10/19/15 Successfully navigating the vines of life !
10/19/15
Bonham's , L.A.'s next major rug extravaganza scheduled on Nov. 9th is live on the line now for your viewing amusement .
This time around the sale consist of 268 total lots of all manner of rugs , carpets and flat weaves.
Unfortunately nothing in the way of a serious piece of any type , be it collectible or decorative .
Just the “standard” Bonham's array of mediocre items , entry level Tribal and Caucasian pieces and mid range decorator carpets.
Since it takes the same amount of effort to put together a sale of this size with some noteworthy pieces you would think its time for the Bonham's rug dept. to step up their game a bit .
But alas , not this time around .
If your a dealer or beginning rug enthusiast this could be an opportunity for you , but if your a serious rug collector this is “for sure” not an offering you would be interested in.
Maybe next time !
10/20/15
Quiet !
10/21/15
Christie's , NYC's , “Opulent Eye” auction is in the books and for all intensive purposes it ended up in line with most of the earlier sales as far sold percentages go.
Out of the 33 pieces passed across the podium 20 ended up finding new homes which works out to a sold percentage of right at 61%.
Granted this was a much smaller offering than most all the other auction houses efforts but some of these pieces brought pretty good prices .
No drastic upside surprises but one lot did manage to do very well for its consigner.
Lot # 183 , Silk and Metal thread Chinese rug (5x 7) , circa 1900 , pre- sale est. $ 8-12,000.00, sold for $ 43,750.00 including comm.
Another lot # 184 , Silk Chines rug , pre- sale est. $ 3-5,000.00 , sold for $ 27,500.00 including comm.
Not my taste at all but someone out there fancy's them.
Rumor has it that Hong Kong money buys these things ?
10/22/15
10/23/15
10/24/15
Minor road trip .
10/25/15
Another minor road excursion and that ends the slowest week in “rug dumb” in quite awhile !
However , commerce continues in a positive fashion.
Maybe things will pick up next week , or not ?
Don't waste time looking for pennies when you could be making head way ! Sheik Frederich , 2015.
Song o the week , A two fur !
Rolling Stones , Gimme Shelter on Let it Bleed , 1969.
Grand Funk Railroad , Gimme Shelter on Caught in the Act , 1975.
Posted with Blogsy10/12/15 Trapped n the V shaped vortex ?
10/12/15
Quiet , before the oncoming storms !
10/13/15
The “Kerry Taylor ” Vintage Fashion and Textile sale in Bermondsey , London , U.K. just finished up and the ethnic textile and artifact portion of the sale turned out to be fairly successful venture for them with the majority of the items offered finding buyers.
As for the 2 lots I featured in a previous post both sold abet modestly .
Lot # 365 , Susani , pre- sale est. £15-2,000.00 . Sold for £ 2000.00 , not sure if that includes the comm. or not .
Lot # 367 , Susani prayer arch ? Pre – sale est. £ 6-900.00 . Sold for £ 950.00 . Again not sure about the comm. but it seems like a pretty good purchase for someone out there .
This offering was not a big deal as far as textiles go but still a nice out come for their effort .
10/14/15
Travel Day .
Smooth so far !
Easy in , now we start.
10/15/15
Weather's good.
Here we go .
Although most all the collector type dealers are on the West Coast for the opening of ART's things are looking very good here as far as locating better than average “fresh” collectors items.
All the rug wholesale market dealers I came into contact with today were in a good mood and things seem very promising .
The hunt for decorative pieces is also moving forward in a promising fashion.
First day of the ART's fair so we are off to the races .
Good Luck , to all involved !
10/16/15
All the leads that formulated yesterday ended up working out in a positive manner and a few more appeared so this excursion is turning out pretty good .
As for the ART's fair all the feedback I am getting is positive .
Decent items are being presented and commerce is being conducted so I get the feeling everyone's doing a little business and all's well there.
I have not seen the piece but I hear there is one very good but costly Kazak at the fair if your flush and in the market !
10/17/15
Travel day .
Smooth out !
Smooth in !
What more could you ask for ?
10/17/15
Back at O.C.G. on a slow Sunday.
So what we have to end the week is the results of the Sept. 30, “Netherhampton” sale in Salisbury , U.K.
They did in fact take there sweet time posting the outcome this time and my thoughts were , what's the hold up ?
This time around out of the 487 total lots run across the podium 300 ended up attracting activity . A sold percentage of right at 61% .
Right in line with both the recent Sotheby's and Christie's sales.
Nothing to crow about but a decent result none the same.
Granted this inventory is a far cry from the quality of their inventories but Ms Barrett and staff still moved a lot of items .
Less in value but a large amount of merchandise just the same .
Unfortunately for the Netherhampton rug dept. only 7 pieces broke the £ 1,000.00 level .
The tentband consignment I mentioned in an earlier post did not fair well and the single lot I listed # 339 Arabatchi frag. pre- sale est. £ 2-250.00 failed to find a buyer.
As far as I can see only one item , lot # 428 , catalogued as Verneh , Shadda , with a pre- sale est. of £ 5-800.00 , ended up selling for £ 2600.00 , would qualify as anything in the way of an up side surprise .
All said done a similar result to the previous “Netherhampton” sales with their rug dept. liquidating a large number of mediocre pieces which is not an easy thing to do in a some what soft , over saturated auction market.
So “congrats” to the Netherhampton rug dept. on a job well done !
Parting Shot.
Looks like ART's is finishing up on a fairly positive note.
Life goes on , weather your on board or not ! , Sheik Frederich , 2015
Song o the week , Crucified Barbara , Lunatic # 1 on In the Red , 2014.
Read More10/5/15 This is my weapon , this is my gun !
10/5/15
Steve , we remember !
10/6/15
Christie's , London , “Major ' rug production is now one for the record books .
Unfortunately, for Ms Broadhurst and staff it was far from something memorable.
Out of the conservative 123 lots put up for sale only 75 ended up attracting any attention. A sold percentage of right at 61%.
One thing worth a mention , this is right inline with last week's sale at Sotheby's , NYC which logged in at 62% !
As I stated in the earlier review of the sale inventory in my opinion this group was over weighted in fancy Persian city pieces and the more aggressively estimated items , silk or wool pile had a hard time and the majority of them did not garner much in the way of interest.
As for the lot I featured in the previous review it did find a buyer but at a modest figure .
Lot # 101 , Silk Embroidered Caucasian prayer rug , pre- sale est. £ 20-30,000.00.
Sold for £ 27,500.00 including comm. Right in the boundaries of the pre-sale estimate , so no surprises here !
In the end an unremarkable outcome for an unremarkable offering .
Better luck next time to the Christie's rug dept.
Perhaps you might consider digging a little harder and finding a few stellar lots , collector or decorative to get the auction crowd buzzing it could certainly drag the other pieces prices up with them.
One other insignificant snippet of rug history today.
Bonham's , London , held their “Islamic Art” auction today.
Like I said previously this was for the most part an artifact auction with just a hand full of textile items and one Susani which did find a buyer , as did the majority of the textile lots offered .
Concerning the lot I featured in an earlier post , it did find a new home .
Lot # 49 , Ottoman Cintamani frag. (16th century ). Pre – sale est. £ 4-6,000.00 .
Sold for £ 4,750.00 including comm. Right in the zone .
10/7/15
7 days till NYC !
10/8/15
Quiet !
7 days till ART 's , reckless anticipation !
10/9/15
Christie's, South Kensington's “Arts & Textiles of the Islamic World” sale just called it a day and from a textile stand point it was a decent turn of events for them .
Most all the ethnic textile lots sold and as it's been lately the shawl market is still running strong .
The one weak part of the textile section of the group was Susani's .
Out of the 5 pieces put up for sale only 2 garnered any attention .
That said the ones that didn't sell weren't top shelf examples and the 2 that sold were good but not great so the result was to be expected .
10/10/15
Still more !
The Christie's , NYC , “Opulent Eye” sale scheduled on Oct. 21 is available for you viewing enjoyment now , but unfortunately this sale only features decorative items ( 33 total lots ) , so you collectors out there are just out of luck on this one.
Guess the Christie's , NYC rug dept. has no faith in the health of the rug collectors market in the U.S. ?
Out of town visitors !
100 degrees and humid in the O.C. today !
10/11/15
Morning road trip !
Sunday morning intrigue !
Jenack Auctions , Chester , N.Y. held a general antique sale today that featured a number of oriental rugs and carpets one of which was possibly interesting to collectors .
Lot # 352 , Caucasian prayer rug , mostly likely late 19th century Kuba , pre- sale est. $16-2,000.00 . To my eye a very interesting piece with a highly unusual and striking design.
There is however one caveat that should be kept in mind on this piece.
The detail photo I included in this post shows a close up of a shade of red that could be synthetic .
So here we go , lets just see where this thing lands !
Well the possibility of hot red didn't in any way hold this piece back .
Lot # 352 ended up selling for a very healthy $ 20,000.00 + comm.
Some one out there musta really liked it !
Very nice for the consigner that's for sure.
What a way to end the week.
Only 90 degrees today !
Mental health doesn't rule the day in the world of Oriental Rugs , Sheik Frederich , 2015.
Song o the week , Bobby Fuller Four , I Fought the Law on I Fought the Law , 1966 .
Read More9/28/15 Plenty of action , but skids not traction !
9/28/15
After all the action last week there's gonna be a bit of a lull in activity for the first few days of this new week .
9/29/15
Quiet !
Modest commerce at O.C.G. today , better than nothing.
9/30/15
Today's Netherhampton sale is in the books but as is their M.O., it will be a couple of days before they post the results .
Holy , guacamole!
2 weeks till next , NYC , venture !
10/1/15
Another one is now history for Sotheby's , NYC's rug dept.
Unfortunately it did not quite live up to the stellar performance of their previous “Distinguished Colls.” effort.
Out of the 194 items run across the podium only 121 managed to conjure up any interest .
A sold percentage of right at 62%.
Not bad but nothing like the last sale that booked results above 80% !
Going over the tally I noticed Chinese pieces were particularly strong , not necessarily from the point of big prices fetched but most everything offered , sold.
On the flip side most of the ” late ” Turkmen's in the group unfortunately had a very hard time .
One other thing worth a line.
Items from “noted collectors” also seemed to have a difficult up hill climb ! Concerning the ever sought after “upside surprise” there were a few , 2 of which I felt were worth mentioning.
Lot. # 101, “Ninghsia” runner , pre- sale est. $ 6-8,000.00 . Sold for $ 32,500.00. including comm. Exceptionally long ( 31'5″ ) , fairly scarce !
A nice bump for the consigner .
Lot # 132 , Karadja cpt. , pre- sale est. $ 5-7,000.00 . Sold for $ $21,250.00 including comm. . Vastly under estimated so this was to be expected .
As for the 4 pieces I featured in an earlier post , 3 sold ,1 did not.
Lot # 23 , Chi Chi prayer rug pre- sale est. $ 15-20,000 . Sold for $ 15,000.00 including comm. A decent purchase for the new owner .
Lot # 55 , Senna prayer kelim , pre- sale est. $10-15,000.00 . Sold for $ 21,250.00 including comm. Not bad for the buyer , a little weak for the seller , in my humble opinion.
Lot # 62 , Kashan prayer rug , pre- sale est. $1-2,000.00 . Sold for $ 3,250.00 including comm. I really thought this piece would do better . If it's free of hidden surprises could be a very good deal for the new owner !
Lot # 79 , Bakshaish prayer rug , pre- sale est. $ 6-8,000.00 . Unsold .
Like I said earlier some of the famous Coll. items that have been around the track before hit the wall !
Parting thoughts on this offering are this .
I am sure this is not quite the outcome M.J. and the NYC rug dept. had hoped for but not a disaster either .
That they held the sale at all is a boost for the NYC rug market in particular and the world market in general .
Let's just hope the modest result of this venture doesn't keep the Sotheby's rug dept. from holding another sale in the future.
The U.S. and the global rug community need them to stay in the game .
Next up for Sotheby's , the London sale on November. 3 .
Good Luck to them on that one too !
Clocks tickin , 2 weeks till ART's !
10/2/15
Minor fresh news .
Kerry Taylor Auctions Ltd. , Bermondsey , London , U.K. has a Vintage Fashion & Textile auction scheduled on Oct. 13.
This not a rug sale by any stretch of the imagination just for the most part a large group of fashion items .
It does however feature a modest assortment of ethnic textile pieces and a small selection of Susani's of which a couple of are at least worth a look if that's your area of interest . Lot # 365 Susani , pre- sale est. £ 15-2,500.00 . Could be better than the illustration and caption indicate !
Lot # 367 Susani prayer arch , pre- sale est. £ 6-900.00 . Under estimated ?
10/3/15
Quite !
The Sotheby's , “Distinguished Coll”. , London edition sale , scheduled on Nov. 3 is now “live on the line” for all interested parties to view.
For starters this is a much smaller selection than this week's NYC offering , clocking in at just 124 items.
A sign of a “weak ” European market , slim pickin's or just a coincidence !
Next up .
After going through this catalogue a few times my humble impression is this group is also not as quite as interesting as the NYC sale , to my eye !
That's not to say there aren't some good pieces in the inventory , there are but maybe just not quite as varied as the one at Sotheby's , NYC .
The more important pieces in the group from a collectors standpoint are certainly from the Caucasian and Turkmen weaving areas.
Now , before you draw any negative conclusions keep this in mind .
I am not knocking the sale but there is still no “standout” piece in the offering to get the rug world buzzing! Once again this is just my opinion,nothing more nothing less!
That said i listed a couple of lots i felt were somewhat memorable .
Lot # 49 , Borchalu Kazak , pre- sale est. £ 20- 30,000.00, Very snappy in the illustration , if it's not hammered ?
56,Tekke cpt.frag. , pre-sale est.£2-400.00. Nice for those on a budget !
Lot # 63 Nurata Susani , pre -sale est. £ 7-10,000.00 . My pick of the litter !
All in all a decent effort by M.J. , Jackie and the Sotheby's rug dept.
Now let's see where they end up !
10/4/15
Morning road trip .
Mid day out of town visitors .
Any one who ever played the game nose there are no rules ! , Sheik Frederich , 2015.
Song o the week , Manitoba's Wild Kingdom , The Party Starts Now on and You ? , 1990.
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