Antiques and Fine Art Auctions Blog

MARLBOROUGH, MA – April 25-May 5, 2022 – Skinner Auctioneers presented its initial two sales from the The Jim Dixon Collection, commanding widespread interest beyond the centerpiece Ming Imperial Dragon Carpet. The auctions represent the first of five planned sales from the lifetime accruals of Jim Dixon, a passionate antiquarian and outsized figure in the world of fine woven textiles, who passed away in 2020. Sales for both the live and online auction reached $1,375,805.  

Ming Imperial Dragon Carpet, China, c.

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MARLBOROUGH, MA – Skinner is pleased to announce a specialized auction focusing on Japanese prints and paintings open for bidding from May 21-31, 2022. Arts of Japan: Ukiyo-e to Shin-hanga focuses on the enduring charm of ukiyo-e, the technical brilliance of Japanese modern and contemporary prints, and the Nihonga tradition expressed well in the kakejiku hanging scrolls and the byobu screens from Edo to Meiji periods.… Read More

MARLBOROUGH, MA – Skinner Auctioneers is pleased to announce an upcoming live auction of American Art on May 25, starting at 10 a.m. EDT, at Skinner’s Marlborough gallery, to be accompanied by an online sale of Prints & Photographs, available for bidding from May 16 to 26, 2022. Ranging across centuries from the early Hudson River School to early American Modernism, the sale features masterworks by some of this country’s greatest painters and sculptors, with something for everyone in its striking eclecticism.… Read More

MARLBOROUGH, MA – Skinner Auctioneers is pleased to announce two upcoming sales in Jewelry and Gemstones – the first of which will be a live version of the auction house’s biannual sale of Important Jewelry. This major auction, which includes treasured items from the family collection of J. Pierpont Morgan Jr., will take place on May 17 at 12pm at Skinner’s Boston galleries, to be followed by an online auction of Fine Jewelry – an eclectic collection open to bidding from May 8 to May 18, 2022. 

Antique Natural Pearl and Diamond Necklace(Lot 31, Estimate: $15,000-20,000)

The live auction comprises a vast collection of rare and significant lots spanning the 19th and 20th centuries and continuing up to the present.… Read More

Relief prints use the raised relief of a printing matrix, such as a block of wood, to carry the ink to make prints.  A rubber stamp is essentially a relief print.  If you made prints as a kindergartener by carving a potato with a plastic knife, you have made a relief print.  Woodcut is the oldest printmaking technique and was popular in both Asia and in Europe.  It predates the year 1,000 AD. 

In Western art, as early as the 16th century printmakers like Albrecht Dürer saw the short comings of the technique, compared to the slightly newer technique of engraving and intaglio printing.… Read More

Join Us in Marlborough or online for First Tuesday!

TUESDAY, MAY 3 | 1:30-4PM

We invite you to join us in person in Marlborough or online for our First Tuesday on May 3. For a virtual appraisal, submit your items anytime by the 3rd and Skinner specialists from all departments will be on hand on Tuesday to evaluate items and respond by email.

For those attending in person in Marlborough, please SCHEDULE AN APPOINTMENT. There is a 3 item maximum per person.… Read More

John Dorfman, the Director of Skinner’s Books & Manuscripts Department, is a lifelong collector with vast experience covering the world of antiquarian auctions.

John Dorfman, Skinner Director of Fine Books & Manuscripts

MARLBOROUGH, MA | April 25, 2022 — Skinner Auctioneers is pleased to announce John Dorfman as the company’s director of Books & Manuscripts. In his capacity with the auction house, Dorfman will oversee the research, acquisition and sale of rare books, historical documents, autographs, and ephemera.… Read More

Sustainability. Renewable resources. Environmental consciousness. Recycling. These words and phrases are essential guidelines for a healthy future. It’s not just unfashionable to use things for a short while and then send them to the landfill. It’s plain self-destructive.

Until mass production evolved in the late 19th century, making possible a huge variety of inexpensive goods, almost everyone lived by the old adage “Use it up; wear it out; make it do, or do without.” The concept of disposability, the idea of one-time-use-only—these are very recent developments, and largely limited even today to well-off people in first-world countries.… Read More

OPEN HOUSE | TUESDAY, MAY 3, 5-7PM | SKINNER BOSTON

Buying at auction is a sustainable, environmentally friendly way to decorate. Please join Skinner for an open house featuring select furniture, decor, and fine art that demonstrate how antique and vintage items work within various styles and budgets. Specialists will be on hand to discuss decorating and repurposing objects with pieces found at auction, the auction process itself, and answer participant questions.… Read More