January 23, 2013 - Auction Central News

Morphy’s to offer fine & decorative art, Pa. Treasury valuables Feb. 8-9

Mary Louise Fairchild (American, 1858-1946), ‘Girl Playing a Harpsichord,’ 1894, oil on canvas, 30 x 21 in, est. $15,000-$20,000. Morphy Auctions image.

DENVER, Pa. – A two-day auction packed with long-held collections of fine and decorative art, plus a special featured section of valuables from Pennsylvania Treasury’s Bureau of Unclaimed Property, is on tap for Feb. 8-9 at Morphy’s. The 1,146-lot auction is the first to reflect the expert curatorial contributions of Morphy’s newly appointed fine art consultant Patrick Orbe and will feature Internet live bidding through LiveAuctioneers.com

The Friday, Feb. 8 session will open with Part II of a distinguished Amphora collection. More than 100 pieces of Amphora will cross the auction block, with such highlights as a monumental “Daughter of the Rhine” vase with applied jewels and enameled flowers, est. $10,000-$15,000; a ceramic Saurian and Crab vase, $7,000-$9,000; and a monumental circa-1900 blown-out portrait vase, $6,000-$8,000. Another important lot is the Paul Dachsel vase with pedicel clusters and beetles estimated at $6,000-$8,000.

“This is a high-end Amphora collection that has been privately held for many years,” said Morphy Auctions CEO Dan Morphy. “I was at the New York Pier Show a few weeks after we auctioned Part I of the collection, and the consensus was that the appearance of such a noted collection at auction had helped to rejuvenate the market for Amphora. Even after the Pier Show, we heard that same comment repeatedly, including from James Infante, the Amphora expert who cataloged the collection for us.”

Day one will also feature several nice pieces of Rookwood and 20 pieces of Czech Art Deco pottery, including rare ERPhila pitchers in the form of a goat and cat, respectively.

More than 50 lots of fine art will follow. Companion portraits of a lady and gentleman, painted around 1825 by Ammi Phillips (American, 1780-1865), are expected to make $30,000-$50,000 as a pair. Both an L. Birge Harrison (American, 1854-1929) painting “The Snowbound, Woodstock NY” and a circa-1850s mountain landscape by Albert Bierstadt (German/American, 1830-1902) carry individual estimates of $20,000-$30,000. Nelson Augustus Moore’s (American, 1824-1902) scenic “An Afternoon Boating on Lake George” was executed in 1867 and also could fetch $20,000-$30,000.

Two important still lifes are entered in the sale. A John Califano (Italian/American, 1864-1946) oil-on-canvas tabletop still life could reach $20,000-$30,000 on auction day. Similarly estimated, an 1855 school of Severin Roesen oil painting is titled “Still Life with a Bird’s Nest.”

More than 50 lots of art glass will be auctioned, including many fine pieces by noted glassmakers. Among the highlights are an 8-inch Durand hanging vase, $2,000-$2,500; a Loetz Pink Luster vase, $4,000-$5,000; and a Tiffany Studios blue Favrile glass vase, $1,400-$1,800.

Next up will be a small collection of spatterware, including a 19th-century Rainbow octagonal platter, $8,000-$12,000; and an unusual collection of 20 skaters lanterns. Most of the lanterns have colored-glass globes, making them highly desirable to collectors. A ruby-glass lantern could realize $300-$500.

The Friday session will conclude with Part II of a Breininger redware collection, which follows the sale of Part I, which was featured in Morphy’s Dec. 6-8 sale. The 80-piece grouping includes a pair of figurals, one of a reclining dog and the other of a tiger. The duo is estimated at $400-$600.

The centerpiece of Saturday’s session is a 200-lot offering of valuables entrusted to Morphy’s by the Pennsylvania Treasury’s Bureau of Unclaimed Property. The goods came from safe deposit boxes located throughout Pennsylvania. Subsequently, the items were stored in the State Treasury’s Finance Building vault in Harrisburg.

“All jewelry and coins within this government consignment will be sold without reserve, making these items all the more appealing to bidders,” said Dan Morphy. “This is the first live unclaimed property auction sanctioned by Pennsylvania’s Treasury in more than a decade, and since our first visit to the vaults, we’ve been astounded by the quality of the goods held there for safekeeping. Obviously, people don’t put cheap things in their safe deposit boxes.”

A 14K white gold bracelet, approx. 3.4 ctw with marquise and round-cut diamonds, is estimated at $10,000-$15,000; as is a chic Art Deco-style platinum bracelet with 9 ctw diamonds – the largest being approx. .80 ct – accented by 10 small, fancy-cut rubies. An old European-cut solitaire diamond weighing 4.25 ct is flanked by two baguettes, each weighing .30 ct, in a platinum engagement ring estimated at $15,000-$20,000.

Many fine timepieces are included in the Treasury Department consignment, among them, an 18K yellow gold men’s Rolex Presidential watch with diamond-encrusted face, bezel and link band. Having an approximate weight of 8 ct, it could fetch $6,000-$10,000. Made by the popular Swiss company Breitling, a boxed circa-2006 chronograph with cobalt-blue face carries a $4,000-$5,500 estimate. Ladies wristwatches are led by a Baume & Mercier 14K white gold bangle-style watch with elegant diamond-framed square face. Estimate: $3,000-$4,000.

Also from the Treasury Department vaults comes a nice 60-lot selection of gold and silver coins and bullion; and platinum ingots. Coins include a 1795 draped bust silver dollar, $2,000-$3,000; a similar coin dated 1799, $2,000-$3,000; and an 1855 $3 gold piece, $3,000-$4,000.

An important item of Pennsylvania history from the Treasury Department is 1787 property deed signed by Benjamin Franklin. Estimate: $7,000-$10,000. Other items in the ephemera section of the sale include more than 100 lots of Halloween, Christmas and patriotic antique postcards from an advanced single-owner collection.

The sound of music will emanate from Morphy’s with a collection of 30+ phonographs, music boxes and cylinder players. In addition, a single-owner collection of violins will be on hand to entertain. A full-size Carlo Ton Oni is estimated at $10,000-$12,000; while an Antonio Trestini, Naples, violin is entered with a $5,000-$7,000 estimate.

For additional information on any lot in the sale, contact: 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

Skinner Inc. to sell diverse selection of Asian art Jan. 31

Bronze Buddha, China, 18th/19th century, the four-face, eight-arm figure seated on a single lotus throne, with hand gestures of charity, teaching, and meditation, Qianlong mark on front. Estimate: $800-$1,000. Skinner Inc. image.

MARLBOROUGH, Mass. – Skinner Inc. will host an auction of Asian Works of Art on Thursday, Jan. 31. LiveAuctioneers.com will provide Internet live bidding for this 585-lot auction, which will begin at 10 a.m. EST.

With a diverse selection of nearly 1200 Chinese, Korean, and Japanese decorative arts and antiques, the Asian sale offers a wide selection of material that will generate excitement for both collectors and interior designers alike.

Porcelain offerings include a 20th century red and blue Chinese dish depicting dragons (lot 58, estimated between $500 and $700), a pair of small 20th century Chinese covered cups decorated with diverse roundels (lot 28, $500 to $700), a 19th century Chinese red bowl with reverse bamboo design (lot 69, $600 to $800), and a pair of small, 20th century Chinese yellow Famille Rose dishes decorated with bats (lot 31, $500 to $800).

Furniture highlights include a 20th century Chinese tapered cabinet (lot 480, $1,000 to $1,200) and a low Kang table (lot 490, $300 to $500).

A fine group of paintings and calligraphy will be offered, including a pair of Chinese scrolls in the manner of Yu Youren (lot 200, $2,000 to $2,500) and a Chinese hanging scroll in the manner of Zhang Daqian depicting a landscape (lot 205, $800 to $1,000).

Notable objects include a bronze, four-faced, eight-armed figure of Buddha seated on a single lotus throne (lot 299, $800 to $1,000).

For information contact Judith Dowling, director Asian Works of Art, Skinner Inc., email jfdowling@skinnerinc.com or phone 508-970-3255.

To view the fully illustrated catalog and sign up to bid absentee or live via the Internet, visit 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

Red and blue dragon dish, China, 20th century, six-character Kangxi mark to base with double ring. Estimate: $500-$700. Skinner Inc. image.

Low Kang table, China,19th/20th century, possibly made of huanghuali. Estimate: $300-$500. Skinner Inc. image.

Red bowl, China, 19th century, with reverse design of bamboo on overglaze red to the foot, six-character Guangxu mark on recessed base. Estimate: $600-$800. Skinner Inc. image.

Pair of small covered cups, China, 20th century, decorated with diverse roundels on white background, marks on both the well of the cover and recessed base. Estimate: $500-$700. Skinner Inc. image.

Pair of small famille rose dishes, China, 20th century, decorated with five bats in five colors, interspersed with peaches and scrolls, on bright yellow background, gilt rim, six-character marks on recessed bottom. Estimate: $500-$800. Skinner Inc. image.

Tapered cabinet, china, 20th century, shelved interior with a single row of drawers. Estimate: $1,000-$1,200. Skinner Inc. image.

Pair of calligraphy scrolls, China, ink on paper, in the manner of Yu Youren, with one seal. Estimate: $2,000-$2,500. Skinner Inc. image.

Government Auction features Vuitton, Rolex, gold Jan. 27

1924 $20 U.S Saint-Gaudens gold coin. Government Auction image.

TEHACHAPI, Calif. – Government Auction’s sale Sunday, Jan. 27, will feature a large collection of collectible and luxury goods including, Rolex watches, Louis Vuitton handbags, rare gold coins and high-end jewelry. This week’s auction event will be on the online auction site LiveAuctioneers.com. Bidding in this one-day event will start at only $2 on most lots. The auction will begin at 6:30 a.m. PST.

Offered for auction in the watch category is a Rolex women’s watch. This Oyster Perpetual Datejust watch is crafted in lavish 18k white gold with diamonds. The stunning timepiece is composed of silver sunray finish dial with diamond hour posts and surrounded by 46 brilliant cut diamonds. The box and all original papers are included.

A featured high-end jewelry piece is a showstopping 9.95-carat tanzanite and diamond ring. This stunner is a 14K white gold ring with 2.5 millimeter wide band. The featured tanzanite stone is an ethereal violet blue surrounded by 16 brilliant cut diamonds. The main stone is graded I-1 to I-2 in clarity measuring 14 x 11 x 8.70mm. The total carat weight of the diamonds is 1.34 carats.

For the ladies a hot lot to consider is the Louis Vuitton Monogram Vernis Mirada. The sophisticated handbag is a deep burgundy color made of patent leather trimmings with golden hardware and a secure tuck lock. The design is classic retro and includes the monogramed LV design throughout. The shoulder strap is removable so that it can be worn over the shoulder or just carried with the top handle strap. The purse is one of six Louis Vuitton handbags up for auction.

Numismatics will not be left out with the large collection of rare and collectible coinage featured in the auction. A highly sought-after piece is a 1924 $20 U.S. Saint-Gaudens gold coin. Designed by Augustus Saint-Gaudens, the U.S. $20 gold pieces of 1907-1933 are considered by many to be the most awe-inspiring coin ever produced by the U.S. Mint. The obverse features a striding Liberty with flowing gown, and the American eagle in flight on the reverse. The 1924 issues were struck at the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia over 80 years ago.

For antique collectors a nostalgic piece is the 1920s Herschell carousel horse. The wooden painted horse is mounted on a brass pole stand with a wooden base for easy display. The horse is hand-painted in its original patina with shabby chic-style pink horse, a brown saddle and blue decorative pad and breast collar. These antique carousel horses were made by the Herschell Co. in Tonawanda, N.Y. The company is well-known for the quality and attention to detail in every piece made.

Another fine antique to consider is 1900s French bronze clock. The ornate antique gilt clock is in mint condition. The style is reminiscent of French Versailles and features a timely Valentines theme of frolicking cherubs and lovebirds.

Additional auction highlights include a Rolex Submarine stainless steel watch, antique Ithaca calendar wood mantel clock, hanging two-sided flange Coca-Cola sign, Seeburg Select-O-Matic jukebox and much more.

For additional information on any lot in the sale, call Debbie on 661-823-1543 or e-mail info@governmentauction.com.

To view the fully illustrated catalog and sign up to bid absentee or live via the Internet, visit 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

Rolex women’s diamond and white gold watch. Government Auction image.

9.95-carat tanzanite and diamond ring. Government Auction image.

1920s Herschell carousel horse. Government Auction image.

Louis Vuitton Vernis Mirada handbag. Government Auction image.

1900s French bronze clock. Government Auction image.

Pook & Pook auction cashes in with Pa. German antiques

DOWNINGTOWN, Pa. – Pook & Pook Inc.’s Jan. 12, auction hosted a large, interested crowd of bidders, vying for an array of appealing objects from fine art to folk art and all categories between. With 95.6 percent of lots sold, the total fell well over the high estimate to achieve $1,660,782. LiveAuctioneers.com provided Internet live bidding.

The day began with items from the noteworthy collection of Pastor Frederick S. Weiser of New Oxford, Pa. As one of the foremost authorities on Pennsylvania German culture and decorative arts, Weiser lived with and studied some remarkable objects. This resulted in many publications including reference books, exhibitions and lectures presented by him over the years. The first lot sold was an unusual Pennsylvania painted tape loom with heart cutouts and lovebird decoration that brought $9,480.00 (est. $2,000-4,000). Descending in the Eshelman family of Oley Valley, Pa., was an outstanding hanging corner cupboard with a double raised panel door and scalloped two-tier drop. After active bidding on the floor and over the phone, the price was $52,140 (estimate: $10,000-20,000). Various pieces of Pennsylvania redware were sold including a York County seated dog for $4,029, a colander with slip decoration for $2,607, a slip and tulip decorated covered bowl for $5,214 and a bird rattle attributed to William Maize for $1,777. Groups of carved butter prints did well ranging in price from $1,185 to $4,029. A Pennsylvania wrought iron dough scraper with heart cutouts was one of many notable pieces of metal ware. It carried a rich provenance of both Hattie Brunner and Titus Geesey and sold for $4,266. Complete five-plate stoves are rare. The Pennsylvania cast-iron stove, made by George Ross at the Maryann Furnace in York County, Pa., was dated “1766” and crossed the block at an astounding $33,180 (est. $4,000-6,000).

The second collection in the auction was that of Mr. & Mrs. Guy Keemer of Hallem, Pa. Guy Keemer was a well-respected, enthusiastic collector and dealer of primarily Pennsylvania furniture and accessories. One of the highlights of this group was a diminutive walnut hanging cupboard retaining an old red painted surface. Active bidding brought the final total to $35,550 (est. $15,000-20,000). A redware bank dated 1862 with a dog finial, inscribed “AP 1862 PLM” on the base sold for $4,266 (est. $1,000-1,500). An exceptional architectural cherry schrank from Lancaster County, Pa., had a bold cornice overhanging a case with tombstone carved panel doors, heavy fluted pilasters and a gutsy Germanic base soared to $65,175 (est. $20,000-40,000). His York County walnut tall-case clock inscribed John Fisher did well at $11,850.

A silver mounted presentation sword from the War of 1812 garnered much interest. It had an embossed polychrome wasp on a shell langet and a shield with an eagle pommel. The sword was given to Lt. James Biddle of the U.S. Navy by the legislature of Pennsylvania. Bidding ended with a price of $56,880 (est. $5,000-10,000).

Some fine paintings were included from various estates and owners. An appealing oil on canvas landscape with a young girl seated on a stone wall by John George Brown went to $52,140 (est. $15,000-25,000). A vivid landscape titled Autumn from Music Circus Hill, Lambertville by Fern Isabel Coppedge tempted many and sold to a phone bidder for $65,175 (est. 20,000-40,000). Others included a watercolor of a woodpecker by Earl Lincoln Poole for $4,977, a seascape by Alexander Charles Stuart for $7,702 and an oil on canvas of a snake charmer by Vincente March for $7,110. The Wilhelm Thony oil on cardboard view of Paris brought $65,175 and a bronze sculpture of three boys mounting a horse by Arthur Jacques Leduc brought $7,702.

Continuing the sale was a large group of quilts from the Collection of Foster and Muriel McCarl of Beaver, Pa. This strong collection of appliqué, pieced and chintz quilts held many exciting examples. A bold red and white pieced Lone Star and Eagle quilt did well at $3,555 (est. $400-600). An appliqué quilt with birds on a floral wreath made $4,266 (est. $1,000-1,500). The important Philadelphia Broderie Perse quilt carrying the inscription “The work of my Mother Ruth McConnell and her cousins Hannah & Mary Parry in year 1793 previous to my birth during yellow fever, Julia M. Miles May 14th 1849” soared over the high estimate to reach $28,440 (est. $8,000-12,000). Two early stenciled cotton bedcovers brought $8,887 and $5,688, respectively. One of the many chintz quilts, a pieced and appliqué star of Bethlehem example, made $8,887 (est. $3,000-5,000). A superior Baltimore album quilt with appliqué and trapunto squares depicting a sailing ship, a monument with American flags, elaborate baskets of flowers, etc. brought active bidding on the floor and phone and ended at $28,440. Also from the McCarl collection, the Benjamin Goodwin, Lancaster Chippendale walnut desk and bookcase sold for $45,030.

Other notable lots in the auction included a large carved and gilded pilothouse eagle for $9,112 (est. $4,000-6,000), an outside row standing carousel tiger for $33,180 (est. $3,000-5,000), a vibrant William Otto fraktur for $20,655 and a giltwood girondole mirror for $4,977. Highlights in the furniture category included a Chester County, Queen Anne walnut secretary desk from the Titus Geesey collection and illustrated in Schiffer Furniture and its Makers of Chester County, which sold for $33,180, the Logan family pair of Philadelphia Chippendale chairs for $21,330 and a pair of Delaware Valley Chippendale walnut dining chairs for $37,920. One of two carvings by Pennsylvanian John Scholl, circa 1827-1916, was a carved and painted snowflake, which did well at $17,775 (est. 8,000-12,000).

A significant folk art clock carved by Jacob A. Light aroused much interest, but its enormous size made it a difficult sell. This clock took Light 18 years of craftsmanship with a penknife to complete and had 19 scenes and 380 figures. The Historical Society of Millersburg was thrilled to get it for their collection for $16,590.

A few items rounding out the day included a Victorian Rococo Revival rosewood étagère that sold for $22,515, an Aesthetic Movement gasolier for $3,792, and a Renaissance Revival ebonized center table for $5,451. A Bennington, Vt., flint enamel lion fared well at $10,072 as well as a small carved spaniel by Wilhelm Schimmel for $13,035.

For further information call 610-269-4040.

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

ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE

VMFA’s acquisition coincides with U.S. postal stamp

RICHMOND, Va. – A version of one of Virginia Museum of Fine Art’s recent American acquisitions is among 12 featured on a new Forever stamp in the U.S. Postal Service’s Modern Masters series, which will be released in March.

The Prodigal Son (ca. 1927) by Aaron Douglas was among the group of 12th to 20th-century objects by African and African American artists acquired on Dec. 16 by VMFA’s Board of Trustees. The work acquired by VMFA is an oil on canvas; the stamp features the same subject produced in gouache on paper from the collection of the Beinecke Library at Yale University.

Aaron Douglas is regarded as the leading visual artist of the Harlem Renaissance as well as the first black artist to create a distinctive modernist style that connected contemporary African Americans with their African heritage. The Prodigal Son gouache version was commissioned to accompany James Weldon Johnson’s God’s Trombones: Seven Negro Sermons in Verse, a collection of free-verse poems inspired by folk sermons of Southern black preachers. VMFA’s painting directly relates to this award-winning 1927 publication for which Douglas produced related works, including versions of the same subject in different media.

VMFA’s collection features work by all but two of the other artists in the Modern Masters stamp series, issued to mark the centennial of the 1913 Armory Show, a landmark exhibition that introduced modern American and European art to a broad audience. VMFA owns another painting that was exhibited at the Armory Show—Arthur B. Davies’s Line of Mountains (ca. 1913).

The remaining 11 masterworks reproduced on the stamps are: Stuart Davis’s House and Street (1931); Charles Demuth’s I Saw the Figure 5 in Gold (1928); Arthur Dove’s Fog Horns (1929); Marcel Duchamp’s Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2 (1912); Marsden Hartley’s Painting, Number 5 (1914-15); John Marin’s Sunset, Maine Coast (1919); Gerald Murphy’s Razor (1924); Georgia O’Keeffe’s Black Mesa Landscape, New Mexico/Out Back of Marie’s II (1930); Man Ray’s Noire et Blanche (1926); Charles Sheeler’s American Landscape (1930); and Joseph Stella’s Brooklyn Bridge (1919-20).

VMFA’s Shop will carry the Modern Masters stamp collection once it is released. The museum shop also features a variety of African and African American-themed gifts, cards, and books.

VMFA’s upcoming African and African American cultural programs include:

Radiance from Ancient Heights: Ethiopia’s Sacred Art in Context, Jan. 24

A vibrant outpouring of art and architecture has supported the continuity of the Ethiopian church, one of world’s earliest churches and the first in sub-Saharan Africa. VMFA African Art Curator Richard Woodward examines the distinctive types and styles of ecclesiastical artworks in VMFA’s new Ethiopian collection, with further illumination provided by a short film by filmmaker Tim Reid. $8 (VMFA members $5)

Celebrate African and African American Art: Jazz, Feb. 2

Using VMFA’s collection, enjoy exploring the rich heritage of jazz and discovering its importance in American life, particularly during the civil-rights era, at this Family Day event. Ragtime rhythms, big-band swing dancing, African drumming, and art activities are included. Sponsored by MeadWestvaco Foundation, this program is free.

In Plain Sight, Feb. 15

Examine the world of Virginia’s enslaved peoples through a range of visual and verbal documents in this collaborative program with the Virginia Historical Society. The database, Unknown No Longer, compiled by the society, will be featured along with objects in VMFA’s American Art collection. This program is free.

Literature Studio: Things Fall Apart, Feb. 22

Discover why Nigerian-born author Chinua Achebe chose to write in English his novel, Things Fall Apart, first published in 1958. Join VMFA African Art Gallery Educator Karen Getty in exploring connections between VMFA’s African collection and Achebe’s famous novel. $8 (VMFA members $5)

About VMFA’s African and African Art Collections

Regarded as one of the finest in the United States, VMFA’s African Art collection is on permanent view in the museum’s Dominion Resources Gallery. Approximately 400 works span 2,000 years of history and represent the artistic heritage of more than 100 cultures from the African continent. VMFA’s major holdings in African and African American art have been enriched by newly acquired objects from Ethiopia as wells as works by leading artists Elizabeth Catlett, Beauford Delaney, Aaron Douglas and Gordon Parks.

ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE

Carstens Galleries to sell antiques, ivory, jade, art Jan. 26

Bronze, enamel and mother-of-pearl jewelry box. Estimate: $450-$900. Carstens Galeries image.

BOCA RATON, Fla. – Carstens Galleries will present its Antiques, Ivory, Jade and Art Auction on Saturday, Jan. 26, commencing at 2:30 p.m. EST. This event will be of interest to collectors in the genres of Oriental ivory sculptures and netsuke, magnificent works of art in jade, and Latin American art. LiveAuctioneers.com will provide the Internet live bidding during the sale.

Other offerings among the over 470 lots in the first auction of Carstens Galleries in 2013, include two white marble scultures by C. Lapini, a Florence sculptor of the 19th century. Also featured, are extensive collections of old pocket watches and original Limoges hand-painted miniatures, along with Meissen- style figures and vases, Dresden vases and Tiffany-style lamps, Capo-di-Monte vases and Murano small decorations and chandeliers.

Lot 1175 is a unique and authentic mammoth tusk carved by a Chinese master with about 70 individual figures of the young celebrating the company of the elders. Also, some stunning lots in jadeite jade will be represented in lots 1418 to 1422.

As usual, Carstens Galleries as a service to its bidders, specifies in its catalogs the estimated shipping cost of almost all its lots, and for very heavy or large items, requests information about possible destination of a lot to provide the buyer with correct information and coordination of shipping by Carstens Galleries.

For additional information about any lot in this sale, call Claudio Calderon at Carstens Galleries 561-393 6067 or e-mail carstensgalleries@yahoo.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

Stolen Matisse returns to its museum 25 years later

STOCKHOLM (AFP) – A Matisse painting stolen 25 years ago has been returned to the Museum of Modern Art in Stockholm, its owner said Wednesday, after a dealer had tried to sell it in London.

“The painting Le Jardin has been brought home from London. Right now the painting is in its transportation case,” the museum said in a statement, adding that the artwork would need 24 hours to acclimatize to its new surroundings before being unpacked.

Henri Matisse’s oil on canvas from 1920, which is now worth about $1million (760,000 euros), was found when an art dealer based outside London ran it through a global database of stolen art – standard practice before a sale.

The team at the Art Loss Register quickly identified the painting as the one stolen from the Swedish museum on May 11, 1987, when a burglar broke in with a sledgehammer and made off with the artwork in the early morning hours.

The dealer, Charles Roberts, said he had been asked to sell the painting by an elderly man in Poland who had owned it since the 1990s and now wanted to raise money for his grandchildren.

Matisse painting thieves sentenced to prison terms

Recovered Henri Matisse painting 'Le Jardin,' 1920. Hand-out photo from Art Loss Register.

MIAMI (AFP) – A U.S. federal court handed down prison terms Tuesday to an American man and a Mexican woman for trying to sell a $3 million Henri Matisse painting stolen from a Venezuelan museum.

Pedro Antonio Marcuello Guzman, a 46-year-old resident of Miami, was sentenced to two years, nine months in prison, while 50-year-old Maria Martha Elisa Ornelas Lazo of Mexico City got one year, nine months.

The pair had initially denied in court that they conspired to transport and sell Odalisque in Red Pants but then changed their story, and pleaded guilty in October.

Venezuelan authorities realized in 2003 that the painting hanging at the Museum of Contemporary Art in the capital Caracas was actually a fake. The exact date of the theft is unknown, though December 2002 has been suggested.

The indictment accused Guzman of negotiating the sale of the Matisse for approximately $740,000 during several meetings with undercover FBI agents. The painting has been valued by experts at $3 million.

Guzman also agreed to have the painting transported by a courier – identified as Lazlo – to the United States from Mexico, where it was stored. In July, Lazlo brought the piece to Miami from Mexico City.

Undercover FBI agents posing as buyers recovered the Matisse in August in Miami and arrested the two suspects.

ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE

Romanian suspects in Dutch art heist ‘tried to sell paintings’

'Girl in Front of Open Window' by Paul Gauguin (1888) was one of the paintings stolen in October. Rotterdam Police image.

BUCHAREST (AFP) – Three Romanians allegedly involved in a spectacular theft from a Dutch museum last year were caught while negotiating the sale of the stolen masterpieces, a Romanian newspaper reported Wednesday.

Romanian police and the prosecutor’s office dealing with terrorism and organized crime (DIICOT) declined to comment on the report in Evenimentul Zilei.

Romanian police told AFP on Tuesday that three people were arrested in Romania on suspicion of involvement in the theft of seven masterpieces, including Monets and a Picasso, in Rotterdam’s Kunsthal museum in October, but refused to elaborate.

Dutch police say no painting has so far been recovered.

The paintings are worth between 50 million and 200 million euros ($66 million and $266 million) on the open market.

But experts said that any black-market sale would net just five to 10 percent of the paintings’ real worth, if they can be sold at all.

According to judicial sources quoted by Evenimentul Zilei, the threesuspects come from the Tulcea region in eastern Romania and had been under investigation for violent offences in the past.

They are being detained for 29 days in line with a court decision overnight Monday, a court spokeswoman said.

Seven masterpieces, including paintings by Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Claude Monet and Paul Gauguin, were stolen from the Kunsthal museum on Oct. 16, the biggest such heist in 20 years.

The spectacular theft gripped the Netherlands and the art world as police apparently struggled to piece the crime together, despite putting 25 officers on the case.

Dutch police released grainy security camera footage of the theft, which took place around 3 a.m. The footage showed two apparently young men entering and leaving the museum within barely 90 seconds.

ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE

Archaeological park at the Mesa Grande Ruins opens

Mesa Grande Hohokam ruins near Mesa, Ariz. Image by Meiguoren, courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

MESA, Ariz. (AP) – A new archaeological park has been built for a 6-acre site that represents the remains of one of the largest and most complex ancient Hohokam platform mound communities.

The Mesa Grande Ruins cultural center, which had its groundbreaking in September and its grand opening Saturday, explores what archaeologists believe was the religious and cultural center of a large Hohokam settlement that was abandoned in the 1400s.

The Hohokam people were skilled potters and farmers who developed a sophisticated irrigation system for their crops. They built and used the temple mound site – once covering about 600 acres overlooking the Salt River – between approximately 1100 and 1450, when the community perished, according to the Mesa Grande Ruins Community Alliance.

The cultural center is considered a valuable tool in teaching future generations and residents of the surrounding bustling neighborhood about the historical significance of the site and the people who once settled it.

The $750,000 project was made possible mostly through a number of grants from the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian community and other sources for a 1,000-square-foot visitors center and a walking trail.

Other historically significant sites containing prehistoric remains in Arizona include the Casa Grande Ruins in Coolidge and the Pueblo Grande Ruins in Phoenix.

The archaeological park falls under auspices of the Arizona Museum of Natural History, which has collated the research of scientists over the past 150-plus years into interpretive material both at the mound and online.

Mesa City Councilman Dave Richins was involved in efforts to create an archaeological park at the Mesa Grande ruins for the past 13 years.

“I remember sitting in a neighborhood meeting back in 1999, putting this on our ‘top-five list’ of west Mesa projects,” Richins told The Arizona Republic. “We called it our points of pride.”

Even before the Civil War, explorers knew they had stumbled across something special when they encountered the mound atop the low tableland that later gave Mesa its name.

John Russell Bartlett, an appointee of the United States-Mexican Boundary Study Committee, arrived at the desolate site on July 4, 1852, and knew it had once been the center of a vanished civilization.

“From the summit of the principal heap, which is elevated from 20 to 25 feet above the plain, there may be seen in all directions similar heaps,” Bartlett wrote. “About a mile to the east of them I noticed a long range of them running north and south. … In every direction the plain was strewn with broken pottery.”

Time and development swallowed up those other remnants of Hohokam habitation until only Mesa Grande remained.

An early owner, Ann Madora Barker, kept the place safe from encroachment. Frank Midvale, an archaeologist who bought it from Barker, protected it for 35 years, and with his wife, Grace, in the 1950s organized the Mesa Grande Archaeological Society. That group was a precursor to many of Mesa’s historical preservation efforts.

Midvale passed Mesa Grande on to car dealer Jack Ross and his wife, Acquanetta, a former movie actress. Her stewardship lasted a quarter-century. Mesa paid $1.1 million for the land in 1987, with perpetual preservation in mind.

Mesa Mayor Scott Smith said the ruins themselves reflect what people can do in the face of a hostile environment.

“When our predecessors came here in the 1870s, they came to a place (where) no one wanted to live,” he said. “We are living testament that great things do happen.”

AP-WF-01-21-13 1806GMT

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