Innehållsförteckning för April 2025 från Kovels Antique Trader

Tiffany Studio lamps electrified bidders during Fontaine’s Auction Gallery “Fine & Decorative Arts” auction in February, with several achieving six-figure prices. The 750-lot event, spread over two days, realized more than $5 million. “I knew the market was strong for good things and we had a lot of really good things in the sale,” said Fontaine’s CEO and auctioneer John Fontaine.…

Artist JOHN “CRASH” MATOS (1961) emerged from the ’70s and ’80s graffi ti subculture to become a moving force in the global street art movement. Getting his name after crashing a high school computer, Matos, a Bronx native, started graffi ti at 13, but moved to canvas in 1979. Matos curated the groundbreaking exhibition Graffi ti Art Success for America at Fashion MODA in the Bronx in 1980, and in 1983 secured gallery representation with Sidney Janis Gallery, Manhattan. Matos has collaborated with a wide range of brands, including Fender, Levi’s and Absolut Vodka, and is coowner of the Bronx gallery Wallworks New York. Today, Matos doesn’t call himself a graffi ti artist, “that belongs to the streets,” he says. His work is held in the collections of major museums…

This 1915 Cyclone V-Twin motorcycle, an extraordinarily rare machine, sold for $1.32 million in February, becoming the fi rst million-dollar motorcycle. The bike sold during Mecum Las Vegas 2025, the world’s largest vintage and antique motorcycle auction. Cyclone production lasted a scant three years, and the name generates more excitement from enthusiasts than any other American motorcycle as the rarest and most technically sophisticated vehicle of its era.…

Curiosities—objects that evoke the question, “What the heck is that?”—have had an enduring appeal throughout history. Unusual curiosities and oddities popularly collected include antique magic lithographs, sideshow banners and posters, human skulls, freak taxidermy, natural history specimens, antique Ouija boards and rare séance items. The curious Victorians, who were interested in anatomy, botany, nature, the sciences and morbidity, elevated collecting and displaying oddities to an art, inspired by the aesthetics of curiosity cabinets in the 16th through 18th centuries. Upper-class Victorians enjoyed finding rare items that were visually appealing like suits of armor, wax figures and human skeletons. Smaller objects included botanical items and animal remains displayed in curiosity cabinets or on taxidermy mounts. Today, collectors like James Freeman and Kate Fugate acquire oddities not only as conversation pieces but…

WALTER DORWIN TEAGUE’S Sparton Nocturne radio, model 1186, billed as “The Style Sensation of the Radio World,” was unveiled at the New York Radio Exposition in September of 1935. Standing 46 inches tall and 22 inches wide, the giant midnight blue Tuffl ex mirrored glass radio was the most daring of four designs Teague created for Sparton. Embracing materials of the industrial world, Teague’s Nocturne radio elegantly transformed a utilitarian object into a work of art. Targeted to a high-end market and intended for posh interiors, hotels, theaters or other similar venues, the Nocturne cost $350-$375, an enormous investment during the Depression. It is unknown how many Nocturne radios were produced, but because of cost and the fragility of the materials few are known to exist today. A Nocturne radio…

Joseph Dessert was a lumberman from Quebec, Canada, who made his living cutting down the very things that fascinated me the most while growing up: towering white pines. Of course, Dessert was long gone by the time I came to be. Even so, my formative years were shaped by him and what survived his axe. Dessert came to Wisconsin in 1840 and began lumbering shortly thereafter around my hometown, which was conveniently located on the Wisconsin River. Old-growth pines were majestic and plentiful throughout the northern half of the state and the river made moving them relatively easy. Dessert’s sawmill prospered and he made a fortune. In return, he gave my hometown a library, naming it after himself. During high school, I spent many nights in the Joseph Dessert Library…

Finnish-American architect and industrial designer EERO SAARINEN (1910-1961) designed the groundbreaking Womb Chair at Florence Knoll’s request for “a chair that was like a basket full of pillows—something she could really curl up in.” The chair debuted in 1948 as the Model 70. The organic form and liberating comfort earned it a nickname later offi cially adopted—the Womb Chair—and spurred a quick ascent into the cultural zeitgeist. Saarinen was surrounded by design his entire life; his father, Eliel Saarinen was an architect and director of the Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfi eld Hills, Mich., and his mother, Loja Saarinen, was an acclaimed textile artist. Among his many impressive architectural works, Eero Saarinen designed the Gateway Arch in St. Louis.…

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. 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 800 dealer booths. All items 20 years old or older. For more info, visit alamedapointantiquesfaire.com. Every second Sunday of the month, Pasadena. World’s largest flea market at the Rose Bowl, Pasadena.…

WILLIAM EDMONDSON (1874-1951), a self-taught sculptor and son of former Tennessee slaves, became the fi rst Black artist to have a solo exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, 1937. Edmondson spent years as a railroad laborer and janitor before discovering his talent for carving limestone at age 57. Using railroad spikes, Edmondson began carving limestone after what he described as a “divine vision.” A statue of a boxer by Edmondson sold for $785,000 at Christie’s in 2016, the highest price ever for outsider art. His Lady with a Bustle limestone sculpture sold for $268,400 at Case Auctions in January.…

Samplers, pieces of cloth that feature hand-embroidered designs using thread made of cotton, silk, or wool, were once used to teach young women embroidery and needlework techniques that would be useful to repair household linens, as well as help them learn the letters of the alphabet. Today, antique samplers are collected as charming pieces of folk art. Quilts with original designs and other needlework pieces are also prized as folk art. Dr. Carole Wahler, a celebrated collector, curator and scholar, was a singular figure in the world of American early textiles, and pieces she acquired were offered as part of the “Collection of Carole Wahler” sale at Brunk Auctions on Jan. 29. The top lot was a rare needlework sampler from 1824 that sold for $40,000 against a high estimate…

I am a sucker for a swung vase. Color, maker, size, fingers, no fingers, wide asymmetrical mouth, more petite, petal-shaped mouth, short, tall, fat, skinny … I love them all. No two are the same; they are each gloriously perfect in their imperfection. The distinctive design of the swung vase, most popular in the 1960s through the early 1980s, came from a unique glass-blowing technique. The often vibrantly colored, uniquely fashioned glassware has an irregularly shaped mouth, freeform shape, and a cool Mid-Century Modern vibe, resulting from how it is "swung” when removed from heat. Swung glass is often mistakenly called “swing glass.” However, because the resulting vase has already been “swung,” they are correctly referred to in the past tense. How a Swung Glass Vase is Made The technique…