Lucien Freud's rediscovered works on the auction at Christie's

Francis Outred, Christie's Head of Post-War & Contemporary Art, Europe: “'2012, the year of the Olympics, is a big year for major British artists in London, with David Hockney at the Royal Academy, Lucian Freud opening at the National Portrait Gallery in February and Damien Hirst at the Tate through the summer. We are delighted to be further celebrating this in our February auctions. Alongside the outstanding Bacon of Henrietta Moraes, we are presenting an exquisite canvas from a key period by Freud and two drawings which span his career, an incredible discovery from 1948 which fills in some previously missing biographical detail and a stunning study of Bruce Bernard from 1985. Also in the auction is a very unusual study of Henry Geldzahler, Hockney's great friend and champion, from the same period”.

Boat, Connemara is a meticulous and emotional drawing executed in 1948 by Lucian Freud, while the young artist was on holiday in the Irish countryside (estimate: £200,000-300,000).

Hummel figurines

Hummel Figurines are finely crafted and rendered by the brilliant artist Berta Hummel borned in 1909. Berta’s creations were inspired by the sights and sounds where she grew up in her rural village of Massing Germany. Hummel Figurines are timeless, treasured worldwide and passed on from generation to generation.
In 1876, Franz Goebel started a porcelain firm near the town of Oeslauby, Germany. After several years of porcelain production in the factory, Franz's son, William expanded the Goebel product line and changed the company name to W. Goebel Porzellanfabrik. Convinced that the American market would assist sales, William developed a U.S. product line and sent his 16-year-old son, Max Louis, to America. By 1911, Max Louis Goebel returned to German to move the factory into the 20th century.

Object of the day: 19th century Chinese export nodding figures

Chinese Export Nodding Figures (China c. 1800)
External Dimensions: 10.50 inch framed height (26.67 cm)

Description / Expertise: Three painted pottery figures, Chinese export circa 1800, the two larger being examples of nodding figures. The nodding figures measure 11.5 inches high and 10.5 inches high, the third figure stands 9.5 inches high.

Literature
Nodding-head figures were imported into England, Europe and America from Canton in large numbers from the 1780's. The great interest in these figures in England is derived in large part from the personal tastes of the Prince of Wales as Regent culminating in the Oriental interior achieved at The Brighton Pavilion in 1802. For a pair of nodding figures similar to these see Christies sale No. 7899, Régence to Fabergé. An Apartment by Jed Johnson. 20 May 2010. London, King Street, and an acompanying account of these figures in the European interior.

Price: £3950.00

AD antiques, the dealer specialising in British art pottery

AD antiques was formed in 1997 by Alison Davey. Alison's background is not in the fine arts; she graduated from Edinburgh University in 1995 with an MA and thereafter practiced in the field of Criminal Justice. Her last appointment was at Edinburgh prison where she undertook risk assessments and therapeutic intervention programmes with long term prisoners. Throughout her training and employment she developed an interest in the decorative arts, and during this time she began "trading" at car boot sales. This quickly developed into a passion or obsession, and for several years used her annual leave to attend and exhibit at show-ground antiques fairs throughout the UK. In 2000 Alison decided that she had to get the dealing bug out of her system once and for all; she resigned her job, moved to Staffordshire and began trading full time.

During the early years, the business retailed all manner of decorative arts including glass, metals, jewellery from the Arts and Crafts and Art Nouveau Movements. However Alison developed a particular interest in British Art Pottery. The appeal comes as much from the social and political dimension that inspired the manufacturers, as to the aesthetic quality and originality of the ceramics. The designers and factories of the era were pushing the boundaries of creativity, chemistry and design. Many of these studios were actively rebuking the machine age and supporting the social philosophers of the day who were proposing the return to local crafts, the dignity of the worker and the movement away from elaborate ornamentation to simpler lines and design.

Object of the day: Still Life by Edward Ladell

Still Life With Fruit and Bird's Nest, Edward Ladell (1821-1886)
(United Kingdom c.1821 to c.1886), Signed, Inscribed, Dated
Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 14.00 inch wide (35.56 cm),17.00 inch high (43.18 cm)
External Dimensions: 20.00 inch framed width (50.80 cm), 23.00 inch framed height (58.42 cm)

Description / Expertise Edward Ladell was perhaps the best-known Victorian still-life painter. Little is known of his personal life. Born in Colchester, he spent his early teens working for his father who was a respected coach builder. After many years working in Colchester, he moved to the West Country, eventually settling in Exeter.
Although he was an entirely self-taught artist, he developed a very distinct style of still-life most certainly drawn from the Dutch tradition. Ladell’s paintings have a Victorian richness of colour, which makes them instantly recognisable, and his consistent high quality has ensured their continued popularity. He exhibited at the Royal Academy from 1856 to 1886.

Coleman gasoline iron

Coleman iron

Antique self-heating fuel irons can incorporate many unique designs and unusual patented features.  Gas irons were cutting-edge technology in their heyday during the late 1800's to early 1900's.  Electrics signaled their end, but Coleman was actually making gas irons in Canada up till the 1960's or so for the folks up there without electricity. Coleman irons are perhaps the best known of the gas or liquid fuel irons, but there are many other less frequently found antique and patented fuel irons to be found and collected.


This antique gasoline fueled clothes iron was an advancement in its day, but still posed risks to the operator as evidenced by the scorched underside of the handle, where too much flame in the fire box below overheated the handle while warming the metal ironing surface below. Because of its history, replacing the Sad iron, and predating the electric, and with its remaining nice blue paint, this great industrial age household tool makes for a wonderful display along side your stitching creations, quilts, and textile art, or as a beautiful home decor.

The difference between the bone, ivory and celluloid

Ivory

Westerners loved figures carved in elephant ivory. The elephant tusk is formed of dentine containing inumerable tubes filled with wax running the whole length. It is this wax that gives objects their polish. Another way to distinguish ivory is by looking closely at the lines within it. Cut along the tusk, these can be seen as light and dark lines. Cut through a cross-section, radiating lines crossing each other and making minuscule diamonds are visible.

Object of the day: Tibetan Buddhist Ritual Vessel

Tibetan Buddhist Ritual Vessel ‘Kapala’ 
(Tibet 1700 to 1900)
Bone, Silver, Coral, Turquoise
Description / Expertise 
A Tibetan Buddhist Ritual Vessel ‘Kapala’ the Human Cranium Mounted with a Silver Band Decorated with Four Silver Skulls set on panels etched with scrolling leaves and studded with turquoise. The interior with a central silver rosette studded with a section of red coral. Old smooth patination to the skull
The skull 17th Century, the silver mounts 19th Century

Size: 
8.5cm high, 15.5cm wide, 19.5cm deep – 3¼ ins high, 6 ins wide, 7¾ ins wide

Vintage Toy & Collectible Auction #54 at Serious Toyz

As usual, Serious Toyz will offer an outstanding array of diecast vehicles, including literally hundreds of 1950s-1960s Matchbox cars, all MIB!

Coin-operated machines include the 1930s "All-Win Deluxe" gambling machine, a 1960s "Health Garde" condom machine (with contents), 1933 "Select-Em" dice gambling machine, & a 1902 clockwork "Zeno Chewing Gum" machine. All work well and come with keys.

"Zeno Chewing Gum" machine, 1902

This auction is going on NOW and will end Friday, January 6th for Character / Classic Toys and Saturday, January 7th for toy vehicles. 
To see catalogue and prices see Serious Toyz website and bid online!!!

The object of the day: 7th century Chinese terracotta horse

Large terracotta Horse , Tang Dynasty (China 618 to 907)

Size
Height 61 cm., 24"
Length 63cm., 24 3/4"

The painted pottery horse in a walking stance with a rare detachable blanket saddle .
The horse belongs to a group of grey pottery figures which are modelled around an iron armature and dating from the early Tang period, 7th Century
Shaanxi province

Status
FOR SALE

How to know if it is antique?

An antique, according to the dictionary, is "a piece of furniture, tableware or the like, made at a much earlier period than the present." It is not, however, necessarily out-of-date or oldfashioned. A chair that was built soundly from good hardwood around 1820 and is comfortable to sit on is never out-of-date. A 7 1/2-inch-high octagonal teapot of blue Staffordshire is monstrous in comparison to contemporary streamlined pots, but it makes as good tea as it did more than a century ago.

How many years old must a chair, a plate, a trivet, a fan, or a clock be to warrant its being called an antique without anyone's arguing the point? Some people insist on a precise number of years, such as 80 or 100. The 80-year span is justified on the basis of two generations, each one covering 40 years. Yet a watch that is only 75 years old is likely to look old-fashioned, and so perhaps it also is an antique. Certainly anything that is 100 years old deserves the label.

The object of the day: Handpainted silk trade banners

The unique handpainted silk trade banners were made to illustrate the various trade groups represented in the Maine association. Each year a special parade would take place, and members (blacksmiths, shipbuilders, printers, masons, butchers, etc.) would carry these banners - representing their trade.
The group of 17 banners was estimated between $125,000 and $225,000, and sold on James D. Julia Auctions for $125,350. The price was exciting news, but the buyer and the circumstances of purchase were even more newsworthy. The winning bidder was Richard D'Abate, Executive Director of the Maine Historical Society. D’Abate represented a consortium of many Maine historical institutions.

Egyptian cat statues

This limestone feline is among some 600 cat statues from a newfound temple dedicated to the Egyptian cat goddess Bastet. The ancient temple was recently discovered under the streets of modern-day Alexandria, Egypt.

French Rococo style in furniture

The Rococo style of French antique furniture began in the 18th century. It came about as a result of the Baroque artists of the time casting aside their obsession with symmetry and turning to a more aqueous and lucid style. They began focusing on interiors of palatial French mansions of Louis XV’s reign and into the beginning of Louis XVI’s.