Antique French enamel pocket watches marry fine craftsmanship and mechanical precision with classical beauty. They rank among the most magnificent miniature works of art ever created. They are also treasured for the rich histories they represent and the stories they tell. Wearable watches with works shielded in enameled metal cases first appeared in the early […]
A 1988 Mary Ellen Mark image of a Black child seated and dreaming, a portrait of David Byrne taken in 1986 by Annie Leibovitz, and a 1947 John Gutmann photograph of a man working on the Golden Gate Bridge are among the top lots in Jasper52’s Photo Lithographs and Gravures auction. It will take place […]
On Tuesday, February 15, starting at 5 pm Eastern time, Jasper52 will present an auction of Designer Jewelry & Watches. The 293 lots cover virtually every great name and brand in a dazzling array of pieces. Among them are an Alex Sepkus yellow gold and diamond ring featuring a large orange spessartite, an Hermes white […]
Your net worth can comprise more than money. It can be artistic, historic, and emotional, and it can showcase famous signatures. Scripophily – the collecting of vintage stock and bond certificates for their own sake – covers all those bases. These documents no longer pay out on their face values, but they deliver other riches, […]
On Wednesday, February 9, starting at 7 pm Eastern time, Jasper52 will conduct a sale of Exquisite Decorative Arts. The 266-lot lineup contains a three-piece British sterling silver tea set; mid-century Italian furniture; several sculptures in the Classical style; a Herend Queen Victoria extra-large vase; Russian lacquer boxes; a delicate-looking Chinese nephrite jade carving of […]
A red, white and blue Lone Star quilt; a Native American squash blossom necklace; and a 19th-century sampler stitched by a New Hampshire girl should earn top lot status at Jasper52’s New Hampshire Antiques Dealers: Americana sale, which will be offered on Thursday, February 10, commencing at 6 pm Eastern time. As always, the auction […]
The origins of celluloid, the first synthetic plastic, date to the 1850s. English chemist Alexander Parkes combined nitrocellulose (wood cellulose, aka guncotton) with the organic solvent camphor and named the results “Parkesine.” John Wesley Hyatt patented a similar substance in America in 1869, giving the useful stuff the name by which it is best known: […]
On Wednesday, February 16, starting at 8 pm Eastern time, Jasper52 will hold an Ancient Arts Auction – 84 lots of treasures from the impossibly distant past. Among the items on offer will be an ancient Greek terracotta pair of winged horses; a painted wood Egyptian sarcophagus lid from the Late Period, dating to circa […]
Few categories of collectibles are hotter than vintage guitars. Be they electric or acoustic, be they decades old or centuries old, choice examples will always draw a serious, attentive audience, ready and eager to bid. The next buying opportunity geared toward six-string aficionados will take place on Tuesday, February 1, starting at 8 pm Eastern […]
In the beginning, there was the stick pin, a slender needle of wood or metal that held a heavy cloak or cape in place. As centuries passed and other clothing fasteners became available, the stick pin evolved into a flashier, more decorative object we now call a brooch. But in spite of its elevated position […]