4/24/17 Existence on deaths doorstep !
4/24/17
Not much happening today but plenty of action on the docket for the rest of the week !
4/25/17
“Skinner’s Day” and the sale is underway , up to this point it’s looking pretty good for L.K. and the Skinner’s rug dept. Things are selling and there’s not much in the way of unsold lots at this juncture but we are only about 20% of the way home so let’s just wait and see how it ends up.
Fini , Skinner’s sale is now in the books and for all intents and purposes it was a very successful venture for Mr Kearney and the rug dept. This was certainly one of the better if not best rug sales from a sold standpoint for “them” since L.K. took over the rug dept. Certainly far better than the “online only” debacle last fall !
Out of the 386 total lots run over the podium only 51 failed to garner any attention. A sold percentage of right at 87%. Easily the best return for a general rug and textile sale in this Spring 2017 rug auction season , at least up to this point . Granted this was a mid to low end sale and they kept the pre- sale estimates on the conservative side to attract buyers but the tactic worked so good for them. That said there were however more than a hand full of substantial upside pops to add a little drama to sale and it always adds a little excitement to the event. All in this was a very positive outcome for the Skinner’s rug dept. heading into the summer doldrums so hats off to them !
One more thing , hopefully no more “online only” sales but only time will tell on that one ?
Concerning the 2 lots I featured in the earlier review both sold .
Lot # 22 Two Anatolian yasticks . Pre-sale set. $ 6-800.00 , sold for $554.00 . Just below the low estimate so maybe someone got a pretty good deal, or not ?
Lot # Saryk Juval . pre-sale est. a very conservative $ 2-300.00 . Sold for a not unexpected $ 2,706.00 including comm. As I figured one of the substantial upside pops but still a decent deal for the new owner .
4/26/17
Sotheby’s, Arts of the Islamic World just wrapped up and from a textile point of view it turned out very well for them . 18 of the 20 textile lots sold and the one mediocre susani as well . Many of the textile items were especially good and sold far over their high estimates which good for Sotheby’s , the rug market and of course the consigners too. The rest of the antiquities sale appears to have also gone fairly well for them too , which shows the Islamic Art market is still very strong .
Regarding the item I featured in the earlier post it sold and sold very well at that.
Lot # 139 Ottoman Cintamani velvet panel . Pre- sale set. £ 200-300,000.00 sold for a rightfully deserved £ 1,076,750.00 including comm. To my eye this was a serious museum piece and kudos to the new owner ? who got a truly great piece !
Easily the star lot and for sure the high point of this years “Islamic Week” sales in London. .
Mid-week break !
4/27/17
Next up , today’s results from Christie’s, “Arts of the Islamic and Indian Worlds” . For starters there seems to be some sort of problem with Christie’s websites continuous buffering. So here we go , anyway . Out of the 35 rugs and carpets crossing over the podium 27 possibly ended up selling . This may not be totally accurate as there are 2 separate sales results lists posted and they each point to a somewhat different result . Site buffering aside if the posted results stand this was a fairly successful undertaking for Ms Broadhurst and the Christie’s rug dept. As I said in the previous review although a modest size sale inventory I had a good feeling about how this sale would turnout and hopefully the more positive posted results will be accurate .
Two of the more important textile lots out of the seven offered also found new homes .
As for the two items I featured in the earlier blog post both sold .
Lot # 140 Ottoman Velvet Panel , 17th century . Pre-sale estimate £ 100-150.000.00 , sold for £ 413,000.00 including comm. A substantial outcome for a very good piece . Again great for the consigner’s too. Considering the price fetched by this piece and the even better one at Sotheby’s the day before there is no shortage of funds available for important Ottoman velvet items even in this sporadic rug and textile market !
Lot # 186 ,Lotto carpet , 17th century . Pre-sale estimate £ 15-25,000.00. Sold for £ 43,750.00 including comm. A very reasonable price for cool , small size Lotto carpet supposedly in good fairly good condition.
4/28/17
Last of the auction activity for this week but not to be forgotten Christie’s, South Kensington’s sale titled ” Arts and Textiles to the Islamic and Indian Worlds” . As I mentioned in the earlier review of the inventory no rugs or carpets but it did include 24 textile lots and 9 susani’s .
So out of the 24 textile lots included in the offering it appears only 5 lots found a buyer. They did have much better luck with the susani’s in the group with 6 out of 9 selling. Granted for the most part these pieces were in more of the ordinary variety but it was still a much better outcome than the textile lots in the sale.
Referring back to the Shakhrisabz susani lot # 295 , pre-sale estimate £ 30-50,000.00 that I featured in the previous blog post it failed to attract any attention. Perhaps after the Vok 3 sale at Rippon-Boswell a few weeks ago there was a bit of overload in the high end susani market or possibly the pre- sale estimate / reserve was just a bit to much !
One more thing worth a line . Looks like it might be the end of the road for Christie’s , South Kensington location as Christie’s might be shutting it down in a cost cutting measure !
And with all that 2017 ” Islamic week” in the U.K. comes to a rather lackluster end !
4/29/17
Early morning road trip .
4/30/17
Weekend Margarita !
Quiet Sunday after a hectic rug activity week !
Keep in mind Bit**e’s your either on the inside or not , as always your Choice ! , Sheik Frederich , 2017.
Movie o the week , Pirate Radio , 2009.
Song o the week , Life of Agony , A Place Where There’s No More Pain on A Place Where There’s No More Pain , 2017 .
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4/17/17 Life goes on in’a world gone Wild
4/17/17
Unfortunately the week starts with another guitar master leaving the material world .
Allan Holdsworth , guitar maestro and innovator passed over to the other side on April 16th . Many did not know him but he was well respected by the nation of guitar players of the world and will be missed .
4/18/17
Preparations under way .
4/19/17
Travel day , smooth so far .
Screaming babies!
Early in , nice , then delays at baggage claim, you can’t win for lose-in ?
Traffic in the city is off the chain due to massive construction everywhere .
4/20/17
Day one , on the street , NYC , 2017 !
Rain does not materialize and the weather is actually pretty good. A decent start .
Straight out the gate things are looking promising as far as fresh things turning up . However as usual i am gonna wait till tomorrow to make any final decisions . So far most everyone I come in contact with is also in a good mood , nice !
That said there are a few strange occurrences developing in the rug market . Nothing to do with my business but interesting none the less . Answers should be forthcoming on the morrow ! Perhaps you should pay your property taxes on time ?
4/21/17
Possiblty rain .
As one would hope the threat of rain never materialized so I am clear on that front . Next up , clearing up the loose ends of the outstanding business opportunities and it all panned out positive. So for my first soujourn to the east coast of 2017 a profitable end to a pleasant excursion.
4/22/17
Travel day and auction activity in Vienna , Austria at the A.A.C. sale. So it seems the only thing to do on the docket today is to check how it’s proceding for Udo and the gang and for me to get back to Cali !
The auction is underway and the results are starting to filter in from this mornings production and unfortunately up to this point it does not look to promising for Mr Langauer and his staff . Out of the 330 total lots of rugs ,carpets and assorted textiles only 113 ended up changing hands . A sold percentage of right at 34 %. Not a complete and total melt down but certainly far from a successful venture for them . As usual these are unaudited Liveauctioneer’s numbers so the true total from A.A.C. could be slightly different . Like I stated in the previous review I was not particularly impressed by the sale inventory but thought it might do somewhat better than this . Nothing much in the way of upside surprises either and the majority of items that sold , sold at or within their pre-sale ranges.
One interesting observation of things that did sell in this offering. Baluch flat weave-sumac items sold well , which is a bit of a surprise , in my opinion.
It appears that many of the better pieces with more aggressive pre- sale estimates and most likely higher reserves had a fairly hard time. I would have to figure Udo and the A.A.C. staff are hard at it working the phones trying to move the unsold lots and pump up the sales total . Good Luck with that and better luck next time , if there is one .
As for the item I featured in the earlier post, lot # 227 , Vernah , pre-sale est.€ 7-9,000.00. As you would expect in this more or less weak sale it failed to attract any bidders .
At the airport and it looks good so far .
Smooth ontime out .
Very bumpy ontime arrival !
4/23/17
Back at the controls at O.C.G. after a decent buying excursion . What more can you ask for ?
In this day and age with way things are going if you can’t adapt ,adjust and play the cards your dealt you may just be in for a tough time ! , Sheik Frederich, 2017.
Movie o the week , The Company You Keep , 2012 .
Song o the week , Life of Agony , World Gone Mad on A Place Where There’s No More Pain, 2017 .
Read More4/10/17 Social engineering is the game of the name !
4/10/17
Very quiet holiday week so far .
4/11/17
R.I.P. John Geils , lead guitar and founding member of the seminal blues / rock band ,
“The J.Geils Band” . Gone , but not easily forgotten !
4/12/17
7 days till the road !
4/13/17
Christie’s ,N Y C held their ” Opulence” sale today and the results are live ” on the line” for your holiday week amusement. Out of the 34 total lots run across the podium 17 ended up finding new homes , right at 50 % sold . Unfortunately for Ms Parker and the Christie’s rug dept. the majority of pieces that sold , sold at or near their pre-sale estimates , nothing in the way of upside fireworks at all. An average result on an average sale .
The one piece i featured in an earlier post , lot # 224 , the “Boone” lion-dog carpet , pre -sale estimate , $ 10-15,000.00 sold for $ 20,000.00 including comm. Slightly over the high estimate but not a big deal .
And that is , as they say , that on what is a very quiet holiday week as far as rugdumb news goes.
4/14/17
4/15/17
Morning road trip .
Next up , out of town visitor .
4/16/17
Happy Easter !
We end the week on a weak note and a modest post , but never fear plenty of rug and textile activity in the next 2 weeks !
If you bite the hand that feeds you , you may never get fed again ! , Sheik Frederich, 2017.
Movie o the week , Our Brand Is Crisis , 2015 .
Song o the week , The J. Geils Band , First I Look At the Purse on Full House , Live , 1972.
Read More4/3/17 Dizzizlambmosh. AD ?
Question o your cerebellum !
How was the Lasagna ?
On April 2nd Mossgreen Auctions , Sydney , Australia held a single owner sale of the “Jacques Cadry Coll. “that included 131 various rugs , carpets and textiles. This was an unusual collection in that it included more pictorial rugs than I can remember seeing one place at any given time . Unfortunately for the owners it did not turn out that well for them . Besides the pictorial pieces most of the other items in the sale were fairly late which led to a lot of them not selling . Out of the 131 pieces run across the podium only 62 ended up garnering any attention. Just under 50 % sold. Most at or under their pre-sale estimates. You can see the whole thing at mossgreen.com.au
That said there were a couple of pieces worth a line or two .
Lot # 30 , “Gallipoli” Silk Turkish rug , . Pre-sale est. USD $113-151,000.00 . Sold for USD , $ 131,406 including comm. Historic ? , an oddity and certainly not something you see every day and of course it fetched a handsome sum to boot !
Lot # 118 , “Bokhara” susani . Pre- sale est. USD $ 11,354- 13,625.00 . Sold for USD $ 13,460.00. Not the best but a standout in this rather weak group .
Next up !
The results from today’s rug , carpet and textile auction at the “Dorotheumn” in Vienna , Austria are live ” on the line” now for all who care to peruse them .
So here you go .
Out of the 172 total lots offered up for sale , 96 ended up selling . A sold percentage of right at 56% . Not good , but not bad either , decent at best . Based on the rather uninteresting nature of the sale inventory there was nothing in the way of an upside pop or any other surprises . The pieces that sold , sold at or around their opening bid estimates . Some a little higher , some not so much . An average outcome for a mediocre sale and that as they say , is that !
4/4/17
Christie’s, NYC has an auction titled “Opulence” scheduled on April 13 that includes 34 assorted rugs that for the most part fall into the decorative category. Nothing much really in the way of any collectors items , but one early ? Chinese small carpet did peak my curiosity .
Lot # 224 , The Boone lion-dog carpet . Possibly 18th century . Pre- sale est. $ 10-15,000.00 . If the age is correct and the condition is decent it could do well.
Sotheby’s, London has an Islamic art sale titled ” Arts of the Islamic World ” scheduled on April 26th. This sale does not include any pile rugs or carpets but does feature 20 various textile lots and one low-end susani . Some of the textile items appear to be quite exceptional . What I would consider the best oAvailable Toolsne is posted below but if this is your area of interest you should certainly check out the online illustrations it’s well worth your time.
Lot # 139 , Ottoman Cintamani pattern velvet and metal thread panel . Pre-sale set. £ 200-300,000.00. Striking and definitely not for the beginner.
4/5/17
Not to be out done Ms Broadhurst and the Christie’s, London rug dept. have been on the job too.
They have an Islamic Art sale titled “Arts of the Islamic and Indian Worlds” scheduled on April 27th that includes 6 textile lots and 35 various rugs and carpets some of which look very good in comparison to what’s been offered up this spring auction season . This sale is a little on the modest side but does feature a few top shelf decorative pieces and a hand full of what appear to very good classic examples , two of which I posted below .
Lot # 140 , Ottoman Velvet Panel, 17th century . Per-sale estimate £ 100-150.000.00 . Not inexpensive but it looks pretty enticing!
Lot 186 , Lotto carpet , 17th century . Pre- sale estimate £ 15-25,000.00. Small in size but supposedly in good good condition. If so the pre-sale est. is very realistic.
For my money although limited in size this is the most intriguing rug and textile auction group so far this spring season and well worth your time to check out , so a tip of the hat to Ms Broadhurst and staff ono a job well done in my opinion !
Two weeks till the East Coast !
4/6/17
More Christie’s news .
Christie’s , South Kensington, London also has an auction titled” Arts and Textiles of the Islamic & Indian Worlds” scheduled a day later on April 28th , convenient ?
No rugs and carpets in this offering but it does include 24 textile lots and 9 susani’s , some good some not so much . One very good one is posted below. This sale is not quite on the same level of the previous days sale at Christie’s , London sale but there are still plenty of interesting Islamic items in the sale inventory, if that your thing .
Lot # 295 Shakhrisabz Susani . Pre- sale est.£ 30-50,000.00 . Slightly larger than other examples of this type . Easily the best textile item in this group and one of the best susani’s in this Spring auction season outside the Vok Coll. pieces !
Via Con Dios , Don Rickles , Thanks for a life time of chuckles . You will not soon be forgotten !
4/7/17
Celebrate National Burrito Day !
4/8/17
Quiet !
4/9/17
Morning road trip !
Ladies & gentlemen when your out there “gossipin ” keep in mind it always gets back to the one you don’t want it to ! , Sheik Frederich, 2017 .
Movie o the week , Charlie Wilson’s War , 2007. Relevant right now !
Song o the week , Metal Church , Signal Path on XI , 2016.
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3/27/17 Ignore all activist , dot com !
3/27/17
Good weather but commerce is lacking for the moment !
3/28/17
Hear Ye , Hear Ye !
Hot “on the line” now for your careful consideration Skinner’s major spring rug and textile auction scheduled on April 25th in Boston, Ma. is good to go. What L.K. and the Skinner’s rug dept. have in store for you this time out is approx. 386 lots of for the most part mid to low end rugs , carpets and textiles .
Oh yes , as it’s been since L.K. took over a substantial number of Persian shawls (30) and the like too.
So after a few passes through the sale inventory this my personal opinion.
First impressions are the strength of the sale is in the room size carpets and there are far more entry level Turkmen and Baluch pieces than in the past few Skinner’s sales . There is also nothing in the group that could be considered a serious collectors item from any of the represented weaving areas . That said it doesn’t mean there isn’t a reasonable selection of interesting items in the sale inventory unfortunately just a lack of high end pieces . One thing worth noting Mr Kearney has kept the pre- sale estimates on sale on the conservative side so there just may be deals to be had , if luck is on your side.
In the end my humble opinion is this is not a sale featuring a large number of top shelf items but there is however a good cross section of items that could appeal to the budget minded collector or beginning enthusiasts looking to see a large and varied group of pieces in one location . So on that note and in a difficult rug environment L.K. and the Skinner’s rug dept. have assembled a decent and somewhat interesting auction inventory , now we wait to see how it works out for them.
Two lots that did catch my attention for different reasons are posted below
Lot # 22 , Two Anatolian Yasticks . Pre- sale est. $ 6-800.00 . Rough condition but decent age .
Lot # 90 . Saryk juval . Pre- sale set. $ 2-300.00 . Most likely much better in person than in the illustrations. A sleeper ?
Parting shot .
Because of the varied level of items in this sale if your in the Boston area it my behoove you to view the lots in person because there may certainly be other miscataloged items in this auction !
3/29/17
Bonham’s, London has an ” Islamic and Indian Art ” auction scheduled on April 25th. It does not include and rugs or carpets but it does feature 10 various Islamic textiles and 3 mediocre Susani’s . Not much really but if it’s your area of interest it just may be worth your time to take a quick look.
The results from today’s “Living with Art” sale at Christie’s , NYC are up ” on the line” now and it was a decent turn of events for them from an overall perspective. As far as rugs go it was pretty much a none event , however all 3 rugs included in the sale and the tapestry did sell. As for the one textile lot I featured in a previous post it also managed to find new home .
Lot # 415A , Kaitag embroidery . Pre- sale set. $ 5-8,000.00 , sold for $ 4,000.00 . Well under it’s low estimate . Weak Kaitag market ,condition issues or someone just got a good deal ,who knows ?
3/30/17
So Udo and the gang at Austria Auction Co. finally got their act together and the upcoming sale inventory for the auction scheduled on April 22nd in Vienna , Austria is live now for you viewing pleasure.
Where to begin .
After a few passes through the items in the offering I came away a little underwhelmed. Granted illustrations are what they are and some of these things might be much better inperson but my opinion is my opinion from this vantage point. To start with , the group includes a fair amount of “filler items” , for what ever reason . That’s not to say it’s not an extensive selection with plenty of pretty good pieces for you to consider . I just could not find a single clear cut winner in the whole group , collectible or decorative . I am not trying to be difficult but I did expect or hoped for a real barn burner from any weaving area to create a buzz around what should be one of the high water marks of the 2017 spring auction season . Unfortunately not , but it’s still well worth your time to peruse the 330 total lots in the current sale inventory!
Keep in mind I do respect the amount of time and work it takes Udo and crew to assemble a sale of this size and hope it’s a positive outcome for them !
All that being said I did notice one piece that i thought had very good eye appeal.
Lot # 227 , Vernah . Pre- sale est. € 7- 9,000.00 . Unimportant , but a lotta bang for the buck !
3/31/17
Silent Saturday.
Margarita ?
4/1/17
You know what day this is , Libs !
3/2/17
Out of town visitor & commerce.
Hells bells are ringing and no one is even payin attention, wake up ! , Sheik Frederich, 2017.
Movie o the week , Born to be Blue , 2016 .
Song o the week, Iced Earth , Among the Living Dead on Plagues of Babylon ,2014 .
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