Sotheby's is auctioning off "La Belle Ferronniere," a painting once rumored to be the work of Leonardo Da Vinci. Video by AFP.
Monday, January 25, 2010
DaVinci? Or Not? Sotheby's To Auction Of "La Belle Ferronniere"
Sotheby's is auctioning off "La Belle Ferronniere," a painting once rumored to be the work of Leonardo Da Vinci. Video by AFP.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Beachcombers Find 18th Century Navigational Device
Beachcombers are a common sight on Long Beach Island. But the occasional lost class ring or buffalo nickle can't hold a candle to what Diana Adam found in a tidal pool one October morning ten years ago.
A metallic object, obviously deposited after a blowy nor'easter, was there just begging to be picked up and added to her collection of "beach junk." So she did, labeling it a "sextant" in her mind on the way home.
Recently, however, appraisers at the Antiques Roadshow said the quadrant would sell for $1,000 at auction but belongs in a museum and is priceless because of its age and the nature of its discovery.
A metallic object, obviously deposited after a blowy nor'easter, was there just begging to be picked up and added to her collection of "beach junk." So she did, labeling it a "sextant" in her mind on the way home.
Recently, however, appraisers at the Antiques Roadshow said the quadrant would sell for $1,000 at auction but belongs in a museum and is priceless because of its age and the nature of its discovery.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Antiques Roadshow Appraisal Goes High, Jade Goes For Much Less
If you watched PBS' Antiques Roadshow last night, you saw one of the biggest appraisals in the show's history. But her attempt to sell them in the "real world" came in far below expectations.
The story: a woman from North Carolina brings in jade objects that her father brought home from China after World War II. The woman wasn't sure how much they were worth, but the appraiser gives her the "wait for it" high mark of between $710,000 to $1.07 million.
Nervous laughter and stunned silence. But it turns out that her imperial bowl and other items weren't as exciting to prospective bidders as they were to the appraiser, selling for a relatively unimpressive $494,615 when the nice lady brought them to Skinner's in October.
Yikes.
The sale’s top lot, a Qianlong period bowl with Imperial marks, sold to a phone bidder for $303,000. It was estimated on the Roadshow and for the Skinner catalog at $400,000/600,000.
Still the consignor and her brother did well, bringing in other items they found after the appraisal and putting them up for auction - netting around $850,000 when all was said and done.
The story: a woman from North Carolina brings in jade objects that her father brought home from China after World War II. The woman wasn't sure how much they were worth, but the appraiser gives her the "wait for it" high mark of between $710,000 to $1.07 million.
Nervous laughter and stunned silence. But it turns out that her imperial bowl and other items weren't as exciting to prospective bidders as they were to the appraiser, selling for a relatively unimpressive $494,615 when the nice lady brought them to Skinner's in October.
Yikes.
The sale’s top lot, a Qianlong period bowl with Imperial marks, sold to a phone bidder for $303,000. It was estimated on the Roadshow and for the Skinner catalog at $400,000/600,000.
Still the consignor and her brother did well, bringing in other items they found after the appraisal and putting them up for auction - netting around $850,000 when all was said and done.
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