My goal is to publish new posts twice a week — Mondays and Thursdays. However, if you don’t see a new post on Thursday, it’s because I was too busy, so please look for a new one the following Monday.

On July 9, 2014, Sotheby’s London held their Treasures Including Selected Works from the Collections of the Dukes of Northumberland sale, with stellar results. The sale grossed the highest-ever total for a decorative arts sale in London, £23,593,850 ($40,394,981) — very strong for a sale with only 57 lots. Many of the lots sold above their high estimates. 12 did not sell, making the average selling price for the 45 sold lots an impressive £524,308 ($897,666).

Marble sculpture of Aphrodite, Sotheby’s lot #17

Lot #17 was a Roman marble statue of Aphrodite from the 1st century A.D. It handily exceeded its high estimate of £6,000,000, to sell for £9,378,500 ($16,056,479), establishing a record for the highest auction price ever paid for a classical antiquity in Europe.

1790 English automaton, Sotheby’s lot #48

A wonderful, amusing George III musical automaton from 1790, almost 4′ tall, sold for the second highest price of the sale, £2,266,500 ($3,880,361), against a pre-sale estimate of £1,000,000 — £1,500,000. It was originally made for the Chinese market.

For the complete results of the sale, click here.

July 25-27, 2014

Our first show of the summer will be the Denver Antique Show, which will open to the public in less than two weeks, on July 25th. We’ll put together a great display with all of our new purchases. Make sure to come and visit us if you’re in the area.

This rare R. Lalique Douze Figurines bottle just arrived

Click here to view our new website and look around. We always strive to offer the finest objects for sale on our website and at every show. There are many items for sale, sold items with prices and free lessons about glass and lamps.