1/1/19 Rage to Insanity rule the Day , DNC !
1/1/19
Deep in the depths of the winter doldrums even though it’s New Years Day !
1/2/19
Been awhile but back on board even in the slow period .
Little or nothing to mention , up to this point !
1/3/19
1/4/19
1/5/19
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1/7/19
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1/11/19
1/12/19
Sunday cheer !
1/13/19
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1/19/19
1/20/19
By now i am sure you have all seen the online presentation of the Dr. T. McCormack Collection of Turkmen carpets on R.R.
The coll. consist of approximately 51 items from most all the Turkmen weaving areas except Salor / S Group .
So here we go .
After multiple passes through the coll. inventory i find it a little on the static side . Certainly an impressive group in size but in my opinion nothing included in the group to get the Turkmen world buzzing . Just a sizable amount of slightly better pieces most of which are not truely early but in pretty good condition .
So if your just a novice getting into collecting Turkmen items this is a good opportunity to see a large group of them and they are for-sale too , with for the most part posted prices . As you would assume on a sale like this the prices are all over the place , some fairly aggressive , some in line with the current market !
One more thing , a few have already sold and a couple of them do “Not” have posted prices ?
With that end , Good Luck to the Doctor in his liquidation endevor at the slowest time of the year for rug activity !
A couple of pieces that did catch my eye are posted below .
Number 19416 , $ 5,800.00 not inexpensive !
Number 19554 . No posted price on this piece ?
1/21/19
1/22/19
First day of LARTA , London , 2019.
Well although i am not there in person i did go through Larta online , yes all 280 posted lots numerous times and although there were plenty of good to better pieces i noticed nothing that could be considered a clear cut barn burning winner . From where i sit the strength of the show was with the Susani’s and ikats .
One thing worth noting . There were most likely more items that were not posted on LARTA online so something great could have been lurking in the shadows . Open till 1-27-19 .
Anyway good luck to the exhibitors !
1/23/19
1/24/19
1/25/19
1/26/19
Brunk Auctions , Asheville , N.C. staged a general antique auction today that featured approximately 21 various oriental rugs and carpets one of which was worth a brief mention .
Lot # 855 . Cataloged as a Caucasian carpet with a pre- sale estimate of $ 6-1,200.00 was actually a mid century Turkish village rug that ended up selling for a well deserved $5,400.00 including comm. Reasonable for the new owner too.
One last thing .
Today is the opening of the Mesa , Az. Western antiques and American Indian artifact show which is a good indicator of how collector shows are gonna go in the USA this year . No opening day report backs yet . Here’s hope-in !
Unfortunate news today !
Go With God , Michel Legrand . The maestro exceptional for years .Your body of work will keep your memory alive forever !
1/27/19
Celebrate Sunday !
Dog o the week , Boo , you are already missed !
In tough times , stand tall , keep your word at all costs and things will surely work out ! , Sheik Frederich , 2019
Shitty movie o the week , Superfly , 2081. 5 poopsickles out of 5 . A true insult to the original 1972 Superfly . Unwatchable !
Movie o the week , Molly’s Game , 2018 . An F-N great flick !
Song o the week , The Blasters , Marie , Marie on American Music , 1980 .
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12/10/18 , Only lame a**ed people still HATE !
12/10/18
Left over’s from the last post !
Netherhampton Salesrooms , Salisbury U.K. held their year end rug sale today and it turned out right in line with their previous auctions this year . Out of the 380 total lots run across the podium approximately 238 garnered any bidder attention . A sold percentage of right at 62% . Not great but not bad either . The problem i see with sale itself is that so many of the items that sold , sold for under £ 200.00 which makes me wonder if with all the work involved in the sale production its worth the time for Ms Barrett and staff ?
As far as sale highlights go there was little or nothing with only 2 lots breaching the £ 1,000.00 level .
All that said and done you still have to give Ms Barrett and staff credit for continuing to stay in the game !
12/11/18
12/12/18
12/13/18
12/14/18
12/15/18
Today’s A.A.C. is in the books and if the posted results are accurate Udo and his crew did far better than their usual sales do with pretty much everything finding a new home . Out of the 192 total lots offered for sale perhaps only 3 lots went unsold. That is how ever via the “liveauctioneer’s” unaudited post which may or may not be accurate . Granted the pre- sale estimates were fairly conservative and many of the lots sold right at there low estimates but as i always say sold is still sold and considering there were no top shelf items included in the auction inventory to create excitement and at this time of the year this is a very good turn of events for A.A.C.
One thing worth mentioning about the sale outcome itself . There were a number of decent upside pops , #’s 1 , 21, 22, 61, 70, 110, and 123 .
And the biggest surprise of all in my opinion # 68 , Tuduc Dragon copy . Pre- sale est. € 2-3,000.00. Sold for € 6,400.00 . I guess the market for Tuduc copies is strong in Austria ?
In the end a good job by UDO and crew so a “ Tip of the Holiday Hat “ to them !
12/16/18
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12/18/18
12/19/18
12/20/18
12/21/18
Winter Solstice , 2018 !
12/22/18
12/23/18
Get well soon , Matt Millen , Oakland Raider great and 4 time super bowl winner . God Speed !
12/24/18
12/25/18
12/26/18
12/27/18
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12/31/18
Dog o the week !
With all the Dimi’s “Hate” floating around out there unfortunately the world could be sinking into the left and drowning !, Sheik Frederich , 2018.
Shitty movie o the week ,The Mummy , 2017. 4.5 poopsickles out of 5 . Another Tom Cruise bomb !
Movie o the week , Always at the Carlyle ,2018.
Song o the week , Children of Bodom , Under Grass and Clover on Hexed , 2018.
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11/26/18 , Life in a “Dimi” Fugazi ?
11/26/18
Nothing fresh so far this week but plenty of action next week !
11/27/18
11/28/18
11/29/18
11/30/18
12/1/18
Udo and the gang at A.A.C. are holding what appears to be an end of the year house cleaning sale at their gallery on Dec. 15th in Vienna , Austria. The sale consist of 192 total of all types of rugs , carpets and textile/ flatweave items . Unfortunately unless you’r on a budget , a beginner or dealer looking for shop stock this sale is just not for you . Nothing at all in the way of a serious collectors item or top shelf decorative carpet . Just a varied selection of mid to low end merchandise . A lot of work for the A.A.C. rug dept. but with no meat to attract the ever hungry rug carnivore’s. Look if your’e bored and must see everything .
Sunday shines , so drink your Milk !
12/2/18
Greatest day in the history of mankind !!!
12/3/18
12/4/18
12/5/18
Costa Mesa today !
Stockholms Auktionsverks , Stockholm , Sweden held a general antique sale today that featured 19 rugs , carpets and textile/tapestry lots , most of which were for the most part were unimportant but there was one lot that was worth mentioning.
Lot # 108 , Salor trapping. Pre- sale estimate € 10,250.00 – 15,400.00 . The piece was estimated very conservative and ended up selling for approximately € 82,423.00 depending on the conversion rate from SEK . Most likely slightly older than their date , a reasonable purchase for the new owner , in my opinion.
12/6/18
12/7/18
12/8/18
The “ROCK” still rolls on !
12/9/18
Well the day you been “wait-in” for is here and the “Skinner’s” winter rug and textile spectacular is underway .
Up to this point it’s going pretty well for L.K.and the Skinner’s rug dept. but lets just see where we end up.
Past the half way point and this looks to be a very successful endeavor for Skinner’s and the Newman estate !
Fini ,
As i figured this is a bonified end of the season winner for L.K. and staff .
Out of the 309 total lots offered up for your bidding pleasure only approximately 34 did not find new homes .As far as the R.N. lots in the sale go , about 6 did not sell which is a little more than Pt 1 but the pieces that did not sell were fairly insignificant . A sold percentage of right at 89% , right in line with all other L. K. offerings since he’s been at Skinner’s . As for the sale itself Caucasian pieces still seem to be on the soft side as far items sold and prices fetched but there were no standout pieces to excite Caucasian rug collectors.
Concerning the Newman part of the sale as i stated in the previous post there would not be, in my opinion quite the fireworks this time out in comparison to P.T. 1 . Like i also figured most of the upside surprises were in the Chinese items , as expected . The Turkmen lots in the sale inventory were not quite up to the quality and desirability as the first group so they did not garner the excitement .
There were still a number of very nice upside pops to make the sale interesting , lot #’s 53, 58, 66, 71, 145, 147, ,151, 155, 219, and 279 did very well .
All in all a good job done by the Skinner’s staff so a “tip of the hat” to them .
As for the lots i featured in the sale review all sold 4 very well , one just pretty good .
Lot # 66 , Ottoman prayer kelim . Pre- sale est. $2-3,000.00 . Sold for $ 10,455.00
Lot # 71 , Anatolian rug frag . Pre- sale est. $ 5-6,000.00 . Sold for a well deserved $ 17,220.00 . Somewhat better than i thought it would do but good for them .
Lot # 145 , Dragon saddle cover . Pre- sale est. $1,5-1,800.00 . Sold for $ 19,680.00 as expected . As i stated earlier my favorite Chinese piece in the sale .
Lot # 147 , Kangxi mat . Pre- sale est. $1,2-1,500.00 . Sold for a very well deserved $ $ 22,140.00 .
Lot # 149 , Chinese saddle rug .Pre- sale est. $ 8-1,200.00 . Sold for $1,722.00 . Condition may have held this piece down.
Not much to look forward to in the near future accept for the A.A.C sale on Dec. 15th till the spring !
Winter doldrums are upon us !
Nothing else to do but enjoy the holidays !
Dog o the week !
When you can no longer say anything to anyone for fear someone will be offended perhaps political correctness should be taken out to the pasture and put to sleep !! , Sheik Frederich , 2018
Shitty movie o the week . Chips , 2017 . 5 poopsickles out of 5 . The series stunk but this movie is so bad it makes the series look good !
Movie o the week , Slim “pickens”
Song o the week , Death Angel , Into the Arms of Righteous Anger on Relentless Retribution , 2010 .
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11/18/18 , Days of rage in the Electric Inferno !
11/19/18
Plenty of rug world news to consider this week !
11/20/18
First up “Netherhampton Salesrooms” winter classic scheduled on Dec. 5th in Salisbury , U.K.
So this time around Ms. Barrett and the N.S. crew put together a selection of approximately 380 total lots of the standard mish-moss of every type of mid to low end merchandise they usually feature . Unfortunately nothing at all in the way of a notable collectors item or top shelf decorative carpet.
Don’t get me wrong on this, there are plenty of decent usable pieces in what appears to good condition if your on a budget or a dealer looking for inexpensive shop stock but if your a serious rug enthusiast this may not be the sale for you.
Again a far from notable presentation but as you may or may not realize putting together a production of this magnitude , important lots included or not is lot of work so “hats off “ to Ms. Barrett and staff for staying in the game in an oversaturated mid- range retail market .
11/21/18
Next in line , another extravaganza at Henry’s. Auktionhaus scheduled on Dec. 8th in Mutterstadt , Germany .
Their previous sale on 6-9-18 was a bit of a surprise to me as i stated in an earlier post because it was far more successful than i figured it would be and it had a handful of interesting lots and even a few nice upside pops for the consigners !
This time i have to say considering the sale includes 320 total lots i saw little or nothing that will get the Rug- Mob buzzing .
The group is totally over loaded with good condition Persian city pieces aimed at the European retail market but little or actually nothing that will appeal to the international collectors market . For the most part the whole sale inventory was on the late side with just a few earlier items but they were nothing of any great significance .
That said i did go back to 2 pieces for a second look but they remain of little consequence . If it matters, lot # 181 , Gabbeh and lot # 311 Bakshaish room size carpet look pretty good but that’s it.
Cruise the inventory if you are bored !
11/22/18
Happy Holiday ! Nailed it !
11/23/18
So here we go with what everybody’s been wondering about / and waiting for !
Skinner’s , Boston, Ma’s Dec. 9th sale featuring Pt.2 of the “Ronnie Newman Coll”.
Well my first thoughts on Pt. 2 is it’s not quite as dramatic as Pt. 1 but there are still plenty of good noteworthy pieces in the offering.
The none R.N.coll. items are standard Skinner’s type stuff , some good some not so much .
The way i see it the R.N. Coll. items are once again gonna be the stars of the sale but but i am not so sure there are going to be the large amount of big upside surprises like in the first group because this portion does not have the clear cut super stars like the first sale . Yes , there are some very good pieces and as before L.K. has kept the pre- sale estimates on the conservative side but my feeling is the first group was just superior in particular the Turkmens .
Keep in mind this is just my opinion and others out there could certainly feel differently about it.
I feel the strength of the current selection is the Chinese pieces. Again just an opinion .
Fear not , more than a few pieces caught my eye and a few are featured below !
Lot # 66 , Ottoman prayer kelim . Pre- sale estimate $ 2-3,000.00 . This piece should take off .
Lot # 71 , Anatolian rug fragment . Pre- sale estimate $ 5-6,000.00 . This is my favorite item in the sale but the estimate is a bit puzzling ? I could certainly be wrong on this !
Lot # 145 , Dragon saddle cover . Pre- sale estimate $ 1,5 – 1,800.00 . My favorite Chinese piece in the sale . Should fly !
Lot # 147 , Kangxi mat . Pre- sale estimate $ 1,2- 1,500.00 . Another serious winner .
Lot # 149 ,Chinese saddle rug . Pre- sale estimate $ 8-1,200.00 . A very reasonable starting point on this one , in my opinion !
11/24/18
Back to slow times for the moment , enjoy the holiday !
11/25/18
Dog o the week ,
Are millennials really as empty headed about history as the seem to be ? a question for the ages ! , Sheik Frederich , 2018.
Shitty movie o the week , still no sh*t !
Movie o the week , Stand Up Guys , 2013.
Song o the week , Cirith Ungol , Witch’s Game , single , 2018
Read More10/29/18 , Joe Hunt , charter member of the D N C !
10/29/18
Quiet for the moment but that will change shortly !
10/30/18
10/31/18
Go with the grace of God , Willie McCovey . Hall of Fame’r and San Francisco Giants great . Gone now , but never forgotten !
11/1/18
11/2/18
11/3/18
“Sunday Fun” , somethings just can’t be explained !!!
11/4/18
11/5/18
11/6/18
Today was the highly anticipated Sotheby’s , London’s fall major “Rug and Carpet” sale and from an overall stand point i think it was something of a mixed / mediocre outcome . Out of the 164 total lots offered for sale only approximately 86 found new homes . A sold percentage of right at 53% . Passable but hardly anything to “pat yourself on the back” about !
For starters my first impression is that commercial type Caucasian items and run of the mill decorative pieces in general were on the weak side . The better Chinese lots and for the most part all of the early lots , fragmented or not in the sale inventory were the strength of the of this current endeavor.
That said there were more than a handful of items that sold for substantial prices with at least 9 lots { #’s 3,5,28,29,30,31,34,45,47 } that could be considered serious upside surprises for the consigners .
So you would have to conclude all though total lots sold was on the modest side prices fetched on many of the pieces that found new homes was commendable .
All in , “kudos” to Ms Coulter and the Sotheby’s rug dept. on a job reasonably well done !
As for the lots i featured it was a dismal failure on all counts .
Lot # 6 , Oushak Cloudband fragment . Pre-sale estimate £ 20-30,000.00 . Withdrawn with no explanation .
Lot # 78 , Karabaugh embroidery . Pre- sale estimate £ 8-12,000.00 . Unsold .
Lot # 107 , Kazak rug . Pre-sale estimate £ 20-30,000.00 . Unsold . High expectations or been around the track once too often ?
11/7/18
11/8/18
11/9/18
11/10/18
11/11/18
Groganco , Boston , Ma. held a general antique auction today that included 12 oriental rugs and one American Indian textile .
For the most part the rugs were of no consequence except for one bag face and in my opinion the Navaho blanket was the most interesting item in the group.
Not much really but better than nothing on a slow Sunday afternoon .
That being said 2 items did pop a bit and are featured below .
Lot # 468 , Navaho rug . Pre-sale estimate $ 8-1,200.00 . Sold for $ 3,750.00 + comm. Minor color run and damage but great eye appeal.
Lot # 473 , Kurd bag face . Pre- sale estimate $ 2-300.00 . Sold for 1,700.00 + comm. . Again modest damage but a popular design. Hopefully the colors are all good .
11/12/18
R I P , Stan Lee , Marvel comics legend . Your body of work will keep your memory alive for ever !
11/13/18
11/14/18
11/15/28
11/16/18
11/17/18
That’ s a wrap for todays “Rippon – Boswell” fall rug and carpet classic and it ends with an only “fair to middling” result with just 147 items selling out of a total offering of 273 lots . A sold percentage of approximately 53% , decent at best . Keep in mind these are “Liveauctioneer’s” figures and they could change in either direction , but still nothing to get excited about .
As for the sale itself there were no real fireworks to make this a notable outcome , only 3 lots could be considered to have made serious upside pops , lot #’s 49, 104 and 162 .
One small thing worth mentioning . The Chinese lots in the inventory were on the weak side which is a bit unusual lately but then they were not up to the level of the items in some of the previous fall seasons sales . Quality is everything at this moment !
All said and done another decent R.B. sale is in the books and we look forward to better days a head next year and a more interesting assortment !
Still a good production by D. M. and the Rippon rug dept. !
As for the two lots i featured in a previous both sold , one well , one not so much .
Lot # 49 , Ersari ensi pre- sale est. a modest € 2-400.00 . Sold for a well deserved € 4,200.00 . I figured it would sell well but this was certainly nice surprise for the consigner !
Lot # 226 , Karachov Kazak . Pre- sale est. € 13-1,500.00 . Sold in the zone at € 1,300.00 . It was in distressed condition but with good color and layout !
The week ends on a high note !
11/18/18
Dog o the week !
The election is over but the “Torture Never Stops” . Time to shut the f-up ! , Sheik Frederich , 2018.
Shitty movie o the week , Thankfully no Sh*t this week !
Movie o the week , Unlocked , 2017.
Song o the week , Little Steven , Los Desaparecidos , ( The Disappeared Ones ) on Voice of America , 1983 .
Read More10/22/18 , Catherine Tramell and the Sins of our Nation !
10/22/18
10/23/18
After a brief delay the English version of the upcoming “Rippon Boswell” fall major rug auction scheduled on Nov. 17th is up “on the line” for you to peruse and digest . This time out Mr Maltzahn has assembled a fairly eclectic selection of 273 lots with items from almost all of the popular weaving areas being well represented. The group is a little heavy on Turkish items with the Bohmer coll. group and another large selection of Turkish pieces from another collection. Turkmen , Caucasian , textiles and for a change Baluch items are also out in full force but the Chinese / East Turkestan group seems to be a little on the weak side considering the strong selection in some of the other recent earlier sales .
So after multiple passes through the sale inventory i am left feeling this is a good but not necessarily great assortment . As usual there is a smattering of high end pieces ( susani’s and South Persian) , plenty of better mid- range and of course some filler items but no real top shelf , barn burner item to light up the the Rug- Mob network !
Still an admirable job done by the R.B.rug dept. at a time when great pieces are hard to come by . It should turnout pretty well for them ,
Good Luck!
With that said a couple of lots that caught my eye are posted below .
Lot # 49 , Ersari ensi . Pre- sale estimate € 2-400.00 . My favorite piece in the sale . It should do well .
Lot # 226 Karachov Kazak . pre-sale estimate € 13-1,800.00 . A very good example , again in poor condition but listed accordingly .
10/24/18
Next up , Sotheby’s , London just concluded their “Arts of the Islamic World” today and as far as i can see it turned out to be a fairly successful venture for them with more than a handful of lots breaching the £ 100,000.00 level and one really taking off .
Lot # 134 , Blue and White “Iznik” Charger , circa 1480 . Pre- sale estimate £3-500,000.00 . Sold for a magnificent £ 5,359,950.00.
The lot i featured in the 10 / 8 post lot # 133 , “Ottoman” velvet “Cintamani” pattern fragment pre-sale est. £ 20-30,000.00. sold for an impressive £ 68,750.00 . I thought the condition might hold this piece back a bit , but i guess not .
All in , a nice production posted by the Sotheby’s Islamic Dept. !
10/25/18
Christie’s , London’s Arts of the Islamic and Indian Worlds including carpets just wrapped up and from a rug and carpet standpoint it turned out to be reasonably prosperous for them .
Concerning the overall sale , they also had a few lots pop over £ 100,000.00 mark but not quite up to the turn of events at yesterdays sale at Sotheby’s .
First let me say the textile selection was very weak with only approximately 10 out of 29 offered selling . None of the susani’s were particularly interesting but they all sold .
As for the rug and carpet selection if faired much better , however one thing worth noting .
None of the 3 “Lotto” carpets found new homes. Around the track once to often , perhaps ?
Out of the 104 total lots of rugs and carpets offered approximately 66 traded hands for a sold percentage of right at 63% .
Not great , but not bad either .
As you would expect the Konig coll. items had a pretty good showing with only perhaps 2 not selling .
Nothing else in the rest of sale inventory seemed strong and there were no notable upside pops . Seems to me maybe the Caucasian items in the group were a little on the weak side but then they were also a little of the ordinary variety !
That said we have to give props to Ms Broadhurst and staff for a passable job at the tail end of the fall season !
The lots i featured in the previous review all sold but with mixed results.
Lot # 217 , Iznik “Cintamani” pattern tile . Pre- sale est. £ 30-50,000.00 . Sold for an outstanding and well deserved , £ 218,750.00 , As i stated in my previous post my favorite piece in the whole sale !
Lot # 230 , Ottoman embroidered panel . Pre- sale est. £ 10-15,000.00 . Sold for slightly over the high estimate at £ 21,250.00 . A decent pop but nothing to get excited about .
Lot # 286 , Khotan frag. Pre- sale est. £ 3-5,000.00 . Sold for £ 3,500.00 .
Lot # 324 , Silk Farahan prayer rug . Pre-sale est. £ 4-6,000.00 . Sold for £ 5,250.00 . In the zone no surprise here !
10/26/18
And Friday !
10/27/18
10/28/18
Parting shot to end the week !
Henry’s .de , Mutterstadt, Germany has another rug auction scheduled on Dec. 8th . No details yet but their last sale did far better than i expected .
Riley Rules !
Dog o the week ,
Out of the darkness and into the “write” the world today will survive and prosper ! , Sheik Frederich , 2018.
Shitty movie o the week , Murder on the Orient Expresss , 2017 . 3.5 poopsickles out of 5 . Not really bad but considering the cast a something of a let down that drags a bit in comparison to the original version .
Movie o the week ,
Song o the week , Burning Witches , Executed on Hexenhammer , 2018.
Read More10/15/18 Home sweet home in Raccoon City !
10/15/18
This looks to be a slow week in “Rug-Dumb” till Sunday and the eagerly awaited Skinner’s sale featuring the first portion of the “Ronnie Newman coll.”.
10/16/18
10/17/18
10/18/18
TGIF !!!!!
10/19/18
10/20/18
10/21/18
Sale day , 12 noon in Beantown , so here we go.
9am in Costa Mesa , Ca .
The sale is underway and as i figured the R.N. items are garnering plenty of upside attention but the other lots are preforming as you would expect , selling but no big surprises so far .
Up to this point some of the R.N. lots worth noting are numbers 10, 52, 60, ,64 , 77, 139 , 142 and 163 with more upside action to come , i would imagine .
Here are a few more 2nd half highlights with #’s 172 , 174, ,209 and 269 jumping in the pool to spice things up !
As the sale is progressing the Skinner’s lots sans the Newman Coll. are having a modest bit of “upside popping” success , nothing major but better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick .
Note lot numbers , 65 , 114 , 115 ,
late update , However as the sale concludes thats about it .
As for the overall sale itself i am only showing a handful of passed lots. Skinner’s 11 passed , R.N. passed 2 so for the time being L.K. and the Skinner’s rug dept. have a very successful production on their hands .
Nothing much in the way of upside fireworks as the offering winds down after lot # 269.
The sale finished up with only approximately 27 Skinner’s lots and 2 R.N. items not finding new homes. A sold percentage of just over 90 % . A very positive outcome for Mr Kearny & Co.
Something else in the way of an observation .
The bulk of the unsold Skinner’s lots were mediocre Persian city pieces , if it matters ?
As a parting shot i would say this sale for the most part lived up to the hype and is a very positive outcome for Mr Newman’s account but even with the price pops i wonder he would be happy with the outcome , NOT !
As for the lots i featured in the 10/1/18 post , all sold well , as you would surmise !
Lot # 42 , Yomut juval . Pre-sale estimate $ 8-1,000.00 , sold for $ 1,722.00 . Over the high pre- sale estimate but i thought it would do much better . Looks like someone got a pretty good deal , in my opinion .
Lot # 55 , Ningshia mat . Pre-sale estimate $ 2-3,000.00 . Sold for $7,995.00 . Again , well over the high est. but i thought it to would do better .
Lot # 140 , Chinese silk saddle cover . Pre- sale estimate $ 4-5,000.00 . Sold for a well deserved $ 39,360.00 and the high water mark of the whole auction and deservedly so !
Lot # 151 , Ningshia mat . Pre-sale estimate $ 1-2,000.00 . Sold for $ 7,380.00 . A pretty good purchase for the new owner !
Lot # 197 , Saryk juval . Pre- sale estimate $ 1-2,000.00 . Sold for $ $ 24,600.00 . And worth EVERY penny ! A real winner !
Next up pt.2 of the R.N. Coll. on Dec. 9th.
Back on the road !
Dog o the week .
In the world today you can’t teach a monkey to dance ? , Sheik Frederich , 2018.
Shitty movie o the week , The Wolfman , 2010 . Great cast , what a waste of talent !
Movie o the week , The Foreigner , 2017 . One of the very best Jackie Chan movies , in my humble opinion !
Song o the week , Doro , Be Strong on Forever Warriors // Forever United , 2018 .
Read More10/8/18 Make no mistake Dimi’s have no soul !
10/8/18
To start the new week we have a little more fall auction activity .
Sotheby’s , London’s , “Arts of the Islamic World “ scheduled on Oct. 24th is a-live and “kickin” now .
To start with the sale features 255 total lots of all types of Islamic items but nothing in the way of oriental rugs and carpets . There are a few textile lots of which i though only one was worth mentioning and reviewed below.
Other than that , unless your interested in Islamic art objects this sale is not for you , that is unless you just have to see everything .
Lot # 133 , Ottoman Velvet “Cintamani” pattern velvet fragment . Pre- sale est. £ 20-30,000.00 . Decent condition and fairly scarce item but not a particularly inexpensive starting point , in my opinion !
10/9/18
10/10/18
10/11/18
Next up another Sotheby’s , London update , the big one !
Their fall major rug and carpet production is up and visible now for your “Rug-Mob” viewing experience ?
Well lets just see where we will start on this one .
The sale is compromised of 164 lots of a decent but not comprehensive selection of pieces from most of the popular weaving areas . Heavy on Chinese / Khotan pieces (21) and “classic type items , some notable , some not so much .
Nevertheless the sale is woefully weak on anything in the way of Turkmen , Baluch or collectable South Persian items . There are however plenty of Persian city pieces and roomsize carpets for the dealer , decorator crowd .
After multiple pass’s through the auction inventory i am left with the feeling there is just not that much that really appeals to my collecting taste . No , i am not saying this isn’t an admirable selection with a nice assortment of better pieces , just lacking in things i would want to own.
After all’s said and done Ms Coulter and the Sotheby’s , London Rug Dept. in a rug market that finds good , fresh pieces hard to come by have assembled a fairly impressive line up of pieces that should do well.
Good Luck to them !
A few items that did give me pause are featured below .
Lot # 6 , Oushak cloudband frag . Pre-sale est. £ 20- 30,000.00 . Awesome colors !
Lot # 78 , Karabaugh Embroidery . Pre-sale est. £ 8-12,000.00 . Not the very best but still scarce with interesting provenance .
Lot # 107 , Kazak rug . Pre -sale est. £ 20-30,000.00 . A very snappy item but possibly out of fashion these days , still my favorite item of the whole offering .
10/12/18
10/13/18
Last but not least .
Pt. 2 of the Ronnie Newman Coll. is now scheduled on Dec 9th 2018. Based on Pt. 1 this should be as good or better .
10/14/18
Sunday shine !
Dog o the week !
S.J.W. may just be real A- Holes and would not know justice if they stepped in it. Sheik Frederich, 2018.
Shitty movie o the week , Basic Instinct 2 , 2006 . Basic Instinct 1 was a decent movie but 2 is just a big payday for S.S. In my opinion.
Movie o the week , Chef , 2014.
Song o the week , Burning Witches , Hexenhammer on Hexenhammer , 2018.
Read More10/1/18 Thin is in ! And don’t you forget it ,!!!
10/1/18
Tragic news to start the week !
Via con Dios , Famed French vocalist Charles Aznavour passed away today at the age of 94 . An international legend , he will certainly be missed by anyone who appreciates music , but fear not sir , your legacy in the arts world will live on !
10/2/18
Next up on the 2018 fall rug auction calendar , Christie’s , London’s , “Arts of the Islamic and Indian Worlds including Oriental Rugs and Carpets” is live “ on the line” now for your viewing pleasure .The sale features 382 total lots of which include approximately 29 textiles and susani’s and 104 rugs and carpets .
So after multiple passes through the sale inventory it appears to be a reasonably diverse group with East Turkestan (H. Konig coll. items ) and Persian city items well represented but being “very” weak on notable Turkmen pieces .
There are also 3 classic Lotto carpets one of which ( lot# 307 ) is the piece i featured in the blog on 7//17/17 which sold at the “Leslie Hindman Auction Gallery” in Chicago , Ill. Listed at the “Hindman” sale as Caucasian with a pre-sale estimate of $3-500.00 it did much better ! Check the blog post , all the details are there .
As for the textiles and susani’s there are some better pieces but nothing that really peaked my interest .
All that said and done in a time when good , fresh , items are hard to come by for everyone Ms Broadhurst and the Christie’s rug dept. did a pretty good job assembling this selection . Not much in the way of things i would want but still a fairly wide-ranging assortment .
So here you go with a few pieces that caught my and i thought were at least moderately noteworthy are posted below.
Lot # 217 , Iznik Cintamani tile . Pre-sale estimate £ 30-50,000.00 . Not a rug but still my favorite piece in the whole sale !
Lot # 230 , Ottoman quilt panel . Pre- sale estimate £ 10-15,000.00 . Yes , i said the textile selection was uninteresting but this one grew on me ?
Lot # 286 , Khotan frag . Pre-sale estimate £3-5000.00 . A very reasonable pre-sale est. considering it’s a Konig piece and a fairly scarce design but as always it’s not where you start is’s where you finish !
Lot # 324 , Silk Farahan rug . Pre-sale estimate £ 4-6,000.00 . Gaudy to the point that it’s kinda cool !
10/3/18
10/4/18
Now for the one you have all been waiting for !
Skinner’s , Boston , Ma. , Oct. 21st , fall rug, carpet and textile spectacular featuring Pt.1 of the “Ronnie Newman” coll.is up and running on the Skinner’s website . The sale includes 330 total lots of as usual a wide selection from all major rug and textile weaving areas . Pt.1 of the R.Newman Coll. features approximately 135+ lots and it is certainly the highlight of the entire sale . The rest of the items are standard Skinner’s type pieces with unfortunately nothing to get excited about . Yes , there are some better things but nothing that truly stands out .
One thing that does standout about sale is the very conservative and reasonable pre-sale estimates on the Newman Coll. items . How L.K. pulled this one off is not known but it will certainly lead to plenty of competion on those particular pieces .
Up to this point this is the high water mark of the fall, 2018 auction season , but as always things could change !
Kudos to L.K. and Skinner’s for the realistic buying opportunity but it’s still not where you start , as always it’s where you finish !
As you would surmise there are plenty of stellar lots in this sale inventory . I can’t post everything i liked but a few i kept going back to are featured below .
Lot # 42 , Yomut juval . Pre- sale estimate $ 8-1,000.00 . Very scarce and in fairly good condition , should do well. .
Lot # 55 , Ningshia mat . Pre-sale estimate $ 2-3,000.00 . A great one that should fly.
Lot # 140 , Chinese silk saddle cover . Pre-sale estimate $ 4-5,000.00 . Easily one of the rarest things in the sale !
Lot # 151 , Ningshia mat . Pre-sale estimate $ 1-2,000.00 . Another great one .
Lot # 197 , Saryk juval . Pre-sale estimate $1-1,200.00 . Poor condition but a real winner . My favorite piece in the whole sale , if it matters !
10/5/18
10/6/18
Happy , Happy , Joy , Joy !
10/7/18
She’s like a Rainbow !
Dog o the week !
10/6/18 , A great day to be in the U.S.of A.! , Sheik Frederich , 2018 .
Shitty movie o the week , Thankfully no shit this week !
Movie o the week , 12 Strong , 2018.
Song o the week , Warrel Dane , Disconnection System on Shadow Work , 2018.
Read More9/9/18 , Think and draw conclusions before you make a desperate move ?
9/9/18
9/10/18
9/11/18
Nagel’s fall rug auction is in the books today and it was only a moderately successful outing this time around. Out of the 200 total lots of rugs and carpets offered up for your bidding pleasure it looks like 102 found new homes . A sold percentage of slightly over 50 % . Not terrible but far froma raging success either . Also very little in the way of upside pops to excite but there were a few .
If it matters to you 20 of the ethnic items out of 45 also sold .
One lot that did surprise me was lot # 127 , Turkmen juval . Pre-sale starting point € 800.00 , sold for € 8,500.00 + comm. Published in the Loges , Turkmen book which most likely had something to do with the price pop. Not clear on the attribution of this piece , Ersari possibly ? , but it’s good looking and someone really liked it !
As for the 3 lots i featured in the previous post all sold , 2 well over their pre-sale starting points .
Lot # 22 , Khotan . Pre-sale starting point , € 600.00. Sold for € 2,400.00 + comm. Well over the pre-sale estimate but in my humble opinion a pretty good deal for the new owner of a fairly scarce piece abet in poor condition.
Lot # 89 , Rug fragments . Pre-sale starting point , € 300.00. Sold for € 300.00 + comm. In the zone and cheap thrills for the buyer on this one .
Lot # 130 , Salor torba . Pre-sale starting point , € 3,500.00 . Sold for € 18,000.00 + comm. Again well over the very low starting point but still a very realistic and perhaps inexpensive price for the new owner , good job on your part !
In the end a decent but unremarkable outcome for the Nagel Auktionhaus !
9/12/18
Unfortunate news !
Via con Dios , Gary Allen Wisdom , Baluch collector , author of “Baluch Tribal Weavings” and all around great friend for 20+ years lost his battle with a lingering illness today . Gone now but never to be forgotten !
Travel day , NYC . 3.5 hour delay arriving !
9/13/18
New York Knights !
9/14/18
Travel day , thankfully a smooth trip home !
9/15/18
9/16/18
9/17/18
9/18/19
9/19/18
Netherhampton Salesrooms , Salisbury, U.K. held their fall rug sale today and as usual it was a fairly uneventful affair . The group included 331 total lots of the same type of mediocre merchandise they generally offer , a little bit of any and everything . Nothing at all in the way of a serious collectors item of any type . As is the norm with Ms Barrett and staff auditited sale results will follow down the road a bit . One thing i did notice from the unaudited online results , only approximately 5 lots breached the £ 1,000.00 thresh hold . Certainly a let down for the Netherhampton rug dept. but you have to give them credit they stay in the game and keep swing-in.!
9/20/18
9/21/18
Feel the heat !
9/22/18
9/23/18
9/24/18
Well the Dorotheum , Vienna , Austria held their fall rug extravaganza today and it went far better for them than i expected . Out of the 218 total lots run over the podium apparently 125 found new homes . A sold percentage of a very respectable 57 %. As i stated in the previous post i though this selection was aimed clearly at the European and Middle Eastern retail market and if i am right on this , that part of the rug market is still pretty strong . Something else worth mentioning , many of the items that sold , sold for well over their pre-sale starting points which is nice for the auktionhaus and for the consigner’s too.
This sale result was a bit of a surprise to me because of the rather lackluster sale inventory but i was off the mark on that one !
As for the one item i did feature it also did very well for the consigner .
Lot 23 , The Pope- Bernheimer carpet . Pre-sale starting point € 20,000.00 . Sold for a well deserved but not unexpected € 42,500.00 including comm.
9/25/18
9/26/18
9/27/18
More unfortunate news .
Marty Balin founding member of the legendary 60’s rock band Jefferson Airplane and vocalist for the Jefferson Starship passed away today after a battle with an undisclosed illness . Your in a better place now but your music and memory will live on !
9/28/18
9/29/18
Austria Auction is under way lets just see where this little spectacle ends up .
Here we go , out of the 212 lots up for sale today from Liveauctioneer’s unaudited , posted results it appears Mr Langauer and the Austria Auction Co. sold everything but 2 passed lots which would be remarkable feat in itself . So if those results stand its an outstanding outcome for Udo , and the rug market in general . Granted the majority of the pieces offered sold at or under their pre- sale estimates but in a spotty market sold is still sold .
Perhaps the strategy of low pre-sale starting points paid off , if the other auction houses out there are listening .
That said there were a very few upside pops but nothing in the way of a true blast off to get the “ Rug Mob “ buzzing .
Something worth noting , the 2 Kaitag items offered , lot #’s , 36 and 39 both sold well over their high pre- sale estimates and were 2 of the highlights of the offering and perhaps showed a renewed interest in a somewhat dormant area of the market lately ?
Concerning the 2 lots i featured in the earlier post .
Lot # 11 , Yomut mafrash . Pre- sale starting point € 300.00 . Sold for € 800.00 + comm.
Lot # 79 , Yomut juval . Pre-Sale starting point , € 400.00 . Sold for € 2,000.00 + comm.
So if this sale result stands hats off to Udo and the gang at A.A.C. on a job well done !
9/30/18
When the Wright-ous stand strong they will vanquish the none progressive oppressor’s every time ! , Sheik Frederich , 2018.
Dog o the week .
Shitty movie o the week , The Greatest Showman , the P. T Barnam story . 2017 . 3.5 poopsickles out of 5 . A great story and i tried to like it but the singing and music score was just to much to endure. !
Movie o the week , Captain Fantastic , 2016.
Song o the week , Madball , Freight Train on For the Cause , 2018.
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