Robots and space toys dominated high-end array at Milestone auction

Masudaya (Japan) 15in battery-operated Target Robot from the famed Gang of Five series. All original toy with correct dart gun and two darts. Accompanied by original box. Sold for $34,440 against an estimate of $20,000-$25,000

WILLOUGHBY, Ohio – Many hundreds of absentee bids were already on the books by the time Milestone Auctions’ co-owner and principal auctioneer Miles King stepped up to the podium to officially open the Ohio company’s May 27 Spring Premier Toy Auction. The 835-lot event, which featured virtually every popular category in the antique-toy realm, was on many a collector’s radar and had been closely monitored online, especially after word got out about a stellar collection of rare Japanese robots and space toys featured in the sale.

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Jewels of the Nile shine at Worcester Art Museum

Brooch featuring an ancient scarab in a modern winged mount, scarab is ancient Egyptian, (scarab) New Kingdom, about 1539–1077 B.C.; (gold mount) early 1900s, glazed steatite and gold (modern), Mrs. Kingsmill Marrs Collection, Worcester Art Museum, 1926.86
Brooch featuring an ancient scarab in a modern winged mount, scarab is ancient Egyptian, (scarab) New Kingdom, about 1539–1077 B.C.; (gold mount) early 1900s, glazed steatite and gold (modern), Mrs. Kingsmill Marrs Collection, Worcester Art Museum, 1926.86
Brooch featuring an ancient scarab in a modern winged mount, scarab is ancient Egyptian, (scarab) New Kingdom, about 1539–1077 B.C.; (gold mount) early 1900s, glazed steatite and gold (modern), Mrs. Kingsmill Marrs Collection, Worcester Art Museum, 1926.86

WORCESTER, Mass. — The Worcester Art Museum (WAM) presents Jewels of the Nile: Ancient Egyptian Treasures from the Worcester Art Museum now until January 29, 2023. It brings to light the exceptional collection of Egyptian jewelry assembled by Kingsmill Marrs and Laura Norcross Marrs and given to WAM by Mrs. Marrs in 1926.

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Exotic scarabs: Which one is your favorite beetle?

A Koch Brothers emerald, tourmaline and diamond necklace with tourmaline scarabs realized $16,000 plus the buyer’s premium in June 2018 at Fortuna Auction. Image courtesy of Fortuna Auction and LiveAuctioneers.
A Koch Brothers emerald, tourmaline and diamond necklace with tourmaline scarabs realized $16,000 plus the buyer’s premium in June 2018 at Fortuna Auction. Image courtesy of Fortuna Auction and LiveAuctioneers.
A Koch Brothers emerald, tourmaline and diamond necklace with tourmaline scarabs realized $16,000 plus the buyer’s premium in June 2018 at Fortuna Auction. Image courtesy of Fortuna Auction and LiveAuctioneers.

NEW YORK — Viewers of the 1999 movie The Mummy might understandably develop a fear of scarabs as flesh-hungry monsters. Western movies have portrayed them as destroyers, but in ancient Egypt, they were symbols of creation and rebirth.

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