Tag archives: antique
Certain times in my life I receive calls to appraise a certain type of object. In the last three weeks, I have had two calls for two major doll collections of hundreds of dolls each. Those who read my articles know I am frightened of dolls, and when I attend an appraisal of a doll […]
Under the shadow of the Bevo Mill, a reproduction windmill housing a famous brewery on Gravois in Saint Louis, my grandmother Ruth Siegfried had a small house, and I grew up there in the area called Dutchtown. We were not Dutch; we came from Bavaria on my grandfather’s side. German immigrants were often referred to […]
KG has an early-20th century Chinese (Qing) Dynasty carved camphor chest (41” long), of little monetary value ($350-400), as these are relatively common, but it bears priceless symbolism. Would I keep this or sell it? Read on. Regarding the spiritual side of this chest, I would keep it around for protection! Look at the carving […]
Singerie, you say? Yes. DD owns a delightful group of color lithographs ‘after’ Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin’s celebrated Le Singe peintre and Le Singe antiquaire. One monkey is an artist, the other an antiquarian. Their dress is unmistakably upper-class, their surroundings refined, their actions entirely human – yet Chardin leaves no doubt that his subjects are monkeys. […]
The term “Narrative Art” has been very much on my mind with the opening of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles. The museum’s mission is “to explore how narrative art shapes our world, expresses beliefs, communicates values, expands imagination, and invites conversation.” The galleries are organized around themes such as Comics, Children’s […]
In 69 billion Facebook “friendships,” the average number of degrees of separation between two people is only 4.74 links. The old theory of “six degrees of separation” suggested that any two people on Earth are connected by no more than six social relationships. Objects possess a similar uncanny property. An object carries the memory of […]
JS sends me a chunky, hand-carved wooden sculpture of a powerfully built male figure with an amputated left leg below the knee. He is shown in a direct, full-frontal pose, seated upon a plinth and supporting his head, upper body, and posture with a heavy staff. His body is muscular; his face and skull are […]
Tacky? Bad Taste? Or a nice change from beige, black, and taupe? High or low culture? A serious work of art or a frightening mess from the 1980s? HG’s pseudo vase is all of the above. It is not functional; it is just hilarious. It is an Art Glass piece (20” h), likely by Ettore […]
BG, who is a famous historian in Santa Barbara, sends me this bracelet, passed down from a friend of her grandmother’s whose husband served in Panzer Army Africa North Africa during WWII. This bangle is from Egypt, as I can tell by its style of silver bands and ropes over filigree. BG’s account of its […]
DD sends me a 19th century etched and blown-glass dressing table mirror, angled upon an easel back. She asks about the history of “self-reflection” – and its value. A mirror was treasured in the Golden Age of Greece. Socrates instructed his students to gaze at themselves. Diogenes quotes the great philosopher as saying: “If ugly, […]
HH has a large jewel box that encompasses three cultural styles across ten centuries, yet it is neither rare nor particularly pricey. It is a vintage handmade inlaid box that draws from the traditions of Moroccan, Syrian, and Spanish woodworking artisans. How is this possible, and why can’t this appraiser locate its exact origin? The […]
LS writes to ask me if his vintage pipe is ivory, and if so, can he sell ivory? First question: it is not ivory; it is carved meerschaum. If it were ivory, LS would have to donate it, as ivory cannot be sold today without extensive paperwork. This is a 1880s sea-foam hand carved pipe; […]
A remnant called “Ramona’s Chain” presents a fantastic range of possible histories. The explanatory card beneath four links of ancient chain reads: “Rusted and Corroded Chain from a Pirate Ship Washed up on the Shore of Isla Mujeres in the Caribbean: found by Ramona while beachcombing in 1963.” Was this a component of a pirate […]
PE recently purchased a tiny “fixer-upper” cabin in the San Bernardino Mountains near Lake Arrowhead and Big Bear Lake. During the remodel, he discovered that the 1,660-square-foot cabin was originally built in 1919, with an addition completed in 1927. He sent me an image of the fireplace in the main room – currently under construction […]
AF has a small clear crystal bird figurine on a frosted glass base. The underside is labeled “Made in Taiwan R.O.C.” (Republic of China). The phrase “Made in” is important because it helps date the piece. Marks reading “Made in Taiwan” were used after 1949 to distinguish Taiwan from mainland China (the People’s Republic of […]
JW has a tall, rectangular, two-tiered rattan Chinese basket circa 1900. She was inspired to write me because of my previous article on Victorian Bride’s Baskets. Her Chinese basket is ALSO a bride’s basket traditionally given in the Guo Da Li pre-wedding processional during the betrothal or engagement period, a gift from the groom’s family […]
In her mom’s belongings, EC found a bible that belonged to Isabel Robbins Carrillo (1845-1914), a lady from one of Santa Barbara’s most distinguished families. Along with the bible she found two brooches, and EC wondered if the brooches could date from the Californio period (1769-1846). Our area had transitioned from the Spanish Period (1769-1821) […]
DD sends me this strange portrait of a male face in profile composed of writhing nude bodies, and I KNEW I had seen this technique before: a mélange of nude women arranged to form a head, a skull, a profile: WHERE had I seen this? I had seen it in the work of Salvador Dalí […]
Coops sends me a fantastic piece of ancient history – that is, an ashtray (classy looking in silver) with little cradles for cigarettes. This object occupies a vintage category called Tobacciana, and hails from that epoch when most of us smoked. This ashtray features a revolving roll top for discrete dispensing of ashes (if one […]
JB has admired a (now tarnished) silver handled basket with a clear glass lining since she was a kid. She calls it her grandmother’s German Silver Bride’s Basket. It is a filigreed reticulated silver metal object with a fancy pierced basket handle, a flaring dramatic profile, and artistic classical-style silhouettes of plaques of flowers and […]
