Featured Finds Thread

Marko, those are beautiful! (And I'm glad the photo upload worked.)

 

The pearls are lovely. Marko!

Greg, it sounds like a memorable experience. Many of my best memories are from times when I was in, on, or by water. Maybe 'cause I'm a Pisces.

 

Thanks for the photo help and pearl comments. I am playing with the new photo editing programs today (seems like the whole day), let's see if I can upload some more finds.

This little pin intrigued me, and I researched it when I got it home. Seems it is California pottery, Copa de Oro, circa 1940s. It is a giraffe.

 

Really? A giraffe? I would have thought a cross-bred reindeer/unicorn.

 

LOL! There is a tag on the back that says JEEP. It made me think of the Magical Jeep from the Popeye cartoons, that's what I really thought it was until I researched it.

 

I don't think I showed this when I first picked it up. Large walnut chest bought for $25.00. This has been knocked about a bit with repairs/patchwork to the drawers and I think the top drawer boxes were added. There was also a fancy scrollwork backsplash that was very poorly executed, had been snapped off, and reglued badly. On the plus side, it is very sturdy, has good storage, and has been refinished.

I cut the backsplash straight other than two little "ears" I left at the ends. The top drawers had square oak knobs that I replaced with round ones stained to match the walnut. Other than a little spruce up to the finish, that is all I had to do. The downside is that it is not worth all that much. A similar smaller chest with no modifications is priced at $195.00 in the mall I am in (marked down from $245.00 because it hasn't sold). I went ahead and priced mine $249.00, since hope springs eternal ...... Even if I have to mark it down to sell, it will be good profit.

 

Nice finds everyone

LOVE the teacaddy and the pearls.

 

Thanks everyone, and nice finds all!

It's been a busy few days so far. Catching up on my day job emails and work in general.

Greg, so sorry to hear the loss of your tiger's eye pot.

Baker, I had no idea what "busman's holiday" meant until I Googled it. Lol!

I was able to scrap that damaged white gold & diamond tennis bracelet posted a few pages back yesterday and it pretty much paid for everything I've purchased so far starting from page 9 to current. My jeweler gave me a great deal because of the quality of the stones so I was pretty happy about that. I guess you can say I'm now in the "profit phase" of selling when it comes to the items posted here so far.

Speaking of profit, I was able to sell 1 of the 14 items posted on page 9 for nearly $800 to a UK based silver dealer. That sale was nowhere near my "asking price" but, at this point, whatever all these items sell for, it's money in the bank!

Baker, do you recall those silver beakers you helped me ID the date code (1770)? I sent images to this UK silver dealer/buyer of those beakers and he was very excited. He offered $2,000 for both, but speaking with my DH regarding his offer, we declined. We have no idea on the value of those items, but we do know whatever silver items we've researched so far bearing those coat-of-arms realized very high prices at auction. And of the very few silver pieces that have sold, all were from the first half of the 19th C. and none from the 18th C. Do you think we made a mistake by declining his offer? I ask because we don't normally deal in antique silver, but know you and many others here have exp in this field.

 

'Nuff - So glad to hear how well things are going for you. As I said at the time, though, I have no experience selling silver or anything else, so it's very hard for me to judge whether his offer was "too low." You're the one who's done the research.

 

I saw this in a thrift a week ago. I didn't recognize it, it looked a mess, I moved on. Then I was looking up something else and found this on line. I was steamed that I hadn't known it and knew it would be a full week before I could get back to that thrift. No chance it would still be on the shelf after a week. But I was there today, and there it still was. Brought it home, cleaned it up and it sparkles. I admit there was luck in how well it cleaned. It's Sklo Union from the '60s, a pattern called Nemo by a designer named Max Kennegiesser:

 

Thanks. It is kind of crazy that 150 year old solid walnut chest that is sturdy and looks good may not be worth $250.00. It is also crazy that I could buy it for $25.00 at the thrift store. It had originally been priced higher ($65.00 I think) but had no takers. It is particularly crazy that if I painted it white and distressed it I could probably ask $300.00 or more for it. It is not happening by me but I can't control what a buyer does with it

 

Nice looking chest hard to tell it is not all original!
Congrats on the diamond bracelet. Diamonds are a hard sell around here....I had one nice one a while back in a bracelet but no one would pony up, luckily it had gold and weight going for it too, but that was one diamond.....
Love that vase too!

 

Nuff, if I was offered 2,000.00 for those beakers I would be hesitant to sell too. I would hang on to them until I knew every inch,detail,history,etc.

I never had anything as grand as your finds but I have had a few items I was able to get decent money from. You may remember my posting of a Gorham sterling olive fork. I researched it to death but found nothing? So for a year I sat on it and oneday I was at a silver antique site and found my exact fork for 380.00. So I put mine up for a BIN for 350.00 and it sold. The buyer said he had the matching bowl.

So I hope your beakers are a WINNER and bring lots of $$$$$$$$$$$$

 

My apologies, Baker and thank you.

Yes, I have done the research, but that research hasn't turned up very much in regards to "silver" bearing these arms. The two links below show later period silver bearing the 6th Duke's arms, but I've found nothing from the 18th C. bearing the 4th Duke's. The only items I could find with the 4th Duke's arms were guns, glassware, furniture etc. and all of those items sold for very high dollar amounts at auction.

https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/14240/lot/201/

http://www.spencermarks.com/html/e125.html


Moreotherstuff, that is one fine looking piece of glass. Very nice!

Sharona, thank you! My jeweler pretty much gave me the hook-up. I was very pleased with his offer for the bracelet and glad that he's been so honest over the years.

Shi, that is one lovely fork and congrats on the sale. That dealer's offer of $2K was hard to turn down.....especially as I said, whatever these items sell for at this point is just money in the bank/pure profit. But at the same time, I don't want to make a major mistake by just taking any old offers because we're at that "in the black stage". Besides, the offer he gave for the one piece I sold him for nearly $800 was pretty much a low baller, but I took it any way. Not because I really wanted to, but because I don't think there's many buyers/collectors out there for that particular piece as opposed to the beakers. Plus, I only had $10 invested into that item. I don't believe this dealer is or was out to stiff me, but he's in it to make money and that's fine, I don't have a problem with that. The problem I have is he knows more than I about these items and when it comes to antique silver, especially since this appears to be the only field he deals in...silver! The one thing that did catch my eye about him is, he never asked the weight. Never said, "how much do they each weigh?" Just presented his offer after viewing the images.

 

"Never said, "how much do they each weigh?" Just presented his offer after viewing the images."

WOW! That would make me hesitant in selling them too.

 

This is quite an unusual large and moulded glazed Chinese tea caddy. My guestimate on age based on style and form would be 18th C. or earlier.

Christie's sold a smaller similar example 8 years ago as seen here:
http://www.christies.com/lotfinder/...2673&sid=2a9cd6d5-d9cd-424e-a219-b64341494932

 

Yes, that did make me a bit hesitant, but I think that also speaks loud to his experience in this field and my lack of. I'm sure he knows he can make a bundle just based on what he seen in the images and if he can get them at the right price.

 

I wonder if I finally ID'ed the possible age & origin of this vessel???

Below is a link showing a somewhat similar constructed vessel of the same material, black-brown slip and head used as a cover.

Link: http://www.artcurial.com/en/asp/fullCatalogue.asp?salelot=2352+++++147+&refno=10451422

English Translation: "Lot 147 small ZOOMORPHIC ARYBALLOS, CORINTHIAN, ETRUSCO-CORINTHIAN, 6th century BCJ.C. Shaped coated fawn. The head cover is in the bottle. The body is covered with black dots. Terracotta beige highlights brown-black. One ear glued.

Length:8.5cm.(31/4in.)

A LYING FAWN SMALL ZOOMORPHIC ARYBALLOS, CORINTH, ETRUSCO-CORINTHIAN, 6TH CENTURY B.C.

A similar copy is kept in the city of Sèvres ceramics (inv.No.MNC6984)

Bibliography:
Maximova, M.I.,plastic vases in antiquity (archaicperiod). Paris, 1927, boards XL.,n ° 151.

Provenance:
Acquired from the Gallery Samark and in Paris, ruedes Saints-Pères, in1980".

 

At some point with good silver the weight becomes somewhat irrelevant. The value far exceeds the scrap value.