Benny Andrews had already established himself as one of America’s leading black artists when he created ‘Mrs. Viola Andrews – My Mother’ in 1974. The oil and mixed media collage has a $10,000-$15,000 estimate. Image courtesy of Susanin’s.CHICAGO – Benny Andrews’ starkly poignant portrait of his sharecropper mother picking cotton is one of the featured works of art in Susanin’s Premiere 77 auction on Oct. 17. LiveAuctioneers.com will provide Internet live bidding. The sale will begin at 10 a.m. Central.
Mrs. Viola Andrews – My Mother, an oil and mixed media collage on canvas, measures 60 by 48 inches. It carries a $10,000-$15,000 estimate.
Benny Andrews was born in Madison, Ga., in 1930, one of 10 children. He attended Fort Valley State College in Georgia and later received a BFA degree from the Art Institute of Chicago. He taught art for 19 years at Queens College in New York and was at one time director of the Visual Arts Program at the National Endowment for the Arts.
Andrews’ artwork was exhibited nationally and internationally for more than 40 years before his death in 2006. His work is in the permanent collections of numerous institutions including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art and the Art Institute of Chicago.
Susanin’s Premiere 77 auction will also have more than 700 lots of additional artwork, furniture, decorative arts, Asian arts and silver.
Tops among the furniture is a pair of French Art Deco bronze mounted cabinets of macassar ebony. Both cabinets contain two interior drawers, which are marked, “Gouffe a Paris.” The cabinets are 55 1/4 inches wide, 34 inches high and 19 inches deep. The estimate for the pair is $8,000-$10,000.
A 1952 painting by Enrico Baj (Italian, 1924-2003) that was once exhibited at the Indianapolis Museum of Art will also be offered at Susanin’s The abstract enamel on canvas painting depicting two figures has a $15,000-$25,000 estimate.
An etching and aquatint by Joan Miro (1893-1983), a signed and numbered (46/50) edition, also carries a $10,000 by 15,000 estimate.
Norwegian artist Reidar Berge’s Carousel, an acrylic on Masonite panel, has provenance from the Rockford Art Museum in Rockford, Ill. The painting measures 48 by 108 inches and has a $5,000-$7,000 estimate.
View the fully illustrated catalog and sign up to bid absentee or live via the Internet during the sale at www.LiveAuctioneers.com.
Reidar Berge (b. 1922) captured the kinetic excitement of a carousel in this 9-foot-long painting. Image courtesy of Susanin’s. Pablo Picasso’s fascination with bull fighting is conveyed in this pottery bowl, which is signed and stamped ‘Edition Picasso Madoura.’ The 5-inch-diameter bowl has a $1,000-$1,500 estimate. Image courtesy of Susanin’s. Exotic macassar ebony makes a bold statement in a pair of French Art Deco cabinets. Image courtesy of Susanin’s. Italian artist Enrico Baj titled this large painting ‘Leakage.’ It measures 39 1/4 by 78 3/4 inches. The estimate is $15,000-$25,000. Image courtesy of Susanin’s. Joan Miro’s signed etching and aquatint titled ‘Mambo’ is from an edition of 50 and measures 44 1/2 by 28 3/4 inches. The estimate is $10,000-$15,000. Image courtesy of Susanin’s.
Nathaniel Lakeman’s portrait of a ‘Young Woman’ is dated 1822. It has a 2,000-$4,000 estimate. Image courtesy of Stephenson’s Auction.SOUTHAMPTON, Pa. – Stephenson’s Auction will feature dozens of beautiful women in their sale Oct. 16, which begins at 6:30 p.m. Eastern Time. Many are of the Royal Doulton variety – a collection or more than 50 ceramic figurines – in addition to a bronze sculpture of Cleopatra and a folk art portrait of a woman painted in 1822 by Nathaniel Lakeman. LiveAuctioneers.com will provide Internet live bidding.
The Lakeman portrait measures 25 by 22 inches and bears a plaque that reads simply, “Young Woman.” A partial New York label specifies that the painting was part of the Wilde Collection, Cambridge, Mass. and Isabel Carlton Wilde Collection of Early American Folk Art. It has a $2,000-$4,000 estimate.
Another folk art classic in the sale is a mid- to late-19th-century running horse weathervane in gilt over copper and zinc. The horse measures 15 inches high by 30 1/2 inches long. The vane also has the directionals. It has a $4,000-$8,000 estimate.
The auction includes the contents from the estate of Richard de Groot, former advertising director of Gourmet magazine. In his world travels De Groot acquired many antiques, works of art and books.
The 15 1/2-inch bronze of Cleopatra is signed (Eutrope) “Bouret” and dated 1873 on the base. It has a $2,000-$3,000 estimate.
Also from the De Groot estate is a signed first-edition Salvador Dali book, Les Diners de Gala, which is estimated at $1,000-$2,000.
American art will include landscapes by New Jersey painter Paul Matthews (b. 1933). His Across From Evermay is 29 by 22 3/4 inches and has a $600-$1,000 estimate. His Landscape Along River, 77 by 80 inches, has a $3,000-$5,000 estimate.
Several lots of sterling silver flatware will be offered including 76 pieces of Governor’s Lady pattern by Gorham, which has a $700-$1,100 estimate.
Cast-iron doorstops will include a nicely painted Anne Hathaway Cottage by Hubley, which has a $400-$800 estimate.
For details call 215-322-6182.
View the fully illustrated catalog and sign up to bid absentee or live via the Internet during the sale at www.LiveAuctioneers.com.
Cleopatra’s name is printed on the base of this bronze statue. Dated 1873, the historic beauty is estimated at $2,000-$3,000. Image courtesy of Stephenson’s Auction. New Jersey artist Paul Matthews is known for his lakeside landscapes. This 29- by 22 3/4-inch oil on canvas painting has a $600-$1,000 estimate. Image courtesy of Stephenson’s Auction. A collection of cast-iron doorstops, including this Anne Hathaway Cottage by Hubley, is from a West Orange, N.J., estate. Image courtesy of Stephenson’s Auction. One of the top items at Stephenson’s Auction will be this late-19th-century weather vane complete with directionals. The horse is gilt over copper and zinc. The estimate is $4,000-$8,000. Image courtesy of Stephenson’s Auction.
The 18-inch reverse-painted shade on this table lamp is signed ‘Handel 6688 NI’ (artist’s initials). The lamp has a $10,000-$15,000 estimate. Image courtesy DuMouchelles.DETROIT – Garfield Wood is to powerboating in Michigan as Henry Ford is to automaking. DuMouchelles will launch their Oct. 16-18 auction with a classic 1940 mahogany Gar Wood Vacationer powerboat followed by a lot of Gar Wood memorabilia including the boat builder’s canvas racing helmet. LiveAuctioneers.com will provide Internet live bidding. The auction will begin Friday at 5:30 p.m. Eastern.
Minnesota native Gar Wood began making and racing boats in the 1920s. His sleek boats of varnished mahogany were in such high demand that in 1930 – just three months after the Stock Market Crash – Wood built a factory in Marysville, Mich. It had the capacity to build 1,200 custom quality boats a year. In 1939 the factory was at full capacity.
Wood retired to Miami, Fla., in 1941. The company closed in 1947.
Today Gar Wood boats are among the most sought-after classic boats in the world. The 21-foot Vacationer utility powerboat in DuMouchelles’ auction represents the pinnacle of the Gar Wood output. It is equipped with the factory-installed Chrysler Ace 6 inboard engine. It comes with assorted documentation as to previous owners, sales brochures, boat show award plaques, and registration and production verification certificate from the Gar Wood Society. The boat with trailer has a $15,000-$20,000 estimate.
Wood’s racing helmet is accompanied by a letter written by Wood and a cover of the Detroit Yacht Club magazine dated June 1971 commemorating the boat builder’s life. The lot has a $300-$500 estimate.
The auction is also highlighted by a painting by Alberto Pasini (1826-1899), regarded as the most important of all the Italian Orientalist painters. Pasini was successful in his homeland and in France, where he spent much of his time after 1851. He traveled extensively in the Middle East and lived for more than two years in Tehran. He took commissions from the ruler of Persia, who appreciated the artist’s realist style. The painting in the auction, Arabian Camp With Arabian Horses, is representative of Pasini’s work. The 21- by 17-inch oil on canvas, which has an $80,000-$120,000 estimate, will sell on Sunday.
Also selling Sunday will be a Paris street scene of Montmartre by Jean Dufy (French, 1888-1964). The 19- by 24-inch oil on canvas painting has a $50,000-$60,000.
Sunday’s session begins at noon Eastern.
Saturday’s sale begins at 11 a.m. Eastern with an early Rookwood Pottery vase decorated with the calla lilies by Matthew Daly followed by signed Handel reverse-painted table lamp.
View the fully illustrated catalog and sign up to bid absentee or live via the Internet during the sale at www.LiveAuctioneers.com.
This Gar Wood 21-foot mahogany Vacationer utility boat was built in 1940 when the factory at Marysville, Mich., was at peak production. The classic powerboat carries a $15,000-$16,000 estimate. Image courtesy DuMouchelles. Jean Dufy (French, 1888-1964) painted this street scene titled ‘Montmartre,’ for the section of Paris. The 19- by 24-inch oil on canvas has a $50,000-$60,000 estimate. Image courtesy DuMouchelles. Italian artist Alberto Pasini traveled extensively in the Middle East to paint scenes like this Arabian camp. The oil on canvas painting, 21 by 17 inches, is estimated to bring $80,000-$120,000 Image courtesy DuMouchelles. Large calla lilies decorate the exterior of this 11 3/4-inch Rookwood Pottery vase signed by Matthew Daly. It has a $2,000-$4,000 estimate. Image courtesy DuMouchelles.
Made in the late 19th century by Jollet & Cie, Paris, this Louis XV-style covered urn stands 18 inches high. It has a $2,000-$4,000 estimate. Image courtesy of Simpson Galleries.HOUSTON – Jerry J. Moore, who died last November, was once known as the shopping center king of Texas and the wealthiest man in Houston. With a net worth estimated to be $500 million, the commercial real estate developer was listed on the Forbes 400 list of the richest people in America 12 times.
In addition to building wealth, Moore and his wife, Jean, who died in 2003, could also shop. They bought the finest European furnishings and art for their French chateau, which they had disassembled stone by stone and shipped to Houston, where it was rebuilt.
With their passing, the vast collection of antiques and art will be sold at Simpson Galleries in Houston on Oct. 18 beginning at 1 p.m. Central. LiveAuctioneers.com will provide Internet live bidding.
“The auction has attracted strong interest from not only our regular customers but also family and friends of the Moores who were familiar with the collection,” said Ray Simpson of Simpson Galleries. “It’s an incredible collection that stands on its own merits.”
Furniture highlights include, a Louis XVI carved and giltwood marble-top console, a Napoleon III gilt bronze mounted tulipwood and mahogany vitrine cabinet and a French Provincial carved chestnut armoire from the first half of the 19th century. Each has a $4,000-$6,000 estimate.
More than 60 European and American paintings will be offered, including Cottages by a River by Fritz Thaulow (Norwegian, 1847-1906) and A Hunting Party by Philips Wouwerman (Haarlem 1619-1668). Both are oil on canvas and have estimates of $20,000-$30,000.
A Steinway & Sons grand piano in the auction was made in Hamburg, Germany, and shipped to Steinway in London on Oct. 31, 1903. The Model B piano has an inlaid satinwood case, which is 84 inches long, 56 inches wide and 39 inches high. It is estimated to sell for $25,000-$30,000.
All All-American items in the auction are a Frederic Remington bronze Bronco Buster statue and a rare antique tiger-maple butler’s desk. The bronze statue of the bucking horse and rider is inscribed “Copyright by Frederic Remington” with Roman bronze works New York Foundry mark, and stamped “No. 182” on the bottom of the base. The bronze is 22 1/2 inches high and 21 inches wide. It has a $30,000-$50,000 estimate.
The stately butler’s desk, crafted in Boston circa 1810-1820, is accented with inlaid frieze and features a fall-front escritoire drawer opening to a fitted compartment with drawers and pigeonholes. It is 42 inches high, 59 inches wide and 22 inches deep, and estimated at $8,000-$10,000.
For details call 800-524-0022.
View the fully illustrated catalog and sign up to bid absentee or live via the Internet during the sale at www.LiveAuctioneers.com.
Paris clockmaker Henry Dasson made this Louis XVI-style horloge à rouleau in 1877. The roller has Roman hour chapters and Arabic minute chapters. Made of patinated bronze and with marble, the device has a $3,000-$5,000 estimate. Image courtesy of Simpson Galleries. The Moores’ chateau housed this 1903 Steinway grand piano. The instrument is estimated at $25,000-$30,000. Image courtesy of Simpson Galleries. Johann Berthelsen (American, 1883-1972) painted ‘Trinity Church from Wall Street.’ Oil on artist board, the painting is 16 by 12 inches and has a $6,000-$8,000 estimate. Image courtesy of Simpson Galleries. The movement on this Napoleon III figural mantel clock is stamped ‘Popon à Paris.’ It measures 23 inches high, 31 1/2 inches, wide and 10 1/2 inches deep. It has a $4,000-$6,000 estimate. Image courtesy of Simpson Galleries.
An autographed 8- by-10-inch photo of Elvis Presley when he served in the U.S. Army has a $1,500-$2,500 estimate. Image courtesy of Leslie Hindman Auctioneers.CHICAGO – Where would Elvis Presley have been without his waxen raven hair?
A private in the U.S. Army.
A clump of the King’s hair is the most unusual – and perhaps most valuable – piece in the Gary Pepper Collection of Elvis Presley Memorabilia, which will be sold by Leslie Hindman Auctioneers on Oct. 18. The auction begins at noon Central. LiveAuctioneers.com will provide Internet live bidding.
The locks are believed to have been shorn from Elvis’ head when he was inducted into the Army in 1958. The hair was given to Pepper, who was president of a national Elvis Presley fan club.
Early in his career, Presley befriended Pepper, a young man with cerebral palsy, who ultimately became a close friend and the president of one of the King’s first fan clubs. Pepper’s position allowed him to amass a significant collection of personal effects gifted to him from Presley.
According to John Reznikoff, an expert in celebrity hair authentication, “the hair appears to match the hair in my collection [from same U.S. Army haircut] in coarseness and color … this is more than likely a genuine lock of Elvis’ hair.”
Although estimated at $8,000-$12,000, the hair may sell for as much as $100,000, experts say.
An autographed black and white photo of Elvis in uniform will be sold at the auction. It pictures a smiling Sgt. Presley with a photographer in the background. With handwritten inscriptions to Pepper, the photo has $1,500-$2,500 estimate.
An original pastel wedding portrait of Elvis and Priscilla Presley, identical to one that hung in the foyer of Graceland for many years, is another highlight of the 146-lot auction. The portrait is after a photograph of the couple that was included in a limited release LP of Clambake. The painting has an $8,000-$12,000 estimate.
Several articles of Elvis clothing will be sold at the auction. A yellow jersey ensemble is reminiscent of the King’s stage jumpsuits. With a stand-up black collar and bellbottom pants, the suit is expected to sell for $4,000-$6,000. A red ultrasuede shirt that Elvis wore in a publicity photograph for RCA in 1963 has a $2,000-$4,000 estimate.
A portion of the proceeds from the auction will be donated to United Cerebral Palsy of the Mid-South.
For details call 312-280-1212.
View the fully illustrated catalog and sign up to bid absentee or live via the Internet during the sale at www.LiveAuctioneers.com.
Bidding might reach $100,000 for this large clump of hair, believed to be from the head of Elvis Presley. The hair represents the crowning piece of Gary Pepper’s Elvis collection. Image courtesy of Leslie Hindman Auctioneers. Elvis had a penchant for leisurewear like this yellow jersey ensemble. The two-piece outfit is estimated at $4,000-$6,000. Image courtesy of Leslie Hindman Auctioneers. Elvis wore this red ultrasuede shirt in a pinup picture inserted in a 1963 full-color picture folio by RCA. The lot includes five copies of the pictured folio and has a $2,000-$4,000 estimate. Image courtesy of Leslie Hindman Auctioneers. An original pastel wedding portrait of Elvis and Priscilla Presley is after a photograph of the couple. It has an $8,000-$12,000 estimate. Image courtesy of Leslie Hindman Auctioneers.
Shigeru Ban’s cone-shaped pavilion has towered over the London Design Festival. Its sale at Phillips de Pury’s design auction will benefit the event. Image courtesy of Phillips de Pury & Co.LONDON – Important examples of 20th- and 21st-century design will be offered at auction Oct. 15 by Phillips de Pury & Co. Works will range from a Harry Bertoia 15-foot-high sculpture titled Sonambient to a 75-foot-tall cone-shaped tower by Japanese architect Shigeru Ban. LiveAuctioneers.com will provide Internet live bidding.
Ban’s Paper Tower pavilion, fabricated of compressed cardboard tubes and steel fasteners, is consistent with his work in building projects using recycled and sustainable materials. Ban, a pioneer of cardboard structures, erected the pavilion for the benefit of the 2009 London Design Festival. It has a $79-$110,000 estimate.
Another contemporary piece is Pablo Reinoso’s Aluminum Bench, numbered three of eight. Self-produced in France, the steel and aluminum bench has an estimate of $32,000-$47,000.
Harry Bertoia’s monumental sculpture titled Sonambient, is one of the top works in the 135-lot auction. The Italian-born designer and artist created the 15-foot-tall sculpture of beryllium copper and bronze in 1976, two years before his death. It has a $317,000-$396,000 estimate.
Modern furniture classics in the auction include Jean Royere’s circa 1951 Ours Polaire sofa, which is estimated at $158,000-$238,000 and Charlotte Perriand’s circa 1950 wall-mounted bookcase, which has a $127,000-$190,000 estimate.
View the fully illustrated catalog and sign up to bid absentee or live via the Internet during the sale at www.LiveAuctioneers.com.
Charlotte Perriand designed this wall-mounted bookcase circa 1950. Constructed of oak and aluminum, the shelf unit is 26 1/2 feet wide by 11 1/2 feet high. It has a $127,000-$190,000 estimate. Image courtesy of Phillips de Pury & Co. Jean Royere’s ‘Ours Polaire’ sofa circa 1951 is considered rare. Made of oak and fabric, the sofa is 94 inches long and has a $158,000-$238,000 estimate. Image courtesy of Phillips de Pury & Co. Pablo Reinoso fabricated 12, including four artist’s proofs, of this ‘Aluminum Bench’ last year. Made in France, the 57-inch-long bench has a $32,000-$47,000 estimate. Image courtesy of Phillips de Pury & Co. Already famous as a furniture designer, Harry Bertoia turned his attention to sculpture in the late 1950s. His 15-foot-tall ‘Sonambient’ sculpture of beryllium copper and bronze, done in 1976, has a $317-000-$396,000 estimate. Image courtesy of Phillips de Pury & Co.
DALLAS – With Derrill Osborn’s bovine art collection crossing the auction block on Oct. 14, Dallas Auction Gallery will party till the cows come home – along with the bulls, steers and heifers. LiveAuctioneers.com will provide Internet live bidding.
Osborn, a men’s fashion designer who retired in 2002 from a 40-year career in fashion that concluded with 23 years at the helm of Neiman Marcus’s men’s fashion divison, helped shape decades of fashion trends, including the three-piece suit. Now Derrill Osborn will bring his unique lifetime collection of art de la vache to market. Osborn’s collection boasts more than 500 cows whose origins span the globe and several centuries. Represented among the herd are Staffordshire, majolica, Flow Blue, Black Forest carvings, 19th- and 20th-century bovine oil paintings as well as fashionable treasures that Osborn has amassed over the years.
Aside from cows, Osborn’s passions also extend to carnations – his signature boutinierre.
“It is a rarity to find a collection so passionately and lovingly assembled over a lifetime – particularly one with such an interesting theme,” said Scott Shuford, president of Dallas Auction Gallery. “It is our great honor to host Mr. Osborn’s collection.”
The vast collection, toured by garden clubs and featured in the pages of home magazines in recent years, has moved from Osborn’s Oak Lawn town home to Dallas Auction Gallery’s preview room where visitors have lined up for the auction.
“I am sending the best of the world’s bovine out to seek new homes,” Osborn said. “I was too fortunate in having worked for the grand Neiman Marcus. The position took me around the world where much of the auction pieces were purchased. There will never be another like this.”
Osborn collected the bovine art for nearly 50 years from across the globe – from China to Germany to New Mexico to the Lone Sar State. A few highlights from the collection include:
Gift from Versace: A pair of Empire-styled armchairs featuring a vivid Atelier Versace Medusa print on balloon seat cushions – the material was a personal gift from Versace to Osborn;
Unique Staffordshire: A Staffordshire sculpture Bull-Beating depicting a bull fending off two dogs;
Classic cow painting: An 1858 painting of a cow in landscape by British artist William Henry Davis;
Five thousand cows: Donna Cook’s depitction of the Chisholm Trail Cattle Drive in oil on canvas depicts half of the 10,000 herd. Inspiration came from a 19th-century photograph taken by William H. Jackson, the “father of Yellowstone National Park;”
Modern bovine: Austin artist Terrell Cook’s abstract interpration of a cow head in acrylic on board.
View the fully illustrated catalog and sign up to bid absentee or live via the Internet during the sale at www.LiveAuctioneers.com.
Auction items will be available for preview online through Dallasauctiongallery.com. For details call 214-653-3900.
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.
Chicago mob boss Al Capone’s mugshot was taken June 17, 1931. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
WAUSAU, Wis. (AP) – Chicago mobster Al Capone’s former hideout in northern Wisconsin, complete with guard towers and a stone house with 18-inch-thick walls, was sold for $2.6 million Thursday to the bank that foreclosed on it.
Chippewa Valley Bank was the only bidder during a five-minute sheriff’s sale in the lobby of the county courthouse in Hayward, Margie Schull of the Sawyer County Sheriff’s Department said. About 30 to 40 people watched as Sheriff Jim Meier conducted the auction, Schull said.
The bank foreclosed on the 407-acre wooded site about 150 miles northwest of Wausau in April 2008 and said the minimum bid would be $2.6 million. The bank had advertised the site as “very private and pristine.”
Bank Vice President Joe Kinnear did not immediately return a telephone call after the sale. He had said earlier Thursday that he anticipated “10 to 15 bidders.”
Capone owned the land in the late 1920s and early 1930s during Prohibition, the bank said. Local legend claims that shipments of bootleg alcohol were flown in on planes that landed on the property’s 37-acre lake, and were then loaded onto trucks bound for Chicago.
The two guard towers on the property reportedly were manned with machine guns whenever Capone visited.
The bank acquired the property after foreclosing on owner Guy Houston and his company The Hideout Inc., according to court records. The Houston family bought the property in the 1950s from Capone’s estate and had operated it as a seasonal bar and restaurant, known for its prime rib, and offered guided tours focusing on the Capone lore.
Capone – nicknamed “Scarface” – headed a massive bootlegging, gambling and prostitution operation during Prohibition and raked in tens of millions of dollars. He was widely suspected in several murders but never charged.
He was considered the mastermind of the gangland killing on Chicago’s North Side in 1929, known as the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre. Seven rivals of Capone’s gang were gunned down in a garage, but investigators never could collect enough evidence to put anyone on trial for the deaths.
Capone was eventually convicted of income tax evasion and spent part of an 11-year sentence at the infamous Alcatraz prison. He died in 1947.
Kinnear had said last month that there was interest in Capone’s one-time hideout as a retreat or as possible land for development. It was once appraised at $3.7 million, he said.
Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
PARIS (AP) – France’s culture minister agreed Friday to return painted wall fragments to Egypt after a row over their ownership prompted the country to cut ties with the Louvre Museum.
Experts with France’s national museum authority met to discuss the painted wall fragments from a 3,200-year-old tomb near the ancient temple city of Luxor, and recommended that France return them, according to an official with the Culture Ministry.
The ministry will comply with the recommendation, said the official, who was not authorized to be publicly named according to ministry policy. It was not immediately clear when the works would be sent to Egypt.
Egypt’s antiquities chief took his campaign to recover the nation’s lost treasures to a new level Wednesday by cutting ties with the Louvre over the artifacts.
It was the most aggressive effort yet by Zahi Hawass, Egypt’s tough and media savvy chief archaeologist, to reclaim what he says are antiquities stolen from the country and purchased by leading world museums.
Thousands of antiquities were spirited out of the country during Egypt’s colonial period and afterward by archaeologists, adventurers and thieves.
The move could jeopardize the Louvre’s future excavations in the country. Egypt suspended the Louvre’s excavation in the massive necropolis of Saqqara, near Cairo, and canceled a lecture by a former curator from France’s premier museum.
After Hawass’ announcement Wednesday, both the Louvre and France’s Culture Ministry said they were ready to return the pieces.
Culture Minister Frederic Mitterrand, who said the items were acquired by the Louvre in “good faith” in 2000 and 2003, had ordered museum experts to meet first to study the issue.
Hawass’ office described the disputed fragments as pieces of a burial fresco showing the nobleman Tetaki’s journey to the afterlife, and said thieves chipped them from the walls of the tomb near the Valley of the Kings in the 1980s.
Meanwhile in Miami, the United States is taking legal steps to return a stolen 3,000-year-old sarcophagus to Egypt.
Federal prosecutors filed court papers Thursday seeking forfeiture of the ancient artifact. It wound up in Miami last year following a series of transactions that began at an antique dealership in Barcelona, Spain.
A Florida businessman who bought it from the Spanish dealer gave up all rights to it. Egyptian authorities say the sarcophagus was probably illegally excavated years ago. It is made out of wood and is yellow, covered by elaborate hieroglyphics and symbols. Prosecutors say it was built between 1070 and 946 B.C. for the mummified remains of an unknown person.
Virtually all such antiquities belong to the Egyptian government. The court case would allow for the sarcophagus to return to Egypt.
Copyright 2009 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
This 15-inch-long porcelain child figure is in the style of a 19th-century Chinese pillow. It was made in northern China. It had been repaired so it sold for only $108 at Clars Auction Gallery in Oakland, Calif.
Do you like hard pillows or soft pillows? It might depend on where you grew up.
Homemade pillows were used in ancient Egypt, medieval Europe and early America. In the mid 19th century, the Industrial Revolution and the evolving textile industry changed the way pillows were produced. From homemade and hand-embroidered, they became machine-made. Bed pillows were stuffed with goose down or feathers. But in China, pillows were very different. At first they were smooth stones. Later, by the late sixth century, they were rectangular blocks made of wood, jade, bronze, porcelain or other ceramics. Most had a curved top surface for the head. Porcelain pillows were made from the 10th to the 14th century, then were gradually replaced by pillows of other materials or even European-style stuffed pillows. Porcelain and other hard pillows were decorated with animals, plants, people, mountains and even geometric designs. Some had colorful glazes. Many were shaped like animals or small children. Many collectors today do not realize that the decorated rectangles were pillows or headrests. They are sometimes called “opium pillows” because opium users liked to lie on their sides using hard pillows. They claimed that after smoking opium for a while, even a hard pillow felt “like a cloud.” Today collectors find few of the very old hard pillows, but 19th- and 20th-century replicas are available. The pillow shaped like a child is so popular as a decorative item that it is still being made.
Q: I own an old carved oak side chair made by the Jamestown Lounge Co. that’s marked “No. 9313.” It’s from a line called Feudal Oak. What can you tell me about the company and the chair’s value?
A: The Jamestown Lounge Co. of Jamestown, N.Y., was founded by four partners in 1888. At first it manufactured, appropriately, only lounges – long armless, backless, upholstered pieces with a hard roll at one end. In the 1890s, the company added box couches and convertible sofa beds, and by the 1900s it was making all kinds of case and upholstered furniture. The Feudal Oak line was introduced in the 1930s and was produced for decades. Pieces were carved in a medieval style and were highly waxed. Your No. 9313 chair is pictured in the company’s 1938 and 1941 catalogs, but it was gone by the time the 1949 catalog came out. Jamestown Lounge Co. was sold in 1978, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 1982 and closed in 1983. Your chair, if in excellent condition, would sell for about $100.
Q: My 11-inch china vase is decorated with pink flowers and green leaves. There are a couple of different marks on the bottom. The largest is an “X” with a crown at the top, an “R.” on the left, a “C.” on the right and the word “Bavaria” on the bottom. There’s another mark that looks like “P.CIRCAChina Co. of Seattle” surrounding the words “hand painted.” What does the “R.C.” in the mark stand for, how old is my vase and what is it worth?
A: The “R.C.” stands for “Rosenthal China,” a pottery and porcelain manufacturer that has been in business in Selb, Germany, since 1879. Rosenthal used the mark you describe from 1891 to 1907. The word “Bavaria” is in the mark because Rosenthal shipped “blanks” (undecorated wares) to U.S. companies (such as P.CIRCAChina Co.) so artists working at those firms or even at home could decorate vases and dishes and sell them to American consumers. Vases like yours sell today for about $200.
Q: I have two Coca-Cola trays, “Menu Girl” and “Girl with Umbrella.” The writing on them is all in French. I can’t find any information about the trays. Can you help?
A: Your trays were probably made for the French-Canadian market in Quebecirca”Menu Girl” was issued in 1950 and is worth about $25 today. “Girl with Umbrella,” issued in 1957, sells for about $125.
Q: I have a mirror marked “Copyright Syroco Inc., Made in U.S.A.” It is 30 inches long and 20 inches across at the widest part. There is a crest on the top and bottom and carved flowers around the rest of the frame. I would like to find out something about the manufacturer.
A: In 1890 Adolph Holstein, founder of the Syracuse Ornamental Co. in Baldwinsville, N.Y., developed a technique of molding wood composition so that it resembled carved wood. A mixture of wood flour, wax and resin was poured into molds and compressed, creating the product known as “Syroco.” The company made various decorative items, including mirrors and clocks. Later, it manufactured molded patio furniture. In the 1930s, the company name was changed to Syroco IncircaOther companies were also making items out of molded wood composition by the 1940s. These are sometimes referred to as “syrocco,” with an extra letter “c,” to distinguish them from Syroco made by Syracuse Ornamental Co./Syroco IncircaThe company became a subsidiary of Industrias Vassallo Inc., in 2004 and went out of business in 2007. The company name on your mirror indicates it was made after 1930. Syroco is still inexpensive. Mirrors sell for as little as $25.
Tip: Never pick a chair up by the arms. Pick it up under the seat. The arms could loosen or crack.
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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.
Big Ben Smoking Tobacco pocket tin, image of black horse in a field, Brown & Williamson, Louisville, Ky., 3 x 4 1/3 inches, $75.
Roy Rogers & Dale Evans paper dolls, Whitman, 1954, uncut, $95.
Child’s No. 20 Singer Sewing Machine, thread, pins, instruction booklet, pincushion, original box reads “This is not a toy but a real sewing machine,” circa 1922, $225.
Wrought-iron hat rack, vine and leaf form, distressed green and white paint, 1930s, 77 x 45 x 31 1/2 inches, $230.
English silver sugar tongs, figure of harlequin, serpent ring handles, marked “John & Henry Lias,” 1865, 4 3/4 inches, $290.
Madame Alexander Little Betty doll, Russian girl, composition, brown hair, blue eyes, red babushka and boots, white lace blouse, paisley skirt, 1930s, 9 inches, $375.
Steuben strawberry pendant, clear glass with internal bubbles, gold-leaf top, original box, 1 1/2 inches, $445.
Quilt, nine-block design in brown, red, blue and white, Lancaster, Pa., 1860s, 79 x 80 inches, $2,600.
Tiffany gold Favrile goblet, optic ribs, iridescent foot and bowl, amber-ribbed stem, marked, circa 1895, 6 3/4 inches, $3,350.
Federal inlaid mahogany tall chest of drawers, two short drawers, three long drawers, bonnet drawer with inlaid central oval and shells, circa 1810, 49 x 45 x 22 inches, $4,600.
Just published. The new full-color Kovels’ Antiques & Collectibles Price Guide, 2010, 42nd edition, is your most accurate source for current prices. This large-size paperback has more than 2,500 color photographs and 47,000 up-to-date prices for more than 700 categories of antiques and collectibles. You’ll also find hundreds of factory histories and marks and a report on the record prices of the year, plus helpful sidebars and tips about buying, selling, collecting and preserving your treasures. Available at your bookstore; online at Kovels.com; by phone at 800-571-1555; or send $27.95 plus $4.95 postage to Price Book, Box 22900, Beachwood, OH 44122.
