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A Collectible Eagle

5/4/2020

The very first units of a new production are the most beautiful. The intact dies allow a striking of the greatest sharpness. Quite naturally, Mint officials began to keep them aside to offer them to selected friends.

When the production of the gold eagle was restarted in 1838, a distinction was made between these first coins, designated as proof strikes, and circulation strikes. For this designation, all proof strikes were made in Philadelphia while the circulation strike was shared between Philadelphia and New Orleans. Until 1858 inclusive, the number of proof eagles is estimated at less than 5 per year.

The first collectors already preferred the most magnificent specimens, of course. Proof sets are assembled for them with a copy of each denomination of silver and copper coins, from half cent to dollar. A complete 1856 proof set was sold for $ 200K including premium by Heritage in February 2016. In 1858 the Mint director advertised for the first time the sale of such sets to the public.

In 1858 a pioneer collector named George Seavey managed to extend his proof set to include the six denominations of gold coins, from dollar to double eagle. Maintained intact by the next owner, this proof set was dispersed in 1890.

The proof eagle from the Seavey set is in a stunning state of conservation, graded PR64 Ultra Cameo by NGC. It will be sold by Heritage in Dallas on April 23, lot 3823.

This unit is the best among the four proof eagles of 1858 that survived, and it is the only one in private hands. These coins were made to be collected. That figure of 4 may constitute the total quantity of the production.

That year 1858 marked the dawn of the modern collection, with the founding of the Philadelphia Numismatic and Antiquarian Society and of the American Numismatic Society and the establishment of the first American professional business of coin sales by Edward Cogan.

Historic 1858 Proof Liberty Eagle Gold Coin Offered at Heritage Auctionshttps://t.co/Wba703UkqF #HACoins #Coins #Numismatics pic.twitter.com/WES76weG07
— Heritage Auctions - Coins (@heritagecoins) March 26, 2020

Coins 1850-69

Old Copper

2/4/2020

The half cent is the smallest denomination authorized by the Coinage Act of 1792. This coin in pure copper is definitively interrupted by the Coinage Act of 1857. The production, entirely made in Philadelphia, is not regular, with many missing years.

The fourth and penultimate figure, identified as the Classic Head, appeared in 1809 which was also the year of the highest production, 1,154,572 units, which however only correspond to $ 5,770 in face value. The production fell to 215,000 units in 1810 and to 63,140 units in 1811. The latter year was divided into two varieties cataloged as C-1 and C-2. The production is stopped after 1811 and will not be restarted until 1825, without changing the figure.

The Tettenhorst collection, known as the Missouri Cabinet, had gathered 226 half cents. Its sale by Goldberg on January 26, 2014 rekindled the interest of collectors for this small denomination. We will know later that D. Brent Pogue had bought the most important lots.

The very rare coins that have significantly preserved red areas of the original copper have often far exceeded their estimates. They are identified by the suffix RB, for Red and Brown, assigned by the certification companies. The coins identified below have been graded by PCGS.

The best result in the sale of the Missouri Cabinet was recorded on a 1794 half cent graded MS-67 RB, sold for $ 1.15M including premium. This unit was sold for $ 940K including premium by Stack's Bowers in the third Pogue sale on February 9, 2016.

1796 is the year of the lowest production. The coin graded MS-65+ RB from the Missouri Cabinet was sold for $ 720K including premium by Goldberg.

In the auction of the Missouri Cabinet, the 1811 C-1 half cent graded MS-66 RB was sold for $ 1.12M including premium over an estimate of $ 200K. It is one of the most remarkable of its denomination for its color including about 20% of the original red on the obverse and 10% on the reverse. It was sold for $ 1M including premium by Stack's Bowers on March 31, 2017 in the fifth Pogue sale. It will be sold by Heritage in Dallas on April 23, lot 3628.

Coins 1800-49

The Barovier Artists

30/3/2020

The modern period of the Venice glass paradoxically begins with a return to ancient techniques, recommended by Salviati in Murano in 1859. Glassmakers re-use the murrine technique, consisting in creating internal colors by successively melting a glass cane in molds of increasing diameter. The brightly colored slices cut from this rod are all similar and can dot the surface of an object with a nice effect.

In Murano, the Barovier family has produced Venetian glass objects since 1295. Around 1871 the brothers Giuseppe and Benvenuto Barovier managed to create pieces of blown glass including murrine. This technique is called Mosaico. Around 1914 Giuseppe began to produce pieces inspired by the endless textures of Klimt's paintings.

Leaving Salviati in 1896, the Barovier brothers created the company Vetreria Artisti Barovier. The next generation is made up of two brothers, Niccolo and Ercole, nephews of the previous ones.

On April 2 in Chicago, Wright sells a 33 cm high Mosaico vase signed by Niccolo circa 1924-1925. It is estimated $ 300K, lot 160 linked here on the LiveAuctioneers bidding platform.

Here are three results including premium from the same auction house. By Niccolo, $ 317K on January 24, 2019 for a 38 cm high Mosaico vase. By Ercole, $ 257K on May 19, 2016 for a 35 cm high Mosaico vase. For the following period, let us refer to a 24 cm high vase with murrine within a red quartz cloisonné, made by Ercole in 1930, sold for $ 317K on May 20, 2014.

unsold

Glass 2nd page

The Red and Brown Error

24/3/2020

In 1942 the one cent US coin with the effigy of Lincoln is made in a bronze with 95% copper. In 1943 the copper, reserved for the war effort, is no longer available for coins. The Lincoln 1943 cent is made in steel with a galvanized zinc plating. It is 13% lighter than its equivalent in bronze and will remain the only magnetic coin in the history of the US coinage.

The production quality is not satisfactory and the steel cent is too easy to confuse with the 10c dime. Copper is reintroduced in the 1944 cent.

These changes generated a few errors in the three mints, Philadelphia, San Francisco (S) and Denver (D), with two possible causes : tests had been carried out with other compositions, and some planchets from the previous year could remain stuck in the press loading hoppers. The discovery coin was found in 1947 by a schoolboy in the change from a cafeteria machine.

The only known example of 1943-D cent in bronze was sold in private sale for $ 1.7M in September 2010. A 1944-S cent in steel graded MS66 by NGC was sold for $ 374K including premium by Heritage on July 31, 2008.

A 1943 cent without a mint mark, therefore coming from Philadelphia, has an atypical alloy, 91.7% copper, 7.5% zinc and 0.8% silver, of which no use has been identified. Graded MS63 RED by PCGS, it was sold for $ 320K including premium by Stack's Bowers on January 24, 2013. Re-inspected by PCGS and graded AU55, it was sold for $ 330K including premium by Legend-Morphy on May 22, 2014.

On March 26 in webcast, Legend Rare Coin Auctions sells a 1943 cent from Philadelphia with a 1942 alloy, lot 167 estimated $ 375K. Here is the link to the website of the auction house.

This coin graded MS61 RB (Red and Brown) by PCGS is the only one in its class to retain the original orange color of the copper, beside a violet-blue patina on the smooth brown surfaces. The sharpness of the strike attests to the use of new dies in consistency with the hypothesis of the stuck planchet liberated in an early phase of the new production. Please watch the video shared by PCGScoin.

unsold

20th century Coins

Lunar Slices

22/3/2020

The history of the lunar meteorites begins in 1982 in Antarctica when a geologist observes the similarities of a rock with the lunar specimens taken in the Apollo missions. Comparisons include mineralogy, chemical composition and isotopic composition.

Found in 2007 in the desert of southern Morocco, NWA 5000 is one of the largest and of the heaviest lunar meteorites with a mass of 11,528 grams in a single unfragmented block. Its complex structure is the combined result of erosion by the solar wind and of several major mechanical and thermal accidents that span 4.5 billion years. This Lunar Highlands gabbro type rock comes from a lunar region unexplored by Apollo.

NWA 5000 is an exceptional case of a lunar rock with inclusions of a metallic alloy, possibly due to the impact from a meteoroid. It was ejected by an impact with an asteroid, the phenomenon that generates the lunar craters. Captured by the Earth's gravitation, it was stabilized by a very long duration in orbit in the upper atmosphere and withstood the heating of the landing.

NWA 5000 is close to perfection for its aesthetic quality and its scientific interest. It was entrusted to one of the best specialists, the Hupé Collection, who split it into twelve slices in the bulk. Four slices were further divided. Six of the complete pieces were shared in private sales amidst four customers.

The seventh and final complete slice, nicknamed The Perigee, is one of the best. It weighs 702.89 grams and measures 245 x 218 x 8 mm. It retains a crust created when entering the lower atmosphere. Coming directly from Hupé, it is estimated $ 250K in an online sale by RR Auction ending on April 16, lot 8001. Please read the catalog shared on Issuu by the auction house.

Natural History

The Future of Nigeria

18/3/2020

Africa is a kaleidoscope of ethnic groups. After the Second World War, hopes of independence were accompanied by a need for a cultural renaissance. A painter, sculptor, theorist and professor, Ben Enwonwu tirelessly campaigned for this new modernism. His realistic portraits of beautiful young women, painted with Western techniques, symbolize the future of Nigeria. They constitute the culminating points of his figurative work within a large variety of topics and styles.

In 1953 Sefi has all the assets to symbolize the transition between traditions and modernism. She is 20 years old and the daughter of the traditional leader of the Ebira group. Her fiancé, the poet Christopher Okigbo, passionately claims her innocence and purity.

On March 25 in London, Sotheby's sells a portrait painted by Enwonwu in 1953, oil on board 60 x 50 cm, lot 13 estimated £ 200K. Sefi recognized herself. She remembers posing for Enwonwu at that time. Widow of Okigbo killed in action during the Biafra War, she then had a great diplomatic career guided by her passion for post-colonial education.

In this portrait, she is a very young woman with a straight gaze, smiling in confidence. Her blouse decorated in indigo and her multicolored cap remind that her father encouraged the weaving. The artist added on both cheeks the small tribal markings worn by her mother, thus bringing an additional element of nationalist pride.

Here are two results recorded on other portraits painted later by Enwonwu in the same realistic style. Christine, oil on canvas 76 x 61 cm painted in 1971, was sold for £ 1.1M including premium by Sotheby's on October 15, 2019 over a lower estimate of £ 100K. Tutu, oil on canvas 97 x 67 cm painted in 1974, was sold for £ 1.2M including premium by Bonhams on February 28, 2018 over a lower estimate of £ 200K.

SOLD for £ 250K including premium

He was the Nigerian artist who charmed Queen Elizabeth II. If you haven't heard of #BenEnwonwu, it's time to read up... https://t.co/7Lixbp6OP3 #SothebysCTPAfrican pic.twitter.com/QsWOS9oVp7
— Sotheby's (@Sothebys) March 17, 2020

1953

Kirman Fragments

16/3/2020

Persian carpets had their culmination in Kirman during the reign of Shah Abbas 400 years ago, at the time of the Safavids. The most complex technique, woven on three superimposed wefts, seems to be exclusive to that city. It is named Vase in the nomenclature of May Beattie. The external wefts are made of wool. The central weft is in cotton, or in silk for the most prestigious pieces. The weaving threads are made of dyed cotton in a wide variety of bright colors.

In 1999 the specialist Christine Klose established a similarity between various fragments scattered in museums in London, Paris, Berlin, Copenhagen, St Petersburg, Boston and Lyon, plus only one example in private hands at that time. She divides them into two groups according to the orientation of the figures and assumes that they all come from a single pair of carpets with a cumulative length of 16 m.

The stylized floral patterns are enclosed within a wide border in the signature Persian style of the Gardens of Paradise. All these fragments are in Vase weaving with a central cotton weft. 17 colors are counted. The density is 27 to 39 knots per square cm.

Meanwhile three additional elements have been discovered, making it possible to establish the cartography of this carpet. Such a reconstruction is exceptional. Other Safavid rugs probably also had monumental dimensions, but none of them remained complete.

The first of these new fragments is the Colville specimen, 296 x 193 cm, which enabled to compare the weaving technique between the corners and the central areas.

The Rothschild fragment, 205 x 286 cm, was sold for £ 540K including premium by Christie's on April 19, 2016. It includes the central motif of a border and its floral figures are displayed in a perfect symmetry, demonstrating that all these sections do not come from a pair of rugs but from a single masterpiece whose size is now estimated at 1,460 x 585 cm.

A 267 x 168 cm fragment has therefore just surfaced, with a mirror illustration from the Lyon fragment. It is estimated £ 400K for sale by Christie's in London on April 2, lot 192. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.

It is one of the best preserved, comparable to the Rothschild fragment of which it was originally adjacent. The irregular shape of the Berlin specimen suggests that some areas had been badly damaged, which would justify the dislocation, and although the surface is not complete the specialists do not expect any new discovery.

Persia

The Fashion of the Ballets Russes

15/3/2020

In 1909 Diaghilev chooses Paris for the very first season of his Ballets Russes. The choreographies are directed by Fokine, and Bakst designs the sets and costumes. The exotic inspiration mingles Russia, Middle East and antiquity. The unprecedented sensual audacity of Scheherazade, to the music by Rimsky-Korsakov, brings an immense success. The costumes created by Bakst are made with luxurious fabrics. The shapes are ample, with in particular puffy trousers.

At the same time Poiret sought to pull his style away from the Art Nouveau. The dress without corset which he promoted since 1906 went in the same trend as the Bakst costumes : the creation of clothes liberated from the lines of the body. In 1911 he organized in his private mansion a sumptuous feast on the theme of Persia.

The fashion house Margaine-Lacroix follows that trend. It moved circa 1912 to 19 boulevard Haussmann. The exterior and interior architect is Louis Sue, specialist in artist studios, who had already carried out several projects for Poiret.

In 1915 Margaine-Lacroix managed an exhibition and sale of dolls on the theme of costume history. This operation has not been documented but is one of a kind. The dummy is a doll from a unique model, 56 cm high, prepared and signed by Albert Marque, a sculptor specializing in children's heads.

The very rare surviving dolls are the only elements that still provide a memory from this exhibition. It was war and very few were sold. The best guarantee of authenticity for a piece of clothing is the Margaine-Lacroix label. Some dolls bear a title or a first name under the foot.

The costumes of the Ballets Russes were one of the favorite themes of that dressmaker, alongside queens of France and regionalism. The doll # 21, titled Danseur Russe # 2 and dressed in silks and velvet, was sold for $ 263K including premium by Theriault's on July 12, 2009.

The dolls # 7 and # 8, inspired from Bakst's costumes for Scheherazade, are embellished with a gold brocade and with the simulation of pearls and turquoises. With their long hair, they are probably girls. Purchased together at Margaine-Lacroix during the exhibition, they have long resided in a private American museum and are in an almost mint condition including their original clothing.

The brown doll # 7 was sold for $ 240K before fees by Theriault's on January 9, 2016. Its blonde partner # 8 is estimated $ 140K for sale by Theriault's in Annapolis MD on March 21, lot 17. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.

SOLD for $ 120K before fees

Theriault's March 21-22, 2020 Marquis Auctions Are Online Now for Pre-Bidding! The auction weekend will feature dolls from the Lillian Hamm Collection and Evelyn Ackerman Saturday and mid-century dolls from the Vivian Brady-Ashley Collection on Sunday. https://t.co/C4ZbGPBdCc pic.twitter.com/l8zmZudVWA
— Theriault's Auctions (@TheriaultsDolls) March 10, 2020

Doll

A Double Ottoman Portrait

14/3/2020

A double Ottoman portrait was sold for £ 970K including premium by Sotheby's on July 8, 2015 over a lower estimate of £ 300K. This oil on panel 33 x 45 cm is estimated £ 400K for sale by Christie's in London on April 2, lot 118.

I narrated it as follows before it passed at Christie's on July 4, 2019, lot 39.

Mehmed Fatih, named Mehmet II the Conqueror by the Europeans, is one of the most glorious Ottoman Sultans, famous for the capture of Constantinople in 1453. Throughout the rest of his reign he led in parallel military campaigns and diplomacy, constantly threatening the commercial hegemony of Venice.

This Sultan had an atypical personality. He took a close interest to the artistic and scientific progress of the Italian Renaissance, knew several languages and accepted that his effigy is used. A medal showing Mehmed aged about 30 passed at Baldwin's on April 25, 2012.

Peace with Venice is signed in 1479. Mehmed demands that a good artist is sent to him. The Doge entrusts this mission to his official portraitist, Gentile Bellini.

Bellini's stay in Constantinople, which lasts several months, is a great success. The Sultan is delighted with the quality of his portraits on which his eagle nose is perfectly recognizable. Bellini's workshop will later make copies of these images. An oil on panel was sold for £ 470K including premium by Sotheby's on October 24, 2007.

Only one double portrait is known. Sultan Mehmed faces a beardless young man whose identity has not been identified. The similarity of the turbans shows that the two characters are of the same rank. The practice of a double portrait was still very rare at the time of Bellini's visit to Constantinople and this work can only be a studio interpretation. The attention paid to the clothes is Venetian.

Mehmed died in 1481, possibly poisoned. His son Bayazid the Pious who succeeded him was iconophobic in line with the Muslim practice. A possible hypothesis is that the portrait of the young man comes from a sketch made by another artist a few years before Bellini's mission and that the two original images are not contemporary of one another. The young man could thus be Bayazid around the age of 20, put in front of his late father for a Venetian patron who did not have a more recent image to honor the current Sultan.

When he came to the same throne in 1520, Suleyman was an iconophile. His portrait in the taste of Mehmed's portrait by Bellini, 33 x 28 cm oil on panel, was sold for £ 5.3M including premium by Sotheby's on May 1, 2019 over a lower estimate of £ 250K.

Islam

A Real Beard

13/3/2020

A drawing by Hergé was sold for € 380K including premium on June 28, 2015 by Banque Dessinée, lot 484. This auction house is now part of Millon Belgique. It is now estimated € 250K for sale by Artcurial in Paris on March 28, lot 138.

I narrated it as follows before the previous sale.

Le Sceptre d'Ottokar, after L'Oreille Cassée, is the second story in the new graphic style known as Hergé's ligne claire. 30 covers of Le Petit Vingtième were related to Le Sceptre d'Ottokar all along its publication in that weekly magazine. They display recomposed images in a larger format than in the story.

Original drawings for these covers are made by Hergé in black ink with high quality plumes Gillot bought in London. Some areas are filled with a light pattern in blue pencil for instructions to the printer and the image is often improved with white gouache.

The drawing for the cover of July 20, 1939, 22 x 25 cm, was sold for € 540K including premium by Millon on December 14, 2014. The theme is royal and emotional : the devoted Milou (Snowy) brings back to the king the sceptre stolen by the bandits.

The lot coming now for sale is the cover art of December 1, 1938, 22 x 22 cm, titled in pencil Un Faux Pas (a false move).

We are still in the early phase of King Ottokar's Sceptre whose publication had begun on 4 August 1938. Tintin stumbles voluntarily from the removable bridge of an aeroplane in order to grab the beard of his traveling companion. Against his assumption, it is not a fake beard and the old scientist bent under the shock is expressing an intense pain. Within the door of the plane, Milou does not know whether he has to intervene.

Tintin is always right in Hergé's stories. The conclusion of that story indeed confirmed that the old professor is a conspirator, despite his real beard.

Tintin

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