Should I keep my box?

I get asked this question over and over again.

“Tammy, I have a huge collection of figurines and the boxes are taking over my house…. Do I REALLY need them?”

The answer is, it depends.

A deal with a lot of Hummel Figurines and I have to be honest, the box matters little. If it adds 5% to the final sale price I think that’s being generous, and often it’s a recipe for disaster as people keep them in their boxes when transporting them, and inevitably they break. Plus, these figurines are meant to be enjoyed!  You don’t want them to be in your curio cabinet, for all to see and admire! More important than the box is proper care. Make sure you don’t store your figurines in direct sunlight, keep them climate controlled, keep them clean and out of reach of small children. This is what really matters to collectors- How the piece looks.  The box is really more of an afterthought and in the secondary market it’s really expected to not have all the original boxes (especially in older pieces). (more…)

Presented by Daniel Cooney Fine Art & iGavel

Includes emerging artists Lyndsy Welgos, Keiko Narahashi, Eric McNatt, Bob O’Conner, Brea Souders, and Michelle Blade

Photography, Painting, and Sculpture

There is a huge vocabulary that goes along with antiques and collecting. Reyne and Jonathan explain a few of these terms while strolling around an antique store. A lesson in cameo, transferware, a little on sculpture, and Japaness.

I visit Vancouver British Columbia a lot these days. It’s a spectacular city of urbanity, snow capped mountains, bays and an incredible sophistication that’s a melting pot of Canada, Asia and the United States. While shopping there, an activity always a part of any trip someplace new, I discovered the jewelry designs of Martha Sturdy. I knew I had discovered something that was exquisite in line and form, projected a distinctly glamorous tone and elicited a zen like response from my left brained persona. Working in a highly sculptural manner, rarely using embellishment, the facility with which this designer worked with geometry, metal and finishes blew me away. (more…)

There is always something new to see at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. It is certainly one of the most recognized museums in this country, offering some of the most important permanent and traveling exhibits for the entire world to see.

For years, the MET has displayed a work of art, thought to be by “The Workshop of Velázquez”.  The painting was donated to the museum in 1949.

The painting was darker than those painted at the hand of Diego Rodriguez de Silva y Velázquez.  Therefore, the lead authority on Velázquez’s work in the 1960s downgraded the painting to be “The Workshop of” instead of by the master himself.  In 1979, the museum downgraded the painting as well. (more…)

So you’ve decided to make the leap and collect art.  You read about Hugh Grant buying an Andy Warhol for $3 million and selling it later for a little less than $25 million and you think…this is for me!

Ok, maybe you aren’t a $3 million dollar buyer, but you have a few nickels to spend.  You head to New York City to visit with some of the top galleries.  As you enter your first shop, you are greeted by the gallery owner. He inquires about what “style” of art you are interested in. (more…)

Boulle cabinetry is the topic today, Reyne will inform Jonathan and the rest of us how to pronounce it! Plus, we get a history of these beautifully ornate pieces of furniture. We also see some examples of accessories in the same tortoise inlay as the bigger pieces.

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