Cartier, Bulgari, Georg Jensen & Tiffany add luster to Sept. 17 Fellows sale

Pair of South Sea cultured pearl and diamond ear pendants. Fellows image
Pair of South Sea cultured pearl and diamond ear pendants. Fellows image

BIRMINGHAM, UK – The cover lot in Fellows’ September 17 Antique & Modern Jewellery Auction is a pair of South Sea cultured pearl and diamond ear pendants that boast a unique and interesting design. The pearls are suspended by intricate diamond set cages, a setting that really highlights the luster of the stones.

Pearls have long been synonymous with opulence, to the extent that in 1916 Cartier purchased his 5th Avenue store by trading for two pearl necklaces. Assuredly, this lot isn’t quite as costly, and has an estimate of £3,000-£5,000.

Chosen for the back cover of Fellows’ catalog is Lot 199, an Art Deco platinum, diamond and onyx panel brooch. Of geometric form, it is sleek and inherently stylish. The estimated total diamond weight for this piece is 3.20 carats, its color is H-J, and it carries French assay marks. The estimate is £6,000-£8,000.

Art Deco platinum diamond and onyx panel brooch. Fellows image

Lot 32 is a late-19th-century pendant that probably was retailed by renowned Victorian jeweler E.W Streeter. This bright enamel, peridot and diamond pendant bears a remarkable resemblance to a pendant exhibited by Streeter at the 1872 International Exhibition. It has the guide price of £5,000-£7,000 and is sure to attract attention from collectors and connoisseurs alike.

Late 19th-century 15ct gold peridot, diamond and enamel pendant, probably retailed by Streeter. Fellows image
Late 19th-century 15ct gold peridot, diamond and enamel pendant, probably retailed by Streeter. Fellows image

The birthstone for September is the sapphire, and there are some real beauties in Fellows’ sale.

Lot 17 is a Burmese sapphire and diamond dress ring that is accompanied by a report from the British Gemological Institute stating the stone has no signs of thermal treatment. This ring has the estimate of £1,000-£1,500.

Burmese sapphire and diamond dress ring. Fellows image
Burmese sapphire and diamond dress ring. Fellows image

A host of stunning modern pieces are entered in the auction, with designer names including Cartier, Bulgari, Gucci and Tiffany & Co. A standout piece is Lot 296, a mid-20th Century gold bracelet by Georg Jensen, estimated at £460-£660.

Georg Jensen mid-20th-century bracelet. Fellows image

Also, lot 285 is a pair of striking enamel diamond and ruby ear studs by Cartier. Part of the Le-Baiser-du Dragon collection, they will be offered at £2,500-£3,500.

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.

Kovels Antiques and Collecting: Week of Sept. 14, 2015

This 19th-century baby tender is 20 inches high. It sold in 2015 at a Cowan's auction in Cincinnati for $780.
This 19th-century baby tender is 20 inches high. It sold in 2015 at a Cowan’s auction in Cincinnati for $780.

BEACHWOOD, Ohio – Many of the clever toys and accessories for children are just updated versions of very old things. The pacifier, now made of soft plastic, is an inexpensive idea that came from the silver and coral pacifier and teether of the 18th century. Dolls date back to the cavemen. Highchairs were in use in the 19th century, but they would have failed the safety tests given today. And antique cribs usually have bars that are too far apart and paint that contains lead, making them so unsafe you can’t sell them to be used by children.

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Oakland Zoo raising funds with auction of paintings created by its animals

Squirrel monkeys Pythagoras (a 3-year-old male) and Peru (a 16-year-old female) showed their preference for plein-air painting. Photo by Leslie Cohelan
Squirrel monkeys Pythagoras (a 3-year-old male) and Peru (a 16-year-old female) showed their preference for plein-air painting. Photo by Leslie Cohelan

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – An auction of 32 colorful paintings produced by elephants, giraffes, river otters and even a cockroach at the Oakland Zoo is underway with more than half a dozen bids on the art work.

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Miscellaneana: Antiquities

This ancient Greek wine cup is more than 2,300 years old and was made in Apulia, one of the Greek colonies in southern Italy in the 4th century BC. The twin-handled deep pottery cup is known as a bolsal and is decorated with a scantily clad female seated on a garland of flower heads. Photo Odyssey.
This ancient Greek wine cup is more than 2,300 years old and was made in Apulia, one of the Greek colonies in southern Italy in the 4th century BC. The twin-handled deep pottery cup is known as a bolsal and is decorated with a scantily clad female seated on a garland of flower heads. Photo Odyssey.

LONDON – There was a time when I thought old stuff – I mean really old stuff – was found only in museums. It was probably the result of spending too many boring hours in one when school games periods were rained off. Being shown the Egyptian mummies and ancient Chinese pots brought back by the town’s rich industrialists was a handy way for teachers to “lose” their charges for an hour.

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Egypt exhibit in Paris holds defiant message for Islamic State

Fragment du Naos des Décades, (Nectanébo Ier, 30e dynastie (380 à 362 av. J.-C.), Canope, baie d'Aboukir, Égypte Les plongeurs de l'Institut européen d'archéologie sous-marine (IEASM) ont découvert les parties manquantes du Naos des Décades, véritable puzzle archéologique, reconstitué sur une durée de deux siècles : le toit est au musée du Louvre depuis le XIXe siècle, le socle et la paroi postérieure ont été découverts en 1940 en baie d'Aboukir, et les parois latérales ont été trouvées par l'IEASM en 1999. Ce monument unique fait le lien entre l'observation de la position des étoiles et des constellations dans le ciel et leurs possibles influences bénéfiques ou maléfiques. Le calendrier égyptien divisait l'année en 36 phases de 10 jours ou décades, la 37e ne comportant que les 5 jours nécessaires pour compléter l'année de 365 jours. Le respect du calendrier et l'observation des constellations-décans, qui permettaient de déterminer les heures de nuit, constituaient un des aspects essentiels de la célébration de tout rituel qui s'effectuait à des heures précises. © Franck Goddio/Hilti Foundation, photo : Christoph Gerigk
Copyright Franck Goddio/Hilti Foundation. Photo : Christoph Gerigk

PARIS (AP) – French President Francois Hollande and archaeological officials have used an exhibit in Paris of two preserved ancient Egyptian cities as a defiant example that the world will not be cowed by Islamic State militants who recently destroyed ancient Syrian heritage sites in Palmyra and killed a local archaeologist.

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Old Toy Soldier Auctions to offer ‘Investment Rarities’ in Oct. 17 sale of James Cook collection

Label from 1897 Queen's Diamond Jubilee box that contains Britains’ Set #72 First Life Guards Past and Present. Set commemorates Queen’s guards of 1837 and 1897. Finest known example of this set. Est. $12,000-$15,000. Old Toy Soldier Auctions image
Label from 1897 Queen’s Diamond Jubilee box that contains Britains’ Set #72 First Life Guards Past and Present. Set commemorates Queen’s guards of 1837 and 1897. Finest known example of this set. Est. $12,000-$15,000. Old Toy Soldier Auctions image

PITTSBURGH – Few other categories of antiques or collectibles attract as broad a demographic as toy soldiers. Amassing a collection of authentically detailed small-scale armies or setting up a colorful zoo or Old West town is a great leveler of ages, appealing equally to a small child or that child’s great-grandfather.

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