With The Revenant set to sweep the table at the upcoming Academy Awards, focus will once again fall on American Indians and the beauty of their culture. Not just in the spritual sense, but also on the asthetic beauty of the objects and materials they produced to work and wear in the course of their daily lives. On Saturday, February 6, Skinner will offer bidders an opportunity to satify their cravings for American Indian artifacts when they stage their sale of the Van Kirke and Helen Nelson Collection of American Indian Art. And while the Nelsons, as proud Montanans, placed an emphasis on pieces from the Blackfoot and Crow tribes, their collection contains a stunning selection of material from a cross-section of American Indian culture. The Blackfoot, like the Apache, were known as great warriors. They were a nomadic people, moving frequent...Read More

Americana Week,  which runs the last two weeks of January, is in full swing.  For tips on how to approach this marathon of antiquing, Town & Country consulted Andrew Holter, Specialist and Head of Department in American Furniture & Decorative Arts at Christies. Below, Holters advice for what to look for at the flagship event of the week, the Winter Antiques Show, and what to consider when youre in the market for decorative arts. "When collecting antiques the first and most important rule is buy what you like," Holter says. "The key when buying pieces is to acquire objects that you want to live with and that you derive pleasure from looking at each day. However, if you want to hedge your investment there are a few golden rules that should apply when you evaluate an object.  Condition, proportion/design, rarity, surface, provenance and qualit...Read More

Recently, an article in Harper’s Bazaar called the Hermès Birkin handbag a “better investment than the stock market.” Over the last 35 years, the Birkin bag has become the most exclusive bag in the world and its value has increased 14.2%, mostly due to its luxurious appeal and scarcity in the industry. For this reason, the resale market, including auction, has seen a boom in these coveted bags. On February 20, you will have the opportunity to purchase an Hermès Birkin when a Private Florida Collection of Luxury Accessories hits the auction block in the West Palm Beach, Florida saleroom. The Hermès Fashion House was founded in Paris as a harness-making shop by Thierry Hermès. Hermès began his fashion house by crafting horse harnesses for carriages. He was well known for his expert craftsmanship and was greatly appreciated and respected by Eu...Read More

Likely many of history’s worthwhile artistic developments, the pâte-sur-pâte method of porcelain decoration came about purely by accident. A French term meaning, “paste on paste,” it was developed in 1850 at France’s Manufacture Nationale de Sèvres. The company was trying to reproduce a decorative technique from a Chinese vase, got it wrong, and suddenly, pâte-sur-pâte was born. Marc-Louis Solon (pictured below) perfected the technique, and was for most of his working life its leading exponent. A talented artist who worked for Sevres, he fled his native land in 1870 due to the Franco-Prussian War, and set up shop across the Channel in Stoke-on-Trent, where he lived out the remainder of his days. Those looking to snare one of Solons prized creations should circle January 27 in the calendar, when Leslie Hindman Auctioneers holds Day 2 of thei...Read More

Art and antiques from the antebellum South mix with artifacts and art of the Old Southwest at the Winter Case Antiques Auction, set down for January 23 in Knoxville, Tennessee. The 900+ lot auction will also include the William Zarnan estate collection of Continental decorative arts, including art glass and paintings, plus outstanding Asian antiques, trade signs and folk art, historical and presidential memorabilia, and a trove of silver items and estate jewelry. Below, weve listed a few of our favorite lots from the sale, but with such a treasure trove of fantastic pieces up for grabs itd be a crime not to head over to Bidsquare's Upcoming Auctions page to view the catalog in its entirety. Let face it, chances to nab quality pieces at such competitive prices dont come along every day. Time to circle the wagons and get busy! Jim Nortons “Da...Read More

The mechanical displays of Baranger Studios were a staple in the nation’s jewelry store windows for over 30 years. Manufactured in runs of about 30 each, Baranger Motion Machines were rented to jewelers under a contract in which the displays were rotated monthly. The machines were used to pitch the generic idea of buying diamonds or watches. Many depicted couples courting or honeymooning, often in fanciful surroundings with captions like: "You will always be on the right road with one of our beautiful diamonds." Between 1925-1959, the company produced a total of 167 different designs. When they closed the business in 1977, such was the impact Baranger Studios had had on the local community that South Pasadena’s Cultural Heritage Commission declared their workshop a historical landmark. Charm from a simpler time - Lot 1098, a Baranger watch ...Read More

Mike Ingham, Director of Rago Unreserved, talks about the upcoming January 2016 sale. Check out hand-picked highlights from Ragos specialists!

It’s probably something we’ve all experienced over the holidays: when scrounging around in your grandmother’s attic in search of seasonal decorations or when cleaning up after a big family dinner, the move of a box or the opening of a drawer reveals an intriguing object. Maybe it’s a carefully wrapped piece of porcelain, or it could be a painting secreted away among other family heirlooms. You can tell it’s been hidden for years, and as you admire it a question starts to creep into your mind: what could this possibly be worth? If you’ve been in this scenario and have been wondering how to answer this question, this post will help with some suggestions as to how to proceed in identifying, valuing, and potentially selling a vintage or antique item. Do Some Digging The first step toward determining the importance of your item is to research it...Read More

William Will is arguably the most prolific American pewterer of the 18th century. From his Philadelphia shop, he produced pieces of exceptional quality and quantity. Will was also known for his creativity and ingenuity, working with a diverse repertoire of forms to create unique designs. His work is a staple of most great American pewter collections. But who was William Will? Apart from creating fine pewter, Will turns up multiple times in the historical record, giving us clues, however brief, into what appears to be quite an active life beyond the walls of his shop. Left: Fine Philadelphia pewter tankard, ca. 1780, attributed to William Will. One of the finest American tankards extant, this piece is Lot 176 in Pook & Pook, Inc.’s January 15th and 16th Americana auction. Right: Philadelphia pewter tankard, ca. 1780, bearing one of Will’s ma...Read More

When you think about the country most synonymous with drinking tea you invariably think of the British. Not surprising really – for Brits, from eight-year-olds though eighty, down copious amounts of the stuff. It is their chief elixir against illness, their number one crisis management tool, and their favorite way to unwind. Great Britain without tea is like the Middle East without oil. Yet it is the Chinese who have a far deeper tradition with the prized leaf. In fact, tea originated in the southwest of China, beginning its life as a medicinal drink. It became a popular throughout China during the Tang Dynasty (618-907), before spreading eventually to other East Asian countries and beyond. On Wednesday, December 30, bidders can explore China’s age-old relationship with tea when Converse Fine Arts & Antiques Auctions hold their New Years As...Read More