August 6, 2013 - Auction Central News

Robot rarities, toys and banks lead Morphy’s Sept. 6-7 auction

Masudaya battery-operated Radicon Robot from ‘Gang of Five’ series, Japanese, 14¾in. tall, offered with original box (not shown). Estimate $10,000-$15,000. Morphy Auctions image.

DENVER, Pa. – More than 1,100 lots of fantastic antique and vintage toys, banks, sports collectibles and Americana lots are waiting to take the spotlight at Morphy Auctions’ Sept. 6-7 auction, with Internet live bidding through LiveAuctioneers.com. It’s one of the most comprehensive toy lineups to appear at Morphy’s in some time and is topped by a premier array of robots and space toys: the 35-year Enzo Pertoldi collection.

Many pieces in the auction were sourced from important, long-held collections, including the Ray and Theresa Jones collection of antique occupational shaving mugs, which will open the sale.

“The September sale contains Part II of the Jones collection,” said Morphy Auctions CEO Dan Morphy, “and like Part I, which we sold earlier this year, it contains many rare, fine examples.”

Highlights among the 130 lots of mugs include Lot 41, depicting a lighthouse, est. $1,000-$1,500; Lot 43, a greenhouse; and Lot 90, which has an actual photographic image of an electric trolley car, est. $1,500-$2,000. Reflecting the late Ray Jones’ career in the US Navy, the grouping features several mugs with a nautical theme, including Lot 98, which depicts shipbuilders working on the hull of a boat, est. $1,000-$1,500.

More than 140 lots of mechanical and still banks will be offered on day one. Top mechanical banks include Lot 300, a Reclining Chinaman, est. $3,000-$5,000; and Lot 301, a Boy Scout bank in excellent to near-mint condition, est. $4,000-$6,000. Lot 256, a scarce and highly desirable Darktown Battery mechanical bank trade card, is expected to make $3,000-$4,000. Notable among the still banks is Lot 227, an A.C. Williams Statue of Liberty in near-mint-plus condition, est. $700-$1,000.

The chatter level has been high in the robot-collecting community since Morphy’s first announced it would be auctioning the Enzo Pertoldi robot and space toy collection. Built over a 35-year period, the collection is one that has “captured the curiosity of robot fans for decades, even though few collectors ever had the chance to view it in Enzo’s home,” said Morphy. “We think curiosity about its contents will attract potential bidders from all over the world. It contains many examples with provenance from the Davidson, Griffith, Lesser and Paul Lips collections. Everyone knows Enzo’s collection is one of the all-time greats.”

Some of the top entries in the Pertoldi collection are:

Boxed robots: Domed Easelback, Pinocchio Robot, rare Piston-Action Robbie variation, blue Smoking Spaceman, Space Scout, Radar Robot a k a Topolino, and Interplanetary Explorer. Other important robots: Lavender Robot, Radicon Robot, Missile Robot, Hook Robot and Tremendous Mike.

Boxed space toys: Gold Star, Space Mobile and Pilot, Robbie Construction Roller Vehicle, Space Refuel Station, Space Fighter, Space Racecar, Space Patrol with missiles, TV Space Control Car, Flying Saucer X3, Moon Patrol Vehicle, X9 Space Robot Car. Other important space toys: X12 Moon Rocket, and white Space Control Car with two astronauts.

Tin toys include a single-owner collection of early Popeye toys, dolls and figures, including boxed Linemar favorites: Lot 859, Popeye Spinning Olive Oyl in a Chair; and Lot 860, Popeye Cyclist. Other Popeye standouts include Lot 850, a rare Jaymar jointed wood Popeye in box; Lot 851, an Effanbee Popeye soft doll with original spinach-can tag; and Lot 852, the best known example of a Chein Ideal jointed wood Popeye.

Mickey Mouse toys add color and fun to the lineup. Top lots include Lot 865, a Linemar train set in scarce original box with cardboard background; Lot 863, a boxed Mickey prewar celluloid cyclist; and Lot 869, a Lars (Italy) 4ft-tall Mickey doll.

Many of the most popular brands are represented in a fleet of pressed-steel vehicles in the auction, e.g., Buddy ‘L’ and Smith-Miller. Highlights include Lot 889, a mint/boxed Buddy ‘L’ red Scarab car, and an exceptional Banner emergency truck.

An assortment of cast-iron cars, trucks, cabs, tractors and horse-drawn vehicles will be offered, as well. Lot 893, a Smith-Miller fire truck in original box with inserts and tags; Lot 150, an elusive Ives Phoenix fire pumper toy with all seven firemen and driver; and a complete Bell Telephone truck, are within the grouping.

Beautiful games and puzzles that showcase the superior artistry and lithographic prowess of late-19th-century toy manufacturers await bidders. Lot 921, a Fireman puzzle in original box; and Lot 922, a Wild West game, are both by McLoughlin Bros. Lot 923, a Moose Hunt game by Chaffee & Selchow, is believed to be the only known example.

Lineol toy soldiers from the collection of Dennis Fontana, who authored the book “War Toys, Vol. 2,” comprise another exciting category in the sale. Among the more than 140 lots are several tinplate vehicles, many composition soldiers, and hard-to-find Lineol horse-drawn military equipment in different sizes. Along with the 7.5cm WW2 toy soldiers, this collection contains many other figures in larger scales. Highlights include an early 19cm marcher, some 11.5cm soldiers, and a fine 14cm mounted officer.

A large selection of sports memorabilia includes autographs from Baseball Hall of Famers, including Ted Williams, Joe DiMaggio and Satchel Paige; an extensive collection of 1930s-60s sports cards, a nice collection of 1930s mini pennants (including one for Babe Ruth), and numerous signed jerseys, photos and documents. Selected highlights include a 1931 Philadelphia Athletics team-signed baseball, with many Hall of Famers represented; two excellent player-endorsed games (Lot 1091, Say Hey Willie Mays; Lot 1092, Yogi Berra); and Lots 1104 and 1105, advertising signs featuring Ted Williams in an endorsement for the soft drink Moxie. An unusual entry is Lot 931, a baseball signed by 11 Apollo astronauts with impeccable provenance. Morphy Auctions Chief Operating Officer Tom Sage Jr. explained that the ball belonged to a man who worked with NASA on the Apollo project at Rockwell. “It comes directly from the man’s wife and is accompanied by an original photo of the astronauts at an LA Dodgers game,” Sage said.

Among the many other notable lots in the sale are Ives, Bing, Lionel and American Flyer trains; Lot 911, a great-looking 1937 Schwinn Excelsior boy’s bicycle; and Lot 880, a very rare 1958 Marx Telephone Repair Unit display with truck, figures, tools, accessories and instructions sheet.

For additional information on any item in Morphy’s Sept. 6-7 auction, call 717-335-3435 or e-mail serena@morphyauctions.com.

Both sessions will start at 9 a.m., with Internet live bidding through LiveAuctioneers.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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ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE

Yonezawa X-27 Explorer robot, tin litho and painted, crank-wind, Japanese, 9¼in. tall, offered with original box (not shown). Estimate $5,000-$7,000. Morphy Auctions image.

Pinocchio Spaziale (Spaceman), plastic and vinyl, Italian, 13½ in. tall, offered with original box (not shown). Estimate $6,000-$9,000. Morphy Auctions image.

Cruise boat occupational shaving mug with the name ‘Albert R. Russ’ in gold. Estimate $600-$800. Morphy Auctions image.

Felt Lou Gehrig/Yankees mini pennant, 1936-1938, from a collection of vintage mini pennants. Estimate $100-$300.

Ives cast-iron Phoenix horse-drawn fire patril, 20½in long, original driver and six original firemen figures. Estimate $2,000-$4,000. Morphy Auctions image.

J. & E. Stevens Reclining Chinaman cast-iron mechanical bank, yellow-pants variation, estimate $3,000-$5,000. Morphy Auctions image.

Lineol tinplate clockwork-motor ambulance, 12in long, estimate $2,000-$2,200. Morphy Auctions image.

Linemar tin-litho wind-up Popeye Cyclist, offered with original box (not shown), estimate $1,800-$2,500. Morphy Auctions image.

Celluloid Walt Disney Mickey Mouse on tin cycle, offered with rare original box with George Borgfeldt sticker, estimate $1,200-$1,600. Morphy Auctions image.

Asian antiques to star in I.M. Chait auction Aug. 11

Chinese carved ivory figure of Shoulao, 11 inches. Estimate: $600-$800. I.M. Chait Gallery/Auctioneers image.

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. – Various Chinese ceramics and antiques from a Wilshire Corridor penthouse will be sold in an I.M. Chait Gallery auction Sunday, Aug. 11. The 561-lot auction will begin at 11 a.m. Pacific. LiveAuctioneers.com will provide Internet live bidding.

The Asian art, antiques and estates auction will feature:

Snuff bottles, netsuke, textiles and Buddhist objects, together with Japanese antiques from a Southern California estate;
Chinese and African carvings including old and antique ivory, and hard stones from a San Pedro collection;
Numerous gemstones sold to benefit the AS&F Foundation from the Hubert Eaton Collection;
Pre-Columbian ceramics, archaistic vessels and numerous scrolls from various American collections
Antiques and furnishings from two important Beverly Hills collections, including those from a Hollywood movie star.

For information on any item in the auction, call tollfree 800-775-5020 or 310-285-0182, or email joey@chait.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

Antique Chinese embroidered silk panel, 18 inches by 16 inches, framed. Estimate: $300-$400. I.M. Chait Gallery/Auctioneers image.

Chinese carved ivory puzzle ball with elaborate openwork design of writhing dragons among clouds on the exterior and with at least 10 interior openwork concentric balls, 8 inches. Estimate: $400-$600. I.M. Chait Gallery/Auctioneers image.

Pair Chinese carved and stained ivory horses, each with fancy caparison and furnishings with turquoise and coral ‘jewels,’ each 6 1/4 inches long. Estimate: $800-$1,000. I.M. Chait Gallery/Auctioneers image.

Group of old Chinese pewter vessels, including a three-piece tea set with teapot, creamer and sugar, all circa 1900. Estimate: $500-$700. I.M. Chait Gallery/Auctioneers image.

Toys showed super strength at VCA’s spring auction

Atom Jet friction race car. Price realized: $4,200. Victorian Casino Antiques image.

LAS VEGAS – Victorian Casino Auctions has developed a reputation for providing collectors with unparalleled opportunities to buy quality items from diverse genres. Bidders hit the jackpot at VCA’s hugely successful four-day event May 30-June 2, which highlighted a spectacular assortment of over 1,000 antique toys. LiveAuctioneers.com provided Internet live bidding.

Many of the toys were Japanese windup designs from the 1950s and 1960s. The auction also featured some highly sought-after items including antique slot machines, coin operated machines, jukeboxes and advertising collectibles.

While in-house bidders kept the place packed throughout, they had to keep pace with the astounding number of both phone and online bidders. Based on the success of the auction, specifically in regard to the reception the antique toys received.

While the entire weekend was a smashing success for VCA, it was the reception the antique toys received that really stood out. Many of the race car and space-related items brought in out-of-this-world prices, including a rare Mobile Space TV Unit with Trailer from the 1950s in near mint condition with the original box, which sold for $4,800. An Atom Jet a-58v friction race car that represents the largest of the toy cars made in the 1950s brought in $4,200. A Space Patrol Volkswagen R-10 that features an astronaut driving a rocket-powered Beetle convertible (because sometimes you just want to cruise along an alien planetary landscape with the top down) fetched $3,000. Superman made a super impression on more than one occasion, with a rare Superman Airplane by Louis Marx from the 1940s in great condition with original box bringing in $1,680. The Man of Steel figured into a equally rare Superman Tank toy in mint condition with original box, which one lucky bidder brought home to his collection for $3,600. Toys featuring other pop culture icons such as Popeye smoking a pipe and Mickey Mouse roller skating fetched $1,265 and $1,560, respectively.

Japanese toys were not the only hit, as German toymaker Lehmann made quite a few notable sales. One example is a Man Da Rin No. 565, which features two coolies carrying a Chinese man in a sedan chair. It sold for $2,280. Another, the Duo-Rooster Pulling Rabbit windup carriage from the 1930s, sold for $1,680.

There was plenty more besides toys, with a large collection of rare cookie jars piquing bidders’ interest. An American Bisque Herman & Katnip cookie jar, one of only six known to exist, sold for $1,560. A Sinclair Oil Green Dinosaur cookie jar from 1943 sold for $1,800.

Other diverse highlights include a 5-cent early countertop bicycle trade stimulator from 1898 that went for $9,000, a life-size replica of the Lost in Space B9 Robot that brought in $8,625, a pair of Belcher Mosaic stained-glass windows in wooden frames (from the former Liberace’s Restaurant) that sold for $6,000 each, and a Henry Gautschi & Sons cylinder wooden music box from the 1890s that sold for $4,313. Most likely the single highest priced item was a 1-cent Pulver’s Kola-Pepsin Happy Hooligan Gum vending machine from 1899 that fetched $15,680.

For more information or to learn about consignment, call Dan Sidlow at 702-382-2466 or email him at vca@lvcoxmail.com.

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

ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE

Marx battery-operated Smoking Popeye sold for $1,265. Victorian Casino Antiques image.

Space Patrol Volkswagen R-10 rocketed to $3,000. Victorian Casino Antiques image.

One-cent Pulver’s Kola-Pepsin Happy Hooligan Gum vending machine from 1899. Price realized: $15,680. Victorian Casino Antiques image.

Life-size replica of the ‘Lost in Space’ B9 Robot. Price realized: $8,625. Victorian Casino Antiques image.

Pair of Belcher Mosaic stained-glass windows. Price realized: $6,000 each. Victorian Casino Antiques image.

Punk: Chaos to Couture closes Aug. 14 at Met Museum

Karl Lagerfeld (French, born Hamburg, 1938) for House of Chanel (French, founded 1913)  Vogue, March 2011.  Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Photograph by David Sims.

NEW YORK – Mick Jones of The Clash once said that punk in its purest form only lasted 100 days. So too will Punk: Chaos to Couture, the spring 2013 Costume Institute exhibition, at The Metropolitan Museum of Art which closes after 100 days on Wednesday, August 14.

The exhibition, which opened to the public on May 9, examines punk’s impact on high fashion from its birth in the 1970s through to its influence today. Rare vintage punk pieces as well ready-to-wear and haute couture ensembles are animated with video and music from punk heroes Richard Hell, Patti Smith, The Sex Pistols, The Clash, and others. CBGB’s bathroom and the Seditionaries boutique at 430 King’s Road are recreated to tell punk’s origin story as a tale of two cities – New York and London.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art is located at Fifth Avenue at 82nd Street in Manhattan.

For additional information, log on to www.metmuseum.org.

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Furniture Specific: Hallmark of Victorian status

Showing the square outline and profuse linear decoration of the surface, this Eastlake hall stand is from the 1880s.

CRYSTAL RIVER, Fla. – In several previous entries I have mentioned the curious dichotomy of the late Victorian world of the 19th century that divided the world into masculine and feminine in almost all areas of life. The outside world was a man’s world while the interior of the house was the domain of women.

The demilitarized zone, the DMZ, was the transitional space provided by the front hall found in most 18th century Georgian-style homes and 19th century Victorian-style houses. The front hall was the buffer that protected the privacy of the occupants even when a stranger was in the house or at least in the hall. The front hall was also the transitional space between masculine and feminine areas of influence and was furnished in an appropriately distant and sterile manner.

In addition to being the transition area it was also the waiting area. One had to be invited into the interior of the house by a resident of appropriate rank. While it was important to be polite to anyone, regardless of rank, there was a definite seating priority. Persons of equal or greater social ranking than the owner of the house were invited in immediately either into the parlor or into the study or library, whichever was befitting of the purpose of the visit. Those of lower rank, especially delivery people and messengers, were not invited in and waited in the hall. While it was incumbent on the owner to provide seating, it was not required that the seat be comfortable. The person wouldn’t be there that long. Thus hall seating took on an especially austere look with flat straight wooden chairs or stools with no padding but just a plank seat.

Of course, finding seating that was not necessarily comfortable was no real problem. The Europeans had been doing it for centuries and the English colonies that became America had no trouble following suit. It was just a matter of finding the right chair or bench.

But the hall had another function that was not so easily filled. In its job as transitional space it had to be able to provide for the change of attire required by moving from inside the house to outside or vice versa. It had to handle coats, hats, gloves and scarves in some sort of elegant fashion that could still remain neutral in sexual orientation but be acceptable to all parties. It also had to be identifiable as a temporary place of residence for outer garments, not just an adjunct to the main closet. Thus the arrival of the hall stand, also called a hall tree and in later adaptations a hall seat when a flat seating surface was provided.

The hall stand was a form of its time. There was no historical precedent for such a piece of furniture in Western history. Not only was it a new form, it was developed to accommodate and take advantage of new inventions and new social priorities in the mid 19th century.

One of the new inventions, not necessarily new but newly available to the mass market, was the simple mirror. In the 18th century hand-spun crown glass was carefully polished to provide small, mostly handheld mirrors that were relatively expensive. By 1825 the crown method of making glass had given way to the cylinder method (fully explained in this space in another column) that produced cheaper, bigger and flatter glass for use in mirrors. Citizens of the mid-Victorian period and later were extremely concerned with personal appearance and mirrors were located around the house in strategic places. The transition space of the hall was the perfect place to check on appearance before entering the formal interior of the house or before exiting into the public world of the outside and the hall tree was the perfect place for a mirror.

Another invention that was not new but had newly acquired status and respectability was the umbrella. The actual form of the umbrella is ancient and was usually carried by servants to shield a person of high status from sun or rain. In the 18th century an offshoot of the umbrella, the parasol, to protect delicate skin from the sun’s rays, became the symbol of a woman of leisure, but a man who carried an umbrella was considered quite mundane and ordinary. People of class had carriages and had no use for an umbrella. That changed in the mid-19th century and the umbrella became a mark of distinction for the rising middle class. Thus the hall stand had to make room and accommodations, in the form of a rack for the handle and drip pans for the fabric, for the humble umbrella.

The high fashion of the mid to late century called for the wearing of “stovepipe” hats by men and storing the tall cylinders could present a problem. Not for the hall stand. It merely adopted a set of sometimes elaborate hooks from which to hang stovepipe hats and even more importantly, to temporarily store expensive, often fur-lined or trimmed outerwear.

Those three requisite elements of the Victorian hall stand were often accompanied by one more section required by the social customs of the day. A horizontal space of some sort had to be provided to accept the physical artifacts of the custom known as “card leaving.” Calling cards were the accepted way to enter a new society or announce a change of status or address. It was such a tightly regulated custom that cards were carefully examined by recipients for flaws of color or taste that might impart some hint of social status or the lack thereof by the card sender. A flat surface mounted by a silver tray was the correct way to receive a card and the hall stand was the correct place for the ceremony.

The heyday of hall stands was the Renaissance Revival period of the 1870s and 1880s when stands often reached monumental proportions. After that the size, complexity and importance of the hall stand retreated until the maximum minimalism of the Arts & Crafts period pretty much did away with the form leaving a simple hat rack in the hall to open the 20th century.

For more about Victorian customs and furniture see The Tasteful Interlude by William Seal, a pictorial tour of American interiors 1860-1917, Praeger Publishers, Death in the Dining Room and Other Victorian Customs by Kenneth Ames, Temple University Press and Late 19th Century Furniture by Berkey & Gay by Brian Witherell, Schiffer Publishing.

Send comments, questions and pictures to Fred Taylor at P.O. Box 215, Crystal River, FL 34423 or email them to him at info@furnituredetective.com.

Visit Fred’s website at www.furnituredetective.com. His book How To Be a Furniture Detective is available for $18.95 plus $3 shipping. Send check or money order for $21.95 to Fred Taylor, P.O. Box 215, Crystal River, FL, 34423.

Fred and Gail Taylor’s DVD, Identification of Older & Antique Furniture ($17 + $3 S&H) is also available at the same address. For more information call 800-387-6377, fax 352-563-2916, or info@furnituredetective.com. All items are also available directly from his website.

ADDITIONAL IMAGES OF NOTE

This plank-bottom chair with a lift seat for storage is typical of the 'guest' seating found in Victorian period halls. — This plank-bottom chair with a lift seat for storage is typical of the ‘guest’ seating found in Victorian period halls.

One of the few pieces of Victorian cast-iron furniture to make it inside from the garden is this Rococo hall stand from the 1870s in the Gregory House at Torreya State Park in Florida.

This scary looking piece is a hall stand made around mid-19th century in the Gothic Revival style of the period.

This is a tame example of the hall stand of the Renaissance Revival period of the 1870s.

By the turn of the century the hall stand was losing importance, but this example of the Golden Oak era is still impressive in scale and function. This one demonstrates the alternative seating provided by the flat lift top storage space in the center.

By the Arts and Crafts period the form was but a mere shadow of its former self.

Restoration set for WWII plane found in Lake Michigan

PORTAGE, Mich. (AP) – A Michigan aviation museum is helping to restore a World War-II era plane that was recovered from the bottom of Lake Michigan.

The plane crashed during aircraft-carrier training near Waukegan, Ill., on Dec. 28, 1944. The FM-2 “Wildcat” Fighter went down in about 200 feet of water in an accident blamed on engine failure. Crews recovered in December after it was in the water for nearly 70 years.

TV stations WOOD and WWMT report the Air Zoo, an aviation museum and attraction in southwestern Michigan, planned to show off the plane Monday. The Air Zoo’s Flight and Restoration Center, a Smithsonian affiliate, is directing the restoration project.

The Naval Aviation Museum Foundation sponsored the recovery and plans call for the plane to eventually go on display in the Chicago area.

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Police arrest man, seek others in theft of safe

MARSHALLTOWN, Iowa (AP) – Marshalltown police have arrested a suspect in the theft of a vintage safe containing a fortune in gold coins and silver bars.

The Des Moines Register reports police on Friday charged 37-year-old Adam Beem, of Marshalltown, and issued warrants for three other suspects.

The arrest and warrants stem from the theft of a safe from a storage unit on July 6.

The antique safe is believed to have been filled with silver bars and gold coins valued at up to $250,000 that the owner had inherited from her father.

Investigators found that some of the silver had been sold to a Des Moines jewelry store. The cut-up remains of the safe were found in a creek bed near Ferguson, south of Marshalltown.

Police recovered many of the gold coins.

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Information from: The Des Moines Register, http://www.desmoinesregister.com

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Top shakers impact Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates auction

Made by Mount Washington Glass Co., this fig-shape sugar shaker in cased cranberry with polychrome floral decoration sold for $3,335 against the $1-2,000 estimate. Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates image.

MT. CRAWFORD, Va. – Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates conducted an auction of salt, pepper and sugar shakers on July 27 in conjunction with the annual meeting of the American Glass Salt and Sugar Shaker Collectors. The sale realized $192,246, with nearly 1,100 registered bidders from 18 countries. LiveAuctioneers.com provided Internet live bidding.

Top lot of the day was Lot 144, a Mount Washington Glass Co. fig or beet sugar shaker, in cased cranberry with polychrome floral decoration. Standing 3 7/8 inches high overall, the fig-shape shaker dated to the fourth quarter of the 19th century. The shaker was in remarkable condition, and came from collection of the late Richard and Mary Ann Krauss of Clyde, Ohio. It sold for $3,335 against the $1,000-$2,000 estimate.

Lot 98, a Findlay onyx sugar shaker done in deep butterscotch with amber flowers, neck ribs with alternating light rose and ivory columns, with a period lid also performed really well. By Dalzell, Gilmore & Leighton Co., of Findlay, Ohio, and made circa 1889, this 5 3/8-inch-high shaker sold for $2,990 against its estimate of $2,000-$3,000.

The most expensive salt and pepper shakers were Lot 281, a set of blue Aurene shakers, of hexagonal form, with nonmatching sterling period lids, attributed to Steuben Glass Works, 1912-1922 measuring 3 1/8 inches high. The set was published in Lechner’s The World of Salt Shakers II, p. 18, bottom left and p. 182, bottom right from the Krauss collection. Estimated to sell for $500-$800, they realized $2,760.

Reached after the auction, Jeffrey S. Evans said, “The AGSSSC convention drew over 50 members from all corners of the U.S. from Maine to Florida to California. The club and the auction were covered in the New York Times. Rare and unusual examples brought good prices with several shakers reaching new record high prices. Middle market shakers were soft. The groups of lower-end shakers sold surprisingly well to online bidders suggesting that some new collectors have entered the field.”

Details may be obtained by emailing info@jeffreysevans.com or by calling 540-434-3939.

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

ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE

Findlay onyx sugar shaker done in deep butterscotch with amber flowers, by Dalzell, Gilmore & Leighton Co., of Findlay, Ohio. Price realized: $2,990. Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates image.

Blue Aurene shaker set attributed to Steuben Glass Works, 1912-1922. Price realized: $2,760. Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates image.

China shopping mall villas now home to migrant workers

Hengyang was badly damaged during the Japanese invasion in World War II. Although some of its pagodas and ancient structures survived, the city experienced a building boom over the last couple of decades and increasingly has adopted Western architectural styles, as seen in the design of the Hengyang railway station. Photo by PanShiBo, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

BEIJING (AFP) – Twenty-five luxury villas built on top of a Chinese shopping mall have become migrant workers’ residences after authorities declared them illegal, state media said Tuesday.

The houses, covering an area about the size of three football pitches, were built in 2009 on the roof of a multi-story furniture and construction materials mall in Hengyang, the China Daily said.

Pictures show the houses — with bright blue roofs and pastel yellow walls — mixing architectural styles, with wraparound verandahs and some having vaguely Germanic towers attached.

They are divided by white picket fences, while trees and bushes grow in their courtyards and along the pathways between them.

The houses were built without a license, the report said, and although the city government repeatedly demanded their demolition, developer Hengyang Wings Group ignored the order.

Authorities in Hengyang, in the central province of Hunan, have now ruled instead that the villas can stay but the developer cannot sell them, the paper said.

“The houses are now dormitories for our employees. Some migrant workers who took part in the villas’ construction are also living in them,” Wang Jianxin, the developer’s general manager, was quoted as telling a local newspaper.

Property investment has been a driver of the Chinese economy for years, although authorities have long sought to control rapid house price rises.

Land grabs have become a volatile social problem as officials and developers seek to cash in on the property boom, sometimes forcing people out of their homes without proper compensation.

With land disputes becoming more frequent, the government has forbidden housing demolitions without the owners’ consent, while police have been banned from intervening to protect developers in such rows, according to previous Chinese media reports.

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Helsinki expects a new bid for a Guggenheim museum

Among the international branches of the Guggenheim is the Frank Gehry-designed Guggenhaim Bilbao, a striking architectural addition to the Spanish city's riverfront. Photo by MykReeve, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

HELSINKI, Finland (AFP) – Helsinki is waiting to receive a second proposal for a Guggenheim museum in the Finnish capital, a city official said Tuesday, after rejecting the first offer mainly due to its high cost.

Plans for a Finnish Guggenheim franchise costing around 140 million euros ($186 million) were turned down by the Helsinki city council in a close vote in May last year, despite having the backing of center-right mayor Jussi Pajunen.

But executives of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation “have met with several Finnish representatives,” deputy mayor Ritva Viljanen told AFP.

After talks with the foundation’s director Richard Armstrong in New York, Viljanen said Guggenheim was trying to understand how to improve the project.

“The proposal in 2012 would have been too expensive for the city,” she said.

A new proposal is expected to be submitted by September.

The Guggenheim Foundation was not immediately available for comment.

Helsinki has said the foundation needs to secure more funding from the Finnish state and from private investors in Finland and elsewhere.

A Guggenheim delegation has already met with three government ministers, according to Finnish media.

“It’s great that an international cultural institution like the Guggenheim is interested in Finland,” Defence Minister Carl Haglund told public broadcaster YLE on Monday.

However, opposition to a Guggenheim franchise in Finland has been especially strong among The Greens, the Social Democratic Party, the Left Alliance and the populist Finns Party.

A group of about 100 Finnish artists has previously proposed an alternative project, dubbed Checkpoint Helsinki.

The group claims that the creation of a Guggenheim Museum was motivated more by tourism than the development of contemporary art in Finland.

“It is strange that supporters of the Guggenheim Museum do not understand the word ‘no’,” the daily Kaleva wrote in an editorial on Saturday.

Mayor Pajunen said a Guggenheim museum would be a “positive step” for Helsinki, arguing it would “greatly increase tourist interest and strengthen Helsinki as a cultural city.”

Guggenheim’s world-famous network includes museums in New York, Bilbao, Berlin and Venice, and another under construction in Abu Dhabi.

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