Kovels On Antiques & Collectibles February 2023 Newsletter Now Available


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Kovels’ February 2023 newsletter features modern desks and planters, artist jewelry, bride’s baskets, tin advertising trays and classic design, all with photos and prices.

A recent art and design auction in Los Angeles featured unusual desks by prominent midcentury designers, and examples are featured in Kovels On Antiques & Collectibles February 2023 newsletter. Pictured with eye-popping prices are desks by George Nelson for Herman Miller, Richard Neutra, Lynn McLarty and Michael Kirchner, and Paul Evans, along with the priciest example—an executive desk by Gio Ponti—that fetched $37, 500.

The same Los Angeles auction included more than 20 modern ceramic planters. Kovels’ February newsletter pictures some that were oversized, like the “Pig” planter by John Follis and Rex Goode that auctioned for $7,000, and some that were smaller, like the sleek, square pot by Marilyn Kay Austin that brought $2,300, but all would add a unique, contemporary look to a houseplant’s home.

Among the lots at another Los Angeles auction were some innovative jewelry made by well-known artists such as Georges Braque, Sonia Delaunay and Claire Falkenstein. Kovels’ latest newsletter pictures some of the rings, pins and pendants pins in a wide range of prices that gave collectors a chance to buy unique and striking jewelry and little pieces of history.

Nearly 40 brides’ baskets, art glass berry or fruit bowls in decorative silver-plated frames, were offered at a Kansas auction. They were elegant gifts given to sophisticated Victorian brides. Collectors continue to love them and pay high prices when good ones come to auction. Find examples of cased glass, satin glass, and peachblow glass bowls in intricate figural silver frames and stands in Kovels’  February issue.

Old tin serving trays are popular with collectors and a recent advertising auction in New York offered many interesting choices. Kovels’ latest issue pictures an assortment of trays with interesting graphics from an old factory scene to pretty women and cute kids that advertised beer, soda and ice cream, along with their selling prices.

And last, but not least, Kovels’ reports on a show in Paris with beautiful and timeless works from European masters—lavish antiques from the 18th and 19th centuries that ranged from furniture and lighting to fine porcelain. You’ll find a visual feast (and the healthy market for the classics!) in Kovels’ February newsletter.

The Kovels go “on the road” to Design Miami 2022 to experience contemporary art firsthand. The February Dictionary of Marks identifies marks used by European porcelain companies. The Collector’s Gallery answers reader questions about a vintage pop-up valentine, a shaving bowl, an antique linen press, and a German-made punch bowl with a “toddy lifter” ladle. And more than 70 antiques and collectibles are listed in the February Buyer’s Price Guide.

unusual desks, modern planters, tin advertising trays, artist jewelry, classic design, brides baskets

Kovels On Antiques & Collectibles February 2023 Newsletter

Timeless Work from European Masters

A recent Bonhams auction that took place in Paris featured 160 lots of classic European art, porcelain, furniture, statues, lighting and other decorative arts from the 18th and 19th centuries. The antiques market is still strong for the classics, with their rich history, elegant design and intricate details. To attract new customers and modernize sale […]

Happy National Hobby Month! Here Are Our Top 16 Fun & Inexpensive Collections To Try With Your Kids

January is National Hobby Month. What better hobby than collecting (and learning about antiques and collectibles)? Right now, it is considered America’s most popular pastime. You can have fun collecting inexpensive items with your children. We had a lot of fun making this list and hope that you have fun collecting some of the items. Here are some of our favorite, easy to find collectibles:

  • Telephone insulators
  • Swizzle sticks
  • Banana stickers (one of Terry’s favorites)
  • Canning jars
  • Can or bottle openers
  • Printed paper shopping bags (you can use them as pictures)
  • Political buttons
  • Printed handkerchiefs
  • T-shirts with slogans
  • Postcards
  • Pressed pennies from the places you visit
  • Plastic hotel keys with the name of the hotel
  • Honeycomb paper pop-ups and cards
  • Bottle caps
  • Christmas ornaments — choose a subject matter like little houses, family events, animals
  • NFTs — non-fungible tokens (the hot digital collectible!)

Or, the old standbys — stamps, sports cards, and coins

hobby collectibles purple glass insulator parrot bottle opener political button pottery canning jar banana labels angel christmas ornament


Photo credits (L to R): Open-Wire Insulator Services, Ruby Lane, Hake’s Auctions, Garth’s Auctioneers & Appraisers, Kovels staff, Ruby Lane 

Kovels On Antiques & Collectibles Vol. 48 No. 4 – December 2021

Christmas Postcards … Meissen Porcelain … Bakelite Jewelry … Old Storage Cupboards …  Mechanical Pictures … Cool Mid-Century Design of Everyday Items … Marks on Dolls … Collector’s Gallery … Prices    

Rare Meissen Smashes Record Prices

An incredible collection of rare 18th-century Meissen porcelain brought $15 million, seven times its pre-sale estimate, at a fall Sotheby’s auction in New York. The sale had more than 100 lots including boxes, canisters, tankards, figurines, dishes, coffeepots, tea ware, milk jugs, tureens, cane handles, clock cases, vases and scent bottles, most with Asian designs. […]

Demitasse Set

Q: I have a demitasse set, never used, that was my mother’s. When she died, my sister and I split it up. It consists of a teapot, coffeepot, creamer and sugar, 10 little cups and saucers, and 10 plates about 7 1/2 inches in diameter. Each item has a different painted scene. My Mom was told the set was made for royalty. Some pieces are marked with a lamb and “Dresden, Made in Saxony,” and most have a gold rose over the writing. Another piece says, “Made in Germany, Guaranteed hand painted,” another piece says, “special order, painted at Lambs studio.” What can you tell me about this set? Is it worth anything?

A: The mark of a lamb above the word “Dresden” was used by Ambrosius Lamm. He opened a decorating studio in Dresden, Germany, in 1887 and decorated white blanks made by porcelain manufacturers in Meissen. The gold rose was used to cover the maker’s mark. After Lamm retired in 1934, his daughter, Clara, and Rudolf Pitschke, a former employee, took over the business. This mark with “Made in Saxony” was used after 1934. The road where the studio was located was destroyed during the bombing of Dresden in 1944 but the studio may have been in business until 1949. Porcelain decorated by Lamm’s studio, with gilt trim, sells for high prices. Sets sell for over $2,000.

dresden demitasse teapot germany and mark

European Porcelain  

Before the 1700s, the secret to making white porcelain was known only in China and Japan. The discovery of the process that made it possible for European factories to make porcelain was made by two men, Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus (1651–1708), a mathematician and physicist, and Johann Friedrich Böttger (1682–1719), a young alchemist who was […]

Allure of European Ceramics 

Porcelain is translucent—when a porcelain dish is held in front of a strong light, it is possible to see light through the dish. It was first made in China in 1279. A recent auction by Doyle in New York featured a single owner’s collection of European and Asian porcelain and ceramics. Amassed over decades, the […]

Meissen Augustus Rex

Pottery & Porcelain: Meissen Augustus Rex Mark

The Meissen Augustus Rex mark is the letter “R” wrapped around the letter “A”—both in a flowing, cursive style. This mark was copied by many factories and was registered as a trademark in 1873 after many years of use. The mark is still in use today.

Meissen Augustus Rex Porcelain Mark

Meissen Augustus Rex Porcelain Mark

 

 

 

 

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