Government of Canada have announced funding for The Upper Canadian Antique Showcase magazine.

This funding will be used for The Upper Canadian Antique Showcase’s freelance writing, editing, and photography costs, as well as for design and assembly of the magazine.

“A strong magazine sector contributes to our economy and allows Canadian stories, opinions, and perspectives to be told and heard,” said Minister Moore. “The Upper Canadian Antique Showcase is a quality magazine, uniquely targeted to Canada’s antiques and collectibles community.”
“I am very pleased to see our Government is supporting the growth of this magazine,” said Mr. Allison. “Each issue of The Upper Canadian Antique Showcase showcases a wide array of Canadian antiques and fine art, and strengthens Canadian culture.”

“As Canada’s only national paid-circulation magazine covering this important niche community, we bring collectors and the trade together in an empowering environment,” said Sophie Bond, Publisher. “Yet, our larger mandate is even more important, as we preserve, promote, and present Canadian history through its material heritage. The grant helps make this possible.”

Published six times a year, The Upper Canadian Antique Showcase features in-depth coverage of trends affecting the antique trade in Canada. Its articles are interesting to collectors, dealers, auctioneers, and antique lovers in general. Each issue contains feature stories on pieces and people, show and auction coverage, book reviews, interviews, and information on antiques from across Canada, and showcases national events and trends in antiques, fine art, folk art, and vintage collectibles.

The Government of Canada has provided funding of $20,793 through the Support for Editorial Content component of the Canada Magazine Fund. In February 2009, the Government announced that it would maintain its support for Canadian magazines through the creation of the Canada Periodical Fund, a modern, streamlined program that will replace the Canada Magazine Fund and the Publications Assistance Program. This new fund, which recently launched its Aid to Publishers component, will continue to invest in periodicals like this one to increase the overall health of the Canadian magazine and non-daily newspaper industries.

Bonhams announces the much-anticipated sale of ‘The Hoffmeister Collection of Meissen Porcelain Part II’ at 10.30am on 26th May 2010 at 101 New Bond Street, London. This follows on from the great success of Part I of the sale which made £1,097,100 in November 2009.

The Hoffmeisters assembled the greatest collection in the world of highly important Meissen armorial porcelain. An important group of armorials is formed by pieces presented to Italian aristocrats by the Crown Prince of Saxony, Friedrich Christian, grandson of Augustus the Strong, owner and founder of the Meissen factory. In 1738 Friedrich, aged 16, accompanied his sister Maria Amalia (aged 14) to Naples for her marriage to the crown prince of Naples, later Carlos III of Spain. Friedrich Christian continued to travel around Italy on his Grand Tour between 1738 and 1740, when regular shipments of Meissen porcelain were sent to serve as gifts for his hosts. This sale features a cup and saucer from a service presented in 1743 to Pope Benedict XIV (born Prospero Lorenzo Lambertini), by Friedrich Christian’s father, Augustus III, Elector of Saxony and King of Poland. The lot is estimated at £6,000-8,000.

Many of the pieces included in the collection boast such a prestigious provenance – diplomatic gifts between European princes that passed between some of the most colourful characters of the époque. As a result Part I of the sale saw enthusiastic bidding from private collectors, museums and dealers from around the world. Among the successful buyers was the Duke of Northumberland, who was able to acquire a plate from the celebrated Hanbury-Williams / Duke of Northumberland Service, which will be reunited with the rest of the service at Alnwick Castle. A Meissen cup and saucer from the Querini service has returned to the Fondazione Querini Stampaglia in Venice.

Another outstanding highlight of the sale coming up is an important Meissen circular stand c.1725-30 with exquisite chinoiserie decoration. Formerly in the renowned pre-War collection of Erich von Goldschmidt-Rothschild it is estimated at £100,000-150,000. The provenance of many other pieces is equally distinguished, with examples from famous historic collections, such as the Royal collections of Saxony, Sweden, Denmark, Italy, Russia and Baden.

The Hoffmeister Collection shows the quality and variety of the oldest porcelain manufacturer in Europe – it provides a survey of the first 50 years of the manufactory’s existence, when Meissen dominated the taste for porcelain across Europe. This world famous collection was assembled over 40 years by two German brothers with a passion for this rare 18th century porcelain, and includes the largest and most important group of 18th century Meissen armorial porcelain anywhere in the world. For the past ten years it has been on show at the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe in Hamburg. Part II of the collection includes examples of all the early styles of decoration, including copies of Asian prototypes, chinoiserie decoration, European landscape and botanical subjects and armorial porcelain.

www.bonhams.com/hoffmeister

Highlighting the sale is the Estate of Lester Yankee, a Solebury, Pennsylvania resident for 34 years. Rago’s is selling the personal property from Mr. Yankee’s large and elegant house and gardens. He and his life partner were dedicated collectors whose taste ran to Continental decorative art and furnishings. Rago’s will also serve as agent of sale for Mr. Yankee’s fine art, jewelry, garden statuary and Steinway piano. An additional 300 lots to be auctioned include paintings and porcelains gifted to the Heckscher Museum, as well as property fresh from homes in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York.

“The consignors to this sale made our jobs easy by virtue of their good taste and their faith in our skill at pricing. The result? This auction is full of varied, desirable property reasonably estimated,” says Tom Martin, who directed the sale. “I look forward to showing it off.”

Auction
• Saturday, March 20 at Noon
• Telephone, absentee, online bidding available for those unable to attend.

Auction Exhibition/Preview
• Saturday, March 13, 2010 through Friday, March 19, from 12-5 PM and by appointment. Doors open on day of sale at 9 a.m.
• Rago’s is located midway between New York City and Philadelphia. Directions online at ragoarts.com

Catalogue
• Printed catalogues are available for $20 by calling 609.397.9374 or e-mailing a request to info@ragoarts.com.
• View a complete online catalogue with color images at ragoarts.com as of March 5, 2010.

AUCTION HIGHLIGHTS

THE ESTATE OF LESTER YANKEE
Over 240 lots, largely in the Continental taste, including figural statuary in porcelain, marble, terra cotta, bronze and ivory; boxes and decorative accents, many in animal form; Georgian, Biedermeier, Sheraton, Empire, French and Italianate tables, commodes and chairs; a selection of fine art from Old Masters to 20th C., including 18th and 19th C. portraiture, still lifes and prints; stemware, china and silver; men’s gold jewelry; garden statuary; ivory miniatures; lightings; clocks; and items of interest to collectors of military and religious imagery.

CONTINENTAL/AMERICAN FURNISHINGS
American, Continental, English and Irish tables, cabinets, commodes, chests, beds, desks, tables, chairs, settles, stands, mirrors and pedestals. Louis XV, Federal, Sheraton, Georgian, Regency. Biedermeier. Ebonizing, marquetry, parquetry, gilding, pietra dura, inlay and overmount. Formal and country. Over 100 lots in all. Heriz, Kirman, Sarouk, Kashan and other rugs. Lamps, chandeliers and candelabras in a range of period styles. Fireplace accessories.

CONTINENTAL/AMERICAN DECORATIVE ARTS
Glass by Lalique, Steuben, Baccarat, Zsolnay and Durand. Some 30 lots of Bohemian porcelain from Riessner, Wahliss and other makers, sold to benefit the Heckscher Museum. Staffordshire, Sevres, Limoges, Parian, Rookwood, Old Paris Porcelain, Royal Worcester Coalport, KPM, Samson and Ridgeway Flow Blue. Chinese Export and Asian porcelains. Ink stands, shaving mugs, apothecary jars and majolica. Desk accessories, bird cages, tea caddies, miniatures and bibelot, animal figurines and decorative accents.

FINE ART
Over 50 lots of fine art, predominantly 19th/early 20th C. Paintings, works on paper, prints, engravings and daguerreotypes from an international roster of artists, among them Angelo Ribossi, Thomas Allen, Jr. and Herbert Waldron Faulkner. Over 35 lots of fine and decorative statuary in bronze, marble, wood and terra cotta by artists including Victor Seifert and Sylvain Kinsburger.

JEWELRY/SILVER/CURRENCY
Seventeen lots of men’s gold and silver link bracelets, rings, cufflinks, watches and fobs, many by Mitchell-Peck from the Estate of Lester Yankee. Silver serving pieces, tableware and vases by Georg Jensen, Tiffany, Towle, Gorham and Black, Starr and Frost. Russian objet de vertu. Twenty-five lots of currency, including U.S. silver dollars, half dollars, quarters, nickels proof sets, medals, bullion and commemorative coins; uncirculated coins; U.K. gold sovereigns; Israeli medals and currency; Canadian, U.K. and other foreign currency; ancient coins and artifacts.

ALSO WORTHY OF NOTE
• Tribal items including Inuit carving, California and Northwest American Indian baskets and late 19th/early 20th C. fully beaded Sioux child’s moccasins.
• Asian property including lacquer cabinets and boxes, religious statuary, hardstone, screen.
• Books, posters and ephemera, including theatrical posters, 19th C. baseball scorecards and baseball guides, celebrity autographs
• Garden decoration in iron and other materials, including birdbath, urns, armillary, benches.
• Napoleonic collectibles
• Reliquaries, Santos

Auction Contact Information
Tom Martin, Specialist-in-Charge: 609-397-9374 or tom@ragoarts.com

Notes for the Editor
High-resolution images available.

Next Estates Auction
Saturday, June 19, 2010.

About Rago Arts and Auction Center
The Rago Arts and Auction Center was established in 1995 by David Rago, a leading expert and dealer in early 20th C. design, who entered the business of auctions in 1984. The Auction Center, located midway between Philadelphia and New York, holds multi-million dollar sales of 20th century decorative arts and furnishings, fine art, jewelry, tribal and estate property. Since 1994, Rago’s has served thousands of sellers and buyers with a singular blend of global reach and personal service. It is a world-class venue through which to buy and sell. It is also a destination for those who seek to learn and share knowledge about art, antiques and collecting, with free valuations for personal property (from a single piece to collections and estates) and auction exhibitions in house and online.

Gray’s will present its first rare books and manuscripts auction this spring and is seeking consignments. Various types of rare books will be of interest for consignment including modern first editions, literature, natural history, travel and exploration, art and architecture, children’s books, science and medicine, sets and general antiquarian books.
Please contact Gray’s if you are interested in consigning single books, just a few or an entire collection.

In conjunction with the announcement of the spring rare book auction, Gray’s is pleased and proud to present our new Fine Books and Manuscripts Director, Melanie M. Halloran.

Melanie comes to us having served many years as a specialist at the world famous auction house Christie’s in the rare books and manuscripts department in New York. At Christie’s, Melanie researched and catalogued a wide variety of rare books and participated in the sale of several major collections including: The William E. Self Library, Parts I and II, Splendid Ceremonies: The Paul and Marianne Gourary Collection of Illustrated Fete Books, and Anatomy as Art: The Dean Edell Collection.

“I am delighted to bring my passion for rare books and my knowledge of the rare book market to Northeastern Ohio and particularly to Gray’s.” said Melanie, “I am really looking forward to our inaugural book sale this spring.”

Melanie can be reached at melanie@graysauctioneers.com.

Gray’s next auction is to be held Saturday February 27th at 1pm. Preview begins Thursday February 25th 11 am to 8pm, Friday the 26th 11am to 5pm and just prior to the sale on Saturday the 27th from 11:30 to 1pm. A fully illustrated catalog is available online at www.graysauctioneers.com

An outstanding, marked KPM oval porcelain plaque, boasting a finely detailed portrait titled Rembrandt’s Mother, sold for $7,250 at the sale of the lifetime personal collections of Elizabeth and the late Clarence Lee Dubois of Arkansas. The auction was conducted Feb. 13 in the 4-H Hall of the Sedgwick County Extension Center in Wichita, Kan.

Mr. and Mrs. Dubois were dedicated collectors of KPM porcelain, Tiffany sterling, Pickard, art glass, Limoges table sets and Oriental and flume paperweights. In all, 520 lots crossed the block. The top achiever was the KPM oval porcelain plaque, which measured 20 inches by 16 inches, had no visible artist’s signature and was of excellent condition and quality. Following are additional highlights from the sale. All prices quoted are hammer, exclusive of a sliding commission structure. There is no buyer’s premium at a Woody Auction.

A pair of 12 ½-inch KPM porcelain vases featuring a colorful bird sitting in branch décor and having great gold highlights, realized $4,750; a 16-inch by 10 inch German porcelain plaque with a finely detailed scene of La Belle Chocolatiere brought $3,900; and a 10-inch by 17 ½-inch porcelain plaque set in the original ebony shadow box frame, signed R. Diettrich, rose to $3,900.

A marked KPM porcelain plaque showing young women carrying flowers to a shrine, wonderfully detailed and signed A. Loffler, commanded $3,800; a 14-inch beehive mark porcelain plaque set in a round gilt wooden frame, artist signed W. Lojos, made $3,500; and a French porcelain tile adjustable fireplace screen in a gilt frame with adjusting knobs hit $3,500.

A marked KPM porcelain plaque in a gilt wooden frame, with a scene of a young girl holding a cat while the cat watches a butterfly, coasted to $3,200; a Tiffany & Co. sterling silver reticulated basket with an elaborate embossed blackberry and leaf décor achieved $2,900; and a marked Tiffany & Co. pedestal urn-shaped clock with a yellow satin porcelain body hit $2,800.

A marked KPM porcelain plaque featuring a beautifully detailed scene of a servant girl with tea tray, artist signed, soared to $2,600; a marked KPM porcelain plaque showing young Renaissance women carrying a sacred relic achieved $2,400; and a Victorian Mary Gregory-style vase on a figural stand, with a Reed & Barton silver plate stork base, topped out at $2,200.

A 7-inch marked Meissen crossed-sword figurine, depicting a siren sitting on a rock ledge with a harp and sea serpent, went for $2,000; a set of four Royal Worcester scenic fruit plates, nicely detailed and artist signed H.H. Price, breezed to $1,900; and a 6-inch bronze figurine on a marble base of a young girl, artist signed F. Preiss, crossed the block at $1,700.

A 10 ½-inch Pickard two-handled vase, with a brocaded gold background and multi-colored hummingbird décor, demanded $1,600; a set of six Royal Worcester fruit décor cups and saucers with great detailing, artist signed Schuck, hammered for $1,400; and an 11 ½-inch decorated Burmese gourd-shaped vase with a heavily enameled bamboo décor earned $1,400.

A nice oil painting in fine condition, signed by the artist F. Cassell and depicting a scene of five dogs preparing to attack a rat, went to a determined bidder for $1,250; a 20-inch figural four-lily epergne with an outstanding gilt metal three-camel base finished at $1,200; and a set of 12 Theodore Haviland oyster plates, white with a pick rose décor and gold highlights, hit $900.

Woody Auction has several big sales planned for the spring and early summer. The first will be an American Brilliant Cut Glass auction slated for Saturday, Mar. 20, at the Holiday Inn Airport West in St. Louis, Mo. Then, on Apr. 3, an antique auction will be held at the same venue as the sale just conducted, at the Sedgwick County Extension Center in Wichita, Kan.

The crown jewel event of the season promises to be the sale of the Dale Gabel Collection in St. Charles, Mo., the weekend of Apr. 9-10. After that, there is an antique auction slated for May 22, featuring a nice biscuit jar collection, and another antique auction is scheduled for June 5. Information for these and all Woody Auction events may be seen at www.woodyauction.com.

Woody Auction is always accepting quality consignments for future sales. To consign an item, an estate or a collection, you may call them at (316) 747-2694. Or, you can e-mail them at info@woodyauction.com.

To learn more about Woody Auction and the upcoming calendar of events scheduled for the spring and early summer, please log on to www.woodyauction.com