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 [...]

120,000 Enchanting Singing Bird Musical Box for Sale at Bonhams

LONDON.- The only surviving privately owned example of a Victorian ‘Lion’ treadle lock-stitch sewing machine is for sale at Bonhams Fine Mechanical Music and Scientific Instruments auction at Knightsbridge on Wednesday 21 April. This dramatic looking machine was made in 1868 for the American market by Kimball and Morton, a Glasgow based manufacturer. In the shape of a noble but friendly looking lion the machine has all its original parts and is so well preserved that it could easily be [...]

Claremont Rug Company to Exhibit “Awe-Inspiring” Collection

OAKLAND, CA.- Jan David Winitz, founder and president of Claremont Rug Company, today announced an exhibition of an “awe-inspiring private collection” of investment level antique 19th century Oriental rugs from a European family which had assembled the carpets over more than a century. Purchased from the family’s French matron, the collection had been primarily displayed over the past century in four principal residences on three continents: • The family’s ancestral property, a chateau in the countryside outside Paris • An [...]

Victoria & Albert Museum Opens First Major Exhibition of Quilts

LONDON.- The V&A presents its first major exhibition of quilts. Exploring 300 years of British quilt making, the exhibition shows more than 65 quilts from a cot cover made in the 1690s to recent examples by leading contemporary artists including Tracey Emin and Grayson Perry as well as special commissions by Sue Stockwell, Caren Garfen and Jo Budd. The first exhibition of its kind in the UK, “Quilts 1700-2010″ shows an extraordinary variety of quilts from the highly decorative and [...]

Design of the Century: Property from L.A. Philanthropist Nancy M. Daly to Highlight Sale

LOS ANGELES, CA.- Bonhams & Butterfields will hold its spring auction of 20th Century Decorative Arts on April 20, 2010. The Los Angeles sale will feature a diverse group of Arts & Crafts, Art Nouveau, Art Deco and Mid-Century Modern, with a focus on Contemporary Studio artists and early California design. Auction highlights will include property from the Estate of renowned Los Angeles Philanthropist, Nancy M. Daly. Once married to entertainment executive Robert A. Daly and former Los Angeles Mayor [...]

Property from the Estate of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Z. Wick to Highlight March Auction

LOS ANGELES, CA.- Bonhams & Butterfields is pleased to announce the March 29, 2010 auction of Fine Furniture and Decorative Arts. The 500-lot Los Angeles auction features an array European furnishings from the 16th through the 20th century, with a focus on English, French, Italian, Spanish and German works. Highlights on offer include select property from the Estate of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Z. Wick, Los Angeles, California as well as a strong array of more than 30 clocks by [...]

Sotheby’s to Sell Emperor Yongsheng’s Ceremonial Pearl Necklace

HONG KONG.- Sotheby’s announced that the Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art 2010 Spring Sale will be held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre on 8 April 2010. Comprising over 330 lots with an estimated total value of approximately HK$430 million, one of the outstanding highlights of the sale is undoubtedly the Magnificent Ceremonial Pearl Necklace of Qing dynasty, 18th century. Also on offer this season is the single owner sale – Water, Pine, and Stone Retreat Collection [...]

Julien’s Auctions to Sell Furniture Lots Commissioned by Michael Jackson

LOS ANGELES, CA.- Julien’s Auctions will present “Music Icons” summer auction taking place at Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino Las Vegas on Friday, June 25th. Leading this magnificent offering and unprecedented event is a selection of twenty-two exquisite furniture lots commissioned by Michael Jackson for his planned residence in Kent, England, during the “This Is It” concert series in London. Colombostile Artisans have supplied luxurious handmade Italian furnishings to countless embassies, palaces, historical homes and sumptuous hotels in every continent. [...]

A Special Service for Special W. K. Kellogg to be Sold at Christie’s South Kensington

LONDON.- Christie’s announced the single-owner collection sale Royal Worcester Porcelain – A Private Collection, to be held on Tuesday, 20 April 2010. The sale will include approximately 100 lots of fine English porcelain from the Royal Worcester factory including a vast array of beautiful and elaborate ornamental vases, as well as models of cattle, dogs, horses and historical figures. Estimates range from £200 to £35,000 and the collection as a whole is expected to realise in excess of £350,000. The [...]

Matthew Barton Ltd. to Hold Silver Auction that is Full of Surprises!

LONDON.- collection of pieces by innovative contemporary silversmith Stuart Devlin will highlight Matthew Barton Ltd’s auction of Silver, Works of Art and Objects of Vertu. The sale will take place on Wednesday, May 26, 2010 in West Kensington at 25 Blythe Road, W14. Amassed over fifteen years by a collector in Cheshire, the sale will include 55 pieces by Stuart Devlin dating from the late 1960s to the 1980s. Iconic pieces include a three branch silver candelabrum with filigree globes [...]