ceramics

  If antiques are items torn from history, then auctions are the vehicles that place them once again within the context of personal history.  As surely as Curtis Jere's fanciful wire sculpture "Three Birds in Flight" or Nathan Wasserberger's nude on blue reflect today's sensibilities, two 19th C. French bronzes-Jean-Paul Aube's "Allegorie de le Pientre" and Auguste Peiffer's Allegorical Bronze Group-echo with a timeless beauty.  It will be a joy to see all find new owners. Surveying the wealth of designer modern furniture in our gallery at 80 East 11th Street, I can almost see the set of six ...

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When King Louis XV took an interest in porcelain and became a primary shareholder of what would become the Sèvres factory in 1752, he intended to catapult the international status of French porcelain to the finest in the world. It's believed that his motivation came from his famed mistress, Madame de Pompadour, who possessed a penchant for the factory's creations. Regardless of the reason, it is the royal roots of Sèvres that provided the foundation for some of the most coveted porcelain ever made. After the King purchased the factory in 1759, he had the operations moved from Chateau de ...

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A few days ago, a Chinese collector came into the gallery to inspect a piece of Orientalia. He brought a black light, a jeweler's loop and a translator. After thoroughly inspecting the item, the collector remarked that the nuances and subtleties were all but missing on the Internet. That's why Robert and I spend so much time staging the Roland Auction exhibitions. The preview that opens Thursday, October 13 features more than 400 lots in the October 15 sale. Catalog descriptions are, at best, curatorial and academic. We don't editorialize. We don't "sell" in the catalog you view on ...

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If I had to pick three great names in 20th Century design, I think they would be Frank Lloyd Wright, George Nakashima and Isamu Noguchi.  I was coming of age when they had already achieved a certain agelessness. Their names and work continue to endure.  We're lucky to have items by each in our September 17 auction. Frank Lloyd Wright's last project was the Guggenheim Museum on Fifth Avenue. Who can forget Isamu Noguchi's sets for the Martha Graham modern dance company? And Nakashima's offspring continue in his tradition. I won't say Roland's looks like a museum these days, but when you see ...

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The history and beauty of Charleston, South Carolina, are featured in the current exhibition at Payne Fine Arts. From paintings, including an unusual WPA-era view of the College of Charleston, to the silhouettes of Carew Rice, to a burgeoning field in Charleston collecting, that of original vintage photographs and Albertypes,  to historic engravings, the "Charleston Collection"  has something for all those who have fallen in love with the "Holy City." For our friends and collectors of Kentucky and regional art, the site has recently added artworks and prices that should prove tempting. From ...

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A Chinese Vase expected to sell for $800. to $1,200., was sold by Sotheby's New York for an astonishing $18 million on March 22, 2011. Described as an unusual famille rose and gold decorated vase, an Anonymous Sotheby's bidder paid $18 million for this 20 century porcelain. The Chinese Vase was among 300 lots consigned by J.T. Tai and Company, a well-known  Dealer of Chinese Porcelain; the Sotheby's Sale realized $36.3 million and took nine hours to complete. Why did Sotheby's estimate the $18 million Chinese Vase at only $800-$1,200? Sotheby's felt there was no actual support to indicate ...

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There’s something about wintry days that make a person see their home with new eyes. Maybe it’s all that indoor time between the holidays and the Super Bowl that spurs that itch for change. Whether you while away your weekends rearranging the furniture, or reclining on your George Nelson sofa, I’m pretty sure you’ve spent a little time envisioning how swell your living room would look with that orange chair parked in front of the picture window. Before you know it, you might find yourself brandishing a paintbrush and picking out new throw pillows.  Being the voice of experience, I ...

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Happy 2011! We had a quiet New Year's Eve. Best Beloved and I shared a chilled bottle of Prosecco with Cary Grant, Grace Kelly and all those marvelous jewels along the Riviera. On Sunday we took the Tall One down to Palm Beach for a little culture. Lunch at Howley's was a bit of an eye-opener for him. He had expected an atmosphere like the Colony, I fear. Instead we tucked into our club sandwiches and tuna melt side-by-side with some well-inked characters. There was one group, just out of church, with the requisite tufted pink Chanel and a very nice Hermés, but they were the odd ...

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SANTA FE, N.M. – December is the best month to be in Santa Fe. Snow sugars the old town and farolitos – occasionally still the paper bag and candle variety of childhood memory – climb stepped adobe walls. Pinon scents the night air. At the nearby pueblos, feast day dances bind the generations in spiritual traditions as old as time. A first stop is Coulter Brooks Art & Antiques at 924 Paseo de Peralta.  Jan Brooks and Lane Coulter  –  who is known for such well-thumbed references such as New Mexican Tinwork, 1840-1940; Navajo Saddle Blankets: Textiles to Ride in the American West and ...

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We've all heard the saying "You can't take it with you." But what if you could? Death in pre-modern Chinese culture was of tremendous importance, and it was crucial that when one left this life for the next, the departed were given everything needed to enjoy the next chapter of their eternal life. This included everything from representations of houses, horses, guardians, camels and even young hand maidens, that stood as reminders of events that shaped the existence they left behind. The ceramic wares produced during the Tang Dynasty (618-907 C.E.) for this purpose are considered the most ...

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An over-200-year-old company finds itself on the verge of financial ruin as war rages on. It's only savior an unknown artist who rises through the ranks by determination, persuasion and sheer talent, only to be fired when she has outlasted her usefulness.  Sounds more like soap-opera fodder than real life, but in 1915, porcelain artist Daisy Makeig-Jones' extraordinary line of Fairyland Lustre porcelain saved Wedgwood from bankruptcy during World War I. The design of each piece was rooted in fairytales that Makeig-Jones adored. Each literally burst with brilliant colors depicting scenes of ...

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PARIS, FRANCE  –  A La Vieille Russie is lifting the cover on a dealer’s most closely-guarded secret: its guest book, or livre d’or, containing the names of dozens of its best clients, colleagues and sources in the 1920s and 1930s.   The revelations are part of a selling exhibition that the Manhattan dealers in Russian art and antiques are mounting at Didier Aaron & Cie in Paris. Loosely timed to coincide with the Biennale des Antiquaires, the display opens September 16 at Aaron’s galleries at 118 Faubourg Saint-Honoré, minutes away from A La Vieille Russie’s former French ...

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Upon entering the Hodroff Gallery at the Norton Museum, visitors are greeted by a deluge of colors sparkling from the surfaces of a multitude of porcelain objects. There are wares decorated solely in blue and white, with colors ranging from a deep violet-blue to paler hues. Elegant scrolling motifs, often depicting leaves and other floral designs, adorn these objects, as do narrative scenes, dragons and phoenixes. Deeper into the gallery, rich greens, pinks, golds, and reds accent flowers, animals, figures, and armorial designs. The shapes and sizes of these porcelains range from ...

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Within the wide selection of Frank Benson bird etchings and Ogden Pleissner sporting scenes in Copley Fine Art Auctions' two-day Annual Sporting Sale, July 15-16, was a softly-rendered, warmly-lit portrait by Boston School artist Edmund Tarbell (1862-1938). Tarbell's "An Opal: Study of Yellow and White Light" pictured a confident Victorian lady. At the Plymouth, Massachusetts, sale Copley hammered down this alluring image for a strong $120,750 (estimate: $100,000-$200,000), part of the auction house's $4.15 million total take, a 30% increase over last year's sales results. The sitter's pose, ...

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