New Orleans Auction sold French cameo glass at its October 15-16, 2016 sale

Posted on October 20, 2016 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.

New Orleans Auction Galleries held an almost 1000-lot sale, October 15-16, 2016. Included in the sale were quite a few lots of French cameo glass, mostly low quality. I was interested in two of the lots, but unfortunately I missed the sale.

Gallé scenic vase, New Orleans lot #149

Lot #149 was a large, 14″, Gallé scenic vase with very good color and a rare shape. It was estimated to sell for $1,500 – $2,500 and realized $3,500, including buyer’s premium. That was a fair price, so I probably would have been the buyer.

Argy-Rousseau? moth paperweight, New Orleans lot #928

Lot #928 was possibly an Argy-Rousseau pâte-de-verre moth paperweight. It sold for very little money, $812.50, including buyer’s premium. The problem with this lot is that it may or may not have been authentic, as this particular paperweight has been reproduced. From the photo it was very difficult to ascertain its authenticity. My guess was 60/40 that it was a reproduction. In person I would have had no problem. So if I had bought it and determined it to be fake, returning it would have been a hassle. In retrospect, it was probably a good thing I didn’t buy it.

For the complete results of the sale, click here.

Our next show in Winnetka, Illinois, is just around the corner, November 4-6, 2016. This is our only fall show in the greater Chicago area (and probably our last show of the year). We always look forward to exhibiting there, especially to see all our friends and clients. Put it in your calendar. It’s a lovely show!

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.

This is why you buy from me

Posted on October 17, 2016 by Philip Chasen

Daum Mushroom vase, Christie’s lot #327

Christie’s held its Living with Art sale on Thursday and Friday, October 13-14, 2016. Included in the sale was lot #327, a Daum Mushroom vase, a very desirable decoration. It’s a rare example where the decoration has been both wheel-carved and enameled. The problem with this particular vase is that it’s been cut down, probably to remove a big chip.

Daum Winter vase

The example above is a Daum Winter vase with the original top.

I emailed Christie’s for a condition report on this lot to see if they knew the vase had been cut down. Apparently they didn’t. Here is their report. “In very good condition overall. With some light surface wear, as to be expected with age and handling. The underside with a large shallow chip, but which does not interfere with the inscription.” In their defense, they did make an announcement in the saleroom because I told them of the problem.

daum-mushroom-vase-4 I guess that scared off all the buyers. The vase sold without reserve, so I bought it for $400 ($500 with the buyer’s premium). Wow! It’s a $10,000 vase in perfect condition. It’s for sale and you can buy it for 25% of the appraised value. $2,500 (or best offer) and it’s yours. The chip on the underside is unimportant and probably took place in the making when the pontil was removed. The top rim is altered, but the vase is still an outstanding and rare Mushroom vase. 25% – 33% is typically the selling price of high quality, but imperfect items. This is your opportunity.

And that’s why you buy from me. I vet all of the items I sell. You know what you’re buying, so you can buy with confidence.

A $26 painting may be a $26 million masterpiece by Raphael

Posted on October 13, 2016 by Philip Chasen

raphael-madonna During the filming of a BBC series entitled Britain’s Lost Masterpieces, a painting attributed to a minor Renaissance painter was determined to be a genuine masterpiece by the master Raphael. It’s an interesting story. Click here for the original article from artnet news.

French cameo glass shapes matter

Posted on October 10, 2016 by Philip Chasen

Most of the time a French cameo glass vase is more valuable when the subject matter is more desirable. For instance a Daum rain vase is considerably more valuable than a floral vase if the two are the same size and shape. But what if the same subject matter appears on different shapes? It can make a difference, sometimes a big difference.

Both Daum vases have wild orchids and spider web decoration

Let’s take a look at the same subject matter on different shapes. I think it’s obvious that the above left shape is ordinary, while the shape on the right is special and rare. I would estimate the vase on the right would be worth at least triple.

daum-swan-comparison How about these two? Any shape with a swan is good, as the decoration is rare and very desirable. But let’s just compare the shapes. The covered egg shape is very rare and beautiful, but not everyone loves it. I would say the egg would be more valuable, depending on the size of each.

Fine Galle vase with red fuchsia on a flattened triangular shape

Gallé wasn’t as adventurous with shapes as Daum. Most Gallé shapes are fairly ordinary, but some are very pleasant. I personally like the flattened triangle pictured above.

This Gallé Rio de Janeiro banjo vase was sold at Julia Auction

More than a few collectors like Gallé’s banjo shape so much, they have amassed collections with over 75 different examples. The Rio de Janeiro banjo vase is the one of the rarest.

Cute glass “food”

I hope to put together videos of the glassblowing demonstration we saw in Murano, Italy, for uploading to youtube soon. You’ll want to see it if the process of glassblowing interests you.

Our next show will be in Winnetka, Illinois, November 4-6, 2016. This is our only fall show in the greater Chicago area (and probably our last show of the year). We always look forward to exhibiting there, especially to see all our friends and clients. Put it in your calendar. It’s a lovely show!

The Art Glass Forum began its season with a lecture on Louis C. Tiffany, October 4, 2016

Posted on October 6, 2016 by Philip Chasen

Tiffany Water Lily table lamp, gift of Mr. and Mrs. Hugh J. Grant, 1974

The Art Glass Forum began its season this past Tuesday with a very interesting and informative lecture by Alice Cooney Frelinghuysen, curator of American Decorative Arts of the Metropolitan Museum of Art since 1994, on the works of Louis C. Tiffany. She is recognized as one of the world’s leading authorities on the life and works of Louis Comfort Tiffany.

Ms. Frelinghuysen made it clear that the museum would not own today’s fabulous collection if it weren’t for the generosity of many patrons, including Henry Osborne Havemeyer in 1896, followed by Robert Weeks DeForest and Emily Johnston DeForest early in the 20th century, Louis C. Tiffany himself, Mr. and Mrs. Douglas Williams in 1969, Mr. and Mrs. Hugh J. Grant in 1974, Robert Koch, Lillian Nassau, and many others.

Tiffany Favrile Peacock vase, from the Havemeyer donation

The Met’s Louis Comfort Tiffany collection began in 1896 with a donation of 56 blown Favrile glass vases and roundels from Henry Osborne Havemeyer, the sugar magnate, and one of the first collectors of Favrile glass.

Tiffany American Indian chandelier

In 1899, Tiffany was asked to design the interior of a home owned by Robert and Emily de Forest in Cold Spring Harbor, New York, near Tiffany’s country estate, Laurelton Hall. Even though Tiffany was asked to create a floral shade for the home, he purportedly responded “That is not what you need for your hall, you need an Indian Basket”, as the de Forests owned a large collection of Indian baskets and pottery. The result was a spectacular chandelier in the American Indian pattern. The chandelier did not make it into the Met’s collection until it was donated in 1969 by Mr. and Mrs. Douglas Williams, in memory of the de Forests.

Tiffany mosaic fountain, contribution of Lillian Nassau

One of the more spectacular items in the Met’s collection is a mosaic fountain, donated by Lillian Nassau in 1976. The background is entirely made of tiny mosaic tiles, called tesserae. It’s incredible in person.

The collection is much more extensive than I can cover here, including pottery, enamels, furniture, fabrics, jewelry and art. So I suggest you do two things. First visit the American Wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art when you’re in New York. If Tiffany interests you, the museum’s collection will enchant you. The second is to join the Art Glass Forum and attend their monthly lectures. Click here for a link to their website.

Cute glass “food”

I hope to put together videos of the glassblowing demonstration we saw in Murano, Italy, for uploading to youtube soon. You’ll want to see it if the process of glassblowing interests you.

Christie’s New York sold The Private Collection of President and Mrs. Ronald Reagan, September 21-22, 2016

Posted on October 3, 2016 by Philip Chasen

Christie’s New York sold The Private Collection of President and Mrs. Ronald Reagan, September 21-22, 2016, with total sales of $5,740,625, far surpassing the total high estimates. I wish I had known about the sale in advance, but unfortunately I missed it. I would have loved to own a souvenir of President Reagan, but realistically I probably wouldn’t have been willing to pay the high prices.

Nancy Reagan’s Bulgari ring, Christie’s lot #126

The top lot of the sale, #126, a Bulgari diamond, sapphire and ruby ring, in the motif of an American flag, was owned and worn by the first lady. The final price of $319,500 made a mockery of the pre-sale estimate of $5,000 – $7,000.

A hand-signed section of the Berlin wall, Christie’s lot #65

The second highest lot of the sale was the most interesting and historically significant — a graffiti-covered piece of the Berlin wall, hand-signed by the president. One of Reagan’s most famous quotes, from a speech he made in West Berlin on June 12, 1987, was “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” It too, far exceeded its high estimate of $20,000, realizing $277,500, including buyer’s premium. It should have brought even more.

NFL football, with hand-signed quotation and signature, Christie’s lot #100

Another very cool lot from the sale, #100, was an official NFL Wilson football, signed and inscribed by Reagan, “Win One For the Gipper Ronald Reagan”, in its original box. It’s a paraphrase from his 1940 film, Knute Rockne, All American. No trouble again with the pre-sale estimate of $5,000 – $10,000. This one scored a touchdown at $93,750, including buyer’s premium.

If you had to have something from the sale as a souvenir, you could have bought lots 414 or 415 for as little as $750, but they were pretty boring. For the complete results of the sale, click here.

Cute glass “food”

I hope to put together videos of the glassblowing demonstration we saw in Murano, Italy, for uploading to youtube for this Thursday’s post, but I don’t guarantee it. You’ll want to see it if the process of glassblowing interests you.

A day in Murano, Italy, includes some glassblowing

Posted on September 26, 2016 by Philip Chasen

We’re on vacation this week, so there won’t be a Thursday post, but look for regular Monday and Thursday posts starting next week.

A view down one of the Murano canals

We visited the island of Murano, Italy, while staying in Venice for a couple of days. It’s the center of glassblowing for all of Italy, because in 1291 the Venetian Republic ordered glassmakers to move there. The glassworks represented a fire danger in Venice, whose buildings were mostly wooden at the time.

The glassblower is using tongs to shape a bowl

Today, most of the major Italian glassworks have factories on the island, including Venini, Barovier & Toso, and Seguso. We were able to attend a demonstration of glassblowing by a local craftsman. He created a fluted bowl and a horse in about 10 minutes. I tried glassblowing and this guy made it look easy. It’s not, believe me, believe me! (Sound familiar?)

A Venetian vaporetto

Ferries, called vaporettos, make the trip to Murano from Venice in about 30 minutes. They run on regular schedules like buses and trains and are pretty easy to use (and much more fun). Tourists can buy tickets for unlimited use on all the vaporettos for about €20 ($22.50) per day (less as you increase the number of days).

Cute glass “food”

I took videos of the glassblowing demonstration, which I’ll try to put together for uploading to youtube. It won’t be until sometime next week, when we’re back in New York. It will be much more comprehensive than the tease described here. You’ll want to see it.

Our next show will be in Winnetka, Illinois, November 4-6, 2016. This is our only fall show in the greater Chicago area. We always look forward to exhibiting there, especially to see all our friends and clients. Put it in your calendar. It’s a lovely show!

A day in Drubovnik, Croatia

Posted on September 19, 2016 by Philip Chasen

We’re on vacation this week, so there won’t be a Thursday post.

A view of the old city of Dubrovnik from the hill above

Our first stop was in Dubrovnik, Croatia, an interesting city, with a population of fewer than 50,000 people.

I was surprised by a few interesting, unrelated facts, in no particular order — it’s a very small city; the water is as clear and clean as the Caribbean; Game of Thrones is filmed there; the city has fully recovered from the 1990’s war.

The old city is completely walled in, with no vehicles of any sort. It’s possible to walk the entire old city in 30 minutes or less. It used to be a fortification, but now it’s a tourists-only site.

There are many tame animals on Lokrum, including peacocks and rabbits

Lokrum is the closest of many islands just off the coast of old Dubrovnik. 100 Kroner (about $15) gets you a 15-minute round-trip boat ride to this lovely island, with an inland lake. There is no sand, so bathers sit on the rocks and swim in the crystal-clear coastal water. We visited on a beautiful Sunday, so there were plenty of locals sunbathing and swimming.

That’s Lia and me at one of the sites that’s used for the filming of Game of Thrones

It was a big, pleasant surprise to find out that Game of Thrones is filmed there. After visiting some of the site locations, it’s easy to understand why they chose Dubrovnik. Our guide told us that many of his friends were used as extras in the filming. They all find it most amusing to see themselves in the background. Now I have to go back and re-watch some of the episodes.

Christie’s South Kensington sold some French cameo glass at their Interiors sale, September 14, 2016

Posted on September 15, 2016 by Philip Chasen

Christie’s South Kensington held their Interiors sale yesterday, September 14, 2016, with total sales of £764,688 ($1,009,329). Included in the sale were about twenty French cameo vases. I probably would have bought a few of them, but unfortunately I missed the sale.

Daum Nancy Rain scenic vase, Christie’s lot #201

Lot #201 was a nice Daum Nancy 8½” Rain scenic vase. It exceeded its pre-sale estimate of £3,000 – £5,000, realizing £6,875 ($9,151).

Daum Nancy Thistle vase, Christie’s lot #139

The top lot of the Daum Nancy selection of glass was #139, a huge 19¾” vase, with nice coloration and very fine martelé work in the background. I’ve had similar vases in the past, which were superior to this example, in my opinion. I didn’t like the carving on the foot as it looked too haphazard, like the carver was trying to eliminate flaws in the making. It was all original, but not to my taste. Regardless, it exceeded its high estimate of £6,000, realizing £7,500, ($9,982).

Gallé wheel-carved and intercalaire vase, Christie’s lot #138

Top lot of the Gallé glass was #138, a Hazelnut vase with internal decoration, called intercalaire. Brown is not usually a desirable color, but the high-quality workmanship, including wheel-carving, was attractive to bidders. It sold over its high estimate of £6,000, realizing £8,750 ($11,646). I didn’t like it, so I wasn’t going to bid, no matter what the price.

For the complete results of the sale, click here.

Dramatic changes coming to Chicago antique shows

Posted on September 12, 2016 by Philip Chasen

The Chicago Merchandise Mart

Dramatic changes are coming to Chicago antique shows. First came the good news. Rosemary Krieger, president of Dolphin Promotions, revived the antiques show at the Chicago Merchandise Mart, to be held May 18-21, 2017. Since this was my favorite show of the year, I was thrilled.

Then came the bad news out of nowhere. The Chicago Botanic Garden decided to cancel their spring show permanently. The excuse sounded like double-talk. Here it is verbatim.

As you know, the Antiques & Garden Fair was repositioned in 2015 to become the Antiques, Garden & Design Show in the hope of bringing in new audiences. As the Garden has evolved, so too has this event. After careful consideration, we have decided that now is the perfect time to turn our attention to creating new opportunities to grow the Garden, reach new audiences, and surprise and delight our loyal members and visitors.

With that, 2016 marked our last Antiques, Garden & Design Show.

A look at the garden section of the show

Huh? Truly disappointing. This was a lovely show, with an excellent facility, good attendance and good business. I will miss this show.

Our booth last year at the Chicago Botanic Garden

It first appeared that we would increase the number of our shows in the greater Chicago area from two to three, when we suddenly got shot down. Now we’re back to two and thankful to Rosemary Krieger for that. She’ll be able to choose from a pool of previous dealers at the Merchandise Mart plus Chicago Botanic Garden dealers, who will now want to exhibit at her show. It will be a strong group by the time she’s finished. Her timing couldn’t have been better or luckier. Rosemary, time to go out and buy a lottery ticket!

Philip Chasen Antiques

The blog for chasenantiques.com

Tag Archives: Philip Chasen

New Orleans Auction sold French cameo glass at its October 15-16, 2016 sale

This is why you buy from me

A $26 painting may be a $26 million masterpiece by Raphael

French cameo glass shapes matter

The Art Glass Forum began its season with a lecture on Louis C. Tiffany, October 4, 2016

Christie’s New York sold The Private Collection of President and Mrs. Ronald Reagan, September 21-22, 2016

A day in Murano, Italy, includes some glassblowing

A day in Drubovnik, Croatia

Christie’s South Kensington sold some French cameo glass at their Interiors sale, September 14, 2016

Dramatic changes coming to Chicago antique shows