general antiques & arts

Australian aborigines called it the "stone of light" and the Celts believed its prismatic properties linked it to the sun. Even the fortuneteller's rudimentary crystal ball was originally crafted of the mysteriously alluring mineral we refer to today as rock crystal. Rock crystal, or clear quartz, has been revered by nearly every ancient culture in history. It's clear, ice-like appearance, enhanced by light refracting fissures gave the mineral an air of mystique that carried on well into the Renaissance. The mineral's innate beauty piqued the interest of 14th-century European royals and ...

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Some folks like to do things in a big way.  They enjoy the spotlight, and blossom with a little extra attention.  We’re sort of that way, too, so we understand.  Even when it comes to selling an antique or collectible, we think it’s always more fun to make a splash.  Why do anything the conventional way when you can make it fun? Do you remember that Super Hero Auction we had last year?  We had national news coverage for that event, plus plenty of local headlines and spots on our local news networks.  Our own John discovered he looked good in ...

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There was a time when no amusement park or playground was complete without a carousel ride. Children and even adults could take pleasure in a whimsical ride atop an array of horses and other fanciful creatures carved by the most skilled artisans of the day. Though quality examples of these nostalgic masterpieces come few and far between on the market, that doesn't seem to deter the demand for these magnificent figures. The carousel reached its golden age in early 20th-century America, and lasted until the Great Depression of 1929. This roughly 25-year period saw the creation of carousel ...

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  I recently came across this rather amusing photograph of me while cleaning out a drawer of old photographs. I find it comical that at the age of three I possessed the strength to lift what appears to be a sixteen pound gander.  Upon seeing this photo, the first question that came to my mind was "Could I have ever ended up in a non-waterfowl related field?" With an avid hunter as a father and the past Chairman of National Audubon Society as my uncle and Godfather, the sporting field was a profession I couldn't refuse. Little has changed in the last forty years, I still love ...

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My neighbor described it as a desperate act.  An act forced upon dealers whose need for sales outweighed any other factors.  With this, I envisioned a rather gloomy scene of empty show aisles, dealers trolling booths looking for steals for which they could offset payment and the few potential customers that might be there would be saying over and over, "I'll think about it...".   But that was not to be the case.  Instead it was a vibrant show.  With happy dealers.  And a buying public out in full force.  While it wasn't the best show of my career ...

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One of the missions of M.S. Rau Antiques is to seek out and provide our clients with the absolute finest antiques, works of art and jewelry...something we like to call The Best of The Best. To come across pieces that embody the key elements of beauty, rarity and history is what really excites us. This opulent Royal Commode by Henry Dasson is just such an antique. In terms of rarity and history, it is distinguished by not just one, but two of the most important craftsmen, or ébénistes, to have ever lived. The great Henry Dasson based its design on a pair of commodes André Charles ...

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Yup.  I've tried them.  And a whole bunch of other techniques.  What is happening with the art and antiques business?  I'm hearing one thing and seeing another.  I'm hearing horror stories of stuff selling for virtually nothing or not selling at all, while I see my inventory at my boutique in Center44 depleted each month with sales and rentals of my inventory are on the rise.  Huh?  Well, to further complicate and confuse the already muddy waters, I've chosen to jump in with both feet and set up at the Pier Show on November 19th and 20th.  Here's why it's confusing...  My neighbor at Center ...

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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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A gem of a Harvey Joiner painting is showcased on the Payne Fine Arts website this season. Joiner, a native of the Clark County community of Charlestown in Southern Indiana, was largely self-taught and came of age artistically during the high tide of American Tonalism. According to "Baird's History of Clark County, Indiana," Joiner was born in 1852 and exhibited an interest in and a talent for art from an early age. He traveled the Mississippi River as a young man, sketching scenes of life in Louisiana and ending up in St. Louis, Missouri, where he started doing portraits under the ...

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It's been a pretty interesting transition so far.  The days when I would pile frames on my shoulders and hoof it to the nearest subway station to travel to the Upper East Side art galleries are now only fond memories.  Or when I would bring home piles of frames, paintings, even a six foot tall metal easel on either the Metro North or LIRR train (and then, of course, on the subway to my tiny apartment in the West Village) are also now just funny stories.  Family life has brought me into the 21st Century and all that the internet has to offer.  Websites, social networking, blogs... you name, ...

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Have you heard that?  Have you said that?  I'm not speaking about dating, but rather singles and pairs in the antiques and design business.  Lamps, chairs, vases, chandeliers, mirrors, sconces - just about anything.  For those of us in the antiques and design business we seem to be all too preoccupied by pairs.  The desire to have a mirror copy of a room, to have even numbers throughout, to have a numerical balance - it just doesn't add up.   Let's examine your living room.  A sofa with a matched pair of end tables on either side with a matched pair of lamps or vases sitting on top.  ...

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You know this already.  We've all heard it.  The three most important things in real estate are location, location and location.  And when you're speaking of Manhattan real estate you had better add numerous zeros.  This 'City that Never Sleeps' offers everything you could want (and maybe some things that you don't) throughout the city.  And there's a price for that convenience.  Whether you rent or own, a Manhattan store is no small investment.  With rents in the 10's of thousands of dollars per month and prices to own in the millions, what is a start up business to do?  That all depends on ...

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Ever since I moved to New York City in 2002, I have been an early morning (well before dawn) shopper at the flea markets along 6th Avenue.  By the time I had arrived on the scene, and I do mean scene, there were a few different parking lots and an indoor parking garage packed with hundreds of dealers set up selling every imaginable treasure, and some trash, you could ever hope to find.  Celebrities and rarities.  Sure, I was told of the good old days in the 80's and 90's, when there were many more lots and even better choices, but this was my time and I made the most of it.     I was the ...

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One of the most fascinating aspects of collecting antiques is the story each piece has to tell. Each and every antique and work of art in our 30,000 square-foot French Quarter gallery embodies a moment in history that makes it beyond compare. This breathtaking billiard table is certainly no exception. Known as the "History of Australia" Billiard Table, this award-winning, hand-carved masterpiece with a matching score board has it all: royal provenance, peerless craftsmanship and an impressive international exhibition history to boot. Carved from Australian blackwood by renowned carver ...

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Few figures in Modern history evoke images of leadership, integrity and political prowess as does Winston Churchill.  His iconic speeches and steadfast direction during World War II galvanized the Allied forces in Britain and abroad. Few people realized that, though he was most revered for his rolls as statesman, orator, historian, politician and writer, Churchill was also an accomplished artist. M.S. Rau is honored to have two of his historically significant works currently in our Fine Art collection: The Tower of Katoubia Mosque, created and given by Churchill to President Franklin Delano ...

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When was the last time you went outside on a clear night for the sole purpose of looking at the night sky?  I sometimes wonder about the level of amazement that must have gone through the minds of early man, observing comets, eclipses and moon phases with a surreal combination of awe and trepidation. These first “astronomers” used what they observed with the naked eye to explain everything from the changing seasons to their religious beliefs. But it wasn’t until the invention of the telescope that these observations made the giant leap from mere assumption to revolutionary truth. The first ...

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The "taking of snuff" was a very social activity among Europe's upper class, beginning in the early 16th century. It's hard to believe a habit that caused frequent, and at times messy, sneezing fits would become so en vogue, but it did. And, with such widespread usage by seemingly every person of importance in the 16th century, the demand for a fashionable yet functional way to carry one's snuff inspired the greatest jewelers, enamellers, goldsmiths and silversmiths of the time to create what we know today as the snuffbox. It is said that Queens Anne and Charlotte enjoyed snuff so much, ...

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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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As co-founders of Roland Auctions, Manhattan's newest auction house, my brother Rob and I face a recurring challenge. As soon as the property in the monthly auction is picked up, we have to start filling the gallery again.  It often takes weeks of intense appraisals and negotiations before we are able to offer high caliber fine art, antiques and decorations from Manhattan's premier apartments and estates. That's why I say we're in the business of building relationships. For instance, it required strong relationship building and negotiation skills to bring three exceptional collections to ...

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Whether it's meant to tell you what to wear, what to eat or what to admire, images surround us in our media-rich society. But not that long ago, images served a much higher purpose. Images were a visual representation of the world and its principles of both order and morality. Various forms of ecclesiastical art immerged primarily to convey these principles to the masses, and the triptych was one of the first of these stunning art forms. Often referred to as the "traveling icon," the triptych, whether painted or carved, was a portable, convenient, and often times breathtaking work of art ...

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Previously kept in family hands over the last 70 years, Edith Branson's paintings are currently being reintroduced  to American collectors by Blue Heron Fine Art.  It is hoped that the reputation she acquired while active will be recaptured and that her position among many other important women artists of that era can be reestablished. In keeping with our committment,  Blue Heron Fine Art is pleased to also offer a selection of Pastels produced by Edith Branson in 1934.  These colorful and captivating pastels are reflective of her personal life as a young woman living in the 1920's and ...

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The last year at Copley has brought some tremendous auction results. Coming off of last summer's Sporting Sale, "Paintings were the high scorers," as noted by Boston Globe correspondent Virginia Bohlin, with exceptional results and world records set for wildlife and sporting works. Copley's inaugural Winter Sale in New York this January was what Decoy Magazine's Joe Engers "enthusiastically call[ed] a 'win-win' sale" for decoys, providing a "needed jolt of optimism" in the decoy market. Our results showed there is a very active market for the best quality items, with many new buyers ...

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As both an antiques dealer and a collector, I'm always actively searching for items that embody the greatest qualities of their type. Now, it may sound odd to say that a piece of furniture is exciting, but this 16th-century sideboard is certainly one piece that would top off a museum curator's wish list. Created during the French Renaissance, this Francis I-period sideboard, or dressoir, is over 425 years old, and represents an inconceivably small number of furnishings from this era to exist-anywhere. Just look at the condition of this sideboard and you can understand why "exciting" really ...

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What happens when the works of 18th-century portraitist Thomas Gainsborough and late 20th-century Pop artist Tom Wesselman come face to face? The answer is an art show of mammoth significance. Such was the case at the Los Angeles Art Show, held this past week at the Los Angeles Convention Center. For the third year in a row, M.S. Rau wowed the crowds with an impressive array of artistic masters. From 16th-century master Pieter Breughel the Younger's Battle Between Carnival and Lent to 20th-century legend Norman Rockwell's Billiards is Easy to Learn, the M.S. Rau booth held a constant ...

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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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