Where to place antique rugs in your home

 

NEW YORK – Entering the world of antique Persian rugs for the first time can be like setting foot in a faraway land, and while the language of rugs is foreign, the look and feel of these fine, handmade floor coverings are irresistible.

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Gallery Report: March 2016

ATLANTA – At the start of each month, ACN columnist Ken Hall gathers top auction highlights from around the United States and beyond. Here’s what made headlines since last month’s report:

 

Gorham silver tea service

Gorham silver tea service, $17,000, William Bunch
A modern design Gorham “Circa 70” tea service with ebony handles sold for $17,000 at a catalog sale held Dec. 8 by William Bunch Auctions in Chadds Ford, Pa. Also, a large oil on pastel by the Armenian-American artist Yuroz, titled Supporting Her Dreams, went for $4,000; an oil on canvas of a mother and child by Korean artist Hang Sub Park realized $7,000; a two-piece cherry Dutch cupboard brought $2,200; and a 19th century German bisque head doll with Victorian accessories hit $1,100. Prices are hammer, exclusive of the buyer’s premium.

 

M32159-1 004

Howard Christy charcoal, $40,000, Swann Auction
A 1941 charcoal and pastel on board by Howard Chandler Christy, titled I Am an American!, sold for $40,000 at an Illustration Art Auction held Jan. 28 by Swann Auction Galleries in New York City. Also, a 1915 pen, ink and watercolor rendering from Dickens’s A Christmas Carol, by Arthur Rackham, titled Scrooge and the Ghost of Marley, earned $32,500; and the cover art for the April 1962 issue of Show: The Magazine of the Arts, by Charles Addams, titled The Dark Side of ‘Little Annie,’ made $17,500. Prices include a 25 percent buyer’s premium.

 

Patek Philippe wristwatch

Patek Philippe wristwatch, $10,455, Cowan’s Auctions
A Patek Philippe Calatrava wristwatch with a Tiffany & Co. band in 18K yellow gold sold for $10,455 at a fine jewelry and timepieces auction held Dec. 6 by Cowan’s Auctions in Cincinnati. Also, a set of 18K yellow gold parure with pietra dura mosaics hammered for $5,100; a Georgian-era silver and rose cut diamond aigrette and earrings brought $4,800; a Cartier 18K went forr $3,990; and a circa 1971 Rolex GMT Master II wristwatch reached $6,960. Prices include a 17.5 percent buyer’s premium.

 

Michael Jordan jersey

Michael Jordan jersey, $80,520, Goldin Auctions
A Michael Jordan Chicago Bulls game-worn road jersey from his final championship season sold for $80,520 at an auction held Jan. 29-Feb. 2 by Goldin Auctions based in Runnemede, N.J. Also, John Havlicek’s personal NBA’s 50 Greatest Players signed lithograph (1/1) realized $74,420; a 2012 Baltimore Ravens Super Bowl championship player’s ring from LaQuan Williams hit $62,220; and a letter written by Lee Harvey Oswald to his mother from the Soviet Union made $51,520. Prices include a 21 percent buyer’s premium.

 

Pair English wine glasses

Pair, English wine glasses, $10,925, Jeffrey S. Evans
A pair of mid-18th century engraved English air-twist wine glasses, engraved with “Success To The Harwich Cap IOS Rowley,” sold for $10,925 at a glass auction held Jan. 29-30 by Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates in Mt. Crawford, Va. Also, an 18th century Russian half-post blown and engraved Imperial glass case bottle, featuring an Imperial Eagle and the cipher for Empress Catherine II, rose to $8,625; and an American brilliant peacock blue free-blown trumpet vase with witch-ball cover gaveled for $3,900. Prices include a 15 percent buyer’s premium.

 

Chinese white jade bowl

Chinese white jade bowl, $40,920, Case Antiques Inc.
A Chinese white jade bowl, Ch’ien Lung, sold for $40,920 at a Winter Auction held Jan. 23 by Case Antiques Inc., in Knoxville, Tenn. Also, a Qing white jade Ruyi scepter hammered for $26,040; a large oil on canvas rendering of Mt. LeConte by Charles Krutch climbed to $24,780; an oil on board by Paul Sawyier titled Vale of Cashmere, Prospect Park rose to $28,980; an oil on canvas Paris street scene by French artist Edouard Cortes hit $15,930;and an antique Kentucky cherry sugar desk bureau made $21,830. Prices include the buyer’s premium.

 

Fortune teller machine

Fortune teller machine, $213,500, Morphy’s
A 1-cent Mlle. Zita fortune teller machine by Roovers Brothers sold for $213,500 at a coin-op and advertising auction held Jan. 30-31 by Morphy Auctions in Las Vegas. Also, a 25-cent Mills Roulette floor model slot machine soared to $158,600; a 1-cent Roovers Puss In Boots fortune teller machine went for $97,600; a 5-cent Watling Cupid counter wheel trade stimulator fetched $79,300; a 1-cent All-American Baseball game rose to $73,200; and a Dr. Swett’s root beer syrup dispenser garnered $18,300. Prices include a 22 percent buyer’s premium.

 

Steinway grand piano

1929 Steinway grand piano, $25,200, Selkirk Auctioneers
A 1929 Steinway Model B grand piano with a restored ebony case, soundboard and bench, sold for $25,200 at an auction held Jan. 23 by Selkirk Auctioneers & Appraisers in St. Louis. Also, a pair of Charleston Glass decanters with the monogram “T.W.B.” (for Capt. Thomas Wright Bacot, appointed in 1791 as U.S. Postmaster of Charleston by Pres. George Washington) commanded $7,200; and a pair of 1901 $10 Liberty Eagle 22K gold coins, reverse mounted in 14K gold cuff links, hit $6,250. Prices are inclusive of the buyer’s premium.

 

Chinese Qianlong vase

Chinese Qianlong vase, $625,400, Brunk Auctions
A carved enameled celadon porcelain Chinese Qianliong period (1711-1799) vase, with two panels of famille rose landscapes of Western figures, sold for $625,400 at an auction held Jan. 15-16 by Brunk Auctions in Asheville, N.C. Also, a finely carved hardwood jade-inset Ruyi scepter hammered for $40,120; a painting by Hubert Shuptrine, titled Sharecroppers in Marion, Alabama, also gaveled for $140,120; and a lovely pair of antique Chinese open hardwood armchairs went to a determined bidder for $22,240. Prices include an 18 percent buyer’s premium.

 

Russ Moffett painting

Russ Moffett painting, $14,400, James R. Bakker
A painting by Ross Moffett, titled Fishing Boats, Wellfleet, sold for $14,400 at a Fine Arts Auction held Nov. 28 by James R. Bakker Antiques in Provincetown, Mass. Also, Nancy Whorf’s Going to Bryant’s Again fetched $6,600; Karl Knaths’ Cape Landscape topped out at $5,700; Ted Lindenmuth’s The Fog Hound Harbor went for $2,280; an untitled still life by Charles W. Hawthorne hit $6,000; Henry Hensche’s Provincetown Street Scene made $3,480; and Steve Toomey’s Fishermen went for $5,700. Prices include a 20 percent buyer’s premium.

 

Paul Frankl table

Paul Frankl table, $7,475, William Jenack
A table crafted by Paul Frankl sold for $4,715 at an auction held Nov. 22 by William Jenack Auction in Chester, N.Y. Also, an ablution bowl from the 12th or 13th century garnered $977; a small bust of Emperor Franz Joseph finished at $575; a scene on the Thames River by Frederick Judd Waugh was sold to an Internet bidder for $4,255; a portrait of a young woman by Raphael Soyer went to a bidder on the phone for $2,185; and a British School painting of a lion, unsigned, changed hands for $1,725. Prices include a 15 percent buyer’s premium.

 

Navajo chief's blanket

Navajo chief’s blanket, $90,000, John Moran
A Navajo second phase chief’s blanket sold for $90,000 at an auction held Feb. 23 by John Moran Auctioneers in Monrovia, Calif. Also, a painting by Tucker Smith (b. 1940, Wyoming), titled Gathering the Quarter Circle Five, finished at $26,400; a pair of whimsical relief-decorated porcelain urns by Richard Klemm realized $6,600; a work by Michael Coleman (b. 1946, Utah), titled Omach-Ku-Kyalo, Four Shots, went for $13,200; and a delicate art pottery gravy boat by George E. Orr made $2,160. Prices include a 20 percent buyer’s premium.

 

Pair of canvasback decoys

Pair of canvasback decoys, $35,650, Guyette & Deeter
A pair of canvasback duck decoys by the Ward Brothers sold for $35,650 at the fourth annual auction held in Charleston, S.C., by Guyette & Deeter Inc. in partnership with the Southeastern Wildlife Exposition. Also, a rare robin snipe by Daniel Lake Leeds hammered for $24,150; a pintail hen by Jeff Brunet changed hands for $15,525, a new world auction record for a Jett Brunet decorative; and a full-size decorative semi-palmated plover by Elmer Crowell topped out at $18,400. Prices include a 15 percent buyer’s premium.

 

Richard E. Miller oil

Richard E. Miller oil, $245,000, Keno Auctions
An oil on canvas portrait painting by Richard Edward Miller, (American, 1875-1943), titled Woman at her Vanity with Earring, 36 1/4 inches by 28 1/2 inches, sold for $245,000 at an auction held Jan. 31 by Keno Auctions in New York City. Also, an oil on canvas painting of George Washington by Gilbert Stuart (American, 1755-1828), circa 1795, measuring 28 1/2 inches by 24 3/4 inches, rose to $185,000; and a paint-decorated pine and poplar dome-top box, made circa 1810-1840 in Lancaster, Pa., went for $18,750. Prices are inclusive of the buyer’s premium.

 

Chauncey B. Ives sculpture

Chauncey B. Ives sculpture, $105,300, Thomaston Place
A marble sculpture by Chauncey Bradley Ives (New York/Connecticut, 1810-1894), titled Undine Rising From the Water, sold for $105,300 at a sale held Feb. 13-14 by Thomaston Place Auction Galleries in Thomaston, Maine. Also, an Indian bronze sculpture from the Choala period (A.D. 880-1279), depicting Parvati, daughter of the Himalayan Mountains, breezed to $45,630; and a colored engraving by John J. Audubon (New York, 1785-1851) titled Fish Hawk, Male, Falco Hallaetus, made $35,100. Prices include a 17 percent buyer’s premium.

 

Copy of Amazing Fantasy #15

Copy of ‘Amazing Fantasy #15,’ $454,100, Heritage Auctions
A copy of Amazing Fantasy #15, the 1962 first appearance of Spider-Man, graded near-mint at 9.4 CGC, sold for $454,100 at a comics auction held Feb. 18 by Heritage Auctions in Dallas. Also, a 1963 copy of Spider-Man #1 soared to $110,537; a copy of Detective Comics #27, the first appearance of “The Batman,” graded 4.5 CBCS, hit $167,300; a near-mint 9.4 CGC copy of The Avengers #1 made $98,587; and John Romita Sr.’s original cover art for The Amazing Spider-Man #62 rose to $179,250. Prices include a 19.5 percent buyer’s premium.

KenHallBoilerplate

Michelangelo’s David gets expensive clean-up

Michelangelo's David, 1501-1504, Galleria dell'Accademia (Florence). Photo by Jorg Bittner Unna, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.

Michelangelo’s David, 1501-1504, Galleria dell’Accademia (Florence). Photo by Jorg Bittner Unna, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license

 

FLORENCE, Italy (AFP) – Michelangelo’s world-famous statue of David got a clean-up Monday financed by a US non-profit group which has spent some 500,000 euros in recent years preserving such Renaissance masterpieces.

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New: 8th edition Antique Trader Bottles Identification & Price Guide

Image courtesy Krause Publications

Image courtesy Krause Publications

 

IOLA, Wis. – Michael Polak is known as the “Bottle King” for good reason: He has been a bottle hunter and passionate collector for 40 years, amassing a collection of more than 3,000 bottles, and is one of the hobby’s leading authorities.

As with the previous editions of his book, Polak pours his passion for and knowledge of bottles into the just-released 8th edition of “Antique Trader Bottles Identification & Price Guide” (Krause Publications). Known as the “bottle bible,” this book has been a reliable and trusted reference and definitive bottle-collecting guide for 20 years.

This easy-to-use guide is also the only full-color bottle book on the market, and this new edition is packed with 1,300 color photographs of 40 of the most popular bottle-collecting categories from the 19th and 20th centuries, including beer, figurals, flasks, Hawaiian, ink, medicine, sarsaparilla, target balls, whiskey and a new one for this edition: pot lids. The book also has extensive updates and revisions to the essentials of the hobby, and other valuable information includes history, trademarks, resources and insider tips for finding, identifying, valuing, buying and selling bottles – all from an author with more than four decades of bottle collecting experience.

There are also roundups of recent auction highlights, such as an extremely rare and historically important cabin bottle made by Mount Vernon Glass Works in 1840, which sold for $25,740, and various archeological adventures, including one at Wyatt Earp’s saloon in Nevada and shipwreck discoveries – all of which continue to excite collectors and demonstrate that the hobby is strong and keeps gaining popularity.

Polak has written more than a dozen books on bottle collecting, including “Picker’s Pocket Guide to Bottles,” and has contributed numerous magazine and newspaper articles on the subject. He is a member several bottle collecting organizations. He is a member of the Los Angeles Historical Bottle Club, San Diego Antique Bottle Club, Las Vegas Bottle Club and the Federation of Historical Bottle Collectors.

Antique Trader Bottles Identification & Price Guide, 8th Edition

Soft cover

552 pages

1,300 color photos

Retail price: $24.99

This new edition is available at booksellers nationwide, and directly from the publisher at KrauseBooks.com. When ordering at KrauseBooks.com be sure to enter Discount Code BTL8 to receive free standard shipping to U.S. addresses. This offer is valid through April 30, 2016.

LAMA sets records for several artists at Feb. 21 sale.

Alex Katz, 'Here’s to You,' brought $162,500. Los Angeles Modern Auctions image

Alex Katz, ‘Here’s to You,’ brought $162,500. Los Angeles Modern Auctions image

 

LOS ANGELES – Los Angeles Modern Auctions set a new company record, selling a single work for the highest price in the company’s 24-year history: Richard Prince’s Bedtime Story (1988) from the seminal Monochromatic Jokes paintings realized $1.6 million on Feb. 21.

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X-Men #1 comic book graded 9.6 summons superpowers to sell for record $350K

X-Men #1, published 1963, CGC-graded 9.6, sold Feb. 19, 2016 through ComicLink’s Comic Book Exchange for $350,000. Image courtesy of ComicLink

X-Men #1, published 1963, CGC-graded 9.6, sold Feb. 19, 2016 for $350,000. Image courtesy of ComicLink

 

PORTLAND, Maine – A 1963 issue of X-Men #1 sold privately on February 19th for a record $350,000. ComicLink reported the sale of the rare-condition title, which was graded 9.6 out of a possible 10 by the independent third-party Certified Guaranty Company, or CGC. The issue sold through ComicLink’s online marketplace, Comic Book Exchange.

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Met museum settles lawsuit based on use of one word

Entrance to Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Photo by Arad, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

Entrance to Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Photo by Arad, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

 

NEW YORK (AFP) – New York’s famed Metropolitan Museum of Art, one of the biggest museums in the world, announced Friday it had settled a long-running lawsuit challenging its admissions policy of charging up to $25.

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Modern design, luxury items are top picks in Roland sale March 5

Lot 292 - antique Chinese Tibetan gilt Buddha [est.: $3,000-$5,000]. Roland Auctions NY image

Lot 292 – antique Chinese Tibetan gilt Buddha [est.: $3,000-$5,000]. Roland Auctions NY image

NEW YORK – Roland Auctions NY will conduct an estates auction on March 5, commencing at 10 a.m. Eastern time. The monthly flagship auction boasts a multitude of items, from objets d’art to luxury items, dispersed throughout 800 lots. The sale offers a spectrum of fine art, antiques and modern design.

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Navajo blanket sells to LiveAuctioneers bidder for $90,000

Estimated at $10,000-$15,000, this classic Navajo second phase chief’s blanket sold for an astounding $90,000 through LiveAuctioneers.com. John Moran Auctioneers image

Estimated at $10,000-$15,000, this classic Navajo second phase chief’s blanket sold for $90,000 through LiveAuctioneers.com. John Moran Auctioneers image

 

MONROVIA, Calif. – A Navajo second phase chief’s blanket and contemporary Western paintings stole the show at John Moran Auctioneers’ sale Feb 23.

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Burmese ruby deemed special in Fellows jewelry sale March 10

An 18ct gold Burmese ruby and diamond floral cluster ring. The cushion-shape ruby weighs approximately 2.80 carats. Fellows image

An 18ct gold Burmese ruby and diamond floral cluster ring. The cushion-shape ruby weighs approximately 2.80 carats. Fellows image

 

BIRMINGHAM, UK – Fellows’ monthly auction of Antique & Modern Jewelry contains over 600 lots of designer pieces alongside interesting antique and modern jewels. Featured in the March 10 auction is lot 232, a ruby and diamond ring valued at £12,000-£18,000. The central cushion cut ruby has a certificate confirming that the stone is of Burmese origin with no evidence of heat treatment.

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