Innehållsförteckning för September 2024 från Kovels Antique Trader

Every collector dreams of unearthing something interesting from the dust of an old house. When the house in question has been in use since the 1500s, you might find something especially rare. Sutton House was built in Hackney, now a borough of London, England, in 1535 for Ralph Sadler, secretary to Thomas Cromwell and later Secretary of State to Henry VIII. Today, it is a museum owned by the National Trust. It has served many purposes throughout its history, including a girls' school in the mid-1600s, which is really where our story begins. One of the most recent finds at the house is a collection of tiny papercrafts, now on display until December. The carefully cut pictures, one decorated with scraps of silk, and a miniature folded star are believed…

Collector's Gallery Q: Hi Dr. Cavo: Can you tell me if this is an antique? I found it in my parents' belongings. Thank you. Lori A: Hi Lori: Your Mid-century ashtray was made by Aldo Londi who was a ceramist for the firm of Bitossi in the Italian region of Tuscany. Aldo Londi (1911-2003) was a sculptor, painter and prolific ceramist who joined Bitossi Ceramiche (ceramics) in 1946 and remained with them for more than 50 years. The Bitossi family began their ceramic industry in 1921 and are still producing fine ceramic pieces today. Bitossi was one of the few Italian ceramic factories not destroyed during WWII. Early, pre-WWII, ceramic pieces from Bitossi were strictly utilitarian (kitchen ware and tiles for roofs and floors) and when marked, are stamped with…

I Imagine throwing a dinner party and when it's time to fill the wine glasses, you present a bottle of one of the most prestigious and sought-after vintages in the world to the impressed gasps of your delighted guests. While the collector whose winning bid got the 5 1/2-liter bottle of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tâche Burgundy from 1971 will likely never uncork it for a dinner party, they were willing to pay $150,000 to add it to their cellar. That result was achieved at Bonhams Skinner's “Iconic Wines From Passionate Collectors” auction June 3-17 and is a record price for the house for a single bottle of wine. The sale was a curation of more than 250 lots of the finest bottles from the world's greatest wine regions…

Auction Highlight During the Jurassic period, the stegosaurus, a massive, four-legged creature with kite-shaped plates along its back, once roamed the Earth. Now, some 150 million years later, the skeletal remains of a stegosaurus known as “Apex” has sold for a record $44.6 million at Sotheby's. At 11 feet tall and 27 feet long, Apex is considered one of the most complete skeletal structures of its kind. Four years ago, a Tyrannosaurus skeleton called Stan fetched a then-record $31.8 million. Prior to the July event, presale estimates had the stegosaurus going for $4-$6 million.…

Auction Highlight The cameo glass technique dates to about 30 B.C. in ancient Rome, where it was used as an alternative to engraved vessels made of naturally layered semi-precious gemstones. Cameo glass is created by engraving, etching, or otherwise carving through fused layers of differently colored glass—traditionally opaque white over a darker colored background—and the Romans found it provided more consistent results than natural stones. The most celebrated example of the technique, the legendary Portland Vase (above), was made between 1 and 25 A.D. Discovered in Italy around 1600, it found its first home in the collection of the powerful Barberini family of Rome (hence its original name, the Barberini Vase). The dowager duchess of Portland (the wealthiest woman in Great Britain of her time) acquired the vase in 1784…

“it's been my very good fortune to be surrounded by many of the finer things in life and I'm always gratified when it's time to let them go so that others may enjoy them as well.” —Jim Carrey This SPOON CHAIR, designed by Philipp Aduatz, comes from the collection of actor Jim Carrey. It sold for $6,300 at Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) in July. Unlike many celebrities, Carrey—star of such films as Ace Ventura, The Mask, and The Truman Stow—didn't begin collecting art through an advisor, but instead purchased what most compelled him. As a contemporary artist himself, Carrey's eye has drawn him toward vibrant, graphic paintings and prints, to bold contemporary design. The result is a collection as eccentric, electric and inspired as the actor. The carbon fiberreinforced polymer…

from the editor I have a confession to make. It's nothing that requires the services of a priest or an understanding bartender, although to be fair, beer does play into this. Last summer, I almost spent $4,000 on two lavender bowling shirts at auction. The shirts were once worn by Penny Marshall and Cindy Williams on the hit ABC TV show “Laverne and Shirley.” That's not the worst of it. Those two bowling shirts – one with a distinctive “L” for Laverne in red felt on the left breast – are now being offered through the same auction house for $7,125 by the person who originally bought them. And the thing is, I'm still tempted. The purchase would be monumentally dumb, the goofiest thing bought in my online auction-buying history.…

A piece of statement jewelry is meant to grab attention to the wearer's personal style and taste. In the case of the late Secretary of State Madeleine Albright (19372022), pieces she wore also sent messages to powerful people around the world. A famous example of this is after Albright criticized the late Iraqi president Saddam Hussein when she was the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, his poet-in-residence called her an “unparalleled serpent.” The next time she met with Iraqi officials, Albright wore a snake pin, sending the diplomatic message: “Don't tread on me,” proving that a well-chosen piece of jewelry can literally be a statement piece. Statement brooches continued to be Albright's sartorial signature after she became the first woman to serve as the Secretary of State under former…

Turn 65 and mere mortals sign up for Medicare. But Barbie? She turns 65 and the London Design Museum unveils “Barbie: The Exhibition” showcasing more than 250 pieces related to the evolution of the iconic doll from 1959 to the present, including over 180 iterations of the Barbie herself. So yeah, this is Barbie's world, and we can only buy a ticket to it. The exhibit, which runs through Feb. 23, 2025, follows in the wake of 2023's unofficial Year of Barbie, thanks to Greta Gerwig's hit movie, Barbie, starring Margot Robbie as the living doll and Ryan Gosling as boyfriend Ken. “Design has been at the heart of Barbie's story ever since her creation 65 years ago,” says Tim Marlow, Director and CEO of the Design Museum. “And as…

A first edition copy of Mary Shelley's 1818 Frankenstein: or The Modern Prometheus rampaged through Heritage Auctions, selling for $843,750 in late June. The sale was part of The William A. Strutz Library, Part I, Rare Books Signature Auction that totaled $5,655,439. Chief among the event's historic lots was an extraordinary inscribed copy of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gratsby that realized $425,000, now the world's most valuable copy. No other copy of The Great Gatsby has ever broken the $400,000 barrier. Not far behind was what is now the most valuable edition of The Hobbit in the world, a presentation copy of J. R. R. Tolkien's novel that realized $300,000. Henry David Thoreau's Walden; or Life in the Woods also set an auction record, selling for $275,000. Strutz, who died…

The son of Charles Tiffany, the celebrated jeweler and founder of Tiffany & Co., Louis Comfort Tiffany was an artist, innovator and pioneer of form and color. Born in New York City in 1848, he began his career as a painter in the late 1860s, studying under a series of masters. In the mid-1870s, he turned his attention away from painting and toward the family business of decorative arts and in terior design. He built a strong reputation, even taking part in the 1882 redecoration of the White House. Despite being highly regarded for his interior design work, Tiffany was increasingly drawn to the production of art glass, working for several glass manufacturers from 1875-1878 and honing his skills that would ultimately bring him the greatest recognition. In 1881, he…

A small and important sugar bowl that was recently discovered after it was bought as part of a box lot at an estate sale for less than $50 commanded the biggest price of the more than 2,200 lots of 18th and 19th century Americana, ceramics, glass, lighting, silver, and textiles offered at Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates four-day sale June 19-22. The salt-glazed decorated stoneware sugar bowl, 5 ½ inches tall, garnered $34,800. Estimated between $10,000$20,000, the bowl descended in a family that acquired it from notable Virginia potter Andrew Coffman (1795-1853) and is one of just three signed examples known. It had been part of the box lot bought for just $46. The bowl was sold on the fourth day of the sale, when many of the auction's highest…

To list your antiques-related event (show, auction, convention, etc.) for free in Kovels Antique Trader, and on our website, antiquetrader.com, email event information (date, location, contact information, times) at least six weeks in advance to: ATNews@aimmedia.com. Listings will be included on a space-available basis. Kovels Antique Trader assumes no responsibility for any show not listed in our print editions, but it will be listed in our online calendar. ARIZONA Oct 4-5,2024, Prescott. Prescott Antique Show & Vintage Market, Prescott Rodeo Grounds, 840 Rodeo Drive, Prescott, Ariz., 86305. SH: (early bird) 3pm-7pm, Friday; 9am-4pm Saturday. For more info, visit https://www.prescottantiqueshow.com. CALIFORNIA Every first Sunday of the month, Alameda. Alameda Point Antiques Faire, 3900 Maine St., Alameda, CA. The Alameda Point Antiques Faire is the largest antiques show in Northern California, boasting…