November 16, 2012 - Auction Central News

Woodbury celebrates with holiday estates auction Dec. 9

Alexander Calder sterling silver spiral earrings. Woodbury Auction image.

WOODBURY, Conn. – On Sunday, Dec. 9, Woodbury Auction will present its annual Holiday Fine Estates Auction. Several estates form the core of the sale, principally fine and decorative arts from the estate of Georgianne Ducas of Saratoga Springs, N.Y., and fine English furniture and decorations from the estate of Julian Bach of New York City. LiveAuctioneers.com will provide Internet live bidding.

Also included in this 500-plus-lot sale are fine and decorative arts objects from several other estates and consignors from Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts and California. “This auction has a tremendous selection of great objects in many categories,” said Thomas Schwenke, owner/auctioneer.

Principal among the jewelry highlights is a pair of sterling silver spiral-form earrings by renowned local sculptor Alexander Calder, whose workshop was in Roxbury, Conn.

“This is the third sale in which we have had the privilege to offer items by Calder. These pieces originated from a local estate right here in Woodbury. Indeed, we know of many Calder pieces which are owned by local residents who received them as gifts from the artist,” said Schwenke.

Over 80 additional lots of fine jewelry from high-end jewelry designers such as Bulgari, Cartier, Tiffany, Steuben, Mauboussin, Chaumet, Elizabeth Gage and many more are included in this holiday auction. Also, bidders will have the chance to compete for a mint Louis Vuitton small coach trunk, brought in by a local consignor. Other noteworthy lots from local sellers include two original oils on canvas by noted American painter Emile Albert Gruppe, both of which are accompanied by the original 1963 and 1964 bills of sale from the artist to the consignor’s grandmother.

Of special holiday interest is an extensive sterling silver flatware service by Gorham in the Tuileries pattern. The set consists of over 175 pieces including several serving pieces, and tipping the silver scale at over 175 troy ounces. “The service was consigned from a client in Fairfield County just two days before the catalog was posted,” said Schwenke.

The estate of Georgiane Ducas includes several Henry Kohler watercolors and unique lithographs inscribed by the artist and presented to Ducas. In addition, three original naturalistic bronze statues by American sculptor Walter Matia are up for bid from the Ducas collection, as well as two equestrian bronzes by sculptors Carroll K. Bassett and Barry Foley. Additional groups of fine art from other estates and consignors are being offered, including 17 paintings consigned by a California collector including works from Baudet, Manfredi, Dureuil, Warndof and Waterman.

The estate of Julian Bach yielded many fine pieces of English 18th and 19th century furniture, including a fine George II leather upholstered wing chair, several pieces of decorated Sheraton furniture, an inlaid George III oval urn stand, and several fine tea and occasional tables. The estate also includes miniature watercolor portraits, silhouettes, toleware, crystal, fireplace grates, artwork, lighting and an Italian pietra dura plaque.

Designer handbags are also represented in this sale from designers such as Judith Leiber, Hermes, Chanel and Louis Vuitton. Also featured is a large group of fur coats and designer clothing from Badgsley Mishka, Pucci and Etro.

The sale also includes a large selection of leatherbound and other fine books, including art reference works, and many estate Oriental carpets including Persian and Caucasian room and scatter-size rugs, and other regional Asian rugs of varying sizes.

Absentee and phone bidding are available for this live gallery auction, and the sale will be broadcast live through LiveAuctioneers.com. To register or arrange for absentee or phone bidding, Woodbury Auction at 203-266-0323.

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

Louis Vuitton small steamer trunk. Woodbury Auction image.

Henry Kohler, ‘Two Jockeys Walking.’ Woodbury Auction image.

W. Matia, naturalistic bronze sculpture ‘Fox.’ Woodbury Auction image.

Gold equestrian bracelet, 14K. Woodbury Auction image.

C.K. Bassett, equestrian bronze statue. Woodbury Auction image.

Emille Gruppe, ‘Gloucester Winter.’ Woodbury Auction image.

Georgian inlaid kettle stand. Woodbury Auction image.

Fine Regency inlaid mahogany tea caddy. Woodbury Auction image.

Robots, advertising and toys, toys, toys at Morphy’s, Dec. 6-8

The Day the Earth Stood Still die-cut standee, 1951, 5ft tall, possibly the only complete example known. Est. $25,000-$50,000. Morphy Auctions image.

DENVER, Pa. – Morphy’s big December Premier Auction is many a toy collector’s favorite way to usher in the holiday season. This year’s event, slated for Dec. 6-8, is brimming with 2,800 lots of toys, banks and other choice pieces that would put a Christmas-morning gleam in any bidder’s eye. The three-day offering also features several top-notch collections, including the late Tom Winge’s cowboy and Western toy collection, Part II of the Jack Matthews toy soldier collection, and Dave DiMartino’s collections of robots, space toys, and vintage advertising figures. Internet live bidding will be available on all three days through LiveAuctioneers.com.

The Thursday, Dec. 6 session will open with 150+ occupational shaving mugs. Estimates range from $500-$3,000. A crane operator mug is expected to fetch $2,000-$3,000.

Approximately 60 lots of upright coin-operated machines will follow. Leading the category is a Gabel’s Double Dewey 5/25-cent machine, which is estimated at $100,000-$125,000. Other upright coin-op highlights include a Mills Lone Star 5-cent machine, est. $90,000-$110,000; and a Caille Bullfrog 5-cent model, $40,000-$60,000.

Next to cross the block will be Dave DiMartino’s figural advertising collection. The figures in this collection – many made in the 1940s/’50s – promote automobiles, clothing, alcoholic beverages, health care products and other goods. Among DiMartino’s favorites are figures pitching Dr. Scholl’s, Bostonian Shoes, Martell Cognac and Keen’s Korn Kure, which is a mechanical window display, est. $1,500-$2,000.

A small but well-refined collection of vintage Planters Peanut collectibles includes an elusive electrical display of Mr. Peanut tapping his cane, $10,000-$15,000; and a Mr. Peanut figure with red blinking eye, $3,000-$5,000. A scarce 1-lb. Mr. Peanut tin in near-mint condition could make $5,000-$7,000.

Approximately 300 general advertising items will cross the auction block. An extensive collection of petroliana advertising for Oilzum motor oil boasts many very rare items, such as a one-of-a-kind Reinhold Studios show display believed to have been created for the 1933 World’s Fair in Chicago. Morphy Auctions CEO Dan Morphy described the automotive diorama as “a showstopper.” Estimate: $30,000-$50,000.

More than 60 lots of Coca-Cola will be auctioned. Top lots include a near-mint 1957 Coke standing policeman, $4,000-$6,000; an early 20th-century celluloid-over-cardboard sign, $2,500-$5,000; and a Coca-Cola salesman’s sample cooler, $2,500-$4,500.

The Thursday session will conclude with approximately 100 lots of autographed sports memorabilia and athletes’ signatures. The signed items include bats, balls, jerseys and other articles of apparel and equipment from popular professional sports.

Friday will start off with a procession of 160+ robot and space toy lots from the Dave DiMartino collection – all graded and cataloged by robot specialist Mark Bergin. The DiMartino collection includes such rarities as a complete Masudaya Gang of Five (including a coveted Machine Man), a boxed silver Mechanized Robot, a mint/boxed Thunder Robot, a Hook Robot and a Lilliput. The inventory also includes ultra-desirable non-export Superheroes from Japan.

Over 50 cast-iron mechanical banks will be available to bidders. A Lion Hunter described in the catalog as “perhaps the nicest known example” could command $40,000-$50,000. Other fine banks include a near-mint Hen and Chick, Wimbledon, Tommy Gunner, and Boys Stealing Watermelon – each estimated at $6,000-$8,000.

Holiday antiques fill the next 70 lots, with the majority being Christmas or Halloween pieces. An early 30-inch Santa belsnickel candy container in blue coat, est. $10,000-$15,000, is “as fine an example as you’ll ever see,” Dan Morphy said.

A variety of German tinplate wind-ups will be ready to perform. They include Lehmann productions: Miss Blondin tightrope walker, $1,500-$3,000; a boxed Tut-Tut, $1,500-$2,000; and a boxed Alabama Coon Jigger, $1,500-$2,000.

More than 50 lots of trains will be waiting on the track, with representations from Ives, Lionel and Marklin. Among them are an Ives clockwork O gauge passenger train set, $1,500-$2,000; and a Lionel standard gauge 384 freight train set, $800-$1,000.

Friday’s auction activities will conclude with a number of very nice pressed-steel toys and Part II of the Jack Matthews toy soldier collection. Most of the figures are Elastolins, a perfect fit to ride in any of the collection’s Hausser tinplate vehicles.

The Saturday, Dec. 8 session will begin with 160 Western cowboy character lots from the collection of the late Tom Winge, who spent more than 20 years amassing scarce cast-iron cap guns and toy cowboy collectibles. Winge was very particular about condition and continually upgraded the items in his collection. The rarest cap gun in the Winge collection is emblazoned “Fargo Express” and is estimated at $2,000-$4,000.

Tom Mix, Lone Ranger, Gene Autry and Hopalong Cassidy were among the cowboys whose endorsed items were favorites with Winge. His toys and other products associated with radio and television’s legendary masked man include a Lone Ranger Pilot radio, $800-$1,000; and a pair of boxed Lone Ranger and Tonto dolls, $800-$1,000 each.

Over 400 comic character and premium items will be offered, including an original die-cut standee from “The Day the Earth Stood Still,” possibly the only extant example. Estimate: $25,000-$50,000. An Orphan Annie Secret Guard Altascope radio premium ring in near-mint-plus condition is expected to realize $10,000-$15,000; while a ring related to the pulp fiction character “Spider” carries a $6,000-$8,000 estimate.

More than 80 Big Little Books, all file copies in near-mint condition, and 115 comic books will close the sale. The comics include: 1940 Batman #2, $2,000-$3,000; 1942 Green Lantern #3, $1,000-$2,000; and 1941 Captain America #21, $1,000-$2,000.

Start time is 9 a.m. Eastern. For additional information on any lot in the sale, call 717-335-3435 or e-mail serena@morphyauctions.com.

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

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

ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE

Neustadts’ Tiffany collection reflects the art of buying the best

Rarer than table lamps, this Tiffany floor model with a shade of overlapping tulips brought $137,500 at Rago’s in June 2012. Courtesy Rago Auctions

NEW YORK – Today’s collectors can draw inspiration from tales about legendary figures of the past, who assembled glorious collections with enthusiasm and aesthetic discrimination. Anyone interested in antique glass will be interested in the story of New York City collectors Egon and Hildegarde Neustadt who formed one of the most comprehensive collections of Tiffany lamps ever gathered.

Lindsy R. Parrott is the Director and Curator of the Neustadt Collection of Tiffany Glass, which includes lamps, stained glass windows, and a study collection of over 275,000 unused pieces of glass, which remained when the famous studio closed in 1937. The collection’s history, images of highlights, and catalogue ordering information can be found at www.neustadtcollection.org.

The Neustadts originally formed the collection when the “getting” truly was good. Parrott explains, “Dr. Neustadt was absolutely a visionary. He started collecting these in 1935, only two years after Louis Comfort Tiffany (1848-1933) had died. He and his wife were living in Queens. They had come from Austria and were very proud to be Americans. They liked Tiffany glass because it was an American art form.”

Hildegarde Neustadt spied their first example, – one of the daffodil-shaded lamps in the collection – at a second hand shop. At that time in the mid-1930s, Tiffany in particular and Art Nouveau in general were out of style. Ordinary people decorated their homes in the truly forgettable Colonial Revival style, while the more adventurous were experimenting with Art Deco and its successors.

Mrs. Neustadt only had money for the table they needed that day, but several weeks later she returned and purchased the daffodil lamp for $12.50. In Dr. Neustadt’s reminiscences, he recalled that their friends did not think much of the acquisition. The couple persisted in their passion, and the 21st century market for Tiffany lamps, which has seen examples soar past the million dollar mark has proved that the Neustadts’ taste in decorative arts was just about perfect.

In The Lost Treasures of Louis Comfort Tiffany, Hugh F McKean writes about Tiffany’s interest in lighting: “He was fascinated with light and with all kinds of illumination. He loved color for itself. He loved glass for itself. Lamps were one art form that offered an opportunity to satisfy all three interests. He took them very seriously.”

The Neustadt Collection is unusual in that it does not have a permanent home but organizes travelling exhibitions to tour its treasures around the country. At present, The Brilliance of Tiffany: Lamps from the Neustadt Collection, on view at the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art through January 13, 2013, presents more than 40 examples of lighting as well as a display of glass fragments used to assemble the shades. A smaller exhibition, Tiffany Glass: Painting with Color and Light begins traveling next year.

The organization also enjoys an ongoing affiliation with the Queens Museum in the borough of New York where the Neustadts lived. A dedicated gallery is showing An Orchestra of Color: Flat Glass of Louis C. Tiffany with eleven lamps, two windows, and more than 200 pieces of flat glass from the Neustadt holdings. Parrott also co-curated and loaned objects for the exhibition Louis C. Tiffany and the Art of Devotion at the Museum of Biblical Art in New York through January 20, 2013.

Parrott says, “We are very excited about this next chapter of our partnership with the Queens Museum of Art, a partnership we have maintained since 1995. We will have a new gallery when the expanded museum opens in the fall of 2013. The gallery will present small changing exhibitions drawn from our permanent collection. These shows will dig deeper into a particular aspect of Tiffany’s lamps, glass, windows, etc. We will also feature permanent installations dedicated to telling the story of Dr. and Mrs. Neustadt’s collection and Tiffany’s presence in Queens – the original site of the workshop was less than two miles from the Queens Museum.”

Surrounded by the glowing lamps, the Director emphasizes the depth of the superb collection: “I really view this as a teaching collection. We have multiples. For example, we have two identical peony shades. We have three grape hanging shades, all of which are identical but the color palette is incredibly different. Viewers can see how glass selection affects the overall success of the lampshade. These grape lamps have the same model numbers, but the one on the left is much more complex.”

She continues, “All three of these lamps have pond lilies as their subjects, but the lilies are different species. The artists are carefully studying botanic samples and going out into the field. Yes, we have a lot of lamps, but it’s such an important selection.”

In 1983, the year before he died, Dr. Egon Neustadt presented a major gift of lamps to the New-York Historical Society. While some are on display at the Manhattan museum, the complete group can be viewed online under “Special Collections” at www.nyhistory.org.

Tiffany created lighting in a variety of shapes and sizes from simple standard desk lamps to custom orders for chandeliers. At the time they were made, the choice of shade, base, and detailing affected the price, but they were definitely a luxury item. Purchasing a fine table lamp for $400 in 1906 would have been impossibile for a average family when their income might only be $500 a year.

Today’s prices vary as well. Five- or six-figure prices are common for rarer shade subjects. But dedicated collectors who watch auction offerings can find affordable opportunities to bring a Tiffany lamp into their own collections.

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ADDITIONAL IMAGES OF NOTE

Although floral themes dominate lamp repertoire, collectors clamor for designs with fluttering creatures from the insect world. This lamp with a dragonfly shade signed Tiffany Studios New York sold for $74,063 at Skinner’s last December. Courtesy Skinner Inc.

The Neustadt Collection of Tiffany Glass organizes touring exhibitions which dazzle viewers and offer collectors in-depth information about how the beautiful lamps were constructed. A tour-de-force creation on display in the current show, this pond lily library lamp juxtaposes a cascading glass shade above a base of supporting lily pads. Courtesy Neustadt Collection of Tiffany Glass

Tiffany glass, both lighting and windows, was often destined for a special setting in a sumptuous interior. This rare Neustadt Collection globe shade with lilies rising from water once graced the newel post of a grand staircase. Courtesy Neustadt Collection of Tiffany Glass

A 1920s table lamp with colorful peony shade was an excellent buy for $45,000 at last June’s Rago auction. Courtesy Rago Auctions

A more-ornate table lamp featuring a jeweled Venetian shade and elaborate base more than doubled its estimate to bring $81,000 at Rago’s in 2009. Courtesy Rago Auctions

The Neustadt Collection also contains a number of hanging lamps. This exotic electric chandelier features iridescent turtleback glass panels inset in the bronze crown and Favrile shades over the lights suspended below. Courtesy Neustadt Collection of Tiffany Glass

Kaminski’s to offer eclectic mix of fine, decorative art Nov. 24-25

BEVERLY, Mass. – Kaminski’s Annual Thanksgiving Auction, a holiday tradition and the company’s largest sale of the year, will be held Saturday and Sunday, November 24-25 starting at 10 a.m. Eastern Time, with Internet live bidding through LiveAuctioneers.com. This year’s sale features an eclectic mix of European furnishings, decorative and fine art on Saturday, and Sunday features Americana, baseball memorabilia and a single owner folk art collection from Cape Cod.

Day one of this outstanding auction includes a large collection of French furniture, German hand-painted porcelain plaques, exceptional jewelry, a significant single-owner collection of Daniil Yakovlevich Cherkes paintings, an Etruscan sarcophagus and several interesting Persian items once belonging to Dr. Mohammed Mossadegh, Prime Minister of Iran from 1951-1953.

A rare and important Etruscan pottery sarcophagus, circa 6th-4th century BC, of eastern Mediterranean origin, constructed in several parts, is from the collection of the late Angelo R. Bergamo, M.D., of Verona, New Jersey. The sarcophagus measures 74″l x 37″h x 18″w and is decorated with the head of a male on the lid and is estimated at $35,000-$65,000.

Important Persian items from the estate of Dr. Mohammed Mossadegh, Prime Minister of Iran from 1951-1953 include an early Persian manuscript, a book of poetry by Jami, Yusuf and Zulaikha, dated A.H. 971 – AD 1563-64, with beautifully painted pages. The book bears a 19th-century owners seal impression at the end of the colophon, of Muhammad Hasain.

There are two notes saying that the manuscript is in the hand of Baba Shah Isfahani. Baba Shah was regarded as one of the best calligraphers in Nasta’liq script. The second note is by Ghulam Riza (perhaps the famous Qatar calligrapher) and the other by Abu’L Fazl Al-Savaj, a doctor and scholar of the period, of Nasr al-Din Shah. The book of poetry was originally the property of Dr. Mohammad Mossadegh, Prime Minister of Iran and was received from his granddaughter’s estate, Mossoume Mossadegh, following her death. It was purchased by the present owner from her widower and is valued at $15,000-$30,000.

There is also an ancient Persian sword with leather and brass scabbard, 30½ inches in length with a Persian poem inscribed on it valued at $10,00-$20,000 and a hand-painted early Qur’an, having floral and bird cover estimated at $5,000-$10,000, both with the same provenance.

Estate jewelry in the sale includes an exceptional Art Deco ruby and diamond platinum bracelet, with a center plaque set with seven rubies, including a round center ruby framed by four small square ones and pave set diamonds. It is the top jewelry lot of the sale and is estimated at $10,000-$20,000. There is also an 18K yellow gold and diamond ring, with a 3.0 carat round center stone, raised above a mounting of 4 round brilliant diamonds (8 marquise and 45 baguette cut) valued at $11,000-$15,000; and a 2.5 carat center stone diamond ring with two kite-shape diamonds on each side, weighing 1.0 carat in total and valued at $15,000-$25,000.

An impressive diamond and sapphire platinum ring, with an old European-cut center stone of 2.44 carats, and 28 old European and round single-cut diamonds is estimated at $36,000-$40,000.

There is an exceptional collection of European furniture in the sale. Of particular interest is a monumental French style, inlaid curved glass cabinet with ormolu trim “Vernis Martin” type decoration estimated at $20,000-$30,000; as well as an inlaid vitrine display cabinet valued at $20,000-$30,000. A French, 19th century Louis XVI gilt bronze walnut table, having Sevres porcelain plaques, is estimated at $11,000-$15,000.

Several lots of French Sevres urns are included in the sale, one signed “Wouvermans,” with a landscape on one side and a tavern scene on the other. is estimated at $15,000-$20,000. An impressive 19th-century, Empire clock set of bronze on marble bases includes a pair of five-light candelabras and is valued at $20,000-$30,000.

A pair of monumental solid brass and stained glass, Tiffany-style lamps with leaded-glass globes currently greets those entering the Kaminski auction gallery. The exact origin of the lamps is unknown, but they are most likely from a theater or train station and are monogrammed “TRR.” They stand 10 feet 6 inches high with globes 20 inches in diameter.

Fine art highlights include a significant single-owner collection of Daniil Yakovlevich Cherkes (Russian 1899 – 1971) paintings including one titled “Birthday of Venus,” oil on canvas, estimated at $15,000-$20,000; a George H. Boughton oil on canvas of young women picking flowers, valued at $12,000-$15,000; and an E. Serra Oriental oil-on-canvas painting of a girl with fruit estimated at $15,000-$20,000.

A more contemporary piece in the sale is a Robert Seyle (American, b.1938) nail sculpture, of metal and wood, signed and dated 1970, and valued at $30,000-$40,000.

Day two of the sale is a total change of tune, with Americana as the focal point. An important collection of baseball cards and memorabilia; and a single-owner collection of folk art from Cape Cod, Mass., will lead the lineup.

A 1939 Babe Ruth signed baseball, an official American League ball, awarded to James Wenman of the Brunswick School, Greenwich, Conn., is the top lot of the sale. The baseball was awarded for the highest fielding average and was awarded by Brewster King, coach of the Brunswick School baseball team. This ball has never been used and is valued at $40,000-$60,000.

An exciting collection of 305 tobacco/cigarette baseball cards including T206, Sweet Corpora, Tolstoi, El Principe De Gales, Piedmont, Caramels and Ranely T204s is on offer. Players include Ty Cobb, Cy Young, Tinker, Evers, Chance “Chief” Bender, John McGraw, Christy Mathewson, Cicotte, Bradley Barbeau, and many others. The cards are all in fair to excellent condition, and are a wonderful historical collection that will be sold intact. They are estimated at $10,000-$15,000. Finally, a lot of two souvenir Red Sox programs, to include: “Season 1913 World’s Champion Red Sox,” and “Boston Red Sox, American League 1946 Champions” are estimated at $3,000-$5,000.

American art highlights in the sale include a John Henry Twachtman (American 1853-1902) watercolor of a farmhouse in Annisquam, Cape Ann or Ipswich, Mass., valued at $7,000-$12,000. A Henry Inman (American, 1801-1846), portrait of DeWitt Clinton, the sixth governor of New York, is valued at $5,000-$10,000. Inman was one of the foremost portrait painters of the early 1800s. His subjects include many politicians, including Martin Van Buren, and his pieces can be found in the White House collection and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

A Thomas Chambers (American 1808-1866) oil on canvas, “Corsica, Birthplace of Napoleon,” originally from the Avis and Rockwell Gardiner Collection, Stamford Conn., is estimated at $3,000-$5,000

There is an exceptional Northwest Coast cedar decorated box, valued at $4,000-$6,000, as well as many wonderful American folk art paintings, whirligigs, wooden mechanical banks and trade signs as part of the Cape Cod collection.

Furniture offerings include a rare, early 19th century Boston Sheraton mahogany five-drawer chest by John and Thomas Seymour, with an old label stating that it belonged to Lady Cushing Whitwell, who died in 1883; and an 18th-century Newburyport Joseph Short lolling chair. Each is expected to make $3,000-$5,000. A fine 18th-century Chippendale slant front desk of maple and tiger maple, having a stepped interior with two block-front drawers and fan carving, is valued at $4,000-$6,000.

For additional information on any item in the sale, call 978-927-2223.

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

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

ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE

Art Deco ruby, diamond and platinum bracelet. Kaminski's image. — Art Deco ruby, diamond and platinum bracelet. Kaminski’s image.

Rare 6th/4th century BC Etruscan sarcophagus. Kaminski's image. — Rare 6th/4th century BC Etruscan sarcophagus. Kaminski’s image.

19th century bronze Empire clock set. Kaminski's image. — 19th century bronze Empire clock set. Kaminski’s image.

Yusuf and Zulaikha: A Poem by Jami. Kaminski's image. — Yusuf and Zulaikha: A Poem by Jami. Kaminski’s image.

Monumental French-style inlaid vitrine cabinet. Kaminski's image. — Monumental French-style inlaid vitrine cabinet. Kaminski’s image.

Cherkes, 'Birthday of Venus,' oil on canvas. Kaminski's image. — Cherkes, ‘Birthday of Venus,’ oil on canvas. Kaminski’s image.

French 19th century Louis XVI gilt bronze walnut table. Kaminski's image. — French 19th century Louis XVI gilt bronze walnut table. Kaminski’s image.

1939 Babe Ruth signed baseball, estimate $40,000-$60,000. Kaminski's image. — 1939 Babe Ruth signed baseball, estimate $40,000-$60,000. Kaminski’s image.

Rubens painting found in obscure Russian museum

Rubens, Peter Paul, self-portrait, 1623. National Gallery of Australia, Canberra. Image sourced through Wikimedia Commons.

MOSCOW (AFP) – Russian art experts have uncovered what is believed to be an original Rubens painting in a small-town museum in the Urals mountains region, its director said Friday.

The painting called Mary Magdalene in mourning with her sister Martha was long assumed to be a copy, but restoration revealed it to be “undoubtedly” an original by the 17th century Flemish painter, museum director Valery Karpov told AFP.

It was unveiled Thursday in the museum in the small town of Irbit around 124 miles from the nearest big city of Yekaterinburg.

The head of painting restoration from the Hermitage museum in Saint Petersburg, Viktor Korobov, examined the painting on Thursday, and said it was “undoubtedly an original, created with the participation of Rubens’ pupils,” Karpov said.

The face of Jesus’ follower Mary Magdalene and her arms are believed to have been painted by Peter Paul Rubens himself, while the figure of her sister could have been painted by pupils in his large workshop, Karpov said.

The Hermitage gave the painting to the provincial museum in 1975, when Karpov, then its young director, asked for some art to fill its walls, hoping only for good-quality copies.

The Irbit museum kept the painting in its archives since it was in a poor condition and only last year received state funding to restore the painting.

The painting is known to have been owned by a teacher at a military medical academy at the end of the 19th century. It was requisitioned by the Bolsheviks, who passed it to the Hermitage in 1931 labeled as a Rubens copy, Karpov said.

The painting closely resembles an original in Vienna’s Kunsthistorisches Museum, but “there are many differences in the details … Our painting is more vivid, the face is more noble, the hair is golden as typical for Rubens,” said deputy director Andrei Gamlitsky.

Rubens would often paint several versions of paintings, up to eight sometimes, and would use his pupils to help him, among them Anthony Van Dyck, the future court painter.

The painting will now undergo further testing including analysis of the canvas and the undercoat, Gamlitsky said.

ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE

Man who stole from NY archives loses museum job

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. (AP) – A man who went to prison for stealing hundreds of items from the New York State Archives has been fired from his job in the volunteer-run book store at the state’s military museum, home to thousands of artifacts.

Lance Ingmire, the president of the volunteer group, tells the Saratogian newspaper he reluctantly fired longtime friend Daniel Lorello Wednesday under orders from unnamed state officials after news reports of his hiring.

He says he was trying to give Lorello a chance to “put his life back together” with the $11-an-hour, part-time job.

Lorello was a state archivist who pleaded guilty to grand larceny in 2008, admitting to a decade-long spree stealing artifacts from the state Library and selling them on eBay.

The museum in Saratoga Springs is operated by the state Division of Military and Naval Affairs.

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Information from: The Saratogian, http://www.saratogian.com

AP-WF-11-15-12 1309GMT

Collector’s exhibition views death through artists’ eyes

'Death: A Self-portrait exhibition.' Credit: Wellcome Library, London

LONDON (AP) – Try as we might, there’s no escaping death. Art collector Richard Harris has decided to embrace it instead – and wants the rest of us to do the same.

The retired Chicago print dealer has spent years acquiring works imbued with mortality, from 18th-century anatomical drawings to Tibetan skull masks and papier-mache skeletons from Mexico.

Some 300 items from his trove are on display at London’s Wellcome Collection in an exhibition that asks whether art can help us understand and prepare for death.

Standing amid the skeletons and skulls of “Death: A Self Portrait,” the 75-year-old Harris is an incongruously cheerful figure who laughs when asked if he is, perhaps, a little obsessed with death.

“Of course not!” he said Wednesday at a preview of the show, which opened to the public on Thursday and runs until Feb. 24.

“I half-jokingly say it’s a paean to death so he’ll ignore me a little longer,” Harris said. “But I think it’s more that the iconography, the imagery is fascinating. A skull is a skull and a skeleton is a skeleton, but it has been depicted by almost every artist through their own eyes.”

The varying ways that different cultures have dealt with death is what fascinated the Wellcome Collection, which is dedicated to mapping the ways in which art, medicine and science overlap.

Curator Kate Forde has arranged Harris’s artworks into a series of rooms that explore distinct aspects of the relationship between humans and our inevitable demise.

One room focuses on the contemplation of mortality through artistic memento mori, such as skulls placed at the center of still-life paintings.

A section on commemoration includes Tibetan ceremonial bowls made with pieces of human skull; a scarecrow-like grave guardian from the Pacific islands; and skeletons from Mexico’s vibrant Day of the Dead festivities, when families honor departed loved ones.

Another room looks at the powerful relationship between sex and death, through images including a 16th-century engraving of a skeleton standing between the naked Adam and Eve.

A room on violent death includes searing depictions of war, from the 17th-century etchings of Jacques Callot to German artist Otto Dix’s etchings of World War I trench warfare. In Dix’s work, scenes of soldiers in trenches, dead bodies and mutilated corpses are both harrowing and beautiful.

The works span the centuries, from skeletons enacting a triumphant Dance of Death in the 1493 Nuremberg Chronicle – one of the earliest printed books – to Rembrandt prints and sculptures by contemporary artists. These include In the Eyes of Others, a huge chandelier made from 3,000 plaster bones by British artist Jodie Carey, and John Isaacs’ Are You Still Mad at Me? – a not-for-the squeamish sculpture of a decayed and partially dismembered body.

Forde senses a resurgent interest in death among today’s artists – just think of Damien Hirst, with his rotting animal carcasses and diamond-encrusted skull. She suggests it may be a product of Western society’s desire to tidy death away.

“In Western secular culture, death happens offstage, in private. It’s medicalized and professionalized. Only a century back, death would have been at home,” she said. “I do think we have lost some vocabulary of talking about it – talking about mourning and contemplating mortality.”

Art, she says, can help remind us that “death is part of life and not simply a void into which we drop.”

Harris says he does not know the value of his collection, which numbers some 2,000 items and is still growing. His latest purchase, sadly not on display in London, is a 1969 Chevrolet Impala adorned with Day of the Dead motifs.

“My wife,” he said, “has been very understanding and very patient.”

He hopes to take his collection on tour around the world.

“All the world needs, in my mind, to promote the conversation and the dialogue about death,” he said. “It is an event that is going to happen to all of us, whether we like it or not.”

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Online: http://www.wellcomecollection.org/

Jill Lawless can be reached at http://Twitter.com/JillLawless

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Calif. authorities nab 4th suspect in museum gold heist

MARIPOSA, Calif. (AP) – Investigators have arrested a fourth man in connection with a $1.3 million precious gem heist at a state museum in the Sierra foothills, and they say more arrests could still come.

Christopher Sheffield, 42, was taken into custody late Tuesday. The other suspects in the robbery at the California Mining and Minerals Museum in Mariposa County were also arrested on Tuesday. They are: 41-year-old Jonathan Matis, 43-year-old Matthew Campbell and 40-year-old Edward Rushing III.

The museum was open when it was stormed by masked robbers armed with pickaxes on Sept. 28. The robbers smashed display cases and made off with Gold Rush-era nuggets and other gems.

A spokesman for the California Highway Patrol says investigators are going through evidence seized at the suspects’ Northern California homes.

Lt. Mike Troxell would only say that gold with some quartz had been recovered.

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Neal Auction selling unique trumpet Nov. 17 to benefit Satchmo fest

Custom-made by Jason Harrelson, the trumpet features a fleur-de-lis mouthpiece receiver, engraved 'Satchmo,' with transcription of Louis Armstrong’s solo for the song 'A Kiss to Build A Dream On,' a tuning slide mounted with the iconic New Orleans water meter cover, and multiple finger button inlays in blue, purple, green and black onyx. Estimate: $5,000-$8,000. Neal Auction Co. image.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) – Trumpet-maker Jason Harrelson said he’s donating one of the best trumpets he’s ever made to benefit a festival honoring the artist who sparked his passion for the instrument – Louis Armstrong.

Harrelson’s specially made brass “Satchmo” trumpet has a fleur-de-lis mouthpiece and transcription of the musical score for Armstrong’s trumpet solo in the song, A Kiss to Build a Dream On. It also has a tuning slide mounted with a small replica of an iconic New Orleans water meter cover.

The trumpet is set to hit the auction block Saturday with proceeds benefiting Satchmo Summerfest, the free, three-day festival in the French Quarter held each year in early August around Armstrong’s birthday. Some of Harrelson’s custom trumpets are valued at more than $10,000, but there is no minimum bid for the “Satchmo” trumpet.

Harrelson, a Louisiana native who now lives in New Brighton, Minn., said he’s attended the festival the past two years but has been an Armstrong fan since childhood. As a fifth-grader, he said, he wrote a book report about Armstrong – and he later took up playing the trumpet because of his admiration for the jazz great.

“I could relate to his story, to his coming from poverty and making music his life,” said Harrelson, who was born in Leesville, La., and was 19 when he started making trumpets.

Armstrong was born in New Orleans on Aug. 4, 1901 and died in 1971 after a stellar career as a trumpet player, vocalist and bandleader. He remains one of the best-known figures in jazz, with a career that extended into motion pictures. The city’s international airport is named for him.

Now 38, Harrelson has his own shop in New Brighton and provides instruments to musicians worldwide. In New Orleans, more than a dozen musicians use his trumpets, including Kermit Ruffins, Shamarr Allen and members of the city’s brass bands. His instruments also are used by New York jazz band leader Jeremy Pelt; Ray Riccomini, a member of the Metropolitan Opera orchestra in New York; and San Juan’s Latin jazz artist Charlie Sepulveda, whose recording credits include the soundtrack for the 1992 movie The Mambo Kings.

“We’re just so honored that he’s giving this trumpet to us,” said Marci Schramm, executive director of French Quarter Festivals Inc., the nonprofit organization that produces Satchmo Summerfest. “The hardest thing about producing free festivals is that it’s so expensive, and every little bit counts.”

The group’s French Quarter Festival, one of the largest free music festivals in the region, draws an estimated 400,000 attendees each year. Satchmo Summerfest draws about 30,000 people, Schramm said.

The “Satchmo” trumpet will go to the block at Neal Auction Co. on Saturday. It’s expected to come up for bids between 2 and 3 p.m. CST. Bids are being accepted by phone at 504-899-5329 or 800-467-5329.

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Online:

Neal Auction Co., http://www.nealauction.com

Satchmo Summerfest, http://www.fqfi.org/satchmosummerfest

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