Finding Vintage Disneyana

Vintage Disneyana has become a personal passion of mine. I’ve been searching for it for years now. I attend art auctions regularly, but usually only find vintage Disneyana at a small percentage of them.

I found a darling 1938 Knickerbocker Mickey Mouse dressed in a Santa suit at an art auction a few years ago. This was an extraordinary vintage Disneyana find. There was some very fine crazing to the face, but no flakes in the paint.

I did some research after the art auction and it turns out that my vintage Disneyana has quite a history. This toy was a one of a kind Mickey Mouse toy made by Knickerbocker for a department store at Christmas and was given away for a contest. I was happy that the beard was real wool fur.

I searched for several years at art auctions until I found a Mad Hatter china teapot. This vintage Disneyana was made in 1951 by Regal for Disney. I always loved Alice in Wonderland and this teapot was very special to me.

My love of vintage Disneyana runs through lots of mediums. I buy figurines and paintings and anything else that strikes me as special while I’m at art auctions. If something is really rare or unusual and still has a whimsical feel to it, I’ll try to win it.

I found a painting that I fell in love with. It fit with my love of vintage Disneyana. The painting was created in 1949 and depicted the Cinderella castle. It was originally created for a Disney holiday card. I won the painting for four thousand dollars and felt like I had gotten a great deal.

The old Disneyland maps have become very expensive pieces of vintage Disneyana. I have been finding more of the old maps at art auctions, but they are usually not in good shape. The nicest map I’ve found was from 1958, which is also the year I was born.

The 1958 map of Disneyland was the first one that was made poster sized. The art auction I found this piece of vintage Disneyana at had numerous Disney lots up for auction that day. I had not expected to find such a great item. This map had been stored rolled and had never been folded. I paid two thousand dollars for it and it was worth every penny.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was my little sister’s favorite movie when we were kids. I look for vintage Disneyana that features it when I am art auctions. The best item I’ve found for her was figurines from the 1950s that were of Snow White and six of the seven dwarfs. There was one figurine missing, Sneezy.

My daughter has fallen in love with Bambi. She had me buy her the DVD and she has watched it over and over again. I was at an art auction and found a nice Bambi figurine while they were auctioning off vintage Disneyana. I gave it to her for her last birthday and she says that it is her most prized possession!

I was shocked at an art auction that I attended that had a wonderful 1930s Mickey Mouse lamp and lampshade. The art auction had not even advertised that they were auctioning vintage Disneyana. If they had advertised this item, I know that more people would have come to the auction. I won the lamp for five hundred dollars because I had no competition.

The most common vintage Disneyana that I find at art auctions is watches. I don’t like watches. I never buy any of the Disney watches. I am usually disappointed when an art auction advertises vintage Disneyana and all they have up for auction is watches.

I bought an autographed Fantasia album at a vintage Disneyana sale. The art auction had a lot of signed and autographed items and Disney items were among them. The signatures on my vintage Disneyana included Walt Disney, Leopold Stokowski (the conductor) and both of the original animators, Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnson. This was a fantastic find for my collection.

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The Techniques Of Muay Thai

The Techniques Of Muay Thai - A majority of the offensive techniques that are used in Muay Thai utilize a students hands, feet, elbows, and knees to strike an opponent. In order to bind the opponent for both defensive and offensive reasons, there is a small amount of grappling on the feet that is used - the clinch.

The clinch occurs when someone gets in your circle of radius, inside of your comfort zone. To execute knees and short kicks from the inside, the clinch can be very useful. The Thai fighter makes great use of the clinch, tying up on opponent on the feet then pounding his stomach, ribs, knees, and legs with brutal knees. Knees are very popular techniques with Muay Thai, as Thai fighters spend a lot of time training their strikes - especially knees and elbows.

Although high kicks to the opponents head looks amazing during the fights, experienced Thai fighters always say that knees and elbows have a lot more impact, and they do the most damage to the body. If a Thai fighter is very experienced and has enough power in his strikes, he can quickly and easily kill someone with his techniques.

In all Muay Thai techniques, two in particular have become very popular with other styles of martial arts.

The roundhouse kick
The roundhouse Thai kick is a very useful technique for both self defense and competitions, proving to be very efficient when it is executed properly. Thai stylists execute the roundhouse kick by a straight leg and the entire body rotating out from the hip. The hip is locked shortly before the thrown leg makes impact with the opponent. If executed properly, the roundhouse kick can easily render someone unconscious.

The low kick
The low kick is a common Muay Thai attack, that involves a circular movement from the stylist’s body to kick the opponent in his upper shin area. If the low kick isn’t blocked or defended, it can quickly lead to fight being ended. After a few well placed low kicks, the opponent will be unable to put pressure on his legs due to the bruising, and will eventually crumble.

With other martial arts styles, such as Tae Kwon Do, stylists use snapping kicks that are indeed faster to execute, although they have less power. Muay Thai on the other hand, teaches stylists to follow through with kicks, using the shin instead of the foot. Nearly all of the techniques involved with Muay Thai emphasis movement with the entire body, which means rotating the hip each time the stylist kicks, punches, or blocks. The techniques are slower, although they are far more powerful that techniques found in Tae Kwon Do and even Karate.

As a lot of people already know, the training and conditioning training found in Muay Thai is nothing short of legendary for the intensity and rigorous training. The training in Muay Thai aims to harden the weapons used in the martial art to a high degree. Students who have been training in Muay Thai for many years can absorb a beating, yet if they land a shin kick it will feel as if you have just been hit with a sledgehammer.

All in all, Muay Thai is a very dangerous martial art that teaches punishing blows with very little grappling. Thai stylists are physical strong, capable of taking an opponent out with just one well placed strike. Muay Thai is also one of the most well known and most popular styles in the world today - which is why you shouldn’t hesitate to study.

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Native American Art Auctions

Native American Art Auctions: Art Antiques - Whether traditional or contemporary, Native American artwork is both highly collectible and universally appealing. Native American art forms the basis of many exemplary public as well as private art collections. People that collect Native American artwork can be very passionate about their collections.

Older, more traditional Native American artwork and cultural artifacts are not merely revered and / or emulated by modern artists, they are also held dear as parts of art collections the world over.

Fine Native American art done by well known American Indian artists, such as Nampeyo, the Hopi potter, can raise the caliber of a private or public art collection quite significantly. Iris Nampeyo lived on the Hopi Reservation in Arizona. She made a good income making pots and selling them at local trading posts.

A remarkable aspect of Nampeyo’s work is that over time she became more ad more interested in making pots according to ancient ways, as opposed to the modern pottery that was being made by people at the time. The quality of her work, as well as her interest and use of ancient pottery techniques certainly add to the demand and high price tags of her work.

If you find yourself in the market for Native American art antiques, be prepared to pay the price. Particularly with Native American art, availability doesn’t correlate to demand or cost, as is the case with many other highly collectible art types.

Items such as early Plains beadwork or late nineteenth century basketry are certainly examples of what would be considered extremely rare finds in the world of Native American art auctions.

When choosing from various art pieces, compare styles, read and research. This is really the only way to educate oneself about the various types of American Indian art. Then it’s time to shop around. Just like anything else, you won’t know what’s available unless you take the time to comparison shop.

During the 1900s many of the Native American art and crafts that other peoples associate with American Indians began to be commercially produced, especially by Asian nations. These Native American fakes became so widely purchased that several millions of dollars were taken from the American Indian artists in the form of cheap imitation Native American art.

Before purchasing Native American art antiques it’s a good idea to perform additional research has to the authenticity of the piece or pieces. Unless you’re highly knowledgeable on the topic and have experience spotting fakes, this type of art can be extremely hard to verify by inexperienced sight alone.

All in all, collecting American Indian art antiques is just like collecting any other antique, the definitive and primary timeframe is anything that is pre-1950s. Although a name that is well known can seriously increase the value of an object, condition, workmanship and prevalence are factors that are just as important.

Increasingly, even seasoned art dealers that deal in American Indian art find it difficult to discern authentic art antiques from imitation pieces. For this reason, it is particularly important to opt for dealing with reputable sources. In order to ensure that your perfect Native American art antique is the real deal it’s worth taking the time to locate such a well known art dealer or museum.

There are specialized art museums and dealers that offer Native American art pieces. These organizations generally are most interested in promoting Native art and cultures. The better of these institutions and organizations directly invest many of the profits gained from the sale of art pieces back into the Native American community.

When it comes to collecting Native American art antiques or any other type of art, don’t buy it unless you absolutely love it. Your best pieces are going to cost a pretty penny. If you don’t fall in love with a piece, chances are you’re not going to like it any better once it’s on your wall. So hold out for the perfect piece, you’ll be glad you did.

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Folk Art Auctions

Folk Art Auctions - Folk art auctions feature a wide range of objects that reflect the artist’s craft traditions, and traditional social values.  Folk art is generally produced by people who have little or no academic artistic training.  Folk artists usually use established techniques and styles of a particular region or culture.

Folk art auctions include paintings, sculptures and other decorative art forms.  Some artists also consider utilitarian objects such as tools and costumes as folk art.  For the most part, the category of folk art auctions exclude works by professional artists.

It has been my experience that folk art auctions have something for just about anyone.  I found a folk art painting of a cat in a peach tree that was done by the artist Tascha.  The artist also noted on the folk art auction that they create unique ceramic tile art.

My mother purchased a blanket chest for me years ago that I listed recently in a folk art auction.  The chest was made about two hundred hears ago and is very beautiful.  The original painted decorations are still intact.

I found an interesting folk art auction for a carnival knock-down dummy in the shape of a large cat.  It was made around 1930 and is twice the size of similar items.  I researched the item on a non-auction site and found that it is worth a lot of money.

My heart is still swayed by Americana folk art auctions.  I recently fell in love with a painting I found up for auction of Elvis on a Harley in front of a large American flag.  It was spectacular!  The stretched canvas was painted with acrylics.

I especially like the Halloween themed folk art auction I found that was offered by Sister Raya New Orleans Folk Art.  The title of the painting was Little Spooky the Cat – Awaiting the Great Pumpkin.  The painting was painted in classic vintage style and used gold maple, red sapphire, blue pearl, white, pumpkin orange, sable brown, amber rust and jet black.  I would love to have this hanging on my wall all through the autumn months.

Another folk art auction that I found and was sad to bid up past my budget was a handmade set of miniature dominos.  The set was in a folk art decorated maple case.  The set dates from the mid to late 1800’s.  It was really exquisite and I’m sorry that I missed out on it.

I really liked another folk art auction that I found for a modern fraktur.  A fraktur is a specific kind of Pennsylvania German folk art.  The fraktur I found was a watercolor of a marriage record.  It was very colorful and looked like it held very special significance to its original owners.

I found a wood box from Maine in a folk art auction that really appealed to me.  It was rather small, but was painted chrome yellow and was trimmed in forest green.  The paint was crazed and worn and it was made in the late nineteenth century.  There were no visible nails and the hardware was reported as looking original.

The folk art auction that I missed out on that was way out of my price range was for an Andrew Clemens sand bottle.  The sand bottle was date 1887 and was covered in patriotic decorations.  It was an apothecary style bottle with a stopper and it contained at least ten different colors of sand.  The bottle ended up selling for eighty five hundred dollars.  I’m sure that it has ended up in an excellent collection of folk art.

I found an amusing folk art auction for three wooden carvings.  The name of the piece was Three Articulating Folk Art Whimseys and were all made by the same artist. The carvings were accented with sheet metal neckties.  The first carving in the folk art auction was of a cobbler, a blacksmith and a gentleman with a donkey.  The second carving was a diminutive soldier and the third was a cobbler smoking a pipe.  I think that this piece of Americana was purchased at a low price of three thousand dollars and was worth much more.

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Christie’s in Amsterdam

Christie’s in Amsterdam - There are so many good lots up for auction this summer at Christie’s in Amsterdam.  There is a lot by Petrus Paulus Schiedges called Sailing on open water that is oil on panel.  This is supposed to sell for more than two thousand euros.

There is another lot up for auction at Christie’s that is of a busy canal near a Dutch town.  It was painted by Joseph Bles.  Joseph Bles was Dutch and he signed his painting “J Bles”.  This painting should go for about fifteen hundred euros.

Albertus Verhoesen was Dutch and he painted a lovely painting called Cattle in a Sunny Meadow.  The painting was created in 1845.  It is up for auction in Amsterdam at Christie’s this summer.  This painting will sell for more than twelve hundred euros.

Louis Smets was a 19th century Belgian.  His painting of a horse-drawn-sled on a frozen waterway is up for auction this summer at Christie’s in Amsterdam.  It is possible that this painting could fetch six thousand euros.

There is a nice painting by German Johann Erdmann Gottlieb called The Runaway Carriage that is dated 1844.  It is one of the lots up for sale at Christie’s in Amsterdam.  This is a rather large painting at 59.5 x 89 cm.  The auction house thinks that it could sell for as much as five thousand euros.

The most expensive painting up for auction at Christie’s in Amsterdam this summer is called Setting Out.  Setting Out was painted in the nineteenth century by Abraham Hulk.  The painting is oil on canvas and it is estimated to sell for up to twenty thousand euros.

All of the top five paintings at the summer auction at Christie’s in Amsterdam were painted by Dutch painters.  I think that I like the Jan Cossaar painting depicting playing in the snow after school better than I like the painting entitled Bollenveld by Anton Dircks.  They look like they will sell for similar prices.

The oil painting of a lake in a panoramic Alpine landscape by Swiss artist Jacob Joseph Zelger is very large and very beautiful.  I liked the style that he used for his creation.  Christie’s estimates that this painting will sell for five to seven thousand euros.

There were less than twenty lots that Christie’s estimates will auction for less than a thousand euros.  I found one of the most inexpensive paintings listed in the catalogue to be that of a clown with two yellow balls.  It really did not speak to me at all and I’m not surprised that it will sell for one of the smallest amounts.

I actually liked the Dutch artist Simon Maris’ oil painting of pumpkins, grapes and elderberries.  The painting is signed and may go for as little as seven hundred euros.  Simon Maris lived from 1873-1935.

Another piece of art up for auction at the Christie’s in Amsterdam is a lithograph printed in colors from 1978.  The artist is Bram van Velde and he signed his piece in pencil.  Bidding for this piece may go as high as sixteen hundred euros.  This artist was very poor as a child.  He first entered into an apprenticeship as a painter in 1907 in The Hague.

Another painting that is going to be auctioned off at Christie’s in Amsterdam this summer is a flower still life with chrysanthemums.  This oil painting was painted by Willem Elisa Roelofs.  He was from The Hague and his painting should go for about seventeen hundred euros.

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American Indian Art Auctions

American Indian Art Auctions : Beadwork - American Indian art encompasses many types of arts and crafts, from the more traditionally and / or stereotypically Native American art such as beadwork and pottery, to modern photography, fine paintings, sculptures and the like. There are many art auctions, both online and off, that feature this form of American Indian art.

In this article we’ll discuss one of the most traditional and historically relevant branches of American Indian art: beadwork. Beadwork of the Native American peoples had and has practical as well as decorative; utilitarian as well as rich symbolic meaning.

Beadwork and making of the beads themselves is a very old craft. Stone, bone and shell beads (such as turquoise and semi-precious stones) are still made the same ancient way. Little affected by modern technology, the making of beads is still carried out in nearly the exact same way as peoples did thousands of years ago.

Sea shell bead pieces are among the most popular and well known pieces of regional trade importance for thousands of years. Nearly everyone has seen American Indian art pieces, from beaded necklaces to purses, belts and such.

For the last several decades modern beadwork has been replicated in oriental factories and very cheaply imported. This makes it a competing factor against the top quality beadwork done by American Indian craftspeople. The native American crafts people have lost several millions of dollars (just over an eight year period during the 1980s) to these fake native beads and beadwork pieces.

Historically, beads were carved from turtle shell, animal horn and deer hooves. These were often used for making rattling or tinkling pieces utilized in dance. Hunters often wore necklaces put together with animal portions, such as bear claws or wolf claws. These indicated a hunter’s prowess. Bones and seeds were often steamed to soften them for stringing and /or bending into various shapes.

As an example of beadwork used for a most practical purpose, the Iroqois League (Haudenosee) used white and purple wampum chains made of fresh-water clam shells to record sacred ceremonies, treaties and songs. This practice was used both before and after the coming of European settlers.

Many types of agreements were recorded with such beadwork chains. They were highly valued and cared for by their owners. European settlers mistook this care and reverence for wampum beads as a sign that the beads held monetary significance. As such, they mistakenly assumed that the word ‘wampum’ referred to money, when in actuality these important beads were much more like very important original documents.

To string beads, Native Americans used animal sinew that is split very fine with which to attach beads to clothing, though infrequently strong plant fibers such as hide thongs or nettle were used for these purposes.

Today, the Navajos as well as some pueblo people still make the ancient bead type called the heishii. This is by far the most popular and high quantity type of beadwork that is still made today as it was in ancient times. These necklaces are also referred to as story necklaces as they can be used to tell stories, with each bead representing a character.

Beads and beadwork are a very important part of archaeological explorations of pre-European history. Beads have survived thousands of years and tell many fascinating stories about times we weren’t around to witness. This is particularly true with respect to beadwork mad of sea shells. Ancient shell beads have been found thousands of miles from seas, which indicates various trade routes and contacts among different groups of people.

Today American Indian artists even create digital beadwork designs to help them make actual beadwork pieces. In this way complex designs and pieces can be tested on the screen before the project is begun. This has certainly added to the creative process for many beadwork artists.

Beadworking weaves through native history both in ancient times as well as in today’s modern computer technology. The most important aspect of beadwork, though, is not what can be sold or gained, but personal pieces that are only given among family and friends. The true meanings behind these pieces are personal associations tied to visions, important perspectives and other things that an individual wishes to be reminded of.

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Upcoming Trip to Sotheby’s

Upcoming Trip to Sotheby’s - I am planning a trip to an auction at Sotheby’s in June.  I have a real interest in 20th century British art and they have an art auction scheduled.  I have spent a great deal of time planning this trip.

While I was browsing the Sotheby’s online catalog, I found a signed Sickert named South Façade of St. Jacques.  I saw this painting once in London in 1971.  It has been in Canada since its purchase around that same time.

The painting is thought to be painted around 1900 after the artist had been in the town of Dieppe for two years.  He found a great deal of beauty in this medieval place.  He loved the architecture and it was the subject of a lot of his work.  Sotheby’s has several pieces of his work up for auction at this event.

I also noted in the catalog that Sotheby’s will be auctioning off a watercolor of a cat by the artist Gwen John.  She painted a lot of cats and also portraits of seated women.  She was known to paint the same picture over and over again like Monet did.

There was another lot listed in the Sotheby’s catalog that interested me.  I really am partial to Sickert and there was a painting that he completed in Venice while he was there with his wife.  There are stories of marital troubles between them and the trip to Venice is thought to have been taken to repair their marriage.

I can’t wait to see the painting Thunder in the Mountains by James Dickson Innes.  His watercolors are really splendid.  The painting is thought to have been painted in 1910 in the mountains of North Wales.  Sotheby’s has such an extensive catalogue for this auction.

I’m anxiously awaiting my trip to London.  I love Sotheby’s art auctions and going out to expensive restaurants at night.  I plan to go to the Mango Tree while I’m there.  It is the best Thai food, hands down, that I’ve ever eaten.

My business partner was really taken with the Landscape Near Lyons painted by Sir Matthew Smith.  I liked this oil painting as well.  The Sotheby’s catalogue reported that the painting was done in 1922 and that there is a still life of flowers on the reverse.  My partner will be unable to make this trip and has asked me to bid on it for him.

I have a small private collection of pencil drawings.  I liked the Flower in a Glass Vase that was penned by Christopher Wood in 1925.  I think that it would display nicely with other still lifes that I have.  I think that this pencil art may well go for twelve thousand dollars.  My favorite pencil drawings have all been found at Sotheby’s auctions

I have a patron that is very interested in a lot at the Sotheby’s auction that contains Poppies by Ivon Hithchens.  She has authorized me to bid up to sixty five thousand dollars for her.  I hope that I am successful in acquiring it for her.  I know that this Sotheby’s auction will be well attended because they all are.  It is too much to hope for that no one will notice this fantastic painting.

After looking forward to this trip for so long and poring over the Sotheby’s catalogue so intently, I must say that I have my heart set on Broomswade by John Piper.  I absolutely must have this watercolor.  The person that is selling it has been the only owner.  He bought it directly from John Piper in 1966.  If I win nothing else, I will win this painting.

The only other painting that I plan to bid on at the Sotheby’s auction is one by William Turnbull.  There is a collector that I know that desperately wants this painting.  He owns several of this artist sculptures and has now started to collect his paintings.

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Stained Glass Art Auctions

Stained Glass Art Auctions - I have found some really beautiful pieces of artistic stained glass at art auctions.  The worship committee at my church asked me to find some church window stained glass when I went to an art auction last fall.  I found an excellent piece for them that was framed and 73” X 38.5”.  The congregation loved it.

I found some wonderful stained glass at an art auction for a client that was trying to complete his new kitchen.  The three windows I won were exactly right for him.  The stained glass had a Victorian star design in shades of blue.  The borders were all beveled and the piece was hand cut and soldered.

The modern stained glass windows sometimes come sandwiched between two pieces of tempered glass to protect them for years of use.  The windows I bought at the art auction were framed in vinyl.  Each of the stained glass windows was 30” X 30”.

Stained glass art auctions always include lampshades.  I went through a period of time where I purchased every stained glass lampshade I would find at an art auction.  I am a little more discerning, now.  I found a stained glass lampshade not long ago that I purchased for my mother.  

My mother just redecorated her bedroom in green and mauve.  The stained glass lampshade that I found for her only had variations of those two colors running through it.  It was perfect for her and she really liked it when I gave it to her.

I had a call from a client last week that asked me to find a piece of stained glass to hang in a picture window.  She always had a curtain hanging over that window, so I had trouble picturing what it looked like.  I stopped by her house and chatted with her before I went to the art auction so that I could get better idea of what would delight her.

I talked with this client for awhile and found out that she used to grow roses competitively, but that since her arthritis had gotten worse, she was no longer able to garden.  She had a curtain hanging over that window so that she wouldn’t have to look into her bare backyard.  I instantly knew exactly what kind of stained glass art piece she needed.

The art auction was a lot of fun and I found a large oval stained glass piece to hang over the picture window for my client.  It was almost three feet tall and just under two feet wide.  The red roses done in stained glass were just magnificent.  She was so happy after the stained glass was delivered; she thanked me with coffee and bagels.

She hired me again to find a special piece for her bedroom window.  She liked the idea of replacing the curtains in her home with stained glass pieces of art that I could find for her at art auctions.  I looked at the way her bedroom was decorated taking special notice of the colors she used.  

I found a fantastic stained glass piece for her at the art auction of a peacock with lavender in the background.  It fit really well with her existing decorating.  She hired my son to hang this piece for her.  She was pleased with his work and has promised him future jobs that require more strength than she possesses.

I was asked by a friend of mine to find a special piece of stained glass for his office.  I went to three art auctions before I could find something that felt right.  His taste and furnishings run the direction of more contemporary than most pieces of stained glass usually represent.  

The third art auction I attended had a contemporary piece of stained glass art that depicted a landmark in Anchorage, Alaska.  I did not know it at the time, but my friend had family in Alaska and was actually familiar with this landmark.  I purchased it because I liked the style and the coloring, but it turned out to be an even better choice because of its subject matter.

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Finding Maritime Items at Art Auctions

Finding Maritime Items at Art Auctions - I find some really nice maritime items for my collection at art auctions.  I went to an art auction in Charleston last month and found a pair of candle powered navigation lights that were used on ships in the 19th century.  These types of candles were also used in lighthouse stairwells.

My collection also includes a maritime item that was made in 1891.  It is a chronometer and it still keeps great time.  It is very special because the broad arrow on it indicates that it was purchased by the British Navy and they are known to have only the best time pieces.  I found this piece of my collection at an art auction in New Hampshire.

I have another chronometer in my collection that I found at an art auction in Dallas.  It was sold to me in a wooden box from someone that had owned it for fifty years.  They had kept this maritime relic in a closet.  I plan to keep it on display.

I was at an art auction in Miami a couple of years ago and found a fantastic maritime item for my personal collection.  The compass that I won was over 100 years old and was made in Persia.  The compass face has all twelve signs of the zodiac engraved on it.  I thought that this was a great find.

My kids thought I was crazy when I drove to an art auction is Hartford and drove back with three hundred pounds of maritime Navy anchors.  I thought they’d look great in the yard.  I like to have art in my yard, in the beds I made around my trees.  No one wanted to help me unload them.

I found myself in a bidding war at an art auction in Mississippi over the original builder’s plate from the SS Contessa.  It is truly a unique and wonderful maritime item.  I have polished it and it gleams in the display case I bought for it.

Maritime items don’t seem to be in as much demand anymore.  A few years ago, my collection got easier to add to for some reason.  Art auctions everywhere I went started having really great things on the auction block.

The brass plaques from old ships have always been one of my favorite things to find up for sale at art auctions.  One of my favorite maritime plaques came from a ship that was used in WWII.  The ship that the plaque was on was called the Marechal Joffre and it was taken from the French in 1942.  The Maritime Commission renamed the ship USS Rochambeau.

I had a friend of mine that was going to attend an art auction in Anchorage a couple of years ago bid on a bell for me.  I had no idea how much the freight charge was going to end up being, but I wanted this maritime item in my collection.  It was magnificent.

There is going to be a really nice maritime item at an art auction I intend to attend this weekend.  Lighthouse items are of interest to me more and more lately.  I have found that there is going to be an antique brass oil lamp up for auction and I plan to win it.  The price will probably get up to fifteen hundred dollars, but I don’t care.  I need this maritime item in my collection.

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Books about Dale Chihuly

Books about Dale Chihuly - Books about art sell well in art auctions.  I have found many publications that feature my favorite artist, Dale Chihuly.  There are books, catalogs and even magazines routinely up for auction.

Chihuly Gardens and Glass is currently for sale in several art auctions.  This book is beautifully illustrated and shows installations at the Garfield Park Conservatory in Chicago.  The book has an essay by Barbara Rose addressing Dale Chihuly's place in art history.  There is another essay by the Garfield Conservatory director that provides a history of garden conservatories 

Chihuly at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew features more than one hundred photographs that captured this event.  An art auction for this book sold for fifty dollars.  The exhibit at the Royal Botanical Gardens was Dale Chihuly’s first botanical garden exhibition outside of the United States.

Chihuly Seaforms has an excellent value at an art auction.  It depicts forty four color photographs of his most ethereal series to date.  The pieces he created for this series have been called not only "reflections of skill, passion, teamwork and sheer genius" but also "tributes" to the sea.  He is truly a master.

Chihuly Form Fire was published in 1993 and it only occasionally shows up in art auctions.  The book is hardcover and 144 pages long with over 75 color reproductions of his splendid work.  There is a very informative commentary in the book about Chihuly’s career.  

Chihuly has been exhibited all over the world and the accompanying catalogs sell for a lot at an art auction.  The catalogs have a value to people that cannot possibly afford to ever own an actual piece of his art.  I bought a catalog at an art auction that depicted his installations from the years 1964-1992.  I have spent a lot of time looking at the photographs and have determined that Chihuly is pure genius.

I really want to find a copy of Chihuly Jerusalem 2000 at an art auction.  The book sells new for fifty dollars.  I think that the story of this journey and exhibit is extraordinary and I want to own a copy of this book.  This book contains 117 full-color reproductions and from what I’ve seen they are all extraordinary.

I was surprised that even the book of Chihuly’s drawings has tremendous resale value at an art auction.  He is able to convey such beauty and energy with his work and these drawings actually do the same thing.  These drawings are what his ideas start out as before they are fully realized in glass.

There is one inexpensive Chihuly book that I rarely seen in art auctions.  It only contains 17 color reproductions.  It does cover the installations that had 20,000 pounds of ice.  These were called the neon-and-ice installations and they had a powerful effect on the people that viewed them.  This book is soft cover and it is better to buy it new from a website than from a previous owner at an art auction.

I’ve lost countless art auctions for the book that contains photos of his exhibit at the Marlborough Gallery in New York City.  I just never bid enough.  At some point, I will probably just have to bid more to win it from an art auction.  I know that the 51 images are dramatic, but the book is a soft cover and I just don’t think I should pay $25 for it.

My mother won a Chihuly book for me at an art auction last year.  It chronicled the installation in Japan at the Hokkaido Museum of Modern Art in 1990.  I loved each and every one of the 54 images contained in this book.  I have been asked several times to loan it to friends, but I have refused.  This is one book that I refuse to lose.

In 1986, Chihuly was only the fourth American to get a solo exhibition at the Louvre in Paris.  There was a soft cover book published with 33 photos in it that chronicles the exhibit.  Also in the book is an introduction written by the chief curator and director of the Centre du Verre.  This is the next book I hope to own and I’ve been watching art auctions hoping to see it pop up.

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Art Poster Auctions

Art Poster Auctions - Art poster auctions are very popular.  Owning great pieces of art has gotten easier.  A properly framed art poster can be as nice as owning an original painting and it is far less expensive.

I have found many different art styles in art poster auctions.  The most expensive art poster in the abstract style sold recently on eBay was a 1959 Picasso entitled Les Menines.  The poster sold for $560.00.

There was an original and authentic art poster auction recently in the art deco style that caught my eye.  The poster was from 1961 and was for Breakfast at Tiffany.  The poster sold for over three thousand dollars.

World’s Fair art poster auctions seem to do very well.  I saw an auction for the 1939 New York World’s Fair that sold for more than fifteen hundred dollars.  There was another art poster auction for the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair that went for just under fifteen hundred dollars.

In the Asian art poster auction market, there seems to be some really odd things.  I found a poster that depicted McDonald’s hamburgers invading Japan.  The poster got fourteen bids from six different people and it closed at four hundred fifty five dollars.

In the category of Impressionist art poster auctions, I found one for the 2006 Jazz Festival in New Orleans that sold for over four hundred dollars.  It was done by a Cajun artist named James Michalopulos and featured Fats Domino.  The colors in the poster were brilliant.

I found that the category of Modern art posters seems to get the most auction listings.  There is one art poster that keeps being re-listed because it just doesn’t sell.  The poster is from the Elvis movie Love Me Tender.  Apparently the owner of this poster has determined that it is worth one thousand dollars and will not take less than that.  He hasn’t sold it yet, but I wish him luck.

There were another Modern art poster auctions that really did well as far as I could tell.  They were Greyhound travel posters.  There were a couple of art poster auctions that sold recently.  They were both created in the 1950’s and both of the posters sold for around three hundred dollars each.

After researching so many art poster auctions, I have come to the conclusion that my parents and grandparents should have collected every piece of advertising they ever came across.  They would be worth a small fortune by now! 

The Sante Fe Railroad as a subject is prominently sold in art poster auctions.  These must be highly collectable because they generate a lot of bids.  If the art poster auction is for an old original poster of the Sante Fe Railroad, it will fetch upwards of four hundred dollars.

I found an art poster auction that was listed by the artist himself.  He made a black ink drawing for the Pearl Jam concert in Rome in 1996.  This original drawing was what the poster was made from.

Pop art poster auctions cover a lot of different topics.  One of my favorites was a 7-up soda advertisement from 1970 that featured The Beatles’ Yellow Submarine.  The item did not sell, but it was fun to look at.

In the style of Realism, art poster auctions abound.  I found one that was an advertisement for United Airlines and depicted the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.  This poster sold for over one hundred fifty dollars.

The most interesting art poster auctions I found were for rock concerts.  I liked the one listed for at 1956 Rolling Stones concert and there was another one for a Grateful Dead concert in Hawaii.  They sold for a combined total of over seven thousand dollars.  The interest in these art poster auctions was overwhelming.

Advertising seems to be a big theme in the art poster auctions that I looked at.  I found advertisements for just about everything.  I liked the poster for Russian beer that was created in the late 1920’s.  It would look fantastic framed in my neighborhood bar.  The buyer of this particular poster bought it for $475.00.

Concert posters are fun to look through.  Art poster auctions feature a lot of posters for concerts.  I found one that was made by Jim Pollock for a Phish concert in 2000 in Hartford.  I liked it, but I am not a fan of Phish and the three hundred dollars that it went for seemed a little pricey to me.

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Art Glass Paperweights

Art Glass Paperweights - I have a shop that sells art glass.  My favorite art glass is paperweights.  I have a lot of fun attending art auctions and buying art glass.  I try to pay attention to what my friends and clients like and dislike.

I usually give people art glass paperweights that I find at art auctions for milestone birthdays and anniversaries.  My grandmother turned eighty last October and I found a wonderful art glass paperweight for her.

The art glass paperweight that I found for my grandmother was made by Baccarat.  I was extremely lucky that this was one of the last things auctioned.  A lot of people had already left the art auction when this item went on the block.  My grandmother appreciated the pansy design because the pansy is her favorite flower.

My cousin loves frogs.  She has managed to decorate her home tastefully with her favorite item.  I have been on the lookout for an art glass paperweight for her for years.  I finally found one at an art auction I was at last year.  The art glass paperweight featured a frog sitting on a lily pad and the frog was surrounded by blue water.  It was really pretty and my cousin started using it on her desk immediately.

My aunt collects art glass paperweights.  I have been asked by her on numerous occasions to find pretty art glass paperweights for her while I’m attending art auctions.  Of all of the pieces I’ve won for her over the years, one memory sticks out in my memory more than any other.

By far the prettiest art glass paperweight I’ve ever won at an art auction has to be one that features a blue and gold Macaw.  Rick Ayotte was the artist that created it and it was even featured in a book of his work.  He has created many lovely art glass paperweights.

I have an art glass paperweight in my shop that just won’t sell.  It has been in the store the longest and I think I may have it priced too high.  I won the paperweight at an art auction several years ago for one thousand dollars.  The paperweight was created by Paul Stankard and it should have easily sold for twice what I paid for it.

I have no trouble at all selling art glass paperweights that were made by Rick Ayotte.  His work seems to draw the most interest.  I try to win any auction I find for art glass paperweights he made.  I won one not long ago that was pink roses.  They looked so delicate and sweet.  I know that this art glass paperweight will sell quickly.

There have been some inquiries at my shop for art glass paperweights by Richard Marquis.  I haven’t found any in any of the art auctions I’ve attended recently.  I looked at some of the pieces he’s made and I’m not especially impressed.

I will keep looking for the art glass paperweights at the art auctions I attend, but I will not be going way out of my way to track them down.  I will just remember that Marquis is an artist that some of my clients are really interested in.  I’m sure that I will find an art auction with one of his pieces in it at some point.

There were some inquiries about nautical themed art glass paperweights a couple of years ago and I found a fantastic artist that made them.  I buy every art glass paperweight I can find that was made by Rick Satava.  My favorite has to be the coral orange jellyfish that I found at an art auction an hour from my home.  It was really pretty.

The coral orange jellyfish art glass paperweight was just the first Rick Satava piece that I’ve found at various art auctions.  I’ve also found jellyfish in ruby and blue.  They are beautiful by themselves or when they are put onto a black light stand that has been built especially for them.

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Art Auctions on eBay

Art Auctions on eBay - I’ve been looking at art auctions on eBay all day today.  I have found some wonderful things.  I browsed the Art category and chose the subcategory of self-representing artists.

I like what I see for sale.  Art auctions on eBay are a great way for an unknown or even a known artist to sell their paintings.  I found some nice paintings in the featured section.

Since I was looking at art auctions on eBay, I used the option to just view the picture gallery.  I’m glad I did that because I really just wanted to see the art, not the title of the auction.  What immediately caught my eye was all of the bold colors.

On the first page of image results of art auctions on eBay, there was a beautiful painting of a martini.  I think that martini images seem very classy to me.  I can visualize this painting in the home of someone with a glass coffee table and a leather couch!

The virtual foot traffic that art auctions on eBay gets is incredible.  The artist can get so much more exposure to so many more people than hanging their paintings in galleries.  It is just such a good way to get discovered.

I did think it was a little funny when I saw art auctions on eBay listed for 99 million dollars.  The artist wants to make history by breaking the world record for the most paid for a painting by a living artist.  The record is currently forty million dollars.

There was another art auction on eBay that really caught my eye.  The artist was Kelly Shanks and she lives in Boston.  The painting that I saw was done in an impressionist style and called Neon Rain.  It is part of her New Orleans series.  I liked it a lot.

I found an art auction on eBay for a painting entitled The Egg Eaters.  It was really odd and didn’t exactly suit me.  I tried to imagine where it would end up hanging.  I think that fantasy art just can’t hang everywhere.  I can see this hanging in an upscale gaming store or in a bachelor pad.

The funniest art auction I saw on eBay was for a folk art rendition of a Jack Russell terrier.  I can only imagine that a dog lover should own and display this.  The dog looks like he is about to jump up on me!

I found a landscape that I really liked when I was looking through the art auctions on eBay.  The piece was called Red Barn under Praire Clouds.  I think that if this was hanging in my bedroom, I might never get out of bed.  I love to watch clouds.

I guess I just don’t understand abstract art.  I think if I understood it, I could appreciate it.  I found an art auction on eBay for an original painting called Beige Dancelines #2.  The artist says that it is an abstract dancing figure.  I just can’t see anything but an oversized ear.

There were so many photos to look at when I was searching on eBay for art auctions.  I think that my tastes really run to realism and landscapes.  I especially liked a painting of Alaska by Hunter Jay.  The blues in the picture were really nice; I’ll bet that this painting is wonderful in person.

My mother-in-law has been decorating her house slowly.  I found a really nice art auction on eBay for her that would fit her likes.  The painting depicts a tree at sunset and is just beautiful.  The artist has a lot of auctions and I really hope that she sells a lot.  She is very talented.

The only other art auction on eBay that I spent a lot of time looking at was a painting of red tulips against a yellow sky.  I’m not sure why I was so taken by this painting.  Tulips are my favorite flower.  The tulips in this painting are just suspended in the center.  They just seem to hang there magically.  I really liked this depiction of my favorite flower.

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Art Auctions for Vintage Posters

Art Auctions for Vintage Posters - Vintage posters are always available at art auctions.  I have found all kinds of vintage poster art auctions lately.  I really liked a vintage poster I found that was from the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam.  The poster is rare because it is one of the only 500 of the 10,000 printed that is in French.

Another vintage poster I found in an art auction was from 1917.  It depicts French woman in war time performing various tasks.  The poster celebrates the contribution of French women in the workforce.  During war time, French women made up forty percent of the workforce.

I’m always a sucker for old vintage posters of rock bands.  I look for them in art auctions all the time.  I like ones that are autographed, like the one from The Who that I saw recently.  I felt like the starting bid was a little high and so I didn’t try to win it.

I have been leaning more and more lately toward French vintage posters.  I found a vintage poster for Orangina that was printed in 1970 at an art auction recently.  I thought that the art auction would only get to one thousand dollars, but I was wrong.  The vintage poster sold for twelve hundred dollars.

My older brother needed something interesting for the walls of his new apartment.  I started looking for vintage posters in art auctions and found the perfect poster.  The one that I found featured race cars and he loves race cars.  The poster was from the 1965 Nurbergring Grosser Preis Von Deutschland and looked fantastic for being forty years old.

French advertisements seem to make the best vintage posters.  I like finding art auctions for posters advertising products like Lu Biscuits.  I found a great vintage poster for less than a thousand dollars and it looks great in my kitchen.

Vintage posters that relate to travel always get a lot of interest at an art auction.  I saw a lovely poster that was advertising the English Lake District in France.  The poster was produced in 1905.  I like viewing them, but I do not personally collect posters in this style.

I found a vintage poster at an art auction that advertised shoe polish.  This was a French poster that was made in the 1930’s.  I framed it and put it in my dressing room.  It fits in there perfectly and really adds to the feel of the room.

My sister married a man with a cycling shop.  They have used a variety of cycling related items to decorate their home.  My favorite piece is an old fashioned tricycle they keep in the formal living room.  I found a vintage poster in an art auction that depicted an advertisement for Celtic Cycles and they loved it when I gave it to them.

I found set of vintage posters of The Beatles that were made in 1967.  The posters were for sale an art auction I attended.  I have seen vintage posters designed by Richard Avedon before and I really liked his vision of The Beatles.  These vintage posters were well worth the two hundred dollars each I paid for them.

The vintage poster that I have my eye on right now is up for sale at an art auction coming up.  It is an Andy Warhol advertisement for Chanel perfume.  I want to win this vintage poster and frame it and hang it on the wall of my master bathroom.  It would be perfect there and would absolutely complete the look I was going for.

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Art Auctions For Sculptures

Art Auctions For Sculptures - Art auctions for sculptures are a great way to find new art for your home or office.  I like to peruse the online auction sites for nice sculptures.  I have found some very interesting items when I’ve looked.

There was a sculpture sold on eBay recently that was entitled Love.  The art auction for this sculpture went above the estimated value.  The piece was red and blue and made of polychrome aluminum.  The French artist’s name was Robert Indiana.  The art auction listed the item as six feet tall, six feet wide and three feet deep.

I liked a hall stand that was carved from wood that I found in an online art auction.  The carving depicted a playful bear climbing a fir tree.  There was a young bear cub carved into one of the branches.  The branches were there to serve as garment hooks and there was even a mirror on the piece in a carved oak leaf designed frame.

There was an exquisite sculpture by a Russian artist that was sold recently in an art auction.  The subject of the sculpture was a Bar Mitzvah boy and the medium was marble.  I think that marble statues seem so timeless and elegant.  It is an excellent medium for a sculpture.

The wife of artist Yitzhak Danziger signed a certificate for the brass sculpture her husband completed in 1969.  Danziger is an Israeli artist.  The piece looked very abstract to me.  It did not do very well in the art auction and sold for less than it’s estimated worth.

I found a lot of bronze sculptures in the online art auctions.  Most of them were of people, but the ones I liked best were abstract.  My absolute favorite was a Harry Bertoia bronze sculpture called Bush.  This piece is also known as a Brain or Coral.  The bidding for this piece of art in the art auction was started at thirty nine thousand dollars.  It didn’t get a bidder.

I saw little interest in the bronze sculpture art auctions for animal figures.  I’m not sure if the reasons they didn’t get bidders were because of subject matter or because of price.  Bronze is an expensive medium for an artist to work in and it takes a lot of training to be proficient.

I have a favorite glass sculptor.  His work goes for so much in online art auctions that I will probably never own a piece of his work.  Dale Chihuly is magnificent.  There are permanent installations of his tremendous work all over the world.

Crystal sculptures look more like paperweights to me.  Online art auctions for glass representations of animals and sea life are really neat.  My favorite art auction recently was for a hand blown glass jellyfish.  It was magical.

I liked another online art auction for optical crystal that had been turned into a work of art by artist Christopher Ries.  The piece was small and called Lotus.  It would look so pretty in a well lit display case.

I’m jealous of the buyer that gets to call this sculpture their own.  They won the piece in the art auction for just under a thousand dollars.  This artist uses blocks of pure, clear lead crystal cast from Schott Glass Technologies of Duryea, Pennsylvania.  It is truly amazing art.  His work is prominently displayed in numerous galleries and even in the Columbus airport in Columbus, Ohio.

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Art Auctions for Drawings

Art Auctions for Drawings - Art auctions for drawings are categorized into antique, modern and contemporary.  Antique drawings are any drawings that were produced before 1900.  Modern drawings have to have been created between 1900 and 1949.  Contemporary drawings are drawings that were created from 1950 until the present.

There are a lot of contemporary drawings listed in art auctions that never get a bidder.  There are many reasons for this.  One of the main reasons is that the starting bid is set so high that it discourages interest.  There was an art auction for a drawing that was created in 2000 that depicted James Dean welcoming Elvis Presley into heaven.  The starting price for this art auction was twelve million dollars.  I am not surprised that it did not get a bidder.

I found another pen and ink drawing in an art auction that was listed for a lot more than it was worth.  The original listing started at $825,000.00 and when it didn’t sell, the artist lowered the price to $545,000.00.  He offers the copywrite to the design, which he thinks would translate well for prints, posters or greeting cards.

There was an art auction for a drawing that was purchased in 1971 London that did very well.  The seller of the drawing inherited it from his grandfather, who was the original owner.  He started the bidding at a reasonable $599.00 and the drawing ultimate sold in the art auction for over twelve thousand dollars.  He did a great job describing and picturing the drawing.

Antique drawings in art auctions can garner a lot of interest.  I saw a drawing of two men in the nude that was drawn in the 1800’s go for more than eleven thousand dollars.  This drawing was pen and ink and had a brown wash and traces of charcoal on lines of black pencil.

I was very taken with an antique drawing made by Sir Francis Grant in 1832.  The drawing in the art auction was of a woman and her daughter in Scotland.  The drawing was a signed original and sold for two thousand dollars.  I hope that it ends up framed and hanging in a collection of similar pieces.  It was really nice.

Another reason that art auctions for drawings don’t sell is that they are listed in the wrong categories.  I found several contemporary pieces that were listed in the antique category.  With so much competition in art auctions, it is important to make sure every detail is noticed.

Modern drawings are by far my favorite art auctions.  I wanted the stamped Degas I saw up for auction, but it was way out of my budget.  I’m sure that the person that ended up with the highest bid at the art auction will love and treasure it.

Well known artist’s drawings can fetch a lot of money in online art auctions.  If the title of the art auction contains the words original Picasso, for example, it is sure to go over two thousand dollars.  If the item is signed, it can go for much more.

I really liked a drawing I found in an art auction from an artist that I was unfamiliar with.  The artist was Patrick Caulfield and he titled his drawing Grapes.  He used colored pencils on black paper in the late 1980’s.  This drawing sold for the opening bid, $4,250.00.

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Breweriana at Art Auctions

Breweriana at Art Auctions - My father-in-law is very interest in beer art.  Breweriana is the special name for beer related artifacts.  I’ve been watching for special pieces to add to his collection at art auctions I’ve been attending.

The first breweriana piece that I acquired for my father-in-law was a 1940s Lone Star Beer sign.  He was so happy with this find at the art auction that he asked me to keep finding him interesting pieces of beer history.  I think that finding breweriana at art auctions is definitely a commentary on today’s society.

I found another really old piece of breweriana at the very next art auction I attended.  It was another sign and it was from the 1930s for Ziegler Beer.  I was at an art auction in Wisconsin and had to ship that sign to my father-in-law by freight.

My quest for breweriana has taken me to some art auctions that I would not have ordinarily attended and I’ve met people that I don’t ordinarily meet.  I got into a bidding war with a Cajun man over a Jax Beer sign from the 1930s.  The auctioneer said that it was a piece of New Orleans history.

The Cajun outbid me at every opportunity.  I had a limit that had been set by my father-in-law and we were closing in on it when he finally stopped bidding.  I won that piece of breweriana at the art auction for eight hundred dollars.

The porcelain breweriana signs are showing up at art auctions all over the country.  I found another one from the 1930s for Supreme Beer that was double sided and oval.  I was really pleased when I was able to present that one to my father-in-law.

The tin breweriana signs are actually not showing up as often at art auctions.  I felt fortunate when I found one from the 1930s for Washington Beer.  The ceramic breweriana signs are much more commonplace.

After my first few purchases of breweriana for my father-in-law he decided that his taste really did run to items from the 1930s and 1940s.  I’ve tried to keep this in mind when I find new acquisitions.  

I usually stay away from neon or illuminating breweriana.  I just don’t think it fits in with the feeling of my father-in-law’s collection.  The antique feel of everything is nice.  He has taken up beer making as a hobby since his wife passed away, so it is not a far leap to beer art collecting.

The Goetz Country Club Beer sign that I won at an art auction in Indiana was a little more chipped than the other pieces I’ve gotten.  I was intent on winning this sign because Goetz was my father-in-law’s mother’s maiden name.  He was so happy with this old piece of breweriana because of the name on it that it instantly became the centerpiece of his collection.

I found two pieces of cardboard breweriana at an art auction in Ohio.  I decided that they were going to sell so cheaply that I could buy them and frame them for the collection.  I’m glad I went to that art auction.  

I won a sign for Velvet Beer and another one for Stratford Beer.  They both were from the 1930s and they were more colorful than tin breweriana signs that I’d purchased at other art auctions.  The framer that I used framed both pieces for fifty dollars.

The art auction that I attended in Rochester, New York turned out to be very fruitful for my father-in-law’s breweriana collection.  There was a Standard Dry Ale reverse painted glass sign up for auction.  The sign had hung in a bar until the 1960s when the bar closed down.

The most recent piece of breweriana that I bought at an art auction was an original prohibition era Miller High Life Brew sign.  The red and black sign looked great on the wall with the other signs in the collection.  My father-in-law plans to build an old-fashioned bar in his home, at least the decorating is complete!

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Decorative Collectibles at Art Auctions

Decorative Collectibles at Art Auctions - I have found many decorative collectibles at art auctions over the years.  I have a display cabinet filled with all of my finds.  My favorite of all of the decorative collectibles are Pendelfin rabbits.

Pendelfin rabbits captivated my interest when I was a young girl.  My dad was stationed in England and my mother bought me my first of many decorative collectibles at an art auction.  The bookends that she bought for me are extremely rare and I recently had them appraised at more than fifteen hundred dollars.

I’ve been searching at art auctions in my area every time that decorative collectibles are advertised as being up for sale.  My greatest hope is that I can find a Pendelfin item named The Shoe.  I’ve been looking for this particular piece for about five years.

The larger pieces of decorative collectibles seem to get really expensive really fast at an art auction.  I’ve seen three people at once bidding up the Pendelfin rabbits to a point where the price is just out of my reach.  I love these rabbits, but I have to stay on budget when I attend an art auction.

There is one Pendelfin item that I found at an art auction early in my collection that I spend a lot more money than I wanted to.  I just had no idea how much a love of decorative collectibles could end up costing.  The item I bought was a three inch by four inch little plaque with Robert the rabbit depicted.

I sell decorative collectibles with online art auctions.  I find the items at art auctions and sales that I attend in person.  I have never resold a piece of Pendelfin.  I keep them in my own private collection.  My husband bought me a Pendelfin figurine named Auctioneer.  I love it.

Almost all of the rabbits produced by Pendelfin are small.  These decorative collectibles have retained their value for a long time.  Art auctions are a great place to hunt for really cool pieces that are larger and rare.  I’ve been looking for one named Aunt Ruby for a couple of years, now.

Aunt Ruby is one of the large size rabbits.  I already have Uncle Soames and Mother.  These were actually some of the first pieces of decorative collectibles.  I found them at an art auction I attended with my husband before we married.

There was an anniversary piece put out by Pendelfin.  I don’t think that it is worth what I keep seeing it for new and in stores that sell decorative collectibles.  I’ll just keep looking for it at a reasonable price at the art auctions I attend.

I was so excited when I found two big pieces of Pendelfin decorative collectibles at the last art auction I attended.  I bought both the one named Toy Shop and the one named The Castle Tavern.  They look great with all of the others that I’ve bought and won at auctions over the years.

My sister called me from an art auction last year to tell me that she had found a treasure trove of decorative collectibles.  She said that there was one lot that contained nine Pendelfin pieces.  I authorized her to pay up to four hundred dollars for the lot because some of the pieces were chipped.  I was shocked when the lot went for eighty dollars, the opening bid.

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