Be careful with names when studying antiques (Antiques news)

Be careful with names when studying antiques
HeraldNet reported

Seeking information about antiques and collectibles sometimes can be difficult because so many terms have more than one meaning.

A "davenport" in England is a type of small desk. In the United States, it is a sofa. An ad may offer a "Duncan Phyfe" table. A man named Duncan Phyfe was a 19th-century New York cabinetmaker. The table offered in the ad may have been made by Phyfe, it may have been made in his style during the years he worked or it may be a recent piece in the Duncan Phyfe style.

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

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

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Seeking information about antiques and collectibles sometimes can be difficult because so many terms have more than one meaning.

A "davenport" in England is a type of small desk. In the United States, it is a sofa. An ad may offer a "Duncan Phyfe" table. A man named Duncan Phyfe was a 19th-century New York cabinetmaker. The table offered in the ad may have been made by Phyfe, it may have been made in his style during the years he worked or it may be a recent piece in the Duncan Phyfe style.

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

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

A music box sold in October at Cowan's Auctions in Cincinnati was a Regina "Rookwood" model that brought $17,037. It's a wooden table-shaped music-box case with a painted design on the front.

It has nothing to do with the famous Rookwood Pottery. The name was just a marketing idea. So be careful if you're searching for some antique terms online. You may come up with unexpected results.

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Chinese Rhinoceros horn cup brings $318600 in $1.1M Asian antiques auction (Antiques news)

Chinese Rhinoceros horn cup brings $318600 in $1.1M Asian antiques auction
Antique Trader

A rare and masterfully carved Chinese rhinoceros horn libation cup from the 17th or 18th century, just four inches tall and fitted to a reticulated teakwood base, sold for $318,600 – $68,000 more than the pre-sale high estimate – at a sale of Asian antiques held March 17-18, 2012 by Elite Decorative Arts, at the firm’s gallery in Boynton Beach.

“We expected the rhino horn cup to be the centerpiece lot of the auction, and we were not disappointed,” said Scott Cieckiewicz of Elite Decorative Arts. “The object sparked a spirited bidding war before an Internet bidder in Shanghai finally emerged the winner.” Mr. Cieckiewicz added the two-day sale grossed right around $1.1 million. “It was an excellent auction,” he said.

The rhinoceros horn was of a gently flaring form. It was finely relief carved as a wooded jungle and rendered in high relief to depict a village scene with trees and people working and resting. One side showed scholars climbing the side of a rock mountain, with many types of trees. The other side depicted a family at the base and a tall peony tree growing alongside a rock.

The auction literally attracted worldwide attention. Of the estimated 1,000 registered bidders (the vast majority of whom participated online, through LiveAuctioneers.com and Auctionzip.com), more than 100 were from Asia, about 65 were from Europe and a smattering hailed from Australia, South America and Africa. Phone and absentee bids were also accepted.

Following are additional highlights from the auction. All prices quoted include a buyer’s premium of 15 percent for in-house and phone bids and 18 percent for Internet bids.

Two other lots topped the $100,000 mark. The first was a large, five-panel, 18th century Chinese throne screen made from Zitan wood and possibly given as a wedding present for someone of high imperial status. It brought $153,400. The use of Zitan for furniture was favored especially by the Ming and Qing imperial courts and its use was restricted to palace workshops.

The other lot was a large genuine rhinoceros horn from the 18th or 19th century, with no carving at all. The antique horn measured 26 inches in length and was 18 ¼ inches in girth at its widest point, with a total weight of 3,666 grams. The horn realized $109,250. Its provenance was quite intriguing: Hoover Vacuum owned it, having acquired it from the Lord Montague Museum.

The auction featured many examples of imperial quality Chinese hand-carved red coral group figures, which were stunning in their attention to detail. Dating back to the Ch’ing Dynasty, the beautifully carved figures varied in size from 7 to about 17 inches in height. They were perched on handsome fitted wooden bases, and some even boasted gorgeous silver inlay.

A palatial Chinese hand-carved red coral maiden group figure, impressive and large (17 ½ inches tall), depicting two maidens with flowers and birds, incredibly carved throughout, with high attention to detail, hammered for $36,800; and a fine Chinese red coral immortals figure group depicting immortals, servants, pine trees, leaves a stork and flowers, finished at $31,050.

An exquisite Chinese hand-carved red coral figure from the late Qing Dynasty, depicting a mother holding flowers with her two daughters playing at her side, masterfully carved and with incredible detail throughout, breezed to $31,050; and a massive (19 inches tall, 10 inches wide) carved Chinese red coral figure depicting Guan Yin with four birds, changed hands for $31,050.

A superb Chinese hand-carved red coral figure depicting a seated happy Buddha, holding a sack to his right hand with a beaded necklace and coins and a flowing robe, from the Late Qing period, fetched $28,750; and a Chinese relief carved coral group depicting a mother with a young child climbing a tree, also depicting peaches and a paradise bird, circa 20th century, hit $27,600.

A finely carved Chinese red coral group figure depicting three children holding up a fourth child who is riding them like a horse, finely detailed throughout and signed at the bottom “Zhu Yun,” from the Cultural Revolution period, rose to $19,550; and a 20th century Chinese relief carved coral group figure of seven children playing around a tree and table made $14,160.

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How an interior designer uses antiques to liven up his den (Antiques news)

How an interior designer uses antiques to liven up his den
Globe and Mail reported

For the past four years, Toronto interior designer Mazen el-Abdallah has lived in a downtown Victorian row house that he renovated himself.

“I was just starting up my design business, Mazen Studio, and wanted to create a real live-work space where I could work but also relax,” the 33-year-old Ottawa native says.

He revitalized the space by opening up a second bedroom to the hallway to create a second-floor den furnished with vintage pieces and modern photography. It’s easily his favourite room: “It’s like a private cocoon in the middle of the house. I spend a lot of time here decompressing, reading, going through magazines and browsing auction sites for more furniture.”

The side board

“I spotted this rosewood credenza through the window at Zig Zag [on Toronto’s Queen Street East] one night and rushed over the next morning to buy it. I had been looking for one for months, and this had spectacular lines to it.”

The antique mirror

“I found it after brunch one morning and thought its proportions worked perfectly over the credenza. The dark blue with gold leaf complements the blue-black doors and brass accents in the house. I placed it across from the windows to increase the natural light.”

The prints

“I bought these at [OCAD University’s] graduation show several years ago. They’re by a fantastic artist, Tek Yang.”

The photographs

“These photos, by artist Tricia McKellar, are of an abandoned water-treatment plant in Raleigh, N.C. I love the intensity of colour and texture. They’re a great reminder of the effects of time on buildings.”

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London capital of the rhino horn business (Antiques news)

London Capital of the Rhino Horn Business
BusinessWeek reported

Acting on a tip that illegal merchandise was being sold on EBay (EBAY), London police tracked down a seller known as Great Towers. Police traced him to Romford, England, where they raided his home to seize the products—elephant-hair bracelets and ivory.

That was in 2009. Finally, in October last year, the accused, Francis Benyure, was found guilty of trading in endangered animal parts. Benyure received a 10-month suspended sentence, meaning he won’t have to serve any time in jail unless he’s charged with another crime in the next 18 months. He was also ordered to do 150 hours of community service and to pay £500 in costs. Police called it “a long, difficult case to investigate” with help from EBay and London’s Natural History Museum. Efforts to reach Mr. Benyure were unsuccessful.

Such light sentences—and the difficulties of prosecution—are two of the reasons why British police say London is a major hub in the world trade in products made from endangered species, an industry they estimate is worth as much as £12 billion ($19 billion) a year globally. The market extends from Asian customers seeking traditional medicines made from such ingredients as rhinoceros horn and bear bile, to wealthy Britons buying luxury goods such as crocodile skin handbags and coats made from endangered cats. London’s status as a crossroads for world commerce also attracts the trade, says Sergeant Ian Knox, head of the Wildlife Crime Unit at the Metropolitan Police. “It’s one of the largest cities in Europe, with a very cosmopolitan population. All the seizures are made in London. It’s a premier shopping area.”

Knox’s unit has seized Shahtoosh shawls from a Mayfair boutique, valued at £350,000. The shawls are made from Chiru antelopes in Mongolia and Tibet that have been hunted near to extinction for their fur, which is woven into some of the finest shawls in the world. On Jermyn Street in St. James, steps from retailer Fortnum & Mason, the police seized shaving brushes with elephant-ivory handles from a barber shop where a trim costs £32.

Knox wants to reduce the demand and availability for illegal products in London to make it less lucrative for poachers to kill the animals in their home countries. The seized goods are held at a facility in Southeast London. Behind glass doors are Chinese medicine packages and cane handles carved from hippo teeth, some in the shape of ladies’ heads, then stained in tea to give them an antique appearance. There’s a stuffed tiger rented out by a man to ad firms and movie sets. The grown tiger was used in photo shoots for Puma sneakers and the late designer Alexander McQueen, who did not know the animal was hot, says Knox. The owner of the stuffed cat has been charged with trading in endangered species.

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Antiques and Collectibles: Law enforcement patches are rich with imagery (Antiques news)

Antiques and Collectibles: Law enforcement patches are rich with imagery
Post-Bulletin reported

All types of items relating to law enforcement activities of earlier days are now being collected. The assortment extends from brass badges to leg irons and weapons.

But the easiest and the least expensive is the police patch, also known as the insignia patch.

Many collectors of law enforcement memorabilia are involved in law enforcement at various levels, such as Sgt. Steve Franks, of the Rochester Police Department.

“I started out primarily with agencies in Minnesota and surrounding counties, and it grew from there. I probably started around 1994 or so after I had been with the police department for a few years," Franks says. "My dad, John Franks, was on the department for 32 years and had a bit of a collection that he eventually turned over to me.

"It’s been a while since I’ve done an official count, but I probably have about 1,200 or more.”

Bill Spitzer, Winona County Deputy Sheriff and the mayor of St. Charles, also collects insignia patches.

“Some of the first patches I started collecting were from area police departments," Spitzer says. "I started collecting patches shortly after I became a peace officer. At that time, patch collecting was a big thing — so big, in fact, our association magazine dedicated a full page of statewide collectors."

Spitzer estimates that he has more than 700 patches in his collection. Many of these patches, he says, include departments that have changed their designs over the years.

Differing designs

Many collections start with memories. Spitzer credits his collection to memories of his first police chief.

"Denny Volk started me in the hobby, with his several hundred patches that lined the walls of our police department in St. Charles," Spitzer says. "I remember being amazed at the variety and creativity of the different designs.”

Steve Franks agrees that designs and uniqueness of insignia patches is what attracts most first-time collectors.

“I have a photo of my first 40 patches spread out on a table," Franks says. "One of the things that I find unique is how much of our nation’s history is written into, and displayed, in our police patches."

Some patches feature animals or colors on them. A patch from North Slope Borough, Alaska, features polar bears and a whale. And "one of my Michigan K-9 patches is ‘shoulder specific,’ in that the dog always faces forward, so (there are) specific left and right shoulder patches," Franks says.

The more unusual a patch is, the more collectible and valuable it is. Many departments used generic patches until the last couple of decades. Now most police patches represent the community’s character, which to collectors, is what makes the hobby of collecting these patches fun.

“Fully embroidered patches are probably much more common today than they used to be, and they are usually a bit more valuable as the cost to make them is higher," Franks says. "In any collecting, a mistake can often add value. Rochester does not use a fully embroidered patch, but one year the order came in fully embroidered, and we’ve never had them since due to cost. I’m going to hang on to that one!”

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Washington & Clay antique bottle flask soars to $52650 (Antiques news)

Washington & Clay antique bottle flask soars to $52650
Antique Trader reported

A rare and historical portrait flask showing strong busts of George Washington and Henry Clay, made circa 1840-1860 by Bridgeton Glass Works (N.J.), soared to $52,650 in the Internet and catalog auction of Session III of the Thomas McCandless lifetime bottle collection. The auction went online Jan. 18, 2012 and accepted its final bid Feb. 1.

The portrait flask was the top lot in a session that grossed around $440,000. Combined, all three sessions grossed a little over $1 million. “For a single bottle collection to top the $1 million mark is truly extraordinary,” said Norman Heckler Sr., of Norman C. Heckler & Company, the Woodstock-based firm that conducted the auctions.

The blown quart Washington-Clay historical flask was the auction’s star lot: A common bottle in mold design, in an unlisted and extremely rare vibrant light yellowish color with a topaz tone, the flask’s bold portrait busts complemented its strong embossing and perfect condition.

Norman Heckler, Jr., observed, “Glass as an antique collecting category has drawn interest from collectors who recognize the historical significance and beauty of antique bottles and glass. Many also feel, too, that it is a greatly undervalued category.”

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