Vintage Rock ’em Sock ’em Robots game, manufactured circa 1970 by Marx. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers and Serious Toyz
DALLAS (PRNewswire) – Remember Rock ’em Sock ’em Robots™? The dining and entertainment chain Dave & Buster’s is ready to knock you off your block with the debut of its new, in-your-face version of the classic Mattel kids’ game. They’re re-creating the competitive fun of the original toy on a gigantic scale, replacing the 6-inch tall robots with massive versions that stand at more than 5 feet tall. Manufactured exclusively for Dave & Buster’s, the new Rock ’em Sock ’em Robots game debuts on Monday, December 26, and won’t be available anywhere else.
Decorated Christmas trees in the White House ‘China Room,’ referring to the Presidential china collection displayed in wall cases. White House photo
ENFIELD, Conn. (AP) – The assignment for this year’s White House holiday display came with a tight deadline. A team of Lego master builders, within 2 1/2 weeks, had to create 56 unique gingerbread houses out of the toy bricks, one for each state and U.S. territory.
Many auction houses consider their New Year’s Day sales to be their best and most exciting events of the entire year. It’s not unusual for auctioneers to set aside special pieces from collections and estates throughout the year just so they can showcase them in their Jan. 1 sales. Savvy collectors know this and eagerly await the chance to bid and buy on New Year’s Day.
But with so much choice available, how can you possibly pick just one New Year’s auction to bid in? The answer is, you don’t have to! All of the top sales are as close as your computer, and you can bid absentee or live as those auctions are taking place.
Here are five auctions not to miss on New Year’s Day, 2017:
Stephenson’s Auctioneers
A longtime favorite with Philadelphians, Stephenson’s New Year’s Day Auction has a lineup this year that includes heavy antique silver, paintings and furniture from posh “Main Line” estates, plus a collection of art glass paperweights, a Newlyn Arts & Crafts fire screen, and a Pennsylvania folk art treasure: a circa-1900 John Reber carved and painted rooster.
Pair of large and ornate 1894 Carrington & Co., London, sterling silver sauce boats, est. $8,000-$12,000
Nadeau’s Auction Gallery
This distinguished Connecticut auction house will offer 150 lots of glittering, high-end diamonds and jewelry, including 13 Rolex watches, several Cartier timepieces, and an 18K gold Patek Philippe minute repeater chronometer in a closed-face case. Also, there are 250 lots of fine art, prints and maps, some coming from the Credit Suisse corporate collection.
Patek Philippe minute repeater chronometer, 18K gold with closed-face case, two stopwatch hands, est. $15,000-$20,000
Don Presley Auction Co.
Known for his consistent ability to source high-quality antiques and art from Beverly Hills and Newport Beach residences, California auctioneer Don Presley says his New Year’s 2017 sale contains his best selection ever. There’s a mindboggling array of fine Continental glass and porcelain; leaded-glass lamps, silver, clocks, and extremely valuable jewel-encrusted daggers.
Three important old daggers, two of gold and one of silver. Saudi dagger at left is adorned with diamonds; Moroccan dagger at right features rubies and emeralds. Dagger shown in the middle is around 200 years old and has a silver-weight value of around $125,000. All three were inherited from the late prime minister of Iran during the reign of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. Group estimate: $200,000-$225,000
Kaminski Auctions
Synonymous with quality estate items, Boston’s Kaminski Auctions will bring variety to their New Year’s Day auction, with highlights that include an array of chairs by Pedro Friedeberg, Frank Gehry, Breuer Wassily, and Eero Saarinen; plus a Douglass Crockwell Saturday Evening Post oil painting, a dramatic Theodora Weber seascape, and a collection of 35 vintage Florida Highwaymen paintings.
Pedro Friedeberg (Mexican, b. 1937-) sculptural hand chair, est. $7,500-$12,500
Jasper52
This online-only auction features an appealing 120-lot selection of fine prints spanning the 17th through 20th centuries. From a signed drypoint portrait by John Abbott McNeill Whistler to original hand-colored Audubon lithographs of American birds, including the beloved Baltimore oriole, this auction showcases a broad variety of artistic styles and print techniques.
Original limited edition John James Audubon (American, 1785-1851) Princeton print of Baltimore orioles (505/1500), framed, est. $1,300-$1,700
Second-century Indian relief that authorities confiscated from the Nancy Wiener Gallery in New York City. Image courtesy of office of Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr.
NEW YORK (AP) – A New York antiquities dealer has been arrested on charges she sold stolen artifacts from international smugglers by creating sham documents to hide their history.
Sarah Sze (American, b. 1969-), ‘Day (First Version).’ Lithograph with screenprint on Okawara natural paper. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers and Auctionata U.S.
NEW YORK (AP) – A subway line opening in New York City next year will have walls decorated with artworks by four celebrated contemporary artists.
Hatshepsut temple at Luxor, photo by Andrea Piroddi, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license
CAIRO (AP) – Egypt’s embassy in London received a limestone relief that had been stolen from Queen Hatshepsut’s temple in Luxor, the Ministry of Antiquities said.
News and updates from around the arts and auction community:
A French Beatles fan is auctioning his 15,000-piece collection of Fab Four memorabilia to fund his retirement. The March auction will contain records, signed books, posters, autographs and other collectibles. [Read more from NME]
Surfers Healing, a nonprofit in San Juan Capistrano, Calif., will conduct and end-of-year surfboard auction for a very special cause. It’s their 20th year of fundraising to provide free surf camps for children with autism. [Read more from Patch.com]
The Polish government has unveiled plans to buy the famous Czartoryski family art collection. It includes Leonardo da Vinci’s Lady With an Ermine (1489-90). [Read more from Artnet]
Martin Scorsese is one of the most influential filmmakers of our time. Through April 23, the Museum of the Moving Image is currently hosting “Martin Scorsese,” the first major exhibition devoted to the iconic American director. [Read more from Art Daily]
For more news and updates, follow LiveAuctioneers on Twitter and Facebook.
BEVERLY, Mass. – Kaminski’s Design and Decorative Auction on January 1, 2017 begins at 11:00 a.m. EST and features a selection of Mid-Century furniture that includes two pieces by the noted Mexican artist Pedro Friedberg. They include a sculptural “hand chair”and a “hand foot chair” in mahogany with original finish and artist-signed inside the base. Absentee and Internet live bidding will be available on all lots through LiveAuctioneers.
An Octetra sculpture by Isamu Noguchi, in situ near Spoleto Cathedral in Spoleto, Italy. Photo by Manuelarosi, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license
NEW YORK (AP) – A sculpture by Isamu Noguchi is on display in a Manhattan neighborhood where the Holland Tunnel connects New York and New Jersey.
The abstract work, called “Octetra,” went up Monday on a plaza in Hudson Square.
The geometric red sculpture is over 7 feet high and consists of five, four-sided triangular pyramids. There are about a dozen casts of the work.
It comes from the collection of Julie and Edward Minskoff and is presented by the Hudson Square Connection and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. The length of its stay has not yet been determined.
The late Japanese-American artist also specialized in furniture and set designs. He created the stainless steel reliefs at a Rockefeller Center building that once housed The Associated Press.
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News and updates from around the arts and auction community:
Marilyn Monroe’s script from the film Something’s Got to Give has sold at auction for $25,000. It contains Monroe’s handwritten notes to herself on how to act sexy. [Read more from the LA Times]
A bound copy of Sir Isaac Newton’s seminal book on mathematics and science has sold for $3.7 million. This price makes it the most expensive printed scientific book ever sold at auction. [Read more from LiveScience]
What’s that rattle under the hood? A Kentucky man got way more than he bargained for when he bought a Volkswagen Jetta at auction. [Read more from Associated Press and US News]
Conservation experts at the National Library of Scotland have managed to save a rare antique map that was discovered stuffed up a chimney during the renovation of a house in Aberdeen. The 17th-century map created by Dutch engraver Gerald Valck had been used as a draft-blocker. [Read more from the BBC]
For more news and updates, follow LiveAuctioneers on Twitter and Facebook.
