0
~DITORIAL
Books for collectorshno;: :mc?mrnonly devote chapters to h .1.pful’ adv’c
the ·ncxperie ce~. Muc l~r
it is s?und and reliable but when i ,J cs o
to do at an action area y worthwl le exposi ion remains to be wr·, en
We are us
ally told first to decide what the lot is worth a d d. h Th
f.
n, .eon, you can affor. en you ix your price and on no account go 3 ovc it.
Having seen h w in the excitement of the moment the bidding for O w 11-wor
motor mowers ared above the new retail price one may applaud th pi
advice -at 1 ast with reg rd to the li.kes of notor mowers. ut
apply
to a wo k of art? i. .. 1alysis of a seri s of glass sales r .veal d
th none thir of the final bids may fall outside the au tione r~
broad estimat s. Indeed, the preci.sion of the auction ‘s st·: 1,e
parallels the lawnmower si Luation. Only lhe corrunonplace pi ec.c
defined price ange. For the collector experience resides inn
the odds for e conmonplace and recognising a rare piece when i
pref rably bu ,alas! improbably when everyone else has fail d to
you are good ·th a crystal ball you may recognise that the art,·
ov.
on,
If
g neral is und rpricing a certain range of goods -probably b c.au .. i. dof · not
yet understand them. This was certainly true of some contin ntal :.,I· s Jd
t So hebys a ew years ago.
Deciding
at you can afford is even more difficult. C rtainly it 1.-
sound dv ce t a dealer bent on avoiding bankruptcy and who may be biddJng or
many lot t t e same ale. But for ourselves with, perhaps, a single h ,rt 1s
desire the it ation can be much more complex. The fatal moment com an
then your lot s under
the hanmer. As the bi.dding ere ps up to you -lind l:.
your mind unde takes a rapid reappraisal of the rationale for your earlier
decision •••••• supposing I don’t holiday in Greece this year.o•o wh
t if I
walk the l st are stage to work, I could do with the exercise …. and y u
stay inf ran ther couple of bids.
Ev n so, u predictable though a collector’s him may be, ( ristie 9s w 1
not prepared fr the determinat·on of two competitive bi “ders ~n January’s
ale o Englis and continental glass. A French ormolu-mounted opa
inc gla s
b sk t timat d to fetch between £280 -320 was car.ried off by the t riumpl1· nt
inner for £12 O. Dated
c. 1840, or later, it was of the now fashio. able
“gore de pige n” colour and decorated in black and guilt with trailing fl
11er
spray. And ow how much for a rare English yellow colour twist 18th C. :ine
glas? The h 11111er fell for the third time at £1100, this time only twice ·he
estim te. Ot er high pric s were paid for for a Newcastle baluster with
stipple engrav ng attributed to Wolff at £1400, and an 18th C. Thuringian
marriage gable with wheel ngraving a.t £1500.
At Sotheby
s, continen’al glass continues to fetch high pric~~ and a
Potsdam gilt a morial goblet and cover, c.1740, went at £1250 ( t.L600-800).
But how does o e estimate a piece believed to be unique? This
1 n En~lis~
conmemorative oblet with thistle bowl solid at the base, on a squ~re Silcsian
stem and folde foot. Rarity lies in’the inscription “God Saver •”
moulded
in relief just below the shoulder with a bust of George I between G and R.
This is an int resting early example combining the skills of mould_ ~er and
chair. le price of £2200 was a remarkably accurate reflection of
the
estimate 2500).
GLASS I ARCHI ECTURE: The Reverend Robert Schuller, who built the rld’s
first Drive-in Church, has begun building an all glass church at Garden Grove,
Califo ia. twill be larger than ·Paris Notre Dame and is planned to
5 at
4100 people. ot only, one might suppo e, a ne way to pray, but al
0
PEW WITH A V -W! !
Tl
th ” c;ho rt 1£ tur and s ..
lil d I sbl gl • •
utt ‘ng as
s.; – too m t
ti· u:;. On t r
ppreciate 11
n
y. ,.. • the e•..-1· y..:-rs of G ‘.>rg,. I. Cutt :ng w ., introduc~d from vermany tn on to th nev.• styles fro
d rtiscm~nts of this p Liod draw attent .
I i 1· s f.uriou Ly 1i ttle r n1ains of he early period, or, n t c y ‘ , b lar :1nd m lie
Go,:rJ:,n ( sC’V d d hy Robert Char <" J 1 , • a bowl ( recor e ) b th, R·1ven fragment5), '11_ Olle p1ec~, urnal of Glass Studie