Jackson Pollock Most Expensive Painting in the World

It’s not a Goya, a Rembrandt, a Da Vinci or even Monet or Van Gogh. The correct answer is No. 5, 1948 and if you were playing the game show Jeopardy on television, which is one of my favorite shows, the question would be, “What is the world’s most expensive painting?” The painting, which looks like a bunch of drips on a canvas, was reportedly sold for $140 in a private deal brokered by Sotheby’s. According to published reports previous owner and entertainment mogul David Geffen sold the painting to Mexican financier David Martinez in November of 2006. So who exactly is Jackson Pollock?

Jackson Pollock who was born in Cody, Wyoming in 1912 was an abstract impressionist painter that some experts consider one of the most influential painters of the 20th Century. Pollock was married to Lee Krasner, herself a painter, and they moved New York in 1945. Their house in Long Island had a large barn on the premises that they turned into a studio. Soon after, Pollock started laying his canvases on the barn floor and began perfecting his “drip” technique. He experimented and tried many ways of dripping paint onto the canvas including using syringes, wooden sticks and just plain old pouring out of the can.

He numbered his paintings as opposed to naming them because he wanted people to use their imaginations as to what they saw and not be influenced by the artist interpretations. Some people have read too much into his art and have come to a decision that on some plain, Pollock used “mathematical” skills to build his paintings with “fractals,” whatever that means. It has been reported that Pollock was an alcoholic and looking at his paintings, I believe that the artist was just a little drunk, inspired and had fun. It is said the Pollock was influenced by sand paintings done by Native American people as well as David Alfaro Siqueiros, a Mexican muralist. Sadly, Pollock was killed in a single car crash in New York in 1956.

Collectible Glass Insulators Reference Site

In the late 1960's and early 1970's glass insulators were being removed from telephone poles as advances in technology made them obsolete. As linemen were taking down the old lines, they started to notice the multitude of bright colors, company names, variety of shapes, and important historical position held by insulators in the expansion of communication technology.

Presently the insulator collecting hobby has thousands of people around the world. Many collectors live in the U.S. and Canada. A number of websites exist which hold these items as the primary focus, and eBay even has a separate category for insulators. Quite probably, the largest and most informative public website in the hobby is the National Insulator Association.

NOVA-Antiques Newsletter Archive – July 27, 2006 . . . .

Chinese Snuff Bottles – A Brief History & Value

Towards the mid-27th Century, when snuff was first introduced in China, it was believed that it had medicinal qualities and was used to treat the common cold, relieve sore throats, alleviate tooth aches and used as a cure for migraine headaches. Snuff however was not intended nor was it used for all the people of China, but was limited in use and availability to the upper echelons of society. It was mainly used by the elite peoples associated with the Qing Dynasty and the royal court of Beijing. As such, vessels to carry the snuff otherwise known as snuff bottles and or snuff boxes had to be attractive, ornately designed and beautiful to go with one’s social standing.

Snuff bottles are made of a many different materials, shapes, sizes and design. Some of the early snuff bottles are made of ivory, jadeite and even gold. Some were made of coral and other unusual material. However, a lot of snuff bottles were made of glass and because of the medicinal properties of the snuff probably had their beginnings in the apothecary bottles of the time. Many of the snuff bottles were made to fit in the palm one’s hand and had a stopper with a small spoon attached for easy access to the snuff. Many were marked with either maker’s name or a date.

The pictured example of a marked Chinese Imperial snuff bottle was recently sold at Quinn’s Auction Galleries in Falls Church, Virginia for $146,250. However, caution has to be taken when purchasing these types of antiquities because of the many reproductions and unscrupulous dealers around the world. A recent search of eBay for Chinese snuff bottles found close to 800 listings, many of them selling for ninety nine cents. The 19th Century white carved jade snuff bottle in the form of two figures sold on eBay for over $1,900.

Elegant Heisey Glass Popular Among Collectors

Although the Heisey Glass Company was founded by Augustus H. Heisey, in 1896 in Newark, Ohio, Mr. Heisey had already had much experience in the business. Aside from marrying one Susan Duncan, daughter of George Duncan of Duncan Glass fame, he had worked at King Glass Company of Pittsburgh and the Ripley Glass Company. In 1893 after spending some time out west, Heisey decided to open his own glass company. The first Heisey Glass Company products were pressed glass pieces, but they were made in such a manner that they appeared more expensive than they actually were. Flawless glass combined with a high finish and firepolishing, the glass appears as brilliant as crystal and is known as elegant glass to collectors. However, most Heisey glass is easily identifiable by its marking.

Heisey is also known for having been one of the first companies to adopt a nationally and internationally recognized trademark symbol. Introduced in the early 1900’s the Heisey trademark has always been an H within a diamond. Although some early creations had a paper label, most Heisey glass are impressed with the logo. The logo is usually about .25 inches long and is normally at the base or stem of the piece. However, the logo is not the only thing that makes Heisey Glass so attractive to collectors. Heisey Glass also produced some of the finest etched glass of the early to mid 20th Century. Their Orchid Pattern is probably one of the most recognizable and popular patterns among collectors.

Important Antiques & Collectibles Shows August 28 - August 31, 2008

Two important antiques and collectibles shows this weekend right in the heart of the Mid-Atlantic States this weekend make it the place to be. First, The Baltimore Summer Antiques Show, Maryland’s largest antiques event will take place at the Baltimore Convention Center. This show is in it’s 28th year and is attended by over one hundred dealers featuring antiques and collectibles of every kind imaginable as well as decorators, designer and tens of thousands of buyers. The show begins today, August 28, 2008 at 12 pm and goes through Sunday at 6 PM. Admission is $12 but is good for all days and there is plenty of parking and hotel rooms close by the convention center for out of town folks.

The 151st semi-annual York Antiques Show and Sale will take place at the York Fairgrounds and Convention Center in York, Pennsylvania. This show features ninety six dealers from around the country selling antiques and collectibles including 18th and 19th Century furniture, Silver, antique toys and 18th Century English Porcelain. The York Antiques Show and Sale will begin tomorrow at 10 am and will run until 5 pm on Sunday. General admission to the show is $10 but there is plenty of free parking, great food and it is held in an air conditioned building. This show also attracts hundreds of designers and decorators as well as thousands of visitors from the Mid-Atlantic States.

See the NOVA-Antiques Calendar for other shows coming up this weekend . . . .

Cast Iron Doorstops Price on the Rise

Hubley Manufacturing Company was incorporated by John Hubley in 1894 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The company is known for producing a large array of toys but their claim to fame were the wonderful cast iron toys that they made before World War II. After the war, the company changed to a cast iron alloy. Hubley made objects of many shapes and designs including beautiful horse drawn carriages, vehicles, toys, dogs and doorstops. The doorstops have recently been selling for record prices. A doorstop is an object that is used to hold a door open or closed. Sought after by folk art collectors, cast iron collectors, door stop collectors as well as other collectors and designers have made prices go through the roof.

Although they became predominant in Victorian European home in the early 19th Century, it is widely believed that doorstops were first made in the 18th Century. In the beginning, doorstops were nothing more than any object you could find to keep a door open or closed including rocks, wood or any other thing that was heavy enough. It wasn’t until the Victorian Era brought a wave of decorated doorstops made to look more attractive than a rock. European foundries of the time made doorstops look like dogs and flowers. Doorstops did not become popular in the U.S. until the early 1920’s. Women of that era bought the doorstops to coordinate with other thing in their homes including bookends and shade pulls.

Traube Cut to Clear Wine Goblets at Outasite!! Collectibles

This week Outasite!! Collectibles is featuring vintage Traube pattern cut to clear wine goblets from Joska Krisal in Bavaria, Germany. These cut to clear wine goblets come in four different colors including ruby to clear, amethyst to clear, cobalt blue to clear and topaz to clear glass crystal. They are 24% lead crystal. In addition, Outasite!! Collectibles is featuring a vintage Murano Glass Parrot figurine that is one beautiful piece of art glass.

Outasite!! Collectibles features antique and vintage collectible art glass from such companies as Westmoreland, Tiara, Pilgrim, Blenko, Waterford & Sowerby. Vintage Art Glass – Outasite!! Collectibles highlights art glass in cranberry, amberina, opalescent, black amethyst, and Royal Ruby colors as well as Diamond Point Patterns, Crackle Glass, Cut Glass Crystal and fine elegant glass.