Table attributed to Meeks earns $33,350 at Stevens sale

Rosewood rococo marble turtle-top parlor center table attributed to J. & J. W. Meeks. Price realized: $33,350. Stevens Auction Co. image.

Rosewood rococo marble turtle-top parlor center table attributed to J. & J. W. Meeks. Price realized: $33,350. Stevens Auction Co. image.

Rosewood rococo marble turtle-top parlor center table attributed to J. & J. W. Meeks. Price realized: $33,350. Stevens Auction Co. image.

ABERDEEN, Miss. – A rosewood rococo marble turtle-top parlor center table with cluster carved finial, attributed to the renowned American furniture maker J. & J.W. Meeks, sold for $33,350 at an estates auction held Jan. 17-18 by Stevens Auction Co. The table was the top lot of the sale. Internet bidding was facilitated by LiveAuctioneers.com.

The auction featured more than 550 lots of select and rare antiques from prominent Southern estates, plus items from the estate of the late Paul Dobbs of West Plains, Mo. It was packed with period furniture items by prolific craftsmen, large Persian rugs, 19th century lighting, brilliant cut glass pieces, decorative accessories, home furnishings, early porcelains and art glass.

“It was a cold weekend, but it was warm inside the building and we may have generated some extra heat with all the spirited bidding going on,” said Dwight Stevens of Stevens Auction Co. “We were very pleased with the outcome. The merchandise spoke for itself, and the bidding in the room and online was brisk both days. The phones and left bids were active, too.”

Following are additional highlights from the auction. All prices quoted include a 15 percent buyer’s premium.

Additional lots attributed to Meeks included a pair of mirror image laminated rosewood recamiers in the Stanton Hall pattern, upholstered in silk with gilt Napoleonic bees ($11,500 the pair), a rosewood laminated parlor cabinet with original mirrors and finish ($4,025), and a rosewood rococo center parlor game table with drawers on both sides ($2,990).

Monumental beds featured a rosewood half tester bed in mint condition, attributed to Mitchell & Rammelsberg, with original mosquito net hardware ($12,650), a mahogany Empire full tester plantation bed that was made around 1840 but has had just three owners ($8,625), and an ornate mahogany rococo oversized bed with pierce-carved and rounded footboard ($3,220).

Pairs of chairs did extremely well. Two rosewood laminated parlor side chairs in the Cornucopia pattern, crafted circa 1855 by John H. Belter, changed hands for $10,350, and an identical selling price was realized for a pair of J. & J.W. Meeks laminated rosewood armchairs in the Stanton Hall pattern. The chairs were beautifully upholstered in silk with Napoleonic bees.

Also from the prolific workshop of Meeks was a pair of laminated rosewood parlor chairs in the Henry Ford pattern, upholstered in silk with Napoleonic bees. They sold as a single lot for $4,600. Two rococo revival pierce-carved parlor chairs – duplicates of a pair pictured in an 1849 advertisement for George Henkels, as shown in a March 1933 magazine – hammered for $4,600.

A Victorian crystal chandelier featuring eight tiers of crystal with silver rings and 30-35 strands of roping went for $3,910. Also, a monumental banquet lamp with marble columns, claw feet and winged cherubs, with a huge antique 11-inch amber shade with lily decor, made $2,070.

American Brilliant Cut Glass is still popular with collectors, and this sale had a wide selection. A console bowl that was heavily cut and extremely fine, in mint condition, 15 inches across, fetched $3,910; a stunning plate, 13 inches in diameter, went for $3,910; and a square bowl, extremely heavy, signed Hawks, was a bargain at $288.

Returning to furniture, a Victorian walnut breakfront bookcase with butler’s desk and an unusual crest, 8 feet 9 inches tall, gaveled for $3,450; a large mahogany Empire three-door breakfront, 9 feet 3 inches tall, realized $2,875; a solid mahogany heavily carved French rococo sofa with brown leather, in mint condition, circa 1890, went for $2,070; and a mahogany Empire revival breakfront with mirror back and acanthus columns, circa 1870, went for $1,955.

From the clocks category, an early grandfather clock by David Elias Bangor, 97 inches tall, sold for $2,875, and a rosewood beehive clock with Baltimore cemetery scene, 19 inches by 10 inches, made $1,035. Also, a National Cash Register candy store-size cash register in good working condition, with all original parts and key, found a new owner for $863.

Two French porcelain plaques in gesso frames, hand-painted and measuring 32 inches by 21 inches, circa 1870-1880, sold for $4,600 the pair; a 67-piece set of sterling silver flatware in the Grand Baroque pattern by Wallace (a service for eight, with extra serving pieces) breezed to $4,370; an outstanding rococo bronze dore mirror, 26 inches tall, commanded $2,250; and a Victorian rococo over-the-mantel mirror with ornate details, 55 inches by 60 inches, hit $1,035.

Other top lots included a bronze Victorian floor vase with the original amber glass insert, 55 inches tall, which sold for $1,265; a pair of Majolica figures in Arabian dress with musical instruments, sitting on an attached base, 19 inches tall, $863 the pair; and a diminutive 5-inch-tall Austrian gilt silver doll house bench with hand-painted enamel panels on back and seat, $518.

For more information call Stevens Auction Co. at 662-369-2200 send an e-mail to stevensauction@bellsouth.net.

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

ADDITIONAL LOTS OF NOTE

Rosewood rococo marble turtle-top parlor center table attributed to J. & J. W. Meeks. Price realized: $33,350. Stevens Auction Co. image.

Rosewood rococo marble turtle-top parlor center table attributed to J. & J. W. Meeks. Price realized: $33,350. Stevens Auction Co. image.

Rosewood half tester bed attributed to Mitchell & Rammelsberg in like-new condition. Price realized: $12,650. Stevens Auction Co. image.

Rosewood half tester bed attributed to Mitchell & Rammelsberg in like-new condition. Price realized: $12,650. Stevens Auction Co. image.

American Brilliant Cut Glass console bowl, very heavily cut and 15 inches in diameter. Price realized: $4,140. Stevens Auction Co. image.

American Brilliant Cut Glass console bowl, very heavily cut and 15 inches in diameter. Price realized: $4,140. Stevens Auction Co. image.

Beautiful early grandfather clock made by David Elias Bangor, 97 inches in height. Price realized: $2,875. Stevens Auction Co. image.

Beautiful early grandfather clock made by David Elias Bangor, 97 inches in height. Price realized: $2,875. Stevens Auction Co. image.

One of a pair of French hand-painted oval porcelain plaques in gesso frames. Price realized: $4,600 the pair. Stevens Auction Co. image.

One of a pair of French hand-painted oval porcelain plaques in gesso frames. Price realized: $4,600 the pair. Stevens Auction Co. image.

Sterling flatware service for eight, 67 pieces, in the Grand Baroque pattern by Wallace. Price realized: $4,370. Stevens Auction Co. image.

Sterling flatware service for eight, 67 pieces, in the Grand Baroque pattern by Wallace. Price realized: $4,370. Stevens Auction Co. image.

Victorian eight-tiered crystal chandelier with silver rings and 30-35 strands of roping. Price realized: $3,910. Stevens Auction Co. image.

Victorian eight-tiered crystal chandelier with silver rings and 30-35 strands of roping. Price realized: $3,910. Stevens Auction Co. image.

Pair of laminated rosewood recamiers by J. & J.W. Meeks. Price realized: $11,500 the pair. Stevens Auction Co. image.

Pair of laminated rosewood recamiers by J. & J.W. Meeks. Price realized: $11,500 the pair. Stevens Auction Co. image.

Spain slashes sales tax on art by more than half

'Las Meninas,' by Diego Velázquez,1656, oil on canvas. Museo del Prado, Madrid. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

'Las Meninas,' by Diego Velázquez,1656, oil on canvas. Museo del Prado, Madrid. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
‘Las Meninas,’ by Diego Velázquez,1656, oil on canvas. Museo del Prado, Madrid. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
MADRID (AFP) – Spain’s government Friday slashed a tax on sales of works of art as a “first step” to help the cultural industry, which has been howling about the impact of a 21-percent sales tax.

Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s conservative government decided at a ministerial meeting to cut the sales tax for works of art by more than half, to 10 percent.

“It is a measure to support creators of works including paintings, sculptures, art galleries, art dealers, antique dealers and the world of plastic arts in general,” Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria told a news conference.

“It is a first step. We believe we should take a series of measures, including on taxes, to promote and defend culture in Spain,” the minister said.

The sales tax on art works in France was 10 percent, Germany 7 percent and Belgium 6 percent, she said.

Desperate to rein in a ballooning public deficit, the government raised the general sales tax to 21 percent from 18 percent in 2012.

At the same time, it eliminated a special 8-percent sales tax for cultural products including cinema and theater tickets.

ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE

'Las Meninas,' by Diego Velázquez,1656, oil on canvas. Museo del Prado, Madrid. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
‘Las Meninas,’ by Diego Velázquez,1656, oil on canvas. Museo del Prado, Madrid. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Jasper Johns testifies against foundry owner in art fraud case

Lithograph after Jasper John's painting 'Flag.' It is believed that the use of this work to illustrate the subject in question qualifies as fair use under U.S. copyright law. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers.com Archive and T&R Art Inc.

Lithograph after Jasper John's painting 'Flag.' It is believed that the use of this work to illustrate the subject in question qualifies as fair use under U.S. copyright law. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers.com Archive and T&R Art Inc.
Lithograph after Jasper John’s painting ‘Flag.’ It is believed that the use of this work to illustrate the subject in question qualifies as fair use under U.S. copyright law. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers.com Archive and T&R Art Inc.
NEW YORK (AP) – Artist Jasper Johns testified Thursday against a foundry owner charged with trying to sell a fake bronze sculpture of his iconic 1960 painting Flag for $11 million, a prosecutor told jurors at the opening of a federal criminal trial Wednesday.

The 83-year-old artist, whose works have sold for millions of dollars, testified Thursday for more than an hour in federal court in Manhattan, saying repeatedly that he never authorized Brian Ramnarine to make a bronze copy of the sculpt-metal painting Flag when he asked him in 1990 to make a wax mold of it.

An indictment charged Ramnarine, 59, with three counts of wire fraud, saying he used molds he acquired while working for artists at his busy Long Island City foundry in the late 1980s and early 1990s to stamp out more than a dozen unauthorized copies of sculptures that he tried to sell for tens of thousands or millions of dollars.

Feingold said Johns hired Ramnarine to make a wax impression of his famous painting in 1990, but the mold was never returned. The prosecutor said Ramnarine tried to sell the knockoff in 2010 as he struggled financially, but the buyer suspected a fraud and went to the FBI, which taped a meeting he had with Ramnarine that will be shown to jurors.

Flag the original 1960 encaustic and paper collage rendition of the stars and stripes, was sold at auction in 2010 in New York City for $28.6 million. The prosecutor said the real version of the sculpture Johns created in 1990 is displayed at Princeton University.

Defense lawyer Troy Smith told jurors Ramnarine came to the United States in the mid-1970s “functionally illiterate,” unable to read or write, but became so successful at the craft of making sculptures that “artists were coming to the foundry in droves.”

The lawyer said oral agreements between artists and Ramnarine were common, and artists sometimes paid him with copies of their artworks for the expensive liquid metals he poured into their molds.

“There were times, often times, no money was exchanged,” Smith said.

Smith noted that a former assistant to Johns has been charged with selling 22 works he allegedly stole from the pop artist’s Connecticut studio. The government says Ramnarine pleaded guilty in state court in Queens in 2002 to falsifying business records in connection with schemes that prosecutors say were nearly identical to those now facing him.

Initially, Ramnarine was charged in Manhattan only with trying to sell the fake Johns piece. But Feingold said Ramnarine continued his scheme after his arrest, trying to sell sculptures purportedly created and authorized by artists Robert Indiana and Saint Clair Cemin. In court papers, prosecutors said Ramnarine defrauded a Queens art gallery owner of more than $34,000 for 12 fake sculptures.

Cemin, the trial’s first witness, conceded he once gave Ramnarine two candle-shaped sculptures as a gift.

He said he spotted two of Ramnarine’s fake versions of his sculptures when he visited a doctor’s home in 2001.

Cemin said he went to Ramnarine’s foundry “very upset” and saw a fraudulent version of one of his sculptures.

“I smashed it to the floor, breaking it, and I left,” Cemin testified.

Asked if he ever saw Ramnarine again, he said: “Never.”

Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

AP-WF-01-23-14 0038GMT

ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE

Lithograph after Jasper John's painting 'Flag.' It is believed that the use of this work to illustrate the subject in question qualifies as fair use under U.S. copyright law. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers.com Archive and T&R Art Inc.
Lithograph after Jasper John’s painting ‘Flag.’ It is believed that the use of this work to illustrate the subject in question qualifies as fair use under U.S. copyright law. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers.com Archive and T&R Art Inc.

Judge rejects Detroit creditors’ request regarding artworks

The Great Hall at the Detroit Institute of Arts. Image courtesy of Detroit Institute of Arts.
The Great Hall at the Detroit Institute of Arts. Image courtesy of Detroit Institute of Arts.
The Great Hall at the Detroit Institute of Arts. Image courtesy of Detroit Institute of Arts.

DETROIT (AP) – A judge overseeing Detroit’s bankruptcy has rejected a request from creditors who want a role in deciding what to do with the city’s valuable art collection.

Federal Judge Steven Rhodes says he lacks authority to appoint a committee.

Creditors filed a request two months ago to have a say in the appraisal of art and any potential way to make money from it. Since then, foundations have pledged more than $300 million to prevent any sale and shore up Detroit pensions.

Separately, Gov. Rick Snyder has talked to state lawmakers about the state chipping in.

Christie’s auction house has appraised about 2,800 pieces of art, saying they’re worth $454 million to $867 million.

Rhodes says there will be opportunities later to argue over what to do with art, if anything.

Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

AP-WF-01-22-14 2044GMT

ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE

The Great Hall at the Detroit Institute of Arts. Image courtesy of Detroit Institute of Arts.
The Great Hall at the Detroit Institute of Arts. Image courtesy of Detroit Institute of Arts.

Former Air Force One to stay at Ohio museum

Boeing VC-137C SAM 26000 at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in Dayton, Ohio. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Boeing VC-137C SAM 26000 at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in Dayton, Ohio. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
Boeing VC-137C SAM 26000 at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in Dayton, Ohio. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – There will be no Air Force One for the LBJ Presidential Library in Austin.

The Austin American-Statesman reports U.S. Air Force officials have assured that the converted Boeing 707 where Lyndon Johnson was sworn in as president in 1963 in Dallas will remain in Ohio.

The jet, with the military designation VC-137C, is on display at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio.

The assurances were conveyed in letters released Wednesday by U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio.

The LBJ Foundation had raised millions of dollars in pledges and planned to build a pavilion by the LBJ Presidential Library to house the jet flown by U.S. presidents flew from 1962 until 1990.

___

Information from: Austin American-Statesman, http://www.statesman.com

Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

AP-WF-01-23-14 0252GMT

ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE

Boeing VC-137C SAM 26000 at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in Dayton, Ohio. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
Boeing VC-137C SAM 26000 at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in Dayton, Ohio. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Cotswolds dealers to stage 3rd annual antiques fair April 3-6

A 19th century Italian bronze Mercury, signed 'Rainaldi,' priced £12,600 from Architectural Heritage. Image courtesy of the Cotswolds Art & Antiques Dealers' Association Fair.
A 19th century Italian bronze Mercury, signed 'Rainaldi,' priced £12,600 from Architectural Heritage. Image courtesy of the Cotswolds Art & Antiques Dealers' Association Fair.
A 19th century Italian bronze Mercury, signed ‘Rainaldi,’ priced £12,600 from Architectural Heritage. Image courtesy of the Cotswolds Art & Antiques Dealers’ Association Fair.

WOODSTOCK, UK – The Cotswolds Art & Antiques Dealers’ Association Fair returns to the elegant setting of Blenheim Palace, Woodstock, Oxfordshire OX20 1PP from Thursday, April 3, to Sunday, April 6. Now in its third year the fair has cultivated an ardent following of collectors, art consultants, museum experts, interior designers and the public alike.

The Cotswolds Art & Antiques Dealers’ Association is the pre-eminent of the regional trade associations and the majority of the dealers exhibit at the top London fairs. A comment heard time and time again at the two previous fairs is “this is a London fair in the country.” The very best of every discipline is showcased including furniture, pictures, silver, early needlework and antique boxes, sculpture, bronze, clocks and barometers, carpets and textiles, jewellery, harps, Oriental and English ceramics, garden ornaments and statuary and many other decorative items.

All works are for sale with prices ranging from £100 to £100,000.

The fair is the perfect opportunity to hunt for the best antiques the Cotswolds has to offer. Highlights include a set of six English giltwood chairs, made in 1770 in the Chippendale manner bearing a provenance from Fingringhoe Hall, Colchester from Witney Antiques.

There is ample choice of ceramics throughout the fair. John Howard, the antique English pottery specialist as well as Chairman of CADA, has sourced a Staffordshire pottery tureen with a view of the South East aspect of Blenheim Palace originally engraved by William Radclyffe from an original study by John Preston Neale for £1,450. From Andrew Dando is a very scarce set of 18th century Derby porcelain figures depicting the “Tithe Pig” story, circa 1760, for £3,200. A pair of Martin Brothers stoneware vases decorated in the Japanese taste with fauna and flying birds, dated February 1889 will be offered by Hall-Bakker Decorative Arts for £6,500.

Fine art is well represented with Brian Sinfield Gallery showcasing the works of contemporary artists such as Portrait of Eli by Antony Williams for £22,000; The Last Gleam by Benjamin Williams Leader, exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1879 from Haynes Fine Art of Broadway for £70,000; and Portrait of Harry La Montagne on a Grey by Sir Alfred Munnings (1878-1959) from Trinity House Paintings.

An exceptional highlight comes from W.R. Harvey & Co. Ltd., who is bringing an early William & Mary period two-door cabinet on chest attributed to Thomas Pistor of London at a price of £90,000.

Hours are 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. daily. More information is available on the CADA website: www.thecada.org.

ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE

A 19th century Italian bronze Mercury, signed 'Rainaldi,' priced £12,600 from Architectural Heritage. Image courtesy of the Cotswolds Art & Antiques Dealers' Association Fair.
A 19th century Italian bronze Mercury, signed ‘Rainaldi,’ priced £12,600 from Architectural Heritage. Image courtesy of the Cotswolds Art & Antiques Dealers’ Association Fair.