Tag Archives: Art Deco

Discovering Art Nouveau in Norway

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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.

Hello from Norway. We’re here in the middle of winter chasing the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights). Hopefully we’ll get lucky and see it. I’ll let you know.

Two typical Ålesund Art Nouveau buildings, one dated 1906

In the meantime, we visited the city of Ålesund (pronounced Oh leh sund), which I had never even heard of before visiting. A fire consumed much of the city in 1904, so many buildings were rebuilt in Norway’s version of the Art Nouveau style.

Two Norwegian Art Nouveau cabinets on display at the Ålesund Art Nouveau Center (the left one is asymmetric)

Quintessential Art Nouveau draws it’s influence from nature and is usually asymmetric. Norwegian Art Nouveau is more like the transitional period in the 1910s between the Art Nouveau and Art Deco movements. The themes from nature are more stylized than realistic and the decoration is mostly symmetric (two characteristics of Art Deco).

The entrance to the Ålesund Art Nouveau Center

We visited the original Art Nouveau pharmacy, which is now the Art Nouveau Center of Ålesund. It’s a small museum now with a limited selection of items, including four low quality Gallé vases and one nice blue decorated Tiffany Favrile vase, but it was still interesting.

The interior of the pharmacy with an Art Nouveau cash register

Be careful how you park!

It’s a charming, clean city with friendly people. I’m glad we visited, even for a brief while. Art Nouveau buildings were a nice surprise.

When we return, we’ll prepare for our next show, the Charleston Antique Show in Charleston, SC, March 17-19, 2017. I have no idea what to expect since I’ve never exhibited there, but I figure it’s worth a shot. I have low expectations and am hoping for a nice surprise.

I’ve been listing on my website many of the new items I’ve recently purchased and I’ll be listing more in the near future. Please check my site as often as you can.

Click here to check my website for the latest items and to look around. I will update it as often as time permits. We’re still very much in business between shows, so please don’t hesitate to email or call. I always strive to offer the finest objects for sale on my website and at every show. There are many items for sale, sold items with prices and free lessons about glass and lamps. And remember to keep reading my blog.

Demetre Chiparus was the star of Bonham’s Chiparus, Lalique & The Decorative Arts auction of November, 14, 2012

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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.

Bonham’s held its Chiparus, Lalique & The Decorative Arts auction in London on November, 14, 2012, with mixed results. Demetre Chiparus bronze and ivory figures sold well, but Rene Lalique items did not.

The top lot of the sale was #78, a bronze and ivory grouping entitled The Dolly Sisters. Estimated to sell for £150,000 – £200,000, it realized £277,250 ($444,136) — slightly above the high estimate, including buyer’s premium.

Demetre Chiparus bronze & ivory figure, Starfish, Bonham’s lot #77

Others Chiparus bronze & ivory figurines also did well, with Starfish selling for £91,250 ($146,165) — near its high estimate of £85,000.

R. Lalique blue vase, Escargot, Bonham’s lot #192

The top R. Lalique vase in the sale was lot #192, an electric blue Escargot vase. It sold for £49,250 ($78,879), near the low estimate, including buyer’s premium. Many Lalique vases did not sell, probably because the estimates were too aggressive. Conservative estimates almost always achieve the best results.

For the complete results of the sale, click on the following link. Bonham’s London Chiparus & Lalique results.

Just purchased this unbelievable Gallé seagull vase — one of the best Gallé vases I’ve ever owned

Click this link to view some of the new objects I recently purchased and listed. French glass for sale. We always strive to offer the finest objects for sale on our website and at every show.

Wonderful Schneider controlled bubble vase with wheel-carved Art Deco handles, recently acquired

Look around my website. There are many items for sale, sold items with prices and free lessons about glass and lamps. I regularly add Tiffany vases, lamps and desk accessories, as well as French cameo glass by Galle and Daum Nancy and etchings by Louis Icart. Here’s the link. Philip Chasen Antiques.

Some exceptional results at Sotheby’s 20th Century Decorative Arts & Design auction in Paris, May 26, 2010

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Sotheby’s and Christie’s have been conducting sales in Paris for less than a decade, after a law was passed in July, 2000, that ended the 400-year-old monopoly of French auctioneers. Sotheby’s most recent sale in Paris, 20th Century Decorative Arts & Design, was held on May 26, 2010, with some extraordinary results.

Paul Iribe, 'NAUTILE', a carved walnut armchair, 1913, Sotheby's Paris, lot 9, May 26, 2010

Paul Iribe, 'NAUTILE', a carved walnut armchair, 1913, Sotheby's Paris, lot 9, May 26, 2010

Lot 9 was a Nautilus chair by Paul Iribe, done in 1913. It was estimated to sell for 80,000—120,000 EUR, but brought the incredible price of 492,750 EUR ($608,310), with buyer’s premium. I have to plead ignorance about Paul Iribe, so the result is a surprise to me, as I suspect it is to most of my readers. Click the following link if you want to read the Wikipedia entry about him. Paul Iribe on Wikipedia.

FRANÇOIS-XAVIER LALANNE rug, <i>Les Moutons</i>, Sotheby's Paris, lot 76, May 26, 2010

FRANÇOIS-XAVIER LALANNE rug, Les Moutons, Sotheby's Paris, lot 76, May 26, 2010

Lot 76, a 1978 rug, Les Moutons by François-Xavier Lalanne, brought the second-most surprising result of the sale. It sold for 240,750 EUR ($297,580), against a pre-sale estimate of 20,000—30,000 EUR. Look carefully at the photo and you’ll see the sheep crowded together. It’s very nice, but $300K?? Apparently it’s true that it only takes two to make an auction. On this day there were two very determined bidders.

For the complete results of the sale, click on the following link. Sotheby’s Paris 20th Century results.

In the next few days and weeks, I’ll be adding my new acquisitions to my website as they come in. Please take a look. Click on this link chasenantiques.com.

Please send me your suggestions or questions about art glass, lamps, Louis Icart, shows, auctions, etc. If it’s interesting, I’ll answer your question in a future blog.