July 2009 | A cross between a world’s fair, a historical pageant, and a land and water carnival, the landmark Hudson-Fulton Celebration held in New York over two weeks in late September and early October 1909 was organized to commemorate two separate but related events: the three-hundredth anniversary of Henry Hudson’s exploration of the river that came to bear his …
New European museums and permanent displays
AmsterdamHermitage Amsterdam On June 19 Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands and President Dimitri Medevev of Russia are scheduled to preside over the opening ceremonies for the ambitiously expanded Hermitage Amsterdam. The museum, housed in the Amstelhof, built between 1681 and 1683 as a charitable home for the elderly, will reopen to the public on June 20. A satellite of the …
Carpet cleaning and restoration
More than a century ago, in 1884, S. Kent Costikyan left his native Turkey for the United States. In Constantinople (now Istanbul) his father had developed a rapport with the missionaries stationed there and he decided to send his son to Colgate Academy (now Colgate University) in Hamilton, New York, to pursue theological studies. The Costikyan family was in the …
Mysterious art deco designer surfaces at auction
Art-deco furniture up for auction
This Week’s Top Lots: June 15 – 19
Top lots in the world of antiques
Léonard Boudin at the Flagler Museum
Unboxing the Henry Morrison Flagler Museum’s 50th birthday present
Inspired by antiques: 18th-century porcelain botanical plates
This week I’ve turned my attention to a lot of three Chelsea porcelain plates dating from the late 18th century that are coming up for auction on Saturday June 20 at Pook & Pook in Downington, Pennsylvania. Each plate is decorated with leafy branches and tiny ladybugs and butterflies that capture the playful and animated side of the natural world. …
The Graham Arader Sale: An auction of rare prints, maps, and books with a charitable twist
On Friday June 19 Sotheby’s New York will offer a special single-owner auction, The Graham Arader Sale, which comprises 202 lots of rare prints, books, maps, and paintings that document European and American history from the 16th through the 19th centuries. W. Graham Arader III has been a dealer of this material for thirty-seven years. With galleries located in Philadelphia, …
Luxury and Linke in the 21st Century
François Linke’s works are up for auction with Bonhams
Silver conservation and restoration
The restoration efforts of Jeffrey Herman