American Indian Archive Unveiled at the New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA)

The 20th Century Decorative Arts Department at Bonhams & Butterfields, as part of its ongoing design lecture series, is pleased to announce a gallery talk with Tripp Carpenter (Arthur Espenet Carpenter III) on Saturday, October 2, 2010, at 2:00 pm. The event, which will be held at the firm’s prestigious Sunset Boulevard galleries in Los Angeles, is planned to coincide with the auction preview for the 20th Century Decorative Arts sale on October 5th. The preview will feature pieces related to Tripp ... Read The Full Story

Bonhams announces the sale of an extremely rare game, ‘The Game of War’ to be sold on the 13th October 2010 in Knightsbridge in the Chess, Playing Cards and Games auction. Dating from 1890, this intricate 600 piece game is estimated to sell for £1,500-£2000, and was designed to train British army officers at a time of uncertainty in the years leading up to the outbreak of The First World War in 1914. It was common knowledge that War was coming, but no-one could predict exactly when. As a result, the armies ... Read The Full Story

On Monday, July 26th at 6:00 pm, Clarke Auction will sell over 350 lots consigned from estates throughout the Greater New York area. Midcentury Modern includes a desk and credenza by Jens Risom, a pair of Dorothy Draper bachelor’s chests, a Roche Bobois leather and suede sofa; Walnut Stereo Speakers on Saarinen-type Bases; a LaVerne coffee table; a Springer Snakeskin Lamp, unique glass mosaic-topped decorative coffee tables, one signed; a possibly Baughman Burlwood Desk, and other unidentified quality ... Read The Full Story

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian on the National Mall will host a three-day Living Earth Festival, Friday, Aug. 6, through Sunday, Aug. 8, that acknowledges Native contributions to managing the environment and sustaining lifeways and foodways. The festival will include an outdoor fresh-produce market, fine-art market, symposium, hands-on activities for kids and families, a cooking competition and concert. The museum is uniquely positioned to be a point of convergence on this important ... Read The Full Story

More than 1,100 of the world’s best coin and paper money dealers will be buying, selling and trading numismatic items during the Boston World’s Fair of Money held by the non-profit American Numismatic Association (ANA). The event, August 10-14 at the Hynes Convention Center, will be the largest coin show of the year and visitors will be able to attend hourly presentations from numismatists on a wide range of subjects. The show will include museum-quality exhibits from the Smithsonian Institution, the ... Read The Full Story

Following the success of Bonhams New York’s June sale of fine writing instruments, the auctioneers will present another exciting fine pen sale on August 19th. Consisting of just over 400 lots, the sale will include rare, limited editions pens by Montblanc, Dunhill, and Loiminchay as well as feature a number of Dunhill-Namiki pens exemplifying the collaboration between the two iconic makers. Amongst the most sought after lots will be a Dunhill-Namiki Lake Biwa maki-e fountain pen. This artist signed vintage ... Read The Full Story

The new Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) website has been shortlisted for the 2010 British Archaeological Awards. One of finalists in the ‘archaeological innovation’ category, the PAS website includes the scheme’s database of almost 600,000 objects found and registered by members of the public across England and Wales. The website, with a completely rebuilt database, was launched in March this year. “Making the shortlist in this year’s awards is a fitting tribute for the work that our ... Read The Full Story

A fine and beautifully crafted tall case clock by the celebrated U.S. clockmaker Simon Willard (Mass., 1753-1848) changed hands for $57,500 at a sale of antique clocks and related horology items held June 18 by Gordon S. Converse & Co., based in Strafford, Pa. The auction was held at the Yorktowne Hotel in York, near the York Fairgrounds. Online bidding was facilitated by LiveAuctioneers.com. Following are some additional highlights from the auction. All prices quoted include a 15 percent buyer’s ... Read The Full Story

A well-preserved tomb of an ancient Mayan king has been discovered in Guatemala by a team of archaeologists led by Brown University’s Stephen Houston. The tomb is packed with of carvings, ceramics, textiles, and the bones of six children, who may have been sacrificed at the time of the king’s death. The team uncovered the tomb, which dates from about 350 to 400 A.D., beneath the El Diablo pyramid in the city of El Zotz in May. The news was made public yesterday during a press conference in Guatemala City, ... Read The Full Story

Sotheby’s will hold a once-in-a-lifetime sale at the most magnificent of all England’s stately homes – Chatsworth, in Derbyshire. Chatsworth: The Attic Sale – a three-day auction – will have in it all the ingredients of the quintessential attic sale: an Aladdin’s cave of items at all price levels (estimates range from £20 to £200,000), each one with its own story to tell. More than that, though, the sale will have at its core a wealth of fine, rare architectural fixtures and fittings, the existence ... Read The Full Story

David Gill, archaeologist, reflects on the news that a number of antiquities acquired by the National Museum of Archaeology in Madrid appear to feature in the dossier of Polaroid photographs seized from dealer Giacomo Medici. In 1999 the National Museum of Archaeology in Madrid acquired 181 antiquities from the Spanish financier Jose Luis Varez Fisa for $12 million. Varez Fisa was listed in the 2009 ARTNews list of top 200 collectors. At the time the then museum director, Miguel Angel Elvira Barba, was quoted: ... Read The Full Story

In honor of the 150th Anniversary of the Pony Express, The Nevada State Museum staff designed a unique raffle prize to celebrate this year’s coin show, held August 27-28, 2010. Raffle tickets are now on sale for the Grand Prize, a precious 20 ounce silver bar embedded with two one ounce .999 fine 150th Anniversary Pony Express medallions. Fabricated at Northwest Territorial Mint/Medallic Art and sponsored by John Etten of Heritage Collectibles, this unique, one-of-a-kind prize is valued at $1,500. The Pony ... Read The Full Story

The Museum of London has unveiled three exquisite ceramic bowls recently found beneath the streets of Borough Market. The intriguing collection offers a picture of what could have been displayed on a dresser in a London home during the 17th century. The three objects consist of a ‘Tulip Charger’ bowl, which dates to the 1660s – the decade of the Great Fire, a ‘Dutch-style boy and the dog bowl’ dating from the same time and a bowl with the coat of arms of the Leathersellers’ Company dated 1674, which ... Read The Full Story

Among the latest iterations of auction marketing and planning, it seems that more and more companies are assembling catalogs with a wide variety of antiques, artwork and collectibles in one sale. As opposed to the specialty, highly focused auctions that were all the rage a few years back, “general” auctions aspire to appeal to collectors of all types, making the most of “crossover bidding”. Such is the case with Garth’s upcoming July 23-24 auction of Fine & Contemporary Art, Jewelry, and Asian, ... Read The Full Story

A highlight of Sotheby’s fall 2010 Asia Week sales in New York will be a single owner offering of the Joe Grimberg Collection of Chinese Snuff Bottles on 14 September 2010. The bottles date from as early as the beginning of the 18th century and reflect a broad variety of Chinese decorative arts from glass and porcelain to jade. Mr. Grimberg bought only from respected dealers and auction houses, meaning that many of the bottles have extensive and impressive provenance, and, at times imperial attribution. Mr. ... Read The Full Story