The spindled flat-arm Morris chair was a staple of Gustav Stickley’s Craftsman workshop. Image courtesy of Rago Arts & Auction Center. More than 100 years ago, Gustav Stickley began creating well-made wood furniture with a simplicity of design. The creation of a brand soon followed, with Stickley offering everything from candlesticks and linens to a magazine that included home plans in his Craftsman style.
The first national touring exhibit to give a comprehensive look at Stickley’s work opened last week at the Newark Museum in New Jersey, with the majority of pieces on display coming from private collections.
The show features more than 100 works, including furniture, metalwork, textiles and architectural drawings. It goes to the Dallas Museum of Art on Feb. 13 and then to the San Diego Museum of Art on June 18.
“He became someone who was offering a complete lifestyle,” said David Cathers, who has published books on Stickley and the Arts and Crafts Movement.
The exhibit “Gustav Stickley and the American Arts & Crafts Movement” offers a glimpse of Stickley’s work. It starts in 1900 – when the furniture maker with a factory in the Syracuse, N.Y., area began producing items his new style – and goes to 1913, when he opened a department store in a 12-story Manhattan building that included everything from home to garden supplies, and was topped with a restaurant.
Following the opening of that megastore, though, tastes began to change and Stickley’s Craftsman style waned in popularity. By 1915, he’d declared bankruptcy, said Kevin W. Tucker, decorative arts and design curator at the Dallas Museum of Art, which organized the traveling exhibit.
For those dozen or so years though, his work flourished. The simple style of the Arts and Crafts Movement was a revelation to customers who were rejecting the fussy style of the Victorian period.
From The Craftsman magazine to his own stores in New York, Washington and Boston, Stickley offered customers a lifestyle based on his philosophy of simple design and quality materials. At one point, Tucker said, Stickley had more than 100 retailers who sold his work.
Ulysses Dietz, senior curator and curator of decorative arts at the Newark Museum, said that Stickley’s products were aimed at the “educated, sophisticated middle-class American.”
“Stickley really represents the birth of modern design in America,” said Dietz, who added that Stickley’s designs show “how very beautiful simplicity can be.”
Tucker said that Stickley’s furniture – made by a combination of machine and hand – has endured over the decades because of its quality of design, materials and construction.
“He had a complete holistic approach to creating, marketing and ultimately selling his work,” Tucker said.
It was an exhibition on the Arts and Crafts Movement at Princeton University in the early 1970s that helped revive interest in Stickley, who died at the age of 84 in 1942 in Syracuse. Collectors then became increasingly interested in his furniture.
“I think what makes them stand out, they’re so well done. The design of them is so good,” Cathers said.
Jerry Cohen, who has a Connecticut gallery that sells Stickley’s furniture and is also a partner in a New Jersey auction house, said that depending on such factors as when it was made and its condition, pieces of Stickley’s furniture can sell for anywhere from a couple hundred dollars to half a million for the very rare.
The exhibit also coincides with the kickoff of the 100th anniversary celebration for the log house on his country estate, Craftsman Farms, in Parsipanny, N.J. Stickley and his family lived there only about six years, but the design of the log home with a rock foundation and roof of green ceramic tiles reflects his feelings on the importance of living with nature, said Heather Stivison, executive director of the Stickley Museum at Craftsman Farms.
Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Lancaster, Pa., Chippendale walnut dressing table, circa 1770, 29 1/2 inches high, 33 inches wide, 20 inches deep. Provenance: Philip H. Bradley Co., est. $20,000-$40,000. Image Pook & Pook Inc.
DOWNINGTOWN, Pa. – Pook & Pook Inc. will present the collection of Earle and Yvonne Henderson from their home, historic Charming Forge Mansion, in Berks County, Pa., on Friday, Oct. 1.
LiveAuctioneers will provide Internet live bidding for the 400-lot auction.
Charming Forge Mansion is nestled atop a hill overlooking a site that once buzzed with industrial activity and the clanking of a forge hammer. The forge is closed now and many of the buildings are gone, but the mansion still looks out over Tulpehocken Creek that once powered this manufacturing site. The forge was built in 1749 by John George Nikoll and Michael Miller, and in 1763 was acquired by William Henry Stiegel and Michael Gross. Prior to America Revolution, the forge produced as much as 300 tons of bar iron per year.
The Hendersons purchased the mansion in 1993 and have worked for nearly two decades to restore it to its original late 1700s Georgian appearance and maintain its historical integrity. They decorated the restored mansion with a mix of period pieces dating from 1760-1790 giving it a true late 18th-century appearance. This selection of furniture and accessory items will be sold beginning at 5 p.m. on Oct. 1 following a reception from 3-5 p.m.
Over 400 lots will be offered throughout the evening. Included will be American furniture, porcelain, paintings, coverlets, pewter, glass, metalware and other accompaniments. The sale will begin with an extensive Wedgwood creamware dinner service with a provenance of the U.S. Embassy, estimated at $8,000-$12,000. A Lancaster, Pa., Chippendale walnut dressing table, circa 1770 will follow. Purchased from Philip H. Bradley Co., the piece is adorned with four shells, fluted chamfered corners and ball and claw feet. Several tall-case clocks stand out, including a walnut Chippendale tall-case clock by Philip Maus of Lebanon, Pa. (est. $10,000-$15,000), an elaborate Chippendale clock by John Vanderslice of Womelsdorf, Pa., with dentil moldings and barley twist columns and a walnut tall-case clock by George Oves of Lebanon with and shell carved door and fluted quarter columns.
Homes of that period typically lacked storage closets. Charming Forge was no exception and probably originally contained schranks to serve the purpose. Four of these will be offered during the sale. A Lancaster Co., Pa., walnut schrank, circa 1770, has two doors, each with six raised panels and rattail hinges (est. $10,000-$15,000) and another Lancaster example has a pronounced stepped cornice inlaid with the date 1767 above two double raised panel doors flanked by recessed panel pilasters (est. $15,000-$25,000).
Other outstanding furniture pieces include a Berks County architectural corner cupboard, the Muhlenberg family pair of Philadelphia Chippendale mahogany dining chairs, a variety of birdcage candlestands, a Berks County Chippendale walnut tall chest with Greek key bordered cornice and spurred ogee bracket feet and a set of four Delaware Valley shell carved dining chairs with ball and claw feet. Fine mirrors were placed throughout the mansion. A George III mahogany veneer and parcel gilt Constitution mirror with phoenix is sure to stand out together with an impressive Queen Anne walnut and parcel gilt looking glass with a scalloped crest. Several Georgian giltwood overmantle mirrors with attract attention. Jan Whitlock, well known for her fabrics, provided the wonderful bed hangings for the canopy beds included in the sale. A Newport, R.H., Chippendale mahogany tall post bed is adorned with blue floral resist hangings, skirt and three valances.
Accessory items included collections of pewter, coverlets, glass, wrought iron and porcelain. An important Chinese export porcelain dinner service from the Willing family of Philadelphia should attract many bidders. With approximately 175 pieces, this set has a floral swag border and urn center decorations (est. $20,000-$30,000). A group of early Delft drug jars with a provenance of Mark & Marjorie Allen and dating from the 1730s will be offered as well as a collection of 25 Pennsylvania jacquard coverlets. Pewter objects comprise pieces by Rufus Dunham, Israel Trask, Roswell Gleason, Blakslee Barns, Freeman Porter, Boardman, Danforth, William Calder and others. A large collection of Stiegel-type clear etched and enameled glass includes bottles, flips, mugs and other pieces.
The Hendersons adorned a large walk-in fireplace with all manner of appropriate metalware. Firefenders, trammels, andirons, bedwarmers, cooking utensils and pots and other items used in the 18th century for warming and cooking are part of the collection together with various lighting devices and candlesticks.
Of special mention are a fine group of Jacob Eicholtz portraits. A small portrait of Hannah Torr Drum of Philadelphia depicts a young girl wearing a white empire dress with puffed sleeves and measures 7 1/2 inches by 5 1/2 inches. Another is of a young woman of Lancaster in a pink dress and is pictured in Beale’s Jacob Eichholtz, 1776-1842, Portrait Painter of Pennsylvania, page 282.
For details e-mail Pook & Pook Inc. at info@pookandpook.com or phone Pook & Pook Inc. at (610) 269-4040.
Charming Forge Mansion … at a glance
Charming Forge Mansion, located in Berks County, Pa., is nestled atop a hill overlooking a site that once buzzed with industrial activity. The forge is closed, but the mansion still looks out over the Tulpehocken Creek.
Originally called Tulpehocken Eisenhammer (Tulpehocken Iron Forge) when it was built around 1749 by John George Nikoll and Michael Miller, Charming Forge was given its present name by William Henry Stiegel and Michael Gross who acquired the forge around 1763. The forge was produced as much as 300 tons of bar iron per year, iron which was sent to buyers as close as Philadelphia and as far away as London. Stiegel squandered his wealth and, in the process, lost his ownership of the forge. In 1773 the forge was sold at public auction and was bought, in part, by ironmaster George Ege, Stiegel’s nephew. By 1780 he was the sole owner overseeing operations and he lived in the small stone home that overlooked the forge. The original home on the site had been built in the mid 1700s, but between 1780 and 1784 Ege built a massive addition creating Charming Forge Mansion.
The forge and furnace properties passed through many hands over the decades that followed Ege’s death. In 1993 The Berks County Conservancy, whose mission is environmental and historic preservation, purchased the property in partnership with two conservation buyers, Richard Levengood and Earle “Chip” and Yvonne “Vonnie” Henderson, at public sale in December 1993 to protect it with conservation easements to limit future development.
The Hendersons purchased the mansion and surrounding land and for almost two decades have painstakingly restored it to its original late 1700s Georgian appearance and maintain its historical integrity. They consulted experts and examined the home in detail before beginning their restoration work. The house was structurally perfect and only minor architectural changes had been made since the home had first been built. These changes were “fixed” by the Hendersons to bring the home back to its original state and included exposing covered up fireplaces, removing the Victorian-era porch, replacing several windows, as well as many other projects. The Hendersons also decorated the restored mansion with a mix of period pieces dating from 1760-1790 giving it a true late 18th-century appearance. The result is a spectacular home and a beautifully preserved piece of our history.
The restoration of Charming Forge Mansion is complete and after more than a decade of enjoying the results of their labors the Hendersons are ready to pursue new interests. Their beautiful home is for sale and the couple is excited to find a new owner who will enjoy and maintain the beauty of this “charming” piece of Pennsylvania’s history. On Oct. 1, Pook & Pook Inc. Auctioneers and Appraisers will have the pleasure of presenting the Hendersons’ remarkable and extensive collection of period antiques that they used to furnish their celebrated home.
ADDITIONAL IMAGES OF NOTE
Two Stiegel-type glass enameled bottles, circa 1800, with floral decoration and pewter collars, 6 inches high, est. $300-$500. Image Pook & Pook Inc.Extensive Wedgwood creamware dinner service, early 19th century. Provenance: Highgate Antiques; U.S. Embassy, Moscow, est. $8,000-$12,000. Image Pook & Pook IncDelaware Valley Chippendale walnut dining chair, circa 1765, retains old dry surface. Provenance: Chris Rebollo Antiques, est. $5,000-$8,000. Image Pook & Pook Inc.Pennsylvania jacquard coverlet, inscribed ‘1838 Leacock Township Lan. Co. H. Wise Weaver,’ with floral and star design, 84 inches by 94 inches, est: $300-600. Image Pook & Pook Inc.Pennsylvania Chippendale walnut tall-post canopy bed, late 18th century, having a shaped headboard and turned posts ending in marlborough feet. Provenance: VanTassel Bauman Antiques. Together with crewel bed hangings, skirt and three valances, est. $3,500-$5,500. Image Pook & Pook Inc.
As summer draws to a close, London is once again preparing for the big Frieze — the annual contemporary art fair that takes place in Regent’s Park, the impact of which extends across the capital throughout the month of October.
However, before the high-rolling, big-spending celebrities reach town to feast on a banquet of international contemporary art, there are plenty of other more historically interesting and equally news-worthy events worth pausing over. For example, an altogether different sort of freeze sets in at Christie’s this month when a fascinating collection of memorabilia relating to Scott of the Antarctic comes under the hammer.
The Charles Seymour Wright collection relates to Captain Robert Falcon Scott’s British Antarctic Expedition of 1910-1913. Wright (1887-1975), was the last surviving member of Scott’s Polar Party and the man who discovered the bodies of Scott and his two colleagues in November 1912. Trygge Gran, a Norwegian sailor, was also present that day and recorded how, standing outside the tent while Wright inspected the frozen bodies inside, suddenly “heard a noise…like a pistol shot…I was told this was Scott’s arm breaking as they raised it to take away the journals strapped under his arm.”
Some of those journals and other poignant relics form the centrepiece of Christie’s Exploration and Travel sale on Sept. 22. Consigned by Wright’s grandson in British Columbia, they include Wright’s skis, estimated at £6,000-£8,000 ($9,255-$12,350), his sledging tables, estimated at £4,000-£6,000 ($6,175-$9,255), his altitude scale in its sledging bag, which is expected to make £2,500-£3,500 ($3,850-$5,400), and a large and important archive of photographs of the fatal expedition, which could make as much as £30,000-£50,000 ($46,275-$77,125).
It will be fascinating to see whether this unique collection is acquired by a national institution and thus remain intact or whether it will be dispersed to private collectors. No doubt the Royal Geographical Society, which already holds a significant collection of Scott material, will be among the bidders.
There was a time when important country house sales would be virtually guaranteed to end up under the hammer of one of the London auction houses. Not any more, however. Today, when a significant country estate is to be sold, it is just as likely the instructions will go to one of the big provincial firms such as Gorringes in Sussex, Woolley & Wallis in Wiltshire, Tennants in Yorkshire, or Duke’s in Dorchester, all of whom have steadily transformed themselves in recent years into first-rate competitors to the London rooms.
Thus it was no surprise to hear that Duke’s had won the instructions to disperse the contents of Melplash Court, a delightfully pictureseque country pile in Dorset dating back to the 16th century. The house and extensive gardens testify to the impeccable taste of the last two postwar owners, the most recent being Tim and Fran Lewis, who have been resident since the early 1980s and whose family wealth came from the prewar North American railroad and lumber industries. Perusing the two sumptuous catalogs Duke’s have lovingly prepared for the three-day sale Sept. 22-24 is to find a traditional and typically eclectic “country house” taste that increasingly seems a thing of the past as collectors migrate increasingly toward the contemporary.
Twenty-five years ago, provincial estate sales like this were still a relatively common occurrence on the summer auction circuit (and were invariably conducted by Sotheby’s, Christie’s or Phillips). It is therefore not surprising that Duke’s director, Guy Schwinge, is currently beaming with pride at winning what he tells us is the largest and most important “on the premises” auction his firm has ever handled.
Melplash Court in Dorset, the contents of which Duke’s of Dorchester will auction on the premises on Sept. 22-24. Image courtesy Duke’s.
The Lewises were sophisticated cross-cultural collectors in the old-fashioned sense and so the material on offer is both historically interesting and adventurously contemporary, embracing fine period silver, rare Oriental ceramics, elegant period furniture, some fine pictures, and a whole lot else besides.
It’s hard to choose the highlights since there are so many objects that qualify, but there is expected to be fierce bidding for an extremely rare set of four panoramic views of Canton that document (and are perhaps contemporaneous with) the Great Fire of 1822. The set is expected to make £50,000-£100,000 ($77,125-$154,250). Also among the pictures is a fascinating 17th-century oil on panel by Abel Grimmer, depicting a wedding scene with merrymakers in the grounds of a manor house. Provenanced to London dealers Arthur Tooth & Sons, this intriguing picture could fetch £30,000-£50,000 ($46,275-$77,125), according to Duke’s estimate.
One of a rare set of four panoramic views of Canton documenting the Great Fire of 1822, expected to make £50,000-£100,000 ($77,125-$154,250) at Duke’s in Dorchester on Sept. 23. Image courtesy Duke’s.This intriguing 17th-century oil on panel by Abel Grimmer, depicting a wedding scene with merrymakers, could fetch £30,000-£50,000 ($46,275-$77,125) at Duke’s sale of the contents of Melplash Court in Dorset on Sept. 24. Image courtesy Duke’s.
Duke’s are no strangers to headline-grabbing hammer prices and the Melplash sale looks likely to continue that encouraging trend.
The quintessentially English decorator taste typified by the Melplash sale will also be in evidence at Christie’s on Oct. 27 when two collections come under the hammer together. The first is a selection of objects consigned by the sought-after society interior designer Robert Kime. These will be offered alongside a range of objects anonymously consigned from a splendidly homely Cotswolds Manor House.
Over the years, Kime’s stylish eye has won him clients from across the celebrity and royalty circuits including HRH The Prince of Wales and John Taylor, the bass player with 1980s British glam-rock band Duran Duran, whose partner Gela is the brains behind the cult fashion label Juicy Couture.
Like most successful decorators, Kime has built his reputation on a combination of his own fabric, furniture and lighting designs and a canny talent at sourcing the right objects for the right interiors. Finally, he has run out of space and so has had to do what all great collectors hate — rationalize. It’s clear looking at the Ceylonese specimen wood and ivory-inlaid center table estimated at £15,000-£25,000 ($23,135-$38,560) and the late 18th-century Ottoman mother of pearl and tortoiseshell inlaid casket forecast at £2,000-£3,000 ($3,100-$4,625) that pattern and ornament are the main unifying themes in the Kime consignment.
The Cotswold Manor House, meanwhile, has delivered a complementary array of attractive pieces ranging from a fine oak refectory table estimated at £12,000-£18,000 ($18,500-$27,765) to a late abstract painting by Modern British master Roger Hilton which could realise £6,000-£9,000 ($9,255-$13,875).
Finally, as if to endorse the enduring popularity of the country house decorator theme, this month sees the autumn instalment of the thrice-yearly Decorative Antiques & Textiles Fair in Battersea Park, which is now in its 25th year. One of the more amusing objects on offer at the forthcoming fair Sept.28-Oct. 3 is a Victorian child’s carriage dated to circa 1850 that may have been used to perambulate children around the family estate. London dealers Pinn & Lennard, who are offering it at £1,600 ($2,450), inform us that it is in appropriately worn “country house” condition, retaining much of its original yellow and black paint.
Many would say the collector who owns this grouping of items has crossed over into the category of ‘hoarding.’ There is a long-standing joke among collectors that says we all have a touch of OCD or hoarding tendencies. But is it really a joke? Are we really hoarders masquerading as collectors? Just because we are collecting “things” instead of food, paper, or odds and ends doesn’t necessarily mean we are justified.
Let’s take a look at some of the similarities:
Hoarder: Keeps random items in large numbers, sometimes to include trash, food, or random items that seem to have little to no value.
Collector: Is sometimes known to acquire collectibles in large numbers (sometimes broken, soiled and of little value).
Hoarder: Places sentimental attachment to items that would appear worthless to others.
Collector: Often motivated by nostalgia.
Hoarder: Often feels a rush when shopping and acquiring items.
Collector: Loves the thrill of the hunt and will often buy something they would not normally buy if they cannot find something to acquire in their collecting genre to fill that “need to buy something” void.
So this leads to my next thought: Why does adding to our collections made us feel so good?
The Hartford Hospital in Hartford, Conn., states that often, compulsive hoarders feel distressed when they see something they want, and feel they cannot relieve the stress until acquiring that item.
I think this is a similar feeling collectors refer to as being “haunted” by an item we have walked away from, in that we continually think about how we should have bought it. And when we do buy something, we feel a sense of release.
The media have begun exposing celebrities that “hoard” items such as shoes, cars and even pets. If you’ve watched Animal Planet you’ve probably seen their new show Confessions: Animal Hoarding. Who would have thought? Paris Hilton is said to have 18 pets. Will we see her on that show next?
I spoke with my friend Janine Godwin, who is a certified professional organizer with Nooks & Crannies on the very subject. We wondered if the volume of shows on collecting would create a sense of justification for those who do hoard.
I also started to think about the similarities in shows on collecting vs. hoarding. Take American Pickers on the History Channel. It’s one of my favorite collecting shows on air. It follows the two hosts, Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz on their picking adventures around the country. They visit with people who have inherited collections or have built them over the years. They browse through attics, basements and barns packed to the gills with hidden treasures, in hopes of buying a few to resale later. Every show offers new stops, and shows the interaction with the owners of the items. You can see many of them struggle with parting with anything, although they have not looked it the items or used them in years.
Hoarding reality shows follow professional organizers and therapists to meet with families needing assistance with someone they love who is a hoarder. The therapist works with the individual to understand what their attachment to the items is, and how they can change their way of thinking so to not compulsively hoard in the future. The professional organizer works to determine what has value, and what should be discarded.
Do you see the similarities in the formats?
It is said three or more of any item makes a collection. So I guess that means not every collector could be considered a hoarder. I’ve certainly met collectors with 20 items, and I’ve met collectors with 2,000.
When does one cross over? When is too many too much? Would a collector be considered “organized hoarding?” Questions that make you go hmm …
Call it whatever you like, at the end of the day, I’ll still collect things – some in large amounts, some just a few. Some I’ll buy for nostalgic reasons, some because I just like their look.
‘Temperance’ is an example of 19th-centuery American folk art. Painted by an anonymous artist, the oil on canvas, mounted on board, belongs to the University of Michigan Museum of Art, a Gift of The Daniel and Harriet Fusfeld Folk Art Collection, 2002/1.183. Image courtesy of the University of Michigan Museum of Art.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) – A new exhibition at the University of Michigan Museum of Art brings together collections of wood creations and folk art.
“Out of the Ordinary: Selections from the Bohlen Wood Art and Fusfeld Folk Art Collections” opened last weekend at the museum in Ann Arbor. The exhibit is on display until the spring.
Pieces from the Robert M. and Lillian Montalto Bohlen Collection of Wood Art and the Daniel and Harriet Fusfeld Folk Art Collection are on display.
The Bohlen collection presents contemporary artworks fashioned from wood and includes vessel forms and sculptures. The Fusfeld collection includes work by early 19th-century itinerant folk portraitists as well as late 20th-century sculpture and painting.
“Out of the Ordinary” highlights two of the Museum’s most fascinating collections—the Robert M. Bohlen and Lillian Montalto Bohlen Collection of Wood Art and the Daniel and Harriet Fusfeld Folk Art Collection. Both of these extraordinary collections trace how “ordinary” craft practices can transform and change over time to become recognized fine arts practices in the contemporary museum.
The Bohlen Collection of Wood Art, given to UMMA by the couple in 2002, captures the relatively recent evolution of the ordinary, everyday craft of woodturning into a fine arts tradition. A standard production technique for everything from furniture to candlesticks, wood turning—the shaping of a piece of wood that spins on a lathe—had all but disappeared from factories by the turn of the 20th century due to changes in technology. In the 1930s,’40s, and ’50s, a first generation of innovators expanded on wood-turned usable vessels such as plates and bowls that they had been trained to make in industrial arts classrooms. This generation gave these wood-turned objects unique stylistic characteristics that bore the marks of the individual turner. Such work was eventually recognized by museums as the product of an individual hand guided by aesthetic genius, and contemporary wood turning as a fine art was born.
“Out of the Ordinary’s” selection of wood art from the Bohlen Collection features the work of several generations of wood turners, from the first generation of innovators through the hobbyist turners of the 1950s and ’60s and the art-school-trained generation of the 1970s and ’80s, who revolutionized the field by combining fine arts sculptural practices with traditional turning.
Folk art is also a relatively new component of museum collections. Virtually ignored until the 1920s, folk art is now a treasured part of our American heritage, particularly loved and collected during the Great Depression when the American public turned to folk art as a way to imagine a better and brighter American past in the midst of its tribulations.
Folk art can be divided into two groups of artists and works, and both groups are featured in this installation of UMMA’s Fusfeld Folk Art Collection. The first group explores early American folk art of the 18th and 19th centuries, providing a rich and complex record of the people, places, social practices and events of daily life in the young republic. These early folk artists varied in artistic training from professional portraitists to schoolchildren.
The second group of objects featured in the Fusfeld Collection is that of 20th-century self-taught artists. Like the early folk artists, self-taught artists vary greatly in their professional training; some have created their art in private for personal enjoyment, while others have created works for sale within the professional gallery system. Like many fine artists, contemporary self-taught artists have adopted a wide range of materials and media, from found objects to new technologies, such as plastics and latex paints, while others continue the centuries-old traditions of drawing from life and canvas painting.
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Online:
University of Michigan Museum of Art: http://www.umma.umich.edu
Additional information written by Kristine Ronan, Doctoral Candidate, History of Art, University of Michigan.
Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The face on the Gilgal Garden Sphinx is that of Morman founder Joseph Smith. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. SALT LAKE CITY (AP) – Utah’s unique Gilgal Garden is celebrating its 10th year as a city park.
Named for the spot where ancient Israelites crossed the Jordan River in the Middle East, Gilgal Garden contains a dozen original sculptures with biblical themes. More than 70 engraved stones contain quotes from hymns, scriptures, poets and philosophers.
Tucked away in a residential neighborhood near Salt Lake City’s downtown, the garden’s best-known sculpture is an Egyptian sphinx with the face of Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints founder Joseph Smith.
“It’s such a testament to one man’s vision,” said Cindy Cromer, who helped organize a celebration at the garden Sunday to mark the anniversary.
Stonemason Thomas Child Jr., a Mormon bishop, carved the quartzite and granite sculptures with help from Utah sculptor Maurice Brooks between 1945 and 1963, The Salt Lake Tribune reported.
After Child’s death, his widow sold the garden to neighbors because of the demanding upkeep. When the half-acre was later slated for sale for a condominium development, the group Friends of Gilgal Garden raised $600,000 to buy the land along with three adjacent homes.
The property was donated to the city for a park in 2000.
Friends of Gilgal Garden now serves as curator of the sculpture garden and continues to raise funds to restore and maintain it. The Salt Lake County Master Gardeners Association adopted the park as a community project, creating and maintaining a lush border garden.
David Sucec, a co-founder of Friends of Gilgal Garden, said Child’s art is universal.
“This transcends the local culture,” he said of the sculptures. “All good art transcends the local culture.”
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Information from: The Salt Lake Tribune, http://www.sltrib.com
Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Sistine Hall of the Vatican Library. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. VATICAN CITY (AP) – The Vatican’s Apostolic Library is reopening to scholars following a three-year, $11.5 million renovation to install climate-controlled rooms for its precious manuscripts and state-of-the-art security measures to prevent theft and loss.
The library, started by Pope Nicholas V in the 1450s, houses one of the world’s best collections of illuminated manuscripts. It includes the oldest known complete Bible, dating from about 325 and believed to have been one of the 50 bibles commissioned by Emperor Constantine, the first Christian Roman leader.
It reopens its frescoed halls to scholars Sept. 20. Library officials took pains to note that the renovation work was completed on time – a rarity in Italy but also an acknowledgment of the inconvenience the three-year closure caused many scholars who had to suspend their research while its collections of tens of thousands of volumes were in storage.
Cardinal Raffaele Farina, the Vatican’s chief librarian, thanked those researchers “who understood the reason for the closure.”
“Given the amount of what had to be done – the noise and the intrusiveness of the technical and construction work necessary – we decided the library inevitably had to close,” Farina told reporters Monday inside the frescoed Sistine Hall.
Some 4,000 to 5,000 scholars are given permission to conduct research in the library every year; access is generally restricted to academics conducting postgraduate level research. None of the items in the library can be checked out, and rules for working inside are strict: No pens, food or even mineral water are allowed in the manuscript reading room.
Researchers will now find improved communications and elevator access to the Vatican’s vast collections, as well as a new tower inside the Vatican’s Belvedere Courtyard to ferry manuscripts from their bombproof bunker to climate-controlled consultation rooms. Inside the bunker itself, fireproof and dust-proof floors and walls were installed to further protect the manuscripts.
The library’s 70,000 books have been outfitted with computer chips to prevent loss and theft, closed-circuit cameras have been installed and new automated entry and exit gates keep tabs on who is coming in and going out.
The security measures stem in part from an incident in which an Ohio State University art history professor, Anthony Melnikas, smuggled pages torn from a 14th-century Vatican manuscript that once belonged to Petrarch. He was sentenced in 1996 to 14 months in prison after admitting he took the pages during a research visit in 1987.
The library was started by Pope Nicholas V with an initial 350 Latin manuscripts. By the time Nicholas died in 1455, the collection had swelled to about 1,500 codices and was the largest in Europe.
Today, the Vatican Library has about 150,000 volumes of manuscripts as well as the Codex B – the oldest known complete Bible.
During a presentation and tour of the library Monday, officials showed off a replica of the illuminated Urbino Bible, produced for the Duke of Urbino in 1476-78 by David and Dominico Ghirlandaio and others. The bible, one of the finest works of art in the 15th century, is said to contain over a kilo of gold in its illustrated pages.
Italian cement company Italcement paid a hefty chunk of renovation price tag while savings and private donations funded the rest, Farina said.
The Apostolic Library is next door to the Vatican’s Secret Archives, which contain centuries of Vatican diplomatic correspondence and papal documentation. Citing frequent Dan Brown-inspired confusion, officials stressed Monday that the collections and institutions are different.
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American-style classic grandfather clock, made in Germany, 1904, est. $4,000-5,000. Image courtesy of Morton Kuehnert Auctioneers. HOUSTON – Two pair of exquisite Baccarat gold-trimmed candelabras, a pair of early 19th-century Sheffield sterling silver wine coolers signed J. Prime, a French doré bronze Bouillotte lamp and a pair of 19th-century Wedgwood urns, are fine examples of the items from the family estate of the late Judge Donald Stuart Russell and Virginia Russell that will be sold at Morton Kuehnert Auctioneers at 7 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 23. LiveAuctioneers will provide Internet live bidding.
Also, the more than 200 additional lots ranging from European and Chinese antiques, to sterling silver, china, porcelain, Persian, Turkish and Pakistani rugs and carpets, bronze sculpture, fine art, paintings, antique clocks and vintage jewelry, will appeal to collectors with discerning tastes.
Russell (1906-1998) was on the first U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Virginia for nearly 30 years. He also served as governor of South Carolina and president of the University of South Carolina during his illustrious career.
Also crossing the auction block will be compelling 19th-century Chinese pieces from the Northern Star Natural Gas Co. bankruptcy, including a wine table, a double-door red apothecary cabinet, a triple-door wooden scholar’s cabinet, a wedding cabinet with the circular brass “Togetherness” panel, a wooden trunk with a tiger and dragon motif, a pair of carved Official’s Hat armchairs, temple candleholders, a wooden lunchbox, wooden tea caddy and wooden coffer with silver hardware.
An 18th-century French oak farm table, and 19th-century pieces such as a Louis XV gilded beveled mirror, a giant baguette basket, a French Renaissance oak clock, and an 18th-century Normand oak armoire, are some highlights from the French shipment.
A 2.36-carat round natural deep orange-yellow diamond ring, an 18-karat yellow gold Patek Philippe & Co. man’s open face pocket watch, an 18-karat white gold aquamarine and diamond pendant and a ladies 14-karat yellow gold Rolex watch are a sneak preview of the jewelry offerings. A rare mourning hairwork signet ring of 9-karat yellow gold and an 18-karat hand-fabricated circular bangle bracelet with sapphires and pearls add to the allure of the jewelry offerings.
Sterling silver from family estates include a 12-place setting of Wallace Grand Baroque sterling silver flatware, an eight-place setting of Gorham Buttercup sterling silver flatware and several lots of sterling vanity sets and sterling biscuit boxes/barrels. Also, two Tiffany sterling coffeepots, a sterling Art Nouveau cheese dish and a sterling and jade table cigar lighter are on the auction block.
Americana items include a three-pedestal George III-style mahogany table with six leaves made by Schmieg & Kotzian of New York and a 19th-century Americana tiger oak table, chairs, server and sideboard, in the style of Herter Brothers of New York, representing four lots. Also a circa 1910 American Federal-style mahogany grandfather clock, an 18th-century Federal pillar and scroll mantel clock and a 19th-century marble and brass clock marked “Shreve, Crump & Low, Boston,” hearken back to the golden days of early American clockmakers. A Tiffany Studios telescopic organic root candlestick stands tall as a symbol of great craftsmanship in America.
A sampling of the eclectic collections of art includes the bronze Pigeon Girl by Moreau, an untitled bronze by Robert Ingersoll Aitken, several signed and numbered bronzes by R. David Mattiza, Claude Michael Clodion’s bronze Baccanalia and an Art Nouveau, Royal Dux porcelain bust, signed by Herm Schubert, 1905. Also, Albert Lemaitre’s circa 1915 oil on canvas Reclining Nude, 20th-century native American artist R.C. Gorman’s Reclining Male Nude and etchings by Renoir and Goya, will pique the interest of collectors.
Only-at-an-auction treasures include a 19th-century French oak church pulpit and a life-size Madonna and Child figure and a life-size wood and iron crucifix. Several Arizona Hopi kachina carvings are on the block, and a 1950s Wurlitzer jukebox with DJ quality sound is up for grabs. An antique Illuminated Bible, circa 1846, and a vintage 20-volume set of The Works of Charles Dickens are important additions to any library.
The lots may be viewed online at www.mortonkuehnert.com and in the showroom the week of Sept. 20 through the end of the auction on Sept. 23. For details e-mail subscriptions@mortonkuehnert.com or call 713-827-7835.
Bidding is available live at the auction at 4901 Richmond Ave., online at www.liveauctioneers.com and through absentee or phone bids.
Tabriz carpet, central Persia, circa 1990, 16 feet 5 inches by 11 feet two inches, est. $25,000-$35,000. Image courtesy of Morton Kuehnert Auctioneers. ‘Reclining Nude,’ Albert LeMaitre (Belgium, 1886-1975), oil on canvas, 48 inches by 32 inches, circa 1915, est. $4,000-$6,000. Image courtesy of Morton Kuehnert Auctioneers. Japanese Satsuma jardiniere, circa 1868-1912, 24 inches by 14 inches, est. $1,500-2,000. Image courtesy of Morton Kuehnert Auctioneers. A 2.36-carat round yellow diamond set in a platinum ring with 18-karat yellow gold accents, est. $25,000-$27,000. Image courtesy of Morton Kuehnert Auctioneers.
This Frederick Douglass ambrotype sold for $24,000 at Jackson’s International Aug. 24-25 auction. Image courtesy of Jackson’s International. CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – Appealing to many more than just general black memorabilia collectors, the Ken Oden Collection of African American and African Ephemera and Photography saw world record prices realized in several categories when it was sold Aug. 24-25 at Jackson’s International.
The extensive collection drew over 200 registered bidders from 13 countries and most regions of the United States, including buyers from Pennsylvania, Florida, Texas and California. The collection of African American and African photography, postcards and ephemera that McKeesport, Pa. native Ken Oden amassed was sold to the highest bidder in a unique specialty auction that garnered national press coverage.
Sales of note included a Frederick Douglass ambrotype, circa 1870s. While only 4 1/4 inches by 3 1/4 inches, this rare beardless image of the abolitionist sold for $24,000, finding a new home at the new African American Culture Wing at the Smithsonian.
Real photo sports postcards saw active bidding with the first lot, two real photo baseball postcards of Negro League Homestead Grays players, circa 1930s, selling for $3,120 to a New York buyer against a $600-$900 estimate. Another sports lot featuring a U.S. Army 24th infantry Manilla League baseball team, circa 1913, passed the block at $6,600.
Considered to be some of the more controversial while certainly historically important cards in the sale, a group of seven real photo lynching cards totaled over $21,000. Also selling well was a pair of real photo postcards featuring convicts, which after some heated bidding brought $9,360. Other real photo postcards also sold well, especially of those featuring baptismal scenes, cotton picking cards and those featuring shacks and shanties, with a group of three lots bringing $4,200. Another lot of four cards featuring the Springfield race riots, circa 1908, and including a photo of the tree were Burton was hanged by a mob, brought $1,560.
Oden had accumulated an impressive grouping of cards including real photo cards featuring minstrels. One such lot with five cards from the early 20th century with circus and side show scenes brought $1,320.
Another grouping that was well represented in this collection was real photo postcards by Ukrainian-born photographer Casimir Zagourski who settled in the Belgian Congo in 1924. Until his death in 1944, Zagourski spent the years traveling around Africa photographing people, places and local traditions. A group of 20 lots of cards by Zagourski totaled over $10,200.
European postcard dealer, Francis Greese, who had sold many of the Zagourski cards initially to Oden for his collection, was happy to see many “old friends” back up for auction when participating in the sale.
Besides cards featuring African real photo scenes, a grouping of cards featuring Caribbean scenes including Martinique, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Bahamas, Barbados, Antigua and Curacao crossed the block at $2,040.
A nice grouping of Josephine Baker collectible items were offered including a Folies Bergere ephemera grouping and a signed letter by the famed entertainer. The entire grouping brought nearly $15,000 and in the end, was spread to buyers over three countries.
“It was good to see a number of fellow enthusiasts and although I will certainly miss the hunt, it’s good to know that the cards will now be enjoyed by others,” said Oden.
“What we have noticed over the last two years about the auction industry continues to be true: People will pay top dollar and travel any distance for truly unique, rare and hard to find material, ” said company president James Jackson.
Although not rare, this Josephine Baker Art Deco illustrated postcard sold for $390. Image courtesy of Jackson’s International. Casimir Zagourski photographed this young subject, which was one of a group of real photo postcards that totaled over $10,000. Image courtesy of Jackson’s International. Jackson’s International sold this real photo postcard showing a convict’s cell interior for $5,760. Image courtesy of Jackson’s International.
Tommy Hilfiger is an international fashion designer and cultural icon. Items from his estate will be sold at Vintage Galleries on Sept. 26. Image courtesy of Vintage Galleries. STAMFORD, Conn. – Items from the estate of Tommy Hilfiger, the international fashion designer and founder of the brand that bears his name, will be sold without reserve at an auction slated for Sunday, Sept. 26, by Vintage Galleries.
It will be just the fifth auction for Vintage Galleries, which held its inaugural sale last September. It was able to secure this consignment because Mr. Hilfiger frequents the shop across the street – Greenwich Living Antique & Design Center – and the owner of that business, Sam Pizzichillo, introduced Hilfiger to Philip Amaradio, one of the owners of Vintage Galleries.
“Tommy Hilfiger, aside from being a truly genuine human being and a kind, humble man, is a dedicated collector in a wide range of categories,” Pizzichillo said. “He has a very discerning eye and only buys the best. That’s what will make this auction so special. It is not only quality, fresh-to-the market merchandise, it is a chance to own a part of a fashion icon.”
The auction, which will begin at 1 p.m. Eastern, will feature approximately 500 items from the Hilfiger estate. Traditional pieces will include dining tables and chairs, Italian leather, bookcases, wing chairs, chests, coffee and end tables and armoires. Unusual pieces will include custom wooden Balinise furniture designed by Hilfiger himself, antler hunting lodge chairs and other items.
Hilfiger decided to consign some of the items in his vast collections after selling his estate home in Greenwich, Conn., (for about $22 million), as well as his estate homes in East Hampton, N.Y., and Vermont. He recently bought another home in Greenwich, and maintains an apartment in New York City. The need to redecorate both residences led to his decision to sell some items.
Continental furniture will dominate the day’s offerings. Certain to pique bidder interest will be a pair of green painted and upholstered chairs in the style of Louis XVI, stamped Jansen (est. $4,000-$6,000); a pair of Louis XIV-style cream painted and parcel-gilt armchairs, also stamped Jansen (est. $1,000-$2,000); and a pair of plush red velvet upholstered French settees (est. $1,000-$2,000).
Also from France: a fabulous provincial hutch with wired doors, supported by a two-door cabinet base (est. $2,000-$4,000); an antique armoire (est. $1,000-$2,000); and a French glass display case from Best & Co., with beautiful carving and gilt details (est. $1,500-$2,000). Also offered will be a lot set of three monumental decorative floor mirrors (est. $1,000-$2,000).
English pieces will include a fine 19th-century mahogany partner’s desk, the top with green embossed leather inset over a frieze fitted with four drawers each (est. $2,000-$3,000); a breakfront of four glass doors over three drawers, standing on a two-door cabinet (est. $1,500-$2,000); and an antique Victorian desk with Chinoiserie paint decorations (est. $1,000-$2,000).
For the walls, offerings will include a set of two hand-colored prints by the Hungarian print-maker and illustrator Marcel Vertes (1895-1961, est. $1,000-$2,000); a set of five framed prints of English crowns (est. $1,000-$2,000); and a set of five framed prints of English flags (est. $1,000-$2,000). Also selling will be a signed Picasso drawing and many original paintings.
Georgian furniture will include a charming highboy lacquered in red (est. $1,000-$2,000) and a pair of painted and carved Georgian-style demilune consoles (est. $1,500-$2,000). Rounding out the list of expected top lots are a beautiful pair of antique Austrian hand-painted hutches (est. $4,000-$6,000) and an interesting vintage carriage that was used in New York’s Rockefeller Center, in one of their Christmas displays (est. $1,000-$2,000).
Phone and absentee bids will also be accepted.
Previews will be ongoing leading up to the day of sale, 10:30 a.m.-6 p.m. each day.
Vintage Galleries is located two blocks off I-95 in the heart of Stamford’s burgeoning antiques district, at 528 Canal St. The firm’s newly renovated and air-conditioned gallery is less than an hour from midtown Manhattan.
For more information about Vintage Galleries and the Sept. 26 auction, please log on to www.vintagegalleriesauction.com or call (203) 504-8485. E-mail them at info@vintagegalleriesauction.com.
Around 500 items from the estate of international fashion icon Tommy Hilfiger will be sold without reserve Sept. 26. Image courtesy of Vintage Galleries. Stuffed life-size Steiff mohair zebra (est. $800-$1,200) pulling a vintage carriage in excellent condition (est. $1,000-$2,000). Image courtesy of Vintage Galleries. One of a pair of green painted and upholstered Louis XVI-style Bergere chairs, stamped Jansen (est. $4,000-$6,000). Image courtesy of Vintage Galleries. Fabulous French provincial painted hutch with wired doors supported by a two-door cabinet base (est. $2,000-$4,000). Image courtesy of Vintage Galleries. Pair of beautiful and monumental antique Austrian hand-painted hutches (est. $4,000-$6,000). Image courtesy of Vintage Galleries.
