Don Presley To Auction Remaining Inventory Of Steven-Thomas Antiques And Interiors, Feb. 5-6

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Date of Release:  Jan. 25, 2011

Prestigious Orange County firm served celebrity clientele in the O/C  for 39 years

SANTA ANA, Calif. – Over the weekend of Feb. 5-6 – Super Bowl weekend – auctioneer Don Presley will preside over the sale of the remaining inventory of Steven-Thomas Antiques and Interiors, which is closing its doors. Founded in 1979 by brothers-in-law Steven Shedd and Thomas Silk, the prestigious Orange County antiques and restoration firm has operated from the same Santa Ana venue since 1979, redesigning and repurposing antiques for functional use in today’s homes.

“Some of the finest oceanfront residences in southern California have benefited from the imaginative design concepts of Steven-Thomas,” said Presley. “The company is very well known here in Orange County, and they’ve sold $150 million in antique furniture since opening their doors.” Steven-Thomas also catered to a large celebrity clientele that included the late John Wayne, who resided in Newport Beach. Their custom work is also on view in the Dorothy Chandler House in the stylish Los Angeles neighborhood of Hancock Park, where they were commissioned to install antique kitchen buffets.

                        

The idea behind Steven-Thomas germinated in 1971 while Steven Shedd was living in Italy and playing on a baseball team. “I was going back and forth to Italy, and a friend said, ‘You should get into antiques.’ That was when dealers were just started to ship antiques from Europe to America in containers,” Shedd recalled. He and his wife decided to cast out their nets to see if the idea had any potential. They started traveling all over northern Italy, buying up the type of furniture that could be bought cheaply there and resold easily in the States. “While there was an abundance of English rolltop desks and gateleg tables at the time, that wasn’t the case with high-end Italian Renaissance Revival furniture,” Shedd said. “We knew we had found an opportunity in the marketplace.”

In 1980, the Shedd and Silk families purchased land on the 55 Freeway five minutes from the John Wayne Airport, and designed and built the Steven-Thomas showroom. It did not take long for Steven Shedd and Thomas Silk to ascertain exactly what their clients wanted.

“The customer base we were serving expected to see things in tip-top condition. To meet their needs, our business became 70% restoration – bringing antiques back to their original condition – and 30% recrafting,” Shedd said. “For instance, we would take two twin beds and make them into a king-size bed, or we’d use the carcass of a buffet to create an entertainment center. We developed a reputation for being very creative and eventually grew to a staff of 50 employees.”

After 30 years of building the business into a landmark antiques and interiors retail destination, the partners are now ready for retirement. Recently, the Steven-Thomas building was sold to a computer assembly company, and the premises must be vacated by Feb. 28. The Feb. 5-6 auction will dissolve the remaining Steven-Thomas inventory in its entirely, with no minimum bids and no reserves. Every article will be sold to the highest bidder, regardless of price.

The vast array of furniture includes complete bedroom suites, buffets, hall trees, dressers and chests, Louis XV and XVI mirrors, china cabinets, and dining tables with complete sets of 6, 8 and 10 chairs. Additionally, there are bookcases, desks, Renaissance-style trestle tables and kitchen cupboards. Coffee tables with carved figures at the base, glass tops and hand-carved finials are prime examples of the Steven-Thomas method of recrafting antiques into unique “fantasy” pieces. “It’s possible that someday those pieces we’ve recrafted with have value as unique articles,” Shedd said.

Befitting the palatial furniture on offer, Presley will auction several lavish crystal chandeliers. Among the top lots is a French robust-center chandelier with six patinated cherubs, each holding two lights; and an 18th-century Russian enameled-bronze chandelier with a blue star-emblazoned globe, and crystal and beads surrounding the 12 arms. A very special pair of Lalique chandeliers renders the illusion of a crystal waterfall. Its round, bronze body is decorated with cherub figures on Lalique glass.

Additionally, the on-site auction will feature hundreds of quality smalls, decorative art and other items. “There is so much merchandise from with to choose, everyone is sure to leave with something wonderful,” said Presley. “And there are sure to be some bargains.”

All forms of bidding will be available, including live via the Internet through LiveAuctioneers.com. Note: all purchased goods must be removed from the premises no later than Feb. 15 to make way for the new tenants.

Steven-Thomas Antiques is located at 800 East Dyer Road at the 55 Freeway in Santa Ana, CA 92705. The auction will commence at 12 noon Pacific Time on both Saturday, Feb. 5 and Sunday, Feb. 6. Preview goods any day prior to the auction from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and from 10 a.m. to noon on actual auction days. For additional information, call 714-957-3989 or 714-633-2437. View the fully illustrated catalog and sign up to bid absentee or live via the Internet as the sale is taking place at www.LiveAuctioneers.com. Visit Don Presley online at www.donpresleyauction.com.

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CAPTION:

Richly carved circa-1880s French walnut buffet. Don Presley Auctions image.

87% Increase in Unique Visitors Reported for Fourth-Quarter by LiveAuctioneers.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                                      

January 18, 2011

Julian Ellison, CEO of the online live bidding platform, LiveAuctioneers.com  said the company benefited from referrals from search engines and an expanding customer base. 

NEW YORK (LAPRS)– LiveAuctioneers.com, the Manhattan-based Internet company that provides an online live-bidding platform and related support services to more than 1,000 auction houses worldwide, has released fourth-quarter 2010 statistics revealing a marked
increase in site visits, new-user signups and page views.

During the fourth quarter of 2010, there were more than 3.8 million “absolute unique” visitors to LiveAuctioneers.com, where both current and archived auction catalogs are readily available to view. This figure reflects an 87% increase over the comparable quarter of 2009.

There was also a sizable jump in the number of overall visits to the LiveAuctioneers site, soaring from 3.3 million in Q4 2009 to 5.9 million in Q4 2010. Statistically, this result represents a 77% increase over the comparable quarter of a year ago.

“Whether they’re first-timers or coming to the site expressly to view catalogs or bid, there’s no question that visitors to LiveAuctioneers are sticking to the site and viewing more catalog pages than before,” said LiveAuctioneers CEO Julian R. Ellison. “In October, November and December, we recorded more than 47.8 million page views on the site, as compared to 27.7 million in the corresponding quarter of 2009 – an increase of more than 72 percent.”

Ellison added that a sizable flow of traffic is being redirected to LiveAuctioneers on a regular basis through search engines. “During the fourth quarter 2010 there were 3.1 million search-engine referrals to LiveAuctioneers – a 42.7% increase over the fourth quarter of 2009,” Ellison said. Additional statistics revealed that during the fourth quarter of last year LiveAuctioneers.com attracted 39,500 new-bidder signups.

“By no means have we reached the outer fringes of our potential – quite the contrary. Our user base just keeps on growing, with phenomenal interest coming from Asia, where the ‘new money society’ is only in its infancy,” said Ellison. “Unquestionably, the repatriation of antiques to China, in particular, hit top gear in 2010, and there’s no slowdown in sight. Already in 2011, we’ve seen a seven-figure online-sales total. More than a million dollars worth of antiques and fine art sold to our online bidders at Brunk Auctions’ January 8 and 9 sale. Well over 1,300 people registered for that sale through LiveAuctioneers.com, and obviously they were very serious bidders. Based on the auction results we’ve seen just in the first two weeks of January, there’s every indication that this is going to be another outstanding year for LiveAuctioneers.”

Visit LiveAuctioneers online at www.LiveAuctioneers.com.

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About LiveAuctioneers.com:

Founded in November 2002, LiveAuctioneers.com provides real-time Internet bidding capability to more than 1,000 auction houses worldwide. LiveAuctioneers.com has opened up once-exclusive antiques and fine art sales to the cyber community through online publication of auction catalogs, and Internet live bidding. For further information, log on to www.liveauctioneers.com.

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Highly Important 19th-Century Italian Micromosaic is Centerpiece of Myers Auction Gallery’s Jan. 30 European & Asian Sale

Artwork attributed to Vatican artist Roccheggiani remained in Tampa home for 90 years

ST. PETERSBURG, FL – A remarkable Italian micromosaic artwork depicting the Roman Forum and attributed to Vatican artist Cesare Roccheggiani has emerged from a Florida residence after nearly 90 years of unobtrusive display and will be auctioned on Jan. 30, 2011. The important estate discovery will be offered at Myers Auction Gallery in St. Petersburg as the star attraction in a 500-lot sale of fine European and Asian antiques.

Measuring 59 inches wide by 32 inches long and weighing over 100 lbs., the circa-1870s panoramic depiction of Rome was composed from hundreds of thousands of minute pieces of non-reflective glass. It is believed to be the work of master mosaicist Cesare Roccheggiani, who was active at the Vatican workshops from 1856 to 1864.

“While unsigned, we believe it is almost certainly the work of Roccheggiani,” said Michael Myers, founder and co-owner of Myers Auction Gallery. “An 1879 micromosaic nearly identical in size and subject matter, artist-signed by Rocchegiani, was auctioned in December at Christie’s London gallery for more than half a million dollars.”

Quite likely, the glass mosaic to be auctioned by Myers was a commissioned work created for a wealthy nobleman or aristocrat visiting Italy during a Grand Tour of Europe. “Many Italian artists capitalized on the opportunity to sell mosaic jewelry and miniatures to the influx of well-heeled visitors of that period, but few possessed Roccheggiani’s ability to produce a monumental micromosaic of such superior quality,” Myers said.

“It’s so luminous, it almost looks like a photograph. It even fooled a visitor who walked into our gallery and thought they were looking at a picture on a flat-screen TV,” added Mary Dowd, Michael’s wife and business partner.

Since the 1920s, the artwork attributed to Roccheggiani had rested above a mantel in the residence of a prominent Tampa businessman. When the home was sold in the 1980s, the buyer was given the option of purchasing some of the existing furnishings. The micromosaic was among the pieces selected. Now, through descent, the estate artwork is headed to auction with a conservative $100,000-$200,000 estimate.

Among the paintings on the auction roster are a Jean Ferdinand Monchablon (French, 1855-1904) oil-on-canvas wildflower landscape estimated at $8,000-$12,000; and a pre-1920 Edouard Leon Cortes (French, 1882-1969) gouache on board street scene of Paris in wintertime, from the estate of Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Douglas Moore (1893-1969). Its estimate is $8,000-$10,000. The fine art section also includes a pair of handsome equine paintings by British artist Harry Hall (1814-1882), each estimated at $1,500-$2,500.

Approximately 30 lots of Asian and European carved ivory works are scheduled to sell. Within the grouping are fans, figures and four extremely desirable 19th-century miniature portraits, each depicting a member of Russia’s Romanov family.

A selection of period European bronzes is led by two Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse (French, 1824-1875) sculptures, including the 22-inch-high Allegory of Friendship, $4,000-$6,000; and Jean Baptiste Carpeaux’s (French, 1827-1875) Winkle Gatherer, 28 3/8 inches high and estimated at $4,000-$6,000. The category also features a 31-inch bronze rooster by Jules Moigniez (French, 1835-1894), $2,000-$3,000; and a collection of 19th-century Austrian cold-painted bronzes of Arabs, animals and other figures.

An extensive array of excellent-quality 18th- and 19th-century European sterling silver will be offered, with highlights including a 1797 George III sterling tea caddy by Daniel Pontifax, London; an 1819 Rebecca Emes, London, sterling decanter set; and a variety of ornate hollowware and flatware by various Continental makers. Four hallmarked sterling serving platters by Jean Emile Puiforcat (French, 1897-1945) will cross the auction block, as well. Three will be auctioned as one lot with an estimate of $3,000-$5,000; while a fourth platter will stand on its own with an estimate of $1,500-$2,000.

A featured attraction in the sale is the selection of antique Japanese cloisonné by master makers, a category that Mary Dowd said “has really been bringing premium prices lately.” A Namikawa Sosuke (1847-1910) artist-signed tray to be auctioned is similar to one that sold for $33,000 in 2008. Other Japanese highlights include samurai swords, sterling silver, scrolls, and silk embroidered with monkey and tiger motifs.

Other Asian antiques include an exquisitely carved rosewood Chinese throne chair with possibly original silk damask upholstery; Chinese carved stands, and an altar table. A beautiful assortment of Asian porcelain reveals designs by Imari, Satsuma, Canton and Rose Medallion. Estimated at $3,000-$5,000, a pair of 19th-century Chinese blue and white double-gourd vases stands 29 inches tall.

European ceramics by Meissen, Royal Vienna, KPM, Sevres, Dresden and Delft will go under the hammer. Several sets of ornate service plates are included in the grouping, as is a George Jones majolica doves centerpiece, estimated at $1,000-$2,000.

A top lot within the selection of 19th- and early 20th-century gold gemstone jewelry is a circa-1825 bracelet by Austrian Crown Jeweler Piote et Kochert. The enameled 18K gold bracelet is set with stones and bears an Islamic inscription. Estimate: $4,000-$6,000.

The auction offering is completed with a lineup of fine 18th/19th-century European clocks and more than 25 fresh to the market 19th- and early 20th-century Oriental rugs, all from estates. Among them are Tabriz, Kashan and room-size Chinese and Persian carpets. A noteworthy addition to this portion of the sale is an early Kai-tag Daghestan Persian textile.

Myers Auction Gallery conducts only two sales per year. “We’re very particular about what we sell,” Mary Dowd explained. “We would rather take our time and present only top-quality estate material. It takes a commitment to do this properly, but it’s the reason we have such a faithful following of buyers.”

All forms of bidding will be available for the Sunday, Jan. 30 auction, including live in the gallery, absentee, phone and live via the Internet through LiveAuctioneers.com. For additional information, call 727-823-3248 or 727-823-3249, or email auctions@myersfineart.com. Visit Myers online at www.myersfineart.com.

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CAPTION:


Attrib. to Vatican master micromosaicist Cesare Roccheggiani, circa-1870s micromosaic depicting the Roman Forum, 59 inches wide by 32 inches long, estimate $100,000-$200,000. Myers Auction Gallery image.











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