Blue and white rouleau vase, Kangxi, c.1690, 48.7cm. Estimate: £8,000-£12,000. Sworders image

Jade gets the green light at Sworders auction Nov. 11-12

Blue and white rouleau vase, Kangxi, c.1690, 48.7cm. Estimate: £8,000-£12,000. Sworders image

Blue and white rouleau vase, Kangxi, c.1690, 48.7cm. Estimate: £8,000-£12,000. Sworders image

ESSEX COUNTY, UK – Fine porcelains and more than 100 lots of jade, many with rare and intricate carvings, are among the 900 lots being sold at the Asian Art Sale by Sworders Fine Art Auctioneers on Tuesday, Nov. 11, and Wednesday, Nov. 12. The auction will begin at 10 a.m. local time.

LiveAuctioneers.com will provide Internet live bidding.

The lots are expected to attract fierce bidding from the Far East as jade is currently highly sought after by Chinese buyers. Demand for the precious stone has continued to soar in Asia and the pieces for sale include small carved brush washers, scroll weights and pendants.

The works of art are being sold as part of Sworders’ specialist Asian Art Sale. Richard Harrison, Sworders’ director, said: “This is the highest number of exceptional quality jade we have ever seen in one auction. There is an insatiable appetite for the precious stone in China and the carving on items in this sale is exquisite, especially in the small pieces.

“Chinese jade pieces often contain auspicious symbols and animals such as bats which hold great significance and hidden meanings. A bat in such a context means continued good fortune or happiness to the owner, five bats ‘wu fu’ or five blessings, meaning may you have longevity, health, wealth, peace and a good death.”

The guide prices for the jade range from £200 to £6,000, although Sworders’ experts suggest prices could go significantly higher. One highlights of the auction includes a small brush washer with a carving of a wasp in the bowl dating from the 19th/20th century. This has a guide price of £3,000 to £5,000.

Harrison added, “The majority of jade is being sold from two private collections, which is why it has raised so much attention in the Asian art world.”

The sale also includes a number of ceramics and other Asian works of art. A 19th century Daoguang vase, with five dragons is also set to attract international interest. Standing at 41cm (16.4 inches) tall, the red and white vase is estimated at £10,000-£15,000.

Sworders is one of a group of leading UK regional auctioneers, AAA (Association of Accredited Auctioneers) which is also exhibiting a number of high profile Chinese works of art at a special event on Nov. 2, timed to coincide with the annual Asian Art in London show. The group is dedicated to building good relationships with Chinese buyers.

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


Blue and white rouleau vase, Kangxi, c.1690, 48.7cm. Estimate: £8,000-£12,000. Sworders image

Blue and white rouleau vase, Kangxi, c.1690, 48.7cm. Estimate: £8,000-£12,000. Sworders image

Pair of jade dragons, possibly 18th century, 9.2cm and 8.9cm. Estimate: £4,000-£6,000. Sworders image

Pair of jade dragons, possibly 18th century, 9.2cm and 8.9cm. Estimate: £4,000-£6,000. Sworders image

Fine cloisonné incense burner and cover, 18th century, 17.5cm. Estimate: £5,000-£7,000. Sworders image

Fine cloisonné incense burner and cover, 18th century, 17.5cm. Estimate: £5,000-£7,000. Sworders image

Thangka of a seated Buddha holding a begging bowl, early 19th century, 36.5 x 40cm. Estimate: £1,200-£1,500. Sworders image

Thangka of a seated Buddha holding a begging bowl, early 19th century, 36.5 x 40cm. Estimate: £1,200-£1,500. Sworders image

Rosewood and elm canopy bed, 19th century. Estimate: £400-£600. Sworders image

Rosewood and elm canopy bed, 19th century. Estimate: £400-£600. Sworders image

Vase, Daoguang mark and period (1821-1850), six character seal mark in red, 41cm. Estimate: £10,000-£15,000. Sworder image

Vase, Daoguang mark and period (1821-1850), six character seal mark in red, 41cm. Estimate: £10,000-£15,000. Sworder image

Amusing jade brush washer, 20th century, carved with a wasp on a curled lotus leaf, 9.8cm. Sworder image

Amusing jade brush washer, 20th century, carved with a wasp on a curled lotus leaf, 9.8cm. Sworder image

London dealer Helly Nahmad’s carefully constructed apartment for an imaginary collector, circa 1968, wowed visitors to this year’s Frieze Masters art fair. Image courtesy Frieze Masters.

London Eye: October 2014

London dealer Helly Nahmad’s carefully constructed  apartment for an imaginary collector, circa 1968, wowed visitors to  this year’s Frieze Masters art fair. Image courtesy Frieze Masters.

London dealer Helly Nahmad’s carefully constructed apartment for an imaginary collector, circa 1968, wowed visitors to this year’s Frieze Masters art fair. Image courtesy Frieze Masters.

LONDON – The mighty Frieze fairs are over for another year and for once all the post-event chatter was focused not on which celebrity flew in for the opening night, but how one particular stand managed to inject some imagination into what is in grave danger of becoming a tired retail format. Helly Nahmad, son of the much talked-about Nahmad art brokerage dynasty, broke with convention by turning his stand into the interior of the home of an imaginary art collector circa 1968. (Fig. 1)

The interlinked rooms were furnished with 1960s period chairs, beds, desks, shelves groaning with artists’ monographs, and even a black and white television showing scenes from nouvelle vague cinema classics and news clips from the Paris student riots. A Miles Davis track played in the background and even the ashtrays bulged with cigarette butts as if our chain-smoking aesthete had just popped out for a Pernod.

‘The Collector’, Helly Nahmad’s stand at Frieze Masters,  which bewitched most visitors through its forensic attention to  detail. Image courtesy Frieze Masters.

‘The Collector’, Helly Nahmad’s stand at Frieze Masters, which bewitched most visitors through its forensic attention to detail. Image courtesy Frieze Masters.

“He’s not living to entertain people here, he’s living and breathing art,” Nahmad was quoted as saying about his absent subject. His comment was apparently intended as a critique of today’s investment-fixated socialite collectors and not, as a few more jaundiced commentators suggested, as an obliquely coded snipe at his New York-based art-dealing brother (also called Helly) who was recently released after serving a jail term for his role in organizing illegal poker soirées for his rich Hollywood film star friends.

Nahmad’s “Collector” diorama is being viewed by many as what could be a game-changing intervention into high-end art fair stand design. It may be some time, however, before it exerts its influence on the more staid tradition of middle-market antiques fairs such as the LAPADA Fair in Berkeley Square and the forthcoming Winter Olympia Art and Antiques Fair taking place from Nov. 3-9. That said, the recent LAPADA Fair was, by all accounts a resounding success.

An exterior shot of the recent LAPADA Fair in Berkeley  Square, which saw record attendance figures. Image courtesy of  LAPADA.

An exterior shot of the recent LAPADA Fair in Berkeley Square, which saw record attendance figures. Image courtesy of LAPADA.

The recent LAPADA Fair this year witnessed new interest  from a younger clientele, helping to dispel the conservative image  of traditional antiques fairs. Image courtesy of LAPADA.

The recent LAPADA Fair this year witnessed new interest from a younger clientele, helping to dispel the conservative image of traditional antiques fairs. Image courtesy of LAPADA.

Rebecca Davies, the new chief executive of LAPADA (the Association of Art & Antiques Dealers), said the fair enjoyed “fantastic attendance figures, topping all previous years,” with “a new interesting crowd of young collectors visiting in the 30-40 age bracket.”

Many of the world’s wealthiest individuals are now choosing to make London their first or second home, with overseas investors having a marked impact on property prices. These emerging economies are also driving up prices in the art market as Russians and Chinese seek to buy back important examples of their cultural heritage. This week sees the beginning of Asian Art London, the capital-wide festival that brings Asian collectors flocking to visit London’s leading specialist dealers, so the buying frenzy is set to continue.

With some 150 cities in China expected to have populations of 1.5 million or more by 2020, the country’s museum-building boom is in full spate. All those museums need filling with art, and thus it is no surprise that China is now such an active presence in the global market, particularly for Chinese porcelain and contemporary art.

The interior of the impressive Yuz Museum of  Contemporary Art in Shanghai, one of the new breed of high- profile museums going up all over China. Image Auction Central  News.

The interior of the impressive Yuz Museum of Contemporary Art in Shanghai, one of the new breed of high- profile museums going up all over China. Image Auction Central News.

The Ming exhibition now on at British Museum is rekindling interest in China’s 15th century blue and white wares and the art trade is responding with a range of relatively affordable ceramics aimed at “entry level” collectors. We hear much about the replicas being churned out of Jingdezhen, home of the famed Ming porcelain kilns, but not everything if quite so problematic. A new wave of beautiful contemporary Chinese ceramics are also coming out of Jingdezhen, albeit bearing a striking resemblance to their ancient cousins.

New York gallery FitzGerald Fine Arts, who also have bases in Jingdezhen and Beijing, will be located at the Weiss Gallery in Jermyn Street during Asian Art London, where they will be showing a range of contemporary wares made in Jingdezhen.

Gan Daofu, Sentinel and the Pines, 2013, Jingdezhen  Porcelain. Image courtesy FitzGerald Fine Arts.

Gan Daofu, Sentinel and the Pines, 2013, Jingdezhen Porcelain. Image courtesy FitzGerald Fine Arts.

Gan Daofu, The Woods (After Fan Kuan), 2013,  Jingdezhen Porcelain. Image courtesy FitzGerald Fine Arts.

Gan Daofu, The Woods (After Fan Kuan), 2013, Jingdezhen Porcelain. Image courtesy FitzGerald Fine Arts.

Zhu Di, Delicate Fragrance, 2013, Jingdezhen Porcelain.  Image courtesy FitzGerald Fine Arts.

Zhu Di, Delicate Fragrance, 2013, Jingdezhen Porcelain. Image courtesy FitzGerald Fine Arts.

And so to one or two other interesting exhibitions opening in London this month. Modern British dealer Osborne Samuel in Bruton Street is launching an exhibition of photography in association with London dealers Beetles and Huxley that will span a broad range of artists, periods and subjects.

Works by legendary photographers such as Henri Cartier-Bresson, Walker Evans, Cecil Beaton, Robert Mapplethorpe, Bill Brandt and Man Ray, to name just a sample, will be shown alongside previously unseen self-portraits by the recently widely acclaimed American street photographer Vivian Maier.

Bill Brandt’s 1957 portrait of Salvador Dali, which will be  on show at Osborne Samuel’s groundbreaking photography  exhibition from 20 November to 23 December. Image courtesy  Osborne Samuel and Beetles & Huxley Gallery.

Bill Brandt’s 1957 portrait of Salvador Dali, which will be on show at Osborne Samuel’s groundbreaking photography exhibition from 20 November to 23 December. Image courtesy Osborne Samuel and Beetles & Huxley Gallery.

Walker Evans, ‘Crossroads Store, Post Office, Sprott,  Alabama, USA,’ 1936. Courtesy of Osborne Samuel and Beetles &  Huxley Gallery.

Walker Evans, ‘Crossroads Store, Post Office, Sprott, Alabama, USA,’ 1936. Courtesy of Osborne Samuel and Beetles & Huxley Gallery.

Also on view will be a rare and unusual group of exploration photographs, including some of Frank Hurley’s iconic photographs of the Shackleton Expedition, plus a selection of original, rare NASA photographs from seminal space missions. These are sure to capture the imagination in a month when the American space program saw a setback with the explosion of the unmanned Cargo Space Shuttle in Virginia and with Christopher Nolan’s epic new space movie Interstellar poised to hit UK film screens.

NASA, Itek Panoramic Camera, Apollo 15 Mission, Circa  1972. Courtesy of Osborne Samuel and Beetles & Huxley Gallery.

NASA, Itek Panoramic Camera, Apollo 15 Mission, Circa 1972. Courtesy of Osborne Samuel and Beetles & Huxley Gallery.

Another inviting photographic exhibition opening this month is a display of photographic images by the great Latvian-born ballet dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov, opening at ContiniArt in Mayfair on Nov. 29 and continuing until Jan. 31. Baryshnikov the dancer is considered by many to have been the true heir to Rudolf Nureyev, but his work as a photographer of dance is less well-known. It will come as no surprise that his experience on stage has given him extraordinary aesthetic vision as a photographer and his work is alive with a sense of color and movement and the dynamic energy of bodies under the controlled stress of dance discipline.

Mikhail Baryshnikov, Untitled, on display at  ContiniArtUK, 105 New Bond Street on November 29. Image  courtesy of ContiniArtUK.

Mikhail Baryshnikov, Untitled, on display at ContiniArtUK, 105 New Bond Street on November 29. Image courtesy of ContiniArtUK.

Mikhail Baryshnikov, Untitled, part of an exhibition of  the dancer’s photography on exhibition at the gallery of  ContiniArtUK, 105 New Bond Street from November 29 to 31  January. Image courtesy of ContiniArtUK.

Mikhail Baryshnikov, Untitled, part of an exhibition of the dancer’s photography on exhibition at the gallery of ContiniArtUK, 105 New Bond Street from November 29 to 31 January. Image courtesy of ContiniArtUK.

The work of Turner Prize-winning contemporary artist Gillian Wearing will be familiar to most enthusiasts of contemporary art. Her work has also made extensive use of photography, most notably in her 1993 work, Signs that Say What You Want Them To Say and Not Signs That Say What Someone Else Wants You To Say. Now she has made a work of public sculpture in traditional bronze titled A Real Birmingham Family.

Gillian Wearing, A Real Birmingham Family, 2014.  Image courtesy Birmingham City Council, Arts Council England and  Ikon.

Gillian Wearing, A Real Birmingham Family, 2014. Image courtesy Birmingham City Council, Arts Council England and Ikon.

An alternative title might have been A Work of Public Sculpture That Says What Real Birmingham Families are Like and Not What the Media Wants You To Think They Are Like. The subjects of the work, the Jones family, consist of two sisters, Roma and Emma, both single parents, and their two sons Kyan and Shaye. They were selected in August 2013, as “a real Birmingham family” by the artist and a diverse panel of community, cultural and religious figures. The work is now on display in Centenary Square outside the new Library of Birmingham. Given the work’s innovative take on the conservative tradition of public sculpture, it will be interesting to see how A Real Birmingham Family goes down with the broader Birmingham public.

And finally, we regret to report the theft of two works of contemporary sculpture from FOLD Gallery in Clerkenwell, in the East End of London. The two works, by the popular young British artist Tim Ellis, went missing from the gallery last Saturday.

Tim Ellis, ‘Forever Hopeful,’ plaster, oak, acrylic, varnish  and wood stain. Stolen from FOLD Gallery in Clerkenwell on  Saturday October 25. Further information from the gallery at 15  Clerkenwell Close, London, EC1R 0AA. Image courtesy FOLD  Gallery.

Tim Ellis, ‘Forever Hopeful,’ plaster, oak, acrylic, varnish and wood stain. Stolen from FOLD Gallery in Clerkenwell on Saturday October 25. Further information from the gallery at 15 Clerkenwell Close, London, EC1R 0AA. Image courtesy FOLD Gallery.

Tim Ellis, ‘Forever Hopeful,’ plaster, oak, acrylic, varnish  and wood stain. Stolen from FOLD Gallery in Clerkenwell on  Saturday October 25. Further information from the gallery at 15  Clerkenwell Close, London, EC1R 0AA. Image courtesy FOLD  Gallery.

Tim Ellis, ‘Forever Hopeful,’ plaster, oak, acrylic, varnish and wood stain. Stolen from FOLD Gallery in Clerkenwell on Saturday October 25. Further information from the gallery at 15 Clerkenwell Close, London, EC1R 0AA. Image courtesy FOLD Gallery.

FOLD Gallery director, Kim Savage, said, “It appears the gallery was broken into for the sole purpose of obtaining certain sculptures on display from the Tim Ellis solo show. Four of the 11 sculptures were selected, each with a bold and common aesthetic. What convinced us this was a ‘steal to order theft’ was that none of the paintings, which hang like banners and would be easily transported, were touched. The gallery was left in good order and there was no damage to the remaining artwork. The thieves went to significant effort to gain access to the gallery, entering through a side door hidden from the street and using heavy equipment to pry and destroy the magnetic, code-operated lock.”

If you have any information regarding the theft or have seen or heard mention of the works in question, please contact Kim Savage at kim@foldgallery.com, Tel: 0207 253 3039.

 

 

LiveAuctioneers' Halloween scream team, left to right, standing: Andrew Valente, Jonathan Harford, Torr Duer, Karl Hohn. Foreground: Eddie Fu. Photo by Erwin Hungerbuhler

Halloween: LiveAuctioneers’ team recalls the costumes that rocked

LiveAuctioneers' Halloween scream team, left to right, standing: Andrew Valente, Jonathan Harford, Torr Duer, Karl Hohn. Foreground: Eddie Fu. Photo by Erwin Hungerbuhler

LiveAuctioneers’ Halloween scream team, left to right, standing: Andrew Valente, Jonathan Harford, Torr Duer, Karl Hohn. Foreground: Eddie Fu. Photo by Erwin Hungerbuhler

NEW YORK – Some childhood memories, like being teased for a bad haircut or not being picked for a sports team, are best forgotten. But one thing no one ever forgets is a favorite Halloween costume.

Today being All Hallows’ Eve, some of the team members at LiveAuctioneers’ Manhattan headquarters came to work in costume. In blasé New York, you have to make a real effort to grab anyone’s attention as you’re walking down the street, but our colleagues in this photo probably managed to muster a few amused gazes on Chelsea’s gallery-lined sidewalks.

Some of those who didn’t dress up in costume today still took the time to tell us about favorite Halloween outfits and traditions they remembered from years back.

Camille Davis of LiveAuctioneers’ marketing department, said: “My mom always sewed my costumes by hand. My very first one was a ghost, complete with a metallic silver sash, and the next year I had a beautiful light blue and white gingham dress, just like Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz. Being a kid, I always wanted the ‘cool’ store-bought costumes that my classmates wore, but I realize now how incredible my mom’s creations were…I definitely want to continue the tradition! Oh, and my other standout memory was that favorite house on our street that gave out full-size candy bars.”

Like practically every other kid since 1928, LiveAuctioneers designer Tiffany Moy was a Disney fan from an early age. “When I was four, I HAD to be Minnie Mouse for Halloween. She was my favorite and I just loved her,” Tiffany said. “My mom and I went out to look for a costume, but they were all creepy or poorly made so she decided to make the costume herself. After a couple hours of sewing, she called for me to come upstairs so I could do a fitting in the red and white polka-dot skirt she had just made. I stood on a bench while she pinned the bottom to fit me perfectly. It was was prettiest Minnie skirt I had ever seen.’

“She also made ears and a tail out of black felt and a matching red and white polka-dot bow. I wore a black blouse and little black patent leather Mary Jane shoes with white ruffled socks. She painted a nose and ‘pretend’ eyelashes on me, and we set out to score as much candy as possible. I still have this costume. It’s one of the few things I have that my mother made.”

Emily Pugh, VP content at LiveAuctioneers, recalled: “I grew up in a home that fostered creativity and using our imaginations. My mother kept a huge ‘dress-up box’ fully stocked year-around, so Halloween wasn’t the only time we dressed up. She put clothing, uniforms, and accessories in there from my grandparents, parents, and vintage items she picked up from time to time so we had a wide range of ‘costumes’ from different time periods. My grandma also contributed an old jewelry box full of costume jewelry that she used to wear (I remember a huge ‘pearl’ bug pin with gold legs, sparkly floral clip-on earrings, and brooches). My younger brother and I absolutely loved to not only dress up as characters but also to get into character. We transformed ourselves into the police (my dad was a policeman), hippies, and my all-time favorite was a group costume that we called ‘elegant elderly.’ My brother, two male family friends and I put on the finest ballgowns, shawls, velvet smoking jackets, wigs, costume jewelry (huge “pearls” and “diamonds”), glasses, top hats, and canes. Fast forward to 20+ years later, and when the four of us get together we still talk about it and address each other by our play names. My brother, who was probably under 10 at the time, liked to wear a pair of round vintage eyeglass frames, a shaggy wig, and cap and pretend that he was John Lennon. My mother also found a gorgeous blue satin vintage ballgown, so I used to pretend that I was Catherine the Great.”

Lucy Warren-Meeks of LiveAuctioneers’ UK marketing department, said, “Halloween is not quite such a big deal in the UK as it is in the USA, but my favorite memory was dressing up as Morticia from ‘The Addams Family’ when I was about 11, and my grandmother letting me borrow her very scary brooch, which was a real bird of prey’s foot clasping a large amethyst. I loved it so much. We went trick or treating down my very quiet cul-de-sac, and all the neighbors played along, pretending not to know who we were and being ‘scared’ of our costumes. We got lots of sweets that night!’

“At home my mother would make blancmange (a sweet, wobbly dessert made from cornstarch and milk) with green food dye, and add gummy worms to it, saying it was witches’ stew. We would bob for apples and play ‘wrap the mummy.’ We’d all be given a toilet paper roll, and the first one to completely wrap up their partner in paper (and use it up completely) was the winner.”

Tom Hoepf, associate editor of Auction Central News, said: “As a boy growing up in rural Ohio, Halloween and trick or treating was foreign to me. That changed when I was a first grader and our school held a Halloween party. The costumes my brother and I wore to that party became part of family lore. My parents raised turkeys in open fields long before the term “free range” became significant. The birds left many beautiful bronze-colored feathers scattered on the ground. After gathering up few dozen of the nicest feathers, Mom sat down at her Singer treadle sewing machine and started making our costumes. We decided we were going to be Indians. Trying on the beautiful Indian costume, which included a full feather headdress, I pondered whether I should have instead dressed up as a cowboy, like my hero, Roy Rogers. But after arriving at the party, my outlook changed. Everyone thought our Indian costumes were cool. The judges thought so too, as we both won top prizes for best costumes. We won again when we dressed up for our town’s Halloween parade. All we have of those costumes are some black and white photos taken with Mom’s Kodak Brownie. During spring cleaning a few years later, she discarded the costumes, along with our American Flyer electric train set. We forgave her long ago for that. Thanks, Mom.”

Chief Technology Officer Jason Burfield recalled: “Besides the awesome costumes, the thing that sticks out most in my mind about Halloween and trick or treat when I was a kid was carrying around a jack-o-lantern candy bucket. Not sure why, but I still love those things — way cooler than the standard plastic bag most kids use these days.”

As for my own favorite Halloween memory, it isn’t actually from childhood; it happened some years ago when I was a rock music journalist. I had a circle of friends who were famous – maybe notorious – for the parties we’d throw at the drop of a hat. The biggest, baddest party of the year was always our semi-legendary Halloween bash. Typically, there were more crashers than invited guests, but for one night a year, that was OK. The more the merrier.

On one particular Halloween night, I remember a steady stream of limos pulling up in front, delivering costumed revelers. The costumes were phenomenal. One of my friends came as a giant striped lollipop, a costume made out of spray-painted Styrofoam by two of our other friends who were department store window dressers. There was just one problem. She couldn’t fit into her car, even without the lollipop over her white leotard. She had to call a friend with a pickup truck and ended up being transported to the party in the back of the truck, flat on her back. Great costume.

That particular year I went as Cleopatra, complete with a gold asp headdress. My best friend came as my servant and followed me everywhere, fanning me with a palm frond. Her boyfriend, who was a football player, came as her servant and followed her around, fanning her with a palm frond. We were quite an entourage.

But to me, the most unforgettable memory about that party was the mystery guests who partied with us for most of the night. Like many others, they never took off their masks. So other than myself, no one else at the party ever knew they had spent Halloween with two of the Rolling Stones. And I never told them, even years later. True story. Happy Halloween!

#   #   #

 


ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE


LiveAuctioneers' Halloween scream team, left to right, standing: Andrew Valente, Jonathan Harford, Torr Duer, Karl Hohn. Foreground: Eddie Fu. Photo by Erwin Hungerbuhler

LiveAuctioneers’ Halloween scream team, left to right, standing: Andrew Valente, Jonathan Harford, Torr Duer, Karl Hohn. Foreground: Eddie Fu. Photo by Erwin Hungerbuhler

Gallery Report: November 2014

 

Dorflinger punch set, $132,000, DuMouchelles

 

A turn-of-the-century 15-piece Dorflinger Montrose green-to-clear glass punch bowl set sold for $132,000 at an auction held Sept. 12-14 by DuMouchelles in Detroit. Also, an American brilliant cranberry cut-to-clear glass and Gorham sterling jug finished at $33,000; a Hawkes Queens glass punch bowl with 12 cups gaveled for $21,600; a Hawkes cut glass Jack-in-the-Pulpit vase climbed to $18,000; and an American Russian pattern brilliant cut glass salads set, circa 1800, went to a determined bidder for $19,200. Prices include a 20 percent buyer’s premium.

 

Netherlands trial specimen, $9,195, Archives International

 

A beautiful Netherlands Trading Society $5 color trial specimen sold for $9,195 at an auction held Sept. 27 in Hong Kong, China by Archives International Auctions LLC, based in Fort Lee, N.J. Also, a 36th year (1947) U.S. $5,000 Short Term Treasury Note of the Republic of China (First Issue) realized $1,839; a 1948 Central Bank of China unlisted 250,000 Customs Gold Units specimen essay issue fetched $1,302; and a Commercial Bank of China 1920 $50 specimen banknote knocked down at $3,678. Prices include a 19 percent buyer’s premium.

 

Hovsep Pushman painting, $50,000, Ahlers & Ogletree

 

An oil on wood panel painting by the Armenian-American artist Hovsep Pushman (1877-1966), titled Sacred Lotus of the Nile, sold for $50,000 at a fall estates auction held Oct. 4-5 by Ahlers & Ogletree in Atlanta. Also, a circa 1950 figural bikini vase for Venini by Fulvio Bianconi (Italian, 1915-1996), 14 1/2 inches tall, rose to $12,500; a Louis XVI-style giltwood carved wall appliqué went for $2,500; and a horse and dog bronze sculpture in the style of Paul Edouard Delabrierre (French, 1829-1912) made $3,000. All prices quoted are hammer.

 

Tiffany Studios window, $71,300, Cottone Auctions

 

A stunning turn-of-the-century memorial stained glass window from Tiffany Studios, titled Angel of Resurrection, sold for $71,300 at a fall fine art and antiques auction held Sept. 26-27 by Cottone Auctions in Geneseo, N.Y. Also, a Tiffany Studios Poppy lamp, 24 inches tall with an overlay filigree shade 17 inches in diameter, lit up the room for $69,000; a fine Asian bronze and metal vase with cut glass liner brought $55,200; and a glazed stoneware bird tobacco jar by Martin Brothers rose to $61,000. Prices include a 15 percent buyer’s premium.

 

Lou Gehrig signed check, $22,600, Philip Weiss

 

A two-week paycheck in the amount of $2,198.38, made out to New York Yankees legend Lou Gehrig in 1930 and signed by him on the back – and signed on the front by team owner Jacob Ruppert – sold for $22,600 at an auction held Sept. 30 by Philip Weiss Auctions in Lynbrook, N.Y. Also, four original Peanuts daily comic strips, drawn and signed by the late comic illustrator Charles Schulz, went for a combined $75,000; and a 1929 Kashin R-316 Babe Ruth baseball card signed by the Yankee great made $14,375. Prices include a 13 percent buyer’s premium.

 

Punch cigar store figure, $102,699, Showtime

 

A 19th century Punch cigar store wood figure, 69 1/2 inches tall and with a contemporary base, sold for $102,600 at an auction held Oct. 3-5 by Showtime Auction Services in Ann Arbor, Mich. Also, an 1890 Brunswick, Balke, Collender “Princess” saloon back and front bar with original mahogany finish achieved $79,800; a Republic Tires “Staggered Tread” paper sign, one of only four known, made $31,350; and a Campbell’s Soup porcelain thermometer hammered for $19,200. Prices include a sliding scale buyer’s premium.

 

Chinese imperial seal box, $90,000, Gordon S. Converse

 

A rare antique Chinese carved imperial seal box fitted with 16 seals of green jade circling a large central Shi-mounted seal, sold for $90,000 at an East meets West auction held Oct. 3 by Gordon S. Converse & Co. in Malvern, Pa. Also, a Qing-era zitan throne chair featuring outstanding carved panels hammered for $30,000; a heavily figured Ming Dynasty lidded jar, 20 inches tall, went for $26,400; and a set of 10 Royal Copenhagen Flora Danica reticulated plates, 8 3/4 inches in diameter, fetched $6,600. Prices include a 20 percent buyer’s premium.

 

Winchester Model 1873 rifle, $258,750, James D. Julia Inc.

 

A rare Winchester Model 1873 rifle, 1 of 1,000, sold for $258,750 at a firearms auction held Oct. 7-9 at James D. Julia Inc., in Fairfield, Maine. Also, a cased Colt #1 Baby Patterson with a 4-inch barrel went for $172,500; a Walther Armee Pistole with long barrel and matching magazine, alloy frame and original stock, $155,250; a Walther Volkspistole all sheet metal SA prototype, 9mm parabellum, $143,000; and a Boss 410 O/U sidelock ejector single trigger game gun, $138,000. Prices include a 15 percent buyer’s premium.

 

Cameo glass Sphinx lamp, $19,200, John W. Coker

 

An 18-inch-tall cameo-glass Sphinx lamp signed “Arsall” on the shade – referring to an early 20th century French designer – sold for $19,200 at an auction held Oct. 18 by John W. Coker Auctions Ltd. in New Market, Tenn. The lamp was perched atop a finely formed bronze-on-marble base, replicating an elephant, and had a domed shade executed in vibrant shades of orange, yellow and terra-cotta. The central figure was the Great Sphinx of Giza. The lamp had an estimate of $1,000-$2,000. The price includes a 20 percent buyer’s premium.

 

Caille 25-cent roulette machine, $212,500, Victorian / Morphy’s

 

A Caille 25-cent roulette floor machine, made circa 1904, sold for $212,500 at an auction held Sept. 19-21 in Las Vegas, Nev., by Victorian Casino Antiques, in the first auction event conducted since the acquisition of VCA by Morphy Auctions in August. Also, a Mills 5-cent Duplex floor wheel machine, circa 1899, realized $108,000; a Mills 5-cent Violano Virtuoso, patented in 1912, hammered for $51,600; and a Trap the Snake three-reel bell slot machine hit $45,000, possibly a record for a three-reel machine. Prices include a 20 percent buyer’s premium.

 

Scrimshaw whale’s tooth, $123,000, Skinner Inc.

 

A scrimshaw whale’s tooth showing the whale ship Frances of New Bedford, Mass., by Frederick Myrick of Nantucket (circa 1828-1829) sold for $123,000 at an American furniture and decorative arts auction held Oct. 26 by Skinner Inc. in Boston. Also, a mid-19th century American School portrait of a curly-haired, blue-eyed young girl wearing blue shoes, unsigned, made $36,900; and an unsigned oil on canvas painting by Thomas Chambers (American/British, 1808-1860) rose to $25,830. Prices include a 23 percent buyer’s premium.

 

Steinway grand piano, $39,975, John Moran

 

A Louis XVI-style Steinway Model B grand piano, serial # 99,999, painted with a “fete galante” by Arthur Thomas in 1907, sold for $39,975 at a fall decorative arts auction held Sept. 23 by John Moran Auctioneers in Pasadena, Calif. Also, a Galle cameo glass vase marking the 1914 Battle of Lorraine brought $11,685; a large Meissen allegorical ewer modeled after “Water” in J.J. Kandler’s Four Elements series fetched $9,840; and a pair of large Empire-style patinated bronze candelabra went for $5,400. Prices include a 20 percent buyer’s premium.

 

Samuel Robb Indian, $40,625, Doyle New York

 

A 19th century carved, painted cigar store Indian maiden attributed to Samuel Anderson Robb (1851-1928), 56 inches tall, sold for $40,625 at an American paintings, furniture and decorative arts auction held Oct. 1 by Doyle New York in New York City. Also, an 1894 seascape of Long Island’s Rockaway Beach by William Trost Richards (1833-1905) brought $62,500; a second seascape by Trost made $40,625; and a pair of portraits done in 1845 by Joseph Whiting Stock (1815-1855) went for a combined $46,875. Prices include a 25 percent buyer’s premium.

 

Diego Giacometti table, $204,000, Kaminski

 

A bronze and glass table creation by Diego Giacometti with birds motif, titled Console aux Oiseaux, sold for $204,000 at a modern and contemporary sale held Sept. 7 by Kaminski Auctions in Beverly, Mass. Also, a rare Hans Wegner upholstered Peacock chair brought $42,000, a record for the Danish designer; a tapestry designed by the artist Alexander Calder to celebrate America’s bicentennial in 1976, titled Trois Spirales, rose to $11,400; and a watercolor painting by French artist Raoul Dufy made $19,680. Prices include a 17 percent buyer’s premium.

 

Edouard Cortes work, $36,800, Burns White

 

A winter scene in Paris oil painting by the French post-impressionist Edouard Leon Cortes (1882-1969), titled Soir de Hiver, sold for $36,800 at a fine art and antiques auction held Sept. 4 by Burns White Galleries in Tampa, Fla. Also, a second oil on canvas by Cortes, titled Le Louvre, went for $21,850; a painting by Eugenio Zampighi (Italian, 1859-1944), titled Family Kitchen, realized $14,950; and a beautiful set of four antique French doors, possibly from the period of Louis XVI, changed hands for $9,440. Prices include a 15 percent buyer’s premium.

 

1955 Porsche Speedster, $198,000, Morphy’s

 

A sleek 1955 Porsche Speedster car, one of only around 1,200 pre-A models built and showing just 49,000 miles on the odometer, sold for $198,000 at an automobile auction held Oct. 11 by Morphy’s in Denver, Pa. Also, a 1963 Porsche 356B T-8 roared to $121,000; a 1952 Jaguar XK120 sped off at $88,000; a 1987 Ferarri Testarossa hammered for $85,800; a 1972 Jaguar XKE convertible in a sable/biscuit color scheme brought $74,800; and a 1966 Chevrolet Corvette convertible made $71,500. Prices include a 10 percent buyer’s premium.

 

John Lennon letter, $28,171, RR Auction

 

A letter handwritten by Beatle John Lennon to New York broadcasting legend Joe Franklin, in which Lennon makes a case for acceptance of Yoko Ono’s music, sold for $28,171 at a modern music auction held online from Oct. 16-23 by RR Auction, based in Boston. The letter was written on Apple memorandum letterhead and dated Dec. 13, 1971. Also, a Dee Dee Ramone-owned and stage-used Fender P-bass guitar fetched $37,694; and 1969 stock transfer forms signed by all four Beatles hit $16,377. Prices include a 22.5 percent buyer’s premium.

 

Charles Rohlfs desk, $255,750, Rago Arts

 

A drop-front desk made by Charles Rohlfs sold for $255,750 at a 20th century decorative arts and design auction held Oct. 18-19 by Rago Arts & Auction Center in Lambertville, N.J. Also, a Paul Evans sculpture front cabinet changed hands for $183,750; a Harry Bertoia monumental sculpture screen realized $135,750; a Newcomb College tile frieze finished at $81,250; a Galle table lamp lit up the room for $81,250; and a Tiffany Studios Dragonfly floor lamp went for $68,750. Prices include a 25 percent buyer’s premium.

 

Robert McCall spacescape, $245,000, Heritage Auction

 

Robert Theodore McCall’s visionary spacescape Earth Orbit 98, 1977, sold for $245,000 at an Illustration Art Signature Auction held Oct. 17-18 by Heritage Auctions in New York City. Also, Chesley Bonestell’s primordial painting Beginning of the World (The Earth is Born), the cover image for the Dec. 8, 1952 edition of Life magazine, hammered for $197,000; Bonestell’s Separation Over the Pacific brought $53,125; and three of six paintings in the auction by Patrick Nagel hit $137,000 each. Prices include a 20 percent buyer’s premium.

Baga D'Mba tribe carved wood fertility headdress, Guinea - Niger River region, 20th century, carved wood with metal studs. Estimate $5,000-$7,000. Gray's Auctioneers image

Contemporary, tribal art comprise Gray’s auction Nov. 5-6

Baga D'Mba tribe carved wood fertility headdress, Guinea - Niger River region, 20th century, carved wood with metal studs. Estimate $5,000-$7,000. Gray's Auctioneers image

Baga D’Mba tribe carved wood fertility headdress, Guinea – Niger River region, 20th century, carved wood with metal studs. Estimate $5,000-$7,000. Gray’s Auctioneers image

CLEVELAND – Artworks from Ann and Norman Roulet’s extraordinary collection of contemporary, African, Oceanic and ethnographic art are coming up for auction at Gray’s Auctioneers and Appraisers.

Divided into two consecutive days of auctions, the Postwar and Contemporary Art auction will take place on Nov. 5, and the African, Oceanic and ethnographic artifacts auction on Nov. 6. The auctions will start at 11 a.m. both days, with online live bidding offered by LiveAuctioneers.com

The Roulets’ collection of contemporary art at auction on Nov. 5 features Andy Warhol’s iconic screen print Moonwalk (lot 79). The work, one of the last prints made by Warhol before his death on Feb. 22, 1987 and the first of a planned Warhol series on great moments in television, depicts Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin Jr. standing on the moon next to the American flag. Buzz Aldrin was a crew member on the 1969 Apollo XI flight to the moon, which was televised live around the world. An article from the Washington Post in 1988 quotes Aldrin’s reaction to Warhol’s piece, saying “When you’re the second man on the moon, you might not expect to be as remembered as the first.” Aldrin followed Neil Armstrong down the ladder from the moon lander to become the second man on the moon. This print is also signed by Aldrin on the reverse side.

The postwar and contemporary catalog spotlights Stanley Yulish’s collection, which includes among other notable highlights, Zhao Gang’s large early abstract Black Dream (lot 4), an oil on canvas exhibited at Vorpal Gallery in “Selected Abstract Work 1983–88,” and featured in the exhibition’s published catalog. The enduring success of the artist’s early abstract work is reflected in current auction results in Hong Kong on Oct. 6, 2014 where two smaller, early pieces sold for HKD $509,760 ($76,170 US) and HKD $339,840 ($43,820 U.S.) respectively.

A private collector from New York has commissioned Gray’s to sell several fine works including two Francis Bacon lithograph triptychs. One is Untitled from 1983, the second from the August Series is from 1972. This collection also includes Gerhardt Richter’s Guildenstern, from 1998 on cibachrome between plexiglass and aluminum board; a rare Brice Marden ink on paper, untitled drawing from 1986; and a David Hockney lithograph, Rain, from the Weather Series, 1973.

Boake and Marian Sells are collectors of contemporary art in Ohio. Artworks from their collection at Gray’s on Nov 5 include Steven Campbell’s monumental Young Camper Discovering Grotto in the Ground. Exhibited at the Barbara Toll Gallery in 1983, Campbell created this work after arriving from his native Glasgow to study in Brooklyn at the Pratt Institute, the recipient of a Fulbright scholarship. Within days of the show, the doyen of the New York art critics, John Russell, fully endorsed the painterly qualities of a young, unknown Scottish artist in his New York Times review. Campbell died at only 54 in 2007. Sandy Moffat writes in his obituary for The Guardian, “His monumental paintings – vivid in imagery, complex in detail and rich in formal invention, depicting intriguing narratives inspired by the novels of PG Wodehouse and Bram Stoker – stunned Scottish audiences and artists alike. Never apologetic about his identity – “I’m the only one doing Scottish Painting” – he proceeded to explore and confront the varied extremes of the national psyche.”

Proceeds from the sale of the collection on Ann and Norma Roulet’s African and Oceanic Artifacts, which takes place at Gray’s on Nov. 6 at 11 a.m., will benefit the Cleveland Institute of Art’s new Ann & Norman Roulet Student and Alumni Gallery. Highlights include lot 58, a magnificent Baga D’Mba carved wood fertility headdress from the Niger River Region in Guinea. Exhibited in 1992 at the “African Sculptural Traditions,” exhibition in the John J. McDonough Museum of Art, in Youngstown, Ohio, the piece was also photographed for African Masks: The Barbier-Mueller Collection by Iris Hahner-Herzog, Maria Kecskesi and Lazlo Vajda (plate #22).

Gray’s Auctioneers welcomes bidders in person to preview both auctions in person weekdays, Oct. 31-Nov. 4, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. and Saturday, Nov. 1, noon-4pm. Condition reports will be provided upon request.

For more contact Serena Harragin at 216-458-7695 or email at serena@graysauctioneers.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


Baga D'Mba tribe carved wood fertility headdress, Guinea - Niger River region, 20th century, carved wood with metal studs. Estimate $5,000-$7,000. Gray's Auctioneers image

Baga D’Mba tribe carved wood fertility headdress, Guinea – Niger River region, 20th century, carved wood with metal studs. Estimate $5,000-$7,000. Gray’s Auctioneers image

Gerhard Richter (German, b. 1932), 'Guildenstern,' 1998, Cibachrome between plexiglass and aluminum board, signed and numbered 9/35 on verso. Estimate $30,000-$40,000. Gray's Auctioneers image

 

Gerhard Richter (German, b. 1932), ‘Guildenstern,’ 1998, Cibachrome between plexiglass and aluminum board, signed and numbered 9/35 on verso. Estimate $30,000-$40,000. Gray’s Auctioneers image

Zhao Gang (b. 1961), 'Black Dream,' oil on canvas, marked with inventory number Gang017 on verso. Estimate $40,000-$60,000. Gray's Auctioneers image

 

Zhao Gang (b. 1961), ‘Black Dream,’ oil on canvas, marked with inventory number Gang017 on verso. Estimate $40,000-$60,000. Gray’s Auctioneers image

Meissen potpourri vase, 15½ inches tall, est. $500-$800. Don Presley Auctions image

Antiques, decorative arts on tap at Don Presley auction Nov. 30

Meissen potpourri vase, 15½ inches tall, est. $500-$800. Don Presley Auctions image

Meissen potpourri vase, 15½ inches tall, est. $500-$800. Don Presley Auctions image

SANTA ANA, Calif. – Antiques, decorative arts, collectibles and memorabilia, jewelry, timepieces, porcelains, bronzes, furniture and coins will go to the highest bidders at a Don Presley auction slated for Sunday, Nov. 30. Fine American, Chinese, Russian and European items – many coming from prestigious Southern California estates – will be included in the 103-lot auction.

The auction will begin at noon Pacific Time. Internet live bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.com.

A fine selection of European decorative art is at the forefront of the auction. A Demetre Chiparus (Romanian, 1886-1947) enameled bronze titled “Phoenician Dancer” stands 21½ inches tall and is estimated at $6,000-$8,000.

European ceramics include a 15½-inch-tall Meissen potpourri vase and a hand-painted Limoges plate, 12¼ inches in diameter. A pair of 42½-inch-tall urns, after Jean Antoine Houdon, will be offered with an estimate of $800-$1,000. There’s also an outstanding Art Nouveau portrait plate with the profile of a dark-haired beauty framed within a circular border of poppies. Its presale estimate is $300-$400.

A pair of graceful cloisonné birds on stands consists of an example measuring 9 inches high, and a stylized 6½-inch jade bird with carved detailing.

The image of a horse-drawn troika gliding across the snow is a popular one with collectors of Russian art. A framed 14- by 10-inch depiction of a trio of horses at full gallop, signed “A. Schel,” is presented in an old and ornate, probably original frame. Along for the ride are a standing driver and bundled-up passenger. The painting is expected to make $1,500-$2,000.

From the late 19th century, a fine French gilt bronze mantel clock is estimated at $1,000-$1,500, while a wooden fireplace screen with an Art Nouveau floral motif could be a good buy at $200-$400.

For additional information on any item in the sale, call 714-633-2437 or email Don Presley at info@donpresley.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


Meissen potpourri vase, 15½ inches tall, est. $500-$800. Don Presley Auctions image

Meissen potpourri vase, 15½ inches tall, est. $500-$800. Don Presley Auctions image

Art Nouveau porcelain portrait plate, 13¾ inches in diameter, est. $300-$400. Don Presley Auctions image

Art Nouveau porcelain portrait plate, 13¾ inches in diameter, est. $300-$400. Don Presley Auctions image

Pair of cloisonné birds on stands, the larger measuring 9 inches tall, est. $50-$100. Don Presley Auctions image

Pair of cloisonné birds on stands, the larger measuring 9 inches tall, est. $50-$100. Don Presley Auctions image

Stylized jade bird with carved detailing, 6½ inches tall, est. $50-$100. Don Presley Auctions image

Stylized jade bird with carved detailing, 6½ inches tall, est. $50-$100. Don Presley Auctions image

Hand-painted Limoges plate, 12¼ inches in diameter, est. $50-$100. Don Presley Auctions image

Hand-painted Limoges plate, 12¼ inches in diameter, est. $50-$100. Don Presley Auctions image

Pair of urns, after Houdon, 42½ inches tall, est. $800-$1,500. Don Presley Auctions image

Pair of urns, after Houdon, 42½ inches tall, est. $800-$1,500. Don Presley Auctions image

Chinese covered jar, 13 inches tall, est. $300-$400. Don Presley Auctions image

Chinese covered jar, 13 inches tall, est. $300-$400. Don Presley Auctions image

Late-19th-century fireplace screen with Art Nouveau floral motif, est. $200-$400. Don Presley Auctions image

Late-19th-century fireplace screen with Art Nouveau floral motif, est. $200-$400. Don Presley Auctions image

Late 19th-century French gilt bronze mantel clock, est. $1,000-$1,500. Don Presley Auctions image

Late 19th-century French gilt bronze mantel clock, est. $1,000-$1,500. Don Presley Auctions image

 

 

Chrysler Thunderbolt, 1941. Designed by Ralph Roberts and Alex Tremulis. Courtesy of Roger Willbanks, Denver, Colo. Photo by Michael Furman.

Unique concept cars coming to Indianapolis next spring

Chrysler Thunderbolt, 1941. Designed by Ralph Roberts and Alex Tremulis. Courtesy of Roger Willbanks, Denver, Colo. Photo by Michael Furman.

Chrysler Thunderbolt, 1941. Designed by Ralph Roberts and Alex Tremulis. Courtesy of Roger Willbanks, Denver, Colo. Photo by Michael Furman.

INDIANAPOLIS – A new type of motor spectacle is coming to Indianapolis next spring. “Dream Cars: Innovative Design, Visionary Ideas,” a major exhibition featuring rare concept cars from the early 1930s to the 21st century, will open May 3 at the Indianapolis Museum of Art.

“Dream Cars” showcases some of the most unique vehicles ever created by top names in the automotive field, including General Motors, Cadillac and Chrysler. Along with conceptual drawings and scale models, the exhibition explores the evolution of revolutionary automobile design that pushed the limits of the imagination and shaped the future of the industry.

“As ‘Racing Capital of the World,’ Indianapolis is a natural fit for this exhibition,” said Dr. Charles L. Venable, director and CEO at the Indianapolis Museum of Art. “The IMA is recognized as a leading museum in the field of industrial design and we are thrilled to pay tribute to Indianapolis‘ rich automotive history by bringing these legendary vehicles to the city at exactly the time when all auto eyes are on us.”

The Indianapolis 500-Mile Race is held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway every May.

General Motors coined the term “dream car” in 1953 as a reference to concept cars –experimental vehicles that challenged the status quo with their radical designs. As testing grounds for innovation, concept cars are a platform for automakers and independent designers to experiment with technology and explore cutting-edge styling and design aesthetics. Most concept cars are never intended for mass production, but instead are unique glimpses into the future possibilities of automotive design.

“Dream Cars” features American and European concept car designs dating back to the 1930s. Exhibition highlights include:

  • Paul Arzens’ L’Oeuf électrique (1942), an electric bubble car designed by Arzens for his personal use in Paris during the German occupation.
  • Marcello Gandini’s Lancia (Bertone) Stratos HF Zero (1970), a wedge-shaped car that is only 33-inches tall. Its coachbuilder, Nuccio Bertone, famously drove it under a security barrier when he first demonstrated it to Lancia executives.
  • William Stout’s Scarab (1936), the genesis of the contemporary minivan.
  • Ralph Roberts’ and Alex Tremulis’ Chrysler Thunderbolt (1941), touted by Chrysler as “The Car of the Future,” it was the first American car to feature an electrically operated retractable hardtop and disappearing headlamps.
  • Gordon Buehrig’s Tasco (1948), featuring a leather-coated driveshaft and unique T-top roof with removable panels.
  • Harley J. Earl’s, Robert F. “Bob” McLean’s and General Motors Styling Section staff’s Firebird I XP-21 (1953), the first gas turbine-powered automobile ever built and tested in the U.S.

“This is an exhibition unlike any other in the history of the IMA,“ Venable said. “Dream Cars challenges the idea of ‘art’ by encouraging visitors to look at exceptional automobiles as rolling sculpture that evoke the possibilities for experimentation, innovation and beauty. These revolutionary designers were, like many great artists, pushing traditional limits and forging new visions of the future.”

The exhibition will feature a Car Design Studio where visitors can explore the process of automobile design through engaging, hands-on activities. An iPad app will also accompany the exhibit and include information about the cars’ hidden features and interiors, historic footage and interviews with leading automobile designers.

“Dream Cars” will be on display in the IMA’s Allen Whitehill Clowes Special Exhibition Gallery through Aug. 23.

“Dream Cars: Innovative Design, Visionary Ideas” is organized by the Indianapolis Museum of Art in conjunction with the High Museum of Art, Atlanta. The exhibition is curated by Sarah Schleuning, curator of decorative arts and design at the High Museum of Art, in consultation with award-winning automotive writer and IMA guest curator, Ken Gross. The exhibition premiered at the High Museum of Art in May.

This exhibition is supported by the Eli Lilly and Company Foundation. Interpretation materials and content were created with the support of an award from the National Endowment for the Arts.


ADDITIONAL IMAGES OF NOTE


Chrysler Thunderbolt, 1941. Designed by Ralph Roberts and Alex Tremulis. Courtesy of Roger Willbanks, Denver, Colo. Photo by Michael Furman.

Chrysler Thunderbolt, 1941. Designed by Ralph Roberts and Alex Tremulis. Courtesy of Roger Willbanks, Denver, Colo. Photo by Michael Furman.

General Motors Firebird I XP-21, 1953. Designed by Harley J. Earl, Robert F. 'Bob' McLean, and GM Styling Section staff. Courtesy General Motors Heritage Center. Photo by Michael Furman.

General Motors Firebird I XP-21, 1953. Designed by Harley J. Earl, Robert F. ‘Bob’ McLean, and GM Styling Section staff. Courtesy General Motors Heritage Center. Photo by Michael Furman.

General Motors Le Sabre XP-8, 1951. Designed by Harley J. Earl and GM Styling Section staff. Courtesy of General Motors Heritage Center, Warren, Mich. Photo by Michael Furman.

General Motors Le Sabre XP-8, 1951. Designed by Harley J. Earl and GM Styling Section staff. Courtesy of General Motors Heritage Center, Warren, Mich. Photo by Michael Furman.

Thomas Jefferson's signature on an 1805 letter. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers.com archive and Early American History Auction.

Rare Thomas Jefferson letters reveal Renaissance man

Thomas Jefferson's signature on an 1805 letter. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers.com archive and Early American History Auction.

Thomas Jefferson’s signature on an 1805 letter. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers.com archive and Early American History Auction.

NEW YORK (AP) – Twenty-one rarely seen letters by Thomas Jefferson are on view at the Museum of the City of New York.

The correspondence with Robert Livingston was written between 1800 and 1803.

Livingston was chancellor of New York state. He administered George Washington’s oath of office 12 years before Jefferson became president.

Jefferson’s handwritten letters touch on important issues of the day including the Louisiana Purchase, the first steam engine and the Napoleonic Wars.

Jefferson also inquires about the unearthing of a mammoth skeleton in upstate New York.

Museum Director Susan Henshaw says the letters reveal Jefferson’s wider legacy as an “all-around collector of knowledge.”

They were donated to the museum in 1947 by Livingston’s descendant Goodhue Livingston.

The letters will be displayed through Dec. 5.

Copyright 2014 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

AP-WF-10-30-14 1431GMT


ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE


Thomas Jefferson's signature on an 1805 letter. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers.com archive and Early American History Auction.

Thomas Jefferson’s signature on an 1805 letter. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers.com archive and Early American History Auction.

Stoneware storage jar attributed to Pottersville, Edgefield District, S.C., circa 1820. Image courtesy of LiveAucitoneers.com archive and Wooten & Wooten Auctioneers.

Archaeologists probe 1800s Edgefield pottery site

Stoneware storage jar attributed to Pottersville, Edgefield District, S.C., circa 1820. Image courtesy of LiveAucitoneers.com archive and Wooten & Wooten Auctioneers.

Stoneware storage jar attributed to Pottersville, Edgefield District, S.C., circa 1820. Image courtesy of LiveAucitoneers.com archive and Wooten & Wooten Auctioneers.

EDGEFIELD, S.C. (AP) – Beneath the grass growing in a field off Meeting Street Road in Edgefield, there is a mystery, and it’s Nicole Isenbarger’s job to get to the bottom of it.

Ground-penetrating radar detected an anomaly that is roughly square in shape.

“It could be a structure or it could be something natural; we don’t know,” said Isenbarger, an archaeologist from the Charleston area.

Isenbarger is leading a team that is did 12 days of digging this month at a site known as Pottersville, where slaves and other workers made alkaline-glazed stoneware in the 1800s.

During excavations in 2011 and 2013, researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign found a groundhog kiln that was more than 100 feet long and made other discoveries.

“They’ve hired me to conduct this phase of the work for them,” Isenbarger said.

Tarriq Ghaffar, who also is a trained archaeologist, is assisting Isenbarger, and 14 volunteers have joined them.

They’ve opened up eight excavation units so far, and they’re looking for artifacts by sifting dirt from the holes using screens.

Fragments of stoneware have been their most common finds. They’ve also unearthed nails and bits of brick, along with pieces of personal items that belonged to the people who used to work there producing pottery.

“We’ve got half of a clay marble and remnants of tableware that was made in Europe,” Isenbarger said. “What we’re finding here will tell us something about the lives of the workers and what was happening here on a daily basis.”

Isenbarger and her colleagues still are looking for signs of a building, such as a drying shed, a turning shed or a store where the stoneware was sold.

“It would probably have been a small structure, and it probably would have been made of wood,” Isenbarger said. “I’m hoping we’ll see some small stains in the soil where post holes were.”

Carolyn Howle, vice president of the Archaeology Club at the College of Charleston, volunteered to help.

“This is what I want to do for a living, and I love it,” she said. “Finding missing pieces of history is always fun.”

Carrie Monday, an Edgefield resident who is the volunteer coordinator for the project, was looking through some of the dirt that had been dug up by Isenbarger.

“I’ve always been fascinated by old things and pottery, in particular,” Monday said.

Even after the dig ended Oct. 27, there still is a lot of work to be done.

“I’ll have to take everything back to the lab, analyze it, interpret it and write a report about it,” Isenbarger said.

Copyright 2014 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

AP-WF-10-29-14 2037GMT


ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE


Stoneware storage jar attributed to Pottersville, Edgefield District, S.C., circa 1820. Image courtesy of LiveAucitoneers.com archive and Wooten & Wooten Auctioneers.

Stoneware storage jar attributed to Pottersville, Edgefield District, S.C., circa 1820. Image courtesy of LiveAucitoneers.com archive and Wooten & Wooten Auctioneers.

View of the Avenue of the Dead and the Pyramid of the Sun in Teotihuacan. Image by JackHynes, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Mexican archaeologists explore tunnel in ancient Teotihuacan

View of the Avenue of the Dead and the Pyramid of the Sun in Teotihuacan. Image by JackHynes, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

View of the Avenue of the Dead and the Pyramid of the Sun in Teotihuacan. Image by JackHynes, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

MEXICO CITY (AP) – A yearslong exploration of a tunnel sealed almost 2,000 years ago at the ancient city of Teotihuacan yielded thousands of relics and the discovery of three chambers that could hold more important finds, Mexican archaeologists said Wednesday.

Project leader Sergio Gomez said researchers recently reached the end of the 340-foot tunnel after meticulously working their way down its length, collecting relics from seeds to pottery to animal bones.

A large offering found near the entrance to the chambers, some 59 feet below the Temple of the Plumed Serpent, suggests they could be the tombs of the city’s elite.

“Because this is one of the most sacred places in all Teotihuacan, we believe that it could have been used for the rulers to … acquire divine endowment allowing them to rule on the surface,” Gomez said.

Unlike at other pre-Columbian ruins in Mexico, archaeologists have never found any remains believed to belong to Teotihuacan’s rulers. Such a discovery could help shine light on the leadership structure of the city, including whether rule was hereditary.

“We have not lost hope of finding that, and if they are there, they must be from someone very, very important,” Gomez said.

So far Gomez’s team has excavated only about 2 feet into the chambers. A full exploration will take at least another year.

Initial studies by the National Institute of Anthropology and History show the tunnel functioned until around A.D. 250, when it was closed off.

Teotihuacan long dominated central Mexico and had its apex between 100 B.C. and A.D. 750. It is believed to have been home to more than 100,000 people, but was abandoned before the rise of the Aztecs in the 14th century.

Today it is an important archaeological site on the outskirts of Mexico City and a major tourist draw known for its broad avenues and massive pyramids.

Copyright 2014 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

AP-WF-10-29-14 2252GMT


ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE


View of the Avenue of the Dead and the Pyramid of the Sun in Teotihuacan. Image by JackHynes, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

View of the Avenue of the Dead and the Pyramid of the Sun in Teotihuacan. Image by JackHynes, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.