At the Norman C. Heckler & Company auction house in Woodstock Valley, CT, March 2010 a bottle record was shattered. A rare deep sapphire blue, ca.1820, flask-form bottle General Washington and bust – T.W.D. and eagle portrait from Kensington Glass Works in Philadelphia soared to $100,620 on a $40k-$80k estimate (see Maine Antique Digest, June [… read more]
Patriotic Eagle Inlays on American Federal Furniture
Featured in the June 2010 issue of The Maine Antique Digest (pp.26B-30B), Alan Snyder’s scholarly article, Patriotic Eagle Inlays on Federal Furniture, is well-written and illustrated and is perhaps the best story the Digest has ever had on the topic, Federal Period furniture. MAD has an on-line version if your newsstand is sold out!
2007 World Record Price for a Fountain Pen: €200k
In 2007 makers of fine writing pens, Montblanc, produced eighty-one Prince Rainier III Limited Edition 81 with a price of $291,200 in 2010 dollars, so reports Daniel Grant in his article for The Maine Antique Digest (June 2010, p.12A).
World Auction Record: $9.6 million for a Oriental Rug
The current world auction record stands for an Oriental rug at $9,599,535. The Kirman vase carpet sold 15 APRIL 2010 at Christies, reports the Maine Antique Digest (JUNE 2010, p.43D).
Appraisal Services: Available for Federal and State Contracts
Mark C. Grove, Inc. / Appraisal Services (tangible personal property): Available by appointment for Federal and State appraisal assignments, DOD and State Department as well as other agencies and departments. World-wide. Federal credit cards accepted. Viet Nam era veteran. Formerly both USAF and US Army. Officer. BS/MA JMU. Review my credentials in detail on these [… read more]
Business is Good for Personal Property Appraisers
Most all of the appraisers of personal property that I know are experiencing good business at this time. The chief reason seems to be the changing demographics: Baby Boomers are aging and their parents are rapidly fading away. We’ve seen their effect dozens of times since the beginning, in 1946. Whatever the Boomers needed, they [… read more]
PBS TV Antiques: The Chesapeake Collectibles Show 2011
Mark C. Grove, ASA, is a guest on PBS TV Maryland Public Television (MPT), which has in development The Chesapeake Collectibles Show. The show was filmed at the studio made famous by the financial journalist, Louis Rukeyser, at Owens Mills, MD. Filmed in-studio on 5 & 6 June 2010, the Program is scheduled to commence [… read more]
Artificial Art: Bovine Flatulence
Professional appraisers use the term “value attribute”. A value attribute is any feature that contributes to the sum of values an object possesses. Age, provenance, maker’s mark(s), condition, and physical elements such as arms on a chair are some of the typical factors that comprise an object’s worth. For instance, a chair with arms has [… read more]
Market Report: Riviera Maya
We have just returned from a week at a 5-star resort on the Riviera Maya, Mexico. It was a beautiful experience with fine dining, dancing, 90°F three-acre-sized pools, lush tropical gardens, and royal service from a staff of 1500 professionals that do everything but bow and scrape. Occupancy was light. Perhaps it was so because [… read more]
Lost Wax Casting: Bronzes
Lost Wax Casting: A technique adapted from metalworking. The object to be fashioned in glass is modeled in wax and encased in clay or plaster that is heated. The wax melts and is released through vents or “gates,” also made of wax, which have been attached to the object before heating; [… read more]