Jeffrey S. Evans: finding stories behind great objects

For auctioneer Jeffrey Evans, the most enjoyable part of the job is researching objects and collecting stories about who made them and what family owned and used them. Photo by Ron Blunt Photography, courtesy of Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates.
For auctioneer Jeffrey Evans, the most enjoyable part of the job is researching objects and collecting stories about who made them and what family owned and used them. Photo by Ron Blunt Photography, courtesy of Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates.
Auctioneer Jeffrey Evans loves researching objects, collecting stories about who made them and what family owned and used them. Photo by Ron Blunt Photography, courtesy of Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates.

MT. CRAWFORD, Va. – Jeff Evans, president and senior auctioneer of Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates, is passionate about researching the decorative arts and material culture of the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia and also 19th-century American glass. Starting at the age of 11 in his family’s auction business, he gained an appreciation for interesting and well-made objects as well as their origin stories. He gained control of that business before graduating high school and now eagerly shares his knowledge through lectures as well as several books he has written or co-written.

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Pompeii: Buried for centuries and still a work in progress

The Praeda di Giulia Felice was one of the first homes excavated in Pompeii, and serves as a key example of what is known as an urban villa, with several buildings incorporated into one complex. Green areas and water features are characteristic of these villas. Photo credit Andrea Valluzzo
The Praeda di Giulia Felice was one of the first homes excavated in Pompeii, and serves as a key example of what is known as an urban villa, with several buildings incorporated into one complex. Green areas and water features are characteristic of these villas. Photo credit Andrea Valluzzo
The Praeda di Giulia Felice was one of the first homes excavated in Pompeii, and serves as a key example of what is known as an urban villa, with several buildings incorporated into one complex. Green areas and water features are characteristic of these villas. Photo credit Andrea Valluzzo

NEW YORK — Ancient Pompeiians lived a life many would dream of. The year-round pleasant climate encouraged them to spend much of their time outdoors. Dining al fresco was a favorite pastime, and most houses in Pompeii, particularly the extensive villas owned by the city’s elite, had their own gardens. Sited near the bay of Naples, the area was a prime hub for travel and trade. Yes, Pompeii rested in the path of Mount Vesuvius, an active volcano. Those who called the Roman colony their home made peace with that fact, until 79 A.D., when Vesuvius suddenly and infamously changed everything.

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Le Corbusier: A man of many talents, in architecture & design

A contemporary version of the LC4 long chaise lounge earned $5,000 plus the buyer’s premium in June 2021 at Doyle New York. Image courtesy of Doyle New York and LiveAuctioneers.
A contemporary version of the LC4 long chaise lounge earned $5,000 plus the buyer’s premium in June 2021 at Doyle New York. Image courtesy of Doyle New York and LiveAuctioneers.
A contemporary version of the LC4 long chaise lounge earned $5,000 plus the buyer’s premium in June 2021 at Doyle New York. Image courtesy of Doyle New York and LiveAuctioneers.

NEW YORK — Many architects dabble in industrial design and furniture design. The ranks of the boundary-crossers include immortal names such as Frank Gehry and Mies van der Rohe. But the one who earns equally high acclaim for his beautiful buildings as well as his ergonomic and modernist furniture is Le Corbusier.

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Afghanistan’s rich art history warrants recognition

This circa-1900s Afghan wedding ring, featuring lapis lazuli and engraved silver with cord detailing, sold for €380 ($448) plus the buyer’s premium in 2019. Image courtesy of Henry's Auktionshaus AG and LiveAuctioneers
This circa-1900s Afghan wedding ring, featuring lapis lazuli and engraved silver with cord detailing, sold for €380 ($448) plus the buyer’s premium in 2019. Image courtesy of Henry's Auktionshaus AG and LiveAuctioneers
This circa-1900s Afghan wedding ring, featuring lapis lazuli and engraved silver with cord detailing, sold for €380 ($448) plus the buyer’s premium in 2019. Image courtesy of Henry’s Auktionshaus AG and LiveAuctioneers

NEW YORK – Afghanistan, which is regarded as the heart of Central Asia, can rightfully lay claim to a rich and important art history dating back thousands of years. In addition to brass mirrors and bronze rings and seals, Bronze Age archeological sites in Afghanistan have yielded scores of decorative ceramic vessels and sculpted clay figurines. In addition, 2,000-year-old burial mounds found within the country have yielded a trove of more than 20,000 pieces of exquisite gold jewelry: the fabled Bactrian Hoard.

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Chinese Export armorial porcelain still denotes prestige

A collection of 10 Thomas Jefferson armorial plates attained $25,000 plus the buyer’s premium in July 2021 at Eldred’s. Image courtesy of Eldred’s and LiveAuctioneers
A collection of 10 Thomas Jefferson armorial plates attained $25,000 plus the buyer’s premium in July 2021 at Eldred’s. Image courtesy of Eldred’s and LiveAuctioneers

NEW YORK — Long before Europeans perfected making fine china from clay, Chinese artisans mined kaolin (white clay) to create beautiful wares. Examples of their exquisite work were first imported from China to Europe in the 14th and 15th centuries and were well received. By the time trade routes fully opened up in the 16th century, China was exporting items made specifically for Western audiences. None of those items were more desirable than Chinese Export armorial porcelain – wares bearing coats of arms.

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Carlo Bugatti furniture: Nothing succeeds like excess

A circa-1902 Carlo Bugatti piece described as a “rare chair” sold for $16,000 plus the buyer’s premium in June 2020 at Wright. Image courtesy of Wright and LiveAuctioneers.
A circa-1902 Carlo Bugatti piece described as a “rare chair” sold for $16,000 plus the buyer’s premium in June 2020 at Wright. Image courtesy of Wright and LiveAuctioneers.

NEW YORK — Carlo Bugatti’s furniture shouldn’t work. The Italian artist-designer, who made his mark in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, created pieces that qualify as “fantastic” in both senses of the word — incredibly beautiful, and seemingly transported from a realm ruled by fantasy.

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Cultural diversity of Cuban art commands collectors’ attention

A colorful oil painting by the late Cuban artist Amelia Pelaez realized $22,000 plus the buyer’s premium in February 2021 at Akiba Antiques. Image courtesy of Akiba Antiques.

NEW YORK — After decades of art auctions and markets being dominated by European and American artists such as Picasso, Degas, Monet, Dali, Rockwell, Wyeth, Warhol and others, the international world began to take notice of Cuban artists in the 1980s. From Havana to Miami and New York, art centers today are continuing to propel established and also up-and-coming artists from Cuba to the forefront.

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Metal lunchboxes serve up a feast of retro icons

This unused Superman lunchbox with Thermos achieved $2,200 plus the buyer’s premium in March 2017 at Hake’s Auctions. Image courtesy of Hake’s Auctions and LiveAuctioneers.
This unused Superman lunchbox with Thermos achieved $2,200 plus the buyer’s premium in March 2017 at Hake’s Auctions. Image courtesy of Hake’s Auctions and LiveAuctioneers.

NEW YORK — For many kids of the postwar generation, the best part of back-to-school shopping was not the clothes or the annual trip to Buster Brown to get a new pair of shoes, but choosing a lunchbox. Brown-bagging your PB&J sandwich became a thing of the past with the advent of bright and colorful metal lunchboxes decorated with child-friendly characters or favorite media stars. In school cafeterias from as early as the 1930s through the early 1980s, a parade of sturdy lunchboxes featured fictional and real-world stars such as Mickey Mouse, Batman, Strawberry Shortcake, Superman, the Beatles and Scooby Doo.

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Dungeons & Dragons: Not just for nerds anymore

This Dungeons & Dragons Power Cycle production concept watercolor drawing made $600 plus the buyer’s premium in January 2019 at Bruneau & Co. Auctioneers. Image courtesy of Bruneau & Co. Auctioneers and LiveAuctioneers
This Dungeons & Dragons Power Cycle production concept watercolor drawing made $600 plus the buyer’s premium in January 2019 at Bruneau & Co. Auctioneers. Image courtesy of Bruneau & Co. Auctioneers and LiveAuctioneers

NEW YORK— Designed by a group of college students in 1974, Dungeons & Dragons was the first role-playing game (RPG), and it set the standard for all RPGs that followed in its wake. D&D, as it’s commonly known, can involve figures or miniatures, but at its heart, it’s a storytelling game that lets players invent and direct a narrative that typically involves treasure quests, cast magic spells and battle monsters. The D&D world is inhabited by races such as orcs, gnomes, clerics, elves, humans and giants. Games are organized by the dungeon master, who normally keeps track of loot acquired by the party, though party members will often take notes on current events. In addition to choosing a race, the player characters, aka PCs, also select a class, such as fighter, wizard, or rogue.

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Gold Rush memorabilia is almost as prized as gold itself

This collection of 1898 Klondike Gold Rush letters, photos and gold nuggets earned $3,250 plus the buyer’s premium in May 2019 at John McInnis Auctioneers. Photo courtesy of John McInnis Auctioneers and LiveAuctioneers.
A collection of 1898 Klondike Gold Rush letters, photos and gold nuggets earned $3,250 plus the buyer’s premium in May 2019 at John McInnis Auctioneers. Image courtesy of John McInnis Auctioneers and LiveAuctioneers.

NEW YORK — The discovery of gold at Rabbit Creek in Canada’s Yukon Territory on August 16, 1896 rocked the continent. American prospector George Carmack filed the formal claim, and thus received much of the credit for the find, though the party included his First Nation companions Jim Mason, Dawson Charlie, and Kate Carmack (who were also, respectively, Carmack’s brother-in-law, nephew, and common-law wife). Rabbit Creek, which fed into the Klondike River, was renamed Bonanza Creek. Hundreds of thousands of men headed for the frigid extremes of the North American west, hoping to turn their dreams of gold into a reality, just like their fathers and grandfathers who flooded the West in 1848 after gold was found in what is now California.

This month and year marks the 125th anniversary of the start of the Klondike Gold Rush, a pivotal part of North American history. Collectors still clamor for objects and artifacts that represent the time and tell its story.

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