in intricately patterned wrappings, with a representation of the animal’s head (here it is made from folded and painted linen). X-rays have shown that this specimen contains a small kitten that occupies only one-third of the bundle, the rest of which is filled with cloth.

 

 

 

Daring portrait of late 17th century actress unveiled

Eleanor ('Nell') Gwyn by Simon Verelst, circa.1680–85. Private Collection. Image courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery, London.
Eleanor ('Nell') Gwyn by Simon Verelst, circa.1680–85. Private Collection. Image courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery, London.
Eleanor (‘Nell’) Gwyn by Simon Verelst, circa.1680–85. Private Collection. Image courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery, London.

LONDON – A daringly erotic painting of Nell Gwyn has been rediscovered in the making of the National Portrait Gallery’s new exhibition “The First Actresses: Nell Gwyn to Sarah Siddons,” opening Thursday, Oct. 20.

Rarely seen, it shows a pale-skinned Gwyn, slightly reclining with a seductive, tilted gaze, flushed cheeks and breasts exposed.

The provocative portrait of the 17th century actress has not been seen in public for almost 50 years. Since then its whereabouts have been unknown until research by Gallery curators led to its rediscovery in a private collection.

Now it will be seen on the Gallery’s exhibition posters on the London Underground and on one of two large banners at the museum’s entrance.

Painted by the artist Simon Verelst between 1680-85, the portrait has been in the possession of the same family since the 1940s when it was bought, probably for its frame, without knowing it depicted Nell Gwyn. At that time, the slightly reclining sitter appeared fully dressed, due to alterations probably added in the 19th century – it was not until conservation after purchase that it became clear she was Nell Gwyn. Sadly no photographs exist to show the clothed version.

The painting is one of the few surviving portraits that can be securely identified as Gwyn. The revealing pose with open chemise contrasts with the more formal and modest composition of the National Portrait Gallery’s picture of Gwyn by the same artist displayed next to it in the new exhibition. In this other Verelst portrait, a feigned oval of circa 1680, Gwyn’s costume coyly reveals one nipple. This was a visual code that often marked the late 17th century subject as a courtesan as well as indicating her status as an actress, and wholly or partially bared breasts typify images of Gwyn.

Eleanor “Nell” Gwyn (1651?– 87) was one of the first actresses to perform on the English stage. She debuted at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden in 1664 aged only 14 and soon found success in the London theatre. The glamour and notoriety of some of the parts she played influenced her off-stage persona, and she became a mistress of King Charles II in 1669. The diarist Samuel Pepys was a keen follower of her performances and praised her comic roles. Many of the Gwyn portraits, at least one of which Pepys owned as a print, contribute to popular fantasies of her by showing her décolletée.

Professor Gill Perry, curator of “The First Actresses: Nell Gwyn to Sarah Siddons,” says: “Images such as this rarely seen portrait have contributed to the idea of Nell Gwyn as an early celebrity, whose life story and appearance are known through biographies and salacious gossip. But she was a shrewd manipulator of her own public image, known not just for her affairs and outspoken views, but also for her acting abilities and famous wit.”

The portrait is one of 53 in an exhibition that shows the remarkable popularity of actress-portraits. “The First Actresses: Nell Gwyn to Sarah Siddons” is the first exhibition to explore the relationship of art and theater in 18th century England through portraits of its leading female performers. It brings together works by artists such as Reynolds, Gainsborough, Hoppner, Lawrence, Zoffany and Gillray. Actresses featured include Nell Gwyn, Kitty Clive, Hester Booth, Lavinia Fenton, Susannah Cibber, Sarah Siddons, Mary Robinson, Dorothy Jordan, Elizabeth Farren and Elizabeth Linley.

Highlights include a little-known version of Reynolds’s famous portrait of Sarah Siddons as the Tragic Muse, Hogarth’s The Beggar’s Opera, Gainsborough’s portraits of Giovanna Baccelli and Elizabeth Linley. Important loans include works from the Garrick Club, the Royal Shakespeare Company, the National Gallery of Art, Washington, The Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, Tate Britain, the Victoria & Albert, as well as Petworth, Kenwood and Longleat Houses.

 

Wright will conclude 2011 with Important Design sale Dec. 15

Sculptures by Harry Bertoia from the Stahr collection. Image courtesy of Wright.
Sculptures by Harry Bertoia from the Stahr collection. Image courtesy of Wright.
Sculptures by Harry Bertoia from the Stahr collection. Image courtesy of Wright.

CHICAGO –Wright will conclude the year on Dec. 15 with their Important Design auction, a biannual sale featuring rare and significant works of the 20th century.

LiveAuctioneers.com will provide Internet live bidding.

Important Design is comprised of a number of works from prominent collectors and distinguished interiors as well as exceptional forms by the 20th century’s leading artists and designers. The sale includes more than two dozen sculptures by Harry Bertoia, including an excellent Gong and an unparalleled selection of sculptures from the Stahr Collection.

Italian master Gio Ponti features prominently in this sale with a selection of works designed for Villa Arreaza, Caracas (1956), one of two complete residential commissions completed by the designer in Venezuela. Modernist Ettore Sottsass is represented with a large collection of rare glass forms, each from a small edition. And finally, a great collection of beautifully crafted works from the Henry R. Levy House, an interior designed by Samuel Marx, will be introduced to the market for the first time.

Additional highlights include a matched pair of Long chairs by George Nakashima, a mobile by George Rickey and a Stack Pot by Peter Voulkos. Numerous architectural artifacts from Dankmar Adler and Louis Sullivan buildings and a selection of works by Isamu Noguchi, including a rare bowl, will be sold alongside important works by Gabriella Crespi, Paul Evans, Max Ingrand, Gino Sarfatti, Roger Tallon, Jean Prouvé and other notable designers.

Important Design features nearly 250 works of exceptional design. Each item will be featured in Wright’s award-winning, full-color auction catalog as well as presented in our online preview at www.wright20.com. Gallery preview will open Dec. 8 and run through Dec. 14, open Monday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday by appointment, located at Wright, 1440 W. Hubbard St., Chicago, IL 60642.

For details about this sale, visit Wright’s website www.wright20.com or phone 312-563-0020.

 

 

Get your kicks – ghost walk channels spirits of Route 66

Restored Route 66 service station in Mount Olive, Ill. Image by Patty Kuhn. © April 2003. Illinois Route 66 Heritage Project. http://www.byways.org

Restored Route 66 service station in Mount Olive, Ill. Image by Patty Kuhn. © April 2003. Illinois Route 66 Heritage Project. http://www.byways.org

Restored Route 66 service station in Mount Olive, Ill. Image by Patty Kuhn. © April 2003. Illinois Route 66 Heritage Project. http://www.byways.org

LINCOLN, Ill. (AP) – Driving can be so deadly dull these days.

Strapped in with seat belts, cocooned with front and side airbags, we’re safer than we’ve ever been on our teeming highways. Contrast that with the early years of this century and the huge chunks of Detroit steel – Japan, back then, exported mainly rice – hurtling up and down the narrow lanes of America’s storied east-west artery, Route 66.

It was the thrill of the primitive open road in cars devoid of every safety feature we now take for granted except brakes. You could put the pedal to the metal and go west, young man, with the nonsafety glass windows rolled down and God’s fresh air anointing your smiling face.

The one big drawback to getting your kicks on old Route 66 was getting killed: Head-on drivers obliterated each other on the too-narrow road or lost it on lots of interesting local highway features such as “dead man’s curve” in the town of Lincoln. Drivers who survived that wicked bend found themselves rocketing along a straight downhill stretch between two conveniently placed Lincoln cemeteries, only to come to grief at the hazard formed by the infamous “ghost bridge” bestriding Salt Creek.

All of which has left a treasure trove of highway ghost stories waiting to be mined by enterprising entrepreneurs who know how to feed our hunger for horror. Enter Chris Hotz and business partner Deborah Carr Senger, who run Bloomington-based Timeless Presentations. On Oct. 22, they are offering to take you on a tour they’re calling the “Ghost Bridge Ghost Walk.”

Visitors will wander with them down a long-abandoned stretch of old Route 66 as dusk falls like a dark river through the overarching fall trees that wrap the road in a golden shroud. Your hosts will take you deep down to the skeletal concrete bones of what’s left of the ghost bridge, all the while seeding nervous imaginations with stories about cars that went bump in the night and the fate of their luckless drivers.

Hotz says it’s going to be a scream. “Imagine charging down here at 70 mph,” he adds with relish, wandering down the lumpy abandoned road while dry leaves crunch underfoot as if they were brittle, sun-bleached bones. “There were a lot of deaths right here, especially coming down to this bridge. You just get an incredible feeling of the history.”

Some of the drivers may have met their ends while up to no good. One of the characters fright fans will be introduced to is a Lincoln Prohibition bootlegger and bosom buddy of Al Capone called John “Coonhound Johnny” Schwenoha. His nickname is right on his grave marker that lies not far from the spooky disused stretch of Route 66. “There is a great mystery about how he died in 1944,” says Hotz, 53, who doesn’t want to give too much away ahead of the ghost walk. “It’s real interesting.”

Hotz will be giving a portion of the ghost walk’s ticket price away to the Route 66 Heritage Foundation of Logan County, which is working to save the fabric of “The Mill,” a historic former Route 66 restaurant and haunt of Coonhound Johnny. Geoff Ladd, the executive director of the Abraham Lincoln Tourism Bureau of Logan County, says the eventual aim is to resurrect the old watering hole as a Route 66 museum.

“There could very well be a mix of ghosts in there,” says Ladd, eying the building with its faux windmill sails hanging dead despite a light breeze. “Some could be the bodies rumored to be buried under the foundation from gangster days, and there could be spirits from when part of the building was a World War II army barracks.”

Our co-host for the ghost walk, Deborah Carr Senger, is also a practicing medium and says bluntly that parts of the old mill “creep me out.” She’ll be lending her expertise and sensitivity to all aspects of the walk and providing insights as the walkers plod towards the waiting bridge. Don’t be surprised, however, if she goes quiet sometimes.

“I might be talking to them,” she says of the departed.

___

Information from: Herald & Review, http://www.herald-review.com

Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

AP-WF-10-18-11 1114GMT

 

 

 

Americana flies high at Case Antiques’ Fall Auction

A carved limestone “varmint” by William Edmondson (Tennessee, 1874-1951), sold to a floor bidder for $46,400. Edmondson, a self taught artist, was the first African American to have a solo show at the Museum of Modern Art.Image courtesy of Case Antiques.

A carved limestone “varmint” by William Edmondson (Tennessee, 1874-1951), sold to a floor bidder for $46,400. Edmondson, a self taught artist, was the first African American to have a solo show at the Museum of Modern Art.Image courtesy of Case Antiques.

A carved limestone “varmint” by William Edmondson (Tennessee, 1874-1951), sold to a floor bidder for $46,400. Edmondson, a self taught artist, was the first African American to have a solo show at the Museum of Modern Art.Image courtesy of Case Antiques.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – A collection of patriotic Americana, a cache of American art, and a piece of American musical history were the featured items at the Fall Case Antiques Auction, held Oct. 1.

The estate of the late A. Welling LaGrone Jr., a well-known arts patron in Nashville and collector of patriotic memorabilia, yielded over 200 of the 743 lots, with the rest comprised of art and antiques from other Southeastern estates and fine collections

A carved limestone “varmint” figure by William Edmondson (Tennessee, 1874-1951) led the fine art offerings. Edmondson is considered one of the most important self-taught artists of the 20th century. In 1937 he became the first African American to have his own exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Animals were a frequent source of inspiration for Edmondson, and this sculpture was consigned by a North Carolina woman who was present the day her mother acquired it directly from the artist. Since this sculpture, like most of Edmondson’s work, was unsigned, that provenance helped drive it to a strong $46,400 (est. $20,000-$30,000). All prices include the buyer’s premium.

A sunset oil on canvas landscape by American tonalist John Francis Murphy (1865-1921) hammered down to the phones for $23,780, and a portrait of a woman with birds by Angel Botello (Spain/Puerto Rico, 1913-1986) brought $18,560. An Ashcan-school inspired circus scene by Kansas City artist Ruth Harris Bohan (1891-1981), from the LaGrone collection, drew the highest number of bidders on a single object in the sale and achieved a record price for the artist. Estimated at $1,000-$1,500, it soared to $15,080. There was also strong phone bidder activity for three colored woodcuts by Bror Julius Nordfeldt (American, 1878-1955), all from the estate of illustrator Arthur Hoskings (American, 1874-1970). His Japanese inspired colored woodcut titled Woman With a Fan at the Piano competed to $16,240, while Village Green at Twilight and a scene of a woman at a spinning wheel brought $8,352 and $4,640 respectively.

There was stronger than expected demand for art by living artists. A portrait of a woman by Miguel Martinez (b. New Mexico, 1951) realized $5,800 against an $800-$1,200 estimate. A welded bronze sculpture by Gordon Hammond Smith (Canadian, b. 1937) from his “Nuclear” series blasted past its $600-$800 estimate to $3,364, the same price as a hammered bronze geometric sculpture by artist/architect Edgar Tafur (Latin American/Ohio, b. 1929), estimated at $400-$600. From the LaGrone collection, a Red Grooms oil on wood portrayal of his fellow Tennessean Elvis Presley played at $4,640, and a Grooms lithographed three-dimensional New York street scene bustled to $2,900. A folk art painting of a family picnic by Georgia artist Linda Anderson (b. 1941) made $2,436. An oil on canvas painting of George Washington after Gilbert Stuart, from the LaGrone collection, sold within estimate at $3,944.

Leading the LaGrone collection was the boat flag and archive of The Red White and Blue, a lifeboat which made headlines in 1866 when it became the smallest ship to ever cross the Atlantic Ocean. The flag had been repurposed from a Union picketboat, the U.S.S. Flambeau, by its acting ensign John Hudson, who captained the Red White and Blue. It was accompanied by the ship’s log, two Currier and Ives prints of the event, and an archive of material relating to Hudson’s naval career. Buoyed by interest from flag and nautical collectors alike, the lot sailed quickly past its $10,000-$15,000 estimate to reach $35,960. A mid-19th century 16-star American national flag, also a probable boat flag but from an unknown vessel, sold for $5,800.

Another highlight from the LaGrone collection was a tin lantern from Andrew Jackson’s successful re-election campaign of 1832. The lantern featured the punched words “Andrew Jackson Forever” and rallied to $16,820 amid competition from three historical institutions. A Parian bust of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee realized $1,856 and a Senate gallery ticket to the impeachment proceedings of President Andrew Johnson hammered down for $1,392. A War of 1812 campaign chest in heavily worn condition but with most of its contents still intact won a top bid of $4,176. The chest descended in the family of Maj. Christopher Van Deventer, who later became chief clerk of the U.S. War Department under John C. Calhoun. Although not from the LaGrone collection, it was a good complement to the other historical material, as was a painting of Tennessee’s Cumberland Valley depicting the 1863 evacuation of the Cumberland Gap by the 7th Division of the Army of the Ohio. It shot past its $1,000-$2,000 estimate to earn $9,976.

The sale’s top lot was a relic of musical history: a Meet the Beatles record album signed by all four Beatles, given to the doctor who treated George Harrison so he could perform with the band on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1962. That appearance is credited with launching the British Invasion, but the album – inscribed “Thanks for the jabs,” – was a reminder of how close it came to happening without Harrison. No more than 15 albums signed by all four Beatles are known to exist today, and this was one of only two known with personal inscriptions. An East Coast collector, bidding by phone, beat out the underbidder from London to claim it for $75,400. This was the second and final signed Beatles album from Dr. Jules Gordon’s estate; a previous album, fully signed but not personally inscribed, sold at Case’s Spring 2011 auction for $63,250.

An outstanding carved American Classical mahogany sleigh bed led the furniture offerings at $9,976. It, as well as many of the American classical pieces in the sale, had been pictured in a 1999 Art & Antiques article highlighting the LaGrone home. A Classical mahogany recamier with hairy paw feet rested at $7656, while a marble topped mixing table attributed to Anthony Quervelle of Philadelphia served up $5,104 and a classical Boston two-drawer work table earned $1,508. An American Federal Pembroke table bearing the paper label for cabinetmaker Charles Christian of New York sold for $4,872. Southern furniture included a Middle Tennessee cherry sugar chest with delicate turned feet, $9,976, and a pair of Louisiana Campeche chairs, $6,032.

There were more online bidders in this auction from China than from any other country besides the United States, and even some bidders from China in the audience. Prices for Asian decorative arts flourished as a result. A Chinese silver presentation tray given as a wedding gift from a Shanghai company to one of the owners in 1897, with engraved floral, bird, and Chinese figure decoration, sold for $6,032 (est. $1,200-$1,400). A pair of 9-inch diameter Chinese silver plates with repoussé borders brought $1,392, and a carved and stained carved ivory flowering vine reached $1,972. Jade in all shades was red hot: a small carved white jade snuff bottle soared to $4,408 against a $500-$800 estimate, while a green jade one brought $1,392, and a jade buckle and bi disc, offered together with an estimate of $200-$300, surprised at $3,944. A set of miniature jade vessels including a ding, vase and bowl, made a big impression at $1,972.

Southern pottery lovers had a slimmer selection to choose from than in past Case auctions, but demand remained healthy. A 19th century redware preserving jar from the recently discovered Mort pottery of Tennessee sold for $2,436, the same price as a Kentucky pitcher marked for Isaac Thomas of Mason County. A jar made by Weaver & Brother of Knoxville, circa 1880, doubled its estimate at $1,392, and a miniature 3-inch Carlisle, Ky., whiskey jug once again proved that bigger is not always better, pulling in $493 (est. $100-$125).

Demand for silver was consistently good, and there were some hearty prices for Southern coin silver. A set of six spoons by E.B. Cayce (working Franklin, Tenn., 1852-1898) won a round of applause when they finished at $2,320 (estimate $300-$400). An agricultural presentation goblet inscribed “Jackson Fair,” presumably awarded in the mid-19th century in Jackson, Tenn., won a top bid of $1,972, a Memphis coin silver ladle marked for J. Merriman brought $1,276, and a Memphis coin silver mug by F.H. Clark & Co. made $803.

Other Southern highlights included an 1827 Tennessee needlework sampler with alphabet and floral border, $3,944, a pair of Civil War tintypes of two Union soldiers from East Tennessee, $1,392.

The company is currently accepting consignments for its Jan. 28 auction, to be held at its gallery in Knoxville. For more information, call the gallery in Knoxville at 865-558-3033 or the Nashville office at 615-812-6096.

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

ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE

The boat flag, log, and related archive from The Red White & Blue, which in 1866 became the smallest ship to ever sail across the Atlantic. The lot included two Currier and Ives prints about the voyage. The ship was also exhibited at the Crystal Palace. Price for the lot was $35,960. Image courtesy of Case Antiques.

The boat flag, log, and related archive from The Red White & Blue, which in 1866 became the smallest ship to ever sail across the Atlantic. The lot included two Currier and Ives prints about the voyage. The ship was also exhibited at the Crystal Palace. Price for the lot was $35,960. Image courtesy of Case Antiques.

An American Classical carved sleigh bed from the A. Welling LaGrone Jr. estate achieved $9,976. Image courtesy of Case Antiques.

An American Classical carved sleigh bed from the A. Welling LaGrone Jr. estate achieved $9,976. Image courtesy of Case Antiques.

Chinese objects continued their hot streak. A Chinese silver presentation tray given as a wedding gift from a Shanghai company to one of the owners in 1897, with engraved floral, bird, and Chinese figure decoration, sold for $6,032 (est. $1,200-$1,400). Image courtesy of Case Antiques.

Chinese objects continued their hot streak. A Chinese silver presentation tray given as a wedding gift from a Shanghai company to one of the owners in 1897, with engraved floral, bird, and Chinese figure decoration, sold for $6,032 (est. $1,200-$1,400). Image courtesy of Case Antiques.

An Ashcan-school inspired circus scene by Kansas City artist Ruth Harris Bohan (1891-1981), drew the highest number of bidders on a single object in the sale and achieved a record price for the artist. Estimated at $1,000-1,500, it soared to $15,080. Image courtesy of Case Antiques.

An Ashcan-school inspired circus scene by Kansas City artist Ruth Harris Bohan (1891-1981), drew the highest number of bidders on a single object in the sale and achieved a record price for the artist. Estimated at $1,000-1,500, it soared to $15,080. Image courtesy of Case Antiques.

A Meet the Beatles album, signed by all four band members and inscribed “thanks for the jabs” to the doctor who treated George Harrison for strep throat the day before their Ed Sullivan show debut, rocked at $75,400. It was the second and final signed Beatles album from the Gordon estate. Image courtesy of Case Antiques.

A Meet the Beatles album, signed by all four band members and inscribed “thanks for the jabs” to the doctor who treated George Harrison for strep throat the day before their Ed Sullivan show debut, rocked at $75,400. It was the second and final signed Beatles album from the Gordon estate. Image courtesy of Case Antiques.

Restored carousel turning heads by Brooklyn Bridge

Another famous carousel made by Philadelphia Toboggan Co. is the 1906 Kit Carson County Carousel in Burlington, Colo. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
Another famous carousel made by Philadelphia Toboggan Co. is the 1906 Kit Carson County Carousel in Burlington, Colo. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
Another famous carousel made by Philadelphia Toboggan Co. is the 1906 Kit Carson County Carousel in Burlington, Colo. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

NEW YORK (AP) – In the shadow of the Brooklyn Bridge, strains of old-fashioned music from an organ float over the East River, mingling with the sound of children’s laughter. It is coming from one of the happiest little spots in New York City: Jane’s Carousel, a twinkling antique jewel that spins in a see-through pavilion on the river’s bank.

One afternoon in early autumn, just about everybody seemed enthralled by the rise and fall of the 48 hand-carved wooden horses as they rode in circles over and over in Brooklyn Bridge Park. It was mostly young children emerging from nap time with their mothers, but even some hipsters in skinny jeans and Ray-Ban Wayfarers decided to stop and take a ride, hanging their heads back and grinning as they went.

“I think the lights, the music, the horses, it just brings out joy in everybody,” says Jane Walentas, the artist who spent years restoring the carousel to its original splendor.

Jane’s Carousel is the latest attraction to hit DUMBO, an offbeat waterfront neighborhood that is slowly evolving from a deserted manufacturing zone to an upscale hipster hangout with art galleries, boutiques and million-dollar condos. DUMBO stands for Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass, and the carousel is located right between the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges, which span the river and connect the two New York City boroughs. The carousel is housed in a clear acrylic pavilion, designed by the architect Jean Nouvel, and it offers stunning, and weatherproof, views of the bridges, the water and Manhattan across the way.

Jane’s Carousel is no native New Yorker. It was built by the Philadelphia Toboggan Co. in 1922, and for much of the 20th century, it stood in Idora Park, a popular spot in Youngstown, Ohio, then a prosperous city of steel mills. In 1975, it became the first carousel ever listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Youngstown fell on hard times with the decline of the steel industry in the 1970s, and after Idora Park was wrecked in a fire, the carousel went up for auction in 1984.

At the time, Jane Walentas’ husband, real estate developer, David Walentas, had been commissioned to develop the land that eventually became Brooklyn Bridge Park. He had asked his wife to help him find a carousel to install there. The Idora Park carousel was on the verge of being sold off piecemeal when the couple placed a $385,000 bid to buy the whole thing.

“We didn’t think we had a chance at it, because there was a very well-known developer in Youngstown who we assumed was going to buy it and save it for them,” Jane Walentas recalled. “That didn’t happen.”

Lynn Kirkwood, 60, who grew up in Youngstown, still remembers the cheering when locals learned that the carousel would survive intact. She is among the countless people from Ohio who have thanked Jane – in letters, phone calls, emails – for saving the carousel from destruction.

“A lot has changed in Youngstown. It’s never gonna be the town that I grew up in anymore,” Kirkwood says. “But to have that carousel somewhere and still in existence? It’s just like a dream come true.”

Walentas gets choked up when she talks about the people from Youngstown who have come by the busload just to see the restored carousel since it opened in September.

“It really shaped their lives,” she says. “You know they had their birthday parties on the carousel; they got engaged on the carousel; their first date.”

Walentas spent nearly 25 years working on the carousel, scraping off layers of paint with a knife to reveal the original paint and beautiful carvings. Along with a team of six people, Walentas rewired the carousel with 1,200 lights, cut new mirrors for the horses’ bridles and replaced the jewels embedded throughout it.

“The paint was so fragile and broken,” she said. “And there were a lot of carpentry repairs that needed to be made.”

The carousel then sat unused for another four years in a DUMBO gallery, visible through a window from the street, while Brooklyn Bridge Park was completed, the agreement to install the carousel was completed as well, and the carousel pavilion was designed and built.

In the month since it opened, the carousel already has become a welcome addition to the neighborhood’s draws for tourists, which include Jacques Torres’ chocolate shop at 66 Water St. and a stone marker on the pier where George Washington and his troops fled by boat to Manhattan after the disastrous Battle of Brooklyn in 1776. At night, the carousel runs a light show every hour, projecting the dancing shadows of horses onto the walls and ceiling of the pavilion. The lights can be seen from across the river.

Craig Whitney, 68, was admiring the carousel with his wife as they basked in the sun on a nearby bench, taking in the tranquil scene.

“It’s been so perfectly restored. And in this setting, it’s just magnificent,” he said. “It’s got sort of a hurdy-gurdy organ in it. That’s something that was made a hundred years ago, and people still like to hear the sound. I think there’s a romantic appeal to things like this from the past that make you feel good.”

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If You Go…

JANE’S CAROUSEL: http://www.janescarousel.com . Located in the DUMBO section of Brooklyn, N.Y., in Brooklyn Bridge Park on the East River, between the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges. The carousel is easily accessed from park entrances at Dock Street or Main Street. The nearest subway station is the F train to York Street. Open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.; closed on Tuesdays. (Winter hours: Nov. 6-April 5, 11 a.m.-6 p.m., closed Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.) Tickets, $2. Children ages 3 and younger and those under 42 inches tall may ride free with a paying adult. Package of 12 tickets, $20. Group rates are available.

Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

AP-WF-10-17-11 1826GMT

 

 

 

For the record book: 4,000 autographed baseballs

Dennis Schrader scored his first autograph from Yankee slugger Mickey Mantle at spring training in the 1950s. This example is from the 1980s. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers Archive and Regency-Superior Ltd.
Dennis Schrader scored his first autograph from Yankee slugger Mickey Mantle at spring training in the 1950s. This example is from the 1980s. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers Archive and Regency-Superior Ltd.
Dennis Schrader scored his first autograph from Yankee slugger Mickey Mantle at spring training in the 1950s. This example is from the 1980s. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers Archive and Regency-Superior Ltd.

ODESSA, Fla. (AP) – Assembling more than 4,000 autographed baseballs, it turns out, may not have been as tough a task for Dennis Schrader as proving the collection was a world record.

The Guinness Book of World Records originally rejected Schrader’s claim because the signatures on all 4,020 balls couldn’t be authenticated.

About a year ago, he started up his campaign again in earnest. He made copies of authenticity documents for the balls he got at auctions and such, and prepared his own papers for signatures he obtained himself. He even had to get an accountant to do an inventory, and included letters from the mayor of St. Petersburg, Fla., and other prominent people who have seen the collection.

“I had to have videos, I had to have photographs, along with the inventory list,” he says. “It was $119 worth of postage going to London. And four days after it got there, they notified me that I have the world’s record. I have the certificate to prove it – finally.”

The 65-year-old Schrader got hooked on collecting signed baseballs when he was 9 and New York Yankees star Mickey Mantle inked one for him at spring training in St. Petersburg. The semi-retired mobile home executive now boasts more than 4,000, some so rare that it’s hard to put a price on them. He spent the past five years or so bugging the Guinness people to put him the book, finally succeeding this summer.

Schrader, who grew up in nearby Largo, is a likable curmudgeon who loves to talk baseball and show people around what he has dubbed “Little Cooperstown” in his posh home on a golf course north of Tampa. His baseballs – which he figures are worth $2 million to $3 million – are displayed in a 12-by-14-foot room that has walls a foot thick, a bank vault door, motion sensors and video-camera surveillance.

“Shoeless Joe” Jackson? Yep, he’s got a ball signed by him. The famously illiterate Chicago White Sox star learned to write his name so he could endorse his paychecks, but he didn’t give many autographs – especially after he was banned from baseball for helping throw the 1919 World Series.

Babe Ruth? Schrader’s got nine Bambino balls. Not only that, he’s got a ball signed by Ruth and the other 10 Baseball Hall of Fame members who attended the opening of the Cooperstown, N.Y., museum in 1939.

That one’s his favorite.

Schrader even has a ball signed by Joe DiMaggio and Marilyn Monroe during their brief marriage. He paid $25,000 for it. Another one just like it sold at auction a few years ago for $191,000. One of his latest acquisitions is another DiMaggio ball, inscribed to team owner Del Webb when the Yankee Clipper retired in 1951. That one set him back $5,000.

In August, Guinness certified him as the owner of 4,020 baseballs signed by major league baseball players. Duplicates and balls signed by non-baseball celebrities – including President Barack Obama – bring his collection of baseballs to 4,600. Highlights include a tribute to the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League of A League of Their Own movie fame, and a section dedicated to the Negro Leagues. He’s got a baseball signed by Millvina Dean, the last known survivor of the Titanic sinking in 1912. After two years of searching, Schrader found her living in a nursing home in England and got the signed ball back in the mail several months before she died in May 2009.

“I’ve never seen a collection to compare with it,” says Norman Chester of All American Sports Collectibles, who has been dealing in signed memorabilia for a quarter century and wrote a letter of support for Schrader to Guinness.

Schrader insists that home’s security measures, plus the fact that he keeps some guns around, make it pointless for him to insure the collection.

“It’s fireproof, it’s bomb proof,” he says of his showroom/vault. “If there’s a tornado warning, we come in here with a beer and sit down.”

Schrader has collected and dealt in signed memorabilia seriously for about 25 years. He’s become adept at spotting fakes, and deals only with trusted authenticators, auction houses and dealers who are similarly serious about the hobby.

Oddly enough, Schrader and his wife Mary have never been to the Hall of Fame museum in Cooperstown. He says he’ll get there someday, but he’s in no big rush. He’s quick to point out he owns more signed balls than the Hall, anyway.

The Schraders are longtime Tampa Bay Rays season-ticket holders who rarely miss a game at Tropicana Field. Mary is an avid collector herself, displaying through the house an impressive cache of cookie jars, Hummel figurines and other curiosities. Not only is she a good sport about her husband’s obsession, sometimes she’s a collaborator.

“A bunch of the balls that we get at Tropicana Field, I’m the one who gets them,” Mary says. “They’ll always sign for a woman, you know.”

While Dennis traces his obsession back to the first ball signed by the Mick, alas, that one is not part of his record-setting collection.

Like a lot of kids in the 1950s who didn’t realize the future value of autographs, he went out and played baseball with it.

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Online:

Dennis Schrader’s baseball collection page: http://www.littlecooperstown.com/

Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

AP-WF-10-18-11 0915GMT