The time to think about properly protecting fine art is before a loss occurs. Sadly, many collectors are unaware of the exposure they have until it's too late. Here are some tips to keep in mind when considering how to best safeguard your fine art. Know Your Insurance Policy You may have severely limited coverage if you are insuring your art under your homeowners policy. Consider purchasing ... Read More
America’s Handcrafted Heritage
August 5, 2019 Michelle Miller
Sunny days, backyard barbeques, campfires, and pool parties - these are some of the hallmarks of the Great American Summer. Let's cap off the sunlit season with some "homespun" fine art: American folk art paintings. Recognized for their picturesque landscape scenes, harbor views, darling portraitures, or glimpses into the lives of early colonists, folk art paintings hold a special place in ... Read More
Finding Phyfe: America’s Elusive Furniture-Maker
July 3, 2019 Michelle Miller
Although having an acclaimed name within American decorative arts history, Duncan Phyfe furniture is extremely rare to behold. So, for an antique furniture appraisal, setting eyes upon a piece of Phyfe furniture would be like discovering the holy grail of American antique furniture! Scotting-born Duncan Phyfe (1768-1854) was the most sought-after furniture maker in the United States during the ... Read More
Dolls For Days – Part 3: France’s Beautiful Bisque Dolls
July 1, 2019 Michelle Miller
Antique European dolls, produced between 1850 and 1930, were originally designed to resemble the adult female form, rather than today's concept of the quintessential "toddler-looking" doll. These early dolls were called "Fashion Dolls" or Poupées (the French term for "dolls") as these dolls had the more mature female shape, and the purpose of these dolls was to showcase the latest fashions of the ... Read More
Dolls for Days – Part 2: Madame Alexander’s Delightful Dolls (United States)
June 13, 2019 Michelle Miller
Hailing from New York, the Madame Alexander Doll Company holds a special place in the world of dolls. The company was founded by Beatrice Alexander, along with her sisters, in 1923. The girls grew up around gorgeous dolls as their father owned the first "doll hospital" company in the United States! The Madame Alexander Doll Company initiated many new and lasting doll trends and innovations. ... Read More
Dolls for Days – Part 1: Doll Basics
June 6, 2019 Michelle Miller
The second Saturday in June is World Doll Day, so let's celebrate with some history about antique and collectible dolls from around the world! Check back all month for parts 2 and 3! First, an important note before we begin- how do you know what type of doll you even have? With a variety of materials - from porcelain to plastic, composite to cloth, papier-mâché to leather, and celluloid to ... Read More
APRIL SHOWERS BRING LIMOGES FLOWERS
May 7, 2019 Michelle Miller
How To Ensure A Porcelain Piece Is A True Limoges Limoges...what is it? Those porcelain dinnerware sets, trinkets boxes, and tea sets adorned with fluffy, pink, cabbage-style roses, tend to be categorized as examples of the "Limoges" porcelain. Limoges, however, is not a company, but rather a term which has come to encompass a variety of porcelain pieces produced in a specific area. Limoges ... Read More
Antique French Mantel Clocks
April 4, 2019
Tick-tock! Spring has sprung! What better way to welcome the arrival of springtime than with an antique French mantel clock! And with a color palette of gold, turquoise, Robin's egg blue, pistachio-green, cotton-candy pink and malachite green, the design and decoration of 17th, 18th, and 19th-century French mantel clocks incorporate all the trappings of spring. You're probably most familiar ... Read More
Are We In Agreement That Collectible Plates Are Junk?
February 18, 2019 Roie Vokey
As a child who grew up in the 80s, it didn’t seem strange to me that people had commemorative plates hung on their walls. The grandmother of a friend of mine collected Princess Diana memorabilia and had several plates overlooking the dining table. I distinctly remember shortly after she died, an infomercial ran, offering a limited number of these commemorative plates in honor of her death, and my ... Read More
A Glass Garden of Antique Perfume Bottles
February 11, 2019 Michelle Miller
For this Valentine's Day, imagine if your beautiful bouquet of roses could stay that lovely and colorful forever. Well, an antique or vintage perfume bottle may be the perfect answer! Glass perfume bottles come in a rainbow of colors, sizes, and designs, making them a delight to collect! Imagine this assortment of candy-colored glass bottles: cotton-candy pink teardrop shaped ones, ... Read More
