Tiffany’s Dazzling Designs at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

RICHMOND, VA.- The most important exhibition in decades devoted to Louis Comfort Tiffany’s opulent creations in glass will open on May 29 at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Richmond is the only U.S. stop for “Tiffany: Color and Light,” which will continue until August 15. The exhibition includes more than 170 works by Louis Comfort Tiffany – the master of American glass – and his studio. Handblown glass objects, leaded-glass windows, lamps, and other decorative items from Tiffany’s studios [...]

Christie’s to Offer Syd Levethan: The Longridge Collection in London

LONDON.- Christie’s announced that they will offer Syd Levethan – The Longridge Collection in London on 10 and 11 June 2010. One of the most prominent and distinguished collectors of British and Northern European decorative arts, the late Syd Levethan assembled the Longridge Collection over a period of 30 years and was dedicated to acquiring only the best works of art available to him. He created one of the most comprehensive collections of English delftware, slipware, textiles, medieval bronzes, metalwork, [...]

Getty Museum Debuts Cutting-Edge Technology to Showcase Cabinet

LOS ANGELES, CA.- To showcase one of the most complex objects in its collection, the J. Paul Getty Museum will debut cutting-edge technology to explore a 17th-century display cabinet from Augsburg, Germany. Using Augmented Reality (AR), visitors to the Getty’s website will be able to achieve unprecedented access to this fascinating object. The Augsburg Display Cabinet (around 1630), or Kabinettschrank, is the centerpiece of one of four newly reinstalled galleries in the Museum’s North Pavilion. A piece of furniture, it [...]

Bonhams to Sell Silver Spice-Box Given to Daughter of Chester’s Mayor by Duke of Monmouth, Illegitimate Son of Charles I

LONDON.- A charming silver spice-box in the shape of a scallop shell used on the tables of aristocrats almost 400 years ago has surfaced at Bonhams in London. It is believed that the spice-box was a gift that James, Duke of Monmouth (1649-1685), the illegitimate son of Charles II, presented to Henrietta Mainwaring, the youngest daughter of George Mainwaring, Mayor of Chester and MP for Chester in 1689. It then passed by descent through the Mainwaring family. The spice-box, possibly [...]

20th Century Giants of Modern Taste at Bonhams Wiener Werkstatte Collection for Sale

LONDON.- Bonhams is to sell an important collection of Weiner Werkstätte (Vienna Workshops) artefacts at its ‘Design Since 1860’ sale on 16 June. The collection was accumulated by a collector and dealer in the Decorative Arts from various sources throughout Britain and Europe over the last thirty years. It demonstrates the depth and breadth of the movement and the enormous influence it has wielded from its beginnings in 1903 to the present day. The collection was shown in its entirety [...]

Provocative Elton John Art Deco Piece for Sale at Bonhams

LONDON.- A stunning and provocative Art Deco statuette, ‘The Cigarette Girl, (£20,000 – 30,000) once owned by Elton John is coming up for auction at Bonhams ‘Design from 1860’ sale on Wednesday 16 June. During the 1970s, the singer amassed a high quality art deco collection, sparking a fashion among the rich and famous for work of this period – Barbra Streisand was another deco fan. Much of John’s art deco collection was dispersed at auction in 1988. The bronze [...]

Keno Auction’s Inaugural Sale Brings $5.8 Million, Well Above High Estimate

NEW YORK, NY.- The Inaugural Sale from Keno Auctions, which took place May 1-2 at the Marriott Stamford Hotel in Connecticut, achieved $5,818,460 in sales, over its pre-sale high estimate ($2.8 – 5.4 million)* with 87.5% of the 741 lots finding buyers, and established three world sales records. Keno Auctions’ president Leigh Keno announced on Wednesday May 5th that post-sale activity brought the total sold to $6,014,000. The top lot of the sale was The James Beekman Chippendale Carved Mahogany [...]

Sampson and Horne’s Legacy Makes Over 1 Million Pounds at Bonhams

LONDON.- Legendary English antique dealership Sampson and Horne’s collection of British pottery and furniture went under the hammer yesterday (28 April) at Bonhams, New Bond Street with huge success, achieving a total of £1,056,000 with a 91% sold by value. The auction lasted all day with 740 lots on offer, but the saleroom remained packed throughout with many of their loyal customers attending in person – a poignant reminder of their many visits to Sampson and Horne’s shops. While estimates [...]

Doll Dressed by Queen Victoria’s Eldest Daughter to Sell at Bonhams

LONDON.- A wax doll dressed by Queen Victoria’s eldest daughter, the Empress Frederick of Germany (christened Princess Victoria, the Princess Royal), is to be sold at Bonhams, Knightsbridge on Wednesday 26th May, as part of the Fine Dolls and Teddy Bears sale. The Empress dressed the doll, which is expected to fetch £800 – 1,200, for a bazaar in London to raise funds for impoverished Germans in the city circa 1868, and it was bought by the financier Baron von [...]

Ringling Museum Exhibits Elaborate Jewelry of the Turkomen Tribes

SARASOTA, FL.- Exquisite silver and gilt jewelry from the Turkomen tribes of Iran, Afghanistan and Turkmenistan are presented in the exhibition Splendid Treasures of the Turkomen Tribes of Central Asia at The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art’s Ulla R. and Arthur F. Searing Wing April 24,1010 – Jan. 30, 2011. The exhibit of more than 40 objects hand crafted by the semi-nomadic Turkomen people features headdress ornaments, bracelets, and clothing clasps with carnelian and lavish decorative elements of [...]

Theaster Gates Artist Installation To Speculate Darkly Reinterprets Craft and Fosters Community

MILWAUKEE, WI.- Chicago-based artist Theaster Gates, Jr. has reached out to area craftspeople and the African-American community to reinterpret for the present day the legacy of Dave Drake, a slave in antebellum South Carolina who famously adorned his pots with poetic couplets. The installation, titled To Speculate Darkly, will transform the Milwaukee Art Museum’s Decorative Arts Gallery from April 16 through August 1, 2010, into an engaging exploration into the significance of craft labor and race in America. To Speculate [...]

Distinctive Jefferson Goblet on Display at Cheekwood

NASHVILLE, TN.- Cheekwood has The Jefferson Goblet on loan for our 50th anniversary, and to display this important historical object in our newly re-installed Silver Library. Distinctive in its unembellished surfaces and architectural form, this handsome goblet is the larger of a pair designed by Thomas Jefferson and commissioned from the shop of French silversmith Jean-Baptiste-Claude Odiot in 1789. “Cheekwood is proud to welcome this important object back to Tennessee in celebration of our 50th anniversary,” said Allison Reid, Cheekwood’s [...]

Sotheby’s to Sell the Collection of the Late Francis Egerton and Peter Maitland, Pioneers of the “Mallett Style”

LONDON.- On Wednesday, 28 April 2010, Sotheby’s London will offer for sale a collection of English furniture which – in its exceptional quality and aesthetic appeal – defines the connoisseurship and unfailing eye of two of the greatest protagonists ever to have worked in the furniture business: Francis Egerton and Peter Maitland. Together, the 150 lots to be offered – each one exactingly chosen for its artistic merit – are expected to realise a sum in excess of £700,000. As [...]

Blue and White Porcelain Collection Assembled by the ‘God’ of Ceramics to Be Sold at Bonhams

LONDON.- An outstanding collection of Blue and White Porcelain assembled by the renowned ceramics expert Geoffrey Godden is to be auctioned at Bonhams on Wednesday 30th June. Godden’s encyclopaedic knowledge has earned him the nickname ‘God’ to many in the ceramics field, and this collection, many items of which are included in his Guide to British Blue & White Porcelain, is much admired. “Bonhams is honoured to be selling such a fine collection put together by this celebrated expert. Many [...]

Word-of-Mouth Drives Record Response to Major Oriental Rug Collection Event

OAKLAND, CA.- When Claremont Rug Company announced an exhibit of a recent acquisition of 175 art-level, 19th century Oriental rugs, not even Gallery president Jan David Winitz was prepared for the response. “We know that art connoisseurs are increasingly turning their attention to the finest 19th century Oriental carpets,” said Winitz, “but we did not expect that we would sell more than 15 per cent of the rugs, including the one that we featured in our announcement on the first [...]