1800s Thomas Sully portraits reunited at museum

Portrait of Maria Gratz by Thomas Sully. Gift of Maria and William Roberts. Photo by Douglas A. Lockhard. Image courtesy Rosenbach Museum and Library.
Portrait of Maria Gratz by Thomas Sully. Gift of Maria and William Roberts. Photo by Douglas A. Lockhard. Image courtesy Rosenbach Museum and Library.
Portrait of Maria Gratz by Thomas Sully. Gift of Maria and William Roberts. Photo by Douglas A. Lockhard. Image courtesy Rosenbach Museum and Library.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) – It might be the first time a separated couple got back together thanks to their great-great-great granddaughter.

The attractive young couple is Benjamin and Maria Gratz, or more accurately their portraits, which were painted in 1831 by noted English-born Philadelphia artist Thomas Sully, but somehow parted ways an unknown number of years ago.

Benjamin has been hanging for decades at the Rosenbach Museum & Library along with other members of the Gratz family, who were prominent in early Philadelphia’s business and philanthropic worlds.

The museum, stumped regarding Maria’s whereabouts, expanded their investigation from auction and estate records to the Internet.

A post titled “The Lost Portraits of Mrs. Benjamin Gratz: Have you seen Maria?” went online last June on a museum docent’s scholarly blog about educator and humanitarian Rebecca Gratz, the sister-in-law of Maria Cecil Gist Gratz. The posting included a black-and-white photo of a small copy made of the portrait long ago.

“Three weeks later I get a message on my phone: ‘I think I may be someone you’re looking for,’” museum curator Judith Guston said. “I couldn’t believe it.”

The caller was the great-great-great-granddaughter of the pretty woman in the lost portrait. Though it wasn’t exactly lost—not as far as Maria Gratz Roberts of Atlanta was concerned.

“It was in my house,” said Gratz Roberts, who pronounces her first name “mar-EYE’-ah” just like her namesake did. “I’m very interested in genealogy was looking up some information on the family, that’s how it started. I saw the article about the missing portrait and I was very surprised.”

Benjamin and Maria Gratz were in their 30s when the portraits were painted during their trip from Lexington, Ky., to visit Benjamin’s family in Philadelphia. No one in the family knows why or when the portraits broke up, though it was at least 75 years ago.

Gratz Roberts said her relatives had long believed theirs was a reproduction and the Sully original was somewhere in Philadelphia.

“I did take it to an antique dealer to get it cleaned once and he said, ‘Are you sure it’s a copy?’” she said with a laugh. “I told him it was, and he said then it was a very good copy. To me, it was a lovely portrait and I enjoyed it.”

Guston flew to Atlanta to examine the work and informed its owner that yes, the gold-framed painting of the smiling brunette in her parlor was indeed the real deal.

“It was exciting,” Guston said. “We weren’t very optimistic that (the blog post) would lead us anywhere but it did, and so quickly.”

After talking it over with her family, Gratz Roberts decided that her great-great-great grandparents’ portraits should be reunited and she donated the cherished heirloom.

Just before Valentine’s Day, the picture of Maria was hung with the rest of the Gratz family, next to her dashing husband, in a room at the Rosenbach’s 19th century mansion-turned-museum. Husband and wife appear to be gazing affectionately at each other, as was probably Sully’s intent when he painted the two portraits, Guston said.

“When you have a portrait like that you have to share it. I can’t see keeping it in my house,” said Gratz Roberts. “Giving it to the Rosenbach seemed like a perfect thing to do.”

She also donated another pastel drawing of Maria Gratz and a chair owned by Benjamin Gratz.

Gratz Roberts is looking forward to visiting Philadelphia this spring, when she will see the pieces in their new home along with other artifacts from her ancestors. The museum’s founders, book dealers and brothers A.S.W. and Philip Rosenbach, had family ties to the Gratzes, so materials from both groups are on display and for research.

“I’m very excited to see it there,” Gratz Roberts said. “Little did I know, just by looking up some information, this would happen. It’s amazing what coincidences we have in life.”

___

Online:

http://www.rosenbach.org

Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

AP-WF-03-18-12 2115GMT

Tim’s Inc. to hold 20th Cabin Fever Auction, Mar. 25

Mark Twain commemorative gold coin issued by the U.S. Mint, still housed in the original box. Image courtesy of Tim's, Inc.

Mark Twain commemorative gold coin issued by the U.S. Mint, still housed in the original box. Image courtesy of Tim's, Inc.

Mark Twain commemorative gold coin issued by the U.S. Mint, still housed in the original box. Image courtesy of Tim’s, Inc.

BRISTOL, Conn. – Get ready, all you hibernating snowbirds in Connecticut and lower New England. It’s time to shake off the winter snow (not that there was much of the white stuff) and make plans for the 20th annual Cabin Fever Auction, to be held Sunday, March 25, by Tim’s Inc., in the firm’s gallery facility, located at 1185 Farmington Ave. (Route 6).

Even if Old Man Winter does come roaring back for one last hurrah, people will still be able to bid from the comfort of their homes, thanks to Internet bidding provided by LiveAuctioneers.com.

“Our Cabin Fever Auction began in 1992, in the spirit of long New England winters and the desire of folks to get out and get going with the promise of spring,” said Tim Chapulis of Tim’s Inc. “We’re excited to be hosting the 20th annual event this year, and we feel this is one auction no one will want to miss. There will be 500-600 lots of top-quality items from prominent local estates, private collections, lifetime coin collections and safety deposit boxes. We’ll have something for everybody.”

The sale will feature over 100 U.S. gold coins, around 300 U.S. silver coins, an antique clock collection (including examples by Eli Terry, Chauncey & Ives of Bristol, Conn., and other renowned clock makers), signed rock ’n’ roll memorabilia, antique furnishings, carpets, jewelry and more. The auction will start promptly at noon Eastern. A preview will be held from 10 a.m. until the first gavel comes down.

Without a doubt the most exciting item in the auction is an actual 1996 New York Yankees World Series championship ring awarded to former major leaguer Rey Quinones. The ring contains a full 1.5 ounces of gold and has 23 brilliant round diamonds (one for each championship year for the Yankees) on top of a manmade sapphire, plus the Yankees’ logo.

Rey Quinones was a shortstop who played for three teams from 1986-1989 (Boston Red Sox, Seattle Mariners and Pittsburgh Pirates). He held an administrative position with the Yankees in the 1996 season, entitling him to a ring. The ring is considered especially desirable because it was won during the Joe Torre era. Similar examples have sold for up to $20,000.

The gold and silver coins are expected to generate tremendous bidder interest, as the values of precious metals continue to surge upward. Offered will be 18 Saint-Gaudens $20 gold coins (some estimated to bring $2,000-$4,000 each); ten $10 Indian head and Liberty head gold coins (est. $800-$1,200 each); a Mark Twain commemorative gold coin issued by the U.S. Mint and still in the original issue box, with documentation; and a rare 1893S U.S. silver dollar (est. $5,000-$8,000).

Also coming up for bid will be two complete sets of Mercury dimes (with both sets having the rare 1916D key date); a complete collection of the highly desirable Peace America silver dollar coins (including the rare 1928 plain and 1921 key dates) ; and copper coins and other coin sets. Some of the coins will be “raw” (ungraded), while others will carry grades.

The antique clocks will feature about a half-dozen Eli Terry pillar-and-scroll clocks from the early 19th century; a tall case grandfather clock by J. E. Caldwell, 8 feet 4 inches tall, in a walnut case with claw feel, a phase and moon dial at the top and three finials; and an uncommon and large rosewood E. N. Welch, Forestville, Conn., wall regulator weight-driven clock, circa 1880s.

Vintage musical instruments will include a Gibson Byrdland guitar from around 1960 (est. $5,000-$10,000); and a Gibson Hummingbird guitar from the same era. The rock ’n’ roll memorabilia will feature a guitar signed by Les Paul, the late father of the electric guitar; a Les Paul signature on a picture record; and a guitar signed by a member of ’60s band Vanilla Fudge. Proceeds from the sale of the signed rock ’n’ roll items will go to benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Also sold will be a Steinway grand piano, the desirable Model L, 5 feet 9 inches long. The magnificent piano has been in the same family since its original purchase in 1928.

Antique furniture will be represented by some of the most renowned American furniture makers in history: Thomas Brooks, John Jelliffs, R.J. Horner and others. One spectacular piece expected to wow the crowd is a monumental carved oak two-door glass collector’s cabinet on a two-drawer base attributed to R.J. Horner. The cabinet, possibly an exposition piece, has carved grapevines, standing winged griffins and a carved crest at the top, all in the original wood finish.

Other pieces expected to do well include a marble-top princess dresser and two marble-top center tables. Antique firearms will include two pairs of matching dueling pistols.

There will also be some diamond estate jewelry.

Just consigned, by a local man cleaning out his attic, is a tin on litho painted advertising sign for Brook Hill Dog whiskey, circa 1890s, with artwork by Alexander Pope II. The unframed sign, measuring about 2 feet by 3 feet, shows a tri-color English Setter coming through a hole in a wooden fence. “When I say there’s something for everyone in this sale, I wasn’t kidding,” Chapulis deadpanned.

Admittance to the auction will be a suggested $10 donation per person, the proceeds of which will go to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, in memory of Peter W. Chapulis, Tim’s late father. To date Tim’s Inc. has raised over $43,000 for the hospital, and the hope is that the $50,000 mark can be reached this year to coincide with the 50th anniversary of St. Jude’s.

Terms of the auction will be a $100 cash deposit per bidder number (refundable upon return of the bidder number or good towards a purchase); a 15 percent buyer’s premium for cash purchases (must be paid in full on the day of the auction); an 18 percent buyer’s premium for known checks; and a 20 percent buyer’s premium for online bidders. No charge cards allowed.

For details call Tim Chapulis at (860) 459-0964, or e-mail him at tims.inc@snet.net. For additional information about Tim’s Inc. and the March 25 Cabin Fever Auction, log on to www.timsauction.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

Mark Twain commemorative gold coin issued by the U.S. Mint, still housed in the original box. Image courtesy of Tim's, Inc.

Mark Twain commemorative gold coin issued by the U.S. Mint, still housed in the original box. Image courtesy of Tim’s, Inc.

Sure to generate bidder interest is an actual 1996 New York Yankees World Championship ring. Image courtesy of Tim's, Inc.

Sure to generate bidder interest is an actual 1996 New York Yankees World Championship ring. Image courtesy of Tim’s, Inc.

Rare tin on litho painted advertising sign for Brook Hill Dog whiskey, made around the 1890s. Image courtesy of Tim's, Inc.

Rare tin on litho painted advertising sign for Brook Hill Dog whiskey, made around the 1890s. Image courtesy of Tim’s, Inc.

The auction will feature numerous rare and vintage clocks, many by renowned clock makers. Image courtesy of Tim's, Inc.

The auction will feature numerous rare and vintage clocks, many by renowned clock makers. Image courtesy of Tim’s, Inc.

Monumental R.J. Horner carved oak two-door glass collector's cabinet on a two-drawer base. Image courtesy of Tim's, Inc.

Monumental R.J. Horner carved oak two-door glass collector’s cabinet on a two-drawer base. Image courtesy of Tim’s, Inc.

Music and rock 'n' roll memorabilia will feature this Gibson Byrdland guitar from around 1960. Image courtesy of Tim's, Inc.

Music and rock ‘n’ roll memorabilia will feature this Gibson Byrdland guitar from around 1960. Image courtesy of Tim’s, Inc.

Over 100 U.S. gold coins will cross the block, like this rare and beautiful St. Gaudens example. Image courtesy of Tim's, Inc.

Over 100 U.S. gold coins will cross the block, like this rare and beautiful St. Gaudens example. Image courtesy of Tim’s, Inc.

Kovels – Antiques & Collecting: Week of March 19, 2012

Rookwood is the name of this Regina music box model. The name has nothing to do with the famous Rookwood Pottery. The music-box sold for $17,037 at Cowan's Auctions in Cincinnati.
Rookwood is the name of this Regina music box model. The name has nothing to do with the famous Rookwood Pottery. The music-box sold for $17,037 at Cowan's Auctions in Cincinnati.
Rookwood is the name of this Regina music box model. The name has nothing to do with the famous Rookwood Pottery. The music-box sold for $17,037 at Cowan’s Auctions in Cincinnati.

Seeking information about antiques and collectibles sometimes can be difficult because so many terms have more than one meaning. A “davenport” in England is a type of small desk. In the United States, it is a sofa.

An ad may offer a “Duncan Phyfe” table. A man named Duncan Phyfe was a 19th century New York cabinetmaker. The table offered in the ad may have been made by Mr. Phyfe, it may have been made in his style during the years he worked or it may be a recent piece in the Duncan Phyfe style.

A store may advertise a “Tiffany lamp,” meaning a lamp with a distinctive type of glass shade, but to a collector it means a lamp made by and marked by Louis Comfort Tiffany at the turn of the 20th century.

“Jade” can be one of two minerals: nephrite or jadeite. Jadeite usually is considered the more valuable stone. And to make it even more confusing, you must look carefully at how the word is spelled. “Jadite” is a green glass made by Jeannette Glass Co., and “Jade-ite” is a shade of green glass made by Anchor Hocking Glass Corp.

A music box sold in October at Cowan’s Auctions in Cincinnati was a Regina “Rookwood” model that brought $17,037. It’s a wooden table-shaped music-box case with a painted design on the front. It has nothing to do with the famous Rookwood Pottery. The name was just a marketing idea. So be careful if you’re searching for some antique terms online. You may come up with unexpected results.

Q: I have an old tin that says “Dunhills Original Pontefract Cakes, Estab. 1760” on the top. Can you give me any information about the company and the age and value of this tin?

A: Pontefract cakes, which are sometimes called Pomfret cakes, are small licorice candies. Licorice has been used for medicinal purposes for more than 3,000 years. Cluniac monks brought licorice plants to Pontefract, England, from Spain during the Middle Ages. In 1614 Sir George Saville sold licorice “cakes” or lozenges as cures for stomach ailments. The lozenges were stamped with a stylized picture of Pontefract Castle. Dunhills was established in 1760 by George Dunhill, a chemist, who added sugar, molasses and flour to licorice extract to make licorice candy. Pontefract cakes were also stamped with a picture of Pontefract Castle. Several companies in Pontefract began making the candy, which was sometimes called “Yorkshire Pennies.” Haribo, a German company, bought majority interest in Dunhills in 1972 and the remaining shares in 1994. It still operates the factory in Pontefract. Your tin was probably made in the 1930s. It could be worth $50 to $75.

Q: We own an antique grandfather clock with a plain walnut and walnut veneer case. The works and face are brass, and the face is engraved “Foden Leek.” Can you give us any information?

A: It’s possible your clock was made in or near Leek, Staffordshire, England, sometime in the late 1700s. A clockmaker named Thomas Foden worked in Congleton, East Cheshire, England, about 10 miles from Leek, from 1753 to 1785. We found other clocks marked “Foden Leek” that have sold online. In any case, you own a nice family heirloom you should keep in working order. If it is an 18thcentury clock that works and is in excellent condition, it’s worth a few thousand dollars.

Q: Please tell me what my old tin Donald Duck Paint Set box is worth, minus the watercolor paints that were originally inside it. The outside of the lid pictures Donald painting at an easel and Mickey Mouse admiring his work. The inside of the lid has pictures of Donald, Mickey, Minnie Mouse, Pluto and Goofy.

A: Donald Duck paint sets were made by a few different companies. The first ones came out in the 1930s. Some sets were sold in lithographed tin boxes and others in paperboard boxes. Your set would be worth more if all the paints, unused, were still inside. The lithographed tin box is an early one and if the box is in excellent condition, a Disneyana collector would pay $25 or more for it.

Q: I have a Fenton Bittersweet Hanging Heart vase with a certificate of authenticity signed by Frank M. Fenton, Robert Barber and Delmar Stowasser on Aug. 26, 1975. The vase is 8 inches tall and is orange with swirling black lines and black hearts. The bottom is marked “406/705, Fenton, 1975” and “DGS.” What is it worth?

A: Your vase is part of Fenton’s 1975 Robert Barber Collection. Barber joined Fenton as artist-in-residence in 1975 and left the company in 1976. Delmar Stowasser was one of Barber’s assistants. There were nine different limited edition vases in the collection. The numbers on your vase indicate it was the 406th vase in a limited edition of 705 vases. Fenton Art Glass Co. was founded in Martins Ferry, Ohio, by Frank L. Fenton and his brother, John W. Fenton. It is now located in Williamstown, W.Va., and is still run by members of the Fenton family. But it ended production of art glass in 2011. Many Fenton limited-edition pieces have been sold on television. Value of your vase: about $500.

Tip: Clean chrome with white vinegar or tea.

Take advantage of a free listing for your group to announce events or to find antique shows and other events. Go to Kovels.com/calendar to find and plan your antiquing trips.

Terry Kovel answers as many questions as possible through the column. By sending a letter with a question, you give full permission for use in the column or any other Kovel forum. Names, addresses or email addresses will not be published. We cannot guarantee the return of any photograph, but if a stamped envelope is included, we will try. The volume of mail makes personal answers or appraisals impossible. Write to Kovels, Auction Central News, King Features Syndicate, 300 W. 57th St., New York, NY 10019.

 

CURRENT PRICES

Current prices are recorded from antiques shows, flea markets, sales and auctions throughout the United States. Prices vary in different locations because of local economic conditions.

  • Shawnee planter, elf sitting on green elf shoe, yellow outfit, brown flower-shape hat, marked, 6 x 6 inches, $30.
  • Love Birds dish, glass, yellow mist, Westmoreland Glass Co., 5 3/4 x 4 1/2 inches, $40.
  • Puck gnome doll, white beard, green hat, orange shirt, gray pants, brown boots, Steiff, 7 inches, $75.
  • Bank, Shmoo, blue plastic, red tag says “Li’l Abner sez woo the Shmoo with lucky money, make your future bright and sunny,” 1948, 8 inches, $85.
  • Zorro gloves, fabric and vinyl, image of Zorro on Toronado, one finger with plastic logo ring, Wells Lamont, circa 1958, 9 inches, $100.
  • Hopalong Cassidy roller skates, metal, ball-bearing weights, script “Cassidy” on top, original leather straps, marked “Union Hardware, Brunswick-Union,” 1950s, 8 1/2 inches, $115.
  • Coney Island pennant, redhead in bathing suit about to dive off piling, sea in background, 1920, 8 x 23 1/2 inches, $125.
  • Cookie jar, Elsie the Cow sticking out of wooden barrel, name and “Handle with Care” on front, Pottery Guild of America, 1940s, 11 1/2 inches, $210.
  • Pocket mirror, McCormick & Co., football shape, celluloid, image of spices and factory, 2 3/4 x 1 3/4 inches, $550.
  • Blanket chest, pine, Sandwich Glass pulls, hinged top, two drawers, circa 1790, 41 x 18 x 34 inches, $800.

Keep up with changes in the collectibles world. Send for a free sample issue of our 12-page, full-color newsletter, Kovels on Antiques and Collectibles, filled with prices, news, information and photos, plus major news about the world of collecting. To subscribe at a bargain $27 for 12 issues, write Kovels, P.O. Box 8534, Big Sandy, TX 75755; call 800-829-9158; or subscribe online at Kovelsonlinestore.com.

© 2012 by Cowles Syndicate Inc.

 

 

 

 

Canadian works highlight Auctions Neapolitan sale Mar. 24

KPM Berlin porcelain hand-painted urn, scene with multiple cherubs, circa 1763-1837, small repair to flower at top, 23 3/4 inches tall by 12 1/2 inches wide. Estimate: $2,500-$3,500. Image courtesy Auctions Neapolitan.
KPM Berlin porcelain hand-painted urn, scene with multiple cherubs, circa 1763-1837, small repair to flower at top, 23 3/4 inches tall by 12 1/2 inches wide. Estimate: $2,500-$3,500. Image courtesy Auctions Neapolitan.

KPM Berlin porcelain hand-painted urn, scene with multiple cherubs, circa 1763-1837, small repair to flower at top, 23 3/4 inches tall by 12 1/2 inches wide. Estimate: $2,500-$3,500. Image courtesy Auctions Neapolitan.

NAPLES, Fla. – Auctions Neapolitan will conduct their Spring Fling Auction on the first weekend of the season, Saturday, March 24, at the gallery, 1100 First Ave. The first of more than 400 lots will sell at noon Eastern. LiveAuctioneers will provide Internet live bidding.

“Overall, it’s a great auction with a wonderful collection of Canadian Inuit stone sculptures, many paintings by notable Canadian artists, a number of very good sterling silver lots including Tiffany flatware, large sterling hollowware including a punch set, tea set and many trays, two Vatican micromosaics, a gorgeous set of Art Nouveau enameled stemware and a large collection of Lladro porcelains,” said Kathleen Pica, owner of Auctions Neapolitan and Gallery.

Tops among the Inuit stone carvings is a Pauta Saila (Canadian, 1916-2009) 22-inch-tall sculpture titled Dancing Bear, which has a $12,000-$16,000 estimate.

A small painting titled Tanglewood, The Artist’s Home and Garden by James Edward Hervey MacDonald (Canadian, 1873-1932). has a $10,000-$15,000 estimate. The oil on board painting is signed “J.M.” and appears to be dated “’11” for 1911.

Two oil on board lakeside landscapes by A.Y. Jackson (Canadian, 1882-1974) are estimated at $8,000-$12,000 apiece.

Several hand-painted KPM porcelain items are in the sale, highlighted by a nearly 24-inch-tall urn adorned with numerous hand-painted cherubs. Bearing an under-glaze blue Berlin scepter mark, the urn has a $2,500-$3,500 estimate. A gilt plaster frame enhances an oval KPM porcelain portrait of a beautiful woman, which is estimated at $1,200-$1,600. The plaque appears to be signed “Greinch” under the frame. It is stamped “KPM” on the reverse and marked “Germany.”

Grapevines and the horned head of Bacchus decorate both sides of a 19th century Continental silver wine cooler, which carries a $2,500-$3,000 estimate. The cooler bears the hallmark of Georg Roth & Co., Hanau, Germany, and weighs 92.21 troy ounces.

Nearly 100 pieces of period Art Nouveau enameled stemware, plus five matching saucers and two large decanters, are estimated at $1,800-$2,000.

For details on any of the lots phone 239-262-7333.

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

KPM Berlin porcelain hand-painted urn, scene with multiple cherubs, circa 1763-1837, small repair to flower at top, 23 3/4 inches tall by 12 1/2 inches wide. Estimate: $2,500-$3,500. Image courtesy Auctions Neapolitan.
 

KPM Berlin porcelain hand-painted urn, scene with multiple cherubs, circa 1763-1837, small repair to flower at top, 23 3/4 inches tall by 12 1/2 inches wide. Estimate: $2,500-$3,500. Image courtesy Auctions Neapolitan.

Signed Pauta Saila ‘Dancing Bear’ carved stone Inuit sculpture, 22 inches tall by approximately 12 inches wide. Estimate: $12,000-$16,000. Image courtesy Auctions Neapolitan.
 

Signed Pauta Saila ‘Dancing Bear’ carved stone Inuit sculpture, 22 inches tall by approximately 12 inches wide. Estimate: $12,000-$16,000. Image courtesy Auctions Neapolitan.

J.E.H. MacDonald oil on board painting titled ‘Tanglewood, The Artist’s Home and Garden,’ 8 3/4 inches high by 6 3/4 inches wide. Estimate: $10,000-$15,000. Image courtesy Auctions Neapolitan.

J.E.H. MacDonald oil on board painting titled ‘Tanglewood, The Artist’s Home and Garden,’ 8 3/4 inches high by 6 3/4 inches wide. Estimate: $10,000-$15,000. Image courtesy Auctions Neapolitan.

KMP porcelain plaque, oval form, hand-painted portrait of a woman, stamped on reverse ‘KPM’ and marked ‘Germany,’ gilt plaster frame measures 16 1/2 inches high by 14 inches wide. Estimate: $1,200-$1,600. Image courtesy Auctions Neapolitan.

KMP porcelain plaque, oval form, hand-painted portrait of a woman, stamped on reverse ‘KPM’ and marked ‘Germany,’ gilt plaster frame measures 16 1/2 inches high by 14 inches wide. Estimate: $1,200-$1,600. Image courtesy Auctions Neapolitan.

Hanau 19th century Continental silver figural wine cooler by Georg Roth & Co., 13 1/2 inches high by 15 1/4 inches wide, 92.21 troy ounces. Estimate: $2,500-$3,000. Image courtesy Auctions Neapolitan.

Hanau 19th century Continental silver figural wine cooler by Georg Roth & Co., 13 1/2 inches high by 15 1/4 inches wide, 92.21 troy ounces. Estimate: $2,500-$3,000. Image courtesy Auctions Neapolitan.

Art Nouveau enameled and gilt crystal stemware, 97 pieces, possibly Theresienthat or Lobmeyer, green and clear glass decorated with gilt and enameled florals, includes 12 4-inch-tall stems. Estimate: $1,800-$2,200. Image courtesy Auctions Neapolitan.

Art Nouveau enameled and gilt crystal stemware, 97 pieces, possibly Theresienthat or Lobmeyer, green and clear glass decorated with gilt and enameled florals, includes 12 4-inch-tall stems. Estimate: $1,800-$2,200. Image courtesy Auctions Neapolitan.

Select guild of Mass. artisans preserve printed word

Old books awaiting restoration. Image by Tom Murphy VII. Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons.
Old books awaiting restoration. Image by Tom Murphy VII. Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons.
Old books awaiting restoration. Image by Tom Murphy VII. Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

SHREWSBURY, Mass. (AP) – At Green Dragon Bindery, C. Allan “Skip” Carpenter Jr. presides over a Renaissance-style guild of artisans who painstakingly preserve the history and wisdom of the past.

Since 1965, his Shrewsbury business has earned an international reputation for restoring and conserving “all manner of bound and printed material,” including old books, maps, documents and even globes.

On a busy Thursday afternoon, five employees work at varied tasks as the radio plays classic rock music.

Christopher Herbert repairs the broken spine of a 19th century City Directory of Baltimore, Md.

Matthew Jones works on three different globes, including a rare Bryant Celestial model from the 1880s. And Nicole McDaniel patiently restores an 1820 first edition of James Fenimore Cooper’s first novel, a flop titled Precaution.

In a downstairs shop, cousins Wesley and Christine Carpenter call for help moving a faded 17th century map of England and Wales to a table for cleaning and repairs.

Resembling a mix between Henry Ford’s and Santa’s workshops, the bindery is packed with century-old presses, specialized tools, a World War II army sink for cleaning maps, paint, paste and a safe with no combination.

A trim, bearded man wearing suspenders, the 79-year-old Carpenter followed a winding path to open his bindery, housed in a two-floor shop he built on Boylston Street.

He studied physics and electrical engineering at the University of Miami, served as chief engineer on a U.S. Navy landing ship tank vessel in the 1950s, taught industrial arts in Stow for 12 years and sold and restored antiques.

“I took some school books apart and put them back together,” recalled Carpenter. “I started doing it and basically taught myself. It just mushroomed.”

He chose the name Green Dragon from a child’s watercolor that had passed through his antique store.

Over the decades, Carpenter hired a team of five variously skilled artisans who share some book restoration tasks but have developed specialized techniques for conserving maps, documents and globes.

“We have a special place in the book world. We’ve learned the tricks and pitfalls you can’t learn in school,” said Carpenter. “You have to learn by making mistakes. You have to learn by doing.”

While prices vary, he cited the following fees: $250-300 for rebacking a book in cloth or leather; $100-$200 for restoring a sheet map, print or engraving; $800-1,000 for restoring a wall map; and $1,000-3,000 for repairing a globe.

In a busy field beset by deadlines, he’s proud of earning a reputation for delivering projects within a promised 10 to 12 weeks.

Now 79, Carpenter doesn’t plan on expanding his business even if there’s a market for it.

“I don’t want any more people,” he said. “Then it becomes big business and that means big problems.”

Like the books they preserve, each employee has his or her own story.

A former anthropology and art student who studies Japanese swordsmanship, Jones observed what he and the others do “is really both a craft and art.”

“The main things each of us do are arts-skilled. Sometimes, it’s in line with being a carpenter who takes apart and mends things,” he said. “You have to be an artist to see the patterns. You have to have the ability to duplicate the feeling of the original work.”

The newest employee who came to the bindery in 2006, McDaniel repairs books and makes jewelry in her spare time. A Hardwick resident, she studied graphic design and bookmaking at UMass and “just fell in love with it.”

When conserving a damaged old book, McDaniel said, “Whenever possible, we save the original and do our best to replicate what we can’t. We want the book to be useful so the owner can read it and not just look at it,” she said.

“I feel it’s a privilege to be preserving history. To my dismay, books are going by the wayside. I don’t take them for granted,” she said. “It’s like a new, Old World job that nobody’s doing. That’s why I’m glad I have it.”

A burly man with long blonde hair, Herbert brushes paste onto the spine of a damaged book with brisk, sure strokes.

After studying commercial art, he was supporting himself as a woodworker when he asked Carpenter to teach him bookbinding.

“It was like joining a guild. I made a verbal agreement to work here five years and he’d teach me the business,” said Herbert.

Entering the first-floor workshop after working on an old map, Wesley Carpenter joked, “My job description hasn’t changed in the last 500 years.”

“Are we Luddites?” he pondered. “There are some people here who’d fit that description.”

Someone asked Wes Carpenter if he could use his mechanical skills to repair a Nook or Kindle.

“If he could, he wouldn’t,” Jones answered for him. “If he did, he’d be disowned.”

Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

AP-WF-03-16-12 1756GMT

ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE

Old books awaiting restoration. Image by Tom Murphy VII. Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons.
Old books awaiting restoration. Image by Tom Murphy VII. Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

Chinese farmer to serve 13 years for Forbidden City theft

The Hall of Supreme Harmony in the Forbidden City. Image by Saad Akhtar. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.
The Hall of Supreme Harmony in the Forbidden City. Image by Saad Akhtar. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.
The Hall of Supreme Harmony in the Forbidden City. Image by Saad Akhtar. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

BEIJING (AFP) – A Chinese farmer has been sentenced to 13 years in jail for stealing works of art and jewels from the Forbidden City last year, his lawyer said Monday, in a rare theft at the ancient imperial palace.

Shi Baikui, 27, from the eastern province of Shandong, was arrested last May at an Internet cafe in the Chinese capital more than 48 hours after committing the theft.

“Shi was given a 13-year sentence in prison, fined 13,000 yuan ($2,000) and deprived of his political rights for three years” at a court in Beijing, his lawyer Huang Changyong told AFP.

According to the state-run news agency Xinhua, Shi broke into the heavily guarded former home of Chinese emperors in May last year where he stole nine valuable items including gold and jewels.

Police managed to recover six of the stolen items but three pieces worth an estimated 150,000 yuan ($24,000) remain missing, Xinhua said.

News reports at the time said the stolen items—valued at up to 10 million yuan ($1.6 million)—dated from the early 20th century and included jewelry boxes and women’s makeup cases.

Shi’s theft is the fifth on record at the Forbidden City. The last person was sentenced to life in prison after trying to rob the ancient imperial palace in 1987, according to state media.

The Forbidden City, one of Beijing’s most popular tourist attractions, was first built in the early 15th century and served as the imperial palace of China’s Ming and Qing Dynasties.

It provided the setting for the 1987 Oscar-winning film The Last Emperor, the first feature film to be granted permission by the Chinese government to be shot at the exclusive location.

ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE

The Hall of Supreme Harmony in the Forbidden City. Image by Saad Akhtar. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.
The Hall of Supreme Harmony in the Forbidden City. Image by Saad Akhtar. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

Video games enter realm of art in Smithsonian exhibit

Ms. Pac-man arcade game from the early '80s. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers.com Archive and Premiere Props.
Ms. Pac-man arcade game from the early '80s. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers.com Archive and Premiere Props.
Ms. Pac-man arcade game from the early ’80s. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers.com Archive and Premiere Props.

WASHINGTON (AFP) – They’ve come a long way since the man who would be Mario set off to rescue Pauline from Donkey Kong and Pac-Man gobbled up as many dots as he could before the ghosts caught up with him.

But really, are video games art?

Absolutely, contends a major exhibition that opened Friday at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington that celebrates gaming’s rich creative side and the people behind a medium that’s still in full bloom.

“The Art of Video Games” spans the 40 years since video games moved from amusement arcades into homes around the world, evolving in leaps and bounds with ever-more-sophisticated graphics, interactivity and story-telling.

“While this exhibition is not the first exhibition that actually uses video games, it is the first I believe that actually looks at video games themselvesas an art form,” curator Chris Melissinos told AFP.

“This is not about the art within video games,” said Melissinos, an avid gamer since he was a 10-year-old in his native New York borough of Queens.

“This is about video games themselves as an artistic medium.”

Bathed in red and blue lighting, and appropriately next to a Nam June Paik video installation, “The Art of Video Games” spotlights 80 hit games created for 20 different gaming systems, from the Atari VCS of the 1970s to today’s PlayStation 3, that Melissinos calls “the touchstones of their generation.”

Five games—”Pac-Man,” “Super Mario Brothers,” “The Secret of Monkey Island,” “Myst” and “Flower”—are booted up with their original joysticks and motion controllers for visitors to play on wall-size screens.

Long-obsolete consoles like the ColecoVision that powered “Donkey Kong” and the Commodore 64 that made “Attack of the Mutant Camels” possible are encased in Plexiglass display boxes like pharaonic Egyptian artifacts.

“When hardcore gamers come in here, they’re going to go, ‘Yes, these are the correct games to represent these different eras,'” said Chris Kohler, gaming editor of Wired.com and an advisor to the exhibition.

“But when nongamers come in, I think they’re really going to get an education into the art form that this medium really truly is, and has become, and how it has evolved,” he told AFP.

In-gallery videos tackle the past, present and future of gaming through interviews with 20 influential figures in the gaming world; the videos also feature on the exhibition’s website (www.americanart.ci.edu).

Notable among the innovators is Jenova Chan, who tells how rural California inspired him to create “Flower,” in which the player swooshes through Van Gogh-like fields like the wind, picking up flower petals along the way.

“I grew up in Shanghai… I had never seen a rolling hill,” says Chan in the his video interview.

“So when I came to California, I saw these farms, endless green, the windmills. I wanted to capture that because it’s so overwhelming. It’s like a person that has never seen the ocean going to the beach for the first time.”

“Games just aren’t about blowing things up,” says another interviewee, game developer Jennifer MacLean, who personifies the little-known fact that a majority of the people who create online games today are women over 35.

“I’d love to see them enrich somebody’s life by helping them learn to feel more, lean to love more, learn to invest more in the world around them.”

A richly illustrated 216-page catalog rounds out the exhibition that opens alongside GameFest!, a weekend of talks, open game playing and game-inspired music, and runs until Sept. 30 before touring 10 other U.S. cities.

Kaminski’s Asian auction Mar. 30-31 strong on art

Painting, China, 20th century, of plum blossoms, ink and color on paper, signed and sealed Qi Baishi (1864-1957), dedicated to Yu San, 53 inches x 13 1/4 inches. Provenance: from the collection of Wen Tsan Yu, dedicated to Yu San, Yu’s moniker. Estimate: $20,000-$30,000. Image courtesy of Kaminski Auctions.

Painting, China, 20th century, of plum blossoms, ink and color on paper, signed and sealed Qi Baishi (1864-1957), dedicated to Yu San, 53 inches x 13 1/4 inches. Provenance: from the collection of Wen Tsan Yu, dedicated to Yu San, Yu’s moniker. Estimate: $20,000-$30,000. Image courtesy of Kaminski Auctions.

Painting, China, 20th century, of plum blossoms, ink and color on paper, signed and sealed Qi Baishi (1864-1957), dedicated to Yu San, 53 inches x 13 1/4 inches. Provenance: from the collection of Wen Tsan Yu, dedicated to Yu San, Yu’s moniker. Estimate: $20,000-$30,000. Image courtesy of Kaminski Auctions.

BEVERLY, Mass. – Kaminski Auctions of Beverly, Mass., and Beverly Hills, Calif., announces that its Spring 2012 Fine Asian Art and Antiques Auction to coincide with the last week of Asia Week 2012 in New York City will be March 30 and 31. The sales will be held at the auctioneer’s Beverly, Mass., gallery, starting at 10 a.m. both days.

LiveAuctioneers.com will provide Internet live bidding.

Featuring the outstanding art collection of Wen Tsan Yu, the sale includes many works by famous Chinese artists, the most notable Qi Baishi (1864-1957), Puru (1896-1963) and Pu Jin (1893-1966). Most paintings include a dedication by the artist to “Yu San,” Wen Tsan Yu, and the collector’s personal seal. Also in this sale is his collection of exquisitely painted fans, the most important being a 20th century fan of paper leaf and featuring painting by Wang Yun (1888-1934) on reverse with calligraphy by Zhu Nuzhen.

Wen Tsan Yu was raised in China and later became a professor at Peking University. He graduated from the University of Chicago in 1916 with a Ph.B, and from Harvard University in 1919 with a LL.B. His grandfather Moy Toy Ni, (Charlie Toy) came to the United States in the late 1800s and settled in Milwaukee. He was widely known as “the Chinese Rockefeller” in the early 20th century. Paintings in this collection have been in the family for over 50 years.

Furniture in the sale includes a rare pair of Huanghuali Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) chairs estimated at $20,000-$25,000 and a fine Huanghuali kang table estimated at $20,000-$35,000.

An early 20th century Japanese set of ivory figures, statues of the Seven Deities of Fortune, “Shichifukujin,” intricately carved as holding their attributes and standing on customized wood stands is estimated at $30,000-$50,000. Each figure is about 15 inches high. This exquisite set is from the estate of the Count and Countess von Haller v. Hallerstein of Boston.

Among the other extraordinary Asian pieces in this estate was a 15th-16th century bronze statue of Kali from India. It stands 17 1/2 inches high and has multiple arms and hands radiating from her, each holding an item symbolic of her power, including the shield, trident and the sword, and standing on a platform with one foot stepping on a defeated foe.

With the current success of Chinese porcelain reaching new auction highs a magnificent early 19th century Chinese Rose Mandarin punch bowl in Kaminski’s auction is expected to be the top lot off the sale. It figures a palace scenes with an elaborate interior border of bats, birds, blossoms and coins, while the exterior rim has a border of auspicious fruits, chrysanthemums and butterflies, and gilt details and rim. This large bowl, 22 3/4 inches in diameter, is estimated at $30,000-$50,000.

Another important porcelain entry is a pair of blue and white vases from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). They are of baluster form with flared rims and each is painted with Ming officials partaking in a hunt, 15 1/2 inches by 5 inches. Their estimate is $12,000-$18,000.

Ben Wang, Kaminski’s Asian specialist, has put together a superb sale with a wide array of outstanding pieces. For more information go to www.kaminskiauctions.com or call 978-927-2223.

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

Painting, China, 20th century, of plum blossoms, ink and color on paper, signed and sealed Qi Baishi (1864-1957), dedicated to Yu San, 53 inches x 13 1/4 inches. Provenance: from the collection of Wen Tsan Yu, dedicated to Yu San, Yu’s moniker. Estimate: $20,000-$30,000. Image courtesy of Kaminski Auctions.

Painting, China, 20th century, of plum blossoms, ink and color on paper, signed and sealed Qi Baishi (1864-1957), dedicated to Yu San, 53 inches x 13 1/4 inches. Provenance: from the collection of Wen Tsan Yu, dedicated to Yu San, Yu’s moniker. Estimate: $20,000-$30,000. Image courtesy of Kaminski Auctions.

Pair of blue and white vases, China, Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), Ming officials partaking in a hunt, 15 1/2 inches x 5 inches. Estimate: $12,000-$18,000. Image courtesy of Kaminski Auctions.

Pair of blue and white vases, China, Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), Ming officials partaking in a hunt, 15 1/2 inches x 5 inches. Estimate: $12,000-$18,000. Image courtesy of Kaminski Auctions.

Fan, China, 20th century, paper leaf with painting of birds by Yan Bolong (1895-1954), reverse with calligraphy by Shen Yinmo (1883-1971), 20 inches x 7 1/2 inches. Estimate: $3,000-$5,000. Image courtesy of Kaminski Auctions.

Fan, China, 20th century, paper leaf with painting of birds by Yan Bolong (1895-1954), reverse with calligraphy by Shen Yinmo (1883-1971), 20 inches x 7 1/2 inches. Estimate: $3,000-$5,000. Image courtesy of Kaminski Auctions.

Fan painting, China, 20th century, Lin Fengmian (1900-1991), ink and color on paper, dedicated to Yu San, frame 24 inches x 13 1/4 inches. Estimate: $6,000-$9,000. Image courtesy of Kaminski Auctions.

Fan painting, China, 20th century, Lin Fengmian (1900-1991), ink and color on paper, dedicated to Yu San, frame 24 inches x 13 1/4 inches. Estimate: $6,000-$9,000. Image courtesy of Kaminski Auctions.

Painting, China, 20th century, chrysanthemums, ink and color on paper, signed and sealed Qi Baishi (1864-1957). Estimate: $10,000-$15,000. Image courtesy of Kaminski Auctions.

Painting, China, 20th century, chrysanthemums, ink and color on paper, signed and sealed Qi Baishi (1864-1957). Estimate: $10,000-$15,000. Image courtesy of Kaminski Auctions.

 

Eyes on China as world’s biggest antiques fair opens

Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands visited TEFAF Maastricht 2012 on Wednesday as the world’s largest art and antiques fair prepared to celebrate its silver jubilee. Photo: Harry Heuts, courtesy The European Fine Art Fair.
Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands visited TEFAF Maastricht 2012 on Wednesday as the world’s largest art and antiques fair prepared to celebrate its silver jubilee. Photo: Harry Heuts, courtesy The European Fine Art Fair.
Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands visited TEFAF Maastricht 2012 on Wednesday as the world’s largest art and antiques fair prepared to celebrate its silver jubilee. Photo: Harry Heuts, courtesy The European Fine Art Fair.

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AFP) – China dominates the global art and antiques market as of last year, said a report published Friday ahead of the launch of the European Fine Art Fair in the Netherlands.

Published by organizers of the world’s biggest antiques fair, to open to collectors in the southern city of Maastricht, the report said China now claims a 30 percent share of the worldwide market.

“China overtook the United States for the first time in 2011 to become the largest arts and antiques market worldwide,” said the paper. It said the findings were based on “both auction and dealer sales.”

The U.S. was pushed into second place with a share of 29 percent, as art sales worldwide jumped by 7 percent from the previous year to a staggering 46.1 billion euros ($ 60.3 billion) in 2011.

Britain, overtaken by China in 2010, was third with 22 percent, while France came fourth with 6 percent, said the report “The International Art Market in 2011: Observations on the art trade over 25 years.”

The report, compiled by Claire McAndrew, a cultural economist specializing in the fine and decorative art market, called the development “perhaps one of the most fundamental and important changes in the last 50 years.”

“The dominance of the Chinese market has been driven by expanding wealth, strong domestic supply and the investive drive of Chinese art buyers.”

The arts and antiques market recovered significantly over the past two years, McAndrew wrote, as the global economy slowly recovered from the 2008-09 crisis, which had created a “more cautious buying climate.”

Chinese investors, however, saw art as a significant substitute for ailing property and stock markets, said McAndrew.

Some 260 exhibitors from 18 countries will take part in this year’s 25th fair, to run until March 25, putting some 30,000 works up for sale.

Among them will be sculptor Henry Moore’s 1977 black granite creation Reclining Figure Curved, with an estimated value of $35 million (26.65 million euros).

ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE

Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands visited TEFAF Maastricht 2012 on Wednesday as the world’s largest art and antiques fair prepared to celebrate its silver jubilee. Photo: Harry Heuts, courtesy The European Fine Art Fair.
Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands visited TEFAF Maastricht 2012 on Wednesday as the world’s largest art and antiques fair prepared to celebrate its silver jubilee. Photo: Harry Heuts, courtesy The European Fine Art Fair.

Berlin museum must return Nazi-looted poster collection

Facade of the Zeughaus, which now houses the German Historical Museum. Image by Manfred Brückels. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
Facade of the Zeughaus, which now houses the German Historical Museum. Image by Manfred Brückels. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
Facade of the Zeughaus, which now houses the German Historical Museum. Image by Manfred Brückels. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

BERLIN (AFP) – A German court on Friday ordered a leading Berlin museum to return to a Jewish family in the United States a valuable collection of posters stolen in 1938 by Nazi propaganda chief Joseph Goebbels.

The collection of some 4,300 posters, valued at around 4.4 million euros ($5.7 million), was taken by the Nazi propaganda ministry from Jewish dentist Hans Sachs, the top poster collector in Germany from the early 20th century.

Later that year, Sachs was sent to a concentration camp but released a few weeks later, and fled with his family first to London, then to New York. He died in 1974.

In 1961, he received a sum of 225,000 deutschmarks—more than half a million euros in today’s money—in compensation from West Germany.

The collection survived the war and languished in the cellar of the German Historical Museum, at the time behind the Iron Curtain in East Berlin.

The Federal Court of Justice, based in the western city of Karlsruhe, ruled that the Sachs family “was the owner of the poster collection and can demand it back” from the museum, ending a tug-of-war that had lasted for years.

Not to return the art “would perpetuate Nazi injustice,” the court said in a written statement.

The museum said it would accept the judgment and would “shortly” begin talks with the family to decide how to proceed.

Matthias Druba, a lawyer representing the Sachs family, said his client hoped to find another museum in Germany that would display the posters as works of art, not as historical artifacts.

“Ideally this would be in Berlin, because the Sachs family originally came from Berlin,” Druba told AFP, adding that they had held back from the search for a new home until the ruling had been handed down.

Hans Sachs’s son Peter, who had brought the claim against the museum, is a retired airline pilot and as such “doesn’t have the means simply to build a museum,” Druba said.

“In any case, this was never about the money, but about restoring the family’s history,” he said.

ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE

Facade of the Zeughaus, which now houses the German Historical Museum. Image by Manfred Brückels. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
Facade of the Zeughaus, which now houses the German Historical Museum. Image by Manfred Brückels. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.