4/2/18 Life in’a Precarious Situation !
4/2/18
It appears there is plenty of rug / carpet action in your immediate future?
4/3/18
4/4/18
Sometimes a picture’s worth a thousand words !
4/5/18
4/6/18
Austria Auction Co. held their “Vienna Symposium” sale / book launch today and it was only modestly successful turn of events for Udo and the gang . As i said in the previous post i did not think there was much included in the sale inventory to get people excited and judging from the “Liveauctioneer’s” posted results i was on target . Out of the 131 total lots offered up for your bidding pleasure only 58 garnered any bidding action . A sold percentage of about 44% , slightly better than their last auction but truely nothing to be proud of .
That said i figure Mr Langauer is working the phones after the sale to possibly pump up the sales totals .
One thing worth noting all 8 of the book lots sold and for the longest time it seemed there not much interest in purchasing old rug publications , however maybe some folks our there still want to “ read “ about rugs and carpets . But i will also add the prices fetched on the book lots were for the most part on the conservative side .
4/7/18
4/8/18
Christie’s , London is on the boards with a sale scheduled on April 26th titled “ Art of the Islamic and Indian Worlds “ that features 11 various textiles , susani’s and 74 rugs and carpets .
After going through the sale mix a few times i would say Ms. Broadhurst and staff have assembled a fairly diverse but not particularly interesting sale this time out .
Not repeat myself but after going back and forth through the sale numerous times i have say there are some pretty good pieces but nothing that really caught my eye . Yes there a few classic items , 3 Lotto’s and a good Ladik but no sumak bags or better Turkmens which are 2 of the hottest areas in rug collecting arena at this moment . Do not get me wrong this is good offering and i feel it should do pretty well just not much of interest for me at this time. Please do take time to check it out as this only my opinion .
4/9/18
4/10/18
Christie’s , N Y C general antique auction titled “ The Collector “ just wrapped up and from a rug and carpet standpoint it was only moderatly successful for them . Out of the limited inventory of just 11 lots only 7 managed to sell . A decent sold percentage ( 64 %) but on a very modest amount of items .Two roomsize French carpets ( lot#’ 349 & 364 ) did bring substancial prices but thats about it as far as fireworks go.
As for the piece i featured in the previous post , lot # 371 Caucasian Silk Embroidery , pre- sale estimate $ 15-20,000.00 it failed to sell .
4/11/18
4/12/18
Christie’s , NYC has a series of “Rockefeller Collection sales from May 5- 10th and the last one titled “Travel and Americana” has an early Chinese carpet that might , just might spark some international interest .
Lot # 992 , The Eyrie-Rockefeller “ Buddhist Lion Carpet” . Pre-sale estimate , $ 12-18,000.00 . May just pop up !
4/13/18
Skinner’s Auction house ,Boston , Ma , Spring rug and carpet production scheduled on April 30th is live “ on the line “ now to hopefully give the east coast rug a boost . This time around Mr Kearny has assembled approx. 355 total lots from most all the usual weaving areas and then some.
So after a few passes through the auction inventory it hits me the same as the past few Skinner’s offerings , still light on the high end. Plenty of mid- range Turkish and Caucasians but nothing as far as a clear cut winner. As with previous Skinner sales a profusion of mediocre Persian city pieces for the dealer crowd to feast on . Also like the past few sales a good selection of shawls and textiles if thats your area of interest . Turkmen’s for the most part are very weak in this group .
That said i did find 2 items i felt were interesting enough to feature .
Lot # 72 , Tekke Embroidered Asmalyk . Pre- sale est. $ 6-8,000.00 . Something good but questionable about this item ? Must be seen in person.
Lot # 89 Ningsha “Altar” rug . Pre-sale est. $3-4,000.00 . My favorite piece in the sale .
4/14/18
4/15/19
4/16/18
4/17/18
The majority of people in the U.S. do not care for this day !
A D N C stooge would sell you out for “Frankie’s” bag o donuts ! , Sheik Frederich , 2018.
Dog o the week !
Movie o the week , Valdez is Coming , 1971.
Shitty movie o the week , Black Panther , 2018 . Don’t like super hero movies in general , but i do not get the concept of this one at all . A big hit world wide but un rate-able in my opinion
Song o the week , Death Koolaid , Kids on Vol. 2 , 2016.
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3/5/18 Keep in mind , your fate hangs in the balance !
3/5/18
It’s still slow and looks to stay that way for the foreseeable future !
3/6/18
3/7/18
3/8/18
3/9/18
3/10/18
Rippon – Boswell , Wiesbaden , Germany held their “Poppmeier Coll.” sale today and initial “Liveauctioneer” posted reports make it look to be another rousing success for Mr Maltzahn and the Rippon rug dept . At this moment out of the 88 total lots offered for sale only 18 are left unsold . A very positive sale out come of right at 80%. As i figured the Moroccan items were weak . However as is the norm i am sure Mr Maltzahn is working the phones to move the unsold items .
As for the 2 lots i featured in the previous post both sold well over their high pre-sale estimates.
Lot # 14 , “Nidge” kilem frag. . Pre- sale est. € 3,5- 4,200.00 sold for a healty pop at € 9,000.00
Lot # 44 , “Yuncu” kelim . Pre- sale est. € 10- 12,000.00 . Sold for € 24,000.00 . A nice upside move but i still think the new owner got a decent deal on a great example , my favorite piece in the whole sale !
After a conversation since the sale concluded with Mr Maltzahn he told me he had a bit of luck with the majority of the unsold lots including the Moroccan items and only 6 lots remain unsold which pops the sold total up to 93% . A nice move to the upside on an already , job well done .
One more thing , if you have not seen the hard cover it’s first class too !
3/11/18
3/12/18
3/13/18
3/14/18
3/15/18
The truth , go Lizzy ?
3/16/18
3/17/18
Christie’s , N Y C has a general antique auction titled “ The Collector” scheduled on April 10th that includes 11 various rugs and carpets . Nothing earthshattering but one lot did attract my attention.
Lot # 371 , Caucasian Silk embroidery , possibly 18th century . Pre- sale estimate $15-20,000.00 . Blury illustration , piece is most likely far better in person !
3/18/18
3/19/18
3/20/18
Go with God , Frank Avruch , AKA the original “Bozo the Clown” , a true American legacy !
3/21/18
3/22/18
3/23/18
Christie’s , NYC held a two day sale titled “Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art” that concluded today which featured 3 pile carpets and 7 various textile lots . From an overall stand point the sale outcome was fairly strong for Christie’s with a sale total of $ 17,427,875.00 showing that even with the political turmoil the Chinese market is still running hot. As for the rugs and textiles in the sale inventory all sold and sold well at well . The one carpet i found most interesting is illustrated below .
Lot # 965 , Ningxia carpet , 2nd half 19th century . Pre- sale estimate , $ 20-30,000.00 . Sold for $ 18,750.00 including comm. Slightly below the low est. perhaps because of restoration . This piece had also been around the block before which could have also affected the price ?
The other 2 pieces were newer but in better condition and brought stronger prices . Condition still matters !
3/24/18
“Cottone Auctions” , Geneseo , N Y held a general antique auction today that included 14 various oriental carpets and rugs . Unfortunatly just one of said pieces warrants a mention .
Lot # 401 Chajli carpet , pre- sale estimate $ 8-1,200.00 . Sold for a very reasonable $2,200.00 plus comm. A very poor quality online illustration could have lead to what seems to be a very good buy for the new owner !
3/25/18
3/26/18
3/27/18
Bonham’s, London has a sale titled “Important Design” on April 25th that includes 1 velvet textile and 3 oriental carpets of which one is worth a line or two.
Lot # 95 , possibly 16th century “Ushak” carpet . Pre- sale estimate £ 150-200,000.00 . These are usually cookie cutter items but this one appears to be a far better example and in their poor quality illustration looks to be in pretty good condition which is a big plus !
3/28/18
Sotheby’s, London is back in the game with their major” spring rug and carpet auction scheduled on April 23rd featuring the 2nd portion of the vaunted “Alexander Collection” . Well for starters the first group of this coll. created quite a commotion last year . Unfortunately i do think this part of the group is quite as strong as the first and may not garner the same outcome . There is however one lot that did catch my eye posted below .The rest of the total 127 lots of rugs and carpets include some very good items but nothing in the way of a clear cut barnburner to get the “Rug Mob” buzzing !
Still a pretty good offering overall.
Lot # 28 Karapinar Rug Frag . Pre- sale estimate £ 50-80,000.00 . My pick o the litter !
3/29/18
3/30/18
Austria Auction Co. is back at it with their “Vienna Symposium Rug Auction” ? scheduled on April 7th at their “Palais Breuner” location. The sale includes 124 lots of rugs , carpets and textiles and 8 lots of rug publications .
So after a few passes through the sale inventory i can’t find even one notable lot to write about . This just looks like a mid to low end house cleaning assortment at best but if you have extra time on your hands check it out you may feel differntly about the selection than i do !
3/31/18
4/1/18
Happy D N C Day , !!!
In the real world today a Racist = anybody who disagree’s with the D N C ! , Sheik Frederich , 2018.
Dog o the week !
Movie o the week , Atomic Blonde , 2017.
Shitty movie o the month , Independence Day , Resurgence , 2016. 4.5 poopsicles out of 5 . Easy to see why Will Smith opted out of this one.
Song o the week , Jizzy Pearl , Your’re Gonna Miss Me When I’m Gone , on All You Need is Soul , 2018.
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