Setting up at the Kansas City Antiques Expo, July, 2014

Posted on July 31, 2014 by Philip Chasen

Monday’s post will be up by noon.

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.

My booth is a long way from finished

Setup for the Kansas City Antiques Expo began yesterday at noon and will continue until 5 PM today. This is my first time at the new exhibition facility at the Holiday Inn KCI, near the airport. It’s a modern exhibition hall that nicely accommodates all the dealers. It’s an interesting mix, with several dealers from last week’s Denver Antiques Show, together with many new Midwest dealers and even lamp and glass dealers from Florida, Alan & Adele Grodsky.

Alan and Adele Grodsky have a booth full of Handel and Pairpoint lamps

I’ve got a gigantic booth, 40′ long. It’s very nice to work and display in a large booth. We’re not stepping all over each other during the setup and the final display won’t look crowded. I’m very pleased the way the booth is setting up.

One of the fine furniture dealers at the show

It’s surely worth a trip to the show from anywhere in the greater Kansas City area. Many of the dealers are strong with high-quality displays. Remember, it’s only a 2-day show that starts tomorrow, Friday, at 10 AM and ends at 6 PM on Saturday. Don’t come on Sunday, as the show will already be closed and we’ll be on our way back home. I’ll post the results on Monday.

We’re off for a couple of weeks and then on to the big, important Baltimore Summer Antiques Show. It’s the biggest and best show of the summer, and one of the best of the year. Consider it to be the summer version of the Original Miami Beach Antiques Show in February. Buyers fly in from all over the world, including as far away as Japan. No matter where you live, you should come. It’s that great and important. You’ll love the show and you’ll love Baltimore.

This fine Handel 18″ diameter Black Bird lamp is a recent purchase

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.

The results of the Denver Antiques Show, July 25-27, 2014

Posted on July 28, 2014 by Philip Chasen

Saturday morning looking down the aisle from my booth

It’s Saturday afternoon at the Denver Antiques Show as I begin to write Monday’s post. The show opened to the public yesterday, Friday, July 25th, and will finish tomorrow, Sunday, July 27th, at 5 PM. It’s been slow to this point, with fairly light attendance, but we only need the right people to show up.

One of several Tiffany Favrile vases sold at the show

It’s been interesting to this point. I made a major sale to one of the exhibitors during the setup of the show, so I already sold enough to cover expenses and make the trip worthwhile. Business with the public has been quite slow since the show opened, with only two sales, which don’t come close to adding up to the pre-show sale. So is this a good show? Hard question to answer. Just looking at the numbers, it’s been good, but if I don’t sell much to the public, what does that mean? There’s still plenty of show left, so we’ll see what happens.

Sunday afternoon in my booth

UPDATE: SUNDAY, 5PM. The show is over. It’s been quite slow, with only three sales to the public. The third sale, which was quite decent, took place on Saturday, a short while after writing the first part of this blog. Nothing doing on Sunday, although several dealers I spoke to had their best day on Sunday. It wasn’t my turn.

We’ll be back next summer. The show was good enough if I include the sale to another dealer. Attendance was light throughout the show, with only fair interest and sales — far from a barn-burner, but still worth doing.

In asking around, I received the following, almost all positive, comments from other dealers. “I had a very good show, but not out of this world”, from a Midwest glass dealer. “Good, not great”, from a Midwest glass and watch dealer. “It was my best of the three shows I’ve done in Denver”, from a California dealer in glass and ceramics. An Iowa dealer in general merchandise told me “I did well”. “Fabulous” from a Minnesota dealer in dishes. A Midwest pottery dealer also said “Fabulous” and finally an Oklahoma dealer in silver and glass told me “I did OK”.

This week we’ll be at the KCI Expo Center at the airport Holiday Inn for the Kansas City Antiques Expo. It will open to the public this Friday, August 1st, at 10 AM. The show will only be open for two days, closing on Saturday, August 2nd, at 6 PM, and not open on Sunday — very unusual, so please make a note of it. Come and visit if you’re in the area and see a strong selection of fine exhibitors with high-quality displays that cover the range from silver, to paintings, to art, to bronze, to furniture, and finally to glass and lamps (me!).

This fine Handel 18″ diameter Black Bird lamp is a recent purchase

Setting up at the Denver Antiques Show, July, 2014

Posted on July 24, 2014 by Philip Chasen

July 25-27, 2014

Setup at the Denver Antiques Show was a 2-day affair, starting on Wednesday, July 23rd and finishing today, Thursday, July 24th. It’s gone smoothly, with easy access to the show floor. This time we have an unusual through-booth that is open on two sides, to two different aisles. We’ve had to change our setup to accommodate this new space, but it seems to work nicely.

The booth will look great when we’re finished setting up

The show opens to the public tomorrow, Friday, July 25th, at 10 AM and runs until Sunday, July 27th, at 5 PM. Hopefully attendance, interest and sales will be good so we can return. Tune in on Monday for the results of the show.

Last year, Saturday afternoon, in front of my booth

We’ve got lots of new items, so our display is substantially different. It includes a great assortment of Tiffany glass and lamps, Tiffany and French cameo glass, and assorted paintings, bronzes, etchings and other treasures.

We’ll have this killer Favrile lamp at the show

If you’re anywhere in the greater Denver area, come and visit the show! There are plenty of fine exhibitors with high-quality displays that cover the range from silver, to paintings, to art, to glass and lamps (me!).

Next week we’ll be in Kansas City for the Kansas City Antiques Expo at the KCI Expo Center, which will open to the public on Friday, August 1st. The show will only be two days, so it will close on Saturday, August 2nd at 6 PM and not be open on Sunday — very unusual, so mark it on your calendar. Make sure to come and visit if you’re in the area.

This rare R. Lalique Douze Figurines bottle just arrived

The Denver Antiques Show opens this Friday, July 25, 2014

Posted on July 21, 2014 by Philip Chasen

Thursday’s post will be up some time this afternoon.

July 25-27, 2014

The Denver Antiques Show opens to the public this Friday, July 25th, at 10 AM and runs until Sunday, July 27th, at 5 PM. It will be our third time there and hopefully will be the charm. It it goes poorly, we won’t return to Denver. It’s quite a trip from New York and will only be worthwhile if we can turn a decent profit. If you want the show to continue, please visit and consider making a purchase from anyone. Shows fail if they don’t attract enough dealers and exhibitors. The Chicago Summer Antique Show in Rosemont, IL, just failed and closed.

Last year, Saturday afternoon, in front of my booth

We’ve been quite successful buying recently, so our Denver display will have many items that are new to our inventory. That includes a great assortment of Tiffany glass and lamps, Tiffany and French cameo glass, and assorted paintings, etchings and other treasures.

We’ll have this killer Favrile lamp at the show

If you’re anywhere in the greater Denver area, I suggest you visit the show. There are plenty of fine exhibitors with high-quality displays that cover the range from silver, to paintings, to art, to glass and lamps (me!).

The following week we’ll be in Kansas City for the Kansas City Antiques Expo at the KCI Expo Center, which will open to the public on Friday, August 1st. The show will only be two days, so it will close on Saturday, August 2nd at 6 PM and not be open on Sunday — very unusual, so mark it on your calendar. Make sure to come and visit if you’re in the area.

This rare R. Lalique Douze Figurines bottle just arrived

Your antique ivory may be worth a lot less today because of changes to the Endangered Species Act

Posted on July 17, 2014 by Philip Chasen

The Obama Administration has proposed changes to the Endangered Species Act that for all practical purposes makes the sale or shipment of ivory, including antique ivory, illegal. It is possible to certify an individual object for sale or shipment, but it’s costly and difficult to prove. That means it’s not worth the trouble to certify a $250 ivory item, but it would be to certify a $50,000 Chiparus bronze and ivory statue from the 1920s. The new rules pertain to you, even if your grandmother bought the item in 1920 and you’ve had it in your family since that time.

Demetre Chiparus bronze and ivory Exotic Dancer sculpture

The purpose of the new regulations is noble, to protect poaching of African and Asian elephants, but the approach is so heavy-handed, it makes no sense. For instance, dealers who specialize in the sale of antique bronze and ivory figures from the Art Deco period by Demetre Chiparus and Ferdinand Preiss, will now have an exceptionally difficult time dealing in them. Each and every item will require a CITES (Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) certificate. The time and cost will be so onerous, that many established dealers will want to rethink their businesses. I don’t think the administration is trying to put legitimate antique dealers out of business, but they very well may do that.

Last week, bills were introduced into the House and the Senate to remove the proposed changes and allow time to rewrite them in a fairer way (Steve Daines (R-MT) (H.R. 5052) and Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN) ( S. 2587 ). I suggest you contact your congressmen and senators to show your support of these bills. Following are links to help you.

Here is a link to the US Senators’ office phone numbers:

http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

Here is a link that lists all Representatives’ office phone numbers:

http://www.house.gov/representatives/

Doug Bandow wrote a good article on the topic on forbes.com. Here is the link.

Please refer this information to colleagues, friends and family and ask them to call their representatives. The more people who call, the more likely the bills will pass.

July 25-27, 2014

Our first show of the summer will be the Denver Antique Show, which will open to the public next Friday, 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

Sotheby’s London sold the Treasures of the Dukes of Northumberland, July 9, 2014

Posted on July 14, 2014 by Philip Chasen

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

Martin Brothers birds still flying high at Woolley & Wallis Arts & Crafts sale, June 18, 2014

Posted on July 7, 2014 by Philip Chasen

Woolley & Wallis, of Salisbury, UK, held their Arts & Crafts sale on June 18, 2014 with total sales of £651,200 ($1,117,231). 44 of the 593 lots were Martinware ceramics, which sold collectively for £385,000 ($660,525) — more than half the value of the entire sale. In particular, two birds each flew out the door for over $145,000.

Lovely Martin Brothers bird, Woolley & Wallis lot #148

Lot #148 was a tall (13¾”) Martin Brothers bird from 1898, with a lot of personality — just what the collectors were looking for. It soared to £91,500 ($156,982), against a pre-sale estimate of £20,000 – £30,000 ($34,313 – $51,469).

Superb Martin Brothers bird, Woolley & Wallis lot #149

The next lot in the sale, #149, was another Martinware bird, a year younger, from 1899, the same height, 13¾”, and equal personality. It rocketed to £85,400 ($146,516), against the same pre-sale estimate of £20,000 – £30,000 ($34,313 – $51,469).

There’s no doubt Martinware collectors put their money where their mouths are. There are some great collections forming around the world.

For the complete results of the sale, click here.

This lovely Tiffany Favrile decorated vase just arrived

It’s summer, and we’re getting ready to start our summer circuit of shows in Denver on July 25th. We’re still very much in business. 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.

French Cameo and Tiffany Favrile Glass shine at Grogan’s The June Auction, June 8, 2014

Posted on July 3, 2014 by Philip Chasen

Grogan and Company held their sale entitled The June Auction on June 8, 2014. Included in the sale were several art glass lots by Daum Nancy, Emile Gallé, and Tiffany Studios. The exceptional results are detailed below.

Tiffany red decorated vase, Grogan lot #496

The better art glass started with lot #496, a red decorated Tiffany Favrile vase. Red is the cat’s meow when it comes to Tiffany and the result did not disappoint. The vase sold for $18,000, against a pre-sale estimate of $2,000 – $3,000.

Daum Nancy Violets bowl, Grogan lot #557

The Tiffany vase was followed by lot #557, a huge, 16″ long, Daum Nancy Violets bowl. It more than doubled its high estimate of $4,000, realizing $10,200, including buyer’s premium.

Gallé padded and wheel-carved vase, Grogan lot #615

Lot #615 was a sophisticated Gallé vase with an applied cabochon, wheel-carved, with internal foil, and a second, tear-like, application. The decoration was undersea with wheel-carved scallop shells. To my eye, the workmanship was outstanding, but the artistry a failure. Luckily for the consignor, the buyer did not ask my opinion. It sold for $15,600, against a pre-sale estimate of $5,000 – $10,000.

Gallé wheel-carved flacon, Grogan lot #620

Lot #620 was a gem — an important Gallé perfume bottle, in the original leather case, with a mixed-metal top, made for the Paris Exposition of 1889. This was really a museum-quality object. Estimated to sell for $5,000 – $10,000, it went out the door at $19,200.

For the complete results of the sale, click here.

This fabulous Gallé plum blownout vase just arrived

It’s spring, so there are no shows, but we’re still very much in business. Click here to view my 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.

Sales total over $2.3 million at James D. Julia’s Lamp and Glass auction, June 11-12, 2014

Posted on June 30, 2014 by Philip Chasen

James D. Julia, Inc. held their Lamp and Glass auction on June 11th & 12th, 2014. It was a huge two-day sale with 1418 lots crossing the block, and sales of $2.3 million. Some areas showed strength and others weakness, with two private collections performing very well.

Wedgwood Fairyland Lustre Dragon King vase, Julia’s lot #1274

The first collection was the Betty and Leonard Issod collection of Wedgwood Fairyland Lustre. Top lot of this group was #1254, a 24″ Lustre Dragon King vase — the largest known example. It sold near its high estimate of $60,000, realizing $74,062.50, including buyer’s premium.

Pair of Moser ewers, Julia’s lot #1035

The top lot of the George Klabin collection of Moser glass was #1035, a pair of decorated ewers. Even with a crack to the handle of one of the ewers, the lot almost doubled its high estimate of $10,000, realizing $20,737.50.

Argy-Rousseau Poppy vase, Julia’s lot #2000

Three French glass lots tied for the top price of $15,405 (excluding R. Lalique) — #2000, an Argy-Rousseau pâte-de-verre Poppy vase; #2082, a Daum Nancy Winter scenic boudoir lamp; and #2083, another Daum Nancy Winter scenic boudoir lamp.

Tiffany Favrile Lava vase, Julia’s lot #2462

Lots #2462 and #2560a shared the spotlight for the highest price realized by a Tiffany Favrile vase — $14,220. #2462 was a lovely Lava example, with a hairline crack that was probably original to the making. Lot #2560a was a Paperweight example with white jonquil flowers.

For the complete results of the sale, click here.

This fabulous Gallé plum blownout vase just arrived

A Tiffany Studios Laburnum table lamp led the way at Bonham’s New York 20th Century Decorative Arts sale, June 10, 2014

Posted on June 26, 2014 by Philip Chasen

Bonham’s New York held their 20th Century Decorative Arts auction on June 10th, 2014, a day ahead of Sotheby’s and two days ahead of Christie’s. 227 lots crossed the block with 100 failing to sell, for a sell-through rate of 44% — less than Sotheby’s sell-through rate of 66% and Christie’s sell-through rate of 67%. Bonham’s did not post total sales.

Tiffany Studios Laburnum table lamp, Bonham’s lot #70

Top dog of the sale was a beautiful 24″ diameter Tiffany Studios Laburnum table lamp. It sold for $425,000, including buyer’s premium.

2001 William Morris sculpture Laibon Man, Bonham’s lot #227

The last lot of the sale sold for the second highest price of the sale — a 31½” contemporary cast glass and steel mount by William Morris, entitled Laibon Man from the Man Adorned Series of 2001. It sold for $100,000, including buyer’s premium.

For the complete results of the sale, click here.

This fabulous Gallé plum blownout vase just arrived

Philip Chasen Antiques

The blog for chasenantiques.com

Setting up at the Kansas City Antiques Expo, July, 2014

The results of the Denver Antiques Show, July 25-27, 2014

Setting up at the Denver Antiques Show, July, 2014

The Denver Antiques Show opens this Friday, July 25, 2014

Your antique ivory may be worth a lot less today because of changes to the Endangered Species Act

Sotheby’s London sold the Treasures of the Dukes of Northumberland, July 9, 2014

Martin Brothers birds still flying high at Woolley & Wallis Arts & Crafts sale, June 18, 2014

French Cameo and Tiffany Favrile Glass shine at Grogan’s The June Auction, June 8, 2014

Sales total over $2.3 million at James D. Julia’s Lamp and Glass auction, June 11-12, 2014

A Tiffany Studios Laburnum table lamp led the way at Bonham’s New York 20th Century Decorative Arts sale, June 10, 2014