5/25/15 Defeat the war on words !
5/25/15
Memorial Day Holiday !
5/26/15
More auction activity to constipate an already very over loaded auction arena !
Christie's , NYC has another of their “Connoisseur' s Eye” sales scheduled on June 2 .
On this occasion the offering features 76 lots of rugs and carpets and 16 lots of classic tapestries .
Nothing in the way of serious collectors items in the the group but a few earlier carpets .
The majority of the pieces in the sale are room size decorative pieces so if that's your area of interest take a quick look there could certainly be something up your alley.
5/27/15
Sotheby's , London's , “The Duchess” sale just wrapped up and from a rug and textile stand point it worked out very well for them .
As usual with these one owner estate offerings all the pieces put up for sale sold and most sold over their pre- sale estimates .
There was one lot that was something of an upside surprise.
Lot # 206 , Room size 19th century Agra carpet . Pre- sale est. £15-25,000 00 . Sold for £ 75,000.00 including the comm . A very modest starting point for a very sought after decorative carpet so the end result was to be expected .
As for the items I featured in an earlier post all 3 sold very well.
Lot # 274 , Salor main carpet. Pre- sale est. £ 8-14,000.00 . Sold for £ 27,500.00 including the comm. As expected .
Lot # 400 , Tashkent Susan group . Pre- sale est. £ 1,2- 1,800.00 . Sold for £ 15,000.00 including comm. Again no surprise on the outcome.
Lot # 401,Textile group . Pre- sale est. £ 3-500.00 . Sold for £ 2,750.00 including comm. Like I stated in the earlier post this lot looked like it could be a bit of a sleeper .
I guess the online illustration did not quite tell the whole story !
In the end a minor but very positive outcome for the Sotheby's rug dept.
5/28/15
Took awhile but “Netherhampton Salesrooms” finally posted the results of their May 20 carpet auction .
So here we go , from a sold percentage standpoint the sale went somewhat better for them than there last few offerings .
Out of the 433 items run under the hammer 290 found new homes . This works out to a sold percentage of about 67%.
That's the positive part.
Unfortunately only 12 lots breached the £ 1,000 barrier.
There was however one piece that was the high point of the sale.
Lot # 16 Agra carpet , pre- sale est. £ 10-15,000.00 ended up selling for £ 19,000.00. I can't recall a piece selling at Netherhampton at this level in recent history .
The group also included a couple of noteworthy upside surprises .
Lot # 280 , East Turkestan rug , pre- sale est. £ 3-500.00. Sold for £ 3,000.00.
Lot # 374 , Tekke carpet , pre-sale est. £ 450-650.00. Sold for £ 2420.00.
Rare occurrences at this auction house for sure but a nice turn of events for Ms Barrett and staff.
In the end most of this stuff sold on the inexpensive side but still a lot of merchandise was relocated so “congrats” to the Netherhampton rug dept. !
5/29/15
ART'S Boston opening day.
Good Luck to all involved !
For a change fresh rug collectors news !
John Taylor at “Rugtracker” has been under the radar for pushing 6 months or so but has now resurfaced with a “great” new post titled ” Lineage VI ” Afshan .
This is an extensive body of work on this design and well worth your time to check out !
5/3015
First feed back from the ART'S fair in Boston are that its a little on the slow side .
Hopefully for all involved it picks up !
5/31/15
Alls quiet on the western O.C.G. front on this last day of the month .
Unfortunately guess it turning out the same at ART's , Boston too.
Apparently there was only modest opening crowd and actual business was on the scarce side but still a good effort on the part of Wayne and B.B.
Better luck next time if there is in fact one .
You begin your life in a race to the finish line , take your time and make the most of it ! , Sheik Frederich , 2015 .
Song o the week , Crucified Barbara , Lunatic # 1 on In the Red , 2014.
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Posted with Blogsy5/18/15 “Monkies” is in “da” wrench !
5/18/15
We start the new week with additional auction activity.
Rippon- Boswell's ” Major Spring” sale scheduled on June 13 is live “on the line” now.
This time out Mr Maltzahn has put together a group of 235 lots from most all most all the weaving areas that includes rugs , carpets , flat weaves and a hand full of textiles .
Unfortunately for the “Rippon” rug dept. there is nothing “major “about this particular offering.
Don't get me wrong there are plenty of better items for you to consider but nothing in the way of a real star piece in the whole sale.
That said in the spirit of fair play I did notice two entries that are at least somewhat interesting.
Transylvanian prayer rug .Lot # 125 .Pre-sale est. € 10,000.00 . Outside vertical borders rewoven which is why it carries a modest pre- sale estimate but it still has a nice face and good age.
Lot # 160 , Shahsevan mat . Pre- sale est. € 4,700.00 . Easily the most interesting collectors item in the group .
However , with the obvious damage it does possibly have an aggressive pre- sale estimate and may be burdened with a high reserve ?
In the end a nice selection of obtainable pieces but nothing out of the ordinary !
Fortunately or Unfortunately this is the last ” MAJOR” rug auction till the Fall so smoke”m if you got “em” .
If you drop the ball , tough luck !
5/19/15
Multiple visitors at O.C.G.
Sadly nothing in the way of commerce , but interesting rug world B.S.and possibilities !
Onward and of course upward !
5/20/15
Netherhampton Day , nothing in the way of results yet!
5/21/15
Quiet !
5/22/15
Here we go with the extended “Memorial Day”, holiday weekend . 4 days of raucous partying !
7 days till Art's , Boston , anticipation builds !
Good Luck , Wayne and B.B.!
5/23/15
Out of town visitors but no action .
5/24/15
Sunday silent , holiday Sunday !
Never fear though ,the Indianapolis 500 “comin” at you live !
Summers comin , gettin slow !
Time will tell , until then be patient ! , Sheik Frederich , 2015.
Song o the week , The Rods , Smoke On the Horizon ,( featuring Veronica Freeman ) single , 2015 .
Read More5/11/15 , Road Rage in motion !
5/11/15
Travel Day .
After a smooth flight in nothing but delays getting off the plane.
Apparently there was lightning strikes “5 miles” from the airport so all ground crew workers were told to seek shelter inside , consequently it took an extra 45 minutes before we could de-plane.
This is not something I have encountered in the past .
Next up plenty of highway drama but in the end , alls well that ends well !
5/12/15
Day one .
Weathers holding for the moment.
It's pretty much a packed house .
Everybody you would expect to be here is here.
First major field opens at 11 am.
Fairly calm till then.
11 am.
Dealers Choice field .
Warm and breezy .
Large opening crowd but there are a few empty exhibitor spaces .
As for any available possibilities you say ?
Well there's plenty of commercial grade , mediocre rugs and carpets scattered around the field. .
Unfortunately nothing in the way of a real collectors piece at this juncture .
Next up Brimfield Acres North .
1 pm.
Another large opening crowd but again a number of vacant exhibitor spaces.
As in the previous field there is a very large group of mostly commercial grade rugs and carpets interspersed throughout the field .
More than a few fairly nice pieces but so far nothing in the way of a serious collectors item or a high grade decorator carpet.
The week is just getting started , maybe something of note tomorrow !
Not even a rumor of anyone getting an item of any importance yet!
5/13/15
5:30 am.
Substantially cooler and very windy this morning !
First up , New England Motel .
This field has never been a good source of oriental rugs and textiles and today is no different.
9 am, next in line.
Heart of the Mart .
An uneventful opening , the only thing noteworthy to turn up in this field this morning was a good but distressed Sultanabad room size carpet.
12 noon
Hertan's field
As it's been so far today nothing of note surfaced .
Back at it tomorrow .
One small piece of fresh rug news.
The June 3 special rug sale at “Grogan's “in Boston , Ma. is live ” on the line” now for your viewing pleasure.
This time around the sale includes 96 lots of all manner of rugs, textiles and carpets.
Unfortunately after going through the selection a few times I can't say there is anything in the way of “barn burner” collectors item , however there are a number of fairly interesting pieces .
As usual with a Grogan offering all the pre- sale estimates are on the conservative side to keep the auction interesting and give everybody an equal opportunity no matter the final outcome .
This is not a major rug event by any stretch of the imagination but certainly worth your time to take a quick look .
With all the anticipation building for the upcoming Boston , ARTS fair I am sure there will be plenty of follow up interest at this auction.
After all my rhetoric , listed below are a couple of lots I felt were worth a line or two.
Lot # 40 Chinese “Peking” carpet . Pre- sale est. $5-7,000.00 . If the condition is as good as listed this carpet could be very nice.
As everyone in the rug trade knows it's not easy to find Chinese carpets of this age in really clean nic !
Lot # 72 Caucasian prayer rug . Pre- sale est. $ 2-3,000.00. Great yellow ground , scarce design and very realistic starting point !
Again not an earth shaking assortment , but it is another good effort on the part of Mr Grogan and staff.
5/14/15
9 am
May's field and the end of the Brimfield highway for this East Coast excursion .
Mammoth opening crowd !
Most all the exhibitor spaces are full, but once again nothing much in the way of a real collectors item or even a good decorator piece turns up.
Nowhere near the amount of mid – range rugs in this field as in the fields in the previous 2 days.
Fortunately the second bounce “paid off” after a couple of better items surfaced Wens. afternoon.
This little adventure ends up being modestly successful with a couple more leads to follow up on.
So here's to a positive ending to the May , 2015 Brimfield trip !
5/15/15
Travel Day .
Looks like big rain back in the O.C.
Smooth flight back , which is always welcome !
5/16/15
Long Beach antique market Sunday .
Just when you thought you could not handle “another” rug auction , Netherhampton Salesrooms of Salisbury , U.K. comes up with their next rug , carpet and textile extravaganza scheduled on May 20 .
The current sale consist of approximately 433 total lots of all manner of oriental weavings .
Unfortunately , as is their M.O. lately nothing in the way of an outstanding collectors item or top shelf decorator carpet .
That said after going through the group a few times it strikes me that the over quality is just slightly better than their last few selections .
Maybe it's just me but that's how it feels so with that I say “Good Luck ” to Ms Barrett and staff in this saturated rug auction market !
Certainly worth your effort to take a quick look see ?
One last thing .
Sotheby's , London has an auction titled “The Duchess ” scheduled on May 27-28 .
This is a one owner estate sale that includes 9 earlier carpets and one lot of 3 susani's.
A couple of possibilities are listed below .
Lot # 274 , Salor main carpet . Pre-sale est., £ 8-14,000.00. It has created a bit of noise in the Turkmen collectors world . A decent example with a realistic starting point.
The most interesting listing in my opinion is lot # 400 , 3 Tashkent susani's . Pre- sale est. £ 12-1,800.00 . A very reasonable starting point , it is however not where you start , it's where you end up. One of the three is illustrated .
Lot. # 401 , Textile group Pre- sale est. £ 3-500.00 . This lot has the look of a sleeper at least in the group photo online !
Out of town visitors .
“That's all folks” , till next week !
Insane behavior can breed brilliant outcomes , so play to win ! , Sheik Frederich , 2015.
Song o the week, Sam and Dave , Hold On ! , I'm Comin , on The Essentials , 2002.
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5/4/15 Petrol , Mota or $ , nobody rides for Free !
5/4/15
Via Con Dios , Dave Goldberg , Your inspiration will certainly be Remembered !
5/5/15
Cinco De Mayo !
“O” Goody … “Rugrabbit” is back from the dead ?
5/6/15
Other than distressing news from “Germany” a very quiet week as far as rug business news goes !
5/7/15
Can you believe it !
Rain in the O.C.
5/8/15
24 hours till Munkasci / Austria Auction Co.sale.
How can you stand the wait ?
*********************************************************************
Since this is a slow week I decided to post another “hater” comment for your amusement !
Same font I have been using for years so I don't understand the comment but cute anyway.
This “jokers” still hiding behind lame as*ed fake e-mail addresses , ball-less
I guess .
Grow a pair.
What ever !
*********************************************************************
5/9/15
So here we go with the unedited results from today's Austria Auction Co. / “Munkasci” sale .
The first portion of the auction consisted of a decent selection of items from all the various rug weaving areas .
87 total lots of which only 40 found buyers .
This worked out to a sold percentage in the neighborhood of 46% .
A difficult outcome to say the least .
Next up the highly anticipated “Munkasci” collection .
Unfortunately for Mr Munkasci it did not fair so well.
Out of the 137 pieces run under the hammer only 61 ended up selling.
A sold percentage right at 45%.
Hardly the result they were looking for.
In the end this appears to be a somewhat costly and work intensive project for the Austria Auction co. with a very mediocre return on their effort.
Hopefully for Mr Munkasci's sake , Udo and staff can work a little after sale magic on the unsold lots and improve the sold percentage !
As for the items I featured in a previous post 2 sold , one did not.
Lot # 30 , Caucasian rug frag , pre- sale est. € 12-15,000.00 , failed to attract any interest. My favorite piece in the sale but that and a nickel still won't get you an exotic happy hour beverage !
Lot # 64 , Caucasian embroidery , pre- sale est. € 20-25,000.00.
Sold for € 20,000.00. Right at the low estimate . Unsure if that includes the comm.
I really felt this piece would do better .
Was it already flogged around the market ?
As for the piece I featured from the “Munkasci” collection , lot # 217 , Saryk ensi , it also found a new home . The pre- sale est. was € 18-24,000.00 and it sold for € 20,000.00 , within in the pre-sale zone.
I have to say that when I first got a look at this collection I didn't have a good feeling about how it would turn out for Mr Munkasci.
I did “Not” mention my thoughts before the sale as to not jinx the outcome !
Some of the better items had fairly aggressive pre- sale estimates and there was plenty of “run of the mill” merchandise in the selection too.
Perhaps more items than the Turkmen collectors market can absorb at one time !
Spreading it out over a few sales could have certainly made a difference in my humble opinion.
I also get the feeling that Mr Munkasci did not curate the collection.
Possibly never selling off the less important pieces and adding to the high end (upgrading ) , maybe , maybe not ?
Instead keeping everything he bought even if it had little or no importance in an advanced collection.
O K , so don't go crazy after you read this , it's just an observation and opinion not a critique !
5/10/15
Rosebowl Sunday !
Happy Mothers Day , to all you mothers out there.
Bad news from Germany .
My brother in the rug world , Michael Craycraft has passed over to the other side .
Rest in Peace we will not forget you !
Next up , Brimfield .
Must be difficult being jealous when “no-one” knows who you are ? , Sheik Frederich , 2015.
Song o the week , Ratt , Nobody Rides for Free on Very Best of , 2007.
Read More4/27/15 Welcome to the Dog Patch !
4/27/15
Slow start to the new week , however only 14 days till the May “Brimfield” shows !
4/28/15
Minor Rippon update.
Looks like Mr Maltzahn could not quite get to 100% on the “Vok” collection sale but he did manage to push it to 86 out of 88 total lots . Not a complete game but almost , again hats off to the Rippon staff.
Now let's just see how well they do with their scheduled June 13 “major” sale !
4/29/15
News flash .
Apparently Sotheby's , London is gonna get back into the major rug auction arena in November of this year . Jackie Coulter is said to be curating the sale.
Interesting timing but let's wait and give it a chance could be good for the overall rug market and London in particular.
4/30/15
Dorotheum Day.
The Dorotheum sale in Vienna , Austria went off this morning and in a timely fashion the results are live ” on the line” now for your viewing pleasure .
Interesting how this auction house posts their results right away and other European auction houses take their sweet time.
Unfortunately for the Dorotheum rug dept. the end result was mediocre at best.
Out of the 207 total lots offered up only 105 ended up finding takers. A sold percentage of just under 51%.
Certainly a mixed result for sure , not a disaster but nothing close to great either .
As is their M. O. lately many of the better pieces included in the sale also carried an aggressive pre- sale estimate which may been because of a high reserve .
A few sold most did not .
If they keep up with this practice in a spotty rug market in the future the result will most likely stay the same !
Nothing in the way of an upside surprise in the whole sale.
Concerning the lot I featured in an earlier post it failed garner any interest.
Lot # 48 , Ningshia mat , pre- sale est. € 18-20,000.00 , unsold . I liked the look of this piece but it's no surprise it did not sell at that level.
In the end an unremarkable sale and an unremarkable outcome.
5/1/15
Quiet !
5/2/15
Still silent !
7 Days till the highly anticipated “MunKacsi” , Austria Auction Co. sale .
5/3/15
10:10 am
Not much to report this Sunday except that the mighty “Rugrabbit” site has been off line for 36 plus hours now.
I sent an e-mail to B.B. but got no answer back yet !
Scruples , Morals and basic good behavior , is that what's been missing in the rug business lately ? Sheik Frederich , 2015.
Song o the week , Armored Saint , Win Hands Down on Win Hands Down , 2015 .
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