Innehållsförteckning för November 15, 2021 från Kovels Antique Trader

Two pairs of special spectacles that not only bestow the gift of observing the world through diamonds and emeralds but are also thought to contain magical powers are expected to sell for millions at auction. The jewel-encrusted eyeglasses, dating to India’s 17th century Mughal era and commissioned by an unknown prince, are magni›cent artifacts that bring together science, beauty and belief, according to Sotheby’s, where they were scheduled to be sold on October 27 in London as part of the Arts of the Islamic World and India auction. Each pair, the diamond-lens “Halo of Light” and the emerald-lens “Gate of Paradise,” has an estimate of $2 to $3.4 million. “This is the work of a supreme master, both of gemstones and of optics. This is a slice of diamond and…

Nearing the end of the 19th century, urban homes in the United States were introduced to electricity on a large scale. This was an illuminating development for decorative lamps, which not only provided light but became a focal point for rooms in homes of the upper class. This convergence of modernization and art – as well as an influx of wealth during the Gilded Age – played a critical role in the emergence of the most prominent name in decorative lighting: Tiffany Louis Comfort Tiffany (1848-1933) established himself as the dominant figure in decorative lighting history, combining artistic talent, innovation and the fortuitous access to wealthy clientele who would embrace not only an emerging technology but his formidable artistic talents. The son of Charles Lewis Tiffany, the founder of Tiffany…

A native species of parakeet once flew in our skies. The Carolina parakeet was found in Eastern, Southern and Plains states, and lived in old forests along rivers. I never knew this until I recently saw this stained glass window Louis Comfort Tiffany designed in 1889 that is now in the collection of Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts. Since we feature other Tiffany stories in this issue (lamps on P. 40 and the cover story on P. 58), it’s a perfect time to share what I learned after doing some research. Parakeets and Goldfish Bowl features a fish bowl suspended by real chains from the branch of a blossoming pink cherry tree, surrounded by six Carolina parakeets in different poses, possibly indicating their personalities or attitudes. The museum said this…

Artfact Live Auctions, www.Artfact.com/LiveAuctions, the online marketplace for premier art, antiques, collectibles, and estate auctions worldwide. DealersMarketUSA.com, www.DealersMarketUSA.com, Buy & Sell art and antiques. Sundays. Heritage Weekly Internet-Only Comics Auction, www.ha.com/comics, 6pm CT. Sundays. Heritage Weekly Internet-Only Comics Auction, www.ha.com/comics, 6pm CT. Sundays. Heritage Weekly Internet-Only Movie Poster Auction, www.ha.com/Posters, 6pm CT. Sundays & Tuesdays. Heritage Weekly Internet-Only US Coin Auction, www.ha.com/Coins, 7pm CT. Tuesdays. Heritage Weekly Internet-Only Currency Auction, www.ha.com/Currency, 7pm CT. Thursdays. Heritage Weekly Internet-Only Nature & Science Auction, www.ha.com/NatureAndScience,10pm CT.…

Ever since the former USSR launched Sputnik into earth orbit on October 4, 1957, people have been collecting space relics. Imagine a space relic sold by NASA that weighs 39 tons and measures 154 feet (half a football field in length). Now imagine that same collectible sitting abandoned in a small riverside town with a population of about 8,000. Three questions come to mind. What is it? How did it get there? Why is it there? Join me on another travel trailer road trip to ›nd out the answers to these questions. While camping with my wife and daughter in St. Augustine, Florida (the oldest settlement in the United States, having been founded in 1565), we decided to spend a day exploring backwater towns bordering the St. Johns River. When…

Tobacco pipes have been around for about 500 years. The generally accepted evidence, often reprised in many treatises on the history of pipes, is an illustration of a man smoking a clay pipe that appeared in Anthony Chute, Tobacco (1595). Thus, one can conclude that clay pipe-making had to have begun around that time. The earliest clays were simple, utilitarian, commonplace utensils, mere conveyances for holding tobacco. Eventually, three other types of pipes became what are considered, today, “high art” forms. First, a look back at the early world of pipe materials, writ large. According to the 1894 Encyclopaedia Britannica, “The regular pipe-making industries divide into many branches, of which the more important are the clay pipe, meerschaum (real and artificial), and wooden bowl trades.” Not quite a complete list.…

T has been an unlikely yet incredibly rewarding love affair between Carl Heck and Tiffany glass. The artistry and sophistication of Tiffany has captivated the collector, historian and antiques dealer from childhood. A native of rural Missouri, Heck has bought and sold more than 6,000 stained glass windows and over 150 Tiffany windows including some historic pieces from the Firestone mansion, Coors mansion and a rare lantern from the Cornelius Vanderbilt II mansion. He has exhibited pieces in 15 museums, including the Corning Museum of Glass, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, Seattle Art Museum, Dallas Museum of Art, Les Beaux Artes, Montreal, and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, as well as four exhibitions in Japan, and the Musée du Luxembourg in Paris. What’s more, for several years he served…