December 8, 2011 - Auction Central News

Comic book heroes star in Universal Live Dec. 11 animation art sale

Yogi Bear limited-edition (8/8) animation production model cel, hand-painted, “signed” by Yogi, copyright Hanna-Barbera, est. $700-$1,080. Universal Live image.

NORTHBROOK, Ill. – The suburban Chicago auction house Universal Live is wall to wall with artist-signed animation cels and original production art in the run-up to its Dec. 11 sale, which will feature Internet live bidding through LiveAuctioneers.com. The 206-lot selection comes from a noted dealer who is moving into other areas of art.

Universal Live president Martin Shape remarked, “In terms of quality, it is the best assortment of original animation art we have ever offered. There’s some very collectible, early material that’s very hard to find. You just don’t find it any more. And there’s tremendous variety – every conceivable subject in animation art is included.” Among the characters represented in the sale are Yogi Bear, Woody Woodpecker, Frankenstein Jr., Daffy Duck, Mickey Mouse, Ren and Stimpy, Huckleberry Hound, the Flintstones, and additionally, nearly every superhero to leap from comic book pages in the past 50 years.

Shape said the earliest artwork in the sale is an animation production drawing of the Disney character Goofy, from the 1939 film “Goofy and Wilbur.” A black-pencil on paper depiction of Goofy out for a day of fishing with his grasshopper friend, the 10 by 12 inch drawing is conservatively estimated at $200-$310.

Disney drawings and cels cover a period of several decades, into the 1970s, and include Snow White & 7 Dwarfs (1937), Pinocchio (1940), Jungle Book (1967), Tarzan (1970), Bambi (1942) and many more.

An original sketch and finished production drawing of the scrappy cartoon sailor Popeye shows him in the hospital, being cared for by his nurse, Olive Oyl. While resting in bed, with a sign on the wall indicating it’s Halloween, Popeye receives visitors appropriate to the holiday: Casper the Ghost, who flies through the window to deliver a can of spinach as a gift, and two other supernatural friends. Signed by animator Myron Waldman, it is expected to make $1,050-$1,620.

A special category of the sale features model sheets. “These are drawings or cels that have a variety of expressions and poses used in the production of models. They’re signed by the artists,” Shape said. Among the examples to be offered are a 5-pose Yogi Bear, est. $700-$1,080; 2-pose Spider-Man, est. $590-$910; and a depiction of Scooby-Doo, Scrappy-Doo and Shaggy, from the TV series “Scooby-Doo.” It is estimated at $500-$770. The ever-popular Jetsons are in this group as well, with a 9-pose Elroy, 7-pose George and front/side view version of Rosie the Maid each requiring an affordable opening bid of $250.

More than 25 X-Men original production cels will be auctioned, and the competition to own them should be strong, since each and every one is signed by creator Stan Lee. One such example, from the TV series “X-Men,” is signed in black Sharpie by Mr. Lee and is estimated at $550-$840.

Eighteen superheroes are in family reunion photo pose in the original animation model cel from Hanna-Barbera. The characters include Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, The Human Torch, The Thing and a bevy of other Saturday morning favorites. Artist Bob Singer’s signature appears in black Sharpie at the bottom of the cel, which is estimated at $500-$700.

Nearly all of the artworks in the sale come with certificates of authenticity. Conditions are described in the catalog as being very good to excellent.

The Dec. 11 auction will commence at 2 p.m. Central time, 3 p.m. Eastern. For information on any artwork in the sale, call 847-412-1802 or e-mail sales@universallive.com. View the fully illustrated catalog and sign up to bid absentee or live via the Internet at www.LiveAuctioneers.com.

# # #

View the fully illustrated catalog and register to bid absentee or live via the Internet as the sale is taking place by logging on to www.LiveAuctioneers.com.

ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE

Original animation model cel featuring 18 superheroes from Hanna-Barbera cartoons, including Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman. Signed in black Sharpie by artist Bob Singer. Est. $500-$770. Universal Live image.

Original sketch and finished production drawing of Popeye in the hospital, with nurse Olive Oyl and visitors Casper the Ghost and other friends. Signed by animator Myron Waldman. Est. $1,050-$1,620. Universal Live image.

Original animation production cel and background from the TV series ‘X-Men,’ signed in black Sharpie by Stan Lee. Est. $550-$840. Universal Live image.

Original production animation model cel from the TV series ‘Scooby Doo,” featuring Scooby, his nephew Scrappy Doo, and their master, Shaggy. Signed in black Sharpie by artist Bob Singer. Est. $500-$770. Universal Live image.

Original production animation model cel from the TV series ‘The Jetson,’ showing two views of the robot maid ‘Rosie.’ Signed in black Sharpie by artist Bob Singer. Est. $500-$770. Universal Live image.

Original drawing of Cinderella used in the production of Disney merchandise, including a book. Signed and dated 8-27-02 by artist Philo Barnhart. Est. $590-$910. Universal Live image.

Spider-Man 3-pose original hand-painted animation model cel by artist Russ Heath. Signed in black marker by creator Stan Lee. Est. $530-$820. Universal Live image.

Stephenson’s Dec. 16 sale is brimming with dolls, trains, toys

Lionel prewar O gauge passenger set with No. 253 locomotive, two No. 607 Pullman coaches and a No. 608 observation car. Stephenson’s image.

SOUTHAMPTON, Pa. – An old-fashioned American Christmas traditionally includes a statuesque, fragrant tree, topped by either an angel or star and accompanied by a vintage toy train that chugs energetically around its base to announce that Santa has arrived.

Finding the perfect train to complete the classic holiday scenario is as easy as bidding through LiveAuctioneers.com in Stephenson’s Dec. 16 auction. The sale contains hundreds of classic loco/tenders, boxed sets and coveted accessories by Lionel, American Flyer and other revered names, and nearly all of the train lots have come from three multi-generational estates in the Greater Philadelphia area.

“Our business is based on auctioning contents of estates or homes whose owners are downsizing,” said Cindy Stephenson, owner of Stephenson’s Auctioneers. “We set aside the best toys and trains from those estates to offer in specialty sales held a few times a year. The pre-Christmas train and toy session is always very popular with collectors.”

The Friday, Dec. 16 Dolls, Trains & Toys auction, which will start at 2 p.m. Eastern time, opens with approximately 75 doll lots, including antique and vintage examples of both European and American manufacture. The selection features German bisque-head and composition dolls, a Shirley Temple doll in a middy dress, Barbies, a Skookum Native-American doll with papoose, a Mori Mora Bros. character doll, and groupings of miniature dolls. Doll clothing and dishes, and doll reference books round out the section.

The bulk of the auction consists of estate trains and toys. An extensive array of early Lionel standard gauge trains includes a No. 408E electric locomotive, a No. 384E steam locomotive and tender; Mojave passenger cars, freight cars and a No. 400E steam locomotive with No. 392T tender – the big boy of the standard gauge era.

O gauge fans won’t want to overlook the two No. 2333-20 Santa Fe engines and a prewar passenger set featuring a No. 253 locomotive, two No. 607 Pullman cars and a #608 observation car.

American Flyer aficionados won’t be left out in the cold, either. The brand is well represented by a boxed Mountaineer No. 20320 set.

“Collectors will appreciate that many of the train sets are boxed and that an enormous selection of accessories will be available, as well,” said Stephenson. The comprehensive array includes numerous bridges, signals, crossing gates, platform buildings and figures, which will be apportioned into group lots. Highlights among the accessories include an excellent and always sought-after Lionel standard gauge No. 444 roundhouse section, a No. 124 station and two No. 913 illuminated bungalows.

The toy box at Stephenson’s will be brimming with boys’ toys of all types from the pre- and postwar eras. A Buddy ‘L’ pressed steel Railway Express truck with all original paint is in “good to very good” condition. Another vintage piece is the Keystone parking garage and gas station.

The toy lineup continues with slot cars (including Aurora), pond boats, an abundance of Britains civilian and military figures, and a scale-model remote-control helicopter. Numerous scale model cars produced by Danbury Mint and Franklin Mint are also part of the colorfully varied toy mix.

Stephenson’s Friday, Dec. 16 Dolls, Trains & Toys auction will begin at 2 p.m. Eastern time. For additional information on any lot in the sale, call Cindy Stephenson at 215-322-6182 or e-mail info@stephensonsauction.com.

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

# # #

View the fully illustrated catalog and register to bid absentee or live via the Internet as the sale is taking place by logging on to www.LiveAuctioneers.com.

ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE

Selections from the approximately 75 lots of European and American dolls and group lots of doll clothing, dishes and reference books. Stephenson’s image.

Lionel standard gauge No. 400E steam locomotive and No. 392T tender. Stephenson’s image.

Buddy ‘L’ prewar pressed steel Railway Express’ truck. Stephenson’s image.

An always sought-after, original Lionel standard gauge No. 444 roundhouse section. Stephenson’s image.

Lionel standard gauge No. 408E electric locomotive. Stephenson’s image.

Britains figurines, both military and civilian types. Stephenson’s image.

Lionel standard gauge freight cars. Stephenson’s image.

Lionel standard gauge No. 384E steam locomotive and tender. Stephenson’s image.

Rare, important works in Wright’s design auction Dec. 15

Wendell Castle important two seat sofa, USA, 1967, stack-laminated and carved walnut, 56 inches wide x 28 inches deep x 29 1/2 inches high, carved signature to base: ‘WC 67.’ Estimate: $70,000-$90,000. Image courtesy of Wright.

CHICAGO – Wright will conduct an auction of Important Design on Thursday, Dec. 15, composed of exceptional forms by the 20th century’s leading artists and designers, as well as works from prominent collectors and distinguished interiors.

“This is our best auction in several years,” said Michael Jefferson, senior specialist in 20th Century Design at Wright. “It’s the biggest and best selection of high-quality works we’re had in some time.”

LiveAuctioneers.com will provide Internet live bidding for the 270-lot auction, which will begin at noon Central.

The sale includes more than two dozen sculptures by Harry Bertoia, including a large and excellent gong of hand-hammered copper, 95 1/2 inches wide by 53 inches high. This untitled piece executed in 1965 comes with the mallet from the Bertoia Studio and a title of authentication. Acquired directly from the artist by the present owner, it carries an estimate of $200,000-$300,000.

Another untitled Bertoia work is described as “Multi-Plane Construction” of copper and brass and stands 49 inches high, 24 inches wide and 12 3/4 inches deep. Jefferson said this work is early in Bertoia’s career—mid-’50s—and is from a rare series. Acquired directly from the artist by Edward and Maria Durell Stone, the work carries a $70,000-$90,000 estimate.

Italian master, Gio Ponti features prominently in this sale with a selection of works designed for Villa Arreaza, Caracas, in 1956, one of two complete residential commissions completed by the designer in Venezuela. One of the items is a console of lacquered wood, laminate, Italian walnut and brass, which was designed for the entry hall. It measures 59 1/4 inches wide, 17 inches deep and 37 1/2 inches high. With a certificate of authenticity from the Gio Ponti Archives, it has a $25,000-$35,000 estimate.

A signed Wendell Castle two-seat sofa of stack-laminated and carved walnut from 1967 is considered an import piece because it represents the designer’s defining style. Found in the museum collections, this sofa is estimated to bring $70,000-$90,000.

A George Nakashima double pedestal desk built in 1967 is described as “super rare.”

“For Nakashima, it has all the bells and whistle, that is it has two free edges, overhangs and butterflies joining a fissure,” said Jefferson. The large, early desk, acquired directly from the artist by the present owner, is expected to sell for $30,000-$50,000.

Another rare piece, probably unique, is a circa 1950 Isamu Noguchi cast-iron bowl, 5 3/4 inches wide by 5 1/2 inches deep by 2.5 inches high.

“It’s the first time this form has ever been seen on the market,” said Jefferson. Signed with the manufacturer’s cast mark on the concave underside, “Bonniers Japan,” the thick-sided bowl has a $20,000-$30,000 estimate.

Italian 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.

For details visit the Wright website at www.wright20.cm or call 312-563-0020.

View the fully illustrated catalog and register to bid absentee or live via the Internet as the sale is taking place by logging on to www.LiveAuctioneers.com.

ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE

Harry Bertoia untitled (Multi-Plane Construction), USA, 1956, brass melt-coated copper and brass, 24 inches wide x 12 3/4 inches deep x 49 inches high. Estimate: $70,000-$90,000. Image courtesy of Wright.

Isamu Noguchi rare bowl, Ooi Kojo for Bonniers, USA, c. 1950, cast iron, 5 3/4 inches wide x 5 1/2 inches deep x 2 1/2 inches high, only known example of this design, signed with cast manufacturer's mark to underside: ‘Bonniers Japan.’ Estimate: $20,000-$30,000. Image courtesy of Wright. — Isamu Noguchi rare bowl, Ooi Kojo for Bonniers, USA, c. 1950, cast iron, 5 3/4 inches wide x 5 1/2 inches deep x 2 1/2 inches high, only known example of this design, signed with cast manufacturer’s mark to underside: ‘Bonniers Japan.’ Estimate: $20,000-$30,000. Image courtesy of Wright.

George Nakashima important double pedestal desk, USA, 1967, American black walnut, 96 1/2 inches wide x 27 inches deep x 29 1/2 inches high, highly figured single-slab top, acquired directly from the artist. Estimate: $30,000-$50,000. Image courtesy of Wright.

Gio Ponti important console from Villa Arreaza, Caracas Venezuela, Giordano Chiesa, Italy, 1954, lacquered wood, laminate, Italian walnut, brass, 59 1/4 inches wide, 17 inches deep x 37.5 inches high. Estimate: $25,000-$35,000. Image courtesy of Wright.

Construction begins on 21c Museum Hotel near Crystal Bridges

Artist's rendering of the 21c Museum Hotel currently under construction in Bentonville, Ark. The combination boutique hotel, contemporary art museum and restaurant. The museum will exhibit the work of living artists and will be open to the public at no charge. Image courtesy of 21c Museum Hotels.

BENTONVILLE, Ark. (AP) – Operators of an upscale hotel have begun construction in Bentonville, where the property will complement the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.

Louisville, Ky.-based 21c Museum Hotels broke ground Tuesday at a site near the museum. The hotel is expected to open in about a year.

Crystal Bridges held its opening last month, showing off paintings and sculptures acquired by Wal-Mart heiress Alice Walton, whose multi-billion-dollar fortune bankrolled the museum.

The hotel will have 104 rooms and a 125-seat restaurant. It will be decorated as a museum itself, featuring various artworks in its public areas.

The hotel will be a feature in the downtown arts corridor in downtown Bentonville, which is walking distance from Crystal Bridges.

# # #

ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE

Vatican university hosts unusual tattoo conference

Tattooing is an artform that dates to ancient times, as documented by numerous mummy discoveries. The mummy known as 'The Scythian Chieftain' (shown in this drawing) is extensively tatooed, with zoomorphic designs covering his shoulders, arms, lower right leg and parts of his chest and back. Scythians first appeared in historical records in the 8th century BC. Geographically, they lived in the area from the Black Sea to southern Siberia and central Asia. Image courtesy of BMEZINE.com.

VATICAN CITY (AP) – Tattooed mummies in ancient Egypt, Crusaders who branded their foreheads with crosses, and New Zealand’s inked Maori warriors were fodder for an unusual conference at a Vatican university Tuesday on the role of tattoos in shaping identity.

“Into the Skin: identity, symbols and history of permanent body marks” was the brainchild of a Christian arts association and Israel’s ambassador to the Holy See, an unlikely expert in the field given Judaism’s prohibition of tattooing and the painful role that tattooed serial numbers played in the Holocaust.

Ambassador Mordechay Lewy acknowledged the paradox, saying the living memory of Auschwitz’s blue death stamps added another layer to Jewish aversion to tattooing, which many orthodox rabbis forbid because it alters the human body as a divine creation.

Yet Lewy is a respected expert within the field – and a fierce critic of what he calls today’s “commercialization” of an important aspect of cultural history that stretches from Jerusalem to Japan.

Tattoos “can symbolize a social rank, identify ethnic affiliation, indicate experience of religious pilgrimage or of a rite of passage,” he told the two-day conference that ended Tuesday. “They can also be a sign of rebellion or diversity.”

The conference, held at the Vatican’s Pontifical Urbaniana University, just up the hill from St. Peter’s Square, marked the first of its kind and participants marveled that it came together at all given that the study of tattooing is a relatively new field of serious academic research.

“I was gobsmacked,” said Oxford historian Jane Caplan, who wrote a seminal anthology on tattoos in U.S. and European history. “It seemed so unlikely,” particularly Levy’s guiding hand in helping organize a tattoo conference at the Vatican.

The presentations gave an eye-opening look at the wide-ranging use of tattooing over time. Luc Renaut of the University of Poitiers spoke of the tattoos on mummies unearthed in Egypt, saying they had probably been married to Nubian chiefs or high-ranking officials and were “living trophies” that increased the chief’s prestige.

Warriors of the 11th century First Crusade branded crosses on their foreheads or shoulders before going into battle to show divine support for their mission. Mystics over time have claimed the “stigmata” – the wounds that imitate Christ’s wounds from his crucifixion.

And even today, many players of New Zealand’s All Blacks rugby team sport the traditional tattoos of the country’s Maori indigenous peoples, said Sean Mallon, senior curator of Pacific culture at the Museum of New Zealand.

“It’s a tangible way of expressing the past,” he said.

“There are a lot of tattoos here,” he whispered pointing to conference participants and admitting his back was covered with them. ‘They’re just not visible.”

Lewy, the Israeli ambassador, first became interested in the history of tattoos when he was posted in Sweden and began reading travel logs of Swedes who had gone to the Holy Land in the 17th century, returning with tattoos they had acquired in Jerusalem as a mark of their pilgrimage.

He displayed textile blocks with images of saints engraved in them that he said were used to stamp the tattoo image onto the skin; the tattoo artist then traced the lines of the design with a needle, pricking the skin to draw blood; an ink-soaked cloth was then wrapped around the wound so that the pigmentation seeped into the cuts, leaving a permanent stain.

Despite his painstaking research, Lewy acknowledged much remains unknown about early tattoos since they “disappear from historical memory once the skin is buried with its owner.”

# # #

ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE

Christmas tree, Neapolitan Baroque creche on view at Met

Annual Christmas Tree and Neapolitan Baroque Crèche display, 20 ft. blue spruce with a collection of 18th-century Neapolitan angels and cherubs among its boughs and groups of realistic crèche figures flanking the Nativity scene at its base, displayed in the Museum’s Medieval Sculpture Hall, Gift of Loretta Hines Howard, 1964

NEW YORK – The Christmas tree and Neapolitan Baroque crèche at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, a long-standing yuletide tradition in New York, is now on view for the holiday season through Jan. 8, 2012. The brightly lit, 20-foot blue spruce—with a collection of 18th-century Neapolitan angels and cherubs hovering among its boughs and groups of realistic crèche figures flanking the Nativity scene at its base—once again delights holiday visitors in the Museum’s Medieval Sculpture Hall. Set in front of the 18th-century Spanish choir screen from the Cathedral of Valladolid, with recorded Christmas music in the background and daily lighting ceremonies, the installation reflects the spirit of the holiday season.

This exhibit of the crèche is made possible by gifts to The Christmas Tree Fund and the Loretta Hines Howard Fund.

The annual Christmas display has evolved through the generosity, enthusiasm, and dedication of the late Loretta Hines Howard, who began collecting crèche figures in 1925. Soon after, Mrs. Howard conceived the idea of presenting the elaborate Nativity scene within a Christmas tree, angels swirling upward to the crowning star.

This unusual combination was first presented to the public in 1957, with the Metropolitan’s first exhibition of Mrs. Howard’s collection. Since 1964, more than two hundred 18th-century Neapolitan crèche figures have been given to the Museum by Loretta Hines Howard, and they have been displayed each holiday season for more than 40 years. Linn Howard, Mrs. Howard’s daughter, worked with her mother for many years on the annual installation. Following her mother’s death in 1982, she has continued to create new settings for the figures she adds to the collection. Andrea Selby, Linn Howard’s daughter, follows the tradition passed down by her mother and grandmother and joins in the creation of the display each year.

The towering tree is adorned with cherubs and some 50 gracefully suspended angels. The landscape at the base displays the figures and scenery of the Neapolitan Christmas crib. This display mingles three basic elements that are traditional to 18th-century Naples: the Nativity, with adoring shepherds and their flocks; the procession of the three Magi and their exotically dressed retinue of Asians and Africans; and, most distinctively, a crowd of colorful townspeople and peasants representing lifelike characters with intriguing facial expressions. The theatrical scene is enhanced by a charming assortment of animals—sheep, goats, horses, a camel, and an elephant—and by background pieces that create a dramatic setting for the Nativity, including the ruins of a Roman temple, several quaint houses, and a typical Italian fountain with a lion’s-mask waterspout.

The popular Christmas custom of restaging the Nativity is traditionally credited to Saint Francis of Assisi. The employment of man-made figures to reenact the hallowed events reached its height of complexity and artistic excellence in 18th-century Naples, where local families, often assisted by professional stage directors, vied to outdo each other in presenting elaborate and theatrical crèche displays. The high artistic estimation of the genre is evidenced in works of the finest sculptors of the period—including Giuseppe Sammartino and his pupils Salvatore di Franco, Giuseppe Gori, and Angelo Viva—who were called on to model the terracotta heads and shoulders of the extraordinary crèche figures. The Howard collection includes numerous works attributed to these as well as to other prominent artists.

The Museum’s crèche figures, works of art unto themselves, range from 6 to 20 inches in height. They have articulated bodies of tow and wire, heads and shoulders modeled in terracotta and polychromed to perfection. The luxurious and colorful costumes, many of which are original, were often sewn by women of the collecting families and their ladies and enriched with jewels, embroideries, and elaborate accessories, including precious metals in the form of gilded censers, scimitars and daggers, and silver filigree baskets. The placement of the approximately 50 large angels on the Christmas tree and the composition of the crèche figures and landscape vary slightly from year to year as new figures are added to the collection.

Dramatic lighting ceremonies take place on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays at 4:30 p.m., and Fridays and Saturdays at 4:30, 5:30, and 6:30 p.m. (Note: December 24th and 31th, the Museum will close at 5:00 p.m., and the lighting ceremony on those days will follow the weekday schedule.) The Museum will be open on special Holiday Mondays this year, Dec. 26 and Jan. 2, and the lighting ceremonies on those dates will follow the weekday schedule.

Visitors can listen to several audio messages as part of the Museum’s Audio Guide Program. Audio guides are available for rental ($7, $6 for Members, $5 for children under 12).

The Audio Guide is sponsored by Bloomberg.

As part of the Christmas celebration, several concerts—performed by Anonymous 4, Voices of Ascension, The Vienna Boys Choir, and Burning River Brass— will take place in front of the tree in the Medieval Sculpture Hall. Concert tickets for The Vienna Boys Choir are $65 each; tickets for Anonymous 4, Burning River Brass, and Voices of Ascension are $60 each. Tickets are available by calling the Department of Concerts and Lectures at 212-570-3949 or online at www.metmuseum.org/tickets. Tickets are also available at the Concerts and Lectures box office located inside the Museum’s main entrance (open Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-5:00 p.m., and Sunday, noon–5:00 p.m.).

Medieval Decorations to Mark “Christmastide” at The Cloisters from Dec. 13 to Jan. 2.

The wreaths and garlands that deck The Cloisters museum and gardens for the holiday season are all hand-made from plants linked with the celebration of Christmastide in the Middle Ages. Striking installations of flowers, fruits, nuts, and evergreens, inspired by medieval sources, will be on display throughout the Museum from Dec. 13 through Jan. 2. Visitors to The Cloisters will pass under a great arch of holly—the plant associated above all others with the medieval feast—to enter the museum. Inside, the doorways of the Main Hall will be adorned with arches of ivy, apples, hazelnuts, and rosehips, and the iron candelabra in the galleries will be dressed with greens and roses. An extensive collection of evergreen topiary, as well as displays of rosemary, cyclamen, citrus, and other potted plants appropriate to the season will be on view in the Saint-Guilhem and Cuxa Cloisters.

* * *

A complete list of programs and activities to be held at both the Metropolitan Museum’s main building and The Cloisters during the holiday season this year—family programs, films, concerts, tours, holiday dining, shopping (in the Met’s Holiday Shop), and more—can be found on the Metropolitan Museum’s website at www.metmuseum.org.

Note: Admission is free to the main building and The Cloisters for children under the age of 12 accompanied by adults. The Museum is closed on Thanksgiving Day, Dec. 25, and Jan. 1. The extended holiday hours on December 24 and 31 in the main building do not apply to The Cloisters. The special Holiday Mondays this year, on Dec. 26 and Jan. 2, do apply to both the main building and The Cloisters.

# # #

ADDITIONAL IMAGES OF NOTE

Detail of the Neapolitan Baroque crèche, Gift of Loretta Hines Howard, 1964

Angel, Neapolitan, 18th century, Polychrome terra cotta and wood, with silk robes and silver gilt censer, Gift of Loretta Hines Howard, 1964

Tribal officials object to historic garment sale

An example of a circa-1880 Sioux beaded shirt, this one features pictorial beaded strips over the shoulders and down the sleeves, with hand and geometric designs in red blue and green on a white field. Auctioned for $84,000 (inclusive of 20% buyer's premium) on Jan. 29, 2011 by High Noon Western Americana. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers.com Archive and High Noon Western Americana.

MEDFORD, Ore. (AP) – Tribal officials on the Great Plains have objected to the plan of the Southern Oregon Historical Society to sell artifacts that include a shirt described as exquisite and dating as early as the 1830s.

The organization, under financial pressure, has been selling off artifacts that don’t relate to Southern Oregon history, The Medford Mail Tribune reported. The shirt that was to be auctioned in San Francisco on Monday was donated by a Grants Pass resident in 1957 and came from an ancestor who obtained it in Nebraska.

Steve Vance, historic preservation officer with the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe in South Dakota, says the shirt seems to have ceremonial significance and is the kind of artifact tribes have been unable to get returned.

“It’s basically a slap in the face, but we’ve seen worse,” Vance said.

The paper says the collection, including a few Anglo-American items in addition to Native American objects, is valued at $300,000 to $500,000.

Pat Harper, interim director of the historical society, said a report was commissioned in August to make sure that the sale of the shirt wouldn’t violate the Native American Grave Repatriation Act.

“Items such as shirts are not covered by cultural patrimony,” she said.

She said attempts to sell artifacts to a nonprofit have failed, and the organization couldn’t provide the proper preservation for the shirt.

She said part of the historical society’s mission is to generate sufficient money to preserve the artifacts that relate to Southern Oregon.

“If money were no object, it would be a different story,” she said. “We wish we could have given it away. But that wouldn’t be responsible to our mission.”

Dianne Desrosiers, tribal historic preservation officer for the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate, said the shirt appears to be quite old, and she’s asked other tribal leaders for information about its significance.

“It’s exquisite, I will say that,” she said.

Vance, basing his observations on a photo, said a semi-circular pattern with points on it inside a circle on the shirt could indicate the seven bands that make up the Sioux. A light blue area could represent waterways and lakes that connect the tribes, he said.

# # #

ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE

Pa. man guilty in counterfeit sports jersey case

An authentic 1936 St. Louis Cardinals baseball jersey game-worn by Hall of Famer Dizzy Dean. Accompanied by impeccable provenance and professional authentication, it sold for $90,000 + buyer's premium at Robert Edward Auctions on May 1, 2004. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers.com Archive and Robert Edward Auctions.

PITTSBURGH (AP) – An Army veteran who made contacts with counterfeiters while serving in South Korea pleaded guilty Tuesday to trafficking in Asian-made knock-off jerseys that violated trademarks held by the National Football League, National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball and Philadelphia nostalgia sports apparel maker Mitchell & Ness.

Under federal sentencing guidelines, Anthony Powell, 47, of Pittsburgh, likely faces 12 to 18 months in prison when he is sentenced March 23 by a federal judge.

Authorities contend Powell sold thousands of jerseys from 2004 through 2008, though the counterfeit trademark trafficking charge he pleaded guilty to pertains only to an 11-day period in 2008 when investigators seized more than 100 jerseys Powell kept at his mother’s home and $258,000 in cash.

Under terms of his plea agreement, Powell will forfeit half of that money to the government and must use at least some of the other half to pay his back taxes and penalties. Powell’s attorney, Ronald Hayward, said the exact tax liability has yet to be determined, but his client can keep whatever money isn’t needed to cover that debt.

Hayward declined to comment further and Powell wouldn’t speak to reporters after the 90-minute change of plea hearing.

The case was brought by the Internal Revenue Service, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and state police.

Powell pleaded guilty to filing a fraudulent 2006 federal tax return by not listing income from the jersey sales. Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Hull said the parties have agreed that Powell owes somewhere between $30,000 and $80,000 in taxes for not disclosing his jersey income over all of the years in question.

Powell told the judge he manages a bar and sometimes works as a stagehand at the city’s Consol Energy Center.

Hull said he couldn’t say why prosecutors didn’t charge Powell for selling jerseys and evading taxes for the entire period in question. But it is not uncommon for prosecutors to negotiate about what charges will be filed in financial crime cases when the evidence – in this case, the jerseys – can’t be strictly accounted for and can only be estimated.

Powell began buying and re-selling the counterfeit jerseys from undisclosed suppliers while he was stationed in South Korea and continued to receive them – sometimes by falsifying customs documents – when he returned to Pittsburgh, Hull told the judge. He also had them mailed to other peoples’ addresses to avoid detection.

Powell bought the jerseys for $15 to $20 each and sold them for $30 to $50 apiece on Craigslist and eBay – until the online auction site “threw him off for selling the counterfeits,” Hull said.

Investigators reconstructed Powell’s business based on information he provided and concluded “he netted at least $24,000 a year from 2004” until his arrest in August 2008, Hull said.

That’s when a state trooper working with a federal ICE task force tracked a shipment of Powell’s jerseys and set up an undercover buy. Powell agreed to let agents search his mother’s home, where they found 167 jerseys. They later seized the money they were able to trace through eBay, PayPal and bank accounts Powell kept, Hull said.

# # #

ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE

Getty Museum buys St. John the Baptist sculpture

Near-lifesize statue 'Saint John the Baptist,' circa 1515, by The Master of the Harburger Altar (active around 1515 ). Painted and carved limewood. Image courtesy of The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles.

LOS ANGELES (AP) – J. Paul Getty Museum officials say they have acquired a 500-year-old limewood sculpture of St. John the Baptist.

Museum officials wouldn’t say how much they paid at a London auction Tuesday, but Sotheby’s online catalog shows the winning bid was about $488,000.

The 5-foot sculpture shows St. John the Baptist in a cloak cradling a lamb with a camel’s head between his feet.

Officials believe it was originally part of a church altar at the Schloss Harburg castle in southwestern Germany.

Getty officials say it will improve the museum’s collection of medieval sculpture and applied arts.

It is expected to go on display early next year.

___

Online: http://www.getty.edu

# # #

ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE

Police find sword missing from atop Lincoln’s tomb

Lincoln's Tomb, Oak Ridge Cemetery, Springfield, Ill. Photo by Robert Lawton, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 Generic license.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) – Authorities have located a copper sword stolen from atop Abraham Lincoln’s tomb in Springfield.

The 3-foot sword went missing earlier this year from a series of statues atop the tomb. Police say it went missing between September and early November.

The (Springfield) State Journal-Register reports that police were scheduled to reveal later how they found the sword.

The sword held by the statue of a Civil War soldier has been stolen once before, in 1890.

# # #

ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE

Sign up for daily highlights by email