10/24/16
Rain , thunder and lightning in the O.C. today but little else . Back to quiet !
10/25/16
Journey preparation underway !
10/26/16
Travel day .
Smooth and slightly early in and much better traffic circumstances, so far !
Sotheby’s, NYC , held their “Collections” sale today that featured 11 classic tapestries and it did not turnout particularly successful for them. Out of the 11 pieces run across the podium only 4 managed garner any interest. I guess the tapestry market is a little on the soft side !
Oh well , better luck next time .
10/27/16
Day one .
Rain , traffic and over all crappy conditions .
Still even under this dubious start to the hunting trip no unhappy people or frowning faces in the market , up to this point.
Fresh items and a few leads to follow up on so things are starting to happen but let’s just see where this wet and rainy road ends up !
10/28/16
Much better weather which is exposing more purchasing opportunities so this little soujourn to the East Coast is looking like it’s going turn our both successful and profitable.
The day ends on a positive note as far as business is concerned so another prosperous buying trip closes out in the plus column .
10/29/16
Travel day .
Weather wise things look good , for the moment !
Smooth ontime out .
Smooth ontime in.
Alls well that ends well!
10/30/16
Crack in the saddle again !
Multiple out of town visitors and commerce . Why yes , the elusive new client .
10/31/16
Hello-ween ?
11/1/16
All eyes on Sotheby’s, London .
We are off to the races !
Well the battle for London auction house supremacy is over and this time around Sotheby’s is the clear cut winner .Out of the 156 lots run across the podium 94 ended up selling . A sold percentage of right at 63 % beating the sold percentage posted by Christie’s two weeks ago of a meager 50% . There was also a bit of fire works in this sale with a few substantial upside pops too.
Overall it was a decent but unmemorable turn of events for the Sotheby’s Rug Dept. because the sale inventory was not particularly interesting. Things sold but in the end just another slightly above average rug auction in my opinion . Caucasians seemed to be a little on the weak side but I think they have been for awhile now and there were no memorable ones in the sale listing to spark or excite either .
As it’s been lately Chinese items continue to out pace the other areas as far as market strength goes . Lot # 84 Ninghsia Rug pre- sale estimate £ 8-12,000.00 sold for £ 35,000.00 .Certainly a nice upside bounce for the consigner !
There were a few other noteworthy sale surprises besides this one which are included in the sale results posted on the Sotheby’s site.
Concerning the 2 lots I featured in the earlier review one sold one did not .
Lot # 81 Ninghsia mat , pre- sale est. £ 5-7,000.00 . Sold for £ 13,750.00 . Scarce and sought after so no surprise here .
Lot # 103 , Ghiordes prayer rug , per- sale est. £ 8-10,000.00 . I thought this item was at least mildly interest but I guess no one else did . Or maybe it had to aggressive of a reserve ?
So another modest Sotheby’s sale is history now and on to Grogan’s “Rudnick” sale which will certainly by more entertaining.
11/2/16
2 weeks till NYC !
What we have up next is Austria Auction CO’s fall major rug and textile sale.
My first impression is UDO and the boys are swinging for the fence on this one . 390 total lots of just about everything you could come up with . Some good , some not so much as you would expect with a sale inventory of this size.. There are more than a few high end pieces with some bargain basement stuff too , so pretty much something for every taste and budget.
I will say this , on some of the top shelf items they have not been bashful with the pre- sale estimates.
One other thought on this sale . It’s scheduled the day before Grogan’s , “Rudnick” offering so it could make things more competitive in the quest for the high end dollar !
Only one lot really attracted my attention in the group . I hope I am not being jaded but I still think the Rudnick group is more intriguing . Again just my opinion ?
Lot # 208 , Qashgai , gabbeh carpet . Pre-sale est. € 6-8,000.00. Considering the condition not an inexpensive starting point but still a scarce item with great eye appeal .
11/3/16
Return to solitude?
11/4/16
11/5/16
Road trip.
Happy” Guy Fawkes” night !
11/6/16
Visitors at O.C.G. to end the week!
Thoughts of an impending indictment loom on the horizon but we can only hope” , for the time being ! , Sheik Frederich, 2016.
Song o the week , Dark Tranquility, Forward Momentum on Atoma , 2016
