Skinner

A legacy of beauty, ingenuity, and craftsmanship in Skinner’s August Americana auctions Skinner’s tradition of notable Americana sales continues with auctions on August 12 & 13 and an online auction August 6-14.  The two-day and online sales comprise nearly 1500 lots of fine American folk art, furniture, ceramics, and maritime antiques.  Day 1 kicks off the auction with two outstanding collections, the Collection of Gail and Don Piatt and the Arthur & Sybil Kern Collection of American Folk Art, Part I.  The Piatt collection features a delightful array of fine country antiques with an emphasis on early New Hampshire painted furniture, samplers, lighting, decorative arts, and painted miniature smalls.  Highlights include: Rare cupboard/watch hutch (Lot 28, Estimate $4,000-$6,000) Needlework Sampler “Ruhamah Dearborn,” Portsmouth, New Hamphsire (Lot 68, Estimate $2,000-$3,000) The Kern collection is encyclopedic in its representation of New England folk art. Featuring numerous works by Jane A. Davis, James […]

  A Lecture by Suzanne and Michael Payne Saturday, August 11, 5PM Skinner welcomes Suzanne and Michael Payne, long-time friends and self-described kindred souls of “Collector-researchers” Arthur and Sybil Kern. The Paynes will discuss highlights from the Kern collection segment of the upcoming August Americana auction, and the aesthetic force of American folk art. Skinner Marlborough Gallery 274 Cedar Hill St.  Marlborough MA, 01752 Reception: 5pm Lecture: 5:30pm RSVP Contact Us: events@skinnerinc.com 508-970-3240

Wednesday, August 1 | New York City By appointment only. Skinner’s Fine Jewelry department is inviting consignments for upcoming autumn auctions. Fine Jewelry expert Kaitlin Shinnick will be available to evaluate items and accept consignments in the New York office on August 1. REQUEST APPOINTMENT Skinner New York 415 Madison Ave, New York Contact Us: jewelry@skinnerinc.com 617.874.4313  

Wednesday, July 25 | Wilton Historical Society, Wilton, CT American & European Works of Art and Fine Jewelry Appointments Required  10AM-3PM Fine Art and Fine Jewelry experts from Skinner will be on hand to accept consignments of American & European Paintings, Sculpture, Works on Paper, Prints & Photographs and Fine Jewelry for upcoming 2018 auctions. From single works to entire collections, find out the auction market value for your art and jewelry. For more information or to set an appointment please call us at 212.787.1114 or email newyork@skinnerinc.com   Important Jewelry Jewelry expert Kaitlin Shinnick will be on hand to accept consignments for the fall jewelry auctions. She will provide auction evaluations for diamonds, colored stones, antique and period jewelry, and signed contemporary pieces. REQUEST APPOINTMENT   American & European Works of Art American & European Works of Art  Specialist Elizabeth Haff will be on hand to accept consignments of American & […]

Skinner’s specially scheduled July book auction features a single-owner collection from California that includes high spots of English literature, culture, religion, and history from before 1700. Early English books have been prized by book collectors since the 19th century, and this important collection, formed over decades of careful selection from the best dealers and auction houses worldwide represents a unique opportunity to acquire early books that are rarely available for sale. A Shakespeare Fourth Folio from 1685 is a highlight of the sale, along with first edition works by Erasmus, Thomas More, Francis Bacon, John Milton, John Donne, Thomas Hobbes, Robert Boyle, Galileo, and others. Topics most don’t associate with the period are also represented; including works on hunting, falconry, cider-making, child-rearing, swimming, surveying, money exchange, and practical mathematics. Bidders will find works related to the upheaval among the British monarchy from this period, including King Henry VIII’s re-writing of […]

MARLBOROUGH, MA – July 5, 2018 – Skinner, Inc. is pleased to announce a Tribal Art online auction, with bidding open through July 11, 2018. With a breadth of material spanning the globe; tribal cultures from American Indian, pre-Columbian, African, Oceanic, South-East Asian, and more are available for bidding in an online auction format.  The Tribal Art online auction includes significant artifacts from  including Inuit and Northwest Coast tribal groups; from the Amazon; a large number from Africa ranging from ceremonial face masks, figures, weapons and jewelry; a large Oceanic contingent of material from New Guinea jewelry to Polynesian pre-contact stone tools and weapons; and a group of Pre-Columbian ceramic figures and vessels. Auction Highlights: Batak Pair of Male and Female Standing Figures, Pagar, Provenance: Private collection, Clinton, Massachusetts; Sotheby’s, New York, November 11, 2004, Lot 5; Mathias Komor, New York., Estimate $2,500-3,500  Shell Bridal Snood, Iatmul, Middle Sepik River, Papua New Guinea, fiber with nassa shells and cone […]

Skinner monthly Discovery auctions are approachable and keenly followed by seasoned and novice buyers alike for their affordability and diverse, eclectic offerings.  A recent Country Americana auction featured a broad and eclectic selection of 18th, 19th, and 20th-century furniture, folk art, ceramics, metalwork, fine art, and textiles. Department specialist Kyle Johnson weighs-in on some of the areas where he saw strong auction results.     Six Graduated Painted Firkins, 19th century   This group of six graduated buckets hammered for $1,300, outperforming the expected $600-800 estimate. Despite exhibiting a few minor condition issues as a result of age, general wear and use, the pleasing and original painted surfaces on each of these buckets were enough to nearly double the estimate. These would look great in a country setting, either stacked or filled with fresh wildflowers.            Small Group of Wooden Domestic Items   This group of wooden domestic items, […]

Skinner has been hosting dedicated, live auctions of Fine Musical Instruments in Boston continuously for over thirty years, and remains the only full-service auction house in America to do so. Skinner’s Fall Fine Musical Instruments Auction will showcase a selection of classical string instruments and their bows, vintage fretted instruments, and a wide array of lutherie materials, tools, and books. From Amati, Stradivari and Guarneri, to Pressenda, Fagnola and Scarampella, Italian violins spanning four centuries represent the pinnacle of the art form. The works of the 18th Century Dutch masters, the 19th Century French artisans, and the 20th Century Markneukirchen craftsmen, all have their devotees and are highly prized in their own rights. Fine French and English bows are equally as important as the instruments they play, and some even more valuable. A dearth of serviceable cellos and basses finds the current market in high demand for low end. Boston silver flutes revolutionized […]

 A newly-rediscovered oil painting by Jean-Léon Gérôme, Evening Prayer, will be offered by Skinner in the American & European Works of Art auction on September 21, 2018. The painting has been authenticated by Dr. Emily Weeks, whose essay follows below. A full description of the work with provenance, along with Dr. Weeks’s essay with notes, will be available online and in the fully-illustrated printed catalog in early September. Please contact the paintings department at paintings@skinnerinc.com or 508-970-3206 for further details. The printed auction catalog may be purchased on the Skinner website or by phone order at 508-970-3234.   In the 1860s, Gérôme began a series of pictures depicting Muslim men at prayer.  These would become a signature theme of the artist’s, and among his most popular Orientalist works.  The present painting, Evening Prayer, holds a special place within this important group.  A “perfected” version of one of Gérôme’s most evocative compositions, with all of […]

A legacy of beauty, ingenuity, and craftsmanship in Skinner’s August Americana auctions Skinner’s tradition of notable Americana sales continues with auctions on August 12 & 13 and an online auction August 6-14.  The two-day and online sales comprise nearly 1500 lots of fine American folk art, furniture, ceramics, and maritime antiques.  Day 1 kicks off the auction with two outstanding collections, the Collection of Gail and Don Piatt and the Arthur & Sybil Kern Collection of American Folk Art, Part I.  The Piatt collection features a delightful array of fine country antiques with an emphasis on early New Hampshire painted furniture, samplers, lighting, decorative arts, and painted miniature smalls.  Highlights include: Rare cupboard/watch hutch (Lot 28, Estimate $4,000-$6,000) Needlework Sampler “Ruhamah Dearborn,” Portsmouth, New Hamphsire (Lot 68, Estimate $2,000-$3,000) The Kern collection is encyclopedic in its representation of New England folk art. Featuring numerous works by Jane A. Davis, James […]

  A Lecture by Suzanne and Michael Payne Saturday, August 11, 5PM Skinner welcomes Suzanne and Michael Payne, long-time friends and self-described kindred souls of “Collector-researchers” Arthur and Sybil Kern. The Paynes will discuss highlights from the Kern collection segment of the upcoming August Americana auction, and the aesthetic force of American folk art. Skinner Marlborough Gallery 274 Cedar Hill St.  Marlborough MA, 01752 Reception: 5pm Lecture: 5:30pm RSVP Contact Us: events@skinnerinc.com 508-970-3240

Wednesday, August 1 | New York City By appointment only. Skinner’s Fine Jewelry department is inviting consignments for upcoming autumn auctions. Fine Jewelry expert Kaitlin Shinnick will be available to evaluate items and accept consignments in the New York office on August 1. REQUEST APPOINTMENT Skinner New York 415 Madison Ave, New York Contact Us: jewelry@skinnerinc.com 617.874.4313