Join the Jewelry Department in New York City to preview the May 21 Important Jewelry Auction. Private preview times are available by appointment only. Request an appointment for: TUESDAY, APRIL 30 WEDNESDAY, MAY 1 THURSDAY, MAY 2 REQUEST APPOINTMENT Questions? Contact us: jewelry@skinnerinc.com 617.874.4313
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10 | 11AM-3PM | PORTLAND, ME Skinner is inviting consignments for the spring 2019 auctions. Meet with Skinner experts for a complimentary auction evaluation and consignment of your Jewelry, Fine Art, American Antiques, Asian Art, Coins & Currency and Musical Instruments. Appointments required. Please register and a member of our team will contact you directly for an appointment time. High-quality photos are recommended for large or particularly fragile items. To make an appointment, please email info@skinnerinc.com, or phone 508-970-3000. REQUEST APPOINTMENT
BOSTON, MA – March 27, 2019 – Skinner will hold an auction on April 12, 2019, in Marlborough of Clocks, Watches & Scientific Instruments. With over 450 lots on offer, the sale features a fine array of scientific instruments, timepieces, American and European wristwatches, pocket watches and mechanical music boxes. Horology Offering 70 lots of classics and curiosities related to mechanics and the history of watches acquired throughout Bernhard Stoeber’s long career perfecting the creation, service, and quality control surrounding watches and their technicians. Stoeber worked for notable firms such as NAWC (today the Movado Group), Omega, Tissot, and Rolex. Examples include an Omega Speedmaster Reference 2998-3, c. 1962 (Lot 103, Estimate $8,000-12,000), and a Rare and Unusual Pocket Chronograph (Lot 104, Estimate $2,000-2,500). Also on offer is the remaining portion of the John F. Gelson Hamilton Watch Co. collection, which includes some tooling and miscellany from the Hamilton factory, as […]
BOSTON, MA – March 25, 2019. The Skinner March 22nd Asian Works of Arts auction presented the arts of China, Japan, Korea and Southeast Asia dating from Neolithic times through the 20th century. Featured were examples of Chinese monochrome ceramics, Gandharan and Sino-Tibetan Buddhist sculpture, Japanese Satsuma ware, and Chinese textiles. Property from estates and collections long off the market showed their strength with many examples selling above estimate pushed by competitive bidding from international and domestic bidders in the room, on the telephones, and via live internet bidding resulting in a sale 90% sold by value. An email inquiry from private owners in New England led to the consignment of a Chinese cloisonne charger brought back by a family member from China in the early 20th century. With decorative devices including dragons, ruyi clouds, and the Eight Buddhist Treasures, it bore a six-character Ming Wanli mark. Multiple online bidders […]
Join us for First Tuesday in Marlborough Tuesday, April 2 | 1:30PM – 4PM Specialists Michael Evans, Kaitlin Shinnick, Robin S.R. Starr, & Chris Barber will be on hand to evaluate items and accept consignments for upcoming auctions. Experts Available in April: Michael Evans – From the American Indian & Ethnographic Art Department, Michael is interested in appraising a variety of art, artifacts, and decorative objects from American Indian, African, Inuit, Oceanic and Asian tribal cultures. Skinner holds two live American Indian & Ethnographic Art auctions each year as well as Tribal Art online auctions and is seeking consignments for future auctions. Kaitlin Shinnick – Senior Specialist of the Fine Jewelry department will be appraising Fine Jewelry, Antique Jewelry, Gemstones and watches. The Jewelry Department regularly holds four auctions yearly and are actively seeking consignments of Fine Jewelry. Whether antique or contemporary, Kaitlin is excited to have the opportunity to evaluate and possibly consign your […]
European Furniture & Decorative Arts in Boston on April 13 [BOSTON], MA – March 21, 2019 – Skinner will hold an auction on April 13, 2019, of European Furniture & Decorative Arts. With over 600 lots on offer, the auction features fine ceramics, silver as well as furniture & decorative arts from the 18th through 20th centuries. Wedgwood & British Ceramics Skinner is pleased to offer Milikins Collection of Wedgwood. Jeffrey Milikins began collecting while a graduate student in New York City. His collecting tastes span 250 years of Wedgwood production with a particular interest for encaustic decorated pieces of which a Pair of Wedgwood Encaustic Decorated Krater Vases and Covers (Lot 68, Estimate: $5,000-7,000) are a fine example. Also from the collection are a Pair of Wedgwood Black Basalt Faun and Bacchante Figures (Lot 49, Estimate: $4,000-6,000). Jeff was active in the Wedgwood International Seminar and the Wedgwood Society and […]
After a childhood in Denver, Colorado, Don Cadle went to Yale University in 1946, and after graduation, on to Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar, earning a doctorate in History in 1953. Then followed three years in the Army in West Germany, where he worked in Military Intelligence, and where he met and married Ingebord, his life partner and co-collector of rugs. Following his Army service, Don and Inge moved back to the U.S., where Don worked in a number of Federal Agencies, including the Bureau of the Budget, the Department of Commerce, ending up as the CFO for NASA. Finally, after 25 years of public service, in 1978 Don started his own, highly successful investment firm. Don and Inge were the consummate partners when it came to rug collecting: Don contributed enthusiasm, a terrific eye, and financial wherewithal, while Inge, partly because of her expertise in needlework, did all […]
As a lifelong historian of the events of April 19th, 1775, I have been searching for related objects ever since I was quite young. One of those relics was the powder horn owned by Willard Buttrick, a member of Captain David Brown’s Concord Minute Company. I had read about the horn in a book published by the Town of Concord for the centennial celebration in 1875, although the printer had misspelled the name “William.” As a very important object from the fight that took place 100 years earlier, it was on display in the dinner tent for event visitors, the most distinguished being President Ulysses S. Grant. In more recent times, other objects listed in the commemorative book bore recorded locations in various historical societies and museums across the county. The Willard Buttrick horn was nowhere to be found. Last summer I received an email from a ranger at Minute […]
Wedgwood is ripe for collecting with examples manufactured in a variety of bodies, colors and subject matter over 260 years of production. To the novice, Wedgwood is often light blue jasper or perhaps a familiar dinner service from childhood. What they might not realize is the breadth of production or the fact that Wedgwood collectors span the globe. Follow these pointers to learn how to identify Wedgwood and what to look for in this collecting area. 1. Quality: Look for especially high relief with good undercutting and fine details. This factor is a crucial indicator. Use the pointers below to hone your knowledge and your eye. 2. Marks: 18th-century marks include an all lower case mark, a Wedgwood & Bentley mark, and an upper-lower case mark. 19th-century marks were pretty standard variations of all upper-case lettering, the second half of the century including a three letter date code in many cases. […]
A recent Instagram post of vintage wristwatches elicited a great response “goes to show you that a watch doesn’t have to have cost six figures to look like six figures. Love it.” Collecting of any kind is fueled by a passion for design, quality, history, or by some unquantified pulse, and mechanical watches have a beauty, history, and utility that their owners can relate to on many different levels. To start collecting, focus on what speaks to you, what you appreciate visually, mechanically, or for the history that these pieces offer. I strongly suggest doing your research, investigating, learning the signs of authenticity, and speaking with other watch enthusiasts about the ins and outs of each model and maker—for example, Omega Speedmaster reference 2915s—there were three versions, but the differences between them could break the bank! When tracking sales and researching online purchases, remember that what may seem an easy prize is often just the […]
Join us for First Tuesday in Marlborough Tuesday, April 2 | 1:30PM – 4PM Specialists Michael Evans, Kaitlin Shinnick, Robin S.R. Starr, & Chris Barber will be on hand to evaluate items and accept consignments for upcoming auctions. Experts Available in April: Michael Evans – From the American Indian & Ethnographic Art Department, Michael is interested in appraising a variety of art, artifacts, and decorative objects from American Indian, African, Inuit, Oceanic and Asian tribal cultures. Skinner holds two live American Indian & Ethnographic Art auctions each year as well as Tribal Art online auctions and is seeking consignments for future auctions. Kaitlin Shinnick – Senior Specialist of the Fine Jewelry department will be appraising Fine Jewelry, Antique Jewelry, Gemstones and watches. The Jewelry Department regularly holds four auctions yearly and are actively seeking consignments of Fine Jewelry. Whether antique or contemporary, Kaitlin is excited to have the opportunity to evaluate and possibly consign your […]
Chinese monochrome-glazed ceramics have been attracting western collectors since the 18th century. The collecting frenzy was ignited by the French and soon followed by the Americans of the Gilded Age. For the immensely varied hues spanning the whole color spectrum from white to black, monochrome ceramics were collected and used as a vibrant design element to decorate their chateaux, mansions, and hotels. Many terms have been coined to indicate the Chinese glazes, such as ‘ding ware’ for the creamy white; ‘blanc-de-Chine’ for the ivory white; ‘celadon’ for the grayish-green; ‘sang-de-boeuf’ for the deep red; ‘peachbloom’ for the soft pastel pink; ‘clair-de-lune’ for the delicate pale blue; and ‘Imperial yellow’ for the egg-yolk yellow; to list a few. All these ceramic colors are very much related to China’s traditional color symbolism, based on the Five Elements Theory and its complex associations, ranging from directions to planets, heavenly creatures, climates, fruits, and […]
