The trend at auctions is still strong

Posted on September 17, 2015 by Philip Chasen

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.

If you read Monday’s blog, you know that I was almost shut out trying to buy some items at auction this past weekend. I’m happy to report that the trend is continuing. Got outbid at a couple of auctions this week by a mile, so the markets are good.

Important padded and wheel-carved Schneider vase, Auctionata lot #58

Yesterday I tried to buy an important 9¼” Schneider vase with a padded and wheel-carved medallion at Auctionata in Germany. I left what I thought was a good bid, but it was to no avail. The bidding started at €1,500 and ended at €7,785 ($8,790) — a good price for a collector, but not for a dealer.

Martin Brothers mini spoon warmer, Wright Marshall lot #1231

Wright Marshall, Ltd., U.K., held an auction on September 15-16 which included several minor Martin Brothers objects. Included in the group was a small Martin Bros. spoon warmer, slightly over 3″ tall. Estimated to sell for £300 – £400, it realized an impressive £6,200 ($9,615).

No luck this week, but I’ll keep plugging away.

nyc-big-flea-9-2015 Our next show will be The Big Flea Market at Pier 94 in New York City, September 26-27. Last year was the first time for this show and it was good. The attendees were completely different than the established Pier Antique Show that takes place in November and March each year, making it a totally different experience.

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.

French glass sells well at Doyle New York’s Belle Epoque sale, February 18, 2015

Posted on February 26, 2015 by Philip Chasen

Doyle New York held its Belle Epoque sale on February 18, 2015. Included in the sale were two interesting collections of French glass — Schneider glass from the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, and Gallé glass from the estate of Erica Lemle Amsterdam. Both groups of glass sold well.

A Schneider applied floral vase, Doyle lot #302

Top lot of the museum’s Schneider glass collection was #302, an important applied floral vase. Estimated very conservatively at $1,000 – $1,500, it soared to $5,938, including buyer’s premium.

Gallé Crystallerie decanter, Doyle lot #333

An early Gallé Crystallerie decanter depicting a Renaissance Queen was the best performing lot of the Erica Lemle Amsterdam estate collection. It realized $12,500, five times its pre-sale high estimate of $2,500.

For the complete results of the sale, click here. Then choose Belle Epoque from the drop-down list and click “View”.

Now we’ll slow down until our next show, the NYC Pier Antique Show, March 28-29, 2015. In the meantime, I can see a nice vacation in our near future. 🙂

Click here to check my website for the latest items and to look around. 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.

What’s new at chasenantiques.com?

Posted on July 9, 2012 by Philip Chasen

Traditionally, May and June are very quiet months in the antiques business, at least for show exhibitors — there are no shows of any consequence. People get spring fever, so they’re more concerned with making their summer travel plans or planting their gardens than they are with antiques. It’s the perfect time for a little R&R and to replenish our inventory. We look high and low to find good items — we travel, we buy from private homes, we make careful purchases at auction and usually wind up with some great new items for our summer shows. This year is no exception. Here are a few examples.

Very desirable Gallé blownout vase with purple grapes

Gallé blownout vases are rarer and more desirable than conventional cameo glass. They’re usually difficult to find, especially with good color. I’ve been lucky, so now I can offer for sale several superior examples, including fuchsia, grapes, and water lilies.

Killer Daum Nancy farm scenic vase

The market in top quality Daum Nancy vases, especially with acid-etching and enameling, has been hot for many years. It doesn’t come better than rain or farm scenics. I’ve got a gorgeous rain tumbler and a killer farm scenic vase.

Rare and beautiful Schneider vase with applied and wheel-carved poppies

The market in better Schneider and Le Verre Français glass is picking up, after having been very slow for a few years. And rightfully so, because it’s wonderful glass. I’ve got some of the top examples, including two killer Schneider vases with padded and wheel-carved decoration.

You won’t recognize our booth, we’ve got so many new items, so please take the time to visit us at our two Los Angeles area shows. This may be the last time we exhibit at these shows. It’s very expensive to travel cross-country, so if we can’t sell enough to make it worth our time and expense, we won’t be back. If you want to continue to see antique shows in the greater Los Angeles area, you’ve got to support them. That means visit your favorite dealers and BUY something. Compliments, though much appreciated, do not pay the bills. We’ve stopped exhibiting in several cities where the locals didn’t support the shows, and Los Angeles could be next. Please visit the Redondo Beach and Pasadena shows and support your favorite dealers.

The dates of the Redondo Beach, CA antique show are July 27-29. In the meantime, we’re still very much in business. Don’t hesitate to call or write, and let us know what you’d like to buy, sell, or trade.

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Come visit us in Redondo Beach, July 27-29

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 Louis Icart etchings. Just recently, I added about 10 new items. I’ve listed those and more will be coming this week. Here’s the link. chasenantiques.com

Le Verre Francais glass is in the doldrums, except…

Posted on February 1, 2010 by Philip Chasen

Le Verre Francais Poissons vase, lot #754, Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates, Inc., January 30, 2010

Every category of item that I sell has its ups and downs. I’ve seen it again and again with Handel lamps, Louis Icart etchings, art glass shades, etc., etc. It doesn’t take a lot to move the prices in one direction or another. Right now the market in Le Verre Francais glass and Schneider glass is quiet. Historically there wasn’t much demand for quality Art Deco glass until 10 or 15 years ago. Then with the publications of a few books on the topic, some French Art Deco glass took off. Specifically I’m referring to the glass of Charles Schneider, that was sold under the name “Schneider” or “Le Verre Francais”. At one point, I couldn’t buy the glass fast enough. Now the market is taking a breather. In other words, many collectors have amassed their collections and are not adding to them significantly unless something special comes along.

Huge Le Verre Francais Palmiers bleus vase

Today, that something special vase came up for auction. Jeffrey S. Evans & Associates, Inc. of Mount Crawford, VA, sold lot #754, a Le Verre Francais Poissons vase, 8¾” tall. The pre-sale estimate was $1-2,000. Apparently they didn’t know what they had, as the vase sold for $9,945, including buyer’s premium, with two determined phone bidders pushing the price. Le Verre Francais vases with fish are considered to be amongst the best and rarest. This was a beautiful example with very good color.

The most desirable Le Verre Francais vases have animals, trees or geometric decorations. If they’re big or have unusual shapes, they’re even more valuable. Le Verre Francais vases with floral decoration are more common, but not lower in quality.

Le Verre Francais Orchidées vase

The quality of Le Verre Francais glass hasn’t changed, only the demand. Just a few new or old collectors opening their wallets will cause the prices to jump again. If you’ve ever thought of adding Le Verre Francais glass to your collection, it’s my strong recommendation that you look now. This is an especially good time, with an excellent supply of gorgeous vases and lower prices. Don’t look back on this time period and regret not having taken advantage.

I’m taking a lot of time to add new items to my website. I’ve already listed new items under Gallé glass (including a blownout vase), Daum Nancy glass and Tiffany Studios glass. Soon I’ll be adding many Tiffany Studios desk pieces. Please take a look, as every day I’m adding more. 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 entry.

Call or write and let me know what you would like to buy, sell, or trade. philchasen@gmail.com or
516-922-2090. And please visit my website. chasenantiques.com

French Cameo Glass sells well at Doyle’s Belle Epoque Auction

Posted on September 24, 2009 by Philip Chasen

Doyle New York had its Belle Epoque auction today with a very nice selection of French cameo glass. The overall results were solid with a few items doing very well.

Daum Prairie vase, lot 356

First up was a group of Daum vases. One of the nicest of the group was a small Prairie vase, which is a rare and desirable model. This model always comes with a plethora of small flowers in a field. The flowers are hand-painted with enamel and fired. Lot 356 was small at 5″ and a good example of a Prairie vase, but certainly not the best. It carried a pre-sale estimate of $5-7000 and sold for $6250, including the buyer’s premium — a very good price.

Daum winter tumbler, lot 364

Lot 364 was a 4½” Daum diamond-shaped tumbler with a winter scene that sold for $3750, including buyer’s premium — again a very nice price for a small, but very nice example. The pre-sale estimate was strong at $3-4000.

Le Verre Francais vase, 'Papilon', lot 317

The nicest of the Le Verre Francais vases was a 13¾” Papillons example with colorful butterflies. It carried a conservative pre-sale estimate of $25-3500 and sold for $4687.50, including buyer’s premium. The other Le Verre vases that were sold were more common and brought commensurately less.

The Gallé vases that were sold were all decent, but none exceptional. The best of the group was a clear glass, early enameled Crystallerie vase, 13″. Doyle didn’t think highly enough of the vase to picture it in their catalog, but it should have been. It carried a pre-sale estimate of $15-2500 and sold for a strong $4375, including buyer’s premium. The others vases sold for less, as they were not as desirable. Early Galle vases have risen in popularity in the last few years, mainly as a result of strong Japanese interest.

Tomorrow, the results of the Tiffany Studios items sold in this auction.

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 entry.

Call or write and let me know what you would like to buy, sell, or trade. philchasen@gmail or 516-922-2090. And please visit my website. chasenantiques.com

What is Art Deco?

Posted on September 22, 2009 by Philip Chasen

The Chrysler Building in New York City

The Art Deco movement began developing in the 1910s during a transitional period from the Art Nouveau movement. It was in full bloom by the 1920s and 1930s. Art Deco is characterized by stylized designs of people and flowers, as well as geometric designs, and is frequently symmetrical. This is the total opposite of Art Nouveau, where asymmetry is the usual rule. European works of Art Nouveau art trumped American examples, but not necessarily so with the Art Deco movement. There are exceptional examples on both sides of the pond.

An entrance to Rockefeller Center in New York City by Alfred Auguste Janniot

New York City has some of the finest examples of Art Deco architecture in the world. The Chrysler Building, the Empire State Building and Rockefeller Center are prime examples. In collaboration with famous European artists, the French sculptor, Alfred Auguste Janniot, was employed to create a superb Art Deco, gilded bronze entrance to Rockefeller Center.

Le Verre Francais Poissons vase

In France, Charles Schneider fully embraced the Art Deco movement and created the finest glass of the period. The designs were stylized and symmetrical. The technique was acid-etching and the vases were signed “Le Verre Francais”. The colors of Art Deco glass are bright and happy as opposed to the mostly true-to-life colors of the Art Nouveau period.

Icart etching 'Speed II', 1933

Louis Icart was most popular during the Art Deco period. His art became more Art Deco as the period became more popular. Here is an example of one of his famous etchings, entitled Speed II, published in 1933. It’s more Art Deco than his original version which was published in 1927 and was very successful. Notice especially the change in the woman’s hairdo.

Speed I on the left and Speed II on the right

By the early 1940s, the Art Deco movement had pretty much run its course, but its popularity is very much alive today.