Out there in the distance, gigantic shapes curtain and carve around blazing orange canyons, Elks cry out for their herd and nomads track prints of their caravan in the silent white snow. Candid narratives and sweeping American landscapes tell the stories of moonlit ancestral teachings, Cheyenne warriors, cattle drives, and cowboys chasing Longhorns when the country was wild all around. The paintings, sculptures and important historical items offered in The Coeur d'Alene Art Auction have always manifested and commanded an impressive market of their own for Fine Western connoisseurship and this year's awe-inspiring highlights prove steadfast. On July 25, 2020 The Coeur d'Alene Art Auction will present their 35th annual sale with exclusive, online bidding made available through Bidsquare. This union offers a rare advantage for registrants look...Read More

We hope everyone is enjoying the nice summer weather! June and July are typically slower months for the American auction houses, but because of the current pandemic, many of them are finally presenting their postponed sales from the spring season. This should keep each and every art lover very busy! Shapiro Auctions will be featuring their Important Fine and Decorative Art Auction on July 25th,  a 510 lot sale which will include everything from fine art, decorative arts and jewelry. Some of their highlights include lot 90, an oil on canvas of a riverbank by French Post-Impressionist painter Maximilien Luce (1858-1941), estimated at $125,000-$175,000, and lot 106a, a rare collection of 1,740 early photographs of strongmen and athletes, estimated at $80,000-$120,000. Lot 86, Le Pho, Cueilleur de fleurs, Oil on canvas; Estimate $40,000-$50,000...Read More

Technically speaking, a case can be made that early seventeenth century American's were the first to conventionally recycle. That's right! American makers during the colonial era were determined to be resourceful and through the use of a unique alloy they started striking a path of their own. Pewter, consisting of an approximate mix of 90% tin and other metals such as copper, antimony, bismuth and sometimes traces of silver, is a highly moldable, soft metal that can be dated as far back as Ancient Rome and Egypt. The earliest example of pewter was discovered in a tomb, c. 1450 BC and is documented to have been forged along side the Bronze Age in the Near East. The formula for pewter varies with time period, having at one point, been made with lead - all versions have a long history of both utilitarian and decorative uses. In Europe, regulat...Read More

With a packed schedule of Asian Art auctions in June barely behind us, there’s still a couple more Chinese-themed auctions to take us through the summer months. Oakridge Auction Gallery in Ashburn VA will be hosting a two-day sale of Chinese art on July 25 and 26. This auction is divided into three sessions of Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, Chinese Paintings and Calligraphy, and Chinese Snuff Bottles. The first session of Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art features 327 lots including porcelain, jade carvings, textiles, dragon robes, scholar objects, Buddhist sculptures and jade carvings. Lot 202, Chinese Famille Rose Rotating Vase, Qianlong One of the most interesting pieces in this sale is lot 202, a famille rose vase. These porcelain vases are extremely difficult to produce since they consist of three separate pieces that have to be se...Read More

Shall we enter through the grand, c.1860s Italiante mansion or the luminous, cutting-edge, structure? No matter which doorway we decide, we will soon be roaming through an impressive blend of art eras - discovering Master drawings, European paintings, one of the largest international ceramics collections in the U.S. and marvelous wings of Asian, African, and Oceanic art. We have found ourselves in the Crocker Art Museum. Crocker Art Museum, Historic building | via crockerart.org Originally purchased in 1869 by Judge Edwin C. Crocker and renovated by local architect Seth Babson, the property was unique from the start. Babson designed the mansion to a spectacular degree by using the finest materials and focusing on the goal of integrating and displaying the Crocker family's growing art collection. The original family complex included a bowlin...Read More

One of the many questions I receive, working in the antiques and auction industry is, "What is Pop Culture?" The funny part is, it’s not all that different from saying something is Jacobean, Victorian, Art Deco or Mid Century Modern. The term is used to describe something as being from “Popular Culture.” That’s it! Whether it’s Roy Rogers and the Lone Ranger or Pikachu, Optimus Prime, Steve Austin, and Luke Skywalker, “Pop Culture” is used to describe anything that relates to a property that is or was popular during a particular period of time. The cool part is, there's no time stamp of a certain period - anything can become part of Pop Culture, regardless of age! It's an ever-expanding field of study. People collect Pop Culture items because it takes them back to a time, typically childhood, (which for most) is filled with fun and happy me...Read More

June is turning out to be quite the busy month for Asian Art auctions! Many of these sales were originally scheduled for March but had to be pushed back because of the global pandemic. Originally set for March 25, Hindman in Chicago will be offering their ‘Asian Works of Art’ auction on June 25. This 358 lot sale features objects from China, Japan, Korea, the Himalayan region and South East Asia. Numerous categories are covered including porcelain, ceramics, jade carvings, paintings, furniture, scholar objects, textiles, jewelry, Buddhist sculptures and rare books. Lot 52, A Rare Incised and Green Enameled Porcelain 'Dragon' Bowl The star of the Hindman auction is lot 52, an incised and green enamelled porcelain dragon bowl from the Zhengde reign (1505-1521) of the Ming Dynasty. The bowl features delicately incised designs of sinuous five-c...Read More

Behind every great success story, there are a challenge and a bet, often arising from a crisis. In the late 1970s, the Swiss watch industry was witnessing a rapid decline caused by the invasion of the Japanese market. The Japanese produced watches with quartz movement, paradoxically of Swiss invention, and were able to overtake 42% of the world market in a few years. The prototype that anticipated the invention of the Swatch was called Popularius, a spartan name which already clearly indicated the popular destination (pop) of the product: “a low-cost, high-tech, artistic and emotional ‘second watch’ - the Swatch. The Swiss expensive watch brands (S-watches) destined for the American market came out in November 1982, but the market test did not truly work. Finarte, 'The Swatch Collection' auction on June 24 In Switzerland, the entire product...Read More

The 'Godfather of Pop Art', Sir Peter Blake, best known for designing the iconic front cover of The Beatles, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band album in 1967, has "guaranteed to raise a smile" yet again - a smile stretching 200 feet wide. In a commission by LONDON Advertising to cover the façade of the Mandarin Oriental, London during its recent renovations in 2017, Sir Peter Blake evoked the spirit of Sgr. Pepper and constructed a colossal mural to tent over the unsightly scaffolding. The mural titled, 'Our fans' showcased 100 of the hotels most renowned 'Fans' such as the two surviving Beatles, Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney, as well as, Annie Lennox, Whoopi Goldberg, Morgan Freeman, Dame Judi Dench and Sir Peter Blake himself, to name only a few. Easily, Sir Peter Blake's largest-ever artwork, 'Our fans' also coincided with the 50th ...Read More

June has seen an increased number of Asian-themed auctions around the world, suggesting a return to normalcy and economic recovery from the global pandemic. One of the upcoming sales to look forward to is at Brunk Auctions – they will be hosting their Speciality Auction on June 18 in Asheville NC. This 197-lot sale contains jewelry, watches & clocks, and a wide selection of Asian Art from China, Japan, Korea, India and the Himalayan region. The top highlights from this auction are two woodblock prints by Katsushika Hokusai (c. 1760-1849). Lot 122, Senju in Musashi Province, and lot 123, Cushion Pine at Aoyama, are both from his seminal series ‘The Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji’. Even though the most iconic image from this series is by far ‘The Great Wave Off Kanagawa’, these two woodblock prints are still masterpieces in their own right an...Read More