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The World's Third Largest
Auctioneer |
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Native Gold, Stunning
Dioptase and Mesmerizing Manganite |
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"The Lightning Bolt," a
simply spectacular specimen of Native Gold from Mt. Monger Station
in Western Australia — measuring more than nine inches top to
bottom and more than an inch across — that takes its name from its
stunning natural formation, is expected to bring more than $150,000
in Heritage Auctions' May 4 Nature & Science
Signature Auction in Dallas. This Fine Mineral auction is the
third in a series featuring the Hoppel Collection
— the finest mineral collection ever brought to auction.
In perfect complement to "The Lightning Bolt" is a beautiful and
equally splendid piece of American Native Gold
from the Diltz Mine, Whitlock District in Mariposa County,
California (Estimate: $150,000+), that originates from the
collection of Harvard University. The magnificent "leaf" gold
piece, delicately perched on a white matrix, is more than four
inches high and more than two-and-a-half inches wide.
"You can't ask for better specimens than these two," said Jim
Walker, Director of Nature & Science Auctions at Heritage. "The
material, value and the amazing intrinsic natural beauty in their
organic design all combine to create simply sublime art. That's all
there is to it."
As a side note: This probably came to Harvard during the mine's
active period. This is the same Diltz Mine that yielded 21,135
ounces of Gold between 1924 and 1954. Estimated total spot value at
the time was between $750,000 and $1,000,000. For comparison, the
same amount at today's prices would be worth around $29 million at
spot.
Competing for the top lot honors in the auction are two absolutely
stunning mineral specimens that are already creating buzz within
the collecting community: a dramatic, huge
Dioptase from the Tsumeb Mine in the Otjikoto Region of Namibia
(Estimate: $150,000+) measuring more than eight inches tall and six
inches wide and an impressive and large
Manganite from Ilfeld, Nordhausen, Harz, Thuringia, Germany
(Estimate: $150,000+).
"There is no one on this planet who doesn't instantly love
Dioptase," said Walker. "Something magical takes place when you see
this stunning Copper mineral — especially for the first time. As
for this superb Manganite, this one is arguably in the top five of
all specimens from the various Manganite groups known. In general
Manganite as a desirable mineral was rescued from obscurity by the
brilliant, midnight-black crystal groups found in this part of the
Harz Mountains where this dark treasure originated."
A brilliant iridescent
lime-green gem Peridot, from Mogok, Myanmar (Burma), checking
in at 40.4 carats (estimate: $40,000+) is a truly superlative
example of the type, while a rare gem
Rhodochrosite from the Sweet Home Mine, Mount Bross, Alma District,
Park Co., Colorado (Estimate: $18,000+), at 21.93 carats, is a
rare faceted gem from a mineral that is usually offered in its
naturally occurring state.
View the printed catalog on line! To see the e-catalog, please go
to Hoppel 3 Auction
Catalog
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The Collection of
Congressman John Culberson |
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Congressman John Culberson has been a life-long collector of
minerals, originating long before his career in government service
started. Over the course of many years, John found that dealing
with the miners for these treasures brought him relaxation and
renewed his spirit in ways that are well understood by ardent
collectors. Whether he was hanging out with other collectors at
mineral shows or negotiating for a prime specimen with the miner
who first brought it to light, John has been driven by his love for
the beauty of Nature and its manifestation in the form of
especially aesthetic specimens emerging fresh from the source.
He specialized in specimens from the Elmwood Mine of Tennessee and
went there frequently when the mine was active twenty years ago.
He'd put on his baseball cap and jeans and muck around in the
mining region trying to scare up mineral specimens directly from
the miners. These visits with the miners meant that the specimens
came straight from them to him, with no middlemen involved. His
persistence resulted in the gradual acquisition and expansion of
his personal collection; one he takes great pride in having built.
He has decided that it is time to share some of his favorite
specimens with other collectors — they are fresh to market, having
never been exhibited elsewhere. The following seven mineral
specimens (Lots 52039 to
52045) came directly from Congressman Culberson's personal
collection as exhibited at his home.
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Crystalline Native Gold specimens have always represented a very
small percent of the world's production. This is chiefly due to the
existence of mines with huge tonnages of low-grade ore, where low
grade is made up for by the sheer volume of material processed
per diem. This rarity of crystal material has led to
specimens of high-grade Gold being valued using different criteria
than simple estimates of weight value based on spot prices. There
are single crystal Native Gold specimens with less than 20 ounces
of contained Gold that have sold for seven figures.
This brings us to this lovely
crystalline confection from the Diltz Mine, presented as a part
of our May 4 Nature & Science
Signature Auction in Dallas. It combines the features of
several types of specimen Native Gold: leaf and crystal. The
overall form is that of 'leaf' type, where thin sheets of Gold are
deposited in narrow fractures, and the only possible direction to
grow is laterally. Meanwhile, the Gold is also trying to form
crystals in these same open spaces; only the space is narrrow so
the Gold grows the only way it can: sideways, generating leaves of
crystals. The shining faces of these crystals, and the rich buttery
color of high Karat Gold, conspires with the presence of a white
matrix to provide a complementary shift in luster, color and
texture.
This significant
specimen has a great pedigree: it was on display at the
Sterling Hill Mining Museum as part of the Dick Hauck collection,
as well as being in the Harvard Mineralogical Museum before that.
The condition of this specimen, which weighs 4.87 troy ounces, is
absolutely pristine. It comes with a custom, labeled acrylic base.
See the 360 degree
video of this specimen.
The May 4 Nature & Science Signature Auction contains quite a
number of specimens of native precious metals. View them
here.
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World Class Gems
Highlight Upcoming Natural History Auction |
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Our
May 4 Nature & Science auction features an impressive
array of unmounted gems. Dazzling colors, stunning cuts and
brilliant depth for aficionados of the most beautiful things nature
can produce.
If you're in North Texas, please come by and preview the lots from
the auction, at our Dallas Design District Annex at
1518 Slocum Street, from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM Wednesday, April
30 - Friday May 3, or 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM CT on Saturday May 4
before the auction starts. If you're not able to make it to the
auction in person, you can preview all lots and place your bids
online at
HA.com/5168, and, if you choose, compete directly against
bidders on the auction floor through
Heritage Live!TM.
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Tiffany Kashmir Sapphire
Gold Ring May Bring $175,000 |
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A Tiffany & Co. Kashmir sapphire diamond platinum-topped gold ring
could sell for $175,000+ to lead Heritage Auctions' Fine Jewelry Signature
Auction April 29 in New York. The auction is a mosaic of unique
creations spanning the Georgian era to the present day.
Jill Burgum, Heritage's Senior Director of Fine Jewelry, said
experienced jewelry connoisseurs can expect a robust selection of
estate jewelry, rare colored gemstones, and name brand designs both
contemporary and vintage.
"White and fancy colored diamonds from 2.00 to 11.00 carats also
play an impressive role in the upcoming auction," she said. "A
highlighted lot is an 11.03 carat pear-shaped
diamond accompanied by a GIA certificate stating I color,
VS2 clarity and carries a pre-sale estimate of $150,000+."
Colored gemstones captivate the eye with vibrant bursts of color
and leading the auction's extensive selection is a Columbian
emerald and diamond
ring by Kurt Wayne, accompanied by GIA and AGL certificates,
valued at $150,000. A rare Emerald White Gold
Necklace — featuring the 3.40 carat Heart of Carolina Emerald —
is estimated to sell for $25,000+. The heart-shaped emerald is
incredibly rare as North America is not known for producing
emeralds — outside of one area, Hiddenite, N.C. The Heart of
Carolina Emerald was discovered in 1998 and ranks as #13 on the
list of largest emeralds ever mined in North America.
A Fancy Yellow Diamond,
Diamond, Gold Ring, from the private collection of Toni
Tennille of American recording artists Captain & Tennille and set
with two yellow diamonds weighing a total of approximately 4.73
carats and enhanced by full-cut diamonds, could sell for
$60,000+.
An extremely rare Archaeological Revival
'Cave Pearl' necklace by legendary goldsmith Carlo Giuliano, in
its original fitted box, could sell for $40,000+. Fashioned from
diminutive limestone deposits subjected to millennia of water
dripping deep inside a cave, the 100+ year old necklace is the
oldest piece in the auction. Another Victorian find, an exceptional
Natural Pearl, Diamond,
Ruby, Silver-Topped Gold Brooch, features a natural baroque
pearl notable for its exceptional size, fine condition and natural
origin. The brooch is enhanced by a second natural baroque pearl,
which increases the pieces' gross weight to an impressive 18.90
grams, could sell for $40,000+.
"Name brand designs by firms such as Cartier, Tiffany and Van Cleef
& Arpels remain popular purchases among our clients and we expect
some recent additions will bring added attention and increased
bidding," Burgum said. "I am excited to offer a single owner
collection of Angela Cummings designs for Tiffany & Co., including
an Opal, Black Onyx, Gold
Bracelet, estimated at $9,000+; an iconic Jadeite Jade, Gold
'Lotus Root' Bracelet, estimated at $7,000+; and a Coral, Jasper, Gold
Bracelet, which could sell for $9,000+."
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Website Tips: Budget bidding on
Heritage Live! |
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Have you ever wanted
to set a budget for your purchases from one of our auctions?
Heritage Live! provides the opportunity for you to do just
that.
Near the bottom of the page below the listings of lots, you will
see a link to set a budget for your Heritage Live purchases. Click
on the link, and the page overlay will ask you to enter your
budget. You can change or remove your budget at any time.
Once the budget is in place, it will sum up all of your Heritage
Live purchases as they occur. Any Heritage Live proxy bids that
exceed your budget will not be executed; however, you still have
the option to bid live on any lot even if the live bid will exceed
your budget.
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Prospective
consignors and sellers of Nature & Science material are invited to
call to discuss consignment options. Sell your high-quality Gems,
Minerals, Fossils, Lapidary Art, Meteorites or Zoology in our high
profile Signature Auctions. Please review our past auction catalogs
here in order to get a better idea of
the quality consignment items we are interested in. Remember, the
earliest consignments get the most press and publicity, so consign now!
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Jim
Walker
Director, Nature & Science
JimW@HA.com
1-800-872-6467 ext. 1869 |
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Mary
Fong/Walker
Director, Nature & Science
MaryW@HA.com
1-800-872-6467 ext. 1870 |
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Craig
Kissick
Associate Director, Nature & Science
CraigK@HA.com
1-800-872-6467 ext. 1995 |
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Beatles-Signed Backdrop From Their
First The Ed Sullivan Show Appearance Emerges At Auction 50
Years Later
A piece of the backdrop
from The Ed Sullivan Show, signed by the Beatles when they
played the program on Feb. 9, 1964 — the beginning of
Beatlemania and The British Invasion — adorned with individual
drawings from each member of the band and a note from John Lennon
reading, "The 'Beatles' were here 2/9/64", may bring more than
$800,000 when it crosses the block at Heritage Auctions on April
26.
"There is no more important band in rock and roll than The Beatles
and there was no moment more important in solidifying their
worldwide popularity than the moment they played Ed Sullivan on
Feb. 9, 1964," said Garry Shrum, Consignment Director of Music
Memorabilia at Heritage Auctions. "Now, almost 50 years to the day
since it was signed, this piece has emerged from private hands and
is looking to take its rightful place as the single-most important
piece of Beatles memorabilia in existence."
The piece, measures more than 48-inches long and 16-inches across,
features large, clear and clean signatures of each member of the
band signed on that most important of nights in early 1964, comes
out of the collection of voice over artist Andy Geller, one of the
most recognizable voices in all of television.
This band signed the piece vertically, with Ringo Starr signing on
top, George Harrison signing below him, with Paul McCartney (signed
as "Uncle Paul McCartney") and John Lennon on the bottom.
"Holy Grail is a term bandied about in memorabilia circles far too
much," said Shrum, "but in this case, it's hard to argue with the
designation. This thing really is the Holy Grail of Beatles
memorabilia. It's simply the best Beatles-signed piece there
is."
The Heritage Auctions Entertainment & Music Auction will take place
on Saturday, April 26, at the Fletcher-Sinclair Mansion, 2 E.
79th Street (at 5th Ave).
More information about Entertainment & Music
auctions.
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Famed LEGO® Chair and Buffet lead 20th & 21st Century
Design
More than 35 examples of Amsterdam's famed Droog design editions,
including Red blue LEGO®
Chair and Rietveld LEGO®
Buffet, estimated to bring $10,000+ each, will highlight
more than 100 works in Heritage Auction's 20th &
21st Century Design Auction. The auction will be
offered April 23 in Dallas and includes fine art, furniture,
sculpture, and decorative arts from private collections across the
nation, with work by Harry Bertoia and Bodil Kjaer, among
others.
"There are no less than five works in this auction that are easily
classifiable as museum quality," said Brandon Kennedy, Consignment
Director of 20th & 21st Century Design at
Heritage. "Red blue LEGO® Chair is number 5 of 5 production
pieces and one of just eight total produced by the artist. Many are
on display in museums around the world as a choice example of
21st century design."
Both works were created in The Netherlands by Droog Design, founded
in 1993 as a cutting edge design source for products combining high
design with practical functionality. The April 23rd
auction features 38 Droog Design items, including Chest of Drawers,
1991, #100 by Dutch artist Tejo Remy. Additional Droog
rarities include a pair of Knotted
Chairs, estimated to bring $2,000; Tree-trunk bench,
1999 by Jurgen Bey, estimated at $3,000+, Table + 2
by artist Nacho Carbonell, estimated to bring $3,000+, and Frame Blue
Vitrine, which could sell for as much as $4,000+.
Also among the premier collections included in the auction is the
Estate of Ray Frost Fleming, a Cranbrook Academy of Art graduate,
notable studio artist, and owner of the Robert Kidd Gallery in
Birmingham, Mich. The collection is a survey of many of the great
names in mid-century modern design and modern fine art that define
the famous styles that emerged from Cranbrook. The collection is
populated with pieces already generating bidder interest, such as
Spray by Harry
Bertoia. Standing over five feet tall with stainless steel rods
terminating in melted brass beads, this work is somewhat unique
among Bertoia's sculptures, could sell for $50,000+.
More information about
20th & 21st Century Design auctions.
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Orson Welles Treasure Trove, Made Available For Auction,
Almost 30 Years After His Death
Beatrice Welles, the daughter of the late great director Orson
Welles — auteur of Citizen Kane, commonly considered the
greatest film ever made — is making a trove of material
related to her famous father, never before offered to the
public, available for auction as part of Heritage Auctions'
Entertainment Signature
Auction
In all, there are more than 70 lots of Orson Welles-related
ephemera, film memorabilia, clothing and personal accoutrements,
including script pages and black and white film stills from
Citizen Kane, scripts and still photos from The
Magnificent Ambersons, a pair of personal
scrapbooks relating to War of the Worlds,
Welles' 'Bell & Howard
240' 16mm Movie Camera, circa 1957, mainly used by Welles to
film home movies while living in Spain in the 1950s, his personally-owned and
used Smith-Corona 2200 electric typewriter, circa 1970s,
his personal humidor,
circa 1960s, gifted to him from director Michael Winner, who worked
with Welles on the 1967 film Swinging London, documents from
Welles' famous Mercury Theatre, and a host of other material
related to Welles' legendary career.
For Beatrice Welles, the daughter of the director and actress Paola
Mori, putting the material up for auction represents a chance to
open up the archives for fans of Orson Welles worldwide, giving
them a chance to have something closely related to the great
filmmaker, as well as a chance for her to re-connect with her
father.
"These things were all in trunks in my parent's house and garage
after they both passed away," said Welles. "After they died, I
couldn't stand to look at anything having to do with them — I was
so close to them both. They were everything to me — and much of the
stuff was just sitting on top of these two tables (Orson Welles)
used as a desk. I said to a friend one day, 'I can't look at these
things anymore. I also felt very much, that I was intruding into
their private lives."
That friend gathered the material in the house, went through the
trunks in the garage, and put most of it away.
"All of these things came with me wherever I moved to," said
Welles. "I finally decided to get a storage unit."
That storage unit is where much of the material has lived until
late 2012, when Welles finally went back and started to sort
through it. What emerged is an incredible grouping that reflects
just as much on Welles as a pioneering filmmaker as it does on him
as a man and a father.
"When I finally went and opened the trunk and started looking I
realized that this is a treasure trove that I didn't even know
existed," added Welles. "There were many things in there that I
realized I needed to bring home — private letters, scripts, things
he had from when he was a child, like essays from the ages of 10,
11 and 12. Those things I'm keeping. The rest of it, though, I
realized would mean so much to someone else."
Welles related that her father was not a materialistic man in any
way, and that the fact that this trove exists is truly
remarkable.
"He was so prolific," she said, "always working on four or five
different things at once. He was also a gypsy and he didn't believe
in keeping anything. It's really extraordinary that there is
anything like this that exists."
For collectors of Hollywood history and film memorabilia, there is
already a buzz being generated.
"This is not a chance that is going to come along again anytime
soon," said Margaret Barrett, Heritage's Director of Entertainment
Auctions. "Orson Welles is a Hollywood legend. His work continues
to influence directors, writers and actors of all genres. This is
an opportunity for many film lovers to have a piece of cinema
royalty."
More information about Entertainment & Music
auctions.
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As the fastest growing American-based
auction house, financially rock-solid Heritage Auctions continues
to grow and seek the best talent in the industry. If you are a
specialist or have strong general collectibles knowledge, we want
to hear from you. These specialists will, in some cases, head new
departments and in others will enhance existing department
expertise. We have positions open at our headquarters in Dallas as
well as at our new state-of-the-art galleries in prime locations in
both Midtown Manhattan and Beverly Hills.
Heritage is seeking to hire the world's best specialists in the
following categories:
- Asian Art Specialist
- Coin Buyer
- Modern & Contemporary Art Specialist: (New York)
- World Coins Director: Hong Kong
If you are interested and feel you have the qualifications we
seek, please email your resume and salary history to
Experts@HA.com.
We are also seeking to fill the following corporate positions:
- Client Data Specialist part-time
- Client Services Representative
- Decorative Arts Cataloger
- e-Publishing Expert
- Fine Jewelry Cataloger
- Interns
- Operations Assistant
- Production Artist
- Web Content Specialist (part-time)
- U.S. Coin Cataloger Needed
If you are interested in applying for one of these Corporate
positions, please
apply here.
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Nature & Science Auctions |
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Heritage Auctions / bid@HA.com / 3500 Maple Ave / Dallas, Texas 75219 /
1-877-
Copyright © 1999-2014 Heritage Capital
Corporation / All Rights Reserved |
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