BERKELEY, Calif. – PBA Galleries will hold a 420-lot auction titled Photography and Fine Art – The Jack and Beverly Waltman Collection on April 7. Jack Waltman, an accomplished photographer in his own right, was also a patron to and a collector of many of the 20th century’s finest photographers. Absentee and Internet live bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.
ATLANTA – A 1984 photographic collage by David Hockney and a monumental 19th-century Georgian breakfront are a few of the expected top lots in Ahlers & Ogletree’s Spring Estates & Collections auction slated for the weekend of April 9-10. More than 1,000 lots will come up for bid, and start times on both days are 10 am Eastern time. Absentee and Internet live bidding will be available through LiveAuctioneers.
MES AYNAK, Afghanistan (AP) – The ancient Buddha statues sit in serene meditation in the caves carved into the russet cliffs of rural Afghanistan. Hundreds of meters below lies what is believed to be the world’s largest deposit of copper. Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers are pinning their hopes on Beijing to turn that rich vein into revenue to salvage the cash-starved country amid crippling international sanctions.
The fighters standing guard by the rocky hillside may once have considered destroying the terracotta Buddhas. Two decades ago when the Islamic hard-line Taliban were first in power, they sparked world outrage by blowing up gigantic Buddha statues in another part of the country, calling them pagan symbols that must be purged. But now they are intent on preserving the relics of the Mes Aynak copper mine. Doing so is key to unlocking billions in Chinese investment, said Hakumullah Mubariz, the Taliban head of security at the site, peering into the remnants of a monastery built by first-century Buddhist monks.
DOUGLASS, Kan. – A Spring Season bowl marked R.S. Prussia soared to $24,000 and a Regina upright music box brought $15,400 at the sale of the lifetime single-owner collection of David and Marlene Howard of Ohio, held March 19 by Woody Auction.
WILLOUGHBY, Ohio – On March 12-13, 2022, Milestone Auctions in suburban Cleveland held its first-ever two-day Premier Collectible Firearms sale, a well-received outgrowth of its single-day firearms events, which have proved consistently popular. The March sale featured a curated selection of antique, vintage and modern-era weapons. The opening session, which was geared toward higher-end firearms, produced the majority of the top 10 prices realized, while day two was notable for its diverse array of military, civilian and sporting arms with estimates to please most collectors. Bolstered by absentee and Internet live bidding through LiveAuctioneers, the sale cashed out at $2.5 million, inclusive of buyer’s premium.
MARLBOROUGH, Mass. — Skinner Auctioneers announces the appointment of interior designer Phillip Thomas as the auction house’s inaugural designer in residence, strengthening Skinner’s long-held relationship with Thomas. Having collaborated with him on a number of design events and sales since 2018, Thomas’ appointment demonstrates Skinner’s innovative approach to auctions as an avenue for interior design.
CINCINNATI – Two tall case clocks, a collection of molded glass, and an Andrew Clemens sand bottle highlighted Hindman’s March 10-11 American Furniture, Folk & Decorative Arts auction. The event celebrated four centuries of American artists and craftsmen, offering 679 lots of folk art, glass, stoneware, furniture, antique advertising, silver, textiles, music players, and coin-operated carnival and casino machines from private and institutional collections.
PALOS VERDES, Calif. – The Palos Verdes Art Center / Beverly G. Alpay Center for Arts Education is currently showing Water, Earth & Fire, an exhibition celebrating ceramics as a powerful creative force and expressive mode of communication. It will run through April 16.
NEW YORK (AP) – A particularly prized copy of the first-ever Marvel comic book sold for more than $2.4 million in an online auction on March 18. Known as the Marvel Comics #1 “pay copy,” it’s “arguably one of the top three comic books in the world of comics collecting,” said Vincent Zurzolo, chief operating officer of ComicConnect. The New York-based auctioneer sold the book on St. Patrick’s Day for a bit under $2,427,800.
LOS ANGELES – Southern California homes formerly owned by supermodel Cindy Crawford and actress Brooke Shields have drawn interested buyers, with Crawford’s one-time Malibu property listing for $99.5 million and Shields’s Pacific Palisades residence selling for $7.4 million.